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.

A family of dissipative two-dimensional mappings: Chaotic, regular and steady state dynamics investigation

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Evapotranspiração e eficiência do uso da água no primeiro ciclo produtivo da figueira 'Roxo de valinhos' submetida a cobertura morta

Evaluated the evapotranspiration (ETc) and the efficiency of water use (USA) by the fig tree 'Purple Valinhos' submitted to irrigation and mulching (bagacilho of sugar cane crushed) in the first production cycle, at conditions of Botucatu, St. Paul. We used the method of soil water balance and to obtain the reference evapotranspiration method was used Montheit FAO Penman 56. For the assessment of crop coefficients (kc) we adopted the following phenological distribution: phase 1 - between transplanting and 20% of the vegetative (DV), ii) phase 2 - 20 to 80% DV, and iii) phase 3 - fruiting. Observe the cumulative ETc 409.4 and 465.8 mm in 254 days after transplanting (DAT) and averages of 1.47 and 1.67 mm day(-1), with and without mulching (CC and SC). The crop coefficients (kc) mediums were 0.16, 0.43 and 0.49 for SC and 0.18, 0.44 and 0.50 for CC, in phases 1 and 3, respectively. The EUA values decrease with increasing the volume of water received and ranged between 1.65 and 3.32 kg of green figs per m(3) of water for irrigated SC and CC.

Effect of Composition on the Physical Properties at Nanoscale of PZT Thin Films

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

Efeito do treinamento com haste vibratória na biomecânica da marcha com dupla-tarefa em idosas

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

Composição química e digestibilidade in vitro da massa seca de cana-de-açúcar acrescida de ureia em diferentes tempos de estocagem

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

Use of EP(Peroxidase) allele in soybean varietal characterization

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

Outbreaks of Chrysodeixis includens (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in common bean and castor bean in São Paulo State, Brazil

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

Leaf-cutting ants: an unexpected microenvironment holding human opportunistic black fungi

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

Screening and determination of sulphonamide residues in bovine milk samples using a flow injection system

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Longevity of dental implants in type IV bone: a systematic review

Bone quality and quantity are important factors with regard to the survival rate of dental implants. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of dental implants inserted in low-density bone and to determine the survival rate of dental implants with surface treatments over time. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken by two independent individuals; the Medline/PubMed database was searched for the period July 1975 to March 2013. Relevant reports on bone quality and osseointegration of dental implants were selected. The search retrieved 1018 references, and after inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, 19 studies were selected for review. A total of 3937 patients, who had received a total of 12,465 dental implants, were analyzed. The survival rates of dental implants according to the bone density were: type I, 97.6%; type II, 96.2%; type III, 96.5%; and type IV, 88.8%. The survival rate of treated surface implants inserted in low-density bone was higher (97.1%) than that of machined surface implants (91.6%). Surface-treated dental implants inserted in low-density bone have a high survival rate and may be indicated for oral rehabilitation. However, more randomized studies are required to better evaluate this issue.

Fecundity and fertility in a freshwater population of the neotropical amphidromous shrimp Macrobrachium acanthurus from the southeastern Atlantic

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

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its associated risk factors in Brazilian postmenopausal women

Objective To evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in postmenopausal women.Methods A cross-sectional study was carried involving 188 women (age >= 45 years and amenorrhea >= 12 months) attending the outpatient unit in south-eastern Brazil. Exclusion criteria were liver disease (hepatitis B and C, cholestatic disease, liver insufficiency), use of drugs that affect liver metabolism; alcoholics; AIDS or cancer history; and morbid obesity. NAFLD was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasound. Clinical, anthropometric (body mass index, waist circumference) and biochemical variables were measured.Results Of the 188 women, 73 (38.8%) had NAFLD. Blood pressure, waist circumference, body mass index, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose were significantly higher in NAFLD patients when compared with women without NAFLD (control group) (p < 0.05). HOMA-IR values indicated insulin resistance only in the NAFLD group (6.1 +/- 4.6 vs. 2.4 +/- 1.4 in control group, p < 0.05). Metabolic syndrome was detected in 93.1% of the women affected by NAFLD, and 46.1% of the control group (p < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, adjusted for age and weight, the variables considered at risk for the development of NAFLD, were: high waist circumference (odds ratio (OR) 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.13), insulin resistance (OR 3.81, 95% CI 2.01-7.13), and presence of metabolic syndrome (OR 8.68, 95% CI 3.3-24.1).Conclusion NAFLD showed a high prevalence among postmenopausal women. The presence of metabolic syndrome, abdominal obesity and IR were indicators of risk for the development of NAFLD.

Análise de notificação B em uma drogaria de Araraquara e avaliação do conhecimento dos prescritores quanto à legislação vigente

Uma das diretrizes da Portaria nº3916 do Ministério da Saúde (MS) é a Relação Nacional de Medicamentos Essenciais (RENAME). A prescrição de medicamentos dentro do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) deve ser feita utilizando medicamentos listados nessa relação. O medicamento genérico, criado e regulamentado pela Lei nº9787, é prioridade da Política Nacional de Medicamentos do MS. De acordo com esta lei, “as prescrições médicas e odontológicas de medicamentos, no âmbito do Sistema Único de Saúde – SUS adotarão obrigatoriamente a Denominação Comum Brasileira (DCB)”. A Portaria 344/98 MS, que regulamenta o controle dos medicamentos sujeitos a controle especial, determina os itens que devem estar presentes nas notificações. Neste trabalho, 1177 notificações retidas em uma drogaria de Araraquara durante o período de junho de 2008 a outubro de 2010 foram separadas e analisadas quanto: a) à utilização da DCB; b) quanto à utilização de medicamentos listados na RENAME; e c) quanto à adequação a Portaria 344/98 MS. Também foi avaliado o conhecimento dos prescritores quanto às leis vigentes através da aplicação de um questionário semiestruturado. Entre as 1177 notificações analisadas, 779 (66,18%) foram prescritas utilizando o nome comercial e 398 (33,82%) foram prescritas utilizando a DCB. Analisando as 399 notificações vindas do SUS, 188 (47,11%) adotaram os medicamentos da RENAME. Foram encontrados 319 problemas com as notificações de acordo com a Portaria 344/98 MS, os quais foram: 22 (1,86%) notificações com algum erro na identificação do emitente e/ou assinatura do prescritor; 3 (0,25%) notificações com algum erro na identificação do usuário; 294 (24,97%) notificações com preenchimento confuso nos itens como nome do medicamento ou substância, dosagem ou concentração, forma farmacêutica , quantidade e posologia; e 465 (39,50%)... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)