Photographic assessment of cephalometric measurements

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

Craniocervical posture and craniofacial morphology

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

Vertical transmission of hepatitis C virus: A tale of multiple outcomes

Globally, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection affects approximately 130 million people and 3 million new infections occur annually. HCV is also recognized as an important cause of chronic liver disease in children. The absence of proofreading properties of the HCV RNA polymerase leads to a highly error prone replication process, allowing HCV to escape host immune response. The adaptive nature of HCV evolution dictates the outcome of the disease in many ways. Here, we investigated the molecular evolution of HCV in three unrelated children who acquired chronic HCV infection as a result of mother-to-child transmission, two of whom were also coinfected with HIV-1. The persistence of discrete HCV variants and their population structure were assessed using median joining network and Bayesian approaches. While patterns of viral evolution clearly differed between subjects, immune system dysfunction related to HIV coinfection or persistent HCV seronegativity stand as potential mechanisms to explain the lack of molecular evolution observed in these three cases. In contrast, treatment of HCV infection with PegIFN, which did not lead to sustained virologic responses in all 3 cases, was not associated with commensurate variations in the complexity of the variant spectrum. Finally, the differences in the degree of divergence suggest that the mode of transmission of the virus was not the main factor driving viral evolution. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Preferência alimentar e eficiência da carpa capim (Ctenopharyngodon idella) no controle de macrófitas aquáticas em mesocosmos

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Produção Vegetal) - FCAV

Lysine in the diet of Rhamdia voulezi male broodstocks confined in net cages

The focus of this study was to evaluate the effect of lysine on the productive (weight and length gain, apparent feed conversion, specific growth rate and condition factor) and reproductive performance of Rhamdia voulezi males confined in net cages during the first reproductive cycle. The following parameters were assessed: seminal parameters (motility rate and duration, survival, sperm concentration, morphology, pH and osmolarity), hormonal parameters (cortisol and testosterone), testicular tissue (histomorphology), organosomatic indices (gonadosomatic, hepatosomatic and viscerosomatic indices) and composition of essential amino acids, crude protein and moisture of whole carcass. Four hundred fish were used, distributed in a random experimental design with four treatments and four replications in 16 net cages with 25 fish each. The treatments consisted of four different diets prepared so as to contain the following levels of lysine: 1.20, 1.40, 1.60 and 1.80%, with 30% crude protein and 3500 kcal kg(-1) digestible energy for 185 days (Jul./12-Jan./13). Eighteen males were selected per treatment, and they all released semen after slight abdominal pressure. The males were weighed, measured, submitted to hypophysation (2.5 mg kg(-1) carp pituitary extract), and then had their semen and blood collected. The fish were sacrificed by cervical dislocation, dissected, and the testes, liver, fat and guts were removed and weighed. The effects (p < 0.05) for the means of final weight, weight gain, apparent feed conversion and condition factor were observed for the analysis of productive performance. With regard to the reproductive parameters, only the seminal volume was affected (p < 0.05). Thus, the levels of testosterone showed quadratic effect (p < 0.05). The anatomy and the histomorphology of the testes were similar between the treatments during the spermiation period. With regard to the organosomatic indices, there was no influence (p > 0.05) between the treatments. The amino acids in the carcass were not affected (p > 0.05). The increment of lysine in the diet provided linear increase for weight gain and seminal volume and linear decrease for feed conversion in R. voulezi broodstocks confined in net cages. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hepatitis C virus molecular evolution: Transmission, disease progression and antiviral therapy

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection represents an important public health problem worldwide. Reduction of HCV morbidity and mortality is a current challenge owned to several viral and host factors. Virus molecular evolution plays an important role in HCV transmission, disease progression and therapy outcome. The high degree of genetic heterogeneity characteristic of HCV is a key element for the rapid adaptation of the intrahost viral population to different selection pressures (e.g., host immune responses and antiviral therapy). HCV molecular evolution is shaped by different mechanisms including a high mutation rate, genetic bottlenecks, genetic drift, recombination, temporal variations and compartmentalization. These evolutionary processes constantly rearrange the composition of the HCV intrahost population in a staging manner. Remarkable advances in the understanding of the molecular mechanism controlling HCV replication have facilitated the development of a plethora of direct-acting antiviral agents against HCV. As a result, superior sustained viral responses have been attained. The rapidly evolving field of anti-HCV therapy is expected to broad its landscape even further with newer, more potent antivirals, bringing us one step closer to the interferon-free era. (C) 2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.

Reprodução induzida e desenvolvimento inicial do Jundiá Leiarius marmoratus (PISCES: SILURIDAE)

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia) - IBB

Improvement of gamete quality and its short-term storage: an approach for biotechnology in laboratory fish

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

Induced reproduction and early development histology of Oscar Astronotus ocellatus (Agassiz, 1831)

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

Sperm production of Steidachneridion parahybae (Steindachner 1877) and the effect of hormonal induction throughout one reproductive cycle

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Histochemical and morphological features of biopsied and stripped oocytes from the Brazilian endangered teleost pirapitinga, Brycon nattereri (Characiformes)

The aim of the present study was to characterize biopsied and stripped oocytes from the Brazilian endangered teleost pirapitinga (Brycon nattereri) using histochemical and morphological analyses. Biopsied oocytes had a mean diameter of 2.225 mm (modal diameter: 2.312 mm), complete vitellogenesis and a central or slightly eccentric nucleus. Neutral polysaccharides were detected in the follicular cells, zona radiata and yolk globules, while acidic polysaccharides were detected in the follicular cells and cortical alveoli. Ten out of the 19 females treated with two doses of carp pituitary extract (cPE) released oocytes, which were also analysed. Stripping occurred 292 +/- 39 degree-hours after the second dose of cPE and led to a mean spawning weight of 36.2 g, 10% spawning index, 241 oocytes/g of ova, 8222 oocytes/female and 23 oocytes/g of body weight. Stripped oocytes had a mean diameter of 2.33 mm and a mode at 2.375 mm, were weakly adhesive and coloration ranged from wine to brown. Under scanning electron microscopy, stripped oocytes exhibited a single funnel-shaped micropyle located at the animal pole and a zona radiata that measured 7.7 m in thickness with eight pore canals/m(2). Oocyte morphology in Brycon nattereri is similar to that found in other species of the genus, except for the larger size and weaker adhesiveness. These findings provide essential information for a better understanding of the reproductive biology of B. nattereri and the establishment of conservation measures for this threatened species.

Níveis de lisina em dietas para reprodutores de Rhamdia voulezi em tanques-rede

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Desempenho reprodutivo e diferenciação gonadal em piau-três-pintas, Leporinus friderici, Bloch 1794

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

No evidence of UV cone input to mono- and biphasic horizontal cells in the goldfish retina

Many animal species make use of ultraviolet (UV) light in a number of behaviors, such as feeding and mating. The goldfish (Carassius auratus) is among those with a UV photoreceptor and pronounced UV sensitivity. Little is known, however, about the retinal processing of this input. We addressed this issue by recording intracellularly from second-order neurons in the adult goldfish retina. In order to test whether cone-driven horizontal cells (HCs) receive UV cone inputs, we performed chromatic adaptation experiments with mono- and biphasic HCs. We found no functional evidence of a projection from the UV-sensitive cones to these neurons in adult animals. This suggests that goldfish UV receptors may contact preferentially triphasic HCs, which is at odds with the hypothesis that all cones contact all cone-driven HC types. However, we did find evidence of direct M-cone input to monophasic HCs, favoring the idea that cone-HC contacts are more promiscuous than originally proposed. Together, our results suggest that either UV cones have a more restricted set of post-synaptic partners than the other three cone types, or that the UV input to mono- and biphasic HCs is not very pronounced in adult animals.

Molecular detection of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans on metallic brackets by the checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization technique

Introduction: The purpose of this randomized clinical study was to evaluate the presence of the periodontal pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans on metallic brackets and the effectiveness of a 0.12% chlorhexidine digluconate mouthwash in inhibiting this microorganism. Methods: The study involved 35 patients of both sexes having orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances between the ages of 14 and 22 years, randomized into 2 groups: experimental (n = 17) and control (n = 18). Two new metallic brackets were placed on the patients' premolars, and the subjects rinsed with a solution of 0.12% chlorhexidine digluconate or a placebo solution twice a week for 30 days. After that, the brackets were removed and underwent microbiologic analysis with the checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization technique. Data were analyzed by using the Student t, Fisher exact, and Mann-Whitney tests at the significance level of 5%. Results: The results showed that A actinomycetemcomitans was present in all brackets from the subjects in the control group vs 83% of the subjects who rinsed with chlorhexidine digluconate (P<0.0001). There were also significantly lower levels of this species in the chlorhexidine digluconate group compared with the control group (P = 0.0003). Conclusions: We concluded that 0.12% chlorhexidine digluconate rinsing, twice a week for 30 days during orthodontic treatment, is effective in reducing the presence and levels of A actinomycetemcomitans on metallic brackets. (Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2012;142:481-6)