Casein fractions of ultra high temperature milk with different somatic cell counts

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of somatic cell counts (SCC) in casein fractions of ultra high temperature (UHT) milk. Raw milks were categorized in SCC groups of low (200,000-320,000 cells mL-1), intermediate (380,000-560,000 cells mL-1) and high cells (600,000-800,000 cells mL-1). Five replicates of UHT milks within each SCC category were analyzed for casein fractions after 8, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days of storage through high performance liquid chromatography. SCC showed effect only on beta-casein reduction. SCC in raw milk increases the proteolysis of UHT milk, as a consequence of beta-casein degradation.

Cristalización de zeolita beta mediante conversión asistida por vapor: influencia de los parámetros de síntesis

In the present work, beta zeolites were prepared by an alternative route called steam-assisted conversion (SAC). Several zeolites were synthesized using amorphous dry gels with a low SDA concentration (0.09 mol, TEAOH). Temperature and crystallization time were the main parameters studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were the characterization techniques employed. The zeolites prepared showed mixed phases such as beta, MTW and ZSM-5 while only one sample treated at 150ºC with 24 h of crystallization time showed a pure ZSM-5 phase (SAC-5). These preliminary results serve as a starting point for optimizing the synthesis of a specific type of zeolite using the SAC method.

Influence of temperature and leaf wetness duration in the severity of Cercospora leaf spot of beet

ABSTRACT In the present study, the influence of temperature (15, 20, 25, 30 and 35°C) and leaf wetness period (6, 12, 24 and 48 hours) on the severity of Cercospora leaf spot of beet, caused by Cercospora beticola, was studied under controlled conditions. Lesion density was influenced by temperature and leaf wetness duration (P<0.05). Data were subjected to nonlinear regression analysis. The generalized beta function was used for fitting the disease severity and temperature data, while a logistic function was chosen to represent the effect of leaf wetness on the severity of Cercospora leaf spot. The response surface resultant of the product of the two functions was expressed as ES = 0.0001105 * (((x-8)2.294387) * ((36-x)0.955017)) * (0.39219/(1+25.93072 * exp (-0.16704*y))), where: ES represents the estimated severity value (0.1); x, the temperature (ºC) and y, the leaf wetness duration (hours). This model should be validated under field conditions to assess its use as a computational forecast system for Cercospora leaf spot of beet.

Evaluation of total carotenoids, alpha- and beta-carotene in carrots (Daucus carota L.) during home processing

This study aims to analyze the influence of dehydration and different preparation methods during home processing related toalpha-carotene, beta-carotene and total carotenoids stability in carrots. Vitamin A values were evaluated after different treatments. Thus, carrots were submitted to steam cooking, water cooking with and without pressure, moist/dry cooking and conventional dehydration. Determination of alpha- and beta-carotenes was made by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) (conditions were developed by us) using spectrophotometric detection visible-UV at 470 nm; a RP-18 column and methanol: acetonitrile: ethyl acetate (80: 10: 10) as mobile phase. Total carotenoids quantification was made by 449 nm spectrophotometer. The retention of the analyzed carotenoids ranged from 60.13 to 85.64%. Water cooking without pressure promoted higher retention levels of alpha- and beta-carotene and vitamin A values, while water cooking with pressure promoted higher retention levels of total carotenoids. Dehydration promoted the highest carotenoid losses. The results showed that, among the routinely utilized methods under domestic condition, cooking without pressure, if performed under controlled time and temperature, is the best method as it reduces losses in the amount of alpha- and beta-carotene, the main carotenoids present in the carrots. Despite the significant carotenoid losses, carrots prepared through domestic methods, remain a rich source of provitamin A.

Papel do teste de detecção rápida do antígeno do estreptococcus beta-hemolítico do grupo a em pacientes com faringoamigdalites

O Streptococcus beta-hemolítico do grupo A (SGA) é o agente etiológico mais comum das faringoamigdalites (FA). O diagnóstico etiológico correto e tratamento adequado evitam complicações supurativas e não-supurativas da faringoamigdalite estreptocócica, entretanto, métodos clínicos de diagnóstico não são confiáveis. Os métodos rápidos de detecção do antígeno do SGA podem ser utilizados no diagnóstico deste agente e evitar uso indevido de antibióticos. OBJETIVOS: Os autores objetivaram avaliar a sensibilidade e especificidade dos testes rápidos para detecção do antígeno do SGA em nosso meio. FORMA DE ESTUDO: Clínico prospectivo. METODOLOGIA: Oitenta e um pacientes com faringoamigdalite aguda, atendidos no PS-ORL do Hospital das Clínicas da FMUSP, no período de maio de 2001 a abril de 2002, foram submetidos a duas coletas simultâneas de material de orofaringe com swabs. O teste rápido de detecção do SGA foi confrontado com a cultura em placa agar-sangue ("gold standard" para o diagnóstico etiológico). RESULTADOS: De 81 pacientes, 56% tiveram teste rápido positivo e 44% negativo; 40.7% apresentaram crescimento de SGA na cultura; a sensibilidade e especificidade do teste rápido foram, respectivamente, 93,9% e 68,7%. O valor preditivo negativo e positivo foram, respectivamente, 94,2% e 67,4%. CONCLUSÕES: A alta sensibilidade do exame permite utilizá-lo com intuito de identificar pacientes com SGA. Os testes de detecção rápida do antígeno estreptocócico se mostraram uma importante arma coadjuvante no diagnóstico etiológico das faringoamigdalites.

Malaria transmission model for different levels of acquired immunity and temperature-dependent parameters (vector)

OBJECTIVE: Describe the overall transmission of malaria through a compartmental model, considering the human host and mosquito vector. METHODS: A mathematical model was developed based on the following parameters: human host immunity, assuming the existence of acquired immunity and immunological memory, which boosts the protective response upon reinfection; mosquito vector, taking into account that the average period of development from egg to adult mosquito and the extrinsic incubation period of parasites (transformation of infected but non-infectious mosquitoes into infectious mosquitoes) are dependent on the ambient temperature. RESULTS: The steady state equilibrium values obtained with the model allowed the calculation of the basic reproduction ratio in terms of the model's parameters. CONCLUSIONS: The model allowed the calculation of the basic reproduction ratio, one of the most important epidemiological variables.

Isolated and synergistic effects of PM10 and average temperature on cardiovascular and respiratory mortality

OBJECTIVE To analyze the effect of air pollution and temperature on mortality due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. METHODS We evaluated the isolated and synergistic effects of temperature and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter < 10 µm (PM10) on the mortality of individuals > 40 years old due to cardiovascular disease and that of individuals > 60 years old due to respiratory diseases in Sao Paulo, SP, Southeastern Brazil, between 1998 and 2008. Three methodologies were used to evaluate the isolated association: time-series analysis using Poisson regression model, bidirectional case-crossover analysis matched by period, and case-crossover analysis matched by the confounding factor, i.e., average temperature or pollutant concentration. The graphical representation of the response surface, generated by the interaction term between these factors added to the Poisson regression model, was interpreted to evaluate the synergistic effect of the risk factors. RESULTS No differences were observed between the results of the case-crossover and time-series analyses. The percentage change in the relative risk of cardiovascular and respiratory mortality was 0.85% (0.45;1.25) and 1.60% (0.74;2.46), respectively, due to an increase of 10 μg/m3 in the PM10 concentration. The pattern of correlation of the temperature with cardiovascular mortality was U-shaped and that with respiratory mortality was J-shaped, indicating an increased relative risk at high temperatures. The values for the interaction term indicated a higher relative risk for cardiovascular and respiratory mortalities at low temperatures and high temperatures, respectively, when the pollution levels reached approximately 60 μg/m3. CONCLUSIONS The positive association standardized in the Poisson regression model for pollutant concentration is not confounded by temperature, and the effect of temperature is not confounded by the pollutant levels in the time-series analysis. The simultaneous exposure to different levels of environmental factors can create synergistic effects that are as disturbing as those caused by extreme concentrations.

Cardiac beta-receptors in experimental Chagas' disease

Experimental Chagas' disease (45 to 90 days post-infection) showed serious cardiac alterations in the contractility and in the pharmacological response to beta adrenergic receptors in normal and T. cruzi infected mice (post-acute phase). Chagasic infection did not change the beta receptors density (78.591 ± 3.125 fmol/mg protein and 73.647 ± 2.194 fmol/mg protein for controls) but their affinity was significantly diminished (Kd = 7.299 ± 0.426 nM and Kd = 3.759 ± 0.212 nM for the control) p < 0.001. This results demonstrate that the alterations in pharmacological response previously reported in chagasic myocardium are related to a significantly less beta cardiac receptor affinity. During this experimental period serious cardiac cell alterations take place and functional consequences will be detected in the chronic phase.

Influence of temperature on development of Schistosoma mansoni female cercariae in Biomphalaria glabrata

In these experiments the ratio of male to female S. mansoni larvae in D. glabrata from Belo Horizonte and Ribeirão das Neves Minas Gerais, Brazil, either reared in laboratoty or collected in the field, varied from 1:1 to 1:1.3 or 1.4:1. Cercariae of LE strain of Schistosoma mansoni, shed by 39 snails maintained at 25±0.5ºC were used to infect mice on a weekly basis. Subsequent perfusion resulted in 76.6% male and 23.4% female worms. The cercariac produced by 32 infected snails maintained at 27+0.5°C were inoculated into mice and produced 43.4% male and 56.6% female worms (p<0.05). Cercariae eliminated by snails collected in Barreiro and Ressaca, Belo Horizonte, during hot months, produced 45.7 to 47.7% male and 52.3 to 54.3% female worms. A lower number of cercariae shed by snails collected in Gorduras, Belo Horizonte, at 20+3.0°C, produced 51.6% male and 48.4% female worms. Thus, in this region the infection of vertebrate hosts with S. mansoni cercariae would be more severe in the summer due to the higher level of parasites and the number of eggs.

The effect of temperature on mobility of Angiostrongylus costaricensis third stage larvae

Third stage larvae (L3) from Angiostrongylus costaricensis were incubated in water at room temperature and at 5 ° C and their mobility was assessed daily for 17 days. Viability was associated with the mobility and position of the L3, and it was confirmed by inoculation per os in albino mice. The number of actively moving L3 sharply decreased within 3 to 4 days, but there were some infective L3 at end of observation. A mathematical model estimated 80 days as the time required to reduce the probability of infective larvae to zero. This data does not support the proposition of refrigerating vegetables and raw food as an isolated procedure for prophylaxis of human abdominal angiostrongylosis infection.

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases among Enterobacteriaceae isolated in a public hospital in Brazil

Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) in enterobacteria are recognized worldwide as a great hospital problem. In this study, 127 ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolated in one year from inpatients and outpatients at a public teaching hospital at São Paulo, Brazil, were submitted to analysis by PCR with specific primers for blaSHV, blaTEM and blaCTX-M genes. From the 127 isolates, 96 (75.6%) Klebsiella pneumoniae, 12 (9.3%) Escherichia coli, 8 (6.2%) Morganella morganii, 3 (2.3%) Proteus mirabilis, 2 (1.6%) Klebsiella oxytoca, 2 (1.6%) Providencia rettgeri, 2 (1.6%) Providencia stuartti, 1 (0.8%) Enterobacter aerogenes and 1 (0.8%) Enterobacter cloacae were identified as ESBL producers. BlaSHV, blaTEM and blaCTX-M were detected in 63%, 17.3% and 33.9% strains, respectively. Pulsed field gel eletrophoresis genotyping of K. pneumoniae revealed four main molecular patterns and 29 unrelated profiles. PCR results showed a high variety of ESBL groups among strains, in nine different species. The results suggest the spread of resistance genes among genetically different strains of ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae in some hospital wards, and also that some strongly related strains were identified in different hospital wards, suggesting clonal spread in the institutional environment.

INTERFERON BETA-1A TREATMENT IN HTLV-1-ASSOCIATED MYELOPATHY/TROPICAL SPASTIC PARAPARESIS: A CASE REPORT

Here a young patient (< 21 years of age) with a history of infective dermatitis is described. The patient was diagnosed with myelopathy associated with HTLV-1/tropical spastic paraparesis and treated with interferon beta-1a. The disease was clinically established as HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), and laboratory tests confirmed the presence of antibodies to HTLV-1 in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Mumps, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, schistosomiasis, herpes virus 1 and 2, rubella, measles, varicella-zoster toxoplasmosis, hepatitis, HIV, and syphilis were excluded by serology. The patient was diagnosed with neurogenic bladder and presented with nocturia, urinary urgency, paresthesia of the lower left limb, a marked reduction of muscle strength in the lower limbs, and a slight reduction in upper limb strength. During the fourth week of treatment with interferon beta-1a, urinary urgency and paresthesia disappeared and clinical motor skills improved.

Testagem do 1 - beta - D - Ribofuranosil, 1.2.4 - triazole - 3 - carboxamide em pacientes com hepatite

Realizou-se estudo do tipo duplo anonimato em 18 pacientes com hepatite aguda benigna. O gruoo experimental foi testado com uma provável droga de ação antiviral: 1-BETA-D-RIBOFURANOSIL, 1,2,4-TRIAZOLE-3- CARBOXAMIDE. O grupo controle ingeriu um placebo de lactose. Teve-se especial cuidado na seleção de pacientes, incluindo apenas pacientes que preenchessem critérios bem estabelecidos. Os pacientes foram seguidos semanalmente, avaliando-os clínica e laboratorialmente. Os resultados não evidenciaram diferenças significativas entre os dois grupos, sugerindo-se estudos com casuística mais numerosa e em regime de internação hospitalar.

Mortality of Dipetalogaster maximus (uhler) in response to temperature and humidity

Observations were made on the mortality of Dipetalogaster maximus in relation to humidity and temperature in controlled conditions. The bugs survived longer at higher relative humidities and at lower temperatures, but when these results were plotted against vapour pressure déficit, no independent temperature effect was seen. The results may be explained by thefaster depletion of water reserves at higher vapour pressure deficits. D. maximus did not increase its resistance to water vapour transferat higher vapour pressure deficits. In orderto increase survival rates when D. maximus is used for xenodiagnosis in field conditions it should be protected against high temperatures and low humidities.

Life cycle and reproductive patterns of Triatoma rubrovaria (Blanchard, 1843) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) under constant and fluctuating conditions of temperature and humidity

The aim of this study was to evaluate the temperature and relative humidity influence in the life cycle, mortality and fecundity patterns of Triatoma rubrovaria. Four cohorts with 60 recently laid eggs each were conformed. The cohorts were divided into two groups. In the controlled conditions group insects were maintained in a dark climatic chamber under constant temperature and humidity, whereas triatomines of the ambiental temperature group were maintained at room temperature. Average incubation time was 15.6 days in the controlled conditions group and 19.1 days in the ambiental temperature. In group controlled conditions the time from egg to adult development lasted 10 months while group ambiental temperature took four months longer. Egg eclosion rate was 99.1% and 98.3% in controlled conditions and ambiental temperature, respectively. Total nymphal mortality in controlled conditions was 52.6% whereas in ambiental temperature was 51.8%. Mean number of eggs/female was 817.6 controlled conditions and 837.1 ambiental temperature. Fluctuating temperature and humidity promoted changes in the life cycle duration and in the reproductive performance of this species, although not in the species mortality.