Effects of bovine Herpesvirus Type 5 on development of in vitro-produced bovine embryos

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

Paracoccidioidomicose

The aspects related to the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical classification, clinical manifestations and treatment of Paracoccidioidomycosis, are presented. The disease is caused by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and is the most frequent and the most important systemic mycosis in the South America, specifically in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela. Because of the high frequency of cutaneous-mucosal lesions presented by the patients, the potential severity of the disease and the socio-economic consequences to the patient, it is very important for a drematologist to be qualified to precisely diagnose the disease and render proper care.

Taenia solium and Taenia saginata: Identification of sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers

Cysticercosis is one of the most important zoonosis, not only because of the effects on animal health and its economic consequences, but also due to the serious danger it poses to humans. The two main parasites involved in the taeniasis-cysticercosis complex in Brazil are Taenia saginata and Taenia solium. Differentiating between these two parasites is important both for disease control and for epidemiological studies. The purpose of this work was to identify genetic markers that could be used to differentiate these parasites. Out of 120 oligonucleotide decamers tested in random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) assays, 107 were shown to discriminate between the two species of Taenia. Twenty-one DNA fragments that were specific for each species of Taenia were chosen for DNA cloning and sequencing. Seven RAPD markers were converted into sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers with two specific for T. saginata and five specific for T. solium as shown by agarose gel electrophoresis. These markers were developed as potential tools to differentiate T. solium from T. saginata in epidemiological studies. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Point vibration measurements for the detection of shallow-buried objects

A major UK initiative, entitled 'Mapping the Underworld', is seeking to address the serious social, environmental and economic consequences arising from an inability to locate accurately and comprehensively the buried utility service infrastructure without resorting to extensive excavations. Mapping the Underworld aims to develop and prove the efficacy of a multi-sensor device for accurate remote buried utility service detection, location and, where possible, identification. One of the technologies to be incorporated in the device is low-frequency vibro-acoustics, and application of this technique for detecting buried infrastructure is currently being investigated. Here, the potential for making a number of simple point vibration measurements in order to detect shallow-buried objects, in particular plastic pipes, is explored. Point measurements can be made relatively quickly without the need for arrays of surface sensors, which can be expensive, time-consuming to deploy, and sometimes impractical in congested areas. At low frequencies, the ground behaves as a simple single-degree-of-freedom (mass-spring) system with a well-defined resonance, the frequency of which will depend on the density and elastic properties of the soil locally. This resonance will be altered by the presence of a buried object whose properties differ from the surrounding soil. It is this behavior which can be exploited in order to detect the presence of a buried object, provided it is buried at a sufficiently shallow depth. The theoretical background is described and preliminary measurements are made both on a dedicated buried pipe rig and on the ground over a domestic waste pipe. Preliminary findings suggest that, for shallow-buried pipes, a measurement of this kind could be a quick and useful adjunct to more conventional methods of buried pipe detection. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Detection of buried pipes using a shear wave ground surface vibration technique

A major UK initiative, entitled 'Mapping the Underworld', is seeking to address the serious social, environmental and economic consequences arising from an inability to locate the buried utility service infrastructure without resorting to extensive excavations. Mapping the Underworld aims to develop and prove the efficacy of a multi-sensor device for accurate remote buried utility service detection, location and, where possible, identification. One of the technologies to be incorporated in the device is low-frequency vibro-acoustics, and the application of this technology for detecting buried infrastructure is currently being investigated. Here, a shear wave ground vibration technique for detecting buried pipes is described. For this technique, shear waves are generated at the ground surface, and the resulting ground surface vibrations measured, using geophones, along a line traversing the anticipated run of the pipe. Measurements were made at a test site with a single pressurized polyethylene mains water pipe. Time-extended signals were employed to generate the illuminating wave. Cross-correlation functions between the measured ground velocities and a reference measurement adjacent to the excitation were then calculated and summed using a stacking method to generate a cross-sectional image of the ground. The wide cross-correlation peaks caused by high ground attenuation were partially compensated for by using a generalized cross-correlation function called the smoothed coherence transform. To mitigate the effects of other potential sources of vibration in the vicinity, the excitation signal was used as an additional reference when calculating the generalized cross-correlation functions. For two out of three tests, the pipe was detected, indicating that this technique will be a valuable addition to the Mapping the Underworld armoury.

Influência da obesidade sobre a expressão gênica das proteínas reguladoras do trânsito de cálcio miocárdico

Pós-graduação em Fisiopatologia em Clínica Médica - FMB

As estratégias de inserção na Economia internacional do Brasil e do México: o Mercosul, o Nafta e a política externa

Pós-graduação em Ciências Sociais - FFC

Avaliação quantitativa da insuficiência da veia safena magna nos pacientes portadores de varizes primárias de membros inferiores pelo mapeamento dúplex e fotopletismografia

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

O processo de modernização da agricultura no sudoeste do Paraná

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Metodologia Microbiológica Convencional e Reação em Cadeia pela Polimerase (PCR) na detecção de Salmonella spp em carcaças de frango

Salmonella is the etiological agent responsible for one of the most important Food Borne Disease (FBD), Salmonellosis, which generates significant economic consequences in several countries, including Brazil. Poultry meat is one of the most important disseminators of the pathogen. Accordingly, several countries have developed programs trying to reduce the prevalence of Salmonella in poultry meat. Such programs are based on the research of the pathogen in the carcasses, establishing a maximum limit of positive samples at each set of analysis. The Salmonella scans are usually made using the conventional microbiological methods, which tend to be expensive and time consuming. In recent years were developed rapid methods such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which can greatly shorten the results time, showing greater sensitivity and specificity than conventional methodology

The impact of physical activity on mitigation of health care costs related to diabetes mellitus: findings from developed and developing settings Diabetes mellitus and physical exercise

Over the last decades, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) has been increasing globally such that nowadays the disease constitutes an important outcome related to early mortality among adults. In parallel with the high prevalence, healthcare costs related to DM treatment have increased significantly, exacerbating its burden on modern society. The scientific literature points out that obesity and physical inactivity have a central role in the development of most DM cases. In fact, either physical exercise practice or an increase in the level of physical activity, constitute relevant tools in the guidelines for treatment of the disease. On the other hand, the effect of physical activity on the economic consequences of DM is not completely clear. The identification of the actual burden of lifestyle changes on the reduction of healthcare costs related to DM is relevant, primarily for developing nations, where it could represent a cheaper strategy for treating the disease and its complications than paying for drug treatment, which is commonly related to collateral effects. That being said, the prevention of DM and other diseases and consequently the mitigation of the costs related to these outcomes seem to depend essentially on the promotion of healthy habits. The aim of the present review was therefore to discuss recent evidence on the effects of physical activity/exercise on mitigation of health care cost related to DM.

Selection strategies for dairy buffaloes: economic and genetic consequences

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

Children's Perspectives on their Economic Activity as a Pathway to Resilience

When viewed in the context of children's physical, social, and economic ecologies, children's work has both contextually specific benefits and consequences. This paper examines children's experiences of their economic activity using a theory of resilience as a contextually and culturally embedded phenomenon [British Journal of Social Work, 38 (2008) 218]. Though there is evidence that child labour is a potential threat to children's well-being, some forms of children's work may function as potential sources of health-enhancing resources associated with resilience, resulting in positive psychosocial development. Working children can find through their working experiences positive sources of efficacy and cohesion, strong identity, feelings of well-being, positive relationships, and access to material and social capital. (C) 2009 The Author(s). Journal compilation (C) 2009 National Children's Bureau and Blackwell Publishing Limited.

Discrete symmetries, invisible axion, and lepton number symmetry in an economic 3-3-1 model

We show that Peccei-Quinn and lepton number symmetries can be a natural outcome in a 3-3-1 model with right-handed neutrinos after imposing a Z(11)circle timesZ(2) symmetry. This symmetry is suitably accommodated in this model when we augment its spectrum by including merely one singlet scalar field. We work out the breaking of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry, yielding the axion, and study the phenomenological consequences. The main result of this work is that the solution to the strong CP problem can be implemented in a natural way, implying an invisible axion phenomenologically unconstrained, free of domain wall formation, and constituting a good candidate for the cold dark matter.