Polypeptides reactive with antibodies eluted from the surface of Babesia bovis-infected erythrocytes

A technique was sought that would enable identification of surface-exposed parasite antigens on Babesia bovis-infected erythrocytes (BbIE) that are not detectable by surface-specific immunoprecipitations. Antibodies which bind to the surface of BbIE were recovered from intact cells using a low pH wash procedure. The eluted antibodies were then used in conventional immunoprecipitation assays to identify parasite-synthesized polypeptides carrying epitopes that are exposed on the surface or are cross reactive with shuch epitopes. The results of these experiments support our previous data, obtained using a surface-specific immunoprecipitation technique, in the identification of a repertoire of parasite-derived antigens on the surface of infected erythrocytes (Allred et al., 1991). In addition, two polypeptides of Mr 68,000 and 185,000 were identified wich react strongly with the eluted antibodies but wich are not detected by surface-immunoprecipitation. These data illustrate the potential of this approach for identification of parasite polypeptides wich carry epitopes exposed on, or cross-reactive with exposed epitopes of the infected erythrocyte surface.

Cross-reactive anti-PfCLAG9 antibodies in the sera of asymptomatic parasite carriers of Plasmodium vivax

The PfCLAG9 has been extensively studied because their immunogenicity. Thereby, the gene product is important for therapeutics interventions and a potential vaccine candidate. Antibodies against synthetic peptides corresponding to selected sequences of the Plasmodium falciparum antigen PfCLAG9 were found in sera of falciparum malaria patients from Rondônia, in the Brazilian Amazon. Much higher antibody titres were found in semi-immune and immune asymptomatic parasite carriers than in subjects suffering clinical infections, corroborating original findings in Papua Guinea. However, sera of Plasmodium vivax patients from the same Amazon area, in particular from asymptomatic vivax parasite carriers, reacted strongly with the same peptides. Bioinformatic analyses revealed regions of similarity between P. falciparum Pfclag9 and the P. vivax ortholog Pvclag7. Indirect fluorescent microscopy analysis showed that antibodies against PfCLAG9 peptides elicited in BALB/c mice react with human red blood cells (RBCs) infected with both P. falciparum and P. vivax parasites. The patterns of reactivity on the surface of the parasitised RBCs are very similar. The present observations support previous findings that PfCLAG9 may be a target of protective immune responses and raises the possibility that the cross reactive antibodies to PvCLAG7 in mixed infections play a role in regulate the fate of Plasmodium mixed infections.

Financial support of graduate programs in Brazil: quo vadis?

Graduate programs provide the highest level of formal education and thus are crucial for the development of any country. However, official Brazilian data clearly show a dramatic decrease in the number and values of scholarships available to graduate programs in Brazil over the last few years, despite the importance and growth of such programs. Between 1995 and 2004, investment by the Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal do Ensino Superior (CAPES, subordinate to the Ministry of Education and Culture) in funding scholarships, corrected for inflation in the period, actually decreased by 51%. In addition, during the period between 1994 and 2004, there was a loss of about 60% in the purchasing power of the graduate scholarships provided by CAPES and the National Council for Science and Technology (CNPq). To reverse this trend, we propose the development of sectorial funding for Brazilian graduate programs to guarantee the availability and continuity of financial support for this strategic activity.

An in vitro analysis of the total phenolic content, antioxidant power, physical, physicochemical, and chemical composition of Terminalia Catappa Linn fruits

This study assessed the antioxidant, total phenolic, and physicochemical properties of in vitro Terminalia Catappa Linn (locally called castanhola) using the DPPH assay. The castanhola fruits had an average weight of 19.60 ± 0.00 g, combining shell, pulp, and seed weight, and a soluble solids content of 8 °Brix. The chemical composition was determined with predominance of carbohydrates (76,88 ± 0,58%).The titration method was used to determine Vitamin C content using 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol (DCFI), known as reactive Tillmans resulting in no significant levels. Aqueous extracts of castanhola pulp showed a higher concentration of phenolics, 244.33 ± 18.86 GAE.g-1 of fruit, and alcoholic extracts, 142.84 ± 2.09 GAE.g-1 of fruit. EC50 values of the aqueous extract showed a greater ability to scavenge free radicals than the alcoholic extracts. The fruit had a significant content of phenolic compounds and high antioxidant capacity.

O treaty-making power na Constituição brasileira de 1988: uma análise comparativa do poder de celebrar tratados à luz da dinâmica das relações internacionais

O presente trabalho teve por objetivo estudar o modo pelo qual a Constituição brasileira de 1988 disciplina a competência dos poderes constituídos para a celebração de tratados. Buscou-se analisar, dessa forma, o relacionamento dos poderes Legislativo e Executivo no que tange ao procedimento de celebração de tratados internacionais.

Brazil: an emerging military power? The problem of the use of force in Brazilian international relations in the 21st century

The central goal of this paper is thinking about the Brazilian military power and its linking to the international ambitions of the country in the 21st century. After a comparative analysis to other BRICs and with a historical one about Brazil's strategic irrelevance, we aim to establish what the minimum military capacity Brazil would need in order to meet the country's latest international interests. Similarly, it will be discussed if the National Strategy of Defense, approved in 2008, and the recent strategic agreements signed with France represent one more step toward this minimum military capacity.

Security issues during Lula's administration: from the reactive to the assertive approach

Brazil's security agenda during Lula's administration was not homogeneous through the two mandates: the first tenure (2002-2006) revealed a reactive approach towards security topics, while the second one (2006-2010) was more assertive. More specifically, the shift occurred in terms of both its geographical scope - once it incorporated global issues in a more systematic way -, and instruments through which the security agenda was exercised, given the multilateral initiative of Unasur's CDS

Terrorism as war by other means: national security and state support for terrorism

The conventional approach in the discipline of International Relations is to treat terrorist organizations as "non-state" actors of international relations. However, this approach is problematic due to the fact that most terrorist organizations are backed or exploited by some states. In this article, I take issue with the non-stateness of terrorist organizations and seek to answer the question of why so many states, at times, support terrorist organizations. I argue that in the face of rising threats to national security in an age of devastating wars, modern nation states tend to provide support to foreign terrorist organizations that work against their present and imminent enemies. I elaborate on my argument studying three cases of state support for terrorism: Iranian support for Hamas, Syrian support for the PKK, and American support for the MEK. The analyses suggest that, for many states, terror is nothing but war by other means.

A harder edge: reframing Brazil's power relation with Africa

Brazil's rapprochement with Africa during the last decade has been mostly explained as an attempt to improve political dialogue, raise economic interactions, and provide technical cooperation assistance. This article, however, argues that such framework does not sufficiently account for the use of Brazilian material resources in order to attain harder strategic goals towards the continent. By focusing on defense cooperation ties, it highlights an important niche in South-South relations that has also grown exponentially, with important consequences on how Brazil exerts power across the Atlantic.

Rio Branco, grand strategy and naval power

This article addresses Baron of Rio Branco's grand strategy and the role played by the naval reorganization program (1904-1910) in this context. The ensuing case study determined the domestic and international constraints that affected the program, as well as the worldview of the patron of Brazilian diplomacy regarding military power's instrumentality to foreign policy.

Swords into ploughshares? China's Soft Power strategy in Southeast Asia and its challenges1

Since the 1990s, alongside China's economic growth, the international community has fostered a general anxiety towards a "China threat." In order to relieve itself from suspicion, China adopted the dual strategies of "harmonious worldview" and "good neighbor policy." The strategies led to the use of soft power in China's foreign policy. China aimed to reduce security concerns implied by the threat theory by supporting an image that caters to international peace and development. This article seeks to explain how China achieves its interests in Southeast Asia through the use of soft power. The authors address the concepts of "harmonious worldview" and "good neighbor policy" and how the twin strategies and soft power have shaped China's foreign policy in recent years. This article aims to provide insights into China's policy options in Southeast Asia in the near future.

China's rising Soft Power: the role of rhetoric in constructing China-Africa relations

As China turns increasingly to the cultivation of soft power in the course of developing its foreign policy, the use of political rhetoric and its explicit and implicit audiences become more and more important, both on a bilateral level and within the international arena at large. Using the case of China's relations with African countries, this article examines key themes within China's diplomatic narrative regarding its role on the African continent and contrasts with Western and African responses.

The international implications of the Chinese model of development in the Global South: Asian Consensus as a network power

This paper analyzes People's Republic of China (PRC) economic and political ascendance in the 21st century focusing on the evolution of the sui generis economic development model and its significances of the evolution of relationship between China and the developing countries in the peripheral "Global South." The objective of this article is to analyze the relationship between China and the Global South (Africa and South America) in the 21st century, characterized as a new Center-periphery global network power based on trade and investment that we call as "Asian Consensus."