Caracterização e ocorrência de bidens mosaic virus (bimv) em regiões produtoras de alface no Estado de São Paulo

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Proteção de Plantas) - FCA

Resistência de genótipos de cana-de-açúcar ao Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV)

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Genética e Melhoramento de Plantas) - FCAV

Differential modulation of sympathetic and respiratory activities by cholinergic mechanisms in the nucleus of the solitary tract in rats

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Evaporative respiratory cooling augments pit organ thermal detection in rattlesnakes

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

Vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus: A tale of multiple outcomes

Globally, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects approximately 130 million people and 3 million new infections occur annually. HCV is also recognized as an important cause of chronic liver disease in children. The absence of proofreading properties of the HCV RNA polymerase leads to a highly error prone replication process, allowing HCV to escape host immune response. The adaptive nature of HCV evolution dictates the outcome of the disease in many ways. Here, we investigated the molecular evolution of HCV in three unrelated children who acquired chronic HCV infection as a result of mother-to-child transmission, two of whom were also coinfected with HIV-1. The persistence of discrete HCV variants and their population structure were assessed using median joining network and Bayesian approaches. While patterns of viral evolution clearly differed between subjects, immune system dysfunction related to HIV coinfection or persistent HCV seronegativity stand as potential mechanisms to explain the lack of molecular evolution observed in these three cases. In contrast, treatment of HCV infection with PegIFN, which did not lead to sustained virologic responses in all 3 cases, was not associated with commensurate variations in the complexity of the variant spectrum. Finally, the differences in the degree of divergence suggest that the mode of transmission of the virus was not the main factor driving viral evolution. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Associação de begomovírus e crinivírus com bemisia tabaci espécie new world 2 e Trialeurodes vaporariorum

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Proteção de Plantas) - FCA

Ivabradine: Just another New Pharmacological Option for Heart Rate Control?

Ivabradine (IVB) is a heart rate lowering agent that acts via selective inhibition of the pacemaker funny current in sinoatrial nodal P cells, thus, reducing heart rate at rest and during exercise with minimal effect on myocardial contractility, blood pressure, and intracardiac conduction. IVB exerts no effect on external respiratory function parameters and it may also play a role in patients with concurrent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This property constitutes an important advantage over β-blockers. IVB acts by reducing the heart rate in a mechanism different from β-blockers, calcium channel blockers or late sodium channel blockers, three commonly prescribed antianginal drugs. As clinical trials have shown, it is remarkably well-tolerated and offers an alternative for patients who cannot take β-blockers. The combination of IVB and atenolol at commonly used doses in patients with chronic stable angina produced additional efficacy with no untoward effect on safety or tolerability. Additionally, side effects are rare and largely limited to a luminous phenomenon or phosphenes. This sensation is thought to be due to a block of Ih in the retina, a current very similar to cardiac If channels. IVB is contraindicated in patients with sick sinus syndrome or sinus node dysfunction and in patients taking hepatic inhibitors of Cytochrome P450 family 3, subfamily A, polypeptide 4 (abbreviated CYP3A4), with exception of omeprazole or lansoprazole. This review briefly summarizes the main studies regarding this drug.

A new tuning fork with different vibration frequencies as an aid to bronchopulmonary hygiene physiotherapy

Background: The main function of the mucociliary system is the removal of particles or substances that are potentially harmful to the respiratory tract. The tuning fork therapeutic for the purpose of bronchial hygiene has still not been described in the literature. The optimal vibration frequency to mobilize secretions is widely debated and varies between 3 and 25 Hz. It is expected that a tuning fork is able to generate vibrations in the thorax, facilitating bronchial hygiene. The aim of the present study is to develop tuning forks with different frequencies, for use in bronchopulmonary hygiene therapy. Methods: The first tuning fork was made with a fixed frequency of 25 Hz and it was recorded in the Brazilian institution of patent registration. This device generated a frequency of 25 Hz and had a weight of 521 g, with dimensions of 600 mm in total length. The device is characterized by a bottom end containing a transducer with a diameter of 62 mm and a thickness of 5/16 mm (8''), a rod removable 148 mm, fork length of 362 mm and an extension at the upper end of sinuous shape bilaterally.The tuning forks must be applied at an angle of 90° directly on the chest wall of the patient after pulmonary auscultation for location of secretions. The tuning fork is activated by squeezing the tips of the extensions together and releasing them in a sudden movement. Results: This study shows the result of the development of others three tuning forks of different dimensions to generate different frequencies. Each equipment reaches a fixed frequency preset of 12, 15 and 20 Hz measured by digital oscilloscope. Conclusions: The tuning fork models developed in this study generated different frequencies proposed by the scientific literature as effective in the mobilization of pulmonary secretions.

Acute respiratory infection and influenza-like illness viral etiologies in Brazilian adults

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

Caffeine inhibits hepatitis C virus replication in vitro

Abstract Hepatitis C is considered the major cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Conventional treatment is not effective against some hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes; therefore, new treatments are needed. Coffee and, more recently, caffeine, have been found to have a beneficial effect in several disorders of the liver, including those manifesting abnormal liver biochemistry, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Caffeine acts directly by delaying fibrosis, thereby improving the function of liver cellular pathways and interfering with pathways used by the HCV replication cycle. In the current study, the direct relationship between caffeine and viral replication was evaluated. The Huh-7.5 cell line was used for transient infections with FL-J6/JFH-50 C19Rluc2AUbi and to establish a cell line stably expressing SGR-Feo JFH- 1. Caffeine efficiently inhibited HCV replication in a dosedependent manner at non-cytotoxic concentrations and demonstrated an IC50 value of 0.7263 mM after 48 h of incubation. These data demonstrate that caffeine may be an important new agent for anti-HCV therapies due to its efficient inhibition of HCV replication at non-toxic concentrations.

Discovery of a new antiviral protein isolated Lonomia obliqua analysed by bioinformatics and real-time approaches

This study presents a new recombinant protein that acts as a powerful antiviral (rAVLO—recombinant Antiviral protein of Lonomia obliqua). It was able to reduce the replication by 106 fold for herpes virus and by 104 fold for rubella virus. RT-PCR of viral RNA rAVLO treated infected cells also showed similar rate of inhibition in replication. The analysis of this protein by bioinformatics suggests that this protein is globular, secreted with a signal peptide and has the ability to bind to MHC class I. It was found that there are several protein binding sites with various HLA and a prevalence of α-helices in the N-terminal region (overall classified as a α/β protein type). BLAST similarity sequence search for corresponding cDNA did not reveal a similar sequence in Genbank, suggesting that it is from a novel protein family. In this study we have observed that this recombinant protein and hemolymph has a potent antiviral action. This protein was produced in a baculovirus/Sf-9 system. Therefore, these analyses suggest that this novel polypeptide is a candidate as a broad spectrum antiviral.

Natural compounds isolated from Brazilian plants are potent inhibitors of hepatitis C virus replication in vitro

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