Prevalência de alterações fundoscópicas em estudantes na cidade de Natal-Brasil

Objetivo: Determinar a prevalência de alterações fundoscópicas em estudantes de escolas das redes pública e privada de Natal-RN. Métodos: Avaliação oftalmológica foi realizada em 990 alunos, de 5 a 21 anos, matriculados nas escolas das redes públicas e privada do município de Natal-RN, que estiveram cursando alguma série do ensino fundamental ou médio, no período de 03 a 06 de 2001. Resultados: Alterações fundoscópicas foram observadas em 5,3% dos estudantes. As anormalidades encontradas, por ordem de freqüência, foram: branco sem pressão, 1,0%; cicatriz de retinocoroidite sugestiva de toxoplasmose, 1,0%; atrofia do epitélio pigmentado da retina, 0,8%; nevos da coróide, 0,4%; escavação da cabeça do nervo óptico aumentada, 0,4%; degeneração em treliça, 0,3%; buraco operculado, 0,2%; fundus miópico, 0,2%; tortuosidade vascular aumentada, 0,2%; granuloma sugestivo de toxocaríase, 0,2%; hipoplasia da cabeça do nervo óptico, 0,1%; persistência da artéria hialoidea, 0,1%; persistência de fibras de mielina, 0,1%; retina sal e pimenta, 0,1%; retinosquise, 0,1%. Conclusão: Houve uma baixa prevalência de alterações fundoscópicas na população estudada

Efeitos da microgravidade em plantas de cana-de-açúcar

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is a plant from Poaceae family that has an impressive ability to accumulate sucrose in the stalk, making it a significant component of the economy of many countries. About 100 countries produce sugarcane in an area of 22 million hectares worldwide. For this reason, many studies have been done using sugarcane as a plant model in order to improve production. A change in gravity may be one kind of abiotic stress, since it generates rapid responses after stimulation. In this work we decided to investigate the possible morphophysiological, biochemical and molecular changes resulting from microgravity. Here, we present the contributions of an experiment where sugarcane plants were submitted to microgravity flight using a vehicle VSB-30, a sounding rocket developed by Aeronautics and Space Institute teams, in cooperation with the German Space Agency. Sugarcane plants with 10 days older were submitted to a period of six minutes of microgravity using the VSB-30 rocket. The morphophysiological analyses of roots and leaves showed that plants submitted to the flight showed changes in the conduction tissues, irregular pattern of arrangement of vascular bundles and thickening of the cell walls, among other anatomical changes that indicate that the morphology of the plants was substantially influenced by gravitational stimulation, besides the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide, an important signaling molecule in stress conditions. We carried out RNA extraction and sequencing using Illumina platform. Plants subjected to microgravity also showed changes in enzyme activity. It was observed an increased in superoxide dismutase activity in leaves and a decreased in its activity in roots as well as for ascorbate peroxidase activity. Thus, it was concluded that the changes in gravity were perceived by plants, and that microgravity environment triggered changes associated with a reactive oxygen specie signaling process. This work has helped the understanding of how the gravity affects the structural organization of the plants, by comparing the anatomy of plants subjected to microgravity and plants grown in 1g gravity

Co-infecção pelo vírus da hepatite G em pacientes infectados pelo Leihsmania chagasi

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior

Estudo clínico-laboratorial e histopatológico de cães naturalmente infectados por Leishmania chagasi com diferentes graus de manifestação física

Canine Visceral Leishmania (CVL) is an important zoonotic disease that has a world wide distribution and has a large impact on public health on the American Continent, especially in Brazil, where the nature of endemic diseases in humans affects a large part of the nation. The influence of the prevalence of CVL in the increased rate of human cases in endemic areas and in the unleashing of epidemic outbreaks shows the need for a more profound understanding, that would generate significant advances in the current measures used to control the reservoirs of sickness that are practiced by the Programa Nacional de Vigilância e Controle da Leishmaniose Visceral. The present work describes and compares the clinical-laboratorial and histopathological findings of twenty-three dogs that were naturally infected by Leishmania chagasi, from endemic areas in metropolitan Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. These animals, that were selected and given physical and serological exams (IFI and ELISA rK-39), were classified according to the degree of clinical severity and had blood samples drawn (whole blood and serum) for a complete hemogram and a coagulogram to be done as well as biochemical tests for kidney and liver function. The confirmation of infection by L. chagasi was done after the euthanasia of the animals, through the direct demonstration of the parasite in the impression of the spleen and liver crowned with GIEMSA and through a cultivation by means of NNN/Schneider. According to the clinical evaluation, the animals were classified as asymptomatic (7), oligosymptomatic (7) and polysymptomatic (9). Among the animals that were chosen to be autopsied, there were 2 asymptomatic, 3 oligosymptomatic and 3 polysymptomatic, for the purpose of studying their histopathology, having collected fragments of the spleen, liver, kidneys and skin and were fixed in 10% tamponed formol. The comparison between the average parameters of the clinical-laboratory tested animals in the groups was done through the Student t test (a<0.05). The main clinical signals observed were lymphadenomegaly, alopecy, dermatitis, exfoliation, cutaneous ulcers, onicogriphosis and emaciation. The main clinical-laboratorial alterations established, mainly in the polysymptomatic group, were anemia, hyperproteinemia, hyperglobulinemia, alterations in the albumin/globulin ratio and increased ALT activity. Renal alterations were not verified (urea and creatinine levels were normal). Thrombocytopenia was observed in three clinical groups. However, the other indicators of coagulation function (TAP and TTPA) did not have abnormal variations. There were inflammatory infiltrations and leishmania amastigotes in the skin of polysymptomatic dogs, however, they were not found in the skin of asymptomatic animals. Hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the phagocyte mononuclear system, leishmania amastigote parasites were found in the macrophages, extramedullary hematopoiesis and degenerative alterations were detected in the spleen and liver of 8 of the animals submitted to histopathological exams. In accord with these results, it was demonstrated that the expected alterations in the hematological and biochemical parameters in function of their viscerotropic nature of CVL are mainly observed in the more advanced stages of the disease. The absence of inflammatory infiltration and parasite load in the skin suggest that infected animals without symptoms may have an importance irrelevant to the infectiousness of the vector

Características bioquímicas da carne de bubalinos Mediterrâneo terminados em confinamento e abatidos em diferentes pesos

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Avaliação de parâmetros de estresse oxidativo em plantas de cana-de-açúcar tratadas com peróxico de hidrogênio

The genus Saccharum belongs to Poaceae family. Sugarcane has become important monocultures in Brazil due to their products: ethanol and sugar. The production may change between different regions from Brazil. This difference is related to soil, climatic conditions and temperature that promotes oxidative stress that may induce an early flowering. The aim of this work was to identify the effects of oxidative stress. In order to analyse this, sugarcane plants were submitted to oxidative stress using hydrogen peroxide. After this treatment, the oxidative stress were analyzed Then, the plant responses were analyzed under different approaches, using morphophysiological, biochemical and molecular tools. Thus, sugarcane plants were grown under controlled conditions and until two months they were subjected first to a hydroponics condition for 24 hours in order to acclimation. After this period, these plants were submitted to oxidative stresse using 0 mM, 10 mM, 20 mM and 30 mM hydrogen peroxide during 8 hours. The histomorphometric analysis allowed us to verify that both root and leaf tissues had a structural changes as it was observed by the increased in cell volume, lignin accumulation in cell walls. Besides, this observation suggested that there was a change in redox balance. Also, it was analyzed the activity of the SOD, CAT and APX enzymes. It was observed an increase in the SOD activity in roots and it was also observed a lipid peroxidation in leaves and roots. Then, in order to identify proteins that were differently expressed in this conditions it was used the proteomic tool either by bidimensional gel or by direct sequencing using the Q-TOF EZI. The results obtained with this approach identified more than 3.000 proteins with the score ranging from 100-5000 ions. Some of the proteins identified were: light Harvesting; oxygenevolving; Thioredoxin; Ftsh-like protein Pftf precusor; Luminal-binding protein; 2 cys peroxiredoxin e Lipoxygenase. All these proteins are involved in oxidative stress response, photsynthetic pathways, and some were classified hypothetical proteins and/or unknown (30% of total). Thus, our data allows us to propose that this treatment induced an oxidative stress and the plant in response changed its physiological process, it made changes in tissue, changed the redox response in order to survival to this new condition

Alterações de linguagem oral e escreta em crianças pré-escolares e escolares com epilepsia

A epilepsia cursa com diversas comorbidades e, entre elas, estão as alterações de linguagem, que levam a criança a problemas educacionais e sociais desfavoráveis. A etiologia das alterações de linguagem envolve aspectos orgânicos, cognitivos e sociais, ocorrendo, na maioria das vezes, uma interrelação entre todos esses fatores. A idade da primeira crise epiléptica, o tipo de epilepsia, o uso de drogas antiepilépticas e a intervenção medicamentosa em politerapia podem implicar na ocorrência dessas alterações em crianças. O objetivo dessa pesquisa foi verificar a ocorrência de alterações de linguagem em crianças pré-escolares e escolares com diagnóstico de epilepsia atendidas no setor de Neurologia Infantil do Hospital de Pediatria Professor Heriberto Ferreira Bezerra. Caracterizou-se como um estudo prospectivo e transversal realizado com 90 crianças com epilepsia, submetidas à avaliação fonoaudiológica de linguagem oral e de leitura e escrita e como pesquisa interdisciplinar uma vez que envolveu áreas como a Fonoaudiologia, a Neurologia e a Psicologia. Os critérios de inclusão foram: 1) diagnóstico inequívoco de epilepsia, segundo a definição da ILAE (2005), 2) idade de 3 aos 12 anos, 3) padrão neurológico e desenvolvimento neuropsicomotor normais; os de exclusão: 1) diagnóstico de epilepsia duvidoso, 2) padrão neurológico e desenvolvimento neuropsicomotor alterados, 3) crianças com patologias pediátricas associadas. Foram analisadas as seguintes variáveis: sexo, idade da primeira crise epiléptica, tipo de crise epiléptica, regime de tratamento, presença de crise epiléptica, frequência à escola, tipo de escola e repetência. A análise estatística centrou-se na análise descritiva; determinou-se a razão de chances (odds ratio), adotando-se um intervalo de confiança de 95%; e na aplicação do teste exato de Fisher, levando-se em consideração p<0,05. Portanto, no que se refere à presença de alterações de linguagem oral, pôdese observar que o início das crises epilépticas durante o período de aquisição e desenvolvimento da linguagem oral bem como o tratamento medicamentoso neste período podem interferir no desenvolvimento da linguagem devido à imaturidade do sistema nervoso central além dos aspectos socioambientais, uma vez que o estigma e as crenças errôneas interferem negativamente no processo interacional tão importante para a aquisição e desenvolvimento da linguagem, o que também repercute nas habilidades de leitura e escrita. Dessa forma percebe-se a importância da atuação de uma equipe interdisciplinar (Fonoaudiologia, Psicologia e Neurologia Infantil) no processo avaliativo e no acompanhamento dos pacientes com epilepsia, o que trará benefícios psicosocioafetivos no que se refere à reorganização da sua qualidade de vida e, consequentemente, de seus familiares.

Alterações no metabolismo de zinco relacionadas ao envelhecimento

Although many studies point to alterations in the organic concentrations of zinc in elderly patients, the mechanisms by which aging might cause changes in the metabolism of this nutrient remain unclear. Thus, we assessed the changes in plasma zinc, Zinc Binding Capacity to Plasma Protein (ZnBCPP) and Saturation Index (SI), comparing elderly individuals and young adults. The zinc analyses were performed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. A statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) was found between the two groups, in relation to plasma zinc and SI, but the ZnBCPP did not differ between the younger and older subjects. In agreement with this result, it was shown in the young group that 76% (R2 = 0.760) of the ZnBCPP variations are explained by the variations in plasma zinc and SI. In the elderly group this measure decreased to 30.5% (R2 = 0.305). We conclude, therefore, that aging may be a factor associated to changes in control mechanisms and in zinc homeostasis, and could even alter ZnBCPP response patterns and other zinc-related indicators of nutritional status.

Perfil periodontal de pacientes portadores de alterações endócrino-metabólicas

Objective- Convinced that periodontium, many times, can show alterations in human health, the aim of these studies was to investigate the periodontal situation in patients with endocrine-metabolic disorders such as, Berardinelli-Seip Syndrome, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and acromegaly. Methods- Eight patients with Berardinelli-Seip Syndrome, 16 acromegalics, 30 hypothyroids, 30 hyperthyroids, and a control group with 35 patients were evaluated. Clinical attachment loss, probing depth, gingival bleeding index, gingival overgrowth and Index of Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth were measured in each patient. All ethical aspects were rigidly observed, being the study conducted after its approval by the University of Fortaleza Research Ethics Committee. Results- The presence of periodontitis was marked in hyperthyroids and in patients with Berardinelli-Seip Syndrome. Hypothyroids showed not much presence of periodontitis, while all acromegalics presented absence of periodontitis. Conclusions- The protective effect of periodontitis in acromegalic patients is a new finding, whose mechanisms are not yet clear, but may be related to the anabolic effects of growth hormone. The presence of periodontitis in Berardinelli-Seip Syndrome may occur due the early onset of diabetes. In hyperthyroids, the high prevalence of periodontitis could be linked to thyroid hormones effects on bone, explaining also the minor prevalence in hypothyroids

Biodistribuição do pertecnetato de sódio após cirurgia do Switch Duodenal

The biliopancretic diversion with duodenal switch is one of the mixing techniques used in the treatment of morbid obesity. The duodenal switch reduces the stomach capacity and leaves only 50-100 cm of small intestine for nutrition and absorption. The surgery produces hormonal, structural and biochemical changes, which can influence on the result of scintigraphic examinations in operated patients. With the objective of evaluate the postoperative biodistribution of sodium pertechnetate (Na99mTcO4) in brain, thyroid, heart, lung, liver, spleen, kidney, stomach, duodenum, pancreas, small intestine, bladder, muscle and bone of Wistar rats. The rats were randomly allocated into 3 groups of 7 rats each: the duodenal switch group (DS), the control group (C) and the sham group (S). They were operated under anesthesia and aseptic technique. In the tenth postoperative day, 0.1mL of sodium pertechnetate was injected via orbital plexus. After 30 min the animals were killed with overdose of anesthetic and samples of liver, spleen, pancreas, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, thyroid, lung, heart, kidney, bladder, muscle, bone and brain were harvested, washed with saline and weighed. The detention of radioactivity was made using the automatic Gamma Counter Wizard, PerkinElmer and the percentage of activity per gram of tissue (%ATI/g) was calculated. There was no early or late mortality in either rats groups. The values of percent radioactivity per gram of tissue (%ATI/g), showed no significant difference in liver, stomach, small bowel, duodenum, kidney, heart, bladder, bone and brain, when compared the DS rats with sham and controls rats. A postoperative significant increase in mean %ATI/g levels was observed in spleen, pancreas and muscle in group DS rats, as compared to group S and C rats (p<0.05). In the lung there was an increase and in thyroid a decrease in mean %ATI/g of DS rats, when compared to sham rats (p>0.05). In conclusion, the biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch in rats modified the biodistribution of sodium pertechnetate in thyroid, lung, pancreas, spleen and muscle. The study had the participation of the departments and laboratories researches, as Nucleus of Experimental Surgery, Department of Surgery, Laboratory of Radiobiology, Department of Pathology and Service of Nuclear Medicine, certifying the character of a multidisciplinary research

Alterações nas concentrações das SRAT, conteúdo de GSH e atividade da CAT em pacientes com esquistossomose aguda

Schistosomiasis is an ancient disease caused by helminth Schistosoma mansoni and is a public health problem in Brazil. The granulomatous lesion, typical of the disease, associates itself with increase in the oxidative damage through the generation of free radicals. The aim of this work was to evaluate the occurrence of changes in parameters oxidant / antioxidant that are part of the human defense system, and observe whether they would cause oxidative stress in subjects with schistosomiasis. Moreover, correlating with some biochemical and hematological parameters. Two groups were selected for study, consisting of individuals of both sexes, aged between 16 and 30 years. A control group, formed by individuals without schistosomiasis (n = 30) and a test group, formed by individuals with schistosomiasis (n = 30). The evaluation of lipid peroxidation in plasma was performed by determination of malondialdehyde and antioxidant defense by the quantification of reduced glutathione and catalase activity. For the parameters that assess oxidative stress, the results showed a decrease in the content of reduced glutathione and no change in the activity of catalase, with an increase in the value of malondialdehyde. Therefore, the data found suggest the occurrence of oxidative stress in subjects with schistosomiasis. Of the parameters that assess hepatic function, only levels of aspartate aminotransferase have been high, while there was a decrease of bilirubine. There was a significant change in the lipid profile (p <0.5), however with regard to the renal function of patients, there was a decrease in creatinine. The assessment hematological, made through hemogram and the quantification of hemoglobin, shows increase of eosinophils individuals in the group test, which can be related to the presence of the parasite. The amendments suggest the involvement of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of this disease

Efeitos do herbicida lactofen sobre três cultivares de soja I. Alterações morfológicas externas e internas de folhas

O lactofen, herbicida do grupo dos difenil éteres, é indicado para uso na cultura da soja, em pós-emergência, devido sua eficácia no controle de plantas daninhas latifoliadas. No presente trabalho, conduzido em casa-de-vegetação, foram utilizadas as cultivares de soja Foscarin-31, IAC-8 e IAC-9, tratadas com lactofen nas doses 0,018 e 0,36 kg de lactofen i.a./ha, aplicadas quando as plantas apresentavam a Segunda folha composta totalmente expandida. Aos quatro e doze dias após as aplicações, foram analisadas e descritos os sinais macroscópicos e microscópicos de intoxicação nos folíolos das folhas. Os resultados indicaram que o lactofen ocasionou expressivas alterações morfológicas externas e internas das folhas, nos locais onde foi depositado, e que a dose maior acentua os efeitos do produto sobre as plantas, sendo que as cultivares de soja apresentaram diferentes graus de sensibilidade ao produto.

Investigação das alterações citogenéticas em pacientes pediátricos com leucemia linfóide aguda do Rio Grande do Norte

Leukemia is a heterogeneous group of hematologic malignancies that result from partial or total transformation of the blast cells. The Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignancy in childhood, especially in male, Caucasian children younger than 14 years. Several criteria are adopted to classify ALL, including the cell morphology, cytochemistry, immunophenotyping and cytogenetic analysis. Cytogenetic studies allow a more detailed analysis to detect chromosomal abnormalities of leukemic cells. These modifications will determine the diagnosis, classification, stage characterization, remission assessment and prognosis. In this study were evaluated 30 patients, aged from four months to seventeen years, of both sexes and various ethnicities. The age distribution showed that 67% of patients had between one and ten years (with mean age of XX years old), the most prevalent ethnic was Caucasian (50%) and 57% were males. According to immunophenotype, 93% of patients had B-cells progenitor ALL and 7% early lineage T. Considering the total studied population, the most frequent medical findings were lymphadenopathy (37%), hepatomegaly (77%) and splenomegaly (70%), where one patient could present more than one of these medical findings. Regarding the CBC, the majority of patients had hemoglobin below 10 g / dl (73%), leukocyte count less than 10.000/μL (60%) and platelet count below 150.000/μL (83%). Chromosomal abnormalities were observed in 64% of all patients, where hyperdiploidy was the most common numerical change (67%), followed by hypodiploid (33%). All these data are in agreement with the literature. Moreover, complexes structural and/or number changes not yet described in literature were observed, which indicated poor prognosis. Finally, we concluded that this study demonstrated the importance of cytogenetic study in the diagnosis and identification of prognostic factors in pediatric patients with ALL in Rio Grande do Norte. The results obtained in this study are extremely useful and emphasizes that surveys of this nature must be conducted more frequently in our state

Alterações morfo-anatômicas das folhas de milho submetidas à aplicação de nicosulfuron

O objetivo desse trabalho é descrever os enrolamento das extremidades do limbo foliar, sinais externos de intoxicação e as alterações aos 7 dias após a aplicação do produto. As histológicas nas folhas de híbridos de milho alterações anatômicas observadas restringiramsubmetidos à aplicação de nicosulfuron. se às células componentes do sistema Verificou-se que os híbridos tratados dérmico. apresentaram descoloração da parte basal das lâminas das folhas centrais, enrugamento e enrolamento das extremidades do limbo foliar, aos 7 dias após a aplicação do produto. As alterações anatômicas observadas restringiramse às células componentes do sistema dérmico.

Alterações anatômicas induzidas pelo cálcio na parede celular de frutos de goiabeira

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