Genetic trends in the expected progeny difference of the asymptotic weight of Nelore females

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

Dynamical scaling properties of nanoporous undoped and Sb-doped SnO2 supported thin films during tri- and bidimensional structure coarsening

The coarsening of the nanoporous structure developed in undoped and 3% Sb-doped SnO2 sol-gel dip-coated films deposited on a mica substrate was studied by time-resolved small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) during in situ isothermal treatments at 450 and 650 degrees C. The time dependence of the structure function derived from the experimental SAXS data is in reasonable agreement with the predictions of the statistical theory of dynamical scaling, thus suggesting that the coarsening process in the studied nanoporous structures exhibits dynamical self-similar properties. The kinetic exponents of the power time dependence of the characteristic scaling length of undoped SnO2 and 3% Sb-doped SnO2 films are similar (alpha approximate to 0.09), this value being invariant with respect to the firing temperature. In the case of undoped SnO2 films, another kinetic exponent, alpha('), corresponding to the maximum of the structure function was determined to be approximately equal to three times the value of the exponent alpha, as expected for the random tridimensional coarsening process in the dynamical scaling regime. Instead, for 3% Sb-doped SnO2 films fired at 650 degrees C, we have determined that alpha(')approximate to 2 alpha, thus suggesting a bidimensional coarsening of the porous structure. The analyses of the dynamical scaling functions and their asymptotic behavior at high q (q being the modulus of the scattering vector) provided additional evidence for the two-dimensional features of the pore structure of 3% Sb-doped SnO2 films. The presented experimental results support the hypotheses of the validity of the dynamic scaling concept to describe the coarsening process in anisotropic nanoporous systems.

Social representations of law, justice and injustice: A study with Argentinean and Brazilian adolescents

This study aims to analyze the main social representations of law, justice and injustice preseneted by Argentinean and Brazilian youngsters. The Brazilian group consisted of 621 polled of three different regions-Floriano/PI, Erechim/RS, and Marilia/SP. From Argentina, 200 youngsters of Avellanedacity (Buenos Aires metropolitan region) participated. All the samples were proportionally divided according to the kind of school (public or private) and the school year attented (8(th) grade and 11(th) grade, considering the equivalent grade in Argentina). The data collection technique consisted of semi directed questionnaire composed by the free evocation of words technique. The procedure used to evaluate the results was the Analysis Correspondence Method (ANACOR). The results demonstrate important variations related to the youngster' nationality and they were discussed so that the preseneted representations were contextualized.

Morphologic changes in the vesical transition epithelium of alcoholic rats

Few studies are available about the effect of alcohol on the epithelium of the urinary bladder. In the present investigation we studied the ultrastructure of the vesical transition epithelium of normal rats and of rats submitted to experimental chronic alcoholism. Adult rats were submitted to experimental chronic alcoholism by the ingestion of sugar cane liquor. The vesical epithelium was examined after 60, 120, 180 and 240 days of alcohol treatment by transmission electron microscopy. Surface cells presented nuclear and cytoplasmic changes and marked cellular desquamation. There was an increase in multivesicular bodies and lysosomes suggesting cell degeneration. Mast cell infiltration was observed, possibly related to increased epithelial sensitivity. Intercellular spaces were frequently observed. The transition epithelium of the urinary bladder was found to be sensitive to the action of alcohol, as demonstrated by the changes in the components of the blood-urine barrier, the greater sensitivity to inflammation, the increase in cell desquamation and the greater recycling of the apical membrane and of the fusiform vesicles of surface cells observed in alcoholic rats.

Molecular and serological detection of Ehrlichia canis and Babesia vogeli in dogs in Colombia

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Viral infections in workers in hospital and research laboratory settings: a comparative review of infection modes and respective biosafety aspects

Objectives: To compare modes and sources of infection and clinical and biosafety aspects of accidental viral infections in hospital workers and research laboratory staff reported in scientific articles. Methods: PubMed, Google Scholar, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scirus, and Scielo were searched (to December 2008) for reports of accidental viral infections, written in English, Portuguese, Spanish, or German; the authors' personal file of scientific articles and references from the articles retrieved in the initial search were also used. Systematic review was carried out with inclusion criteria of presence of accidental viral infection's cases information, and exclusion criteria of absence of information about the viral etiology, and at least probable mode of infection.Results: One hundred and forty-one scientific articles were obtained, 66 of which were included in the analysis. For arboviruses, 84% of the laboratory infections had aerosol as the source; for alphaviruses alone, aerosol exposure accounted for 94% of accidental infections. of laboratory arboviral infections, 15.7% were acquired percutaneously, whereas 41.6% of hospital infections were percutaneous. For airborne viruses, 81% of the infections occurred in laboratories, with hantavirus the leading causative agent. Aerosol inhalation was implicated in 96% of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infections, 99% of hantavirus infections, and 50% of coxsackievirus infections, but infective droplet inhalation was the leading mode of infection for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and the mucocutaneous mode of infection was involved in the case of infection with influenza B. For blood-borne viruses, 92% of infections occurred in hospitals and 93% of these had percutaneous mode of infection, while among laboratory infections 77% were due to infective aerosol inhalation. Among blood-borne virus infections there were six cases of particular note: three cases of acute hepatitis following hepatitis C virus infection with a short period of incubation, one laboratory case of human immunodeficiency virus infection through aerosol inhalation, one case of hepatitis following hepatitis G virus infection, and one case of fulminant hepatitis with hepatitis B virus infection following exposure of the worker's conjunctiva to hepatitis B virus e antigen-negative patient saliva. of the 12 infections with viruses with preferential mucocutaneous transmission, seven occurred percutaneously, aerosol was implicated as a possible source of infection in two cases, and one atypical infection with Macacine herpesvirus 1 with fatal encephalitis as the outcome occurred through a louse bite. One outbreak of norovirus infection among hospital staff had as its probable mode of infection the ingestion of inocula spread in the environment by fomites.Conclusions: The currently accepted and practiced risk analysis of accidental viral infections based on the conventional dynamics of infection of the etiological agents is insufficient to cope with accidental viral infections in laboratories and to a lesser extent in hospitals, where unconventional modes of infection are less frequently present but still have relevant clinical and potential epidemiological consequences. Unconventional modes of infection, atypical clinical development, or extremely severe cases are frequently present together with high viral loads and high virulence of the agents manipulated in laboratories. In hospitals by contrast, the only possible association of atypical cases is with the individual resistance of the worker. Current standard precaution practices are insufficient to prevent most of the unconventional infections in hospitals analyzed in this study; it is recommended that special attention be given to flaviviruses in these settings. (C) 2011 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparative study of the cuticular hydrocarbon composition of Melipona bicolor Lepeletier, 1836 (Hymenoptera, Meliponini) workers and queens

In social insects, cuticular hydrocarbons are involved in species, kin, caste and nestmate recognition. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry were used to compare the cuticular hydrocarbon composition of workers, males and queens of Melipona bicolor. The cuticular hydrocarbon composition of this species was found to consist mainly of C23, C25:1, C25, C27:1, C27, C29:1 and C29, which are already present in imagoes that have not yet abandoned the brood cell. This composition varied quantitatively and qualitatively between and within the castes and sexes. The newly emerged workers and young queens (virgins) had similar cuticular hydrocarbon profiles, which were different from those of the males. When the females start executing their tasks in the colony, the cuticular hydrocarbon profile differences appear. The workers have less variety, while the queens conserve or increase the number of cuticular hydrocarbon compounds. The queens have more abdominal tegumentary glands than the workers, which apparently are the source of the new cuticular compounds.

Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2004

Includes bibliography

Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2005

Includes bibliography

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 1992

Includes bibliography

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 1999-2000

Includes bibliography

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 1998-1999

Includes bibliography

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2000-2001

Includes bibliography

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2002-2003

Includes bibliography

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2003-2004

Includes bibliography