Frontal assessment battery in a Brazilian sample of healthy controls: normative data

Objective: To show data on the performance of healthy subjects in the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), correlating with gender, age, education, and scores in the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Methods: Two hundred and seventy-five healthy individuals with mean age of 66.4 +/- 10.6 years-old were evaluated. Mean total FAB scores were established according to the educational level. Results: Mean total FAB scores according to the educational level were 10.9 +/- 2.3, for one to three years; 12.8 +/- 2.7, for four to seven years; 13.8 +/- 2.2, for eight to 11 years; and 15.3 +/- 2.3, for 12 or more years. Total FAB scores correlated significantly with education (r=0.47; p<0.0001) and MMSE scores (r=0.39; p<0.0001). No correlation emerged between FAB scores, age, and gender. Conclusion: In this group of healthy subjects, the Brazilian version of the FAB proved to be influenced by the education level, but not by age and gender.

The Pst system of Streptococcus mutans is important for phosphate transport and adhesion to abiotic surfaces

The Pst system is a high-affinity inorganic phosphate transporter found in many bacterial species. Streptococcus mutans, the etiological agent of tooth decay, carries a single copy of the pst operon composed of six cistrons (pstS, pstC1, pstC, pstB, smu.1134 and phoU). Here, we show that deletion of pstS, encoding the phosphate-binding protein, reduces phosphate uptake and impairs cell growth, which can be restored upon enrichment of the medium with high concentrations of inorganic phosphate. The relevance of Pst for growth was also demonstrated in the wild-type strain treated with an anti-PstS antibody. Nevertheless, a reduced ability to bind to saliva-coated surfaces was observed, along with the reduction of extracellular polysaccharide production, although no difference on pH acidification was observed between mutant and wild-type strains. Taken together, the present data indicate that the S.similar to mutans Pst system participates in phosphate uptake, cell growth and expression of virulence-associated traits.

CHARACTERIZATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF SOILS IN THE TAQUARI RIVER BASIN - PANTANAL REGION, STATE OF MATO GROSSO DO SUL, BRAZIL

Among the soils in the Mato Grosso do Sul, stand out in the Pantanal biome, the Spodosols. Despite being recorded in considerable extensions, few studies aiming to characterize and classify these soils were performed. The purpose of this study was to characterize and classify soils in three areas of two physiographic types in the Taquari river basin: bay and flooded fields. Two trenches were opened in the bay area (P1 and P2) and two in the flooded field (P3 and P4). The third area (saline) with high sodium levels was sampled for further studies. In the soils in both areas the sand fraction was predominant and the texture from sand to sandy loam, with the main constituent quartz. In the bay area, the soil organic carbon in the surface layer (P1) was (OC) > 80 g kg(-1), being diagnosed as Histic epipedon. In the other profiles the surface horizons had low OC levels which, associated with other properties, classified them as Ochric epipedons. In the soils of the bay area (P1 and P2), the pH ranged from 5.0 to 7.5, associated with dominance of Ca2+ and Mg2+, with base saturation above 50 % in some horizons. In the flooded fields (P3 and P4) the soil pH ranged from 4.9 to 5.9, H+ contents were high in the surface horizons (0.8-10.5 cmol(c) kg(-1)), Ca2+ and Mg-2 contents ranged from 0.4 to 0.8 cmol(c) kg(-1) and base saturation was < 50 %. In the soils of the bay area (P1 and P2) iron was accumulated (extracted by dithionite - Fed) and OC in the spodic horizon; in the P3 and P4 soils only Fed was accumulated (in the subsurface layers). According to the criteria adopted by the Brazilian System of Soil Classification (SiBCS) at the subgroup level, the soils were classified as: P1: Organic Hydromorphic Ferrohumiluvic Spodosol. P2: Typical Orthic Ferrohumiluvic Spodosol. P3: Typical Hydromorphic Ferroluvic Spodosol. P4: Arenic Orthic Ferroluvic Spodosol.

French-Brazilian school of nephrology

The recent history of French and Brazilian medicine goes back to the first decades of the xixth century. As regards nephrology, the first links were established starting in the 1950s of the xxth century. Over the past 60 years, the scientific production of the Franco-Brazilian school of nephrology totalized more than a thousand scientific papers and created a new generation of more than two hundred disciples, formed in Brazil by nephrologists who had completed their studies in France. In this article, we would like to memorize the successive exchanges between French and Brazilian physicians, mainly in the field of nephrology. (C) 2012 Association Societe de nephrologie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Combined expression of BUB1B, DLGAP5, and PINK1 as predictors of poor outcome in adrenocortical tumors: validation in a Brazilian cohort of adult and pediatric patients

Background: A recent microarray study identified a set of genes whose combined expression patterns were predictive of poor outcome in a cohort of adult adrenocortical tumors (ACTs). The difference between the expression values measured by qRT-PCR of DLGAP5 and PINK1 genes was the best molecular predictor of recurrence and malignancy. Among the adrenocortical carcinomas, the combined expression of BUB1B and PINK1 genes was the most reliable predictor of overall survival. The prognostic and molecular heterogeneity of ACTs raises the need to study the applicability of these molecular markers in other cohorts. Objective: To validate the combined expression of BUB1B, DLGAP5, and PINK1 as outcome predictor in ACTs from a Brazilian cohort of adult and pediatric patients. Patients and methods: BUB1B, DLGAP5, and PINK1 expression was assessed by quantitative PCR in 53 ACTs from 52 patients - 24 pediatric and 28 adults (one pediatric patient presented a bilateral asynchronous ACT). Results: DLGAP5 PINK1 and BUB1B PINK1 were strong predictors of disease-free survival and overall survival, respectively, among adult patients with ACT. In the pediatric cohort, these molecular predictors were only marginally associated with disease-free survival but not with overall survival. Conclusion: This study confirms the prognostic value of the combined expression of BUB1B, DLGAP5, and PINK1 genes in a Brazilian group of adult ACTs. Among pediatric ACTs, other molecular predictors of outcome are required.

Highlights of the XXI annual meeting of the Brazilian Society of Protozoology, the XXXII annual meeting on Basic Research in Chagas' disease & an international symposium on vesicle trafficking in parasitic Protozoa – 7 to 9 November 2005, Caxambu, Minas Gerais, Brazil

This report focuses on the 2005 Annual meeting held in Caxambu, Minas Gerais, Brazil that was convened and organized by the Brazilian Society of Protozoology http://www.sbpz.org.br/. This is an annual event and details of these meetings can be found on the Society's website. Within the space available it has been impossible to cover all the important and fascinating contributions and what is presented are our personal views of the meetings scientific highlights and new developments. The contents undoubtedly reflect each author's scientific interests and expertise. Fuller details of the round tables, seminars and posters can be consulted on line at http://www.sbpz.org.br/livroderesumos2005.php.

Responsiveness to change for the Brazilian Scale of Oral Health Outcomes for 5-year-old children (SOHO-5)

Abstract Background The responsiveness of oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) instruments has become relevant, given the increasing tendency to use OHRQoL measures as outcomes in clinical trials and evaluations studies. The purpose of this study was to assess the responsiveness of the Brazilian Scale of Oral Health Outcomes for 5-year-old children (SOHO-5) to dental treatment. Methods One hundred and fifty-four children and their parents completed the child self- and parental’ reports of the SOHO-5 prior to treatment and 7 to 14 days after the completion of treatment. The post-treatment questionnaire also included a global transition judgment that assessed subject’s perceptions of change in their oral health following treatment. Change scores were calculated by subtracting post-treatment SOHO-5 scores from pre-treatment scores. Longitudinal construct validity was assessed by using one-way analysis of variance to examine the association between change scores and the global transition judgments. Measures of responsiveness included standardized effect sizes (ES) and standardized response mean (SRM). Results The improvement of children’s oral health after treatment are reflected in mean pre- and post-treatment SOHO-5 scores that declined from 2.67 to 0.61 (p < 0.001) for the child-self reports, and 4.04 to 0.71 (p < 0.001) for the parental reports. Mean change scores showed a gradient in the expected direction across categories of the global transition judgment, and there were significant differences in the pre- and post-treatment scores of those who reported improving a little (p < 0.05) and those who reported improving a lot (p < 0.001). For both versions, the ES and SRM based on change scores mean for total scores and for categories of global transitions judgments were moderate to large. Conclusions The Brazilian SOHO-5 is responsive to change and can be used as an outcome indicator in future clinical trials. Both the parental and the child versions presented satisfactory results.

Comparison of venous plasma glycemia and capillary glycemia for the screening of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Japanese-Brazilian community of Mombuca (Guatapará-SP)

Abstract Background To identify the most appropriate cut-off points of fasting glycemia for the screening of diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) with the comparison of the properties of capillary glycemia (CG) and venous blood plasma glycemia (PG) in a population of Japanese origin from the community of Mombuca, Guatapará - SP, Brazil. Methods This was a population-based descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on a sample of 131 individuals of both genders aged 20 years or more (66.8% of the target population). CG was measured with a glucometer in a blood sample obtained from the fingertip and PG was determined by an enzymatic method (hexokinase) in venous blood plasma, after a 10-14 hour fast in both cases. Data were analyzed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve in order to identify the best cut-off point for fasting glycemia (CG and PG) for the diagnosis of DM, using the 2-hour plasma glycemia > 200 mg/dl as gold - standard. Results The ROC curve revealed that the best cut-off point for the screening of DM was 110 mg/dl for CG and 105 mg/dl for PG, values that would optimize the relation between individuals with positive and false-positive results. The area under the ROC curve was 0.814 for CG (p < 0.01) and 0.836 for PG (p < 0.01). Conclusions The cut-off points of 105 mg/dl(5.8 mmol/l) for PG and of 110 mg/dl(6.1 mmol/l) for CG appear to be the most appropriate for the screening of DM2 in the population under study, with emphasis on the fact that the value recommended for CG is 5 mg/dl higher than that for PG, in contrast to WHO recommendations.

Prevalence of long face pattern in brazilian individuals of different ethnic backgrounds

Conclusions: Black individuals had greater prevalence of long face pattern, followed by Brown, White and Yellow individuals. The prevalence of long face pattern was 14.06% in which 13.39% and 0.68% belonged to moderate and severe subtypes, respectively.

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the scale of oral health outcomes for 5-year-old children (SOHO-5)

Abstract Background Most of the instruments available to measure the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in paediatric populations focus on older children, whereas parental reports are used for very young children. The scale of oral health outcomes for 5-year-old children (SOHO-5) assesses the OHRQoL of very young children through self-reports and parental proxy reports. We aimed to cross-culturally adapt the SOHO-5 to the Brazilian Portuguese language and to assess its reliability and validity. Findings We tested the quality of the cross-cultural adaptation in 2 pilot studies with 40 children aged 5–6 years and their parents. The measurement was tested for reliability and validity on 193 children that attended the paediatric dental screening program at the University of São Paulo. The children were also clinically examined for dental caries. The internal consistency was demonstrated by a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.90 for the children’s self-reports and 0.77 for the parental proxy reports. The test-retest reliability results, which were based on repeated administrations on 159 children, were excellent; the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.98 for parental and 0.92 for child reports. In general, the construct validity was satisfactory and demonstrated consistent and strong associations between the SOHO-5 and different subjective global ratings of oral health, perceived dental treatment need and overall well-being in both the parental and children’s versions (p < 0.001). The SOHO-5 was also able to clearly discriminate between children with and without a history of dental caries (mean scores: 5.8 and 1.1, respectively; p < 0.001). Conclusion The present study demonstrated that the SOHO-5 exhibits satisfactory psychometric properties and is applicable to 5- to 6-year-old children in Brazil.

Molecular epidemiology of livestock rabies viruses isolated in the northeastern Brazilian states of Paraíba and Pernambuco from 2003 - 2009

Background Limited or no epidemiological information has been reported for rabies viruses (RABVs) isolated from livestock in the northeastern Brazilian states of Paraíba (PB) and Pernambuco (PE). The aim of this study was to clarify the molecular epidemiology of RABVs circulating in livestock, especially cattle, in these areas between 2003 and 2009. Findings Phylogenetic analysis based on 890 nt of the nucleoprotein (N) gene revealed that the 52 livestock-derived RABV isolates characterized here belonged to a single lineage. These isolates clustered with a vampire bat-related RABV lineage previously identified in other states in Brazil; within PB and PE, this lineage was divided between the previously characterized main lineage and a novel sub-lineage. Conclusions The occurrences of livestock rabies in PB and PE originated from vampire bat RABVs, and the causative RABV lineage has been circulating in this area of northeastern Brazil for at least 7 years. This distribution pattern may correlate to that of a vampire bat population isolated by geographic barriers.

Characterization and classification of soils in the Taquari river basin - Pantanal region, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Among the soils in the Mato Grosso do Sul, stand out in the Pantanal biome, the Spodosols. Despite being recorded in considerable extensions, few studies aiming to characterize and classify these soils were performed. The purpose of this study was to characterize and classify soils in three areas of two physiographic types in the Taquari river basin: bay and flooded fields. Two trenches were opened in the bay area (P1 and P2) and two in the flooded field (P3 and P4). The third area (saline) with high sodium levels was sampled for further studies. In the soils in both areas the sand fraction was predominant and the texture from sand to sandy loam, with the main constituent quartz. In the bay area, the soil organic carbon in the surface layer (P1) was (OC) > 80 g kg-1, being diagnosed as Histic epipedon. In the other profiles the surface horizons had low OC levels which, associated with other properties, classified them as Ochric epipedons. In the soils of the bay area (P1 and P2), the pH ranged from 5.0 to 7.5, associated with dominance of Ca2+ and Mg2+, with base saturation above 50 % in some horizons. In the flooded fields (P3 and P4) the soil pH ranged from 4.9 to 5.9, H+ contents were high in the surface horizons (0.8-10.5 cmol c kg-1 ), Ca2+ and Mg² contents ranged from 0.4 to 0.8 cmol c kg-1 and base saturation was < 50 %. In the soils of the bay area (P1 and P2) iron was accumulated (extracted by dithionite - Fed) and OC in the spodic horizon; in the P3 and P4 soils only Fed was accumulated (in the subsurface layers). According to the criteria adopted by the Brazilian System of Soil Classification (SiBCS) at the subgroup level, the soils were classified as: P1: Organic Hydromorphic Ferrohumiluvic Spodosol. P2: Typical Orthic Ferrohumiluvic Spodosol. P3: Typical Hydromorphic Ferroluvic Spodosol. P4: Arenic Orthic Ferroluvic Spodosol.

Automated system of seedling image analysis (SVIS) and electrical conductivity to assess sun hemp seed vigor

The development of new procedures for quickly obtaining accurate information on the physiological potential of seed lots is essential for developing quality control programs for the seed industry. In this study, the effectiveness of an automated system of seedling image analysis (Seed Vigor Imaging System - SVIS) in determining the physiological potential of sun hemp seeds and its relationship with electrical conductivity tests, were evaluated. SVIS evaluations were performed three and four days after sowing and data on the vigor index and the length and uniformity of seedling growth were collected. The electrical conductivity test was made on 50 seed replicates placed in containers with 75 mL of deionised water at 25 ºC and readings were taken after 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 hours of imbibition. Electrical conductivity measurements at 4 or 8 hours and the use of the SVIS on 3-day old seedlings can effectively detect differences in vigor between different sun hemp seed lots.