Genetic characterization of morphologically variant strains of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

Molecular characterization of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis variant strains that had been preserved under mineral oil for decades was carried out by random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis (RAPD). On P. brasiliensis variants in the transitional phase and strains with typical morphology, RAPD produced reproducible polymorphic amplification products that differentiated them. A dendrogram based on the generated RAPD patterns placed the 14 P. brasiliensis strains into five groups with similarity coefficients of 72%. A high correlation between the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of the strains was observed. A 750 bp-RAPD fragment found only in the wild-type phenotype strains was cloned and sequenced. Genetic similarity analysis using BLASTx suggested that this RAPD marker represents a putative domain of a hypothetical flavin-binding monooxygenase (FMO)-like protein of Neurospora crassa.

Effectiveness and safety of isoniazid chemoprophylaxis for HIV-1 infected patients from Rio de Janeiro

The clinical and epidemiological characteristics, adverse events, treatment adherence and effectiveness of isoniazid chemoprophylaxis were analyzed in a cohort of 138 tuberculosis/HIV-coinfected patients. An open, non-randomized, pragmatic prophylactic trial was conducted on adult patients with a normal chest X-ray and positive tuberculin skin test (> 5 mm) who received isoniazid chemoprophylaxis (300 mg/day) for six months. The mean of follow up was 2.8 years (SD 1.3). Adherence to chemoprophylaxis was 87.7% (121/138). Only one patient presented tuberculosis after the end of chemoprophylaxis, corresponding to 0.3 cases per 100 persons per year. The relative risk of some adverse effects was 4.6 times higher (95% CI: 1.9-11.5) in patients with positive anti-HCV serology (4/9, 44.4%) compared to those with negative serology (12/129, 9.6%) (p = 0.002). This study provides evidence regarding the effectiveness and safety of a short and self-administered isoniazid regimen. We recommend the implementation of this routine by health service practitioners.

Distributions on the simplex

The simplex, the sample space of compositional data, can be structured as a real Euclidean space. This fact allows to work with the coefficients with respect to an orthonormal basis. Over these coefficients we apply standard real analysis, inparticular, we define two different laws of probability trought the density function and we study their main properties

New electrocardiographic criteria for discriminating between Brugada types 2 and 3 patterns and incomplete right bundle branch block.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate new electrocardiographic (ECG) criteria for discriminating between incomplete right bundle branch block (RBBB) and the Brugada types 2 and 3 ECG patterns. BACKGROUND: Brugada syndrome can manifest as either type 2 or type 3 pattern. The latter should be distinguished from incomplete RBBB, present in 3% of the population. METHODS: Thirty-eight patients with either type 2 or type 3 Brugada pattern that were referred for an antiarrhythmic drug challenge (AAD) were included. Before AAD, 2 angles were measured from ECG leads V(1) and/or V(2) showing incomplete RBBB: 1) α, the angle between a vertical line and the downslope of the r'-wave, and 2) β, the angle between the upslope of the S-wave and the downslope of the r'-wave. Baseline angle values, alone or combined with QRS duration, were compared between patients with negative and positive results on AAD. Receiver-operating characteristic curves were constructed to identify optimal discriminative cutoff values. RESULTS: The mean β angle was significantly smaller in the 14 patients with negative results on AAD compared to the 24 patients with positive results on AAD (36 ± 20° vs. 62 ± 20°, p < 0.01). Its optimal cutoff value was 58°, which yielded a positive predictive value of 73% and a negative predictive value of 87% for conversion to type 1 pattern on AAD; α was slightly less sensitive and specific compared with β. When the angles were combined with QRS duration, it tended to improve discrimination. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with suspected Brugada syndrome, simple ECG criteria can enable discrimination between incomplete RBBB and types 2 and 3 Brugada patterns.

Allergy to betalactam antibiotics in children: results of a 20-year study

Background: 7 - 20% of the childrenreport suspected allergic reactionsto anti-infectious drugs, thebetalactams being the most frequentlyinvolved. Studies based on skin andchallenge tests have shown that 2 -60% (mean: 10 - 15%) of the childrenwith suspected betalactam hypersensitivitywere really allergic to betalactams,and that the likelihood ofbetalactam hypersensitivity increasedwith the severity and/or the earlinessof the reactions. Methods: We reviewedthe records of 1,865 childrenexplored for suspected betalactam hypersensitivitybetween December1990 and July 2009. The objectivewas to confirm or rule-out the diagnosisof betalactam hypersensitivity, toevaluate the diagnostic value of immediateand non-immediate-readingskin tests with betalactams, and to determinerisk factors for betalactamhypersensitivity. In those childrenskin tests were first performed andthen challenges with the suspectedbetalactams were performed in mostchildren with negative skin test results.Results: 1431 children had acomplete allergological work-up. Fifteen-nine per cent of those childrenwere diagnosed allergic to betalactamsby means of skin tests (7.2%),challenge tests (7.7%), and clinicalhistory (0.9%) respectively. Immediatetype betalactam hypersensitivitywas diagnosed in 3.5% and non-immediatetype in 12.4% of the children.Skin tests diagnosed 86% and 31.6%of immediate and non-immediatesensitizations respectively. Cross-reactivityamong betalactams was diagnosedin 76% of the children with immediatehypersensitivity and in14.7% of the children with non-immediatehypersensitivity. The numberof children diagnosed allergic tobetalactams decreased with time betweenthe reaction and the allergologicalwork-up. Finally, age, sex andpersonal atopy were not significantrisk factors for betalactam allergy.Conclusion: This study, in a verylarge number of children, confirmsthat only a few children with suspectedbetalactam hypersensitivityare really allergic to betalactams, andthat the likelihood of betalactam allergyand cross-reactivity with otherbetalactams increases with the severityand/or the earliness of the reactions.We also confirm that immediate-reading skin tests have a good diagnosticvalue, and that the diagnosticvalue of non-immediate-reading skintests is low, the diagnosis of non-immediatehypersensitivity to betalactamsin children beeing mainly basedon challenge tests.

Investigating the genetic variation underlying episodicity in major depressive disorder: Suggestive evidence for a bipolar contribution.

BACKGROUND: Highly recurrent major depressive disorder (MDD) has reportedly increased risk of shifting to bipolar disorder; high recurrence frequency has, therefore, featured as evidence of 'soft bipolarity'. We aimed to investigate the genetic underpinnings of total depressive episode count in recurrent MDD. METHODS: Our primary sample included 1966 MDD cases with negative family history of bipolar disorder from the RADIANT studies. Total episode count was adjusted for gender, age, MDD duration, study and center before being tested for association with genotype in two separate genome-wide analyses (GWAS), in the full set and in a subset of 1364 cases with positive family history of MDD (FH+). We also calculated polygenic scores from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium MDD and bipolar disorder studies. RESULTS: Episodicity (especially intermediate episode counts) was an independent index of MDD familial aggregation, replicating previous reports. The GWAS produced no genome-wide significant findings. The strongest signals were detected in the full set at MAGI1 (p=5.1×10(-7)), previously associated with bipolar disorder, and in the FH+ subset at STIM1 (p=3.9×10(-6) after imputation), a calcium channel signaling gene. However, these findings failed to replicate in an independent Munich cohort. In the full set polygenic profile analyses, MDD polygenes predicted episodicity better than bipolar polygenes; however, in the FH+ subset, both polygenic scores performed similarly. LIMITATIONS: Episode count was self-reported and, therefore, subject to recall bias. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings lend preliminary support to the hypothesis that highly recurrent MDD with FH+ is part of a 'soft bipolar spectrum' but await replication in larger cohorts.

Toll-like receptor 4 polymorphisms and aspergillosis in stem-cell transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are essential components of the immune response to fungal pathogens. We examined the role of TLR polymorphisms in conferring a risk of invasive aspergillosis among recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic-cell transplants. METHODS: We analyzed 20 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the toll-like receptor 2 gene (TLR2), the toll-like receptor 3 gene (TLR3), the toll-like receptor 4 gene (TLR4), and the toll-like receptor 9 gene (TLR9) in a cohort of 336 recipients of hematopoietic-cell transplants and their unrelated donors. The risk of invasive aspergillosis was assessed with the use of multivariate Cox regression analysis. The analysis was replicated in a validation study involving 103 case patients and 263 matched controls who received hematopoietic-cell transplants from related and unrelated donors. RESULTS: In the discovery study, two donor TLR4 haplotypes (S3 and S4) increased the risk of invasive aspergillosis (adjusted hazard ratio for S3, 2.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14 to 4.25; P=0.02; adjusted hazard ratio for S4, 6.16; 95% CI, 1.97 to 19.26; P=0.002). The haplotype S4 was present in carriers of two SNPs in strong linkage disequilibrium (1063 A/G [D299G] and 1363 C/T [T399I]) that influence TLR4 function. In the validation study, donor haplotype S4 also increased the risk of invasive aspergillosis (adjusted odds ratio, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.15 to 5.41; P=0.02); the association was present in unrelated recipients of hematopoietic-cell transplants (odds ratio, 5.00; 95% CI, 1.04 to 24.01; P=0.04) but not in related recipients (odds ratio, 2.29; 95% CI, 0.93 to 5.68; P=0.07). In the discovery study, seropositivity for cytomegalovirus (CMV) in donors or recipients, donor positivity for S4, or both, as compared with negative results for CMV and S4, were associated with an increase in the 3-year probability of invasive aspergillosis (12% vs. 1%, P=0.02) and death that was not related to relapse (35% vs. 22%, P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests an association between the donor TLR4 haplotype S4 and the risk of invasive aspergillosis among recipients of hematopoietic-cell transplants from unrelated donors.

Hyperventilation complaints in music performance anxiety among classical music students.

Objective: Despite the importance of respiration and hyperventilation in anxiety disorders, research on breathing disturbances associated with hyperventilation is rare in the field of music performance anxiety (MPA, also known as stage fright). The only comparable study in this area reported a positive correlation between negative feelings of MPA and hyperventilation complaints during performance. The goals of this study were (a) to extend these previous findings to the period before performance, (b) to test whether a positive correlation also exists between hyperventilation complaints and the experience of stage fright as a problem, (c) to investigate instrument-specific symptom reporting, and (d) to confirm gender differences in negative feelings of MPA and hyperventilation complaints reported in other studies. Methods: We assessed 169 university students of classical music with a questionnaire comprising: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for negative feelings of MPA, the Nijmegen Questionnaire for hyperventilation complaints, and a single item for the experience of stage fright as a problem. Results: We found a significant positive correlation between hyperventilation complaints and negative feelings of MPA before performance and a significant positive correlation between hyperventilation complaints and the experience of stage fright as a problem. Wind musicians/singers reported a significantly higher frequency of respiratory symptoms than other musicians. Furthermore, women scored significantly higher on hyperventilation complaints and negative feelings of MPA. Conclusion: These results further the findings of previous reports by suggesting that breathing disturbances associated with hyperventilation may play a role in MPA prior to going on stage. Experimental studies are needed to confirm whether hyperventilation complaints associated with negative feelings of MPA manifest themselves at the physiological level. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Formação dos preços de venda nas Empresas Importadoras de São Vicente

As decisões de preços de venda, é uma das funções com mais relevância no ambiente empresarial para os gerentes, devido o seu carácter estratégico para o sucesso das empresas. O processo de formação de preço (FP) é fundamental para as empresas, embora apresenta graus de dificuldade e de complexidade, por implicar diversos factores. A primeira etapa para a FP consiste na estimativa correcta de custos, para obtenção de preços ideais. Para além dos custos, outros factores internos e externos devem ser analisados para que as decisões possam ser tomadas de forma correcta e obter um preço competitivo. Portanto, os gerentes precisam de informações precisas para poderem tomar decisões com segurança, levando em consideração todos os aspectos relevantes para a FP. O presente trabalho tem como objectivo principal, conhecer uma politica adequada de FP, bem como, descobrir quais os factores mais relevantes considerados na formação desses preços nas empresas e ainda conhecer quais os métodos de FP utilizado pelas empresas de importação de S.Vicente para a FP. A metodologia, consistiu primeiramente numa pesquisa bibliográfica e exploratória. Para a recolha dos dados,foram aplicados questionários com perguntas fechadas múltipla escolha, aos gerentes e aos responsáveis pelos processos de EC e FP e para complementar, foi feita uma entrevista a um especialista da área. Para a análise dos dados, foram utilizadas técnicas qualitativas e quantitativas, feito através das respostas obtidas dos questionários. Os resultados obtidos da pesquisa, mostram que o método de formação de preços de venda adoptado pelas empresas de S.Vicente, é o método baseado no custo e no mercado (método misto), ou seja, o preço é definido com base nos seus custos, mas é ajustado tendo por base o preço da concorrência. The sale prices decisions; it is one of the functions with more relevance in the managerial atmosphere for the managers, due your strategic character for the success of the companies. The process of price formation (FP) it is fundamental for the companies,although it presents degrees of difficulty and of complexity, for implicating several factors. The first stage for FP consists in estimate correct costs, to obtaining ideal prices. Besides the costs, others internal and external factors should be analyzed so that decisions can be made in a correct form to obtain a competitive price. Therefore, the managers need necessary information to make safety decisions, taking in consideration all the important aspects of FP. The main objective of this present work, is to know the appropriate politics of FP, as well as, to discover which the most important factors considered in the formation of those prices to purchases and still to know which of the FP methods used by the import companies in São Vicente. The methodology consisted firstly in a bibliographical and exploratory research. To collect the data, were applied uestionnaires with closed questions, multiple choice to the managers and the responsible for the processes of ECP and EP and to complement, it was made an interview to a specialist. For the analysis of the data, qualitative techniques were used, done through to obtained answers of the questionnaires. The results of the research, show that the method of formation of sale prices adopted for São Vicente's companies, is the method based on the cost and in the market (mixed method), in other words, the price is defined with base in the costs, but it is adjusted tends for base of the competition.

Variation of the Chlorophyll a Related to Sea Surface Temperature, Wind and Geostrophic Currents in the Cape Verde Region Using Satellite Data

We present a comparative analysis of satellite derived climatologies in the Cape Verde region (CV). In order to establish chlorophyll a variability, in relation to other oceanographic phenomena, a set of, relatively long (from five to eight years), time series of chlorophyll a, sea surface temperature, wind and geostrophic currents, were ensembled for the Eastern Central Atlantic (ECA). We studied seasonal and inter-annual variability of phytoplankton concentration, in relation to the rest of the variables, with a special focus in CV. We compared the situation within the archipelago with those of the surrounding marine environments, such as the North West African Upwelling (NWAU), North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre (NASTG), North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC) and Guinea Dome (GD). At the seasonal scale, CV region behaves partly as the surrounding areas, nevertheless, some autochthonous features were also found. The maximum peak of the pigment having a positive correlation with temperature is found at the end of the year for all the points in the archipelago; a less remarkable rise with negative correlation is also detected in February for points CV2 and CV4. This is behavior that none of the surrounding environments have shown. This enrichment was found to be preceded by a drastic drop in wind intensity (SW Monsoon) during summer months. The inter-annual analysis shows a tendency for decreasing of the chlorophyll a concentration.

Variation of the Chlorophyll a Related to Sea Surface Temperature, Wind and Geostrophic Currents in the Cape Verde Region Using Satellite Data

We present a comparative analysis of satellite derived climatologies in the Cape Verde region (CV). In order to establish chlorophyll a variability, in relation to other oceanographic phenomena, a set of, relatively long (from five to eight years), time series of chlorophyll a, sea surface temperature, wind and geostrophic currents, were ensembled for the Eastern Central Atlantic (ECA). We studied seasonal and inter-annual variability of phytoplankton concentration, in relation to the rest of the variables, with a special focus in CV. We compared the situation within the archipelago with those of the surrounding marine environments, such as the North West African Upwelling (NWAU), North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre (NASTG), North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC) and Guinea Dome (GD). At the seasonal scale, CV region behaves partly as the surrounding areas, nevertheless, some autochthonous features were also found. The maximum peak of the pigment having a positive correlation with temperature is found at the end of the year for all the points in the archipelago; a less remarkable rise with negative correlation is also detected in February for points CV2 and CV4. This is behavior that none of the surrounding environments have shown. This enrichment was found to be preceded by a drastic drop in wind intensity (SW Monsoon) during summer months. The inter-annual analysis shows a tendency for decreasing of the chlorophyll a concentration.

Stochastic dominance and absolute risk aversion

In this paper we proose the infimum of the Arrow-Pratt index of absoluterisk aversion as a measure of global risk aversion of a utility function.We then show that, for any given arbitrary pair of distributions, thereexists a threshold level of global risk aversion such that all increasingconcave utility functions with at least as much global risk aversion wouldrank the two distributions in the same way. Furthermore, this thresholdlevel is sharp in the sense that, for any lower level of global riskaversion, we can find two utility functions in this class yielding oppositepreference relations for the two distributions.

Effect of Emotion and Personality on Deviation from Purely Rational Decision-Making

Human decision-making has consistently demonstrated deviation from "pure" rationality. Emotions are a primary driver of human actions and the current study investigates how perceived emotions and personality traits may affect decision-making during the Ultimatum Game (UG). We manipulated emotions by showing images with emotional connotation while participants decided how to split money with a second player. Event-related potentials (ERPs) from scalp electrodes were recorded during the whole decision-making process. We observed significant differences in the activity of central and frontal areas when participants offered money with respect to when they accepted or rejected an offer. We found that participants were more likely to offer a higher amount of money when making their decision in association with negative emotions. Furthermore, participants were more likely to accept offers when making their decision in association with positive emotions. Honest, conscientious, and introverted participants were more likely to accept offers. Our results suggest that factors others than a rational strategy may predict economic decision-making in the UG.

Atitudes de crianças em relação aos grupos nacionais

In the present study we are going to analyze the development of the ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation in relation to national groups (Portuguese as ingroup and Cape-Verdeans, Brazilian and Chinese as outgroups) in Portuguese children with ages between 6 and 10 years (60 participants with 6/7 years and 60 participants with 9/10 years). The first aim of this research was to examine whether the ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation changes according to the age groups. We started from the idea that the age groups would show ingroup preference. However in relation to negativity outgroup it was expected to be less evident. The second aim of this study was to examine if the ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation would be relatively independent, or if they would be related to each other, so that positive perceptions of national ingroup were associated with negative perceptions of national outgroups (in particular, Cape-Verde, Brazilian and Chinese). In a nut Shell, the results confirmed the hypotheses, and in both age groups, the children showed ingroup preference, the negativism of the outgroup was less obvious in the Brazilian group but not in the others (Cape-Verdeans and Chinese). Regarding the relation between the preference for the ingroup and the negativity of the outgroup we realized that these are relatively independent. As a result, we found that the ingroup favoritism is not related with outgroup derogation, it means that, positive perceptions of the ingroup are not related with negative perceptions of the outgroups.

Atitudes de crianças em relação aos grupos nacionais

In the present study we are going to analyze the development of the ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation in relation to national groups (Portuguese as ingroup and Cape-Verdeans, Brazilian and Chinese as outgroups) in Portuguese children with ages between 6 and 10 years (60 participants with 6/7 years and 60 participants with 9/10 years). The first aim of this research was to examine whether the ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation changes according to the age groups. We started from the idea that the age groups would show ingroup preference. However in relation to negativity outgroup it was expected to be less evident. The second aim of this study was to examine if the ingroup favoritism and outgroup derogation would be relatively independent, or if they would be related to each other, so that positive perceptions of national ingroup were associated with negative perceptions of national outgroups (in particular, Cape-Verde, Brazilian and Chinese). In a nut Shell, the results confirmed the hypotheses, and in both age groups, the children showed ingroup preference, the negativism of the outgroup was less obvious in the Brazilian group but not in the others (Cape-Verdeans and Chinese). Regarding the relation between the preference for the ingroup and the negativity of the outgroup we realized that these are relatively independent. As a result, we found that the ingroup favoritism is not related with outgroup derogation, it means that, positive perceptions of the ingroup are not related with negative perceptions of the outgroups.