Molecular characterization of Hepatozoon sp in cats from Sao Luis Island, Maranhao, Northeastern Brazil

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

Occurrence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii and anti-Neospora caninum antibodies in cats with outdoor access in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effect of lactation length adjustment procedures on genetic parameter estimates for buffalo milk yield

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

Modeling of average growth curve in Santa Ines sheep using random regression models

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effects of different lipid levels on protozoa population, microbial protein synthesis and rumen degradability in cattle

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

Bifurcation analysis of a new Lorenz-like chaotic system

In this paper we study the local codimension one and two bifurcations which occur in a family of three-dimensional vector fields depending on three parameters. An equivalent family, depending on five parameters, was recently proposed as a new chaotic system with a Lorenz-like butterfly shaped attractor and was studied mainly from a numerical point of view, for particular values of the parameters, for which computational evidences of the chaotic attractor was shown. In order to contribute to the understand of this new system we present an analytical study and the bifurcation diagrams of an equivalent three parameter system, showing the qualitative changes in the dynamics of its solutions, for different values of the parameters. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamic Morse decompositions for semigroups of homeomorphisms and control systems

In this paper, we introduce the concept of dynamic Morse decomposition for an action of a semigroup of homeomorphisms. Conley has shown in [5, Sec. 7] that the concepts of Morse decomposition and dynamic Morse decompositions are equivalent for flows in metric spaces. Here, we show that a Morse decomposition for an action of a semigroup of homeomorphisms of a compact topological space is a dynamic Morse decomposition. We also define Morse decompositions and dynamic Morse decompositions for control systems on manifolds. Under certain condition, we show that the concept of dynamic Morse decomposition for control system is equivalent to the concept of Morse decomposition.

Bifurcation Analysis of a Van der Pol-Duffing Circuit with Parallel Resistor

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The benefits of ethanol use for hydrogen production in urban transportation

The purpose of this paper is to describe the benefits of sugar cane ethanol in Brazil, appointing the productivity of this type of fuel based on hectares of plantation, its carbon dioxide cycle and the contribution to reduce the greenhouse effect. In the following step the uses of ethanol for hydrogen production by steam reforming is analyzed and some comparison with natural gas steam reforming is performed. The sugar cane industry in Brazil, in a near future, in the hydrogen era, could be modified according to our purpose, since besides the production of sugar, and ethylic and anhydric alcohol, Brazilian sugar cane industry will also be able to produce biohydrogen.Fuel cells appear like a promising technology for energy generation. Among several technologies in the present, the PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) is the most appropriate for vehicles application, because it combines durability, high power density, high efficiency, good response and it works at relatively low temperatures. Besides that it is easy to turn it on and off and it is able to support present vibration in vehicles. A PEMFC's problem is the need of noble catalysts like platinum. Another problem is that CO needs to be in low concentration, requiring a more clean hydrogen to avoid fuel cell deterioration.One part of this paper was developed in Stockholm, where there are some buses within the CUTE (clean urban transport for Europe) project that has been in operation with FC since January 2004. Another part was developed in Guaratingueta, Brazil. Brazil intends to start up a program of FC buses. As conclusion, this paper shows the economical analysis comparing buses moved by fuel cells using hydrogen by different kinds of production. Electrolyze with wind turbine, natural gas steam reforming and ethanol steam reforming. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis and functional annotation of an expressed sequence tag collection for tropical crop sugarcane

To contribute to our understanding of the genome complexity of sugarcane, we undertook a large-scale expressed sequence tag (EST),program. More than 260,000 cDNA clones were partially sequenced from 26 standard cDNA libraries generated from different sugarcane tissues. After the processing of the sequences, 237,954 high-quality ESTs were identified. These ESTs were assembled into 43,141 putative transcripts. of the assembled sequences, 35.6% presented no matches with existing sequences in public databases. A global analysis of the whole SUCEST data set indicated that 14,409 assembled sequences (33% of the total) contained at least one cDNA clone with a full-length insert. Annotation of the 43,141 assembled sequences associated almost 50% of the putative identified sugarcane genes with protein metabolism, cellular communication/signal transduction, bioenergetics, and stress responses. Inspection of the translated assembled sequences for conserved protein domains revealed 40,821 amino acid sequences with 1415 Pfam domains. Reassembling the consensus sequences of the 43,141 transcripts revealed a 22% redundancy in the first assembling. This indicated that possibly 33,620 unique genes had been identified and indicated that >90% of the sugarcane expressed genes were tagged.

Seasonal variability in the fertilization rate of women undergoing assisted reproduction treatments

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether seasonality affects human-assisted reproduction treatment outcomes. For this, 1932 patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) were assigned to a season group according to the day of oocyte retrieval: winter (n = 435), spring (n = 444), summer (n = 469) or autumn (n = 584). Analysis of variance was used to compare the ICSI outcomes. The fertilization rate was increased during the spring (winter: 67.9%, spring: 73.5%, summer: 68.7% and autumn: 69.0%; p < 0.01). In fact, a nearly 50% increase in the fertilization rate during the spring was observed (odds ratio 1.45, confidence interval 1.20-1.75; p < 0.01). The oestradiol concentration per number of oocytes was significantly higher during the spring (winter: 235.8 pg/mL, spring: 282.1 pg/mL, summer: 226.1 pg/mL and autumn: 228.7 pg/mL; p = 0.030). This study demonstrates a seasonal variability in fertilization after ICSI, where fertilization is higher during the spring than at any other time.

Experience-dependent upregulation of multiple plasticity factors in the hippocampus during early REM sleep

Sleep is beneficial to learning, but the underlying mechanisms remain controversial. The synaptic homeostasis hypothesis (SHY) proposes that the cognitive function of sleep is related to a generalized rescaling of synaptic weights to intermediate levels, due to a passive downregulation of plasticity mechanisms. A competing hypothesis proposes that the active upscaling and downscaling of synaptic weights during sleep embosses memories in circuits respectively activated or deactivated during prior waking experience, leading to memory changes beyond rescaling. Both theories have empirical support but the experimental designs underlying the conflicting studies are not congruent, therefore a consensus is yet to be reached. To advance this issue, we used real-time PCR and electrophysiological recordings to assess gene expression related to synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus and primary somatosensory cortex of rats exposed to novel objects, then kept awake (WK) for 60 min and finally killed after a 30 min period rich in WK, slow-wave sleep (SWS) or rapid-eye-movement sleep (REM). Animals similarly treated but not exposed to novel objects were used as controls. We found that the mRNA levels of Arc, Egr1, Fos, Ppp2ca and Ppp2r2d were significantly increased in the hippocampus of exposed animals allowed to enter REM, in comparison with control animals. Experience-dependent changes during sleep were not significant in the hippocampus for Bdnf, Camk4, Creb1, and Nr4a1, and no differences were detected between exposed and control SWS groups for any of the genes tested. No significant changes in gene expression were detected in the primary somatosensory cortex during sleep, in contrast with previous studies using longer post-stimulation intervals (>180 min). The experience-dependent induction of multiple plasticity-related genes in the hippocampus during early REM adds experimental support to the synaptic embossing theory.

Maternal and perinatal outcomes of first pregnancy after chemotherapy for gestational trophoblastic neoplasia in Brazilian women

Objective. To evaluate maternal and perinatal outcomes of first pregnancy after chemotherapy for gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) in Brazilian patients.Methods. This study included 252 subsequent pregnancies after chemotherapy for GTN treated between 1960-2005. Correlations of maternal and perinatal outcomes with chemotherapy regimen (single or multiagent) and the time interval between chemotherapy completion and first subsequent pregnancy were investigated.Results. There was a significant increase in adverse maternal outcomes in women who conceived <6 months than 6-12 months (76.2% and 19.6%; p<0.0001; OR=13.12; CI 95%=3.87-44.40) and >12 months (76.2% and 21.7%; P<0.0001; OR=11.56; CI 95%=3.98-33.55) after chemotherapy. Spontaneous abortion frequency was higher <6 months (71.4%) than 6-12 months (17.6%; p<0.0001: OR=11.66; CI 95%=3.55-38.22) and >12 months (9.4%; p<0.0001: OR=23.97: CI 95%=8.21-69.91) after chemotherapy. There was no difference in adverse perinatal outcomes (stillbirth, fetal malformation, and preterm birth) related to the interval after chemotherapy and Subsequent pregnancy. The overall occurrence of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes did not significantly differ between patients on single or multiagent regimens.Conclusion. Adverse maternal outcomes and spontaneous abortion were more frequent among patients who conceived within 6 months of chemotherapy completion. In these cases, careful prenatal monitoring and hCG level measurement 6 weeks after the completion of any new pregnancy are recommended. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of Hydatidiform Mole Follow-Up Setting on Postmolar Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia Outcomes A Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE: To assess the influence of hydatidiform mole (HM) management setting (reference center versus other institutions) on gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) outcomes. METHODS: This cohort study included 270 HM patients attending Botucatu Trophoblastic Diseases Center (BTDC, São Paulo State University, Brazil) between January 1.990 and December 2009 (204 undergoing evacuation and entire postmolar follow-up at BTDC and 66 from other institutions [OIs]). GTN characteristics and outcomes were analyzed and compared according to HM management setting. The confounding variables assessed included age, gravidity, parity, number of abortions and HM type (complete or partial). Postmolar GTN outcomes were compared using Mann-Whitney's test, chi(2) test or Fisher's exact test.RESULTS: Postmolar GTN occurred in 34 (34/204= 16.7%) BTDC patients and in 27 (27/66=40.9%) of those initially treated in other institutions. BTDC patients showed lower metastasis rate (5.8% vs. 48%, p = 0.003) and lower median FIGO (2002) score (2.00 0.00, 3.001 vs. 4.00 [2.00, 7.00], p = 0.003]. Multiagent chemotherapy to treat postmolar GTN was required in 2 BTDC cases (5.9%) and in 8 OI cases (29.6%) (p = 0.017). Median time interval between molar evacuation and chemotherapy onset was shorter among BTDC patients (7.0 [6.0, 10.0] vs. 10.0[7.0, 16.0], p = 0.040). CONCLUSION: BTDC patients showed GTN characteristics indicative of better prognosis. This underscores the importance of GTD specialist centers. (J Reprod Med 2012;57:305-309)

Malformação arteriovenosa uterina após doença trofoblástica gestacional

OBJETIVO: investigar a presença e resultados de malformações vasculares uterinas (MAVU) após doença trofoblástica gestacional (DTG). MÉTODOS: estudo retrospectivo com inclusão de casos diagnosticados entre 1987 e 2004; 2764 pacientes após DTG foram acompanhadas anualmente com ultra-sonografia transvaginal e Doppler colorido no Centro de Neoplasia Trofoblástica Gestacional da Santa Casa da Misericórdia (Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil). Sete pacientes tiveram diagnóstico final de MAVU baseado em análise ultra-sonográfica - índice de pulsatilidade (IP), índice de resistência (IR) e velocidade sistólica máxima (VSM) - e achados de imagens de ressonância nuclear magnética (RNM). Dosagens negativas de beta-hCG foram decisivas para estabelecer o diagnóstico diferencial com DTG recidivante. RESULTADOS: a incidência de MAVU após DTG foi 0,2% (7/2764). Achados ultra-sonográficos de MAVU: IP médio de 0,44±0,058 (extremos: 0,38-0,52); IR médio de 0,36±0,072 (extremos: 0,29-0,50); VSM média de 64,6±23,99 cm/s (extremos: 37-96). A imagem de RNM revelou útero aumentado, miométrio heterogêneo, espaços vasculares tortuosos e vasos parametriais com ectasia. A apresentação clínica mais comum foi hemorragia transvaginal, presente em 52,7% (4/7) dos casos. Tratamento farmacológico com 150 mg de acetato de medroxiprogesterona foi empregado para controlar a hemorragia, após a estabilização hemodinâmica. Permanecem as pacientes em seguimento, assintomáticas até hoje. Duas pacientes engravidaram com MAVU, com gestações e partos exitosos. CONCLUSÃO: presente sangramento transvaginal em pacientes com beta-hCG negativo e história de DTG, deve-se considerar a possibilidade de MAVU e solicitar avaliação ultra-sonográfica com dopplervelocimetria. O tratamento conservador é a melhor opção na maioria dos casos de MAVU pós-DTG.