Entomological characterization and natural infection of anophelines in an area of the Atlantic Forest with autochthonous malaria cases in mountainous region of Espírito Santo State, Brazil

No Espírito Santo, os casos de malária autóctone estão distribuídos na região serrana próximo aos fragmentos de Mata Atlântica. Uma vez que alguns aspectos da doença são obscuros, a detecção das possíveis espécies de vetores pode auxiliar na elucidação de incertezas epidemiológicas. Estudos entomológicos e de infecção natural foram realizados com anofelinos (Diptera: Culicidae) capturados no município de Santa Tereza, ES. Capturas mensais foram realizadas de março de 2004 a fevereiro de 2006. Armadilhas CDC-CO2 foram utilizadas do crepúsculo (18:00h) ao amanhecer (6:00h), para capturar anofelinos nos seguintes habitats: próximo ao domicílio e área aberta (solo), margem e interior da mata (solo e copa). Armadilhas Shannon também foram utilizadas nos mesmos locais que as de CDC-CO2. Capturou-se o total de 2.290 anofelinos distribuídos em 10 espécies. A maior frequência relativa foi de Anopheles (Kerteszia) cruzii Dyar & Knab / A.(K.) homunculus Komp, sendo a maioria capturada em CDC-CO2 instalada na copa da mata. A principal espécie capturada em armadilha Shannon foi A.(Nyssorhynchus) strodei Root. O maior número de anofelinos foi capturado entre julho e setembro das 18:00h às 22:00h. Provavelmente A.(K.) cruzii é responsável pela transmissão da malária dentro ou próximo aos fragmentos de Mata Atlântica. Entretanto, a participação de outras espécies não pode ser ignorada, visto que 53 por cento da amostragem foi constituída pelo subgênero Nyssorhynchus. A detecção de Plasmodium vivax no tórax de A. cruzii, A. parvus (Chagas) e A. galvaoi Causey, Deane & Deane por meio de PCR reforça esse argumento

Impact of chronic disease on quality of life among the elderly in the state of São Paulo, Brazil: a population-based study

Determinar el impacto de las enfermedades crónicas y el número de enfermedades en los diversos aspectos de la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (HRQOL) en adultos mayores de São Paulo, Brasil. MÉTODOS: Se empleó la encuesta de salud SF-36® para evaluar el impacto de las enfermedades crónicas de mayor prevalencia sobre la HRQOL. Se realizó un estudio poblacional transversal con un muestreo por conglomerados estratificado en dos etapas. Se obtuvieron los datos de una encuesta multicéntrica sobre la salud aplicada mediante entrevistas en hogares de varios municipios del estado de São Paulo. Se evaluaron siete enfermedades -artritis, dolor de espalda, depresión/ansiedad, diabetes, hipertensión arterial, osteoporosis y accidentes cerebrovasculares- y sus efectos sobre la calidad de vida. RESULTADOS: De los 1 958 adultos mayores de 60 años o más, 13,6% informaron no padecer ninguna de las enfermedades, mientras 45,7% presentaron tres enfermedades crónicas o más. La presencia de cualquiera de las siete enfermedades crónicas estudiadas influyó significativamente en la puntuación de casi todas las escalas de la SF-36®. La HRQOL alcanzó valores inferiores cuando la persona tenía depresión/ansiedad, osteoporosis o había sufrido un accidente cerebrovascular. A mayor número de enfermedades, mayores eran los efectos negativos en las dimensiones de la SF-36®. La presencia de tres enfermedades o más afectó significativamente la HRQOL en todas las áreas. Las escalas más afectadas por las enfermedades fueron dolor físico, salud general y vitalidad. CONCLUSIONES: Se encontró una alta prevalencia de enfermedades crónicas en la población de adultos mayores; la magnitud del efecto sobre la HRQOL dependió del tipo de enfermedad. Estos resultados destacan la importancia de prevenir y controlar las enfermedades crónicas para reducir la comorbilidad y disminuir su impacto sobre la HRQOL en los adultos mayores

Detection of a new mumps virus genotype during parotitis epidemic of 2006-2007 in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Nucleotide sequence analyses of the SH gene of 18 mumps virus isolates collected in the 2006-2007 parotitis epidemic in the state of São Paulo identified a new genotype, designated genotype M. This new designation fulfills all the parameters required to define a new mumps virus genotype. The parameters were established by an expert panel in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2005. This information will enhance the mumps virus surveillance program both at the national and global levels

Potential vectors and hosts of rickettsia spp: epidemiological studies in the Vale do Paraíba, state of Rio de Janeiro/Brazil

FAPESP, CNPq, CAPES

Investigation of measles IgM-seropositive cases of febrile rash illnesses in the absence of documented measles virus transmission, State of São Paulo, Brazil, 2000-2004

Introdução: Revisar os casos de doenças febris exantemáticas com IgM reagente contra o sarampo, no estado de São Paulo, Brasil, durante os cinco anos seguidos a interrupção da transmissão do vírus do sarampo. Métodos: Nós revisamos 463 casos de doenças febris exantemáticas com IgM reagente contra o sarampo, no estado de São Paulo, Brasil, de 2000 a 2004. Indivíduos vacinados contra o sarampo 56 dias antes da coleta de amostra foram considerados expostos à vacina. Soros da fase aguda e de convalescença foram testados para a evidência de infecção de sarampo, rubéola, parvovírus B19 e herpes vírus 6. Na ausência de soroconversão para imunoglobulina G contra o sarampo, casos com IgM reagente contra o sarampo foram considerados falsos positivos em pessoas com evidência de outras infecções virais. Resultados: Entre as 463 pessoas com doenças febris exantemáticas que testaram positivo para anticorpos IgM contra o sarampo durante o período, 297 (64 por cento) pessoas foram classificadas como expostas à vacina. Entre os 166 casos não expostos à vacina, 109 (66 por cento) foram considerados falsos positivos baseado na ausência de soroconversão, dos quais 21 (13 por cento) tiveram evidência de infecção por vírus da rubéola, 49 (30 por cento) parvovírus B19 e 28 (17 por cento) infecção por herpes vírus humano 6. Conclusões: Após a interrupção da transmissão do vírus do sarampo é necessária exaustiva investigação dos casos com IgM reagente contra o sarampo, especialmente dos casos não expostos à vacina. Testes laboratoriais para etiologias das doenças febris exantemáticas ajudam na interpretação destes casos

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression in human and murine pancreatic beta-cells affects cell viability and insulin homeostasis

Background: Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is widely recognized as an essential element in the triggering of innate immunity, binding pathogen-associated molecules such as Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and in initiating a cascade of pro-inflammatory events. Evidence for TLR4 expression in non-immune cells, including pancreatic beta-cells, has been shown, but, the functional role of TLR4 in the physiology of human pancreatic beta-cells is still to be clearly established. We investigated whether TLR4 is present in beta-cells purified from freshly isolated human islets and confirmed the results using MIN6 mouse insulinoma cells, by analyzing the effects of TLR4 expression on cell viability and insulin homeostasis. Results: CD11b positive macrophages were practically absent from isolated human islets obtained from nondiabetic brain-dead donors, and TLR4 mRNA and cell surface expression were restricted to beta-cells. A significant loss of cell viability was observed in these beta-cells indicating a possible relationship with TLR4 expression. Monitoring gene expression in beta-cells exposed for 48h to the prototypical TLR4 ligand LPS showed a concentration-dependent increase in TLR4 and CD14 transcripts and decreased insulin content and secretion. TLR4-positive MIN6 cells were also LPS-responsive, increasing TLR4 and CD14 mRNA levels and decreasing cell viability and insulin content. Conclusions: Taken together, our data indicate a novel function for TLR4 as a molecule capable of altering homeostasis of pancreatic beta-cells.

Exact time-dependent solutions for a self-regulating gene

The exact time-dependent solution for the stochastic equations governing the behavior of a binary self-regulating gene is presented. Using the generating function technique to rephrase the master equations in terms of partial differential equations, we show that the model is totally integrable and the analytical solutions are the celebrated confluent Heun functions. Self-regulation plays a major role in the control of gene expression, and it is remarkable that such a microscopic model is completely integrable in terms of well-known complex functions.

Aging and fluctuation-dissipation ratio in a nonequilibrium q-state lattice model

A generalized version of the nonequilibrium linear Glauber model with q states in d dimensions is introduced and analyzed. The model is fully symmetric, its dynamics being invariant under all permutations of the q states. Exact expressions for the two-time autocorrelation and response functions on a d-dimensional lattice are obtained. In the stationary regime, the fluctuation-dissipation theorem holds, while in the transient the aging is observed with the fluctuation-dissipation ratio leading to the value predicted for the linear Glauber model.

Risk optimization of a steel frame communications tower subject to tornado winds

The structural engineering community in Brazil faces new challenges with the recent occurrence of high intensity tornados. Satellite surveillance data shows that the area covering the south-east of Brazil, Uruguay and some of Argentina is one of the world most tornado-prone areas, second only to the infamous tornado alley in central United States. The design of structures subject to tornado winds is a typical example of decision making in the presence of uncertainty. Structural design involves finding a good balance between the competing goals of safety and economy. This paper presents a methodology to find the optimum balance between these goals in the presence of uncertainty. In this paper, reliability-based risk optimization is used to find the optimal safety coefficient that minimizes the total expected cost of a steel frame communications tower, subject to extreme storm and tornado wind loads. The technique is not new, but it is applied to a practical problem of increasing interest to Brazilian structural engineers. The problem is formulated in the partial safety factor format used in current design codes, with all additional partial factor introduced to serve as optimization variable. The expected cost of failure (or risk) is defined as the product of a. limit state exceedance probability by a limit state exceedance cost. These costs include costs of repairing, rebuilding, and paying compensation for injury and loss of life. The total expected failure cost is the sum of individual expected costs over all failure modes. The steel frame communications, tower subject of this study has become very common in Brazil due to increasing mobile phone coverage. The study shows that optimum reliability is strongly dependent on the cost (or consequences) of failure. Since failure consequences depend oil actual tower location, it turn,,; out that different optimum designs should be used in different locations. Failure consequences are also different for the different parties involved in the design, construction and operation of the tower. Hence, it is important that risk is well understood by the parties involved, so that proper contracts call be made. The investigation shows that when non-structural terms dominate design costs (e.g, in residential or office buildings) it is not too costly to over-design; this observation is in agreement with the observed practice for non-optimized structural systems. In this situation, is much easier to loose money by under-design. When by under-design. When structural material cost is a significant part of design cost (e.g. concrete dam or bridge), one is likely to lose significantmoney by over-design. In this situation, a cost-risk-benefit optimization analysis is highly recommended. Finally, the study also shows that under time-varying loads like tornados, the optimum reliability is strongly dependent on the selected design life.

Bioassay guided purification of the antimicrobial fraction of a Brazilian propolis from Bahia state

Background: Brazilian propolis type 6 (Atlantic forest, Bahia) is distinct from the other types of propolis especially due to absence of flavonoids and presence of other non-polar, long chain compounds, but presenting good in vitro and in vivo antimicrobial activity. Several authors have suggested that fatty acids found in this propolis might be responsible for its antimicrobial activity; however, so far no evidence concerning this finding has been reported in the literature. The goals of this study were to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the main pure fatty acids in the ethanolic extract and fractions and elucidate the chemical nature of the bioactive compounds isolated from Brazilian propolis type 6. Methods: Brazilian propolis type 6 ethanolic extract (EEP), hexane fraction (H-Fr), major fatty acids, and isolated sub-fractions were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), high resolution gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (HRGC-FID), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Three sub-fractions of H-Fr were obtained through preparative HPLC. Antimicrobial activity of EEP, H-Fr, sub-fractions, and fatty acids were tested against Staphyloccus aureus ATCC 25923 and Streptococcus mutans Ingbritt 1600 using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). Results: EEP and H-Fr inhibited the growth of the microorganisms tested; nevertheless, no antimicrobial activity was found for the major fatty acids. The three sub-fractions (1, 2, and 3) were isolated from H-Fr by preparative HPLC and only sub-fraction 1 showed antimicrobial activity. Conclusion: a) The major fatty acids tested were not responsible for the antimicrobial activity of propolis type 6; b) Sub-fraction 1, belonging to the benzophenone class, was responsible for the antimicrobial activity observed in the present study. The identification of the bioactive compound will improve the development of more efficient uses of this natural product.

Adaptive Immunity against Leishmania Nucleoside Hydrolase Maps Its C-Terminal Domain as the Target of the CD4+ T Cell-Driven Protective Response

Nucleoside hydrolases (NHs) show homology among parasite protozoa, fungi and bacteria. They are vital protagonists in the establishment of early infection and, therefore, are excellent candidates for the pathogen recognition by adaptive immune responses. Immune protection against NHs would prevent disease at the early infection of several pathogens. We have identified the domain of the NH of L. donovani (NH36) responsible for its immunogenicity and protective efficacy against murine visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Using recombinant generated peptides covering the whole NH36 sequence and saponin we demonstrate that protection against L. chagasi is related to its C-terminal domain (amino-acids 199-314) and is mediated mainly by a CD4+ T cell driven response with a lower contribution of CD8+ T cells. Immunization with this peptide exceeds in 36.73 +/- 12.33% the protective response induced by the cognate NH36 protein. Increases in IgM, IgG2a, IgG1 and IgG2b antibodies, CD4+ T cell proportions, IFN-gamma secretion, ratios of IFN-gamma/IL-10 producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and percents of antibody binding inhibition by synthetic predicted epitopes were detected in F3 vaccinated mice. The increases in DTH and in ratios of TNF alpha/IL-10 CD4+ producing cells were however the strong correlates of protection which was confirmed by in vivo depletion with monoclonal antibodies, algorithm predicted CD4 and CD8 epitopes and a pronounced decrease in parasite load (90.5-88.23%; p = 0.011) that was long-lasting. No decrease in parasite load was detected after vaccination with the N-domain of NH36, in spite of the induction of IFN-gamma/IL-10 expression by CD4+ T cells after challenge. Both peptides reduced the size of footpad lesions, but only the C-domain reduced the parasite load of mice challenged with L. amazonensis. The identification of the target of the immune response to NH36 represents a basis for the rationale development of a bivalent vaccine against leishmaniasis and for multivalent vaccines against NHs-dependent pathogens.

State-of-the-Art and Future Directions for Green Human Resource Management: Introduction to the Special Issue

The topic of environmental sustainability is generating increased concern among business executives, governments, consumers, and management scholars. As these stakeholders struggle with the challenges and opportunities presented by an array of environmental issues, HRM scholars and practitioners alike have been relatively slow to engage in the ongoing discussions and debates. Through this special issue on Green FIRM, we seek to stimulate the field of HRM to expand its role in the pursuit of environmentally sustainable business. In this introduction to the special issue, we first provide an overview of the articles that appear in the special issue. Next we present a detailed discussion of research questions that arise from a consideration of several functional HRM practices, including performance management; training, development, and learning; compensation and rewards; and organizational culture. We conclude by describing opportunities for research at the intersection of strategic HRM and environmental management. If pursued with vigor, research addressing this extensive agenda could begin to establish a healthy field of Green FIRM scholarship.

Trap-nesting bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) in forest fragments of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

We studied the community ecology of trap-nesting bees in two forest fragments of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, during two years, utilizing bamboo canes and tubes made of black cardboard as trap nests. The traps were inspected once a month with an otoscope. One hundred and fifteen nests were obtained at Estacao Ecologica de Paulo de Faria, Paulo de Faria (EEPF). These included nine species belonging to five genera and two families. At Santa Cecilia Farm (SCF), 12 species belonging to seven genera and three families built 392 nests. Natural enemies reared from nests of both areas included Hymenoptera, Diptera and Coleoptera. Species richness was similar between the areas but the communities differed considerably in species composition. The higher diversity found at EEPF was due to more even distribution of the species. No difference was observed between the numbers of nests built in each year in each area. Although the species richness was lower in the cool/dry season of both years at SCF, and in the first year at EEPF, the nesting frequencies did not differ between seasons for both the overall community but for each of the most abundant species. No annual fluctuation in the frequencies of nesting was observed. As temperature and precipitation were not found to be significantly different between the two years of study in each area, we concluded that climatic stability resulted in population stability.

Bee communities (Hymenoptera: Anthophila) of the "Cerrado" ecosystem in Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Five surveys of the bee communities in four "Cerrado" ecosystem reserves in Sao Paulo State were compared for species richness and similarity. These areas are fragment vegetation reser-reserves located in the Cerrado Corumbata Reserve (Corumbata), Jata Ecological Park (Luiz Antonio), Cajuru (Cajuru), and Vassununga State Park - ""Gleba de Cerrado de Pe-de-Gigante"" (Santa Rita do Passa Quatro). The methodology consisted of capturing bees foraging on flowers along transects, though with small differences between surveys. These ""cerrado"" areas have a large number of species of native bees, which are important pollinators in several Brazilian ecosystems. The community of bees varied among these different fragments. Based on 500 individuals (standardized by rarefaction), Cajuru, Corumbata 1 and Corumbata 2 were the areas with highest species richness, and Jata and Pe-de-Gigante had the lowest species richness in the bee communities. The bee faunas of Corumbata 2 and Pe-de-Gigante had the highest similarity, forming a group with the bee fauna of Cajuru. The bee faunas of Corumbata 1 and Jata were isolated from this group. We found that the bee species richness and similarity found in these ""cerrado"" areas cannot be explained by general factors such as the size of the fragment, the species richness of plants and the distance between the areas. Therefore, we suppose that local factors that differ among areas, such as interactions between populations, and competition and interference from surrounding areas influence and determine bee species richness and similarity in these reserves.

Ecdysteroid-Dependent Expression of the Tweedle and Peroxidase Genes during Adult Cuticle Formation in the Honey Bee, Apis mellifera

Cuticle renewal is a complex biological process that depends on the cross talk between hormone levels and gene expression. This study characterized the expression of two genes encoding cuticle proteins sharing the four conserved amino acid blocks of the Tweedle family, AmelTwdl1 and AmelTwdl2, and a gene encoding a cuticle peroxidase containing the Animal haem peroxidase domain, Ampxd, in the honey bee. Gene sequencing and annotation validated the formerly predicted tweedle genes, and revealed a novel gene, Ampxd, in the honey bee genome. Expression of these genes was studied in the context of the ecdysteroid-coordinated pupal-to-adult molt, and in different tissues. Higher transcript levels were detected in the integument after the ecdysteroid peak that induces apolysis, coinciding with the synthesis and deposition of the adult exoskeleton and its early differentiation. The effect of this hormone was confirmed in vivo by tying a ligature between the thorax and abdomen of early pupae to prevent the abdominal integument from coming in contact with ecdysteroids released from the prothoracic gland. This procedure impaired the natural increase in transcript levels in the abdominal integument. Both tweedle genes were expressed at higher levels in the empty gut than in the thoracic integument and trachea of pharate adults. In contrast, Ampxd transcripts were found in higher levels in the thoracic integument and trachea than in the gut. Together, the data strongly suggest that these three genes play roles in ecdysteroid-dependent exoskeleton construction and differentiation and also point to a possible role for the two tweedle genes in the formation of the cuticle (peritrophic membrane) that internally lines the gut.