The Short-Term Effectiveness of Non-Surgical Treatment in Reducing Levels of Interleukin-1 beta and Proteases in Gingival Crevicular Fluid From Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Chronic Periodontitis

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Biomechanical and histologic evaluation of non-washed resorbable blasting media and alumina-blasted/acid-etched surfaces

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

A comparative expression analysis of gene transcripts in brain tissue of non-transgenic and GH-transgenic zebrafish (Danio rerio) using a DDRT-PCR approach

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

Evidences of non-additive effects of multiple parasitoids on Diatraea saccharalis Fabr. (Lep., Crambidae) populations in sugarcane fields in Brazil

Biological control is a relatively benign method of pest control. However, considerable debate exists over whether multiple natural enemies often interact to produce additive or non-additive effects on their prey or host populations. Based on the large data set stored in the Sao Joao and Barra sugarcane mills (state of São Paulo, Brazil) regarding the programme of biological control of Diatraea saccharalis using the parasitoids Cotesia flavipes and tachinid flies, in the present study the author investigated whether the parasitoids released into sugarcane fields interfered significantly with the rate of parasitized D. saccharalis hosts. The author also observed whether there was an additive effect of releasing C. flavipes and tachinids on the rate of parasitized hosts, and looked for evidence of possible negative effects of the use of multiple parasitoid species in this biological control programme. Results showed that C. flavipes and the tachinids were concomitantly released in the Barra Mill, but not in the Sao Jao Mill. Furthermore, in the Barra Mill there was evidence that the parasitoids interacted because the percentage of parasitism did not increase after the release of either C. flavipes or tachinids. In the Sao Joao Mill, when both parasitoid species were released out of synchrony, both the percentage of parasitism by C. flavipes as well as that of the tachinids increased. When large numbers of tachinids were released in the Barra Mill, they caused a significant lower percentage of parasitism imposed by C. flavipes. The implications of the results as evidence of non-additive effects of C. flavipes plus tachinids on D. saccharalis populations are discussed.

Short-Term Effects of the Use of Non-Rigid Tools for Postural Control by Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Unconstrained variables of non-commutative open strings

The boundary conditions of the bosonic string theory in non-zero B-field background are equivalent to the second class constraints of a discretized version of the theory. By projecting the original canonical coordinates onto the constraint surface we derive a set of coordinates of string that are unconstrained. These coordinates represent a natural framework for the quantization of the theory.

SU(2,R)(q) symmetries of Non-Abelian Toda theories

The classical and quantum algebras of a class of conformal NA-Toda models are studied. It is shown that the SL(2,R)(q) Poisson brackets algebra generated by certain chiral and antichiral charges of the nonlocal currents and the global U(1) charge appears as an algebra of the symmetries of these models. (C) 1998 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Teleparallel equivalent of non-Abelian Kaluza-Klein theory

Based on the equivalence between a gauge theory for the translation group and general relativity, a teleparallel version of the non-Abelian Kaluza-Klein theory is constructed. In this theory, only the fiber-space turns out to be higher dimensional, spacetime being kept always four dimensional. The resulting model is a gauge theory that unifies, in the Kaluza-Klein sense, gravitational and gauge fields. In contrast with the ordinary Kaluza-Klein models, this theory defines a natural length scale for the compact submanifold of the fiber space, which is shown to be of the order of the Planck length.

Microscopic origin of non-Gaussian distributions of financial returns

In this paper we study the possible microscopic origin of heavy-tailed probability density distributions for the price variation of financial instruments. We extend the standard log-normal process to include another random component in the so-called stochastic volatility models. We study these models under an assumption, akin to the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, in which the volatility has already relaxed to its equilibrium distribution and acts as a background to the evolution of the price process. In this approximation, we show that all models of stochastic volatility should exhibit a scaling relation in the time lag of zero-drift modified log-returns. We verify that the Dow-Jones Industrial Average index indeed follows this scaling. We then focus on two popular stochastic volatility models, the Heston and Hull-White models. In particular, we show that in the Hull-White model the resulting probability distribution of log-returns in this approximation corresponds to the Tsallis (t-Student) distribution. The Tsallis parameters are given in terms of the microscopic stochastic volatility model. Finally, we show that the log-returns for 30 years Dow Jones index data is well fitted by a Tsallis distribution, obtaining the relevant parameters. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A note about the appearance of non-hyperbolic solutions in a mechanical pendulum system

The investigation of the behavior of a nonlinear system consists in the analysis of different stages of its motion, where the complexity varies with the proximity of a resonance region. Near this region the stability domain of the system undergoes sudden changes due basically to competition and interaction between periodic and saddle solutions inside the phase portrait, leading to the occurrence of the most different phenomena. Depending of the domain of the chosen control parameter, these events can reveal interesting geometric features of the system so that the phase portrait is not capable to express all them, since the projection of these solutions on the two-dimensional surface can hide some aspects of these events. In this work we will investigate the numerical solutions of a particular pendulum system close to a secondary resonance region, where we vary the control parameter in a restrict domain in order to draw a preliminary identification about what happens with this system. This domain includes the appearance of non-hyperbolic solutions where the basin of attraction in the center of the phase portrait diminishes considerably, almost disappearing, and afterwards its size increases with the direction of motion inverted. This phenomenon delimits a boundary between low and high frequency of the external excitation.

The effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy on peroxidase activity in diabetic patients: a case-control pilot study

Objective: To evaluate the effect of periodontal therapy on clinical parameters as well as on total salivary peroxidase (TSP) activity and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) and of systemically healthy individuals.Material and Methods: Twenty DM2 subjects with inadequate metabolic control (test group) and 20 systemically healthy individuals (control group), both groups with chronic periodontitis, were enrolled. Periodontal clinical parameters, namely periodontal probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), visible plaque index (VPI), bleeding on probing (BOP), gingival bleeding index (GBI) and presence of suppuration (SUP), as well as TSP activity and GCF MPO activity, were assessed before and 3 months after non-surgical periodontal therapy.Results: At baseline and 3 months post-treatment, the test group presented a higher percentage of sites with VPI and BOP (p < 0.01). MPO activity in the GCF presented lower values (p < 0.05) for the test group at both baseline and the post-treatment period. The periodontal treatment resulted in a significant improvement of most clinical and enzymatic parameters for both groups (p < 0.05).Conclusions: In both groups, the periodontal therapy was effective in improving most clinical parameters and in reducing salivary and GCF enzymatic activity. The diabetic individuals presented lower MPO activity in the GCF.

Potential of non-pathogenic Fusarium oxysporum isolates for control of Fusarium wilt of tomato

O trabalho avaliou a eficiência dos isolados (141/3, 233, 233/1, 245, 245/1, 251, 251/2, 251/5 e 257) de Fusarium oxysporum não patogênico ao tomateiro (Lycopersicon esculentum), no controle da murcha vascular causada por Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, raça 2 em plântulas de tomateiro cv. Viradoro. Para verificar o efeito dos isolados de F. oxysporum não patogênicos, o sistema radicular de plântulas de tomateiro, com 30 dias de idade, foi imerso na suspensão de conídios (10(6) ml-1) e as mudas transplantadas para substrato de cultivo. Após 35 dias do transplante foi verificado que esses isolados não foram patogênicos às plantas de tomateiro, nem afetaram o desenvolvimento das mudas. A eficiência dos isolados de Fusarium oxysporum não patogênicos no controle da murcha foi determinada imergindo-se as raízes de mudas de tomateiro em suspensão de conídios (10(6) conídios ml-1) e transplantando-as em substratos previamente infestados com os isolados de F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici, raça 2 (10(5) conídios ml-1 de substrato). Transcorridos 35 dias do transplante, foram realizadas as avaliações da severidade na escala de 1=planta sadia a 6=planta morta ou com vasos coloridos e folhas murchas até o ponteiro e altura das mudas. Os isolados de F. oxysporum não patogênicos foram eficientes em reduzir a severidade da doença e em manter normal o seu desenvolvimento. Esses resultados evidenciam a atividade antagônica dos isolados de F. oxysporum não patogênico no controle da murcha vascular do tomateiro, causada por Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici raça 2.

Fate of non O157 Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli in composted cattle manure

Determinou-se o tempo necessário para a eliminação de Escherichia coli Shigatoxigênica (STEC) não-O157 em esterco bovino composto, obtido de fezes frescas de três vacas portadoras de cepas STEC não-O157 que apresentavam o gene stx 2. Foram utilizados dois sistemas de compostagem, o primeiro foi um buraco de 0,6m escavado no solo e o segundo um monte apresentando uma arquitetura piramidal com um metro de altura. Todos os dias, durante os primeiros 10 dias e a cada cinco dias durante um mês, uma amostra de três pontos diferentes dos dois sistemas de compostagem foram coletadas e semeadas para determinar a presença de E. coli e a presença do gene stx 2 nas células, sendo que em cada coleta a temperatura do sistema de compostagem foi determinada. Células de STEC não-O157 sobreviveram por 8, 25 e 30 dias nas temperaturas de 42, 40 e 38ºC, respectivamente, no sistema enterrado no solo, enquanto que no sistema de monte as células foram detectadas por 4, 4 e 7 dias em temperaturas de 65, 58 e 52ºC, respectivamente. A temperatura e os microrganismos presentes na microbiota do sistema de compostagem parecem ser os responsáveis pela eliminação do patógeno. Pode-se concluir que os dois sistemas de compostagem utilizados mostraram-se eficientes na eliminação de células de STEC. A aplicação de esterco após compostagem deve diminuir o risco de contaminação ambiental e a disseminação do patógeno.

Occurrence of non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in dogs with diarrhea

Escherichia coli Shiga toxigênica (STEC) e E. coli Attaching- effacing (AEEC) têm sido associadas à doença diarréica em cachorros. Entre janeiro e dezembro de 2006, 92 cepas de E. coli isoladas de 25 cachorros diarréicos foram examinadas. As cepas foram analisadas para a detecção dos genes produtores de Shiga toxina (stx 1 e stx 2) e da intimina (eae). Por meio de PCR foi observado que sete cepas (7,6%) portavam o gene stx 1, cinco cepas (5,4%) carregavam o gene stx 2 e nenhum cepa apresentou ambos os genes associados. Nove cepas de E. coli (9,8%) apresentaram o gene eae isoladamente. Treze das cepas (62,0%) que apresentaram os genes stx ou eae também apresentaram a produção de a hemolisina. As cepas que apresentaram genes de virulência foram também examinadas em relação à resistência a 12 agentes antimicrobianos. As resistências mais comuns foram para cefalotina (85,7%), estreptomicina (81,0%), amoxicilina (71,4%) e gentamicina (71,4%).