Occurrence of feline immunodeficiency virus infection in cats

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

Survey assessment of parental perceptions regarding head lice

Background Head lice constitute a problem in children. Each year, numerous cases of pediculosis occur worldwide. Little work has been performed to evaluate the understanding, opinions, and actions of populations regarding head lice. These areas are important as they enable clinicians and educators to alert parents on how to avoid treatments that are innocuous or of high risk to patients.Methods A cross-sectional study was performed by interviewing the heads of households of 100 randomly chosen residences within the study area.Results The results obtained showed that 13% were infested during the first week of the survey, and 86% in the 24 weeks prior to the study. The number of positive cases increased with increasing resident number, and decreased in families with parents with a higher educational level. Itching was the principal clinical manifestation and caused sleep compromise in 65% of respondents. Innocuous and unhealthy practices to combat infestation, such as the use of inflammables and home insecticides, were common.Conclusion The results showed that certain beliefs generated worry and confusion in parents, who blamed head lice as the cause of various health problems which were not due to this insect.

Hepatozoon canis infection associated with dog ticks of rural areas of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Hepatozoon canis is a tick-borne protozoan that infects dogs and has been reported throughout the world. Manifestation of H. canis infection varies from being sub-clinical in apparently healthy dogs to severe illness. The main vector of the infection is the dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus although other species may also transmit this agent. H. canis has been reported previously in Brazil, but mostly as an occasional finding during laboratory exams and always associated with other diseases. The prevalence of H. canis in dogs of rural areas of Brazil has been little studied. For this study, 250 dogs from seven counties of Rio de Janeiro state were examined. All the dogs were from rural areas, near forest. of the dogs examined, 26 dogs were from Seropedica, 82 from Itaguai, 41 from Paracambi, 26 from Mangaratiba, 32 from Barra do Pirai, 32 from Pirai and 11 from Miguel Pereira. Blood smears from the peripheral blood of the ear were taken and ticks found on the dogs were collected for identification in the laboratory. Using blood smear evaluation, H. canis was identified in 39.2% of the animals examined. Other hemoparasites identified were Babesia canis (5.2%) and Ehrlichia canis (4.8%). Four tick species were found parasitizing the dogs: Amblyomma cajennense (23.6%), R. sanguineus (12.4%), Amblyomma aureolatum (2.8%) and Amblyomma ovale (2.0%). There was a positive correlation between the presence of A. cajennense and H. canis infection. (C) 2001 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Depression in patients with Parkinson's disease: Impact on functioning

Depression is a frequently observed neuropsychiatric phenomenon in Parkinson's disease (PD) and it has been lately considered as a manifestation of such disease. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between depression and clinical aspects of PD and to assess the impact of the co-occurrence of such condition on the burden imposed by PD. Fifty Outpatients diagnosed with idiopathic PD according to the London Brain Bank criteria were examined. PD was evaluated using Hoehn & Yahr staging (H&Y), United Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Schwab & England (S&E) functional capacity evaluation. A semi-structured clinical interview was used. The diagnosis of PD was made by neurologist experts on movement disorders, and the diagnosis of depression was trade by a psychiatrist, according to the ICD-10 diagnostic criteria. Depressive symptoms were additionally measured using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Scale. The analysis of quantitative data was performed using descriptive statistics, Univariate linear regression, T-Student Test and ANOVA. Seventeen (34%) patients were diagnosed as clinically depressed and, when compared to the non-depressed ones, presented the following results: H&Y: 3.2 vs. 2.8; UPDRS total: 75.7 vs. 65.3; S&E: 53.5% vs. 65.8% and PD duration: 114.4 months vs. 125.8 months. Depressed patients showed more advanced staging (H&Y), a more severe global clinical condition (UPDRS) and also a greater decrease in their functional capacity (S&E). These data reinforce the hypothesis that depression is associated to poorer functioning in patients with PD. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.

Lazer, agressividade e violência: considerações sobre o comportamento das torcidas organizadas

O futebol possui grande representatividade social em diferentes culturas. Porém, a paixão despertada nas torcidas pode gerar comportamentos agressivos e violentos, em um momento que deveria ser de diversão, caracterizando o lazer desviante, o qual ainda não está devidamente esclarecido. Esta pesquisa qualitativa teve como objetivo investigar, nos estudos acadêmicos, o comportamento agressivo das torcidas organizadas e seus desdobramentos no tempo destinado ao lazer. Para tanto, na pesquisa bibliográfica, buscou-se informações em obras de referência, compostas por livros e teses, além da consulta a diferentes bases de dados, com os descritores: lazer, torcidas organizadas, agressividade e violência. Os resultados indicam que, independente da gênese do comportamento agressivo, quando em presença de um grupo, ou dependendo do contexto sociohistórico, da composição das torcidas, da violência integrante da sociedade, da mídia, da má organização esportiva e da impunidade, estes fatores podem afetar mudança no comportamento individual, contribuindo para manifestações agressivas e violentas no âmbito futebolístico em campo e nas torcidas. Este tipo de manifestação pode favorecer a diminuição do público nos estádios, além de repercutir na delimitação das atividades vivenciadas no contexto do lazer. Estas condutas violentas podem, até mesmo, acarretar graves conseqüências nos âmbitos físico e/ou psíquico. Por fim, aponta-se a premência de políticas públicas específicas envolvendo o lazer e os megaeventos.

High-fat diet associated with obesity induces impairment of mouse corpus cavernosum responses

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

The Xmnl polymorphic site 5 ' to the gene G gamma in a Brazilian patient with sickle cell anaemia - fetal haemoglobin concentration, haematology and clinical features

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Structural basis for metal ion coordination and the catalytic mechanism of sphingomyelinases D

Sphingomyelinases D (SMases D) from Loxosceles spider venom are the principal toxins responsible for the manifestation of dermonecrosis, intravascular hemolysis, and acute renal failure, which can result in death. These enzymes catalyze the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin, resulting in the formation of ceramide 1-phosphate and choline or the hydrolysis of lysophosphatidyl choline, generating the lipid mediator lysophosphatidic acid. This report represents the first crystal structure of a member of the sphingomyelinase D family from Loxosceles laeta (SMase I), which has been determined at 1.75-angstrom resolution using the quick cryo-soaking technique and phases obtained from a single iodine derivative and data collected from a conventional rotating anode x-ray source. SMase I folds as an (alpha/beta)(8) barrel, the interfacial and catalytic sites encompass hydrophobic loops and a negatively charged surface. Substrate binding and/or the transition state are stabilized by a Mg2+ ion, which is coordinated by Glu(32), Asp(34), Asp(91), and solvent molecules. In the proposed acid base catalytic mechanism, His(12) and His(47) play key roles and are supported by a network of hydrogen bonds between Asp(34), Asp(52), Trp(230), Asp(233), and Asn(252).

Pseudechis australis Venomics: Adaptation for a Defense against Microbial Pathogens and Recruitment of Body Transferrin

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

Snake Venomic of Crotalus durissus terrificus-Correlation with Pharmacological Activities

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

Snake venomics of the Siamese Russell's viper (Daboia russelli siamensis) - Relation to pharmacological activities

The venom proteome of Daboia russelli siamensis, a snake of medical importance in several Asian countries, was analysed by 2-D electrophoresis, subsequent MS/MS and enzymatic assays. The proteome comprises toxins from six protein families: serine proteinases, metalloproteinases, phospholipases A(2), L-amino acid oxidases, vascular endothelial growth factors and C-type lectin-like proteins. The venom toxin composition correlates with the clinical manifestation of the Russell's viper bite and explains pathological effects of the venom such as coagulopathy, oedema, hypotensive, necrotic and tissue damaging effects. The vast majority of toxins are potentially involved in coagulopathy and neurotoxic effects. The predominant venom components are proteinases capable of activating blood coagulation factors and promoting a rapid clotting of the blood, and neurotoxic phospholipase A(2)s. The analysis of the venom protein composition provides a catalogue of secreted toxins. The proteome of D. r. siamensis exhibits a lower level of toxin diversity than the proteomes of other viperid snakes. In comparison to the venoms of Vipera ammodytes ammodytes and Vipera ammodytes meridionalis, the venom from D. r. siamensis showed quantitative differences in the proteolytic, phospholipase A2, L-amino acid oxidase and alkaline phosphatase activities. (c) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.

The Interaction Between N-Isopropylacrylamide-Acrylic Acid-Ethyl Methacrylate Thermosensitive Polymers and Cationic Surfactants

The interaction between cationic surfactants and isopropylacrylamide-acrylic acid-ethyl methacrylate (IPA:AA:EMA) terpolymers has been investigated using steady-state fluorescence and spectrophotometric measurements to assess the effect of the polymer composition on the aggregation process and terpolymers' thermosensitivities. Micropolarity studies using pyrene show that the interaction of cationic surfactants with IPA:AA:EMA terpolymers occurs at surfactant concentrations much smaller than that observed for the pure surfactant in aqueous solution. The critical aggregation concentration (CAC) values decrease with both the hydrocarbon length of the surfactant and the content of ethyl methacrylate. These results were interpreted as a manifestation of the increasing contribution of attractive hydrophobic and electrostatic forces between negatively charged polymer chains and positively charged surfactant molecules. The increase of ethyl methacrylate in the copolymers lowers the CAC due to the larger hydrophobic character of the polymer backbone. The cloud point determination reveals that the lower critical solution temperatures (LCST) depend strongly on the copolymer composition and surfactant nature. The binding of surfactants molecules to the polymer chain screens the electrostatic repulsion between the carboxylic groups inducing a conformational transition and the dehydration of the polymer chain.

Scaling in few-body nuclear physics

The nuclear matter calculations with realistic nucleon-nucleon potentials present a general scaling between the nucleon-nucleus binding energy, the corresponding saturation density, and the triton binding energy. The Thomas-Efimov three-body effect implies in correlations among low-energy few-body and many-body observables. It is also well known that, by varying the short-range repulsion, keeping the two-nucleon information (deuteron and scattering) fixed, the four-nucleon and three-nucleon binding energies lie on a very narrow band known as a Tjon line. By looking for a universal scaling function connecting the proper scales of the few-body system with those of the many-body system, we suggest that the general nucleus-nucleon scaling mechanism is a manifestation of a universal few-body effect.

Observing an invisible Higgs boson

Given its weak coupling to bottom quarks and tau leptons, the Higgs boson may predominantly decay into invisible particles like gravitinos, neutralinos, or gravitons. We consider the manifestation of such an invisibly decaying Higgs boson in weak boson fusion at the CERN LHC. Distinctive kinematic distributions of the two quark jets of the signal as compared to Zjj and Wjj backgrounds allow to restrict the Higgs branching ratio to 'invisible' final states to some 13% with 10 fb(-1) of data, provided events with two energetic forward jets of high dijet invariant mass and with substantial missing transverse momentum can be triggered efficiently. It is also possible to discover these particles with masses up to 480 GeV in weak boson fusion, at the 5 sigma level, provided their invisible branching ratio is close to 100%. (C) 2000 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Positivity violation for the lattice Landau gluon propagator

We present explicit numerical evidence of reflection-positivity violation for the lattice Landau gluon propagator in three-dimensional pure SU(2) gauge theory. We use data obtained at very large lattice volumes (V = 80(3), 140(3)) and for three different lattice couplings in the scaling region (beta = 4.2, 5.0, 6.0). In particular, we observe a clear oscillatory pattern in the real-space propagator C(t). We also verify that the (real-space) data show good scaling in the range t is an element of[0, 3]fm and can be fitted using a Gribov-like form. The violation of positivity is in contradiction with a stable-particle interpretation of the associated field theory and may be viewed as a manifestation of confinement.