Indoor air microbiological evaluation of offices, hospitals, industries, and shopping centers

In this study it was compared the MAS-100 and the Andersen air samplers' performances and a similar trend in both instruments was observed. It was also evaluated the microbial contamination levels in 3060 samples of offices, hospitals, industries, and shopping centers, in the period of 1998 to 2002, in Rio de Janeiro city. Considering each environment, 94.3 to 99.4% of the samples were the allowed limit in Brazil (750 CFU/m³). The industries' results showed more important similarity among fungi and total heterotrophs distributions, with the majority of the results between zero and 100 CFU/m³. The offices' results showed dispersion around 300 CFU/m³. The hospitals' results presented the same trend, with an average of 200 CFU/m³. Shopping centers' environments showed an average of 300 CFU/m³ for fungi, but presented a larger dispersion pattern for the total heterotrophs, with the highest average (1000 CFU/m³). It was also investigated the correlation of the sampling period with the number of airborne microorganisms and with the environmental parameters (temperature and air humidity) through the principal components analysis. All indoor air samples distributions were very similar. The temperature and air humidity had no significant influence on the samples dispersion patterns.

Iowa Young Adult Roundtables Summary, 2003

In 2003, 60 young people participated in the Young Adult Roundtables (YARTs) in Davenport, Mason City, Sioux City, and Des Moines. YARTs participants represent a variety of backgrounds, cultures, identities, and experiences. Each YART has a facilitator and a mentor. The mentor is a CPG member. The youth participate in CPG work primarily to assure that youth voices are heard and youth needs addressed. The youth meet every other month for three hours. Youth completed an anonymous questionnaire during their first meeting of the year.

Cilengitide combined with standard treatment for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma with methylated MGMT promoter (CENTRIC EORTC 26071-22072 study): a multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: Cilengitide is a selective αvβ3 and αvβ5 integrin inhibitor. Data from phase 2 trials suggest that it has antitumour activity as a single agent in recurrent glioblastoma and in combination with standard temozolomide chemoradiotherapy in newly diagnosed glioblastoma (particularly in tumours with methylated MGMT promoter). We aimed to assess cilengitide combined with temozolomide chemoradiotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma with methylated MGMT promoter. METHODS: In this multicentre, open-label, phase 3 study, we investigated the efficacy of cilengitide in patients from 146 study sites in 25 countries. Eligible patients (newly diagnosed, histologically proven supratentorial glioblastoma, methylated MGMT promoter, and age ≥18 years) were stratified for prognostic Radiation Therapy Oncology Group recursive partitioning analysis class and geographic region and centrally randomised in a 1:1 ratio with interactive voice response system to receive temozolomide chemoradiotherapy with cilengitide 2000 mg intravenously twice weekly (cilengitide group) or temozolomide chemoradiotherapy alone (control group). Patients and investigators were unmasked to treatment allocation. Maintenance temozolomide was given for up to six cycles, and cilengitide was given for up to 18 months or until disease progression or unacceptable toxic effects. The primary endpoint was overall survival. We analysed survival outcomes by intention to treat. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00689221. FINDINGS: Overall, 3471 patients were screened. Of these patients, 3060 had tumour MGMT status tested; 926 patients had a methylated MGMT promoter, and 545 were randomly assigned to the cilengitide (n=272) or control groups (n=273) between Oct 31, 2008, and May 12, 2011. Median overall survival was 26·3 months (95% CI 23·8-28·8) in the cilengitide group and 26·3 months (23·9-34·7) in the control group (hazard ratio 1·02, 95% CI 0·81-1·29, p=0·86). None of the predefined clinical subgroups showed a benefit from cilengitide. We noted no overall additional toxic effects with cilengitide treatment. The most commonly reported adverse events of grade 3 or worse in the safety population were lymphopenia (31 [12%] in the cilengitide group vs 26 [10%] in the control group), thrombocytopenia (28 [11%] vs 46 [18%]), neutropenia (19 [7%] vs 24 [9%]), leucopenia (18 [7%] vs 20 [8%]), and convulsion (14 [5%] vs 15 [6%]). INTERPRETATION: The addition of cilengitide to temozolomide chemoradiotherapy did not improve outcomes; cilengitide will not be further developed as an anticancer drug. Nevertheless, integrins remain a potential treatment target for glioblastoma. FUNDING: Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

A novel PIKFYVE mutation in fleck corneal dystrophy.

Purpose: To report the findings of the clinical and molecular evaluation in a Greek family with fleck corneal dystrophy (CFD).Methods: A 58-year-old woman was seen on routine ophthalmic examination and diagnosed as having CFD. All available family members were examined to evaluate the clinical findings and inheritance of the disease. Twenty members of the family in five generations underwent slit-lamp examination. Eleven were females and nine males, aged from two years to 85 years old. Blood samples were available from four patients with CFD and seven unaffected relatives, and the DNAs were subjected to molecular screening of the phosphoinositide kinase, five finger-containing (PIKFYVE) gene by direct sequencing or denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC).Results: The clinical evaluation revealed six family members (five females and one male) with CFD. In two CFD patients early cataract formation was noticed. All patients affected with the corneal dystrophy were asymptomatic. The molecular analyses demonstrated the existence of a novel c. 3060-3063delCCTT (p.P968Vfs23) mutation in PIKFYVE in all CFD patients tested but in none of the six unaffected family members. No molecular screening was performed in the seventh unaffected member as the causative mutation was clearly transmitted from his affected wife to his affected son.Conclusions: We report on the clinical and molecular findings of a five generation Greek family with CFD and we conclude that the novel c. 3060-3063delCCTT (p. P968Vfs23) mutation in PIKFYVE, which segregated with the disease, was the causative mutation in this family.

Opérette Madjoun Akkassi : akcham Oldeu / Newart Hanoum, chant [acc. orch.]. Opérette Madjoun Hokkassi : yedi yil / Mugeguan Hanoum, Achmed Bey, duo voc. [acc. orch.]

[Traditions. Asie. Turquie]

Pharmacokinetic parameters of artesunate and dihydroartemisinin in rats infected with Fasciola hepatica

OBJECTIVES: The pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters of artesunate, recently discovered to possess promising trematocidal activity, and its main metabolite dihydroartemisinin (DHA) were determined in rats infected with hepatic and biliary stages of Fasciola hepatica and compared with uninfected rats after single intragastric and intravenous (iv) doses. METHODS: Rats infected with F. hepatica for 25 and 83 days and uninfected rats were cannulated in the right jugular vein and blood samples were withdrawn at selected timepoints following 10 mg/kg of iv and a single 100 mg/kg oral dose of artesunate. Plasma was analysed for artesunate and DHA by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Rats harbouring juvenile and adult F. hepatica infections revealed considerable changes in PK parameters of artesunate and DHA. Following oral administration, maximum plasma concentrations (C(max)) of artesunate and DHA were 1.8-2.3-fold higher in infected rats [artesunate: 1334 +/- 1404 ng/mL (no infection) versus 2454 +/- 1494 ng/mL (acute infection) and 2768 +/- 538 ng/mL (chronic infection); DHA: 3802 +/- 2149 ng/mL (no infection) versus 6507 +/- 3283 ng/mL (acute infection) and 9093 +/- 884 ng/mL (chronic infection)]. The AUCs of artesunate and DHA were 2.1-4.4-fold greater in infected rats. An opposite trend was observed after iv injection. C(max) and AUC of artesunate and DHA following iv dosing were 5784 +/- 3718 and 140 938 +/- 128 783 ng.min/mL and 3849 +/- 3060 and 86 107 +/- 41 863 ng.min/mL, respectively, in uninfected rats versus 2623 +/- 1554 and 21 617 +/- 12 230 ng.min/mL and 2835 +/- 980 and 64 290 +/- 29 057 ng.min/mL, respectively, in rats harbouring a chronic infection. The elimination half-lives (t(1/2)) of artesunate and DHA were considerably altered in infected rats following oral and iv administration of artesunate. CONCLUSIONS: F. hepatica infections strongly influence the disposition kinetics of artesunate and its metabolite in rats. The clinical implications of this finding need to be carefully studied.

L'Univers

1876/02/12 (Numéro 3060).

Tolerância de híbridos de milho ao herbicida nicosulfuron

Com o objetivo de avaliar a tolerância dos híbridos de milho BRS 3060, 3101, 2114 e 2110 a doses crescentes do herbicida nicosulfuron, foi instalado um ensaio de campo na área experimental do Centro de Pesquisa da Embrapa Milho e Sorgo, município de Sete Lagoas-MG, durante o ano agrícola 1998/1999. A densidade de plantio foi de 50.000 plantas por hectare, e as doses do nicosulfuron foram de 50, 60 e 70 g i.a. ha-1, mais um tratamento testemunha que não recebeu aplicação do produto, mas que permaneceu limpo durante todo o ciclo da cultura. O delineamento experimental adotado foi em blocos ao acaso com três repetições, em esquema fatorial 4 x 4. A aplicação do produto foi realizada quando as plantas de milho se encontravam no estádio de quatro a seis folhas, ou seja, 20 dias após emergência das plantas. As avaliações de fitotoxicidade foram feitas aos 7, 14 e 21 dias após aplicação dos tratamentos herbicida. Somente o BRS 3060 permaneceu com efeito fitotóxico muito leve nas avaliações realizadas aos 14 e 21 dias após aplicação, sem comprometer o rendimento de grãos. Os resultados indicam que o herbicida nicosulfuron pode ser aplicado para o controle de plantas daninhas em híbridos de milho BRS 3060, 3101, 2114 e 2110 nas doses de 50 a 70 g i.a. ha-1, sem causar danos significativos ao desenvolvimento e à produção da cultura.

Virtual communities : a virtual treasure trove for end-user developers

End-user development is a very common but often largely overlooked phenomenon in information systems research and practice. End-user development means that regular people, the end-users of software, and not professional developers are doing software development. A large number of people are directly or indirectly impacted by the results of these non-professional development activities. The numbers of users performing end-user development activities are difficult to ascertain precisely. But it is very large, and still growing. Computer adoption is growing towards 100% and many new types of computational devices are continually introduced. In addition, other devices not previously programmable are becoming so. This means that, at this very moment, hundreds of millions of people are likely struggling with development problems. Furthermore, software itself is continually being adapted for more flexibility, enabling users to change the behaviour of their software themselves. New software and services are helping to transform users from consumers to producers. Much of this is now found on-line. The problem for the end-user developer is that little of this development is supported by anyone. Often organisations do not notice end-user development and consequently neither provide support for it, nor are equipped to be able to do so. Many end-user developers do not belong to any organisation at all. Also, the end-user development process may be aggravating the problem. End-users are usually not really committed to the development process, which tends to be more iterative and ad hoc. This means support becomes a distant third behind getting the job done and figuring out the development issues to get the job done. Sometimes the software itself may exacerbate the issue by simplifying the development process, deemphasising the difficulty of the task being undertaken. On-line support could be the lifeline the end-user developer needs. Going online one can find all the knowledge one could ever need. However, that does still not help the end-user apply this information or knowledge in practice. A virtual community, through its ability to adopt the end-user’s specific context, could surmount this final obstacle. This thesis explores the concept of end-user development and how it could be supported through on-line sources, in particular virtual communities, which it is argued here, seem to fit the end-user developer’s needs very well. The experiences of real end-user developers and prior literature were used in this process. Emphasis has been on those end-user developers, e.g. small business owners, who may have literally nowhere to turn to for support. Adopting the viewpoint of the end-user developer, the thesis examines the question of how an end-user could use a virtual community effectively, improving the results of the support process. Assuming the common situation where the demand for support outstrips the supply.

Urheilukoulussa palvelleiden varusmiesten fyysinen kunto ja antropometriset ominaisuudet vuosina 1979–2010

Urheilukoulu on nuorten huippu-urheilijoiden valtakunnallinen valmennuskeskus, joka toimii ikäluokkiensa parhaimpien urheilijoiden varusmiespalveluspaikkana. Urheilukoulussa palve-luksessa olevat saavat sotilaskoulutuksena tiedustelukoulutuksen. Erikoisjoukkojen, kuten tiedustelijoiden maksimaalisen hapenottokyvyn suoritusvaatimus on 55–60 ml·kg-1·min-1, joka tarkoittaa 12-minuutin juoksutestissä yli 3000 metrin tulosta. On tutkittu, että suomalais-ten nuorten miesten 2000-luvun fyysinen kunto on heikompi ja paino suurempi kuin aikai-sempina vuosikymmeninä. Trendi on samanlainen ympäri maailmaa. Samanaikaisesti useas-sa urheilulajissa huippu-urheilijoiden fyysinen koko on keskimäärin suurempi kuin aikai-semmin. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää Urheilukoulussa palvelleiden nuorten miesten fyysinen kunto ja antropometria sekä niiden eroavaisuudet vuosien 1979–2010 väli-senä aikana. Tutkimusaineistona käytettiin varusmiespalveluksen alussa suoritettujen 12-minuutin juoksu-testien sekä paino- ja pituusmittausten tuloksia vuosilta 1979–2010 ja lihaskuntotestien (kä-sinkohonta, etunojapunnerrus, vatsalihakset, selkälihakset, vauhditon pituus) tuloksia vuosil-ta 1996–2010. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin yhteensä 2766 miehen tuloksia, joiden keski-ikä oli 19.6 ±1.0 vuotta. Tuloksia käsitellään kaikkien palveluksessa olleiden osalta sekä lajeittain (hiihto, kestävyysjuoksu, jalkapallo, jääkiekko, koripallo, lentopallo, aita- ja pikajuoksulajit sekä yleisurheilun heitto- ja hyppylajit). Tutkimuksen mukaan Urheilukoulussa vuosina 1979–2010 palvelleiden varusmiesten 12-minuutin juoksutestin keskiarvo oli 3060 ±339 m, keskipituus 181.7 ±7.6 cm, keskipaino 76.6 ±11.3 kg ja painoindeksin keskiarvo 23.2 ±2.6 kg/m2. Lihaskuntotestissä vuosien 1996–2010 keskiarvot olivat käsinkohonnassa 13 ±6 toistoa, etunojapunnerruksessa 46 ±13 toistoa, vatsalihastestissä 53 ±10 toistoa, selkälihastestissä 80 ±15 toistoa ja vauhdittomassa pituu-dessa 252 ±21 cm. Fyysinen kunto ja antropometriset ominaisuudet eroavat lajeittain. Urheilukoulussa vuosina 2000–2010 palvelleiden varusmiesten 12-minuutin juoksutestin keskiarvo (3016 ±329 m) oli 230 m pienempi kuin vuosina 1979–1989 (p<0.001) ja 109 m pienempi kuin vuosina 1990–1999 (p<0.001) palvelleilla. Lisäksi 12-minuutin juoksutestissä yli 3000 metrin juoksijoiden osuus vuosina 1979–1989 oli 79 %, 63 % vuosina 1990–1999 ja 53 % vuosina 2000–2010. Lajeittain tarkasteltuna 12-minuutin juoksutestin vuosien 2000–2010 keskiarvot (hiihto 3479 ±189 m, suunnistus 3457 ±140 m, jalkapallo 3106 ±146 m) olivat hiihtäjillä 95 m (p<0.05), suunnistajilla 73 m (p<0.05) ja jalkapalloilijoilla 113 m (p<0.001) pienemmät kuin vuosina 1990–1999. Lihaskuntotestissä kaikkien Urheilukoulussa vuosien 2006–2010 aikana palvelleiden käsinkohonnan keskiarvo (12 ±6 toistoa) oli 1 toiston pienempi (p<0.001) ja selkälihastestin keskiarvo (78 ±16 toistoa) 3 toistoa pienempi (p<0.05) kuin vuosina 1996–2000. Sen sijaan vuosien 2006–2010 vauhdittoman pituuden keskiarvo (253 ±21 cm) oli 3 cm suurempi verrattuna vuosien 1996–2000 keskiarvoon (p<0.05). Suun-nistajien käsinkohonnan (p<0.05), etunojapunnerruksen (p<0.05) ja vatsalihastestin (p<0.05) keskiarvot olivat vuosina 2006–2010 pienemmät kuin vuosina 1996–2000. Jalkapalloilijoi-den käsinkohonnan (p<0.05) sekä aita- ja pikajuoksulajien selkälihastestin (p<0.001) kes-kiarvot olivat vuosina 2006–2010 pienemmät ja jääkiekkoilijoiden etunojapunnerruksen (p<0.05) sekä vatsalihastestin (p<0.05) keskiarvot suuremmat kuin vuosina 1996–2000. Kaikkien Urheilukoulussa vuosina 2000–2010 palvelleiden keskipaino (78.3 ±11.5 kg) oli 4.0 kg suurempi kuin vuosina 1979–1989 (p<0.001) ja 3.2 kg suurempi kuin vuosina 1990–1999 (p<0.001). Lajeittain tarkasteltuna palloilulajien sekä teho- ja nopeuslajien keskipainot olivat vuosina 2000–2010 suuremmat kuin vuosina 1979–1989. Vuosien 2000–2010 keski-painot (jalkapallo 77.2 ±7.8 kg, jääkiekko 86.2 ±7.6 kg, hyppylajit 76.9 ±6.7 kg) olivat jalka-palloilijoilla 4.4 kg (p<0.05), jääkiekkoilijoilla 4.9 kg (p<0.001) ja hyppylajien urheilijoilla 5.4 kg (p<0.05) suuremmat kuin vuosien 1990–1999 keskiarvot. Urheilukoulussa vuosina 2000–2010 palvelleiden miesten aerobinen kestävyys oli keskimäärin heikompi ja keskipaino suurempi kuin aikaisempina vuosikymmeninä palvelleilla. Lisäksi alavartalon räjähtävä voima oli vuosina 2006–2010 keskimäärin parempi kuin vuosina 1996–2000 ja 2001–2005. Tässä tutkimuksessa käytössä olleiden tulosten rajallisuus erityisesti vuosilta 1979–1995 ja eri urheilulajien urheilijoiden määrien sekä niiden keskinäisten osuuksien muuttuminen vaikuttavat osiltaan kaikkien Urheilukoulussa palvelleiden tuloksiin. Tuloksiin vaikuttavat myös eri lajien vuosien 2000–2010 heikompi aerobinen kestävyys (hiihto, suunnistus, jalkapallo) sekä suurempi keskipaino (palloilulajit, nopeus- ja teholajit). Suuremman keskipainon taustalla on mahdollisesti lihasmassan ja voiman merkitysten korostuminen. Keskipaino onkin suurempi kuin muilla suomalaisilla nuorilla miehillä. Tästä huolimatta useiden urheilulajien painojen ja painoindeksien keskiar-vot ovat kuitenkin pääsääntöisesti pienemmät kuin vastaavien lajien kansainvälisillä huippu-urheilijoilla. Tämä mahdollisesti osoittaa edelleen lihasmassan ja voiman tarvetta erityisesti hiihdossa, palloilulajeissa sekä teho- ja nopeuslajeissa. Urheilukoulussa palvelleiden aerobinen kestävyys ja lihaskunto ovat huomattavasti paremmat kuin normaaliväestöllä. Täs-tä huolimatta vuosina 2000–2010 palvelleista vain 53 % on maksimaalisen hapenottokyvyn perusteella sijoituskelpoisia sodan ajan tiedustelutehtäviin. Tämän perusteella Urheilukoulus-sa palvelevien varusmiesten sodan ajan sijoituksia tulisikin tarkistaa.

De moribus oratoris

Invokaatio: D.F.G.

Enzimas removedoras de radicais livres e proteínas lea associadas à tolerância de sementes milho à alta temperatura de secagem

Sementes de milho tornam-se tolerantes à dessecação à medida que secam naturalmente no campo e, após a maturidade fisiológica, pré-secagem a 35ºC pode induzir tolerância à temperatura de secagem de 50ºC. Nesse trabalho, sementes da cultivar BRS-3060, colhidas com teor de água de 42,2%, submetidas a períodos crescentes de pré-condicionamento apresentaram tolerância crescenteà temperatura de 50ºC, até atingirem o teor de água de 25,9%, quando exibiram o máximo desempenho fisiológico, avaliado por meio de testes de germinação, vigor e atividade de enzimas a-amilase. O presente trabalho teve o objetivo de investigar o padrão eletroforético de enzimas removedoras de radicais livres e de proteínas lea, em sementes tolerantes e intolerantes a alta temperatura de secagem. As atividades das enzimas removedoras superóxido dismutase, peroxidase e catalase, foram detectadas em hipocótilos de plântulas após cinco dias de germinação e a atividade de proteínas lea detectada em eixos embrionários. Os resultados permitiram concluir que a tolerância de sementes de milho à temperatura de 50ºC está associada à atividade da enzima catalase e pouco relacionada à atividade das enzimas superóxido dismutase e peroxidase. Proteínas lea estavam ausentes em sementes de milho intolerantes e sua presença foi associada ao desempenho fisiológico das sementes tolerantes.