Social and environmental indexes to determine the impacts of closed neighbourhoods in Brazil

São Paulo State, in Brazil, is getting increasingly crowded, like in other third world countries around the world, so should give great importance to city development. This work considered the phenomenon of closed neighbourhoods (CN) as an important factor to city planning, papers report many impacts of this model of neighbourhoods in other countries, but in Brazil its impacts are not yet well listed in the literature. The aim of this work was to determine indicators to achieve the social and environmental performances and verify their applicability on three different closed neighbourhoods in São Paulo state, Brazil. The indicators were condensed on indexes: water management, waste management, energy and emissions, legal compliance, environment and buildings, risk management, health and education and governance. The preliminary results indicated several social and environmental problems in all indexes. © 2013 WIT Press.

Anti-inflammatory mechanisms of the annexin A1 protein and its mimetic peptide Ac2-26 in models of ocular inflammation in vivo and in vitro

Annexin A1 (AnxA1) is a protein that displays potent anti-inflammatory properties, but its expression in eye tissue and its role in ocular inflammatory diseases have not been well studied. We investigated the mechanism of action and potential uses of AnxA1 and its mimetic peptide (Ac2-26) in the endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) rodent model and in human ARPE-19 cells activated by LPS. In rats, analysis of untreated EIU after 24 and 48 h or EIU treated with topical applications or with a single s.c. injection of Ac2-26 revealed the anti-inflammatory actions of Ac2-26 on leukocyte infiltration and on the release of inflammatory mediators; the systemic administration of Boc2, a formylated peptide receptor (fpr) antagonist, abrogated the peptide's protective effects. Moreover, AnxA1-/- mice exhibited exacerbated EIU compared with wild-type animals. Immunohistochemical studies of ocular tissue showed a specific AnxA1 posttranslational modification in EIU and indicated that the fpr2 receptor mediated the anti-inflammatory actions of AnxA1. In vitro studies confirmed the roles of AnxA1 and fpr2 and the protective effects of Ac2-26 on the release of chemical mediators in ARPE-19 cells. Molecular analysis of NF-κB translocation and IL-6, IL-8, and cyclooxygenase-2 gene expression indicated that the protective effects of AnxA1 occur independently of the NF-κB signaling pathway and possibly in a posttranscriptional manner. Together, our data highlight the role of AnxA1 in ocular inflammation, especially uveitis, and suggest the use of AnxA1 or its mimetic peptide Ac2-26 as a therapeutic approach. Copyright © 2013 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

Morphometry and expression of MyoD and Myogenin in white and red skeletal muscles of juvenile fish Colossoma macropomum (Cuvier 1818)

Colossoma macropomum, also known as tambaqui, is an economically important fish species, and interesting new studies have been published with the aim of improving the growth of this fish. In this work, we describe the morphometric characteristics, as well as the mRNA and protein expression levels of two myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs)-myod/MyoD and myogenin/Myogenin-in the white and red muscle types of tambaqui. A high proportion of white and red muscle fibers with large diameters suggest a hypertrophic growth process in the skeletal muscle during juvenile stages. Comparisons between muscle types showed that, in red muscle, myogenin transcript levels were significantly higher than those of myod. In contrast, MyoD protein levels were significantly higher than those of Myogenin in red muscle. These results suggest that in red and white muscles of juvenile tambaqui, independent post-transcriptional mechanisms for regulating MyoD and Myogenin expression may exist, which could be differentially activated during muscle growth. Furthermore, these data also suggest that specific control mechanisms may regulate distinct muscle phenotypes. © 2013 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Pressão intra-ocular, condições endoteliais e prostaglandina E2 no humor aquoso de cães com catarata senil madura ou hipermatura

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Alterações clínicas, protéicas do humor aquoso, sorológicas e histopatológicas em olhos de cães (Canis familiaris) (Linnaeus, 1758), infectados experimentalmente, por via conjuntival, com Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi (Cunha & Chagas, 1937)

Pós-graduação em Cirurgia Veterinária - FCAV

Conditional cash transfer programmes: the recent experience in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes Bibliography

As formas do humor. Copi: um caso argentino

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Revista Careta: um estudo sobre humor visual no Estado Novo (1937-1945)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Interferência dos fatores externos sobre os estados de humor em jovens atletas de voleibol

Pós-graduação em Ciências da Motricidade - IBRC

Humor e sátira: a outra face de Edgar Allan Poe

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Homo Risibilis: ensaio sobre o processo de construção do humor nas obras infantis de Monteiro Lobato

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A recepção de O Primo Basílio na imprensa brasileira do século XIX: Caricatura, Humor e Crítica Literária

Posto à venda em Portugal, em fevereiro de 1878, o romance O Primo Basílio, de Eça de Queirós, não demorou muito para chegar às livrarias do Rio de Janeiro. O sucesso quase instantâneo da obra despertou a reação dos meios intelectuais brasileiros, em particular dos críticos literários, divididos entre a acusação e a defesa da obra quanto à moralidade. A recepção do livro de Eça também repercutiu na imprensa brasileira de caricaturas da época, embora aqui, em lugar das charges, tenha prevalecido a sátira verbal, na forma das piadas, poemas e pequenas histórias picantes, sob o influxo da crítica literária, questão discutida no presente artigo.

Condições do humor aquoso, quanto à contaminação, na facoemulsificação com implante de lente intraocular em cães

Pós-graduação em Cirurgia Veterinária - FCAV

Intraocular pressure, specular microscopy, and prostaglandin E-2 concentration in dogs with mature and hypermature cataract

This study aimed to evaluate and correlate intraocular pressure (IOP), endothelial cell density (CD), and hexagonality (HEX), and the aqueous humor prostaglandin E-2 (PGE(2)) concentration in dogs with mature (MG, n = 8) and hypermature (HG, n = 8) cataracts. Eight laboratory beagles with no ocular abnormalities were included as a control group (CG). The IOP was measured using a digital applanation tonometer. Noncontact specular microscopy was used to evaluate CD and HEX. Samples of aqueous humor were used to determine prostaglandin E-2 concentration using enzyme-linked immunoassay. Data were compared by ANOVA and Bonferroni's multiple comparison test, and possible correlations among the PGE(2) aqueous concentration and corneal endothelium cell parameters were assessed by Person's test (P < 0.05). Average values of IOP (P = 0.45) and CD (P = 0.39) were not significantly different between MG, HM, and CG. Average values of HEX were lower, and PGE(2) concentration was increased in the MG and HG in comparison with CG (P < 0.05); however, such parameters did not change significantly between MG and HG (P > 0.05). PGE(2) values did not correlate with IOP, CD, and HEX in any group (P > 0.05). Although there were a small number of dogs studied, our results demonstrated that cataract progression from mature to hypermature did not have a significant change in PGE(2) aqueous concentration, IOP, corneal endothelial cell count, or morphology. In addition, PGE(2) concentration was not correlated with parameters of the corneal endothelium or IOP in dogs with mature or hypermature cataracts.