Vector competence experiments with Rocio virus and three mosquito species from the epidemic zone in Brazil

First-generation progeny of field-collected Psorophora ferox, Aedes scapularis, and Aedes serratus from the Rocio encephalitis epidemic zone in S.Paulo State, Brazil, were tested for vector competency in the laboratory. Psorophora ferox and Ae. scapularis are susceptible to per os infection with Rocio virus and can transmit the virus by bite following a suitable incubation period. Oral ID50S for the two species (10(4.1) and 10(4.3) Vero cell plaque forming units, respectively) did not differ significantly. Infection rates in Ae. serratus never exceeded 36%, and, consequently, an ID50 could not be calculated for this species. It is unlikely that Ae. serratus is an epidemiologically important vector of Rocio virus. The utility of an in vitro feeding technique for demonstrating virus transmission by infected mosquitoes and difficulties encountered in working with uncolonized progeny of field-collected mosquitoes are discussed.

Health education: the role and functions of the specialist and the generalist

Education for health is a process in which all public health and medical care personnel are involved. People learn both formally (planned learning experiences) and informally (unplanned learning experiences). Since the patient, the client, the consummer and the community expect public health and medical care personnel to assist them with health and disease issues and problems, the response of the professional "educates" the customer whether the professional intends to educate or not. Therefore, it is incumbent on all public health and medical care professionals to understand their educational functions and their role in health education. It is also important that the role of the specialist in education be clear. The specialist, as to all other specialists, has an in-depth knowledge of his area of expertise, i.e., the teaching/learning process; s/he may function as a consultant to others to enhance the educational potential of their role or s/he may work with a team or with communities or groups of patients. Specific competencies and knowledge are required of the health education specialist; and there is a body of learning and social change theory which provides a frame of reference for planning, implementing and evaluating educational programs. Working with others to enhance their potential to learn and to make informed decisions about health/disease issues is the hallmark of the health education specialist.

Candidin: comparison of two antigens for cutaneous delayed hypersensitivity testing

A candidin, which is a suspension of killed yeast cells, is commonly used for intradermal tests of delayed hypersensitivity, to evaluate the immunological cellular competence of the patient, when the test is applied along with other similar tests. When working with a cellular antigen, the histopathology of positive skin tests reveals a cellular infiltrate which not only presents a characteristic hypersensitivity reaction but also a neutrophilic abscess in the central part. This research presents the results of a comparison between the yeast cell suspension and the polysaccharide antigens, both obtained from the same strains of Candida albicans. The results obtained by skin tests in one hundred individuals were 61.0% with the polysaccharide antigen and 69.0% with the yeast cell suspension antigen. Concordant results concerning the two antigens were observed in 82.0% of the individuals. The discussion section presents an assumption to explain the differences of positivity obtained with the two antigens. We conclude that the polysaccharide antigen can be utilized in the intradermal test of delayed hypersensitivity to Candida albicans.

Fermentação da gelose pelas bacterias anaerobias

1 - Anaerobic bacteria of the Clostridium genus acidify mineral media without when agar is added. 2 - Acidulation results from the attack on the agar as a source of carbon. 3 - The quantity of CO² produced by the decomposition of the agar is approximately that obtained with soil bacteria as shown by Waksmann and Diehm working with hemicelluloses. Although galactone is less atacked than the other hemicelluloses the acidity produced is sufficient to disturb the fermentation tests in semi-solid media with agar. 4 - The acidulation of Spray's sugar-free control medium is probably due to the decomposition of the agar by anaerobes. The acidity produced may interfere with the acidity of the fermentation of the sugar in Spray's test or may be added to it, thus giving a false indication of the real acidity.

Preparo de filmes-suporte para microscópio eletrônico

Working with low voltage microscope (R.C.A., EMC-2, of 30KV.) the authors verified that parlodion and Formvar films are quickly destroyed by intense heating under the electron beam. They have tried to employ oxide films, as Al2O3 and SiO, more resistant to heat. Al2O3 films are prepared by anodic oxidation of thin aluminium sheets, under 8 to 10 volts in a 3% ammonium citrate solution and subsequent aluminium dissolution in a O.25% HgCl2 solution. These films are very suitable when prepared with highly pure aluminium of extremely homogeneous surface. Best results were obtained with SiO films, evaporated in high vacuum over Parlodion films mounted on metallic grids. Employing 1 or 1.5 mg of SiOm highly homogeneous and resistant films are obtained, having little inferior transparence than the Parlodion ones. Pure SiO films (1.5 mg) are obtained by elimination of the Parlodion under slow heating until 250°C; they are greatly transparent but little resistant to water, thus beeing indicated in dry preparations. For particles which deposite in a chain-like form around thin fibers, the authors employ the mounting on Parlodion fibers, obtained by heating Parlodion films on microscope grids about 190°C.

Notas de ixodologia: IX. O complexo ovale do gênero Amblyomma

It was impossible to confirm either WARBUTON's conservative nor TONELLI RONDELLI's opposite belief on the number of valid species after studying many lots of ticks of the ovale group, mainly from Brazil. Two species are recognized: Amblyomma ovale Koch, 1844 and Amblyomma aureolatum (Pallas, 1772), corresponding respectively to A. fossum Neumann, 1898 and A. stratum Koch, 1844. A list of synonyms is presented. Both species are redescribed and intraspecific morphological variation show to be the cause of the multiplication of species by those working with insufficient material. Color plates of both species are presented and hosts and localities of captures are recorded.

Trypanosoma cruzi-elicited CD8+ T cell-mediated myocarditis: chemokine receptors and adhesion molecules as potential therapeutic targets to control chronic inflammation?

In Chagas disease, during the acute phase, the establishment of inflammatory processes is crucial for Trypanosoma cruzi control in target tissues and for the establishment of host/parasite equilibrium. However, in about 30% of the patients, inflammation becomes progressive, resulting in chronic disease, mainly characterized by myocarditis. Although several hypothesis have been raised to explain the pathogenesis of chagasic myocardiopathy, including the persistence of the parasite and/or participation of autoimmune processes, the molecular mechanisms underlying the establishment of the inflammatory process leading to parasitism control but also contributing to the maintenance of T. cruzi-elicited chronic myocarditis remain unsolved. Trying to shed light on these questions, we have for several years been working with murine models for Chagas disease that reproduce the acute self-resolving meningoencephalitis, the encephalitis resulting of reactivation described in immunodeficient individuals, and several aspects of the acute and chronic myocarditis. In the present review, our results are summarized and discussed under the light of the current literature. Furthermore, rational therapeutic intervention strategies based on integrin-mediated adhesion and chemokine receptor-driven recruitment of leukocytes are proposed to control T. cruzi-elicited unbalanced inflammation.

A bacterial artificial chromosome library for Biomphalaria glabrata, intermediate snail host of Schistosoma mansoni

To provide a novel resource for analysis of the genome of Biomphalaria glabrata, members of the international Biomphalaria glabrata Genome Initiative (biology.unm.edu/biomphalaria-genome.html), working with the Arizona Genomics Institute (AGI) and supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), produced a high quality bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library. The BB02 strain B. glabrata, a field isolate (Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil) that is susceptible to several strains of Schistosoma mansoni, was selfed for two generations to reduce haplotype diversity in the offspring. High molecular weight DNA was isolated from ovotestes of 40 snails, partially digested with HindIII, and ligated into pAGIBAC1 vector. The resulting B. glabrata BAC library (BG_BBa) consists of 61824 clones (136.3 kb average insert size) and provides 9.05 × coverage of the 931 Mb genome. Probing with single/low copy number genes from B. glabrata and fingerprinting of selected BAC clones indicated that the BAC library sufficiently represents the gene complement. BAC end sequence data (514 reads, 299860 nt) indicated that the genome of B. glabrata contains ~ 63% AT, and disclosed several novel genes, transposable elements, and groups of high frequency sequence elements. This BG_BBa BAC library, available from AGI at cost to the research community, gains in relevance because BB02 strain B. glabrata is targeted whole genome sequencing by NHGRI.

Daughter of time: the postmodern midwife (Part 1)

This article presents the notion of the postmodern midwife, defining her as one who takes a relativistic stance toward bio-medicine and other knowledge systems, alternative and indigenous, moving fluidly between them to serve the women she attends. She is locally and globally aware, culturally competent, and politically engaged, working with the resources at hand to preserve midwifery in the interests of women. Her informed relativism is most accessible to professional midwives but is also beginning to characterize some savvy traditional midwives in various countries. Thus the concept of the postmodern midwife can serve as a bridge across the ethnic, racial, and status gaps that divide the professional from the traditional midwife, and as an analytical focal point for understanding how the members of each group negotiate their identities and their roles in a changing world.

Experimental Method to Determine Some Physical Properties in Physics Classes

ABSTRACT Particle density, gravimetric and volumetric water contents and porosity are important basic concepts to characterize porous systems such as soils. This paper presents a proposal of an experimental method to measure these physical properties, applicable in experimental physics classes, in porous media samples consisting of spheres with the same diameter (monodisperse medium) and with different diameters (polydisperse medium). Soil samples are not used given the difficulty of working with this porous medium in laboratories dedicated to teaching basic experimental physics. The paper describes the method to be followed and results of two case studies, one in monodisperse medium and the other in polydisperse medium. The particle density results were very close to theoretical values for lead spheres, whose relative deviation (RD) was -2.9 % and +0.1 % RD for the iron spheres. The RD of porosity was also low: -3.6 % for lead spheres and -1.2 % for iron spheres, in the comparison of procedures – using particle and porous medium densities and saturated volumetric water content – and monodisperse and polydisperse media.

Parâmetros e símbolos a serem utilizados em Ressonância Magnética Nuclear

NMR is now frequently the technique of choice for determination of chemical structure in solution. Its uses also span structure in solids and mobility at the molecular level in all phases. The research literature in the subject is vast and ever-increasing. Unfortunately, many articles do not contain sufficient information for experiments to be repeated elsewhere, and there are many variations in the usage of symbols for the same physical quantity. It is the aim of the present recommendations to provide simple check-lists that will enable such problems to be minimised in a way that is consistent with general IUPAC formulation. The area of medical NMR and imaging is not specifically addressed in these recommendations, which are principally aimed at mainstream use of NMR by chemists (of all sub-disciplines) and by many physicists, biologists, material scientists and geologists etc. working with NMR.

A qualidade de água como indicador de uso e ocupação do solo: bacia do Gama - Distrito Federal

The spread of Brasília isn't accompanied by correct support of land occupation, situation that is reflected in water quality. Under the optics of land use and occupation, working with multivariate statistics as main tool, water physical and chemical quality of Gama Catchment were assessed. During two years samples were collected and analyzed for 24 parameters. The statistical analysis showed the influence of civil buildings, agricultural activities and the best statistical parameters to a quickly assessment: nitrate, ammonia, suspended solids and aluminium.

CONSTRUÇÃO DE UM DISPOSITIVO DE PRESSURIZAÇÃO A VÁCUO PARA A PREPARAÇÃO DE FASES ESTACIONÁRIAS MONOLÍTICAS VIA PROCESSO SOL-GEL

The filling of capillaries via the sol-gel process is growing. Therefore, this technical note focuses on disseminating knowledge acquired in the Group of Analytical Chemistry and Chemometrics over seven years working with monolithic stationary phase preparation in fused silica capillaries. We believe that the detailed information presented in this technical note concerning the construction of an alternative high pressurization device, used to fill capillary columns via the sol-gel process, which has promising potential for applications involving capillary electrochromatography and liquid chromatography in nano scale, may be enlightening and motivating for groups interested in developing research activities within this theme.

Evaluation of empirical methods to estimate reference evapotranspiration in Uberaba, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Evapotranspiration is the process of water loss of vegetated soil due to evaporation and transpiration, and it may be estimated by various empirical methods. This study had the objective to carry out the evaluation of the performance of the following methods: Blaney-Criddle, Jensen-Haise, Linacre, Solar Radiation, Hargreaves-Samani, Makkink, Thornthwaite, Camargo, Priestley-Taylor and Original Penman in the estimation of the potential evapotranspiration when compared to the Penman-Monteith standard method (FAO56) to the climatic conditions of Uberaba, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. A set of 21 years monthly data (1990 to 2010) was used, working with the climatic elements: temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and insolation. The empirical methods to estimate reference evapotranspiration were compared with the standard method using linear regression, simple statistical analysis, Willmott agreement index (d) and performance index (c). The methods Makkink and Camargo showed the best performance, with "c" values ​​of 0.75 and 0.66, respectively. The Hargreaves-Samani method presented a better linear relation with the standard method, with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.88.