Characterization of the genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in São Paulo city, Brazil

Background: Tuberculosis is a major health problem in São Paulo, Brazil, which is the most populous and one of the most cosmopolitan cities in South America. To characterize the genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the population of this city, the genotyping techniques of spoligotyping and MIRU were applied to 93 isolates collected in two consecutive years from 93 different tuberculosis patients residing in São Paulo city and attending the Clemente Ferreira Institute (the reference clinic for the treatment of tuberculosis). Findings. Spoligotyping generated 53 different spoligotype patterns. Fifty-one isolates (54.8%) were grouped into 13 spoligotyping clusters. Seventy- two strains (77.4%) showed spoligotypes described in the international databases (SpolDB4, SITVIT), and 21 (22.6%) showed unidentified patterns. The most frequent spoligotype families were Latin American Mediterranean (LAM) (26 isolates), followed by the T family (24 isolates) and Haarlem (H) (11 isolates), which together accounted for 65.4% of all the isolates. These three families represent the major genotypes found in Africa, Central America, South America and Europe. Six Spoligo-International- types (designated SITs by the database) comprised 51.8% (37/72) of all the identified spoligotypes (SIT53, SIT50, SIT42, SIT60, SIT17 and SIT1). Other SITs found in this study indicated the great genetic diversity of M. tuberculosis, reflecting the remarkable ethnic diversity of São Paulo city inhabitants. The MIRU technique was more discriminatory and did not identify any genetic clusters with 100% similarity among the 93 isolates. The allelic analysis showed that MIRU loci 26, 40, 23 and 10 were the most discriminatory. When MIRU and spoligotyping techniques were combined, all isolates grouped in the 13 spoligotyping clusters were separated. Conclusions: Our data indicated the genomic stability of over 50% of spoligotypes identified in São Paulo and the great genetic diversity of M. tuberculosis isolates in the remaining SITs, reflecting the large ethnic mix of the São Paulo city inhabitants. The results also indicated that in this city, M. tuberculosis isolates acquired drug resistance independently of genotype and that resistance was more dependent on the selective pressure of treatment failure and the environmental circumstances of patients. © 2011 Leite et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Draft biennial programme of regional and international cooperation activities of the Statistical Conference of the Americas of ECLAC, 2007-2009

Includes bibliography

Evaluation report of the training workshop on the use of the module to analyse growth of international commerce (Magic Plus) and the competitive analysis of nations (TRADECAN 2009) software

The aim of the workshop was to provide a functional overview of the software package, to enable participants to use the software in order to inform more evidence-based trade strategies, and build capacity for researchers and trade negotiators to provide more rigorous, analytical policy research to inform future trade negotiations. Participants came from the ministries of trade of the following CDCC member countries: Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. Representatives of the following regional institutions were represented: the Caribbean Community/Caribbean Regional Negotiating Mechanism (CARICOM/CRNM); the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS); the University of Guyana, University of Suriname and the University of the West Indies (UWI). It was hoped the workshop would be a stepping stone towards more advanced trade analysis training. The list of participants appears as Annex I.

Constant Pioneers: The Citation Frontiers of Indexing Theory in the ISKO International Proceedings

Presents a citation analysis of indexing research in the two Proceedings. Understanding that there are different traditions of research into indexing, we look for evidence of this in the citing and cited authors. Three areas of cited and citing authors surface, after applying Price's elitism analysis, each roughly corresponding to geographic distributions.

International collaborative project to compare and monitor the nutritional composition of processed foods

Background: Chronic diseases are the leading cause of premature death and disability in the world with overnutrition a primary cause of diet-related ill health. Excess energy intake, saturated fat, sugar, and salt derived from processed foods are a major cause of disease burden. Our objective is to compare the nutritional composition of processed foods between countries, between food companies, and over time. Design: Surveys of processed foods will be done in each participating country using a standardized methodology. Information on the nutrient composition for each product will be sought either through direct chemical analysis, from the product label, or from the manufacturer. Foods will be categorized into 14 groups and 45 categories for the primary analyses which will compare mean levels of nutrients at baseline and over time. Initial commitments to collaboration have been obtained from 21 countries. Conclusions: This collaborative approach to the collation and sharing of data will enable objective and transparent tracking of processed food composition around the world. The information collected will support government and food industry efforts to improve the nutrient composition of processed foods around the world.

Kinin-B2 Receptor Activity Determines the Differentiation Fate of Neural Stem Cells

Bradykinin is not only important for inflammation and blood pressure regulation, but also involved in neuromodulation and neuroprotection. Here we describe novel functions for bradykinin and the kinin-B2 receptor (B2BkR) in differentiation of neural stem cells. In the presence of the B2BkR antagonist HOE-140 during rat neurosphere differentiation, neuron-specific beta 3-tubulin and enolase expression was reduced together with an increase in glial protein expression, indicating that bradykinin- induced receptor activity contributes to neurogenesis. In agreement, HOE-140 affected in the same way expression levels of neural markers during neural differentiation of murine P19 and human iPS cells. Kinin-B1 receptor agonists and antagonists did not affect expression levels of neural markers, suggesting that bradykinin-mediated effects are exclusively mediated via B2BkR. Neurogenesis was augmented by bradykinin in the middle and late stages of the differentiation process. Chronic treatment with HOE-140 diminished eNOS and nNOS as well as M1-M4 muscarinic receptor expression and also affected purinergic receptor expression and activity. Neurogenesis, gliogenesis, and neural migration were altered during differentiation of neurospheres isolated from B2BkR knock-out mice. Whole mount in situ hybridization revealed the presence of B2BkR mRNA throughout the nervous system in mouse embryos, and less beta 3-tubulin and more glial proteins were expressed in developing and adult B2BkR knock-out mice brains. As a underlying transcriptional mechanism for neural fate determination, HOE-140 induced up-regulation of Notch1 and Stat3 gene expression. Because pharmacological treatments did not affect cell viability and proliferation, we conclude that bradykinin-induced signaling provides a switch for neural fate determination and specification of neurotransmitter receptor expression.

The secrets of publishing your article in Journal of Geophysical Research (Oceans)

[EN] The editorial and review processes along the road to publication are described in general terms. The construction of a well-prepared article and the manner in which authors may maximise the chances of success at each stage of the process towards final publication are explored. The most common errors and ways of avoiding them are outlined. Typical problems facing an author writing in English as a second language, including the need for grammatical precision and appropriate style, are discussed. Additionally, the meaning of plagiarism, self-plagiarism and duplicate publication is explored. Critical steps in manuscript preparation and response to reviews are examined. Finally, the relation between writing and reviewing is outlined, and it is shown how becoming a good reviewer helps in becoming a successful author

The changing politics of preference formation in international trade negotiations: the European Union in the Doha Round

This research seeks to provide an explanation for variations of “politics” of preference formation in international trade negotiations. Building on the ‘policy determines politics’ argument, I hypothesize the existence of a causal relationship between issue-characteristics and their variations with politics dynamics and their variations. More specifically, this study seeks to integrate into a single analytical framework two dimensions along which variations in the “politics of preference formation” can be organized: configurations of power relationships among the relevant actors in the structures within which they interact as well as the logic and the motivations of the actors involved in the policy making process. To do so, I first construct a four-cell typology of ‘politics of preference formation’ and, then, I proceed by specifying that the type of state-society configurations as well as the type of actors’ motivations in the “politics of preference formation” depend, respectively, on the degree to which a policy issue is perceived as politically salient and on the extent to which the distributional implications of such an issue can be calculated by the relevant stakeholders in the policy making process. The empirical yardstick against which the validity of the theoretical argument proposed is tested is drawn from evidence concerning the European Union’s negotiating strategy in four negotiating areas in the context of the so-called WTO’s Doha Development Round of multilateral trade negotiations: agriculture, competition, environment and technical assistance and capacity building.

Will International Pursuit of the Millenium Development Goals Alleviate Poverty in Mountains?

Since September 2000, when world leaders agreed on time-bound, measurable goals to reduce extreme poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and disease while fostering gender equality and ensuring environmental sustainability, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have increasingly come to dominate the policy objectives of many states and development agencies. The concern has been raised that the tight timeframe and financial restrictions might force governments to invest in the more productive sectors, thus compromising the quality and sustainability of development efforts. In the long term, this may lead to even greater inequality, especially between geographical regions and social strata. Hence people living in marginal areas, for example in remote mountain regions, and minority peoples risk being disadvantaged by this internationally agreed agenda. Strategies to overcome hunger and poverty in their different dimensions in mountain areas need to focus on strengthening the economy of small-scale farmers, while also fostering the sustainable use of natural resources, taking into consideration their multifunctionality.

Inaugural Conference of The Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise- Program

Program for University Research and the American Agenda: Discovering Knowledge, Enabling Leadership. The Inaugural Conference of the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise.