Sleep apnea and automobile accidents: Review of regulation for drivers

Several studies show a crescent association between sleep-disordered breathing, excessive sleepiness and automobile accidents. Many countries already discussed about specific regulations for drivers with these conditions, including questionnaire and/or investigation by a qualified specialist. In Brazil, these discussions have barely begun. In view of that, we suggest some items to be included in our traffic law.

HTRIdb: an open-access database for experimentally verified human transcriptional regulation interactions

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

Rhamnolipids and PHAs: Recent reports on Pseudomonas-derived molecules of increasing industrial interest

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

Multiobjective optimization of economic balances of sugarcane harvest biomass

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

A bio-economic appraisal of pair trawl fisheries off southeastern Brazil

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

Congenic strains reveal the effect of the renin gene on skeletal muscle angiogenesis induced by electrical stimulation

Previous studies have indicated the importance of angiotensin II (ANG II) in skeletal muscle angiogenesis. The present study explored the effect of regulation of the renin gene on angiogenesis induced by electrical stimulation with the use of physiological, pharmacological, and genetic manipulations of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Transfer of the entire chromosome 13, containing the physiologically regulated renin gene, from the normotensive inbred Brown Norway (BN) rat into the background of an inbred substrain of the Dahl salt-sensitive (SS/Mcwi) rat restored renin levels and the angiogenic response after electrical stimulation. This restored response was significantly attenuated when SS-13BN/Mcwi consomic rats were treated with lisinopril or high-salt diet. The role of ANG II on this effect was confirmed by the complete restoration of skeletal muscle angiogenesis in SS/Mcwi rats infused with subpressor doses of ANG II. Congenic strains derived from the SS-13BN/Mcwi consomic were used to further verify the role of the renin gene in this response. Microvessel density was markedly increased after stimulation in congenic strains that contained the renin gene from the BN rat (congenic lines A and D). This angiogenic response was suppressed in control strains that carried regions of the BN genome just above (congenic line C) or just below (congenic line B) the renin gene. The present study emphasizes the importance of maintaining normal renin regulation as well as ANG II levels during the angiogenesis process with a combination of physiological, genetic, and pharmacological manipulation of the RAS.

A comparative evaluation of open loop and closed loop drug administration strategies in the treatment of AIDS.

In recent years, many researchers in the field of biomedical sciences have made successful use of mathematical models to study, in a quantitative way, a multitude of phenomena such as those found in disease dynamics, control of physiological systems, optimization of drug therapy, economics of the preventive medicine and many other applications. The availability of good dynamic models have been providing means for simulation and design of novel control strategies in the context of biological events. This work concerns a particular model related to HIV infection dynamics which is used to allow a comparative evaluation of schemes for treatment of AIDS patients. The mathematical model adopted in this work was proposed by Nowak & Bangham, 1996 and describes the dynamics of viral concentration in terms of interaction with CD4 cells and the cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which are responsible for the defense of the organism. Two conceptually distinct techniques for drug therapy are analyzed: Open Loop Treatment, where a priori fixed dosage is prescribed and Closed Loop Treatment, where the doses are adjusted according to results obtained by laboratory analysis. Simulation results show that the Closed Loop Scheme can achieve improved quality of the treatment in terms of reduction in the viral load and quantity of administered drugs, but with the inconvenience related to the necessity of frequent and periodic laboratory analysis.

Biophysical Characterization of Interactions Involving Importin-α during Nuclear Import

Proteins containing the classical nuclear localization sequences (NLSs) are imported into the nucleus by the importin-α/β heterodimer. Importin-α contains the NLS binding site, whereas importin-β mediates the translocation through the nuclear pore. We characterized the interactions involving importin-α during nuclear import using a combination of biophysical techniques (biosensor, crystallography, sedimentation equilibrium, electrophoresis, and circular dichroism). Importin-α is shown to exist in a monomeric autoinhibited state (association with NLSs undetectable by biosensor). Association with importin-β (stoichiometry, 1:1; K D = 1.1 × 10 -8 M) increases the affinity for NLSs; the importin-α/β complex binds representative monopartite NLS (simian virus 40 large T-antigen) and bipartite NLS (nucleoplasmin) with affinities (K D = 3.5 × 10 -8 M and 4.8 × 10 -8 M, respectively) comparable with those of a truncated importin-α lacking the autoinhibitory domain (T-antigen NLS, K D = 1.7 × 10 -8 M; nucleoplasmin NLS, K D = 1.4 × 10 -8 M). The autoinhibitory domain (as a separate peptide) binds the truncated importin-α, and the crystal structure of the complex resembles the structure of full-length importin-α. Our results support the model of regulation of nuclear import mediated by the intrasteric autoregulatory sequence of importin-α and provide a quantitative description of the binding and regulatory steps during nuclear import.

Control of amylase production and growth characteristics of Aspergillus ochraceus

The growth and the extracellular amylase production by Aspergillus ochraceus were studied in a stationary culture medium. Maximum growth rate of this fungus was found after 5 days of incubation at 30° C, but maximum amylase production was obtained after 2 days. The highest amylase production were attained with lactose, maltose, xylose and starch as carbon sources. The extracellular amylase production and mycelial growth were influenced by the concentration of starch. Other carbohydrates supported growth but did not induce amylase synthesis and glucose repressed it, indicating catabolite repression in this microorganism. The presence of both mechanisms of induction and repression suggests that at least these multiple forms of regulation are present in A. ochraceus. Of the nitrogen sources tested, casaminoacids, ammonium nitrate and sodium nitrate stimulated the highest yield of amylase. Optimal amylase production was obtained at pH 5.0, but enzyme activity was found only in the 4.0-6.0 pH range. These results were probably due to the inhibitory effect of NH 4 +-N in the culture medium.

A crise econômico-financeira internacional e seus impactos sobre a preservação das microempresas e empresas de pequeno porte

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Use of uniform designs in combination with neural networks for viral infection process development

This work aimed to compare the predictive capacity of empirical models, based on the uniform design utilization combined to artificial neural networks with respect to classical factorial designs in bioprocess, using as example the rabies virus replication in BHK-21 cells. The viral infection process parameters under study were temperature (34°C, 37°C), multiplicity of infection (0.04, 0.07, 0.1), times of infection, and harvest (24, 48, 72 hours) and the monitored output parameter was viral production. A multilevel factorial experimental design was performed for the study of this system. Fractions of this experimental approach (18, 24, 30, 36 and 42 runs), defined according uniform designs, were used as alternative for modelling through artificial neural network and thereafter an output variable optimization was carried out by means of genetic algorithm methodology. Model prediction capacities for all uniform design approaches under study were better than that found for classical factorial design approach. It was demonstrated that uniform design in combination with artificial neural network could be an efficient experimental approach for modelling complex bioprocess like viral production. For the present study case, 67% of experimental resources were saved when compared to a classical factorial design approach. In the near future, this strategy could replace the established factorial designs used in the bioprocess development activities performed within biopharmaceutical organizations because of the improvements gained in the economics of experimentation that do not sacrifice the quality of decisions.