A influência da calcitonina sintética de salmão na cicatrização cutânea de ratos

OBJETIVO: O presente trabalho tem como objetivo investigar a influência da calcitonina sintética do salmão no processo cicatricial da pele da região dorsal em ratos, analisando parâmetros bioquímicos, biomecânicos e histológicos, e suas possíveis interrelações. MÉTODO: Setenta e dois (72) ratos machos adultos foram submetidos, sob anestesia geral inalatória a uma incisão linear na pele que foi, subseqüentemente, suturada. Metade dos ratos (grupo teste) foi tratada no pós-operatório com calcitonina sintética do salmão, e a outra metade, sem tratamento, constituiu o grupo controle. Os animais, em pares de nove ratos cada (teste e controle), foram sacrificados no 5º, 10º, 15º e 20º dias pós-operatório para a remoção dos fragmentos de pele com cicatriz para as análises bioquímicas, biomecânicas e histológicas. Utilizou-se o teste "t" de Student para a comparação de médias de amostras independentes e o teste de correlação de Pearson para verificar o grau de associação entre as médias das variáveis. RESULTADOS: A calcitonina sintética de salmão acelerou o processo cicatricial da pele, mas não de maneira linear e constante. Em comparação com os animais não-tratados, houve aumento significativo tanto do conteúdo de hidroxiprolina nas fases de proliferação inicial e tardia da cicatrização, quanto da carga máxima de ruptura na fase de proliferação tardia. Os resultados histológicos corroboram os resultados bioquímicos e biomecânicos, sugerindo uma correlação entre conteúdo de colágeno, resistência à tração e histologia da cicatriz. CONCLUSÃO: A calcitonina sintética de salmão acelerou o processo cicatricial da pele, modificando significativamente o conteúdo de colágeno e a carga máxima de ruptura, mas não de maneira linear e constante.

Salmo 127, versículo 1: ativismo religioso e ordenamentos da segurança em uma periferia de São Paulo

Este artigo explora algumas relações entre ativismo evangélico e "violência". Mais especificamente, discute o protagonismo político-religioso de um fiel da IURD, e da própria igreja, nos conflitos relativos à "violência". Seguindo a trajetória de José, argumento que o diagrama religião - empreendedorismo - segurança - política partidária e assistência contribui para sua atuação como ordenador da segurança no gerenciamento das tensões e conflitos nas periferias. As redes de José e uma etnografia de um culto da IURD são mobilizadas para indicar as performances miméticas do poder do Estado, as relações entre o secular e o religioso e a maneira como a "guerra justa" está no enfeixamento entre a "Guerra de combate ao crime" e a "Guerra entre Deus e o Diabo".

Inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus in raw salmon with supercritical CO2 using experimental design

Abstract Considering the microbial safety of consumption of raw foods (Asian food), this study aimed to explore the inactivation S. aureus in raw salmon by supercritical CO2 treatment (SC-CO2). For this purpose, experimental design methodology was employed as a tool to evaluate the effects of pressure (120-220 bar), the depressurization rate (10 to 100 bar.min–1) and the salmon:CO2 mass relation (1:0.2 to 1:1.0). It was observed that the pressure and the depressurization rate was statistically significant, i.e. the higher the system pressure and depressurization rate, the greater the microbial inactivation. The salmon: CO2 mass relation did not influence the S. aureus inactivation in raw salmon. There was a total reduction in S. aureus with 225 bar, a depressurizing rate of 100 bar.min–1, a salmon: CO2 mass relation of 1:0.6, for 2 hours at 33 °C.

Epidemiología de la difilobotriasis en la cuenca del río Valdivia, Chile

Entre los meses de marzo y octubre de 1987 fueron examinados 1295 personas de seis distritos ribereños de la cuenca del río Valdivia, determinándose un 1,2% de prevalencia de infección por Diphyllobothrium en los distritos de Riñihue y Las Huellas. Además, se comprobó un 5,3% y un 9,8% de prevalencia en perros de los distritos de Riñihue y Malihue, respectivamente, pero no se observó infección en gatos y cerdos. Los parásitos recuperados después del tratamiento fueron identificados como Diphyllobothrium latum. La infección humana por D. latum en los distritos afectados se favorece por el consumo de peces ahumados o sometidos a cocción insuficiente. La investigación de 1450 peces (4 especies introducidas y 11 autóctonas) capturados entre 1986-1987 en la cuenca del río Valdivia, demostró la existencia de plerocercoides de D. latum y/o Diphyllobothrium dendriticum en Salmo gairdneri y Salmo trutta, entre los peces introducidos, y en algunas especies autóctonas. La prevalencia e intensidad media en las infecciones de los peces así como el grado de agregación de las infrapoblaciones varía en los distintos sectores. Algunas especies de peces actuarían como huésped intermediario y otras como huéspedes paraténicos de Diphyllobothrium spp. en la cuenca del río Valdivia. Como medidas de control para la difilobotriasis en los distritos afectados se propone un mejoramiento de las condiciones de saneamiento básico, educación sanitaria y tratamiento de las personas infectadas.

Cystic fibrosis with normal sweat chloride concentration: case report

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease usually diagnosed by abnormal sweat testing. We report a case of an 18-year-old female with bronchiectasis, chronic P. aeruginosa infection, and normal sweat chloride concentrations who experienced rapid decrease of lung function and clinical deterioration despite treatment. Given the high suspicion ofcystic fibrosis, broad genotyping testing was performed, showing a compound heterozygous with deltaF508 and 3849+10kb C->T mutations, therefore confirming cystic fibrosis diagnosis. Although the sweat chloride test remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, alternative diagnostic tests such as genotyping and electrophysiologic measurements must be performed if there is suspicion of cystic fibrosis, despite normal or borderline sweat chloride levels.

Fatty Acid and Cholesterol Concentrations in Usually Consumed Fish in Brazil

Background: Several studies have demonstrated clinical benefits of fish consumption for the cardiovascular system. These effects are attributed to the increased amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids in these foods. However, the concentrations of fatty acids may vary according to region. Objective: The goal of this study was to determine the amount of,cholesterol and fatty acids in 10 Brazilian fishes and in a non-native farmed salmon usually consumed in Brazil. Methods: The concentrations of cholesterol and fatty acids, especially omega-3, were determined in grilled fishes. Each fish sample was divided in 3 sub-samples (chops) and each one was extracted from the fish to minimize possible differences in muscle and fat contents. Results: The largest cholesterol amount was found in white grouper (107.6 mg/100 g of fish) and the smallest in badejo (70 mg/100 g). Omega-3 amount varied from 0.01 g/100 g in badejo to 0.900 g/100 g in weakfish. Saturated fat varied from 0.687 g/100 g in seabass to 4.530 g/100 g in filhote. The salmon had the greatest concentration of polyunsaturated fats (3.29 g/100 g) and the highest content of monounsaturated was found in pescadinha (5.98 g/100 g). Whiting and boyfriend had the best omega-6/omega 3 ratios respectively 2.22 and 1.19, however these species showed very little amounts of omega-3. Conclusion: All studied Brazilian fishes and imported salmon have low amounts of saturated fat and most of them also have low amounts of omega-3.

Distribuição geográfica potencial de espécies americanas do caranguejo "violinista" (Uca spp.) (Crustacea, Decapoda) com base em modelagem de nicho ecológico

Caranguejos do gênero Uca Leach, 1814 (caranguejo "violinista") são um grupo bem conhecido e caracterizado por um acentuado dimorfismo sexual e assimetria da quela do macho. Atualmente, estão descritas 97 espécies no mundo. Objetivou-se estimar a distribuição geográfica potencial de 4 espécies do gênero Uca que ocorrem na costa do continente Americano: Uca maracoani Latreille, 1802-1803, U. uruguayensis Nobili, 1901, U. panacea Novak & Salmon, 1974 e U. monilifera Rathbun, 1914. Para modelar a distribuição dessas espécies nas Américas foram utilizados pontos de ocorrência compilados da literatura. Para a modelagem foram utilizados os programas Maxent e GARP a partir de 10 variáveis climáticas e três variáveis topográficas. Todas as variáveis foram convertidas para uma malha com resolução de 0,0417 graus. Nos dois modelos (Maxent e GARP) as espécies apresentaram distribuição geográfica maior do que sugerido por outros trabalhos de registro de ocorrência, com exceção de U. monilifera. Segundo o critério de área sob a curva (AUC), os modelos gerados pelo GARP apresentaram melhores resultados do que os modelos do Maxent. Entretanto, avaliando em conjunto os resultados dos dois modelos é possível melhor estabelecer planos de conservação para espécies com habitat restrito (U. panaceae e U. monilifera), além de recomendar um aumento na amostragem de U. maracoani no nordeste brasileiro e U. uruguyaensis no sudeste brasileiro, a fim de detectar possíveis aumentos na sua distribuição geográfica com base nas predições dos modelos de nicho.

Morphometric differences in two calanoid sibling species, Boeckella gracilipes and B. titicacae (Crustacea, Copepoda)

Calanoid copepods are abundant in South American inland waters and include widespread species, such as Boeckella gracilipes (Daday, 1902), which occurs from the Ecuador to Tierra del Fuego Island. This species occurs under various environmental conditions, and is found in oligotrophic lakes in Patagonia (39-54°S) and in shallow mountain lakes north of 39°S. The aim of the present study is to conduct a morphometric comparison of male specimens of B. titicacae collected in Titicaca and B. gracilipes collected in Riñihue lakes, with a third population of B. gracilipes collected in shallow ponds in Salar de Surire. Titicaca and Riñihue lakes are stable environments, whereas Salar de Surire is an extreme environment. These ponds present an extreme environment due to high exposure to solar radiation and high salinity levels. The results of the study revealed differences among the three populations. These results agree well with systematic descriptions in the literature on differences between the populations of Titicaca and Riñihue lakes, and population of Salar de Surire differs slightly from the other two populations. It is probable that the differences between the population of Salar de Surire and the other two populations result from the extreme environment in Salar de Surire. High exposure to solar radiation, high salinity and extreme variations in temperature enhance genetic variations that are consequently expressed in morphology.

Tryptophan metabolism in tsetse flies and the consequences of its derangement

Literature comparing salmon and wild type Glossina morsitans morsitans and that comparing tan and wild type Glossina palpalis palpalis is reviewed. New information is presented on behaviour and biochemistry of salmon and wild type G. m. morsitans. The eye color mutants result from two lesions in the tryptophan to xanthommatin pathway: lack of tryptophan oxygenase in G. m morsitans and failure to produce or retain xanthommatin in eyes (but not in testes) of G. p. palpalis. The salmon allele in G. m. morsitans is pleiotropic and profoundly affects many aspects of fly biology including longevity, reproductive capacity, vision, vectorial capacity and duration of flight, but not circadian rhythms. The tan allele in G. p. palpalis has little effect upon the biology of flies under laboratory conditions, except that tan flies appear less active than normal. Adult tsetse flies metabolize tryptophan to kynurenine which is excreted; fluctuations in activities of the enzymes producing kynurenine suggest this pathway is under metabolic control.

Ecological aspects of nematode parasites of introduced salmonids from Valdivia river basin, Chile

Between 1986 and 1987 fishes distributed among the following species introduced in Chile, and from different sectors of the Valdivia river basin (39º30' - 40º00', 73º30' - 71º45'W), were examined: 348 Salmo trutta, 242 Salmo gairdneri, 24 Cyprinus carpio and 52 Gambusia affinis holbrooki. The presence of Camallanus corderoi and Contracaecum sp. in S. gairdneri and of C. corderoi in S. trutta is recorded in Chile for the first time. Cyprinus carpio and G. a. holbrooki did not present infections by nematodes. The prevalence and mean intensity of the infections by nematodes presented significant differences among some sectors of the Valdivia river basin. In general, the prevalence and intensity of the infections by C. corderoi were greater than those by Contracaecum sp. The infections in S. gairdneri were higher than in S. trutta. The sex of the hosts had no influence on the prevalence and intensity of the infections by both nematodes. The length of the hosts did have an influence, except in the case of the infections by Contracaecum sp. in S, gairdneri. The infrapopulations of both nematode species showed over dispersion in most cases. The diet of the examined salmonids suggests that they would become infected principally throught the consuption of autochthonous fishes.

DIVERSIDADE GENOTÍPICA E PATOGÊNICA DE Colletotrichum musae NO ESTADO DE PERNAMBUCO

Sessenta isolados de oriundos de Colletotrichumcampos de produção de banana dos Municípios de Vicência, São VicenteFérrer e Machados, no Estado de Pernambuco, foram avaliados quanto a características morfológicas,moleculares, culturais, de virulência e de diversidade genética. Os isolados foram identificados como C. musae, tendo a maioria conídios retos, oblongos, com ápices arredondados. A taxa de crescimento micelial variou de1,36 a 1,91 cm/dia. Foram encontrados três grupos de coloração para as colônias: branca, creme e salmão,enquanto a presença de setores variou de 0 a 8 por isolado e, na maioria dos isolados (73,3%), houve a presença de microescleródios. A diferença em virulência foi significativa para a área abaixo da curva de progresso da doença, indicando variabilidade entre os isolados. O dendrograma gerado pela análise UPGMA dos marcadores ISSR–PCR revelou a formação de três grupos pelo coeficiente de similaridade de Dice, os quais correspondem, na sua maioria, às três áreas amostradas.

Susceptibility weighted imaging: differentiating between calcification and hemosiderin

Objective:To present a detailed explanation on the processing of magnetic susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI), demonstrating the effects of echo time and sensitive mask on the differentiation between calcification and hemosiderin.Materials and Methods:Computed tomography and magnetic resonance (magnitude and phase) images of six patients (age range 41– 54 years; four men) were retrospectively selected. The SWI images processing was performed using the Matlab’s own routine.Results:Four out of the six patients showed calcifications at computed tomography images and their SWI images demonstrated hyperintense signal at the calcification regions. The other patients did not show any calcifications at computed tomography, and SWI revealed the presence of hemosiderin deposits with hypointense signal.Conclusion:The selection of echo time and of the mask may change all the information on SWI images, and compromise the diagnostic reliability. Amongst the possible masks, the authors highlight that the sigmoid mask allows for contrasting calcifications and hemosiderin on a single SWI image.

Simulação de espectros de ressonância paramagnética eletrônica (RPE) através do programa NLSL

EPR users often face the problem of extracting information from frequently low-resolution and complex EPR spectra. Simulation programs that provide a series of parameters, characteristic of the investigated system, have been used to achieve this goal. This work describes the general aspects of one of those programs, the NLSL program, used to fit EPR spectra applying a nonlinear least squares method. Several motion regimes of the probes are included in this computational tool, covering a broad range of spectral changes. The meanings of the different parameters and rotational diffusion models are discussed. The anisotropic case is also treated by including an orienting potential and order parameters. Some examples are presented in order to show its applicability in different systems.

Ultimobranchial gland of freshwater catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis, in response to calcitonin administration

The absence o!!f a hypocalcemic effect of calcitonin (CT) in fishes has been suggested due to exceedingly high plasma levels of CT; the fish may be saturated with respect of circulating CT and therefore unable to respond to exogenously administered CT. Earlier it has been suggested that a hypocalcemic action of injected CT may be obscured by changes in the release of endogenous CT and other calcium regulating hormones. In this study we have used artificial freshwater, calcium-deficient freshwater and calcium-rich freshwater and injected the fish with CT. The aim behind selecting these media were (i) in calcium-deficient medium there would be reduced circulating levels of CT, (ii) in calcium-rich medium there would be diminished secretion of prolactin (this hormone is hypercalcemic in fish), and (iii) by keeping the fish in calcium-rich medium we can test the antihypercalcemic action of CT. Moreover, the present study would reveal the changes in the ultimobranchial gland (UBG) after keeping the fish in all the above three media and/or injecting the fish with CT. Freshwater catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis, were administered intraperitoneally daily with vehicle or 0.5 U/100g body wt of salmon calcitonin (CT) and kept in artificial freshwater, calcium-rich freshwater and calcium-deficient freshwater for 10 days. Blood samples were collected on 1, 3, 5, and 10 days following the treatment and analyzed for serum calcium levels. The ultimobranchial gland (UBG) was also fixed for histological studies on these intervals. In artificial freshwater there was no change in the serum calcium levels of calcitonin-injected fish. The ultimobranchial gland of calcitonin-injected fish exhibited a progressive decrease in the nuclear volume from day 5 onwards. On day 10 vacuolization in the gland was also noticed. In vehicle-injected fish (control) kept in calcium-rich freshwater hypercalcemia has been noticed which persists till the end of the experiment. In calcitonin-treated fish maintained in calcium-rich freshwater there is no change in serum calcium level as compared to vehicle-injected fish. In vehicle-injected fish the UBG depicts decreased staining response and increased nuclear volume at day 5. On day 10 the nuclear volume is further increased and few degenerating cells have been noticed. Calcitonin fails to induce any histological change in the UBG as compared to control. In vehicle-injected fish kept in calcium-deficient freshwater the serum calcium levels decrease from day 1 to day 3. The levels exhibit hypercalcemia on day 10. CT treatment to the fish kept in calcium-deficient freshwater evokes a decrease in the calcium levels on day 1 and day 3. A significant hypercalcemia has been noticed on day 5 and day 10. In vehicle-injected fish kept in calcium-deficient freshwater the UBG reveals a decreased staining response on day 10. In CT-injected fish maintained in calcium-deficient freshwater the UBG depicts an increased nuclear volume and few exhausted cells on day 10. It can be concluded that CT can provoke hypocalcemia only when the fish is kept in medium which reduces the circulating levels of this hormone. The UBG of the fish kept in different calcemic media responded in a manner to indicate that it produces hypocalcemic factor - CT.