The incidence of fungal infections has been increasing in the last decades, while the number of available antifungal classes remains the same. The natural and acquired resistance of some fungal species to available therapies, associated with the high toxicity of these drugs on the present scenario and makes an imperative of the search for new, more efficient and less toxic therapeutic choices. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a potential class of antimicrobial drugs consisting of evolutionarily conserved multifunctional molecules with both microbicidal and immunomodulatory properties being part of the innate immune response of diverse organisms. In this study, we evaluated 11 scorpion-venom derived non-disulfide-bridged peptides against Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida spp., which are important human pathogens. Seven of them, including two novel molecules, showed activity against both genera with minimum inhibitory concentration values ranging from 3.12 to 200 μM and an analogous activity against Candida albicans biofilms. Most of the peptides presented low hemolytic and cytotoxic activity against mammalian cells. Modifications in the primary peptide sequence, as revealed by in silico and circular dichroism analyses of the most promising peptides, underscored the importance of cationicity for their antimicrobial activity as well as the amphipathicity of these molecules and their tendency to form alpha helices. This is the first report of scorpion-derived AMPs against C. neoformans and our results underline the potential of scorpion venom as a source of antimicrobials. Further characterization of their mechanism of action, followed by molecular optimization to decrease their cytotoxicity and increase antimicrobial activity, is needed to fully clarify their real potential as antifungals.

Objective: To identify hypertensive and diabetic patients at risk for developing acute kidney injury in the primary health care setting. Method: Observational, longitudinal, prospective study. Sample of 56 diabetic and hypertensive individuals. A semistructured questionnaire was adopted for data collection. For the description of results, were calculated dispersion measures and the Spearman test was used for statistical analysis. The result was considered signifi cant when p <0.05. Results: Of the total sample, 23.2% of users evolved with renal impairment, of which 19.6% with risk for renal injury, and 3.6% with kidney injury itself. Age and body mass index were associated with worsening of renal function (p = 0.0001; p = 0.0003), respectively. Conclusion: A quarter of the health system users, hypertensive and diabetic, evolved with impaired renal function, more specifi cally to stages of risk for renal injury and kidney injury according to the RIFLE classifi cation. Descriptors: Acute Kidney Injury; Primary Health Care; Disease Prevention; Nursing evaluation; Hypertension. RESUMO Objetivo: Identifi car pacientes hipertensos e diabéticos com risco para desenvolver lesão renal aguda no cenário da atenção primária à saúde. Método: Estudo observacional, longitudinal, prospectivo. Casuística composta de 56 indivíduos diabéticos e hipertensos. Adotou-se questionário semiestruturado para coleta de dados. Para descrição dos resultados foram calculadas medidas de dispersão e o teste de Spearman para análise estatística. O resultado foi considerado signifi cativo quando p < 0,05. Resultados: Do total, 23,2% dos usuários evoluíram com comprometimento renal, sendo 19,6% com risco para lesão renal e 3,6% com lesão renal, propriamente dita. A idade e o índice de massa corporal mostraram associação com a piora da função renal (p=0,0001; p=0,0003), respectivamente. Conclusão: Identifi cou-se que um quarto dos usuários do sistema de saúde, hipertensos e diabéticos evoluíram com comprometimento da função renal, mais especifi camente nos estágios de risco e de lesão renal segundo a classifi cação RIFLE. Descritores: Lesão Renal Aguda; Atenção Primária à Saúde; Prevenção de Doenças; Avaliação em Enfermagem; Hipertensão. RESUMEN Objetivo: Identifi car los pacientes hipertensos y diabéticos con riesgo para desarrollar lesión renal aguda en el escenario de la atención primaria de salud. Método: Estudio observacional, longitudinal y prospectivo. Casuística compuesta de 56 individuos diabéticos e hipertensos. Un cuestionario semiestructurado fue adoptado para la recolección de datos. Para la descripción de los resultados, se calcularon medidas de dispersión, y para el análisis estadístico se usó la prueba de Spearman. El resultado se consideró signifi cativo cuando p < 0,05. Resultados: Del total de la muestra, el 23,2% de los usuarios evolucionaron con deterioro renal, siendo el 19,6% con riesgo para lesión renal y el 3,6% con lesión renal. La edad y el índice de masa corporal tuvieron asociación con el empeoramiento de la fun...