African-Derived mitochondria in South American native cattle breeds (Bos taurus): Evidence of a new taurine mitochondrial lineage

This article reports the nucleotide diversity within the control region of 42 mitochondrial chromosomes belonging to five South American native cattle breeds (Bos taurus). Analysis of these data in conjunction with B. taurus and B. indicus sequences from Africa, Europe, the Near East, India, and Japan allowed the recognition of eight new mitochondrial haplotypes and their relative positions in a phylogenetic network. The structure of genetic variation among different hypothetical groupings was tested through the molecular variance decomposition, which was best explained by haplotype group components. Haplotypes surveyed were classified as European-related and African-related. Unexpectedly, two haplotypes within the African cluster were more divergent from the African consensus than the latter from the European consensus. A neighbor-joining tree shows the position of two haplotypes compared to European/African mitochondrial lineage splitting. This different and putatively ancestral mitochondrial lineage (AA) is supported by the calibration of sequence divergence based on the Bos-Bison separation. The European/African mitochondria divergence might be subsequent (67,100 years before present) to that between AA and Africans (84,700 years before present), also preceding domestication times. These genetic data could reflect the haplotype distribution of Iberian cattle five centuries ago.

Os Estados Unidos e as relações internacionais contemporâneas

O artigo analisa a posição dos Estados Unidos nas relações internacionais pós-Guerra Fria, tomando como referência as controvérsias sobre os alcances e limites da sua postura hegemônica, que adquirem maior impulso a partir da formulação da chamada doutrina Bush, sistematizada no documento A Estratégia de Segurança Nacional dos EUA. No tratamento da temática proposta, enfatizam-se os seguintes aspectos: estabelecimento de um paralelo entre a transição dos séculos XIX-XX e XX-XXI, situando as características do imperialismo de cada época; uma análise da atual política externa dos Estados Unidos, enfocando o debate entre unilateralismo e multilateralismo, com destaque para as reações geradas pela intervenção no Iraque; uma discussão crítica das abordagens que visualizam na agenda de segurança da administração Bush um indicador de perda de hegemonia, que imporia a substituição da busca do consenso pela dominação aberta.

Peripheral facial palsy in the past: contributions from Avicenna, Nicolaus Friedreich and Charles Bell

Este estudo apresenta documentos de paralisia facial periférica nas artes plásticas no Egito antigo, Grécia e Roma, Idade Média, Renascimento e também dos últimos 4 séculos. Pensamos que a história da paralisia facial periférica acompanha a história da própria espécie humana. São apresentadas as contribuições de Avicenna e Nicolaus Friedreich, e são mostradas controvérsias sobre a descrição original de Charles Bell.

A educação musical sob a perspectiva da pedagogia histórico-crítica

This work, from of theorist perspective of Historical-Critical Pedagogy, presents the school Music Education like a social mediator environment between the practices, listening and musical everydaylife knowledges and the not-quotidian, which are constitution and accumulated, throughout the centuries of History, by the human societies. The purpose is to present a possible theorist foundation to define the importance of Music Education insert in the elementary school, like a subject destined to guarantee the whole children formation and the enrichment of their relations with the music. It is a theorist reflection that indicates the importance of observation of the quotidian and not-quotidian knowledges characteristics, moreover of complete importance of formal education and, in specific, of school Music Education on human development.

In vitro antibacterial activity of medicinal plant extracts against Escherichia coli strains from human clinical specimens and interactions with antimicrobial drugs

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

Propolis and the immune system: a review

Propolis has been used empirically for centuries and it was always mentioned as an immunomodulatory agent. In recent years, in vitro and in vivo assays provided new information concerning its mechanisms of action, thus a review dealing with propolis and the immune system became imperative. This review compiles data from our laboratory as well as from other researchers, focusing on its chemical composition and botanical sources, the seasonal effect on its composition and biological properties, its immunomodulatory and antitumor properties, considering its effects on antibody production and on different cells of the immune system, involving the innate and adaptive immune response. In vitro and in vivo assays demonstrated the modulatory action of propolis on murine peritoneal macrophages, increasing their microbicidal activity. Its stimulant action on the lytic activity of natural killer cells against tumor cells, and on antibody production was demonstrated. Propolis inhibitory effects on lymphoproliferation may be associated to its anti-inflammatory property. In immunological assays, the best results were observed when propolis was administered over a short-term to animals. Propolis antitumor property and its anticarcinogenic and antimutagenic potential are discussed. Since humans have used propolis for different purposes and propolis-containing products have been marketed, the knowledge of its properties with scientific basis is not only of academic interest but also of those who use propolis as well. This review opens a new perspective on the investigation of propolis biological properties, mainly with respect to the immune system. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.

Biological properties of medicinal plants: a review of their antimicrobial activity

Plants have been used for thousands of years to flavor and conserve food, to treat health disorders and to prevent diseases including epidemics. The knowledge of their healing properties has been transmitted over the centuries within and among human communities. Active compounds produced during secondary vegetal metabolism are usually responsible for the biological properties of some plant species used throughout the globe for various purposes, including treatment of infectious diseases. Currently, data on the antimicrobial activity of numerous plants, so far considered empirical, have been scientifically confirmed, concomitantly with the increasing number of reports on pathogenic microorganisms resistant to antimicrobials. Products derived from plants may potentially control microbial growth in diverse situations and in the specific case of disease treatment, numerous studies have aimed to describe the chemical composition of these plant antimicrobials and the mechanisms involved in microbial growth inhibition, either separately or associated with conventional antimicrobials. Thus, in the present work, medicinal plants with emphasis on their antimicrobial properties are reviewed.

A história portuguesa medieval: preservação, ordenação e esquecimento

Os últimos séculos da Idade Média, nomeadamente os séculos XIII, XIV e XV, são marcados na Europa por uma crescente preocupação em fixar por escrito os diversos saberes e eventos, preocupação que, ligada às tentativas de sistematizar a organização dos reinos, contribui significativamente para a ascensão das línguas vulgares como línguas dos mais variados gêneros - de documentos jurídicos e administrativos a textos de caráter filosófico e histórico. em Portugal, o empenho em deixar registrado o passado numa língua acessível tem início no século XIV e culmina no século XV, quando se procura organizar a memória através da escrita e se começa a construir uma perspectiva portuguesa sobre o passado. O objetivo do presente texto é mapear alguns índices que revelam a importância que os portugueses dos séculos XIV e XV conferem à ordenação do passado, sobretudo a partir da escolha do que devia e do que não podia cair no esquecimento.

Imagens do Brasil nas relações de viagem dos séculos XVII e XVIII

O presente ensaio toma como objeto de análise uma série de descrições do Rio de Janeiro colonial extraídas de narrativas de viagem escritas por europeus que passaram pela cidade entre os séculos XVII e XVIII. Para além de dar a conhecer a perspectiva que esses visitantes deixaram da urbe e de seus habitantes, seu objetivo é pôr em discussão o papel que os relatos de viagem desempenharam no processo de construção da imagem que o europeu da época tinha do brasileiro e, sobretudo, o papel que posteriormente desempenharam no processo de construção da imagem que o brasileiro, a partir do século XIX, passou a ter de si próprio e do seu país.

As ciências sociais, a comunicação e a saúde

Comunicação, o termo central do título deste trabalho, pretende realmente ser uma espécie de pivô da articulação que queremos aqui estabelecer entre as ciências sociais e a saúde. Por um lado, a sua emergência como um campo de questões diferenciadas, com objetos e olhares relativamente novos, no seio do pensamento social já desde fins do século 18, passando pelas suas primeiras elaborações teóricas e estudos empíricos, já no quadro das ciências sociais, desde meados do século 19, depois pela sua diferenciação como um campo disciplinar em separado, em meados do século 20, até se tornar um verdadeiro emblema das sociedades contemporâneas, neste limiar do século 21. Por outro lado, as relações entre o que preferimos genericamente chamar de pensamento sobre a comunicação, rastreado no percurso histórico acima, e o campo da saúde, no seu mais amplo sentido. Assim, propomo-nos, primeiramente, a reconstituir a emergência e as evoluções desse pensamento sobre a comunicação nos últimos dois ou três séculos, destacando o seu profundo enraizamento nas ciências sociais, e, secundariamente, apontar as relações privilegiadas e variáveis ao longo da história entre esse pensamento e o conhecimento e a prática em saúde.

A Biblioteca Pública do Maranhão como instituição educacional

Neste trabalho, apresenta-se a descrição histórica da Biblioteca Pública do Maranhão. Aborda-se a situação econômica, política e social vivenciada no estado, no século XIX, que contribuiu para a sua criação e expõem-se, ainda, os fatores que condicionaram a sua falência e o seu ressurgimento no início da Primeira República, marcada pela identidade sociocultural progressista. Além disso, pontuam-se os principais aspectos educativos existentes na biblioteca, na gestão de Antônio Lobo. O método empregado se caracteriza como histórico-descritivo, baseando-se, principalmente, na análise e na descrição dos Relatórios Presidenciais do Maranhão, referentes ao século XIX e início do XX. Desta forma, o estudo constatou que a história da biblioteca do Maranhão foi marcada pelas dificuldades relacionadas, especialmente, à falta de interesse dos governantes em proporcionar condições necessárias para a promoção da cultura.

Scientific pedagogy at the end of the 19th century: Some readings and writings in the Portuguese debate

Through the text presented we intend to outline the debate that occurred in Portugal in the transition from the 19th to the 20th centuries. At the time, the imperatives of scientific development had reached education as a basis for the national prosperity. It was believed that Portugal had fallen behind in comparison to the other European countries because it was not capable of constructing a civilization directed by scientific criteria, through the expansion and spreading of culture. The debate over the extension of schools to increasingly broader segments of the population acquires a different meaning when the theorist of Education make use of language from several other areas of knowledge in order to create a mosaic of what has become known, since that time, as the Science of Education.

Non-conventional yeasts

In the beginning there was yeast, and it raised bread, brewed beer, and made wine. After many not days but centuries and even millenia later, it was named Saccharomyces cerevisiae. After more years and centuries there was another yeast, and it was named Schizo-saccharomyces pombe; now there were two stars in the yeast heaven. In only a few more years there were other yeasts, and then more, and more, and more. The era of the non-conventional yeasts had begun.

A criminologia no Brasil ou como tratar desigualmente os desiguais

In this article we discuss how the ideas of Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) and his followers were incorporated into the intellectual debate in Brazil in the late 19(th) and early 20(th) centuries. By specifically analyzing the intellectual production of Brazilian legal scholars and jurists of the time - who drew on ideas from criminology to conceive Brazilian society and to propose legal and institutional reforms - we attempt to demonstrate how these ideas contributed to the elaboration of differentiated forms of legal and penal treatment for certain segments of the population.

Distribuição de poros e densidade de latossolos submetidos a diferentes sistemas de uso e manejo

Man cultivates the soil for centuries, but the intensive business and use of the soils under Cerrado vegetation for agricultural production grew out of the seventies. The objective of this study was to evaluate soil physical characteristics as a function of sampling time and the soil uses in a Cerrado area in Uberlandia City - MG, Brazil. The managements were adopted: degraded pasture (M-1), conventional tillage (M-2), minimum tillage (M-3), tillage absence (M-4), no-tillage (NT) for three years (M-5); NT for nine years (M-6), NT for three years after Pinus (M-7), PD for one year after Pinus (M-8) and Pinus forest (M-9) with 25 years old. The evaluations were conducted in 2002/03 growing season, in two areas. The soils were: area 1, an Oxisol (Red Latosol - LV-1, M-1 through M-5) and area 2, two Oxisols (Red Latosol and Red-Yellow Latosol - LVA and LV-2, M-6 through M-9). The physical attributes studied changed depending of the soil class, sampling time and management systems, with emphasis on the area 2 soils, which, in general, better preserved its main physical attributes. Managements with intense tillage, such as the M-2, are the most soil physically degrade, presenting mostly negative changes to soil bulk density, total porosity, microporosity and macroporosity. Since the systems which promote less tillage, in short term, to preserve desirable physical attributes. The M-9 system had the lowest attributes range, compared to the others.