Carmen Lúcia Cardoso

A psicologia e a estratégia saúde da família: compondo saberes e fazeres

This essay brings to discussion the links between Psychology and the Family Health Care Strategy (ESF). The text begins with a historical view of the transformations occurred in the health field leading to the National Public Health (SUS) and the participation of other professionals in the Public Health field. Special outstanding is given to Psychology, specially health social psychology which proposes an intervention more social, interactive, collective and local contexts. The ESF, a public policy that was established to promote the reorganization of the Health System and the consolidation of the SUS, emphasizes the relationship between health professionals / patients and the production of links, the creation of compromise and co-responsibility among them. Finally, the effort is to articulate the knowledges and practices of each field, pointing to the usefullness of this combination to health care work, and also, to the reorganization of assistance model.

Acetylcholinesterase capillary enzyme reactor for screening and characterization of selective inhibitors.

The aim of the present work is to report on the optimized preparation of capillary enzyme reactors (ICERs) based on acetylcholinesterase (AChE, EC 3.1.1.7), for the screening of selective inhibitors. The AChE-ICERs were prepared by using the homobifunctional linker glutaraldehyde through Schiff base linkage. The enzyme was anchored onto a modified fused silica capillary and employed as an LC biochromatography column for online studies, with UV-vis detection. Not only did the tailored AChE-ICER result in maintenance of the activity of the immobilized enzyme, but it also significantly improved the stability of the enzyme in the presence of organic solvents. In addition, the kinetic studies demonstrated that the enzyme retained its activity with high stability, preserving its initial activity over 10months. The absence of non-specific matrix interactions, immediate recovery of the enzymatic activity, and short analysis time were the main advantages of this AChE-ICER. The use of AChE-ICER in the ligands recognition assay was validated by evaluation of four known reversible inhibitors (galanthamine, tacrine, propidium, and rivastigmine), and the same order of inhibitory potencies described in the literature was found. The immobilized enzyme was utilized in the screening of 21 coumarin derivatives. In this library, two new potent inhibitors were identified: coumarins 20 (IC(50) 17.14±3.50μM) and 21 (IC(50) 6.35±1.20μM), which were compared to the standard galanthamine (IC(50) 12.68±2.40μM). Considering the high inhibitory activities of these compounds, with respect to the AChE-ICER, the mechanism of action was investigated. Both coumarins 20 and 21 exhibited a competitive mechanism of action, furnishing K(i) values of 8.04±0.18 and 2.67±0.18μM, respectively. The results revealed that the AChE-ICER developed herein represents a useful tool for the biological screening of inhibitor candidates and evaluation of action mechanism.

Pediatric dental treatment: manifestations of stress in patients, mothers and dental school students

The aim of this study was to compare a group of children with high levels of anxiety during dental treatment who required physical restraint (group 1) to a group of children who collaborated with treatment (group 2). Child stress and its relationship with the manifestations of stress of the mothers and the dental students were assessed. The following psychological evaluation techniques were applied: the Child Stress Scale, the Rutter Parent Scale A2, Dental Fear Survey, and Lipp Stress Symptoms Inventory for Adults. Group 1 presented higher stress indicators, and emotional and behavior difficulties than group 2 (p < or = 0.01). The stress indicators and the dental fear presented by mothers from group 1 were higher than that from group 2 (p < or = 0.01). The dental students who treated the children from both groups presented high stress levels. We conclude that the difficulties experienced by the child and the mother, associated to the students diminished ability to control the situation, may negatively influence the perception that the child has of dental treatment. A set of factors related to the children, mothers or dental students may cause poor collaboration during the dental treatment.

Acetylcholinesterase immobilized capillary reactors coupled to protein coated magnetic beads: A new tool for plant extract ligand screening

The use of immobilized capillary enzyme reactors (ICERs) and enzymes coated to magnetic beads ((NT or CT)-MB) for ligand screening has been adopted as a new technique of high throughput screening (HTS). In this work the selected target was the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which acts on the central nervous system and is a validated target for the treatment of Alzheimers disease, as well as for new insecticides. A new approach for the screening of plant extracts was developed based on the ligand fishing experiments and zonal chromatography. For that, the magnetic beads were used for the ligand fishing experiments and capillary bioreactors for the activity assays. The latter was employed also under non-linear conditions to determine the affinity constants of known ligands, for the first time, as well as for the active fished ligand.

The development of an immobilized enzyme reactor containing glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from Trypanosoma cruzi : the effect of species' specific differences on the immobilization

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) plays an important role in the life cycle of the Trypanosoma cruzi, and an immobilized enzyme reactor (IMER) has been developed for use in the on-line screening for GAPDH inhibitors. An IMER containing human GAPDH has been previously reported; however, these conditions produced a T. cruzi GAPDH-IMER with poor activity and stability. The factors affecting the stability of the human and T. cruzi GAPDHs in the immobilization process and the influence of pH and buffer type on the stability and activity of the IMERs have been investigated. The resulting T. cruzi GAPDH-IMER was coupled to an analytical octyl column, which was used to achieve chromatographic separation of NAD(+) from NADH. The production of NADH stimulated by d-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate was used to investigate the activity and kinetic parameters of the immobilized T. cruzi GAPDH. The Michaelis-Menten constant (K(m)) values determined for d-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and NAD(+) were K(m) = 0.5 +/- 0.05 mM and 0.648 +/- 0.08 mM, respectively, which were consistent with the values obtained using the non-immobilized enzyme.

Acetylcholinesterase immobilized capillary reactors-tandem mass spectrometry: an on-flow tool for ligand screening.

The use of immobilized capillary enzyme reactors (ICERs) for online ligand screening has been adopted as a new technique for high-throughput screening (HTS). In this work, the selected target was the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and the AChE-ICERs produced were used in a liquid chromatograph-tandem ion-trap mass spectrometer. The activity and kinetic parameters were evaluated by monitoring the cholines precursor ion (M + H)(+)m/z 104.0 and its ion fragment (C2H3OH) - (M + H)(+)m/z 60.0. The assay method was validated using the reference AChE inhibitors tacrine and galanthamine. Two new ligands, out of a library of 17 coumarin derivatives, were identified, and the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50), inhibition constant (K(i)), and the inhibition mechanism were determined. A coumarin derivative with IC50 similar to tacrine was highlighted.

New trends in LC protein ligand screening

The diversity of small molecules available to produce truly innovative drugs associated with the wealth of known biological targets calls for key strategies in protein ligand screening. This review encompasses the recently developed bioaffinity-based strategies. A critical view of the use of zonal, frontal, and nonlinear chromatography with immobilized proteins is given. The association of these elution modes with the ligand fishing method, which uses nanomagnetics particles, is also addressed. A series of applications and how these new screening strategies can be used to determine the function, affinity, and activity parameters of proteins is discussed.

Profissionais de saúde mental: manifestação de stress e burnout

Mental health professionals, working in an environment with high emotional demands, find themselves vulnerable to stress. This study aimed to assess the manifestation of stress, burnout and self-perception regarding stress and work in 25 alternative mental health service professionals. The following instruments were employed: Lipps Inventory for Stress Symptoms in Adults; Maslach Burnout Inventory and a Supplementary Script. The participants, presented manifestations of stress (36%), rated themselves as being very stressed (44%) and having high emotional burnout (60%). For 60%, work was evaluated as being very stressful. The dimensions of emotional burnout and depersonalization showed negative correlation to age variable. In conclusion, there is a need to provide workers with supportive interventions, especially to younger workers. In addition, interventions should be directed towards the development of coping strategies in stressful work situations.

Capillary bioreactors based on human purine nucleoside phosphorylase: A new approach for ligands identification and characterization

The enzyme purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) is a target for the discovery of new lead compounds employed on the treatment severe T-cell mediated disorders. Within this context, the development of new, direct, and reliable methods for ligands screening is an important task. This paper describes the preparation of fused silica capillaries human PNP (HsPNP) immobilized enzyme reactor (IMER). The activity of the obtained IMER is monitored on line in a multidimensional liquid chromatography system, by the quantification of the product formed throughout the enzymatic reaction. The K(M) value for the immobilized enzyme was about twofold higher than that measured for the enzyme in solution (255 ± 29.2 μM and 133 ± 14.9 μM, respectively). A new fourth-generation immucillin derivative (DI4G; IC(50)=40.6 ± 0.36 nM), previously identified and characterized in HsPNP free enzyme assays, was used to validate the IMER as a screening method for HsPNP ligands. The validated method was also used for mechanistic studies with this inhibitor. This new approach is a valuable tool to PNP ligand screening, since it directly measures the hypoxanthine released by inosine phosphorolysis, thus furnishing more reliable results than those one used in a coupled enzymatic spectrophotometric assay.

Profissionais de saúde mental: estresse, enfrentamento e qualidade de vida

The purpose of the study was to assess stress, coping, and quality of life of professionals in substitutive mental health services. Twenty-five professionals participated in this study. The following instruments were employed: Stress Symptoms Inventory for Adults, Coping Strategies Inventory and the Quality of Life Scale. The results showed that 36% of the professionals presented stress, greater use of the social support strategy, and greater satisfaction with the social domain regarding quality of life. Professionals with stress indicators used more withdrawal and escape-avoidance strategies. In conclusion, mental health professionals under stress make more use of coping strategies focused on emotions. The elaboration and development of interventions to assist these professionals in handling stressful situations are needed.