Morfologia dos órgãos genitais masculinos do Jurará Kinosternon scorpioides (Chelonia: Kinosternidae)

Kinosternon scorpioides é uma pequena tartaruga semi-aquática, típica de água doce, de distribuição geográfica bastante diversificada, encontrada no estado do Maranhão, onde é denominada de jurará ou muçuã. Sua carne é uma excelente fonte de proteína e a despeito da legislação vigente, é comercializado nas praias e feiras da cidade de São Luís e consumido nos restaurantes sob a forma de farofa servida em casquinha. Os órgãos genitais do macho foram estudados visando fornecer dados morfológicos da própria espécie, que poderão ser utilizados na biologia reprodutiva voltada para ações de preservação em cativeiro. Compõe-se a amostra de 10 machos adultos, obtidos mediante apreensões do IBAMA-MA (Proc. nº 020.12.002400/99-31, licença nº 002/01), os quais foram eutanaziados conforme normas do Comitê de Ética do Curso de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Estadual do Maranhão. A cavidade celomática foi aberta e os órgãos fixados em solução aquosa de formaldeído 10%, e posteriormente dissecados. Os testículos possuem formato ovóide e coloração amarelo-ouro. Os epidídimos convolutos estavam aderidos dorsalmente à superfície medial dos testículos, terminando em um pequeno ducto deferente. Os ductos deferentes não forma-ram nenhuma ampola distinta, abrindo-se na cloaca. O pênis sulcado, localizado no assoalho da cloaca, estendeu-se até a cauda, composto de raíz, corpo e glande. A morfologia dos órgãos reprodutivos destes animais assemelha-se aos de outras tartarugas, sugerindo uma morfologia conservada entre as tartarugas.

Expression and distribution of connexin 32 in rat liver with experimentally induced fibrosis

The connexin 32 (Cx32) is a protein that forms the channels that promote the gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC) in the liver, allowing the diffusion of small molecules through cytosol from cell-to-cell. Hepatic fibrosis is characterized by a disruption of normal tissue architeture by cellular lesions, and may alter the GJIC. This work aimed to study the expression and distribution of Cx32 in liver fibrosis induced by the oral administration of dimethylnitrosamine in female Wistar rats. The necropsy of the rats was carried out after five weeks of drug administration. They presented a hepatic fibrosis state. Sections from livers with fibrosis and from control livers were submitted to immunohistochemical, Real Time-PCR and Western-Blot analysis to Cx32. In fibrotic livers the Cxs were diffusely scattered in the cytoplasm, contrasting with the control livers, where the Cx32 formed junction plaques at the cell membrane. Also it was found a decrease in the gene expression of Cx32 without reduction in the protein quantity when compared with controls. These results suggest that there the mechanism of intercellular communication between hepatocytes was reduced by the fibrotic process, which may predispose to the occurrence of a neoplastic process, taken in account that connexins are considered tumor suppressing genes.

Prevalence and social distribution of risk factors for chronic noncommunicable diseases in Brazil

OBJETIVOS: Evaluar los factores de riesgo de enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles (ECNT) e identificar las desigualdades sociales relacionadas con su distribución en la población adulta brasileña.MÉTODOS: Se estudiaron los factores de riesgo de ECNT (entre ellos el consumo de tabaco, el sobrepeso y la obesidad, el bajo consumo de frutas y vegetales [BCFV], la insuficiente actividad física en el tiempo de ocio [IAFTO], el estilo de vida sedentario y el consumo excesivo de alcohol) en una muestra probabilística de 54369 adultos de 26 capitales estatales de Brasil y el Distrito Federal en 2006. Se utilizó el Sistema de Vigilancia de los Factores Protectores y de Riesgo para Enfermedades Crónicas No Transmisibles por Entrevistas Telefónicas (VIGITEL), un sistema de encuestas telefónicas asistido por computadora, y se calcularon las prevalencias ajustadas por la edad para las tendencias en cuanto al nivel educacional mediante la regresión de Poisson con modelos lineales. RESULTADOS: Los hombres informaron mayor consumo de tabaco, sobrepeso, BCFV, estilo de vida sedentario y consumo excesivo de alcohol que las mujeres, pero menos IAFTO. En los hombres, la educación se asoció con un mayor sobrepeso y un estilo de vida sedentario, pero con un menor consumo de tabaco, BCFV e IAFTO. En las mujeres, la educación se asoció con un menor consumo de tabaco, sobrepeso, obesidad, BCFV e IAFTO, pero aumentó el estilo de vida sedentario CONCLUSIONES: En Brasil, la prevalencia de factores de riesgo para ECNT (excepto IAFTO) es mayor en los hombres que en las mujeres. En ambos sexos, el nivel de educación influye en la prevalencia de los factores de riesgo para ECNT

Topochemical distribution of lignin and hydroxycinnamic acids in sugar-cane cell walls and its correlation with the enzymatic hydrolysis of polysaccharides

Background: Lignin and hemicelluloses are the major components limiting enzyme infiltration into cell walls. Determination of the topochemical distribution of lignin and aromatics in sugar cane might provide important data on the recalcitrance of specific cells. We used cellular ultraviolet (UV) microspectrophotometry (UMSP) to topochemically detect lignin and hydroxycinnamic acids in individual fiber, vessel and parenchyma cell walls of untreated and chlorite-treated sugar cane. Internodes, presenting typical vascular bundles and sucrose-storing parenchyma cells, were divided into rind and pith fractions. Results: Vascular bundles were more abundant in the rind, whereas parenchyma cells predominated in the pith region. UV measurements of untreated fiber cell walls gave absorbance spectra typical of grass lignin, with a band at 278 nm and a pronounced shoulder at 315 nm, assigned to the presence of hydroxycinnamic acids linked to lignin and/or to arabino-methylglucurono-xylans. The cell walls of vessels had the highest level of lignification, followed by those of fibers and parenchyma. Pith parenchyma cell walls were characterized by very low absorbance values at 278 nm; however, a distinct peak at 315 nm indicated that pith parenchyma cells are not extensively lignified, but contain significant amounts of hydroxycinnamic acids. Cellular UV image profiles scanned with an absorbance intensity maximum of 278 nm identified the pattern of lignin distribution in the individual cell walls, with the highest concentration occurring in the middle lamella and cell corners. Chlorite treatment caused a rapid removal of hydroxycinnamic acids from parenchyma cell walls, whereas the thicker fiber cell walls were delignified only after a long treatment duration (4 hours). Untreated pith samples were promptly hydrolyzed by cellulases, reaching 63% of cellulose conversion after 72 hours of hydrolysis, whereas untreated rind samples achieved only 20% hydrolyzation. Conclusion: The low recalcitrance of pith cells correlated with the low UV-absorbance values seen in parenchyma cells. Chlorite treatment of pith cells did not enhance cellulose conversion. By contrast, application of the same treatment to rind cells led to significant removal of hydroxycinnamic acids and lignin, resulting in marked enhancement of cellulose conversion by cellulases.

Time-frequency and time-scale analysis of Barkhausen noise signals

Carrying out information about the microstructure and stress behaviour of ferromagnetic steels, magnetic Barkhausen noise (MBN) has been used as a basis for effective non-destructive testing methods, opening new areas in industrial applications. One of the factors that determines the quality and reliability of the MBN analysis is the way information is extracted from the signal. Commonly, simple scalar parameters are used to characterize the information content, such as amplitude maxima and signal root mean square. This paper presents a new approach based on the time-frequency analysis. The experimental test case relates the use of MBN signals to characterize hardness gradients in a AISI4140 steel. To that purpose different time-frequency (TFR) and time-scale (TSR) representations such as the spectrogram, the Wigner-Ville distribution, the Capongram, the ARgram obtained from an AutoRegressive model, the scalogram, and the Mellingram obtained from a Mellin transform are assessed. It is shown that, due to nonstationary characteristics of the MBN, TFRs can provide a rich and new panorama of these signals. Extraction techniques of some time-frequency parameters are used to allow a diagnostic process. Comparison with results obtained by the classical method highlights the improvement on the diagnosis provided by the method proposed.

The Relationship between Population Structure and Aluminum Tolerance in Cultivated Sorghum

Background: Acid soils comprise up to 50% of the world's arable lands and in these areas aluminum (Al) toxicity impairs root growth, strongly limiting crop yield. Food security is thereby compromised in many developing countries located in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. In sorghum, SbMATE, an Al-activated citrate transporter, underlies the Alt(SB) locus on chromosome 3 and confers Al tolerance via Al-activated root citrate release. Methodology: Population structure was studied in 254 sorghum accessions representative of the diversity present in cultivated sorghums. Al tolerance was assessed as the degree of root growth inhibition in nutrient solution containing Al. A genetic analysis based on markers flanking Alt(SB) and SbMATE expression was undertaken to assess a possible role for Alt(SB) in Al tolerant accessions. In addition, the mode of gene action was estimated concerning the Al tolerance trait. Comparisons between models that include population structure were applied to assess the importance of each subpopulation to Al tolerance. Conclusion/Significance: Six subpopulations were revealed featuring specific racial and geographic origins. Al tolerance was found to be rather rare and present primarily in guinea and to lesser extent in caudatum subpopulations. Alt(SB) was found to play a role in Al tolerance in most of the Al tolerant accessions. A striking variation was observed in the mode of gene action for the Al tolerance trait, which ranged from almost complete recessivity to near complete dominance, with a higher frequency of partially recessive sources of Al tolerance. A possible interpretation of our results concerning the origin and evolution of Al tolerance in cultivated sorghum is discussed. This study demonstrates the importance of deeply exploring the crop diversity reservoir both for a comprehensive view of the dynamics underlying the distribution and function of Al tolerance genes and to design efficient molecular breeding strategies aimed at enhancing Al tolerance.

Patterns of distribution of the hermit crab Loxopagurus loxochelis (Moreira, 1901) (Decapoda, Diogenidae) in two coastal areas of southern Brazil

The present study determined the distribution pattern of the hermit crab Loxopagurus loxochelis by a comparison of catch, depth and environmental factors at two separate bays (Caraguatatuba and Ubatuba) of Sao Paulo State, Brazil. The influence of these parameters on the distribution of males, non- ovigerous females and ovigerous females was also evaluated. Crabs were collected monthly, over a period of one year (from July/2002 to June/2003), in seven depths, from 5 to 35 m. Abiotic factors were monitored as follows: superficial and bottom salinity (psu), superficial and bottom temperature (C), organic matter content (%) and sediment composition (%). In total, 366 hermit crabs were sampled in Caraguatatuba and 126 in Ubatuba. The highest frequency of occurrence was verified at 20 m during winter (July) in Caraguatatuba and 25 m during summer (January) in Ubatuba. The highest occurrences were recorded in the regions with bottom salinities ranging from 34 to 36 psu, bottom temperatures from 18 to 24 C and, low percentages of organic matter, gravel and mud; and large proportion of sand in the substrate. There was no significant correlation between the total frequency of organisms and the environmental factors analyzed in both regions. This evidence suggests that other variables as biotic interactions can influence the pattern of distribution of L. loxochelis in the analyzed region, which is considered the limit of the northern distribution of this species.

Longitudinal double-spin asymmetry for inclusive jet production in (p)over-right-arrow + (p)over-right-arrow collisions at root s=200 GeV

We report a new STAR measurement of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry A(LL) for inclusive jet production at midrapidity in polarized p+p collisions at a center-of-mass energy of root s = 200 GeV. The data, which cover jet transverse momenta 5 < p(T) < 30 GeV/c, are substantially more precise than previous measurements. They provide significant new constraints on the gluon spin contribution to the nucleon spin through the comparison to predictions derived from one global fit to polarized deep-inelastic scattering measurements. They provide significant new constraints on the gluon spin contribution to the nucleon spin through the comparison to predictions derived from one global fit to polarized deep-inelastic scattering measurements.

Spin alignment measurements of the K*(0)(892) and phi(1020) vector mesons in heavy ion collisions at root S(NN)=200 GeV

We present the first spin alignment measurements for the K*(0)(892) and phi(1020) vector mesons produced at midrapidity with transverse momenta up to 5 GeV/c at root s(NN) = 200 GeV at RHIC. The diagonal spin-density matrix elements with respect to the reaction plane in Au+Au collisions are rho(00) = 0.32 +/- 0.04 (stat) +/- 0.09 (syst) for the K*(0) (0.8 < p(T) < 5.0 GeV/c) and rho(00) = 0.34 +/- 0.02 (stat) +/- 0.03 (syst) for the phi (0.4 < p(T) < 5.0 GeV/c) and are constant with transverse momentum and collision centrality. The data are consistent with the unpolarized expectation of 1/3 and thus no evidence is found for the transfer of the orbital angular momentum of the colliding system to the vector-meson spins. Spin alignments for K(*0) and phi in Au+Au collisions were also measured with respect to the particle's production plane. The phi result, rho(00) = 0.41 +/- 0.02 (stat) +/- 0.04 (syst), is consistent with that in p+p collisions, rho(00) = 0.39 +/- 0.03 (stat) +/- 0.06 (syst), also measured in this work. The measurements thus constrain the possible size of polarization phenomena in the production dynamics of vector mesons.

Centrality dependence of charged hadron and strange hadron elliptic flow from root s(NN)=200 GeVAu+Au collisions

We present STAR results on the elliptic flow upsilon(2) Of charged hadrons, strange and multistrange particles from,root s(NN) = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The detailed study of the centrality dependence of upsilon(2) over a broad transverse momentum range is presented. Comparisons of different analysis methods are made in order to estimate systematic uncertainties. To discuss the nonflow effect, we have performed the first analysis Of upsilon(2) with the Lee-Yang zero method for K(S)(0) and A. In the relatively low PT region, P(T) <= 2 GeV/c, a scaling with m(T) - m is observed for identified hadrons in each centrality bin studied. However, we do not observe nu 2(p(T))) scaled by the participant eccentricity to be independent of centrality. At higher PT, 2 1 <= PT <= 6 GeV/c, V2 scales with quark number for all hadrons studied. For the multistrange hadron Omega, which does not suffer appreciable hadronic interactions, the values of upsilon(2) are consistent with both m(T) - m scaling at low p(T) and number-of-quark scaling at intermediate p(T). As a function ofcollision centrality, an increase of p(T)-integrated upsilon(2) scaled by the participant eccentricity has been observed, indicating a stronger collective flow in more central Au+Au collisions.

Enhanced strange baryon production in Au+Au collisions compared to p+p at root s(NN)=200 GeV

We report on the observed differences in production rates of strange and multistrange baryons in Au+Au collisions at s(NN)=200 GeV compared to p+p interactions at the same energy. The strange baryon yields in Au+Au collisions, when scaled down by the number of participating nucleons, are enhanced relative to those measured in p+p reactions. The enhancement observed increases with the strangeness content of the baryon, and it increases for all strange baryons with collision centrality. The enhancement is qualitatively similar to that observed at the lower collision energy s(NN)=17.3 GeV. The previous observations are for the bulk production, while at intermediate p(T),1 < p(T)< 4 GeV/c, the strange baryons even exceed binary scaling from p+p yields.

rho(0) photoproduction in ultraperipheral relativistic heavy ion collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV

Photoproduction reactions occur when the electromagnetic field of a relativistic heavy ion interacts with another heavy ion. The STAR Collaboration presents a measurement of rho(0) and direct pi(+)pi(-) photoproduction in ultraperipheral relativistic heavy ion collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV. We observe both exclusive photoproduction and photoproduction accompanied by mutual Coulomb excitation. We find a coherent cross section of sigma(AuAu -> Au*Au*rho(0)) = 530 +/- 19(stat.) +/- 57(syst.) mb, in accord with theoretical calculations based on a Glauber approach, but considerably below the predictions of a color dipole model. The rho 0 transverse momentum spectrum (p(T)(2)) is fit by a double exponential curve including both coherent and incoherent coupling to the target nucleus; we find sigma(inc)/sigma(coh) = 0.29 +/- 0.03 (stat.) +/- 0.08 (syst.). The ratio of direct pi(+)pi(-) to rho(0) production is comparable to that observed in gamma(p) collisions at HERA and appears to be independent of photon energy. Finally, the measured rho(0) spin helicity matrix elements agree within errors with the expected s-channel helicity conservation.

Prevalence, Incidence Density, and Genotype Distribution of GB Virus C Infection in a Cohort of Recently HIV-1-Infected Subjects in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Background: The results of previous studies elsewhere have indicated that GB virus C (GBV-C) infection is frequent in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) due to similar transmission routes of both viruses. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, incidence density and genotypic characteristics of GBV-C in this population. Methodology/Principal Findings: The study population included 233 patients from a cohort primarily comprised of homosexual men recently infected with HIV-1 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The presence of GBV-C RNA was determined in plasma samples by reverse transcriptase-nested polymerase chain reaction and quantified by real-time PCR. GBV-C genotypes were determined by direct sequencing. HIV viral load, CD4+ T lymphocyte and CD8+ T lymphocyte count were also tested in all patients. The overall prevalence of GBV-C infection was 0.23 (95% CI: 0.18 to 0.29) in the study group. There was no significant difference between patients with and without GBV-C infection and Glycoprotein E2 antibody presence regarding age, sex, HIV-1 viral load, CD4+ and CD8+ T cell counts and treatment with antiretroviral drugs. An inverse correlation was observed between GBV-C and HIV-1 loads at enrollment and after one year. Also, a positive but not significant correlation was observed between GBV-C load and CD4+ T lymphocyte. Phylogenetic analysis of the GBV-C isolates revealed the presence of genotype 1 and genotype 2, these sub classified into subtype 2a and 2b. Conclusion/Significance: GBV-C infection is common in recently HIV -1 infected patients in Sao Paulo, Brazil and the predominant genotype is 2b. This study provides the first report of the GBV-C prevalence at the time of diagnosis of HIV-1 and the incidence density of GBV-C infection in one year.

Skewed Distribution of Circulating Activated Natural Killer T (NKT) Cells in Patients with Common Variable Immunodeficiency Disorders (CVID)

Common variable immunodeficiency disorder (CVID) is the commonest cause of primary antibody failure in adults and children, and characterized clinically by recurrent bacterial infections and autoimmune manifestations. Several innate immune defects have been described in CVID, but no study has yet investigated the frequency, phenotype or function of the key regulatory cell population, natural killer T (NKT) cells. We measured the frequencies and subsets of NKT cells in patients with CVID and compared these to healthy controls. Our results show a skewing of NKT cell subsets, with CD4+ NKT cells at higher frequencies, and CD8+ NKT cells at lower frequencies. However, these cells were highly activated and expression CD161. The NKT cells had a higher expression of CCR5 and concomitantly expression of CCR5+CD69+CXCR6 suggesting a compensation of the remaining population of NKT cells for rapid effector action.