IMMUNOSTIMULATION AS ADJUVANT FOR THE CHEMOTHERAPY OF EXPERIMENTAL SCHISTOSOMIASIS

Immunosuppressed animals respond poorly to schistosomal chemotherapy and that a proper response can be restored by the administration of immune serum. Present study attempts to search whether immunological stimulation would increase drug effectiveness. Swiss mice infected with 50 S. mansoni cercariae were later treated with complete Freund's adjuvant. Treatment with oxaminiquine was made with 100 mg/kg.b.w., 25 mg/kg.b.w. and 50 mg/kg/b.w., the last two doses representing a fourth and a half of the recommended curative dose. Appropriate controls for the drug, the adjuvant and the infection were also studied. The serum-level of ant-S. mansoni antibodies (ELISA) and recovery of worms by perfusion of the portal vein system were the evaluated parameters. Statistical analysis of the results failed to reveal significant differences in worm recovery between adjuvant-stimulated animals treated with oxamniquine and any of the treated controls receiving the same amount of the drug. Although total lack of immunity interferes with curative treament the usual immune response seems to be sufficient to allow for curative drug action in schistosomiasis and thus apparently does not need to be artificially stimulated

An��lise experimental de um murete de alvenaria de pedra tradicional de grandes dimens��es

Disserta����o para a obten����o do Grau de Mestre em Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia Civil - Perfil de Constru����o

Estudo experimental de escoamentos em regime uniforme e n��o uniforme em canais de sec����o composta

Disserta����o apresentada para obten����o do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil

Simula����o e estudo experimental de protocolos de encaminhamento seguro com toler��ncia a intrus��es em redes de sensores sem fios de grande escala

Trabalho apresentado no ��mbito do Mestrado em Engenharia Inform��tica, como requisito parcial para obten����o do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Inform��tica.

An��lise experimental de um murete de alvenaria de pedra tradicional

Disserta����o apresentada para obten����o do Grau acad��mico de Mestre em Engenharia Civil, na especialidade de Reabilita����o de Edif��cios, pela Faculdade de Ci��ncias e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Experimental Reinforcement of Wood Beams

Rehabilitation is becoming more and more usual in the construction sector in Portugal. The introduction of newer construction materials and technical know-how of integrating different materials for achieving desired engineering goals is an important step to the development of the sector. Wood industry is also getting more and more adapted to composite technologies with the introduction of the so called ���highly engineered wood products��� and with the use of modification treatments. This work is an attempt to explain the viability of using stainless steel and glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) as reinforcements in wood beams. This thesis specifically focuses on the flexural behaviour of Portuguese Pine unmodified and modified wood beams. Two types of modification were used: 1,3-dimethylol-4,5- dihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU) resin and amid wax. The behaviour of the material was analysed with a nonlinear model. The latter model simulates the behaviour of the reinforced wood beams under flexural loading. Small-scale beams (1:15) were experimented in flexural bending and the experimental results obtained were compared with the analytical model results. The experiments confirm the viability of the reinforcing schemes and the working procedures. Experimental results showed fair agreement with the nonlinear model. A strength increase between 15% and 80% was achieved. Stiffness increased by 40% to 50% in beams reinforced with steel but no significant increase was achieved with the glass fibre reinforcement.

Caracteriza����o experimental da aerodin��mica interior de um modelo laboratorial de c��mara de combust��o

Disserta����o apresentada na Faculdade de Ci��ncias e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para a obten����o do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Mec��nica

Distribui����o segura de chaves criptogr��ficas em redes de sensores sem fios de grande escala: estudo e avalia����o experimental em ambiente de simuala����o

Disserta����o de Mestrado em Engenharia Inform��tica

INFLUENCE OF MICROBIOTA IN EXPERIMENTAL CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS IN SWISS MICE

Infection of Swiss/NIH mice with Leishmania major was compared with infection in isogenic resistant C57BL/6 and susceptible BALB/c mice. Swiss/NIH mice showed self-controlled lesions in the injected foot pad. The production of high levels of interferon-<FONT FACE="Symbol">g</font> (IFN-<FONT FACE="Symbol">g</font>) and low levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4) by cells from these animals suggests that they mount a Th1-type immune response. The importance of the indigenous microbiota on the development of murine leishmaniasis was investigated by infecting germfree Swiss/NIH in the hind footpad with L. major and conventionalizing after 3 weeks of infection. Lesions from conventionalized Swiss/NIH mice were significantly larger than conventional mice. Histopathological analysis of lesions from conventionalized animals showed abscesses of variable shapes and sizes and high numbers of parasitized macrophages. In the lesions from conventional mice, besides the absence of abscess formation, parasites were rarely observed. On the other hand, cells from conventional and conventionalized mice produced similar Th1-type response characterized by high levels of IFN-<FONT FACE="Symbol">g</font> and low levels of IL-4. In this study, we demonstrated that Swiss/NIH mice are resistant to L. major infection and that the absence of the normal microbiota at the beginning of infection significantly influenced the lesion size and the inflammatory response at the site of infection.

Projecto e concep����o de um dispositivo experimental para medi����o e caracteriza����o dos esfor��os aplicados no finca-p��s de um caiaque de pista: Investiga����o, desenho e desenvolvimento

Ap��s o enquadramento da canoagem, como modalidade Ol��mpica, verificou-se um aumento significativo de estudos e pesquisas acerca da biomec��nica da modalidade, o que contribuiu para uma diminui����o dos tempos na competi����o. Contudo poucos foram os que se focaram nas for��as desenvolvidas e aplicadas ao caiaque atrav��s do finca-p��s, criado assim oportunidade de desenvolvimento de dispositivos para a medi����o das mesmas. Assim, o objectivo primordial �� desenvolver um sistema experimental capaz de quantificar as for��as geradas em cada um dos lados do finca-p��s (esquerdo e direito). Este, dever�� n��o s�� ser pass��vel de se utilizar em caiaque erg��metro como tamb��m num caiaque de pista, permitido avaliar as for��as aplicadas durante o ciclo de pagaiada, tanto em compress��o como em trac����o. A sua concep����o baseou-se num modelo de finca-p��s j�� existente, tornando-o compat��vel com os caiaques de competi����o mais comercializados, e permitindo que no futuro se possa utilizar na ��gua, bastando para isso apenas possuir um caiaque e embarcar o sistema de medi����o. Este sistema experimental foi testado em caiaque erg��metro por 7 (sete) sujeitos com n��veis distintos: seis homens (um atleta ol��mpico medalhado e cinco de n��vel nacional) e uma mulher (de n��vel de selec����o Portuguesa) que, entre outros, realizaram um plano definido por 60s a uma frequ��ncia de 75 pagaiadas por minuto, seguido de uma intensa mudan��a de ritmo e for��a (Sprint). Ap��s an��lise dos dados obtidos em cada um dos diferentes sujeitos, conseguimos identificar algumas das suas caracter��sticas, tais como: esfor��o assim��trico dos membros inferiores; utiliza����o de forma heterog��nea da fita do finca-p��s; diferen��a de for��as m��ximas aplicadas entre atletas (Ex.: para um atleta ol��mpico as for��as medidas (Min; Max): P�� Esquerdo (- 444; 1087) N e P�� Direito (- 476; 1068) N); etc. Os resultados n��o s�� s��o bastante promissores como tamb��m s��o motivantes e congruentes com estudos anteriores, nomeadamente Begon et al. 2008 e Sturm 2010 e 2012. Finalmente, consegue-se afirmar, com seguran��a, que foram alcan��ados os objectivos propostos com a concep����o deste dispositivo de medi����o de for��as. Este permite caracterizar os esfor��os desenvolvidos no finca-p��s por cada membro inferior, com ou sem a fita de suporte, possibilitando aos treinadores e atletas uma vis��o, para muitos desconhecida, das for��as transmitidas e das suas assimetrias. No final, este conhecimento permitir�� aos atletas melhorar o seu desempenho desportivo bem como facilitar a gest��o desportiva, com base nos principais princ��pios mec��nicos inerentes ao movimento dos atletas desde desporto Ol��mpico.

Avalia����o experimental de esquemas de pr��-distribui����o de chaves em redes de sensores sem fios

Trabalho apresentado no ��mbito do Mestrado em Engenharia Inform��tica, como requisito parcial para obten����o do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Inform��tica.

Estudo experimental para avalia����o da rigidez dos vasos sangu��neos: testes para valida����o cl��nica

Disserta����o apresentada na Faculdade de Ci��ncias e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obten����o do grau de mestre em Engenharia Biom��dica.

Increased natural killer activity does not prevent progression of experimental Kala-azar

Kala-azar is the visceral form of leishmaniasis and it is caused by intracellular parasites from the complex Leishmania donovani. Golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) infected with Leishmania donovani develop a disease very similar to human Kala-azar. There is conspicuous hipergammaglobulinaemia and their T cells do not respond to stimulation with parasite antigens. We used this experimental model to evaluate the natural killer (NK) activity during the initial phase of the disease. Outbred hamsters infected by intravenous route with 5.106 amastigotes of L. donovani 1S showed a concurrent increase in the spleen weight and in the spleen cell number. Using the single cell assay we detected a significant increase in the percentage of NK effector cells on the 4th day of infection. Imprints from spleen and liver showed at days 14 and 28 a significant increase in the parasite burden . These results show that the increased NK activity in the beginning of the infection was not able to restrain the progression of the disease in this experimental model.

Penicillium glabrum cork colonising isolates ��� preliminary analysis of their genomic similari

Cork stopper manufacturing process includes an operation, known as stabilisation, by which humid cork slabs are extensively colonised by fungi. The effects of fungal growth on cork are yet to be completely understood and are considered to be involved in the so called ���cork taint��� of bottled wine. It is essential to identify environmental constraints which define the appearance of the colonising fungal species and to trace their origin to the forest and/or as residents in the manufacturing space. The present article correlates two sets of data, from consecutive years and the same season, of systematic biologic sampling of two manufacturing units, located in the North and South of Portugal. Chrysonilia sitophila dominance was identified, followed by a high diversity of Penicillium species. Penicillium glabrum, found in all samples, was the most frequent isolated species. P. glabrum intra-species variability was investigated using DNA fingerprinting techniques revealing highly discriminative polymorphic markers in the genome. Cluster analysis of P. glabrum data was discussed in relation to the geographical location of strains, and results suggest that P. glabrum arise from predominantly the manufacturing space, although cork resident fungi can also contrib

Jorge Lobo��s disease: experimental inoculation in Swiss mice

Sixty-four isogenic Swiss mice were intradermically inoculated in both hind foot pads. The inocula, consisting of fungal suspensions from biopsies obtained from Jorge Lobo��s Disease patients, had the total number of fungi and the viability index determined using a Neubauer chamber and the fluorescein diacetate-ethidium bromide technique (FD-EB), respectively. The animals were sacrificed at times ranging from ten days to eighteen months after inoculation. The cellular infiltrate, mainly consisting of macrophages containing fungi, increased progressively up to end of the study; however, no macroscopic alterations were observed in the inoculated feet. After nine months, small numbers of Langhans�� giant cells started to appear in the infiltrate. A considerable number of fungi was observed at the end of the experimental period, but only a few were viable when stained by the FD-EB technique. This fact suggests that there is a multiplication of fungal cells, which are destroyed by the macrophages but remain in the tissue for a long time due perhaps to the difficulties in their elimination. These findings led us to conclude that in spite of the maintenance of the infection in these animals, Swiss mice cannot be considered an ideal model to study Jorge Lobo��s Disease. However, the authors call attention to the possibility of other mouse strains being more susceptible to Paracoccidioides loboi.