Lehmijärven valuma-alueen happamuus sekä alumiini- ja rikkipitoisuus

Lehmijärvi on 63 ha laajuinen kirkasvetinen ja vähähumuksinen latvajärvi Salossa. Lehmijärven suojeluyhdistys pyysi Varsinais-Suomen ELY-keskukselta ja Suomen metsäkeskukselta apua järvivedessä havaittujen korkeiden alumiinipitoisuuksien ja happamuuspiikkien sekä mahdollisten metsätaloustoimenpiteiden haittojen ehkäisemiseen valuma-alueella. Suomen metsäkeskuksen ja Varsinais-Suomen ELY-keskuksen yhteistyönä selvitettiin maanäytteiden avulla maaperän happamuutta ja alumiinipitoisuutta Lehmijärven valuma-alueella. Tulokset ja johtopäätökset on esitetty tässä raportissa. Tulosten perusteella näyttää siltä, että Lehmijärven happamuuspiikit (pH:n jyrkät laskut vedessä) johtuvat pääosin happamista lumensulamisvesistä, johon on jo aiemmissakin selvityksissä viitattu eikä alunamaa ongelmasta valuma-alueella. Myös ojitettujen soiden suuri osuus valuma-alueesta ja turvemaiden yleinen happamuus lisäävät osaltaan valuma-alueelta virtaavien vesien happamuutta varsinkin tulva-aikoina. Mustikkasuon eteläpuolisella suokuviolla, jonka läpi pääosa pohjoispuolen valumavesistä virtaa, voi kuitenkin esiintyä ohuen turpeen alla pienialaisesti alunamaata. Vertailtaessa tämän aineiston liukoisen alumiinin määriä turpeessa aikaisempien tutkimusten vertailulukuihin, voidaan sanoa Lehmijärven valuma-alueen ojitetuilla soilla olevan keskimääräistä korkeampia alumiinipitoisuuksia. Paikoin liukoiset alumiinipitoisuudet olivat jopa erittäin korkeita. Mustikkasuon eteläpuolisella suokuviolla, jonka kautta vedet suurelta osin virtaavat, alumiinipitoisuus oli korkeimmillaan 11 267 mg/kg ja Miilussuolla 7 044 mg/kg, kun Niemisen ja Jarvan (1996) tutkimuksessa alumiinipitoisuuden maksimiarvo oli 5 577 mg/kg. Alumiinin ajoittain korkeat pitoisuudet Lehmijärvessä johtuvat tämän raportin tulosten perusteella todennäköisesti pääosin valuma-alueen soiden turpeen korkeista alumiinipitoisuuksista. Voimakas maanmuokkaus kivennäismailla lisää alumiinin liukoisuutta ja samalla alumiinin huuhtoutumisriskiä vesistöihin. Lehmijärven valuma-alueella on suositeltavaa käyttää metsänuudistamisessa kevyitä maanmuokkausmenetelmiä (laikutus, kääntömätästys ja laikkumätästys) ja välttää ojitusmätästystä. Luontainen uudistaminen (erityisesti alikasvosten hyödyntäminen) pitäisi olla ensisijainen uudistamismenetelmä Lehmijärven valuma-alueella. Kunnostusojituksia toteutettaessa pitäisi ottaa käyttöön mahdollisimman tehokkaat vesiensuojelutoimet. On muistettava, että korkeat alumiinipitoisuudet Lehmijärvellä eivät ole pelkästään negatiivinen asia, koska alumiini sitoo tehokkaasti fosforia ja pahasti rehevöityneitä järviä (esim. Köyliön Ilmijärvi) on yritetty kunnostaa alumiinisulfaatti käsittelyllä. Lisätutkimusta tarvitaan selvittämään, onko Lehmijärven veden alumiinipitoisuus ajoittain jo niin korkea, että siitä on haittaa kalakannalle tai, että se jopa estää rapukannan palauttamisen istuttamalla järveen.

Holstein white coat color and performance: phenotypic, genetic and environmental correlations

Correlations of measures of percentages of white coat color, five measures of production and two measures of reproduction were obtained from 4293 first lactation Holsteins from eight Florida dairy farms. Percentages of white coat color were analyzed as recorded and transformed by an extension of Box-Cox procedures. Statistical analyses were by derivative-free restricted maximum likelihood (DFREML) with an animal model. Phenotypic and genetic correlations of white percentage (not transformed) were with milk yield, 0.047 and 0.097; fat yield, 0.002 and 0.004; fat percentage, -0.047 and -0.090; protein yield, 0.024 and 0.048; protein percentage, -0.070 and -0.116; days open, -0.012 and -0.065; and calving interval, -0.007 and -0.029. Changes in magnitude of correlations were very small for all variables except days open. Genetic and phenotypic correlations of transformed values with days open were -0.027 and -0.140. Modest positive correlated responses would be expected for white coat color percentage following direct selection for milk, fat, and protein yields, but selection for fat and protein percentages, days open, or calving interval would lead to small decreases.

Lung tissue mechanics in the early stages of induced paracoccidioidomycosis in rats

Pulmonary dysfunction represents the most important cause of death in patients with paracoccidioidomycosis (PBM). In order to investigate the functional changes of the lungs in the early stages of PBM, a model of benign disease was developed by intratracheal challenge of 12-week old isogenic Wistar rats with 1 x 106 yeast forms of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. Animals were studied 30 and 60 days after infection, when fully developed granulomas were demonstrable in the lungs. Measurements of airway resistance, lung elastance and tissue hysteresis were made during sinusoidal deformations (100 breaths/min, tidal volume = 2 ml) with direct measurement of alveolar pressure using the alveolar capsule technique. Infection caused a significant increase in hysteresis (infected: 1.69, N = 13; control: 1.13, N = 12, P = 0.024, ANOVA), with no alterations in airway resistance or lung elastance. Histopathological analysis revealed the presence of fully developed granulomas located in the axial compartment of the lung interstitial space. These results suggest that alterations of tissue mechanics represent an early event in experimental PBM

Pulmonary emphysema induced by passive smoking: an experimental study in rats

We describe a short time model for inducing experimental emphysema in rats by chronic tobacco smoke inhalation. Three groups of male Wistar rats (6 months old) were studied: controls (N = 8), rats intoxicated for 45 days (s-45, N = 7) or for 90 days (s-90, N = 8). The exposed animals were intoxicated 3 times a day (10 cigarettes per exposure period), 5 days a week. Pulmonary damage was assessed by means of functional tests and quantitative pathological examination of the airways and lung parenchyma. The s-45 and s-90 animals were similar in terms of functional residual capacity (FRC) corrected for body weight (FRC/kg) but both groups of smoking rats exhibited significantly higher FRC/kg values than the controls (s-45 = 6.33; s-90 = 6.46; controls = 3.78; P<0.05). When the two groups of smoking rats were pooled together and compared to controls, they showed decreased lung elastance (1.6 vs 2.19; P = 0.046) and increased mean linear intercept (Lm) (85.14 vs 66.44; P = 0.025). The s-90 animals presented higher inflammation and muscular hypertrophy at the level of the axial bronchus than the controls (P<0.05). When smoking groups were pooled and compared to controls, they presented significantly higher inflammation at the lateral level (P = 0.028), as well as airway secretory hyperplasia (P = 0.024) and smooth muscle hypertrophy (P = 0.005) at the axial level. Due to its simplicity, low cost and short duration, this technique may be a useful model to obtain new information about airspace remodeling due to chronic tobacco consumption

Hepatitis C virus infection among Brazilian hemophiliacs: a virological, clinical and epidemiological study

We determined and analyzed risk factors of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected Brazilian hemophiliacs according to their virological, clinical and epidemiological characteristics. A cross-sectional and retrospective study of 469 hemophiliacs was carried out at a Brazilian blood center starting in October 1997. The prevalence of HCV infection, HCV genotypes and factors associated with HCV RNA detection was determined. The seroprevalence of anti-HCV antibodies (ELISA-3.0) was 44.6% (209/469). Virological, clinical and epidemiological assessments were completed for 162 positive patients. There were seven (4.3%) anti-HCV seroconversions between October 1992 and October 1997. During the same period, 40.8% of the positive anti-HCV hemophiliacs had abnormal alanine transaminase (ALT) levels. Plasma HCV RNA was detected by nested-RT-PCR in 116 patients (71.6%). RFLP analysis showed the following genotype distribution: HCV-1 in 98 hemophiliacs (84.5%), HCV-3 in ten (8.6%), HCV-4 in three (2.6%), HCV-2 in one (0.9%), and not typeable in four cases (3.4%). Univariate analysis indicated that older age (P = 0.017) and abnormal ALT levels (P = 0.010) were associated with HCV viremia, while the presence of inhibitor antibodies (P = 0.024) and HBsAg (P = 0.007) represented a protective factor against the presence of HCV RNA. These findings may contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between HCV infection and hemophilia.

In situ enzyme immunoassay for titration of a Brazilian hepatitis A virus strain (HAF-203)

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) replicates relatively slowly in cell culture without a cytopathic effect, a fact that limits the use of tissue culture assays. The radioimmunofocus assay is the standard method for HAV titration, although it is labor intensive and requires the use of radioisotopes. A simple, rapid and objective infectivity assay based on an in situ enzyme immunoassay (EIA) is described here for a Brazilian cell culture-adapted HAV strain (HAF-203). The assay uses a peroxidase-labeled polyclonal antibody to fixed monolayers as an indicator of infection. EIA may be completed within 7 days using serial 5-fold dilutions of the virus, yielding a titer of 5.024 log 50% tissue culture infective dose (TCID50)/ml for HAF-203. This technique had a detection limit of 1.1 log TCID50/ml and the specificity was demonstrated by detecting no reaction on the columns of uninfected wells. The reproducibility (with intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation ranging from 1.9 to 3.8% and from 3.5 to 9.9%, respectively) and quantitation of the assay were demonstrated by close agreement in virus infectivity titers among different assays of the same amount of virus and between assays of different amounts of virus. Furthermore, this assay does not require the use of radiolabeled antibodies. We describe here an efficient EIA that is highly reproducible and that could be used to monitor HAV growth in cell culture and to determine the quantity of HAV antigen needed for diagnostic assays. This is the first report of the infectious titer of the Brazilian cell culture-adapted HAV strain (HAF-203).

Estrogen receptor 1 gene polymorphisms and coronary artery disease in the Brazilian population

We examined the association of three established single nucleotide polymorphisms, IVS1-397T>C, IVS1-351A>G, and +261G>C, in the ESR1 gene with the prevalence and severity of coronary atherosclerosis in a southern Brazilian population of European ancestry. Three hundred and forty-one subjects (127 women and 214 men) with coronary artery disease (CAD) were classified as having significant disease (CAD+ patient group) when they showed 60% or more luminal stenosis in at least one coronary artery or major branch segment at angiography; patients with 10% or less luminal stenosis were considered to have minimal CAD (CAD- patient group). The control sample consisted of 142 subjects (79 women and 63 men) without significant disease, in whom coronary angiography to rule out the presence of asymptomatic CAD was not performed. The polymorphisms were investigated by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction analyses. In the male sample, the +261G>C*C allele was more frequent in CAD+ than CAD- subjects (8 versus 1%, P = 0.024). Homozygosity for the C allele of the IVS1-397T>C polymorphism was also significantly associated with increased CAD severity (OR: 2.99; 95% CI = 1.35-6.63; P = 0.007). In agreement with previous findings, these results suggest that the IVS1-397T>C*C allele was associated with CAD severity independent of gender, whereas the association of the +261G>C variant with CAD was observed in males only. The relation between ESR1 variation and CAD may influence clinical decisions such as the use of hormone therapy, and additionally will be helpful to identify the genetic susceptibility determinants of cardiovascular disease development.

Behavioral changes induced by cocaine in mice are modified by a hyperlipidic diet or recombinant leptin

The objective of the present study was to determine if the acute behavioral effects of cocaine acutely administered intraperitoneally (ip) at doses of 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg on white male CF1 mice, 90 days of age, would be influenced by leptin acutely administered ip (at doses of 5, 10 and 20 µg/kg) or by endogenous leptin production enhanced by a high-fat diet. The acute behavioral effects of cocaine were evaluated in open-field, elevated plus-maze and forced swimming tests. Results were compared between a group of 80 mice consuming a balanced diet and a high-fat diet, and a group of 80 mice fed a commercially available rodent chow formula (Ralston Purina) but receiving recombinant leptin (rLeptin) or saline ip. Both the high-fat-fed and rLeptin-treated mice showed decreased locomotion in the open-field test, spent more time in the open arms of the elevated plus-maze and showed less immobility time in the forced swimming test (F(1,68) = 7.834, P = 0.007). There was an interaction between diets and cocaine/saline treatments in locomotion (F(3,34) = 3.751, P = 0.020) and exploration (F(3,34) = 3.581, P = 0.024). These results suggest that anxiolytic effects and increased general activity were induced by leptin in cocaine-treated mice and that low leptin levels are associated with behavioral depression. Chronic changes in diet composition producing high leptin levels or rLeptin treatment may result in an altered response to cocaine in ethologic tests that measure degrees of anxiety and depression, which could be attributed to an antagonistic effect of leptin.

[Topografičeskaâ karta 1:42000]. XV-53, XV-54, XIV-53, XIV-54, Vyborg. gub., Keksgol'msk. uězd.

1:42000.

[Topografičeskaâ karta 1:42000]. XI-53, XI-54, X-53, X-54, Vyborg. gub., Èurâpâ i Keksgol'mskìj uĕzd. / snimali i c̆ertili Mihajlov", Krasovskìj, Antonov" i Dubrovin".

[1:42000].

[Topografičeskaâ karta 1:42000]. IX-53, IX-54, VIII-53, VIII-54, Vyborg. gub., uĕzda Èjrâpâ.

1:42000.

[Topografičeskaâ karta 1:42000]. VII-53, VII-54, VI-53, VI-54, Vyborg. gub., Peter. i Èurâp. uĕzd.

[1:42000].

[Topografičeskaâ karta 1:42000]. XIII-53, XIII-54, XII-53, XII-54, Vyborg. gub., Keksgol'm. uězd.

1:42000.

Comparative pathogenicity of Coxsackievirus A16 circulating and noncirculating strains in vitro and in a neonatal mouse model

An enterovirus 71 (EV71) vaccine for the prevention of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HMFD) is available, but it is not known whether the EV71 vaccine cross-protects against Coxsackievirus (CV) infection. Furthermore, although an inactivated circulating CVA16 Changchun 024 (CC024) strain vaccine candidate is effective in newborn mice, the CC024 strain causes severe lesions in muscle and lung tissues. Therefore, an effective CV vaccine with improved pathogenic safety is needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vivo safety and in vitro replication capability of a noncirculating CVA16 SHZH05 strain. The replication capacity of circulating CVA16 strains CC024, CC045, CC090 and CC163 and the noncirculating SHZH05 strain was evaluated by cytopathic effect in different cell lines. The replication capacity and pathogenicity of the CC024 and SHZH05 strains were also evaluated in a neonatal mouse model. Histopathological and viral load analyses demonstrated that the SHZH05 strain had an in vitro replication capacity comparable to the four CC strains. The CC024, but not the SHZH05 strain, became distributed in a variety of tissues and caused severe lesions and mortality in neonatal mice. The differences in replication capacity and in vivo pathogenicity of the CC024 and SHZH05 strains may result from differences in the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of viral functional polyproteins P1, P2 and P3. Our findings suggest that the noncirculating SHZH05 strain may be a safer CV vaccine candidate than the CC024 strain.

Capacidade funcional e qualidade de vida de pacientes com doença renal crônica pré-dialítica e em hemodiálise - Um estudo transversal

Introdução: A doença renal crônica (DRC) interfere diretamente na capacidade funcional, na independência e, consequentemente, na qualidade de vida (QV). Objetivo: Comparar a capacidade funcional e a qualidade de vida de doentes renais crônicos em hemodiálise (G1) e pré-dialíticos (G2). Métodos: Estudo transversal descritivo, 54 pacientes com DRC, 27 do G1 (58,15 ± 10,84 anos) e 27 do G2 (62,04 ± 16,56 anos). Verificaramse os fatores de risco cardiovasculares, medidas antropométricas, força muscular respiratória verificada por meio da pressão inspiratória (PImax) e expiratória (PEmax) máximas, teste de caminhada de seis minutos (TC6'), teste cardiopulmonar de exercício, teste de sentar e levantar de um minuto (TSL1') e o Short-Form Questionary (SF-36) para avaliar a QV. Os pacientes apresentavam estadiamento da doença entre 2 a 5. Realizou-se o teste de normalidade Kolmogorov-Smirnov e utilizou-se o teste t (Student) ou o teste U (Mann Whitney) para a comparação das médias das variáveis quantitativas e o teste de Quiquadrado de Pearson e exato de Fischer para as variáveis qualitativas. Para identificar as correlações, foi utilizado o teste de Pearson ou de Spearman. Resultados: Não foi encontrada diferença estatisticamente significativa entre G1 e G2, no VO2pico (p = 0,259), no TC6' (p = 0,433), na PImax (p = 0,158) e somente foi encontrada diferença na PEmax (p = 0,024) para G1. Os escores do questionário SF-36 mostram em ambos os grupos um pior estado de saúde evidenciada pela pontuação baixa nos escores de QV. Conclusão: Os pacientes com DRC apresentaram reduzida capacidade funcional e QV, sendo que a hemodiálise não demonstrou estatisticamente ter repercussão negativa quando comparados com os pacientes pré-dialíticos.