Analysis of localized muscle fatigue in elderly women with and without a history of falls using electromyographic signal frequency parameters

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

Association between interleukin-6 polymorphism in the-174 G/C region and hearing loss in the elderly with a history of occupational noise exposure

Introduction: The biological processes involved in noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) are still unclear. The involvement of inflammation in this condition has been suggested.Objective: To investigate the association between interleukin - 6 (IL-6) polymorphism and susceptibility to NIHL.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 191 independent elderly individuals aged >60 years of age. Information on exposure to occupational noise was obtained by interviews. Audiological evaluation was performed using pure tone audiometry and genotyped through PCR by restriction fragment length polymorphism - PCR-RFLP. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test and the odds ratio (OR), with the significance level set at 5%.Results: Among elderly with hearing loss (78.0%), 18.8% had a history of exposure to occupational noise. There was a statistically significant association between the genotype frequencies of the IL-6 - 174 and NIHL. The elderly with the CC genotype were less likely to have hearing loss due to occupational noise exposure when compared to those carrying the GG genotype (OR = 0.0124; 95% CI 0.0023-0.0671; p<0.001).Conclusion: This study suggests there is an association of polymorphisms in the IL-6 gene at position - G174C with susceptibility to noise-induced hearing loss. (C) 2014 Associacao Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cervico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Genetic history of hepatitis C virus in Pakistan

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 3a accounts for similar to 80% of HCV infections in Pakistan, where similar to 10 million people are HCV-infected. Here, we report analysis of the genetic heterogeneity of HCV NS3 and NS5b subgenomic regions from genotype 3a variants obtained from Pakistan. Phylogenetic analyses showed that Pakistani genotype 3a variants were as genetically diverse as global variants, with extensive intermixing. Bayesian estimates showed that the most recent ancestor for genotype 3a in Pakistan was last extant in similar to 1896-1914 C.E. (range: 1851-1932). This genotype experienced a population expansion starting from similar to 1905 to similar to 1970 after which the effective population leveled. Death/birth models suggest that HCV 3a has reached saturating diversity with decreasing turnover rate and positive extinction. Taken together, these observations are consistent with a long and complex history of HCV 3a infection in Pakistan. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Molecular Phylogeny and Biogeographic History of the Armored Neotropical Catfish Subfamilies Hypoptopomatinae, Neoplecostominae and Otothyrinae (Siluriformes: Loricariidae)

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

Evolutionary History of the PER3 Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (VNTR): Idiosyncratic Aspect of Primate Molecular Circadian Clock

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

Natural History of Paratelmatobius gaigeae (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae): Description of the Tadpole and Advertisement Call

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

Trends in Brazilian academic production in the History of Mathematics Education: directions from EBRAPEM

The number of papers on History of Mathematics Education presented at EBRAPEM (Brazilian Meeting of Graduate Students in Mathematics Education) has increased significantly between 2003 and 2008. This article presents a study with the aim of identifying themes, periods in focus, and sources and theoretical and methodological references used by the authors of the papers on History of Mathematics Education published in the proceedings of VII, VIII, IX, X, XI and XII EBRAPEM. The study indicates that the approach of ongoing research in History of Mathematics Education in Brazil has been similar to the approach of research in History of Education in general. However, the institutional separation between these two areas of investigation is noted as a factor rendering communication between both groups of researchers difficult.

Amphibians of grasslands in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil (Campos Sulinos)

Amphibian conservation depends on knowledge about species composition and distribution. This emphasizes the need for inventories, especially in poorly sampled areas. This is the case of Southern grasslands (Campos Sulinos) associated with Araucaria forest in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil. We sampled amphibians in 105 environments from 2004 to 2013 using transect sampling, active search and surveys at breeding sites. We found 61 anuran species and two caecilians. This is the first comprehensive list of amphibian species inhabiting grasslands in Paraná. This landscape deserves high conservation priority before these natural grasslands vanish.

Biostratigraphy and paleoecology of an unusual palynological record from the Aquidauana Formation, Late Pennsylvanian of Paraná Basin

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Alloxan-Induced Diabetes Causes Morphological and Ultrastructural Changes in Rat Liver that Resemble the Natural History of Chronic Fatty Liver Disease in Humans

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Identification of the notothenioid sister lineage illuminates the biogeographic history of an Antarctic adaptive radiation

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Genetic heterogeneity of Escherichia coli isolated from pasteurized milk in State of Paraná, Brazil

Food contamination caused by enteric pathogens is a major cause of diarrheal disease worldwide, resulting in high morbidity and mortality and significant economic losses. Bacteria are important agents of foodborne diseases, particularly diarrheagenic Escherichia coli. The present study assessed the genetic diversity and antimicrobial resistance of E. coli isolates from pasteurized milk processed in 21 dairies in northwestern State of Parana, Brazil. The 95 E. coli isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing according to the recommendations of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute and assessed genotypically by Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus-Polymerase Chain Reaction (ERIC-PCR). The highest rate of resistance was observed for cephalothin (55.78%). ERIC-PCR revealed high genetic diversity, clustering the 95 bacterial isolates into 90 different genotypic patterns. These results showed a heterogeneous population of E. coli in milk samples produced in the northwestern region of Parana and the need for good manufacturing practices throughout the processing of pasteurized milk to reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses.

Genomic alterations in patients showing multiple primary tumors and family history of cancer

Multiple primary tumors (MPT) are a major cause of mortality and morbidity among patients that have survived after the treatment of a first cancer. It has been proposed that after the first primary tumor, high risk of a subsequent tumor could be associated with radiotherapy used as treatment for the first cancer. Other potential risk factors include unhealthy lifestyle, genetic predisposition, aging, environmental determinants or an interaction between these factors. However, an association between the presence of MPT and family history of cancer in cases without clinical and molecular evidence of a known hereditary cancer syndrome is rarely described. Genomic DNA from 12 patients with at least two primary tumors and without mutations on TP53 was evaluated by CytoScan HD Array (Affymetrix). Chromosome Analysis Suite (ChAS) software v.2.0.1 was used considering at least 50 markers for gains; 25 for losses and a minimum of 5Mb for cnLOHs. Data from 1038 phenotypically healthy individuals (Affymetrix) and from Database of Genomic Variants were used as reference. Only alterations found in <1% (rare) or never described (new rare) in the reference population were considered. All cases, except one, presented a family history of cancer. Five cases developed MTP after radiotherapy and only one was located in the same treated area. It was detected 67 rare and 15 new rare genomic alterations encompassing 5.906 genes: 17 losses, 29 gains, and 36 cnLOH. X chromosome presented the higher number of alterations. Two patients with breast cancer presented a large deletion/cnLOH on 7q21. Enrichment analysis revealed 1275 genes associated with breast cancer (p= 0.001), which was diagnosed in 6 patients and their family members (all negative for BRCA1/2 or TP53 mutations). cnLOHs accounted for 44% of all the alterations. A significant proportion of cases (11/12) presented family history of cancer and the patients were not submitted to radiotherapy (7/12). We demonstrated the presence of rare genomic alterations in patients with MPT suggesting their involvement in the MPT development. cnLOH may arise as a new mechanism associated with the risk to develop MPT. All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.