La casa sobre la naturaleza. La Villa Malaparte y la Kaufmann House

La casa sobre la naturaleza. la Villa Malaparte y la Kaufmann House

Geologische Beschreibung des Kantons St. Gallen und seiner umgebungen Enthalten auf Blatt IX des eidg. Atlas mit Benutzung des Nachlasses von A. Escher v. d. Linth bearb. von Reallehrer Gutzwiller, prof. Kaufmann, dr. Cas. Mösch.

Each vol. has also special t.p.

Der Kaufmann in der deutschen Vergangenheit : mit einhunderteinundfunfzig Abbildungen und Beilagen nach den Originalen aus dem 15.-18. Jahrhundert /

Mode of access: Internet.

Morphology and morphometry of the foramen magnum in Toy Poodle and Yorkshire terrier dogs

The occipital dysplasia has been characterized by a dorsal enlargement of the foramen magnum which can vary in size and shape. Clinical signs may be present or not in animals with occipital dysplasia. The purpose of this study was to radiographically analyze the morphology and morphometry of the foramen magnum of thirty healthy dogs. This study chose to use fifteen Yorkshire terrier dogs and fifteen Toy Poodle dogs in order to characterize the radiographic aspects of the foramen magnum and contribute to the diagnosis and critical analysis of the occipital dysplasia importance. According to the foramen magnum morphology and tracings, it was possible to classify the radiographic aspects into different shapes varing from oval and quadrangular. Out of 26 (86.7%) animals had a dorsal enlargement and 4 (13.3%) showed normal foramen magnum. Animals without any clinical signs that are radiographically classified as dysplastic dogs may simply represent an anatomic variation of the foramen magnum.

The development of a rat model of erectile dysfunction after radical prostatectomy: preliminary findings

To develop a rat model of erectile dysfunction (ED) after cavernous nerve injury. Given the great similarity between the anatomical structure of the cavernous nerve in rats and humans, 24 rats underwent dissections and the cavernous nerves were identified with the aid of an operating microscope. Then the rats were randomized into two groups: sham-operated controls and a bilateral cavernous nerve section group. At 3 months after surgery, the rats were evaluated for their response to an apomorphine challenge. The erectile response after an apomorphine challenge was normal in all the control rats, while there were no erections in the bilateral injured group. The rat major autonomic ganglion and its cavernous nerve can be identified with the aid of a microscope. Rats are inexpensive and easy to handle, thus a good animal for developing an ED model of cavernous nerve injury. In the present study, the rats with cavernous nerve injury lost erectile capacity in a reliable and reproducible fashion. Because of the great similarity between the cavernous nerve of rats and humans, one may consider this technique as a reliable experimental model for studying ED after radical prostatectomy.

Antibody levels to the class I and II epitopes of the M protein and myosin are related to group A streptococcal exposure in endemic populations

Rheumatic fever (RF)/rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis are thought to be autoimmune diseases, and follow group A streptococcal (GAS) infection. Different GAS M types have been associated with rheumatogenicity or nephritogenicity and categorized into either of two distinct classes (I or II) based on amino acid sequences present within the repeat region ('C' repeats) of the M protein. Sera from ARF patients have previously been shown to contain elevated levels of antibodies to the class I-specific epitope and myosin with the class I-specific antibodies also being cross-reactive to myosin, suggesting a disease association. This study shows that immunoreactivity of the class I-specific peptide and myosin does not differ between controls and acute RF (ARF)/RHD in populations that are highly endemic for GAS, raising the possibility that the association is related to GAS exposure, not the presence of ARF/RHD. Peptide inhibition studies suggest that the class I epitope may be conformational and residue 10 of the peptide is critical for antibody binding. We demonstrate that correlation of antibody levels between the class I and II epitope is due to class II-specific antibodies recognizing a common epitope with class I which is contained within the sequence RDL-ASRE. Our results suggest that antibody prevalence to class I and II epitopes and myosin is associated with GAS exposure, and that antibodies to these epitopes are not an indicator of disease nor a pathogenic factor in endemic populations.

The natural history of Hendra and Nipah viruses

Pteropid bats (flying foxes), species of which are the probable natural host of both Hendra and Nipah viruses, occur in overlapping populations from India to Australia. Ecological changes associated with land use and with animal husbandry practices appear most likely to be associated with the emergence of these two agents. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.

Risco de câncer de pulmão, laringe e esôfago atribuível ao fumo

OBJETIVO: Os tipos de câncer de pulmão, laringe e esôfago têm como um de seus principais fatores de risco o fumo. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar o risco populacional atribuível ao fumo nesses tipos de câncer. MÉTODOS: A pesquisa baseou-se em três estudos de caso-controle em cidade de médio porte do Brasil. Analisaram-se casos incidentes hospitalares de câncer de pulmão, de laringe e de esôfago diagnosticados por biópsias; os controles foram pacientes hospitalizados por outros motivos, sem ser câncer ou doenças altamente relacionadas ao fumo. O fator de exposição foi o tabagismo medido em três níveis: não-fumantes, ex-fumantes e fumantes atuais, definidos por meio de questionários aplicados por entrevistadores treinados. Para a medida de efeito, foi utilizado o odds ratio obtendo-se, dessa forma, o "risco populacional atribuível" ao fumo com IC de 95%. RESULTADOS: Foram estudados 122 casos e 244 controles de câncer de pulmão, 50 casos de câncer de laringe e 48 casos de câncer de esôfago, com um grupo de 96 controles comum a ambos. A prevalência da exposição ao fumo utilizada para a análise foi de 34%, que corresponde à prevalência de fumo na população adulta da cidade. Os odds ratios para o cálculo do risco populacional atribuível foram obtidos por análises ajustadas para os fatores de confusão de cada um dos estudos. Para ex-fumantes com câncer de pulmão, o risco populacional atribuível foi de 63% (IC95%, 0,58-0,68) e, para fumantes, de 71% (IC95%, 0,65-0,77). Para câncer de laringe, o RPA foi de 74% (IC95%, 0,70-0,78) para ex-fumantes e de 86% (IC95%, 0,81-0,85) para fumantes. O câncer de esôfago mostrou um risco de 54% (IC95%, 0,46-0,62) para fumantes. CONCLUSÃO: Conclui-se que o fumo é um importante fator de risco e que a cessação do mesmo contribuiria para reduções significativas na incidência de câncer nesses três sítios.

Mortalidade por câncer em trabalhadores da indústria da borracha de São Paulo

OBJETIVO: Avaliar as mortes por câncer em trabalhadores da indústria da borracha de acordo com o tamanho da empresa. MÉTODOS: Coorte histórica com 9.188 trabalhadores masculinos, matriculados em sindicato de trabalhadores da indústria de borracha do Estado de São Paulo entre 1975 e 1985, sobreviventes em janeiro de 1990 e acompanhados até o final de 2000. As mortes por câncer foram comparadas internamente à coorte, cujos membros foram subdivididos em estratos por porte e sub-ramo da empresa, setor de trabalho e qualificação profissional. A abordagem por conjuntos de risco e regressão logística condicional foi utilizada para o cálculo dos riscos relativos, ajustados por idade, tempo desde o primeiro emprego e tempo de trabalho na indústria da borracha. RESULTADOS: Quando comparados aos empregados de grandes empresas, trabalhadores de pequenas empresas mostraram excesso de mortes por todos tipos de câncer (RR=2,33; IC 95%: 0,90-6,03); tumores de estômago (RR=3,47; IC 95%: 2,57-4,67) e do trato aero-digestivo superior (RR=2,49; IC 95%: 1,78-3,48). Identificou-se excesso de mortes por câncer nos trabalhadores dos setores de manutenção (RR=2,23; IC 95%: 0,73-6,76); expedição, armazenamento e transporte (RR=2,97; IC 95%: 0,77-11,38); e produção (RR=3,51; IC 95%: 1,07-11,57), comparados aos trabalhadores dos setores administrativos. CONCLUSÕES: Os resultados mostram evidências de aumento do risco de tumores de estômago e do trato aero-digestivo superior e, possivelmente, por câncer em geral em trabalhadores de empresas de pequeno porte da indústria da borracha quando comparados aos trabalhadores das grandes empresas.

Daytime dive characteristics from six short-finned pilot whales Globicephala macrorhynchus off Madeira Island

Six time-depth recorders attached with suction-cups were deployed in resident and transient adult short-finned pilot whales to evaluate their daytime diving characteristics in their preferred habitat area off Madeira Island. Here, data on the proportion of time spent at the surface and at different dive phases (descent, bottom and ascent), dive depths and dive rates are presented. With mean attachment durations of 2 h 31 min (SD=2 h), the whales spent a considerable amount of time at the surface (mean=76.3%, SD=18.6) and presented a low diving rate (mean=6.8 dives h‾¹, SD=6.1; considering dive as submergence deeper than 10 m). The maximum dive depth recorded in this study was 988 m, and dives deeper than 500 m, which were recorded from resident and transient whales, suggest foraging activity along their preferred habitat area. The analysis of dives deeper than 100 m shows that the percentage of time spent on descent, bottom or ascent varied between dives, with means of ~40, 30 and 30%, respectively.