Analysis of vaginal lactobacilli from healthy and infected Brazilian women

Culture-dependent PCR-amplified rRNA gene restriction analysis and culture-independent (PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) methodologies were used to examine vaginal lactobacilli from Brazilian women who were healthy or had been diagnosed with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) or bacterial vaginosis. Only Lactobacillus crispatus was detected accordingly by both methods, and H2O2-producing lactobacilli were not associated with protection against VVC.

A cross-linguistic comparison of address pronoun use in four European languages: Intralingual and interlingual dimensions

As part of a major ongoing project, we consider and compare contemporary patterns of address pronoun use in four major European languages- French, German, Italian and Swedish. We are specifically interested in two major aspects: intralingual behaviour, that is, within the same language community, and interlingual dimensions of address pronoun use. With respect to the former, we summarize our key findings to date. We then give consideration in a more preliminary fashion to issues and evidence relevant to the latter.

And then came Complex Project Management

The subject of management is renowned for its addiction to fads and fashions. Project Management is no exception. The issue of interest for this paper is the establishment of the 'College of Complex Project Managers' and their 'competency standard for complex project managers.' Both have generated significant interest in the Project Management community, and like any other human endeavour they should be subject to critical evaluation. The results of this evaluation show significant flaws in the definition of complex in this case, the process by which the College and its standard have emerged, and the content of the standard. However, there is a significant case for a portfolio of research that extends the existing bodies of knowledge into large-scale complicated (or major) projects that would be owned by the relevant practitioner communities, rather than focused on one organization. Research questions are proposed that would commence this stream of activity towards an intelligent synthesis of what is required to manage in both complicated and truly complex environments.

Clifford Geertz, 1926-2006: Meaning, method, and Indonesian economic history

Clifford Geertz was best known for his pioneering excursions into symbolic or interpretive anthropology, especially in relation to Indonesia. Less well recognised are his stimulating explorations of the modern economic history of Indonesia. His thinking on the interplay of economics and culture was most fully and vigorously expounded in Agricultural Involution. That book deployed a succinctly packaged past in order to solve a pressing contemporary puzzle, Java's enduring rural poverty and apparent social immobility. Initially greeted with acclaim, later and ironically the book stimulated the deep and multi-layered research that in fact led to the eventual rejection of Geertz's central contentions. But the veracity or otherwise of Geertz's inventive characterisation of Indonesian economic development now seems irrelevant; what is profoundly important is the extraordinary stimulus he gave to a generation of scholars to explore Indonesia's modern economic history with a depth and intensity previously unimaginable.

Task Complexity and Variation in L2 Learner’s Oral Discourse

There are many factors which affect the L2 learner’s performance at the levels of phonology, morphology and syntax. Consequently when L2 learners attempt to communicate in the target language, their language production will show systematic variability across the above mentioned linguistic domains. This variation can be attributed to some factors such as interlocutors, topic familiarity, prior knowledge, task condition, planning time and tasks types. This paper reports the results of an on going research investigating the issue of variability attributed to the task type. It is hypothesized that the particular type of task learners are required to perform will result in variation in their performance. Results of the statistical analyses of this study investigating the issue of variation in the performance of twenty L2 learners at the English department of Tabriz University provided evidence in support of the hypothesis that performance of L2 learners show systematic variability attributed to task.

Acquisition of the English article system in SLA and the Missing Surface Inflection Hypothesis

This paper examines the article system in interlanguage grammar focusing on Japanese learners of English, whose native language lacks articles. It will be demonstrated that for the acquisition of the English article system, count/mass distinctions and definiteness are the crucial factors. Although Japanese does not employ the article system to encode these aspects, it will be argued that they are nevertheless syntactically encoded through its classifier system. Hence, the problem for these learners must be to map these features onto the appropriate surface forms as the Missing Surface Inflection Hypothesis predicts (Prévost & White 2000). This suggestion will further be supported empirically by a fill-in-the article task. It will be concluded that these Japanese learners understand the English article system fairly well, possibly due to their native language, yet have problems with realizing the relevant features (i.e. count/mass distinctions and definiteness) in the target language.

New techniques in nutritional assessment: body composition methods

New techniques in air-displacement plethysmography seem to have overcome many of the previous problems of poor reproducibility and validity. These have made body-density measurements available to a larger range of individuals, including children, elderly and sick patients who often have difficulties in being submerged underwater in hydrodensitometry systems. The BOD POD air-displacement system (BOD POD body composition system; Life Measurement Instruments, Concord, CA, USA) is more precise than hydrodensitometry, is simple and rapid to operate (approximately 1 min measurements) and the results agree closely with those of hydrodensitometry (e.g. +/-3.4% for estimation of body fat). Body line scanners employing the principles of three-dimensional photography are potentially able to measure the surface area and volume of the body and its segments even more rapidly (approximately 10 s), but the validity of the measurements needs to be established. Advances in i.r. spectroscopy and mathematical modelling for calculating the area under the curve have improved precision for measuring enrichment of (H2O)-H-2 in studies of water dilution (CV 0.1-0.9% within the range of 400-1000 mu l/l) in saliva, plasma and urine. The technique is rapid and compares closely with mass spectrometry (bias 1 (SD 2) %). Advances in bedside bioelectrical-impedance techniques are making possible potential measurements of skinfold thicknesses and limb muscle mass electronically. Preliminary results suggest that the electronic method is more reproducible (intra-and inter-individual reproducibility for measuring skinfold thicknesses) and associated with less bias (+ 12%), than anthropometry (+ 40%). In addition to these selected examples, the 'mobility' or transfer of reference methods between centres has made the distinction between reference and bedside or field techniques less distinct than in the past.

Persistence and expression of Cotesia congregata polydnavirus in host larvae of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta

The gregarious braconid wasp Cotesia congregata parasitizes host larvae of Manduca sexta, and several other sphingid species. Parasitism induces host immunosuppression due to the disruptive action of the wasp's polydnavirus (PDV) on host blood cells. During the initial stages of parasitism, these cells undergo apoptosis followed by cell clumping, which clears the hemolymph of a large number of cells. In this study, the persistence and expression of Cotesia congregata PDV (CcPDV) were examined using Southern and Nor-them blots, respectively. Digoxygenin-labelled total polydnaviral DNA was used to probe genomic DNA isolated from fat body and brains of hosts with emerged wasps taken 6 days following egress of the parasitoids, and significant cross-hybridization between the host fat body genomic DNA with viral DNA was seen. Thus, the virus persists in the host for the duration of parasitism. even during the post-emergence period, and may even be integrated in the host caterpillar DNA. Viral gene expression was examined using Northern blots and probes to the Cotesia rubecula CrV1 homolog, and the CrV1-like mRNAs were expressed as early as 4 h post-parasitization for at least 72 h and faint hybrization is even seen at the time the wasps eclose. In contrast, in Pieris rapae larvae the CrV1 transcript is expressed only for a brief time, during which time hemocyte function is disrupted. The effect is transitory, and hemocytes regain their normal functions after the parasites emerge as first instars. The genome of CcPDV contains one copy of the CrV1-like homolog as shown on Southern blots of viral genomic DNA. In conjunction with our earlier studies of the PDV-encoded early protein 1, the current work suggests multiple viral transcripts are produced following parasitization of the host. and likely target host hemocytes to induce their apoptosis, thereby preventing encapsulation of the parasitoid's eggs. Whether viral DNAs are integrated in the host's genomic DNA remains to be proven, but our results provide preliminary evidence that viral DNAs are detected in the host's fat body cells examined at the time of wasp ernergence and several days later. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Family Business: how family and ownership shapes business professionalization

This article`s main purpose consists in showing how family and ownership cultures may influence the process of making a ""well-performing"" organization, based on an empirical study in family business in Brazil. The study aimed to find critical moments of company`s history and the focus was to compare critical moments with the three-dimension model of family business development proposed by Davis et al. (1996). Through facts sequence, research was organized so as to find how the process influenced company`s professionalization. The article concludes that family and its value and culture may impact on the evolution, and the first step to organize a company is to organize the family that leads the company.

Religions and cultures: Religious dynamics in Latin America

The author seeks to analyse the relationships between religion and culture in Latin America, especially in Brazil, highlighting the fact that the different religions enjoy diverse relationships with culture in a single location. He also addresses the fact that religions interpret culture in different ways and these interpretations help define their conversion strategies and how best to confront opposing religions. For the sake of discussion, the author considers, hypothetically, a not-so-distant future in which Latin America becomes predominantly evangelical, and asks what will happen to Latin America`s supposed Catholic culture if the evangelical religions do indeed take over.

Intake of trans Fatty Acids Causes Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis and Reduces Adipose Tissue Fat Content

We investigated the effects of dietary trans fatty acids, PUFA, and SEA on body and liver fat content, liver histology, and mRNA of enzymes involved in fatty acid metabolism. LDL receptor knockout weaning male mice were fed for 16 wk with diets containing 40% energy as either trans fatty acids (TRANS), PUFA, or SEA. Afterwards, subcutaneous and epididymal fat were weighed and histological markers of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were assessed according to the Histological Scoring System for NAFLD. PPAR alpha, PPAR gamma, microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP), carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1 (CPT-1), and sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) mRNA were measured by quantitative RT-PCR. Food intake was similar in the 3 groups, although mice fed the TRANS diet gained less weight than those receiving the PUFA diet. Compared with the PUFA- and SEA-fed mice, TRANS-fed mice had greater plasma total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) concentrations, less epididymal and subcutaneous fat, larger livers with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-like lesions, and greater liver TC and TG concentrations. Macrosteatosis in TRANS-fed mice was associated with a higher homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA(IR)) index and upregulated mRNA related to hepatic fatty acid synthesis (SREBP-1 c and PPAR gamma) and to downregulated MTP mRNA. Diet consumption did not alter hepatic mRNA related to fatty acid oxidation (PPAR alpha and CPT-1). In conclusion, compared with PUFA- and SFA-fed mice, TRANS-fed mice had less adiposity, impaired glucose tolerance characterized by greater HOMA(IR) index, and NASH-like lesions due to greater hepatic lipogenesis. These results demonstrate the role of trans fatty acid intake on the development of key features of metabolic syndrome. J. Nutr. 140: 1127-1132, 2010.

Pre- and postnatal exposure to ambient levels of urban particulate matter (PM(2.5)) affects mice spermatogenesis

This work characterizes the effects of ambient levels of urban particulate matter (PM(2.5)) from the city of Sao Paulo on spermatogenesis using mice exposed during the embryo-fetal and/or postnatal phases of development. Parental generations (BALB/c mice) were exposed to air pollution in chambers with or without filtering PM(2.5) for 4 months. Animals were mated, and half of the 1-day-old offspring were moved between chambers, which yielded prenatal and postnatal groups. Remaining offspring comprised the non-exposed and pre+postnatal exposed groups. After 90 days, the animals were sacrificed for testis collection and weighing. Optical microscopy was used for the morphometric analyses of the cell counts, spermatogenic cycle, proliferation, and apoptosis. Prenatally exposed animals presented reduced body and testicular weight with an increased gonadosomatic index (GSI). Testicular volume also decreased, as well as the tubular diameter in testes of the same animals. Proliferation, apoptosis, and spermatogenic cycle analyses showed no significant differences among groups. However, the tubules at stage VII of pre- and postnatal animals presented a reduced number of elongated spermatids. Pre+postnatal group presented higher spermatid head retention at stages VIII-XII. These results show that ambient levels of PM(2.5) from Sao Paulo city affect spermatogenesis by damaging sperm production.