Surface-spreading technique of meiotic cells and immunodetection of synaptonemal complex proteins in teleostean fishes

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

MxA interacts with and is modified by the SUMOylation machinery

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

The putative Leishmania telomerase RNA (leishTER) undergoes trans-splicing and contains a conserved template sequence

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

Prevalence of anogenital warts in Men with HIV/AIDS and associated factors

Infection with human papilloma virus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world. Among the 630 million new cases of HPV that occur each year, 30 million develop anogenital warts. Although subclinical infection with HPV is the most common cause, genital warts are also associated with immunosuppression caused by HIV. In view of the high prevalence of HPV/HIV co-infection particularly among men who have sex with men, the objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of anogenital warts in men with HIV/AIDS and to identify associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 159 men with HIV/AIDS consecutively selected at a referral service in Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil, in which the association between sociodemographic, behavioral and clinical variables and the presence of anogenital warts was evaluated. After hierarchical analysis of the data, variables presenting a p value ≤ 0.2 were entered into an unconditional multivariate logistic regression model. Forty-nine (31%) of the HIV-positive patients had anogenital warts. The mean age was 44.6 ± 9.6 years. The main factors associated with the presence of anogenital warts were irregular antiretroviral treatment and genital herpes(HSV). The present study demonstrate that anogenital warts occur in almost one-third of the male population infected with HIV and factors associated with a higher risk of being diagnosed with anogenital warts were irregular cART use and co-infection with HSV, other variables could not be associated.

Produção de progesterona pelas células luteínicas esteroidogênicas bovina cultivadas e co-cultivadas in vitro

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The People's Hour and the Social Gospel: George Howard Gibson's Gilded Age Search for an Organization of the Kingdom of God

Previous studies of the Social Gospel movement have acknowledged the fact that Social Gospelers were involved in multiple social reform movements during the Gilded Age and into the Progressive Era. However, most of these studies have failed to explain how the reform experiences of the Social Gospelers contributed to the development of the Social Gospel. The Social Gospelers’ ideas regarding the need to transform society and their strategies for doing so were largely a result of their personal experiences as reformers and their collaboration with other reformers. The knowledge and insight gained from interaction with a variety of reform methods played a vital role in the development of the ideology and theology of the Social Gospel. George Howard Gibson is exemplary of the connections between the Social Gospel movement and several other social reform movements of the time. He was involved in the Temperance movement, was a member of both the Prohibition Party and the People’s Party, and co-founded a Christian socialist cooperative colony. His writings illustrate the formation of his identity as a Social Gospeler as well as his attempts to find an organization through which to realize the kingdom of God on earth. Failure to achieve the changes he desired via prohibition encouraged him to broaden his reform goals. Like many Midwestern Social Gospelers Gibson believed he had found “God’s Party” in the People’s Party, but he rejected reform via the political system once the Populists restricted their attention to the silver issue and fused with the Democratic Party. Yet his involvement with the People’s Party demonstrates the attraction many Social Gospelers had to the reforms proposed in the Omaha Platform of 1892 as well as to the party’s use of revivalistic language and emphasis on producerism and brotherhood. Gibson’s experimentation with a variety of ways to achieve the kingdom of God on earth provides new insight into the experiences and contributions of lay Social Gospelers. Adviser: Kenneth J. Winkle

Effect of nAellore cows ciclicity on conception and pregnant rates after synchronization protocols for fixed timed artificial insemination

Palhano H.B., Jesus V.L.T., Abidu-Figueiredo M., Baldrighi J.M. & Mello M.R.B. [Effect of nAellore cows ciclicity on conception and pregnant rates after synchronization protocols for fixed timed artificial insemination]. Efeito da ciclicidade de vacas Nelore sobre as taxas de concepcao e de prenhez apos protocolos de sincronizacao para inseminacao artificial em tempo fixo. Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinaria, 34(1):63-68, 2012. Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, BR 465 km 7, Seropedica, RJ 23890-000, Brasil. Email: hbpalhano@gmail.com The present study evaluated the effect on conception and pregnancy rates of Nellore cows selected for Fixed Timed Artificial Insemination (FTAI) program, submitted to four synchronization protocols. Four hundred and ninety lactating females were used and assigned to eight groups: I-OvSynch, n=68, with selection of cycling cows; II-OvSynch + progesterone (P-4), n=67, after selection of non-cycling animals; III-OvSynch, without selection, n=68; IV-OvSynch + P-4, without selection, n=67; V-Co-Synch, n=55, with selection of cycling cows; VI-Co-Synch + P-4, n=55, with selection non-cycling cows; VII- Co-Synch without selection, n=55; VIII- Co-Synch + P-4, without selection, n=55. The conception and pregnancy rates were, respectively, 45.6%, 27.9% and 82.4%, 48.5% for groups I and III; 61.2%, 37.3% and 85.1%, 58.2% for groups II and IV; 43.6%, 25.5% and 80%, 41.8% for groups V and VII; 52.7%, 32.7% and 83.6%, 50.9% for groups VI and VIII. When compared these rates, the results after chi-square test showed significant difference (P < 0.05) among protocols with or without selection. There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between OvSynch and Co-Synch protocols, with or without P-4 and with selection, considering Co-Synch a viable option for optimization of FTAI. In conclusion, the selection of cows before FTAI program contributed significantly to improve the conception and pregnancy rates.

Epidemiological aspects of tuberculosis in children and adolescents in Rio de Janeiro

Objective: To describe the epidemiological aspects of childhood tuberculosis (TB) in a Brazilian reference hospital. Methods: This was a retrospective study (1999-2008) of 473 subjects (0-14 year olds) with confirmed TB, or with clinical improvement by the fourth month of treatment under the unit's care, including the review of medical records, monitoring reports and notifications by the TB unit. Results: Among 473 TB cases included in the study, positive tuberculin skin test was observed in 52%, history of contact with a patient with pulmonary tuberculosis in 66%, mostly intra-household, and with the father/stepfather most commonly involved; and disseminated TB in 22%. The result of HIV testing was obtained in 265 (56%) cases, being positive in 45 (17%). The diagnosis of TB was confirmed in 31% of cases, most frequently in children older than 5 years, with negative tuberculin skin test, and in disseminated forms. Of the 65 cultures positive for TB performed in the study, drug sensitivity testing to anti-TB drugs was done in 30 (46%) clinical samples, among which 10 (33%) were resistant to one or more anti-TB drugs, and 2 (0.8%) were multi-drug-resistant. Among patients with confirmed pulmonary TB, 31% did not meet the criteria for starting anti-TB treatment according to the scores of the Ministry of Health (<= 25 points). Conclusion: The high proportion of drug-resistant TB and co-infection with HIV identified in this study highlight the necessity to carry out additional studies in order to evaluate the impact of TB control activities on childhood TB.

Carbon monoxide and related trace gases and aerosols over the Amazon Basin during the wet and dry seasons

We present the results of airborne measurements of carbon monoxide (CO) and aerosol particle number concentration (CN) made during the Balan double dagger o Atmosf,rico Regional de Carbono na Amazonia (BARCA) program. The primary goal of BARCA is to address the question of basin-scale sources and sinks of CO2 and other atmospheric carbon species, a central issue of the Large-scale Biosphere-Atmosphere (LBA) program. The experiment consisted of two aircraft campaigns during November-December 2008 (BARCA-A) and May-June 2009 (BARCA-B), which covered the altitude range from the surface up to about 4500 m, and spanned most of the Amazon Basin. Based on meteorological analysis and measurements of the tracer, SF6, we found that airmasses over the Amazon Basin during the late dry season (BARCA-A, November 2008) originated predominantly from the Southern Hemisphere, while during the late wet season (BARCA-B, May 2009) low-level airmasses were dominated by northern-hemispheric inflow and mid-tropospheric airmasses were of mixed origin. In BARCA-A we found strong influence of biomass burning emissions on the composition of the atmosphere over much of the Amazon Basin, with CO enhancements up to 300 ppb and CN concentrations approaching 10 000 cm(-3); the highest values were in the southern part of the Basin at altitudes of 1-3 km. The Delta CN/Delta CO ratios were diagnostic for biomass burning emissions, and were lower in aged than in fresh smoke. Fresh emissions indicated CO/CO2 and CN/CO emission ratios in good agreement with previous work, but our results also highlight the need to consider the residual smoldering combustion that takes place after the active flaming phase of deforestation fires. During the late wet season, in contrast, there was little evidence for a significant presence of biomass smoke. Low CN concentrations (300-500 cm(-3)) prevailed basinwide, and CO mixing ratios were enhanced by only similar to 10 ppb above the mixing line between Northern and Southern Hemisphere air. There was no detectable trend in CO with distance from the coast, but there was a small enhancement of CO in the boundary layer suggesting diffuse biogenic sources from photochemical degradation of biogenic volatile organic compounds or direct biological emission. Simulations of CO distributions during BARCA-A using a range of models yielded general agreement in spatial distribution and confirm the important contribution from biomass burning emissions, but the models evidence some systematic quantitative differences compared to observed CO concentrations. These mismatches appear to be related to problems with the accuracy of the global background fields, the role of vertical transport and biomass smoke injection height, the choice of model resolution, and reliability and temporal resolution of the emissions data base.

Plasma kinetics of an LDL-like nanoemulsion and lipid transfer to HDL in subjects with glucose intolerance

OBJECTIVE: Glucose intolerance is frequently associated with an altered plasma lipid profile and increased cardiovascular disease risk. Nonetheless, lipid metabolism is scarcely studied in normolipidemic glucose-intolerant patients. The aim of this study was to investigate whether important lipid metabolic parameters, such as the kinetics of LDL free and esterified cholesterol and the transfer of lipids to HDL, are altered in glucose-intolerant patients with normal plasma lipids. METHODS: Fourteen glucose-intolerant patients and 15 control patients were studied; none of the patients had cardiovascular disease manifestations, and they were paired for age, sex, race and co-morbidities. A nanoemulsion resembling a LDL lipid composition (LDE) labeled with C-14-cholesteryl ester and H-3-free cholesterol was intravenously injected, and blood samples were collected over a 24-h period to determine the fractional clearance rate of the labels by compartmental analysis. The transfer of free and esterified cholesterol, triglycerides and phospholipids from the LDE to HDL was measured by the incubation of the LDE with plasma and radioactivity counting of the supernatant after chemical precipitation of non-HDL fractions. RESULTS: The levels of LDL, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, apo A1 and apo B were equal in both groups. The 14 C-esterified cholesterol fractional clearance rate was not different between glucose-intolerant and control patients, but the H-3-free- cholesterol fractional clearance rate was greater in glucose-intolerant patients than in control patients. The lipid transfer to HDL was equal in both groups. CONCLUSION: In these glucose-intolerant patients with normal plasma lipids, a faster removal of LDE free cholesterol was the only lipid metabolic alteration detected in our study. This finding suggests that the dissociation of free cholesterol from lipoprotein particles occurs in normolipidemic glucose intolerance and may participate in atherogenic signaling.

Social phobia in obsessive-compulsive disorder: Prevalence and correlates

Background: Social Phobia (SP) is an anxiety disorder that frequently co-occurs with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); however, studies that evaluate clinical factors associated with this specific comorbidity are rare. The aim was to estimate the prevalence of SP in a large multicenter sample of OCD patients and compare the characteristics of individuals with and without SP. Method: A cross-sectional study with 1001 patients of the Brazilian Research Consortium on Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders using several assessment instruments, including the Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders. Univariate analyses were followed by logistic regression. Results: Lifetime prevalence of SP was 34.6% (N=346). The following variables remained associated with SP comorbidity after logistic regression: male sex, lower socioeconomic status, body dysmorphic disorder, specific phobia, dysthymia, generalized anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, Tourette syndrome and binge eating disorder. Limitations: The cross-sectional design does not permit the inference of causal relationships; some retrospective information may have been subject to recall bias; all patients were being treated in tertiary services, therefore generalization of the results to other samples of OCD sufferers should be cautious. Despite the large sample size, some hypotheses may not have been confirmed due to the small number of cases with these characteristics (type 2 error). Conclusion: SP is frequent among OCD patients and co-occurs with other disorders that have common phenomenological features. These findings have important implications for clinical practice, indicating the need for broader treatment approaches for individuals with this profile. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Molecular chemistry and the missing mass problem in planetary nebulae

Context. Detections of molecular lines, mainly from H-2 and CO, reveal molecular material in planetary nebulae. Observations of a variety of molecules suggest that the molecular composition in these objects differs from that found in interstellar clouds or in circumstellar envelopes. The success of the models, which are mostly devoted to explain molecular densities in specific planetary nebulae, is still partial however. Aims. The present study aims at identifying the influence of stellar and nebular properties on the molecular composition of planetary nebulae by means of chemical models. A comparison of theoretical results with those derived from the observations may provide clues to the conditions that favor the presence of a particular molecule. Methods. A self-consistent photoionization numerical code was adapted to simulate cold molecular regions beyond the ionized zone. The code was used to obtain a grid of models and the resulting column densities are compared with those inferred from observations. Results. Our models show that the inclusion of an incident flux of X-rays is required to explain the molecular composition derived for planetary nebulae. We also obtain a more accurate relation for the N(CO)/N(H-2) ratio in these objects. Molecular masses obtained by previous works in the literature were then recalculated, showing that these masses can be underestimated by up to three orders of magnitude. We conclude that the problem of the missing mass in planetary nebulae can be solved by a more accurate calculation of the molecular mass.

CNO and F abundances in the globular cluster M22 (NGC 6656)

Context. Recent studies have confirmed the long standing suspicion that M 22 shares a metallicity spread and complex chemical enrichment history similar to that observed in omega Cen. M 22 is among the most massive Galactic globular clusters and its color-magnitude diagram and chemical abundances reveal the existence of sub-populations. Aims. To further constrain the chemical diversity of M 22, necessary to interpret its nucleosynthetic history, we seek to measure relative abundance ratios of key elements (carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and fluorine) best studied, or only available, using high-resolution spectra at infrared wavelengths. Methods. High-resolution (R = 50 000) and high S/N infrared spectra were acquired of nine red giant stars with Phoenix at the Gemini-South telescope. Chemical abundances were calculated through a standard 1D local thermodynamic equilibrium analysis using Kurucz model atmospheres. Results. We derive [Fe/H] = -1.87 to -1.44, confirming at infrared wavelengths that M 22 does present a [Fe/H] spread. We also find large C and N abundance spreads, which confirm previous results in the literature but based on a smaller sample. Our results show a spread in A(C+N+O) of similar to 0.7 dex. Similar to mono-metallic globular clusters, M 22 presents a strong [Na/Fe]-[O/Fe] anticorrelation as derived from Na and CO lines in the K band. For the first time we recover F abundances in M 22 and find that it exhibits a 0.6 dex variation. We find tentative evidence for a flatter A(F)-A(O) relation compared to higher metallicity globular clusters. Conclusions. Our study confirms and expands upon the chemical diversity seen in this complex stellar system. All elements studied to date show large abundance spreads which require contributions from both massive and low mass stars.

Study of CuO/CeO2 catalyst with for preferential CO oxidation reaction in hydrogen-rich feed (PROX-CO)

The CuO/CeO2 system was investigated as a catalyst for preferential CO oxidation reaction in hydrogen-rich feed (PROX-CO). The catalysts were prepared by deposition-precipitation (DEP) and co-precipitation (COP) methods and the catalytic performance reveals that the preparation method influences the properties of solids prepared, where a direct consequence is the difference in behavior of the catalysts in the PROX-CO reaction. A high specific area and a better dispersion of the metallic phase were obtained in the catalyst prepared by co-precipitation. The redox properties during the reaction were reported by measures of temperature programmed reduction (TPR), OSC measurements and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES-TPR) in situ showed the relationship between the preparation method, the physicochemical characteristics and redox properties in the PROX-CO reaction. By this means, the good dispersion of CuO and the best oxygen capacity are the response of the high performance of CuO/CeO2-COP catalysts for the PROX-CO reaction. Crown Copyright (c) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

RHYTHM-AF: design of an international registry on cardioversion of atrial fibrillation and characteristics of participating centers

Background: Atrial fibrillation is a serious public health problem posing a considerable burden to not only patients, but the healthcare environment due to high rates of morbidity, mortality, and medical resource utilization. There are limited data on the variation in treatment practice patterns across different countries, healthcare settings and the associated health outcomes. Methods/design: RHYTHM-AF was a prospective observational multinational study of management of recent onset atrial fibrillation patients considered for cardioversion designed to collect data on international treatment patterns and short term outcomes related to cardioversion. We present data collected in 10 countries between May 2010 and June 2011. Enrollment was ongoing in Italy and Brazil at the time of data analysis. Data were collected at the time of atrial fibrillation episode in all countries (Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom), and cumulative follow-up data were collected at day 60 (+/- 10) in all but Spain. Information on center characteristics, enrollment data, patient demographics, detail of atrial fibrillation episode, medical history, diagnostic procedures, acute treatment of atrial fibrillation, discharge information and the follow-up data on major events and rehospitalizations up to day 60 were collected. Discussion: A total of 3940 patients were enrolled from 175 acute care centers. 70.5% of the centers were either academic (44%) or teaching (26%) hospitals with an overall median capacity of 510 beds. The sites were mostly specialized with anticoagulation clinics (65.9%), heart failure (75.1%) and hypertension clinics (60.1%) available. The RHYTHM-AF registry will provide insight into regional variability of antiarrhythmic and antithrombotic treatment of atrial fibrillation, the appropriateness of such treatments with respect to outcomes, and their cost-efficacy. Observations will help inform strategies to improve cardiovascular outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation.