Identification of genes associated with local aggressiveness and metastatic behavior in soft tissue tumors

Soft tissue tumors represent a group of neoplasia with different histologic and biological presentations varying from benign, locally confined to very aggressive and metastatic tumors. The molecular mechanisms responsible for such differences are still unknown. The understanding of these molecular alterations mechanism will be critical to discriminate patients who need systemic treatment from those that can be treated only locally and could also guide the development of new drugs` against this tumors. Using 102 tumor samples representing a large spectrum of these tumors, we performed expression profiling and defined differentially expression genes that are likely to be involved in tumors that are locally aggressive and in tumors with metastatic potential. We described a set of 12 genes (SNRPD3, MEGF9, SPTAN-1, AFAP1L2, ENDOD1, SERPIN5, ZWINTAS, TOP2A, UBE2C, ABCF1, MCM2, and ARL6IP5) showing opposite expression when these two conditions were compared. These genes are mainly related to cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions and cell proliferation and might represent helpful tools for a more precise classification and diagnosis as well as potential drug targets.

Identification of a bisegmented double-stranded RNA virus (picobirnavirus) in calf faeces

To determine the incidence of rotavirus infection among dairy herds in the State of Sdo Paulo, Brazil, 576 faecal samples obtained from calves aged 1-45 days with and without diarrhoea, reared on 63 dairy cattle farms, were analyzed. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) identified 28 samples positive for group A rotavirus, while four samples, two diarrhoeic and two non-diarrhoeic, showed a bisegmented genome with a typical picobirnavirus pattern. Electron microscopy revealed spherical virus particles with a diameter of 37 nm and without a defined surface structure. The present study is the first report of a bisegmented virus identified in cattle in Brazil. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identification and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Pasteurella multocida isolated from chickens and japanese quails in Brazil

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

Secular dynamics and family identification among highly inclined asteroids in the Euphrosyne region

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

Identification of lubricant contamination by biodiesel using vibration analysis and neural network

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide information on lubricant contamination by biodiesel using vibration and neural network.Design/methodology/approach - The possible contamination of lubricants is verified by analyzing the vibration and neural network of a bench test under determinated conditions.Findings - Results have shown that classical signal analysis methods could not reveal any correlation between the signal and the presence of contamination, or contamination grade. on other hand, the use of probabilistic neural network (PNN) was very successful in the identification and classification of contamination and its grade.Research limitations/implications - This study was done for some specific kinds of biodiesel. Other types of biodiesel could be analyzed.Practical implications Contamination information is presented in the vibration signal, even if it is not evident by classical vibration analysis. In addition, the use of PNN gives a relatively simple and easy-to-use detection tool with good confidence. The training process is fast, and allows implementation of an adaptive training algorithm.Originality/value - This research could be extended to an internal combustion engine in order to verify a possible contamination by biodiesel.

Identification of dementia cases in the community: A Brazilian experience

OBJECTIVES: To describe the application in Brazil of a simple, low-cost procedure, developed in India by the 10/66 Dementia Research Group, for the identification of dementia cases in the community.DESIGN: Community-based dementia case-finding method.SETTING: Piraju, São Paulo, Brazil.PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-five community health workers were trained to identify dementia cases in 2,222 people aged 65 and older in Piraju, a Brazilian town with 27,871 inhabitants.MEAUREMENTS: After the training, the health workers prepared a list of possible cases that afterward an experienced psychiatrist clinically evaluated, according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), criteria and the Clinical Dementia Rating.RESULTS: of the 72 cases that were clinically assessed, 45 met the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for dementia. Therefore, the positive predictive value of this case finding method was 62.5%; the estimated frequency of dementia was 2%. Most of the confirmed cases met clinical criteria for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.CONCLUSION: This simple method was appropriate to identify cases of dementia in the general population and can possibly be extended to other developing countries with limited resources to be applied in health programs.

Identification and description of distinct B chromosomes in Cyphocharax modestus (Characiformes, Curimatidae)

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

The identification of beta-thalassemia mutants in Brazilians with high Hb F levels

As hemoglobinopatias são um grupo de afecções genéticas que representam problema de saúde pública em muitos países em que sua incidência é alta, com significativa morbidade. Objetivamos identificar defeitos moleculares que pudessem explicar o perfil laboratorial obtido por eletroforese e HPLC com Hb F elevada, em um grupo de indivíduos adultos sem sinais ou sintomas de anemia. Encontramos cinco diferentes mutações que originam beta talassemia por PCR-ASO: três casos com CD 6 (-A), um CD 39, um IVS 1-5, um -87 todas de origem mediterrânea, e um IVS II-654 de origem asiática. As mutações CD 6 (-A), -87 e IVS II-654 foram descritas pela primeira vez na população brasileira.

Guiana dolphins, Sotalia guianensis (Cetacea: Delphinidae), in the Paranaguá Estuarine Complex: insights on the use of area based on the photo-identification technique

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

Identification of haploid maize by flow cytometry, morphological and molecular markers

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Duffy blood group gene polymorphisms among malaria vivax patients in four areas of the Brazilian Amazon region

Background: Duffy blood group polymorphisms are important in areas where Plasmodium vivax predominates, because this molecule acts as a receptor for this protozoan. In the present study, Duffy blood group genotyping in P. vivax malaria patients from four different Brazilian endemic areas is reported, exploring significant associations between blood group variants and susceptibility or resistance to malaria.Methods: the P. vivax identification was determined by non-genotypic and genotypic screening tests. The Duffy blood group was genotyped by PCR/RFLP in 330 blood donors and 312 malaria patients from four Brazilian Amazon areas. In order to assess the variables significance and to obtain independence among the proportions, the Fisher's exact test was used.Results: the data show a high frequency of the FYA/FYB genotype, followed by FYB/FYB, FYA/FYA, FYA/FYB-33 and FYB/FYB-33. Low frequencies were detected for the FYA/FY(X), FYB/FY(X), FYX/FY(X) and FYB-33/FYB-33 genotypes. Negative Duffy genotype (FYB-33/FYB-33) was found in both groups: individuals infected and non-infected (blood donors). No individual carried the FY(X)/FYB-33 genotype. Some of the Duffy genotypes frequencies showed significant differences between donors and malaria patients.Conclusion: the obtained data suggest that individuals with the FYA/FYB genotype have higher susceptibility to malaria. The presence of the FYB-33 allele may be a selective advantage in the population, reducing the rate of infection by P. vivax in this region. Additional efforts may contribute to better elucidate the physiopathologic differences in this parasite/host relationship in regions endemic for P. vivax malaria, in particular the Brazilian Amazon region.

Identification of sex in Carica papaya L. using RAPD markers

Brazil is currently the worlds largest producer of papaya (Carica papaya L.), producing fruits for both the domestic market and export. Only fruits from hermaphrodite plants are marketed because they have the necessary commercial characteristics, i.e. they are pear-shaped and have thicker flesh and a smaller internal cavity. Increased papaya yield has been limited mainly by the ratio of female to hermaphrodite (1:2) plants normally occurring in orchards. This ratio causes great losses to papaya producers and the identification of the sex of seedlings during the nursery stage would be an important advance. In our study random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to differentiate between the sexual forms of three commercial C. papaya cultivars belonging to the Solo group. RAPD assays using the BC210 primer were able to detect hermaphrodites in all of the cultivars tested. The BC210(438)molecular marker was much better at papaya sex differentiation than other markers described in the literature.

Identification of QTLs associated with citrus resistance to Phytophthora gummosis

Citrus gummosis, caused by Phylophthora spp., is an important citrus disease in Brazil. Almost all citrus rootstock varieties are susceptible to it to some degree, whereas resistance is present in Poncirus trifoliata, a closely related species. The objective of this study was to detect QTLs linked to citrus Phylophthora gummosis resistance. Eighty individuals of the F, progeny, obtained by controlled crosses between Sunki mandarin Citrus sunki (susceptible) and Poncirus trifoliata cv. Rubidoux (resistant), were evaluated. Resistance to Phytophthora parasitica was evaluated by inoculating stems of young plants with a disc of fungal mycelia and measuring lesion lengths a month later. Two QTLs linked to gummosis resistance were detected in linkage groups I and 5 of the P. trifoliala map, and one QTL in linkage group 2 of the C sunki map. The phenotypic variation explained by individual QTLs was 14% for C sunki and ranged from 16 to 24% for P. trifoliala. The low character heritability (h(2) = 18.7%) and the detection of more than one QTL associated with citrus Phytophthora gummosis resistance showed that inheritance of the resistance is quantitative.

Identification of polymorphisms in the 5 '-untranslated region of the TAFI gene: relationship with plasma TAFI levels and risk of venous thrombosis

Background and Objectives. Thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) plays an important role in hemostasis, functioning as a potent fibrinolysis inhibitor. TAFI gene variations may contribute to plasma TAFI levels and thrombotic risk.Design and Methods. We sequenced a 2083-bp region of the 5 ' -regulatory region of the TAFI gene in 127 healthy subjects searching for variations, and correlated identified polymorphisms with plasma TAFI levels. TAFI polymorphisms were examined as risk factors for venous thrombosis by determining their prevalence in 388 patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and in 388 controls.Results. Seven novel polymorphisms were identified: -152 A/G, -438 A/G, -530 C/T, -1053 T/C, -1102 T/G, -1690 G/A, and -1925 T/C. -152 A/G, -530 C/T and -1925 T/C were found to be in strong linkage disequilibrium, as were the -438 A/G, -1053 T/C, -1102 T/G and -1690 G/A, Plasma TAFI levels were higher in -43866/-1053CC/-1102GG/-1690AA homozygotes than In -438AG/-1053TC/-1102TG/-1690GA heterozygotes, and -438AA/-1053TT/-1102TT/-1690GG homozygotes had the lowest TAFI levels (p=0.0003). TAFI concentrations in -152AA/-530CC/-1925TT homozygotes were somewhat higher but not significantly different from levels observed for -152AG/-530CT/-1925TC heterozygotes, Taken in combination, -438AG/-1053TC/-1102TG/-1690GA and -438AA/-1053TT/-1102TT/-1690GG yielded an OR for DVT of 0.8 (95%CI: 0.6-1). in subjects aged < 35 years the OR was 0.7 (95%CI: 0.5-1.1), the OR for -152AG/-530CT/-1925TC was 1 (95%CI: 0.5-2.2) in the whole group of patients and controls, whereas in subjects aged <35 years the OR was 0.1 (95%CI: 0.02-0.9).Interpretation and Conclusions. Polymorphisms in the TAFI promoter determine plasma antigen levels and may influence the risk of venous thrombophilia. <(c)>2001, Ferrata Storti Foundation.