Ocorrência do peixe-pescador-branco, Lophiodes beroe Caruso, 1981 (Lophiiformes: Lophiidae), em águas brasileiras

One specimen of the lophiid white anglerfish, Lophiodes beroe was collected for the second time in Brazilian waters, which far extends the limit distribution of the species to southeastern region (25°00'08).

Development of a prototype for measuring plantar forces

Studies on the distribution of plantar pressure between the sole of the foot and the ground were developed before the 19th century. Currently, the most often employed plantar pressure measurement systems are Pedar® and FScan®, which have restrictions such as operational difficulty and high cost. In the present study, a device was constructed from two pressure plates capable of measuring plantar forces in discreet areas of the feet at a low cost, using strain-gages attached to sixteen strategic points of the mechanical elements. Sixteen prismatic beams were soldered to each frame, for which the free extremity of each beam represented a specific point of the foot. Two strain gauges were attached to each beam - one near the upper fixed extremity and the other near the lower fixed extremity. Using a Wheatstone bridge electric circuit, the gauges were used to measure the force acting on the extremity of the beam. Precision and accuracy of the prototype was about 10%. In some measurements, accuracy was 2%. The low precision and accuracy were mainly due to the restrictions of the available equipment, which only permitted four measurements at a time. Thus, it was necessary for participants to stand on the plates four separate times, which signified possible changes in the position of the feet on the pressure plates. Despite some limitations, the aim was achieved. The prototype has been used in some studies and represents a contribution to biomechanics, demonstrating the viability of using strain gauges.

Comparative study on the posture of individuals with and without cervical pain

Posture can be defined as the overall position and spatial orientation of the human body and its members relative to each other. The study of posture can be applied either static, with the subject standing still. Objectives: to identify and quantify the static posture alignment of individuals who were either symptomatic or asymptomatic for cervical pain. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on subjects with cervical pain and individuals with no complaints of pain. The procedure consists in placing markers on specific points. Several views, following the protocol of the Posture Assessment software, regarding the measurement of angles (in degrees) and differences in lower leg lengths (in centimeters). Angles were analyzed through the comparison of averages between the groups using test t Student, (alpha=5%). Results: There enrolled 27 subjects. There were differences in horizontal alignment of head (3.37x1.33), acromia (2.60x1.18), iliac spines (2.91x0.67), vertical alignment of head (25.70x18.26) and in length of lower limbs (1.36x0.75) in respect to cervical and asymptomatic subjects. Conclusions: Was possible identify and quantify the static posture alignment of individuals with and with no cervical pain. The data obtained suggest the presence of asymmetry in all the symptomatic individuals studied. The data obtained suggest the presence of overall asymmetry in all the symptomatic individuals studied. © 2009 Springer-Verlag.

Influence of TNF-α blockers on the oral prevalence of opportunistic microorganisms in ankylosing spondylitis patients

Objectives: To compare the oral prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Candida spp., staphylococci, enterobacteriaceae, and pseudomonas spp.from ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients receiving conventional and anti-TNF-α therapy. Methods: The study included 70 AS patients, diagnosed according to the modified New York criteria (1984). The volunteers were divided into 2 groups: a biological group (AS BioG) (n=35) (on anti-TNF-α therapy) and a conventional group (AS ConvG) (n=35). The control group (ContG) (n=70) was made up of healthy individuals matched for age, gender, and oral conditions. After clinical examination, oral rinse samples were collected and plated in specific culture media. The number of colony-forming units per milliliter (cfu/ml) was obtained, and isolates were identified using the API system. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed according to the NCCLS guidelines. Prevalence and counts of microorganisms were statistically compared between the 3 groups, using the Mann-Whitney and Chi-square tests. Significance level was set at 5%. Results: In both the AS BioG and the AS ConvG, staphylococci counts were higher than that in the ContG (p<0.0001). Candida albicans and staphylococcus epidermidis were the most commonly found species in all the groups. Serratia marcescens and klebsiella oxytoca were more prevalent in the AS BioG and the AS ConvG, respectively. Two Candida isolates (2.8%) from the AS BioG and 5 (10.8%) from the AS ConvG were resistant to amphotericin B and 5-fluorocytosine. A low percentage of staphylococci isolates was resistant to amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, and doxycycline. Conclusion: Higher counts of staphylococci were observed in both AS groups, regardless of the current therapy, age, sex, and oral conditions. Anti-TNF-α therapy could not be correlated with increased counts of microorganisms. © Copyright CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RHEUMATOLOGY 2012.

Acute exercise decreases PTP-1B protein level and improves insulin signaling in the liver of old rats

It is now commonly accepted that chronic inflammation associated with obesity during aging induces insulin resistance in the liver. In the present study, we investigated whether the improvement in insulin sensitivity and insulin signaling, mediated by acute exercise, could be associated with modulation of protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP-1B) in the liver of old rats. Aging rats were subjected to swimming for two 1.5-h long bouts, separated by a 45 min rest period. Sixteen hours after the exercise, the rats were sacrificed and proteins from the insulin signaling pathway were analyzed by immunoblotting. Our results show that the fat mass was increased in old rats. The reduction in glucose disappearance rate (Kitt) observed in aged rats was restored 16 h after exercise. Aging increased the content of PTP-1B and attenuated insulin signaling in the liver of rats, a phenomenon that was reversed by exercise. Aging rats also increased the IRβ/PTP-1B and IRS-1/PTP-1B association in the liver when compared with young rats. Conversely, in the liver of exercised old rats, IRβ/PTP-1B and IRS-1/PTP-1B association was markedly decreased. Moreover, in the hepatic tissue of old rats, the insulin signalling was decreased and PEPCK and G6Pase levels were increased when compared with young rats. Interestingly, 16 h after acute exercise, the PEPCK and G6Pase protein level were decreased in the old exercised group. These results provide new insights into the mechanisms by which exercise restores insulin signalling in liver during aging. © 2013 Moura et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Local and regional ecological drivers of fish assemblages in Brazilian estuaries

Spatial patterns in assemblage structures are generated by ecological processes that occur on multiple scales. Identifying these processes is important for the prediction of impact, for restoration and for conservation of biodiversity. This study used a hierarchical sampling design to quantify variations in assemblage structures of Brazilian estuarine fish across 2 spatial scales and to reveal the ecological processes underlying the patterns observed. Eight areas separated by 0.7 to 25 km (local scale) were sampled in 5 estuaries separated by 970 to 6000 km (regional scale) along the coast, encompassing both tropical and subtropical regions. The assemblage structure varied significantly in terms of relative biomass and presence/absence of species on both scales, but the regional variation was greater than the local variation for either dataset. However, the 5 estuaries sampled segregated into 2 major groups largely congruent with the Brazilian and Argentinian biogeographic provinces. Three environmental variables (mean temperature of the coldest month, mangrove area and mean annual precipitation) and distance between estuaries explained 44.8 and 16.3%, respectively, of the regional-scale variability in the species relative biomass. At the local scale, the importance of environmental predictors for the spatial structure of the assemblages differed between estuarine systems. Overall, these results support the idea that on a regional scale, the composition of fish assemblages is simultaneously determined by environmental filters and species dispersal capacity, while on a local scale, the effect of environmental factors should vary depending on estuary-specific physical and hydrological characteristics © 2013 Inter-Research.

Cryptococcosis: epidemiology, fungal resistance, and new alternatives for treatment

Cryptococcosis is an important systemic mycosis and the third most prevalent disease in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive individuals. The incidence of cryptococcosis is high among the 25 million people with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), with recent estimates indicating that there are one million cases of cryptococcal meningitis globally per year in AIDS patients. In Cryptococcus neoformans, resistance to azoles may be associated with alterations in the target enzyme encoded by the gene ERG11, lanosterol 14α-demethylase. These alterations are obtained through mutations, or by overexpressing the gene encoding. In addition, C. gattii and C. neoformans present a heteroresistance phenotype, which may be related to increased virulence. Other species beyond C. neoformans and C. gattii, such as C. laurentii, have been diagnosed mainly in patients with immunosuppression. Infections of C. albidus have been isolated in cats and marine mammals. Recent evidence suggests that the majority of infections produced by this pathogen are associated with biofilm growth, which is also related with increased resistance to antifungal agents. Therefore, there is a great need to search for alternative antifungal agents for these fungi. The search for new molecules is currently occurring from nanoparticle drugs of plant peptide origin. This article presents a brief review of the literature regarding the epidemiology of cryptococcosis, as well as fungal resistance and new alternatives for treatment. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Desenvolvimento de um protópipo de atlas eletrônico de Unidades de Conservação para educação ambiental

Pós-graduação em Ciências Cartográficas - FCT

Efeitos endócrinos, anti-inflamatórios e na atividade pedométrica após as administrações de flunixin meglumine e de meloxicam no pós-operatório de laparotomias em bezerros

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Avaliação ultrassonográfica do bulbo ocular em cães submetidos à facectomia por facoemulsificação com ou sem implante de lente intraocular

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

Jornalismo e princípios editoriais: estudo comparativo internacional de regulação da radiodifusão

Pós-graduação em Comunicação - FAAC

Um sensor para o estudo da distribuição das forças plantares em sujeitos com hálux valgo e sua possível correlação com pés planos

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Mecânica - FEG

A história da ciência e as concepções alternativas de estudantes como subsídios para o planejamento de um curso sobre atração gravitacional

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

Dryinidae (Hymenoptera, Chrysidoidea) de áreas de preservação da Mata Atlântica do estado de São Paulo, com especial referência a Dryinus Latreille

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Entomologia Agrícola) - FCAV