Oxidative dissolution of research-grade minerals by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans and Thiobacillus thiooxidans

Solution- and solid-phase changes associated with galena (PbS) and sphalerite (ZnS) oxidation by T. ferrooxidans and T. thiooxidans, were determined. In experiments with galena, anglesite (PbSO4) was detected as a solid-phase product in biotic and abiotic experiments. In T. ferrooxidans cultures supplemented with FeSO4, jarosite [MFe3 (SO4)(2) (OH)(6)] was also detected as a new solid phase product, whereas SO was not detected in the residues. In sphalerite experiments, minor amounts of SO accumulated in FeSO4-amended sphalerite media with or without T. ferrooxidans or T. thiooxidans. Jarosite was only detected in T. ferrooxidans culture with FeSO4. By comparison with T. thiooxidans, T. ferrooxidans was more efficient in the oxidation of galena and sphalerite.

CYTOMORPHOLOGICAL AND IMMUNOCYTOCHEMICAL EVALUATION OF FINE NEEDLE ASPIRATES FROM HIGH-GRADE NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMAS

1. Fine needle aspirates from ten patients with high-grade malignant non-Hodgkin's lymphomas were analyzed by cytomorphology and immunocytochemistry.2. The following morphologic diagnoses were made: lymphoblastic lymphoma (3 cases), Burkitt's lymphoma (3 cases), mixed small and large cell lymphomas with predominance of large cells (2 cases), and centroblastic lymphoma (2 cases). Immunocytochemistry showed a B-cell phenotype in five cases and a T-cell phenotype in four. One case of lymphoblastic lymphoma was negative for the T and B cell markers used.3. The results of histological and immunohistochemical analyses performed on surgical biopsies from 8 patients confirmed the morphological diagnosis in all cases. Two cases of Burkitt's lymphoma were submitted only to cytological and immunological diagnosis.4. The high diagnostic accuracy of combined cytomorphology and immunocytochemical assessment of fine needle aspirate samples validates the use of the technique in the diagnostic work-up of high-grade non Hodgkin's lymphomas.

Cigarette smoking and high-risk HPV DNA as predisposing factors for high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in young Brazilian women

Background. This cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate the role of cigarette smoking and high-risk HPV types as risk factors of CIN 2 and 3 in young, sexually active Brazilian women. Materials and method. A series of 100 consecutive women with abnormal Pap smears were recruited, subjected to colposcopy, punch biopsy, and questionnaire for their social, sexual and reproductive factors. Of these, 77 women between 20 and 35 years of age (median 26.5 years) with biopsy-confirmed CIN 1 or CIN 2 and 3, were enrolled in this study. Representative samples from the exocervix and endocervix were obtained for HPV testing with the Hybrid Capture HPV-DNA assay, including the probes for the oncogenic HPV types (16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 45, 51, 52 and 56). Results. The overall rate of CIN 2 and 3 was 23/77 (29.8%). The women with CIN 1, 2 and 3 did not differ from each other with regard to their age, race, schooling, marital status, life-time number of sexual partners, age at first intercourse, use of oral contraceptives, or parity. However, current cigarette smoking was strongly associated with CIN 2 and 3 (p < 0,001), and among smokers, the risk of high-grade CIN increased in parallel with the time of exposure (years of smoking) p = 0.07), HPV-DNA of the oncogenic types was detected in 43 (56%) women, the risk of being HPV DNA-positive was significantly higher in CIN 2 and 3 as compared with CIN 1 (p = 0.037). Importantly, the prevalence of high-risk HPV types was significantly higher in cigarette smokers than in non-smokers (p = 0.046). Conclusions. The results indicate that the severity of CIN lesions was clearly related to two fundamental risk factors: 1) high-risk HPV types, and 2) current cigarette smoking. These two risk factors were closely interrelated in that the high-risk HPV types were significantly more frequent in current smokers than in non-smokers, suggesting the possibility of a synergistic action between these two risk factors in cervical carcinogenesis.

The influence of the region between residues 220 and 344 and beyond in Phrixotrix railroad worm luciferases green and red bioluminescence

To find the regions having a major influence on the bioluminescence spectra of railroad worm luciferases, we constructed new chimeric luciferases switching the fragments from residues 1-219 and from 220-545 between Phrixotrix viviani (PxvGR; λmax = 548 nm) green light-emitting luciferase and Phrixothrix hirtus (PxhRE; λmax = 623 nm) red light-emitting luciferases. The emission spectrum (λmax = 571 nm) and KM for luciferin in the chimera PxRE220GR (1-219, PxhRE; 220-545, PxvGR) suggested that the region above residue 220 of PxvGR had a major effect on the active site. However, switching the sequence between the residues 226-344 from PxvGR luciferase into PxhRE (PxREGRRE) luciferase resulted in red light emission (λmax = 603 nm), indicating that the region 220-344 by itself does not determine the emission spectrum. Furthermore, the sequence before residue 220 of the green-emitting luciferase is incompatible for light emission with the sequence above residue 220 of PxhRE. These results suggest that the fragments before and after residue 220, which correspond to distinct subdomains, may fold differently in the green- and red-emitting luciferases, affecting the active site conformation.

Low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma presenting as vaginal nodule

Endometrial stromal sarcoma is a rare neoplasm of the uterus. Extrauterine locations of this neoplasm, excluding metastases or local extension, are even more unusual and are usually associated with the presence of endometriosis. The authors report a case of endometrial stromal sarcoma presenting as a vaginal wall nodule, without any sign of primary uterine tumor after extensive evaluation or presence of endometriosis. The morphology, immunohistochemical profile, differential diagnoses, and pathogenesis are discussed, as well as a review of the literature on this issue. © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Method for estimating railroad track settlements due to dynamic traffic loads

This paper is the result of real-scale physical modeling study designed to simulate the load-deformation characteristics of railroad foundation systems that include the railroad ties, the ballast, and the sub-base layers of a railroad embankment. The study presents comparisons of the application of dynamic loads of 100kN on the rails, and the resulting deformations during a 500,000 cycle testing period for three rail support systems; wood, concrete and steel. The results show that the deformation curve has an exponential shape, with the larger portion of the deformation occurring during the first 50,000 load cycles followed by a tendency to stabilize between 100,000 to 500,000 cycles. These results indicate that the critical phase of deformations of a new railroad is within the first 50,000 cycles of loading, and after that, it slowly attenuates as it approaches a stable value. The paper also presents empirically derived formulations for the estimation of the deformations of the rail supports as a result of rail traffic.

Immunohistochemistry as a fundamental tool for the differential diagnosis of polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma

Polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma (PLGA) is a subtype of salivary gland carcinoma with a marked predilection for the minor salivary glands. The diagnosis of this lesion can be a challenge in incisional biopsies because of its similarity to other salivary neoplasms and the difficulty of analyzing its infiltrative nature and neurotropism. Diagnosis can be facilitated, however, by immunohistochemistry, a technique that has become a fundamental tool to the pathologist. The purpose of this study was analyze the immunohistochemical aspects of 4 cases that were examined in the São José dos Campos School of Dentistry. The patients included 4 women, ages 32 to 57 years (mean, 50 years), who reported an intraoral painless lesion, ranging in size from 1 to 3 cm (mean, 1.75 cm) with a variable evolution period. Histologically, the lesions showed similar aspects, characterized by polymorphous growth pattern, including solid, cribriform, trabecular, papillary, and single-file arrays. The tumors showed positivity to cytokeratins (Cks) 7 and 8 and vimentin, variable expression for Ck 14, and a negative reaction to Cks 13 and 19 and muscle-specific actin. PLGA is a tumor of the salivary gland that must be distinguished from other neoplasms for therapeutic and prognostic considerations, and the panel of antibodies employed in this study was effective for its diagnosis.

Geotechnical and structural behavior of the railroad track in large-scale apparatus

This paper analyses the static and dynamic behavior of the railroad track model in laboratory. Measurements of stresses and strains on a large-scale railroad track apparatus were studied. The model includes: compacted soil, representing the final layers of platform, ballast layer, and ties (steel, wooden, and pre-stressed concrete). The soil and soil ballast interface were instrumented with pneumatic stress gauge. Settlement measurement device were positioned at the same levels as the load cells. Loads were applied by hydraulic actuators, statically and dynamically. After the prescribed number of load cycles, in pre-determined intervals, stresses and strains were measured. Observations indicate that stress and strain distributions, transmitted by wooden or steel ties, behave similarly. A more favorable behavior was observed with pre-stressed concrete mono block ties. Non-linear response was observed after a threshold numbers of cycles were surpassed, showing that the strain modulus increases with the numbers of cycles. © 2009 IOS Press.

Grade ionosférica para aplicações em posicionamento e navegação com GNSS

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

High-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in pregnant and non-pregnant women

Objectives: To evaluate if the prevalence of cervical smear results varies between pregnant and nonpregnant women stratified by age group.Study design: Observational analytical study with a total sample of 1,336,180 pregnant and nonpregnant women, aged between 20 and 34 years, who underwent cervical cancer screening in the Primary Health Care of the national health system in the area of Campinas in Brazil during the period of 2005-2009. The source is the information system for cervical cancer screening. Data collected on abnormal cervical smears were analyzed using the Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test and the magnitude of the association between pregnancy and high-grade squamous epithelial lesions was analyzed by odds ratio (OR) and estimated values with confidence intervals (CI) of 95%.Results: 15,190 pregnant women and 395,961 non-pregnant women were analyzed and fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Regardless of age, no statistical differences were observed for high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion prevalence (OR 0.90; CI 0.66-1.23). Taking into account the five-year age groups, however, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion was less prevalent in pregnant women aged 20-24 (OR 0.71; 0.54-0.95) and 25-29 years (OR 0.56; 0.35-0.89); also, atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance was more prevalent in non-pregnant women aged 25-29 years (OR 0.72; 0.54-0.97).Conclusion: The study showed that the cytological prevalence of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion was similar in pregnant and non-pregnant women, regardless of age. The results indicate that there are no reasons for specific approaches to cervical cancer screening for pregnant women. The examination should be carried out only on pregnant women who have not been tested according to current recommendations. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Inserção da astronomia na grade curricular do ensino médio do Estado de São Paulo

We performed in this study an analysis of Curriculum Astronomy contents the public schools of São Paulo from the available educational materials to teachers and students by the state board of education. We analyzed the conditions that teachers carry out the activities suggested to the teaching-learning situations, considering factors such as time available for classes, available material and the general technical condition to perform the activities suggested by the material. Thereafter, we conducted a search with teachers from public of São Paulo, than three cities in the Vale do Paraíba, in order to trace a general framework of the perception of these teachers about the introduction of Astronomy in Physical during the implementation of the new curriculum

Preoperative somatostatin analogues versus direct transsphenoidal surgery for newly-diagnosed acromegaly patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis using the GRADE system

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Hydroxyapatite coating deposited on grade 4 titanium by plasma electrolytic oxidation

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)