Effect of the juvenile hormone on the development of the mandibular gland in workers' pupae of Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

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

Versão em português do Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire: estudo da validade e reprodutibilidade

OBJETIVO: Verificar a validade e a reprodutibilidade de uma versão em português do Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire (CRQ) em pacientes com DPOC. MÉTODOS: A versão em português do CRQ (fornecida pela Universidade de McMaster, detentora dos direitos do questionário) foi aplicada a 50 pacientes portadores de DPOC (32 homens; 70 ± 8 anos; VEF1 = 47 ± 18% predito) em dois momentos, com intervalo de uma semana. O CRQ tem quatro domínios (dispneia, fadiga, função emocional e autocontrole) e foi aplicado em formato de entrevista. O Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), já validado em português, foi utilizado como o critério de validação. A espirometria e o teste da caminhada de seis minutos (TC6) foram realizados para a análise das correlações com os valores do CRQ. RESULTADOS: Não foram observadas diferenças significativas entre a aplicação e a reaplicação do CRQ (p > 0.05 para todos os domínios). O coeficiente de correlação intraclasse entre a aplicação e a reaplicação foi de 0,98; 0,97; 0,98 e 0,95 para os domínios dispneia, fadiga, função emocional e autocontrole, respectivamente. O coeficiente alfa de Cronbach foi 0,91. Os domínios do CRQ se correlacionaram significativamente com os domínios do SGRQ (-0.30 < r < -0.67; p < 0,05). Não houve correlação entre as variáveis espirométricas e os domínios do CRQ e nem entre esses domínios e o TC6, exceto para o domínio fadiga (r = 0,30; p = 0,04). CONCLUSÕES: A versão em português do CRQ demonstrou ser reprodutível e válida em pacientes brasileiros portadores de DPOC.

Prática de vacinação em crianças com doenças reumáticas

INTRODUÇÃO/OBJETIVOS: Avaliar a prática clínica com relação à verificação do cartão vacinal e à indicação de vacinas específicas em pacientes com doenças reumáticas pediátricas em uso de diferentes drogas, e evidenciar a possível associação entre frequência de vacinação e tempo de prática clínica dos reumatologistas pediátricos do estado de São Paulo. MATERIAL E MÉTODOS: Um questionário foi enviado para os reumatologistas pediátricos do Departamento de Reumatologia da Sociedade de Pediatra de São Paulo. Esse instrumento incluiu questões sobre tempo de prática em Reumatologia Pediátrica, vacinação de pacientes com Lúpus Eritematoso Sistêmico Juvenil (LESJ), artrite idiopática juvenil (AIJ), dermatomiosite juvenil (DMJ) e imunização de acordo com os tratamentos utilizados. RESULTADOS: Cartão de vacinação foi visto por 100% dos profissionais na primeira consulta e por 36% anualmente. Vacinas de agentes vivos não foram recomendadas para pacientes com LESJ, AIJ e DMJ em 44%, 64% e 48%, respectivamente. Os profissionais foram divididos em dois grupos: A (< 15 anos de prática, n = 12) e B (> 16 anos, n = 13). Nenhuma diferença estatística foi observada no uso de vacinas de agentes vivos e vacinas de agentes inativos ou componentes proteicos em relação ao tratamento nos dois grupos (P > 0,05). Além disso, os grupos foram similares em relação à opinião sobre a gravidade de imunossupressão em pacientes com LESJ, AIJ e DMJ com ou sem atividade e a terapêutica utilizada (P > 0,05). CONCLUSÕES: A frequência de vacinação por reumatologistas pediátricos de São Paulo é baixa, especialmente após a primeira consulta, e não é influenciada pelo tempo de prática profissional.

Homofobia e sexualidade em adolescentes: trajetórias sexuais, riscos e vulnerabilidades

Esta pesquisa é um estudo transversal realizado junto a 2282 estudantes de ambos os sexos que cursavam as três séries do ensino médio em três cidades do interior do oeste paulista. O instrumento de coleta de dados empregado foi um questionário autoaplicável com 131 questões. Neste artigo, abordamos as trajetórias sexuais de adolescentes de ambos os sexos que mantêm práticas sexuais homoeróticas ou não. Discutimos as relações desses adolescentes com seus familiares e grupos de pares e a questão de sair do armário como ferramenta política. Tendo como base as concepções de Sedgwick, analisamos os momentos em que sair do armário pode ser uma entre tantas maneiras de manifestação das diferentes sexualidades em relação à heteronormatividade. Apoiando-nos nas colocações de teóricos pós-estruturalistas, abordamos também as construções teóricas e as produções discursivas sobre a adolescência, apontando novas manifestações da juventude na contemporaneidade. Por fim, percebemos a existência de amplos fatores que afetam as decisões de jovens não heterossexuais quanto a sair (ou não) do armário para além da homofobia: eventos pessoais, histórias de vida e mesmo a revelação de sua sexualidade aos pais e/ou a outras pessoas.

Dietary protein and energy requirements of juvenile freshwater angelfish

Avaliaram-se as exigências nutricionais de proteína e energia em juvenis de acará-bandeira (Pterophyllum scalare). Utilizou-se delineamento inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 3 × 2, com três níveis de proteína bruta (26, 30 e 34%), dois de energia digestível (3.100 e 3.300 kcal/kg de ração) e três repetições. Juvenis com peso médio de 2,33 ± 0,26 g foram distribuídos em aquários contendo 25 litros de água, temperatura controlada (26 ± 1ºC) e filtro biológico, na densidade de estocagem de seis animais por aquário. Os peixes foram alimentados à vontade às 9, 14 e 16h30. Na análise do desempenho produtivo, foram avaliados o peso final, o comprimento final, o ganho de peso, o consumo de ração, a conversão alimentar, a taxa de crescimento específico, a taxa de eficiência protéica e o fator de condição. As dietas contendo 26% PB proporcionaram maiores valores para taxa de eficiência protéica apenas em relação às dietas contendo 34% PB. As exigências nutricionais de proteína e energia em juvenis de acará-bandeira podem ser atendidas com dietas contendo 26% PB e 3.100 kcal ED/kg.

The Pediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organization American-College-of-Rheumatology provisional criteria for the evaluation of response to therapy in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus: Prospective validation of the definition of improvement

Objective. To use the Pediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organization (PRINTO) core set of outcome measures to develop a validated definition of improvement for the evaluation of response to therapy in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods. Thirty-seven experienced pediatric rheumatologists from 27 countries, each of whom had specific experience in the assessment of juvenile SLE patients, achieved consensus on 128 patient profiles as being clinically improved or not improved. Using the physicians' consensus ratings as the gold standard measure, the chi-square, sensitivity, specificity, false-positive and false-negative rates, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and kappa level of agreement for 597 candidate definitions of improvement were calculated. Only definitions with a kappa value greater than 0.7 were retained. The top definitions were selected based on the product of the content validity score multiplied by its kappa statistic.Results. The definition of improvement with the highest final score was at least 50% improvement from baseline in any 2 of the 5 core set measures, with no more than 1 of the remaining worsening by more than 30%.Conclusion. PRINTO proposes a valid and reproducible definition of improvement that reflects well the consensus rating of experienced clinicians and that incorporates clinically meaningful change in core set measures in a composite end point for the evaluation of global response to therapy in patients with juvenile SLE. The definition is now proposed for use in juvenile SLE clinical trials and may help physicians to decide whether a child with SLE responded adequately to therapy.

INFLUENCE OF DIETARY-PROTEIN INTAKE AND RECOMBINANT HUMAN SOMATOTROPIN ADMINISTRATION ON GROWTH AND BODY-COMPOSITION OF JUVENILE TAMBACU (A PIARACTUS-MESOPOTAMICUS X COLOSSOMA-MACROPOMUM CROSS)

This experiment was undertaken to study the interaction between level of dietary protein and recombinant human somatotropin (rhGH) administration on performance and body composition of juvenile tambacu (a crossbred Brazilian fish). A total of 72 juvenile tambacu, initially weighing and measuring (mean +/- s.e.m.) 23 +/- 2 g and 9 +/- 0.5 cm, respectively, were randomly divided into 18 groups of 4 fish each. Water temperature was 28 degrees C. Triplicate groups received one of two levels of dietary protein (15 and 30% as fed basis) and one of 3 doses of rhGH (0, 2 and 4 mu g/g) via intraperitoneal injection twice a week for 6 weeks, using a randomized complete block design. Somatotropin was noted to stimulate linear and body weight gain. The higher protein level supported increased growth in weight and length, but there was no interaction between protein level and rhGH dose for either parameter. Protein efficiency ratio and percentage protein deposited showed higher values on diets containing 15% protein. Somatotropin treatment did not significantly affect body composition, but there was a trend towards improved protein retention and reduced carcass lipid. In conclusion, the results of this experiment suggest that rhGH is able to stimulate linear gain in tambacu.

Light intensity preference of juvenile pikeperch Sander lucioperca (L.)

Light intensity preference of the pikeperch was tested in 1-m(2) tanks divided into four lateral compartments with a hole in the middle to allow the fish to move between compartments. Two experiments were carried out with both 0+ and 1+ pikeperch: one testing intensities from 25 to 300 lx and the other from 1 to 50 lx. Light preference was observed individually for 5 days at 8, 11, 14 and 17 h. on the first and fifth day, the preference was tested without differences in light intensity (control). In both experiments, both age groups showed preference for the lowest available light intensity. Preference for low light intensity in pikeperch may be related to innate activity and feeding behaviour and to avoidance of harmful effects of light. It is suggested that under aquaculture operations, pikeperch should be reared under very dim conditions.

SEX DETERMINATION IN BEES .30. EFFECTS OF JUVENILE-HORMONE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TERGAL GLANDS IN MELIPONA

Worker larvae of Melipona rufiventris, M. quadrifasciata and M. compressipes were treated topically with juvenile hormone (JH) during the cocoon-spinning phase. Examination of the tergites of the queens obtained following JH application showed induced differentiation into adults with full female (queen) traits. Melipona workers had tergal glands only in tergite II, whereas natural and JH-induced queens had tergal glands in tergite II plus additional glands in at least one other of tergites Ill to VII.

Effects of egg storage time on spread of hatch, chick quality, and chick juvenile growth

A total of 1,800 incubating eggs produced by a commercial flock of Cobb broiler breeders was used to determine the effects of storage duration (3 or 18 d) on spread of hatch and chick quality. Chick relative growth (RG) at the end of 7 d of rearing was also determined as a measure of the chick performance. Chick quality was defined to encompass several qualitative characteristics and scored according to their importance. Eggs stored for 3 d hatched earlier than those stored for 18 d (P < 0.05). Hatching was normally distributed in both categories of eggs, and the spread of hatch was not affected by storage time (P = 0.69). Storage duration of 18 d reduced the percentage of day-old chick with high quality as well as average chick quality score (P < 0.05). RG varied with length of egg storage, quality of day-old chick, and the incubation duration (P < 0.05). Eighteen-day storage of eggs not only resulted in longer incubation duration and lower quality score but also depressed RG. Chick quality as defined in this study was correlated to RG and storage time. It was concluded that day-old chick quality may be a relatively good indicator of broiler performance. The results suggest however that in order to improve performance prediction power of chick quality, it would be better to define it as a combination of several qualitative aspects of the day-old chick and the juvenile growth to 7 d.

Treatment of pediatric myelodysplastic syndromes and juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia: the Brazilian experience in the past decade

Background: Therapy strategies for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) vary considerably. Objective: To review the treatment of Brazilian children who were diagnosed with MDS or JMML in the past decade and reported to the Brazilian Cooperative Group on Pediatric Myelodysplastic syndromes (BCG-MDS-PED). Results: of 173 children reported to the BCG-MDS-PED from January 1997 to January 2003 with a suspected diagnosis of MDS or JMML, 91 had the diagnosis confirmed after central review of the bone marrow aspirate and biopsy. Information on previous treatments was available for 78 MDS/JMML patients. Treatment varied from different schedules of low-dose (14%) and standard-dose chemotherapy (50%), granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF 7%), interferon (5%), steroids (2%) and erythropoietin (2%) to allogeneic stem-cell transplantation (SCT) (14%). No survival advantage could be demonstrated based on Hasle's classification or based on treatment. Conclusion: This report reflects the current practice in treating Brazilian children with MDS/JMML without specific Cooperative Group guidelines. Treatment modalities were very heterogeneous. The strategies for implementing a national protocol should consider international guidelines and focus on local experience and available resources. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

THE EFFECT OF RECENT DIET ON PREY ODOR DISCRIMINATION BY JUVENILE TEGU LIZARD, TUPINAMBIS-TEGUIXIN (SAURIA, TEIIDAE)

Teiid lizards are intesive foragers supposed to rely lagerly on chemoreception for prey detection, an ability that can be modified by previous feeding experiences. We investigated the ability of juvenile lizards, Tupinambis teguixin, in discriminate prey from non-prey odors as well as the effects of recent diet on these ability. Tegu lizards were able to discriminate prey odors and this ability probably is inate. The effect of recent diet was analysed through optimal foraging models and our results does not support in a broad sense the predictions made by theoretical models.

The megalopa and early juvenile stages of Calappa tortugae Rathbun, 1933 (Crustacea, Brachyura) reared in the laboratory from South Carolina neuston samples

Neuston samples collected from the Charleston Bump region off the coast of South Carolina, U.S.A., during the summers of 2002 and 2003 consistently included a decapod species of undetermined identity with a large brachyuran megalopa. Despite their resemblance to some calappids, it was impossible to make a definitive identification based solely on general morphology. Therefore, additional neuston tows were taken on the continental shelf near Charleston, during the summer of 2004 to obtain these living megalopae. These were raised successfully through five juvenile stages at the Southeastern Regional Taxonomic Center (SERTC) laboratory. The morphology of the juveniles provided evidence that they are megalopae of Calappa tortugae Rathbun, 1933. Comparisons with megalopae of Hepatus epheliticus (Linnaeus, 1763), H. pudibundus (Herbst, 1785), Calappa flammea (Herbst, 1794) and Cryptosoma balguerii (Desbonne, 1867) are presented here. This is the first complete description of the megalopa morphology of a member of the genus Calappa Weber, 1795 from the Western Atlantic, and it is helpful for taxonomic, systematic and ecological purposes.

Commensal worm traces and possible juvenile thalassinidean burrows associated with Ophiomorpha nodosa, Pleistocene, southern Brazil

The Pleistocene Chui Formation at Osorio (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) consists of coastal marine and eolian sands, the former containing abundant and well-preserved Ophiomorpha nodosa burrow systems. Detailed ichnological study has revealed interesting features associated with them. Small-sized Ophiomorpha, here assigned to a new ichnospecies, O. puerilis, are interpreted as possible burrows of juvenile thalassinidean crustaceans probably belonging to the same species as the producers of larger O. nodosa. Additionally, helicoidal burrows with thick, concentrically laminated linings are associated with the walls of O. nodosa. They are assigned to the new ichnospecies Cylindrichnus helix, and they are interpreted as dwellings of commensal annelid worms. The association of these three icbnospecies constitutes a fossil example of the role of thalassinideans as ecosystem engineers able to modify their environment and to create new space and resources usable by other organisms. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.