Chagas disease in the State of Amazonas: history, epidemiological evolution, risks of endemicity and future perspectives

Chagas disease (CD) is a parasitic infection that originated in the Americas and is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. In the last few years, the disease has spread to countries in North America, Asia and Europe due to the migration of Latin Americans. In the Brazilian Amazon, CD has an endemic transmission, especially in the Rio Negro region, where an occupational hazard was described for piaçaveiros (piassaba gatherers). In the State of Amazonas, the first chagasic infection was reported in 1977, and the first acute CD case was recorded in 1980. After initiatives to integrate acute CD diagnostics with the malaria laboratories network, reports of acute CD cases have increased. Most of these cases are associated with oral transmission by the consumption of contaminated food. Chronic cases have also been diagnosed, mostly in the indeterminate form. These cases were detected by serological surveys in cardiologic outpatient clinics and during blood donor screening. Considering that the control mechanisms adopted in Brazil's classic transmission areas are not fully applicable in the Amazon, it is important to understand the disease behavior in this region, both in the acute and chronic cases. Therefore, the pursuit of control measures for the Amazon region should be a priority given that CD represents a challenge to preserving the way of life of the Amazon's inhabitants.

Enhancement of adhesion and promotion of osteogenic differentiation of human adipose stem cells by poled electroactive poly(vinylidene fluoride)

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is a biocompatible material with excellent electroactive properties. Non-electroactive α-PVDF and electroactive β-PVDF were used to investigate the substrate polarization and polarity influence on the focal adhesion size and number as well as on human adipose stem cells (hASCs) differentiation. hASCs were cultured on different PVDF surfaces adsorbed with fibronectin and focal adhesion size and number, total adhesion area, cell size, cell aspect ratio and focal adhesion density were estimated using cells expressing EGFP-vinculin. Osteogenic differentiation was also determined using a quantitative alkaline phosphatase assay. The surface charge of the poled PVDF films (positive or negative) influenced the hydrophobicity of the samples, leading to variations in the conformation of adsorbed extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, which ultimately modulated the stem cell adhesion on the films and induced their osteogenic differentiation.

Brazilian norms for the International Affective Picture System (IAPS): comparison of the affective ratings for new stimuli between Brazilian and North-American subjects

OBJECTIVE: The study presents the Brazilian norms for 240 new stimuli from International Affective Picture System (IAPS), a database of affective images widely used in research, compared to the North-American normative ratings. METHODS: The participants were 448 Brazilian university students from several courses (269 women and 179 men) with mean age of 24.2 (SD = 7.8), that evaluated the IAPS pictures in the valence, arousal and dominance dimensions by the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) scales. Data were compared across the populations by Pearson linear correlation and Student's t-tests. RESULTS: Correlations were highly significant for all dimensions; however, Brazilians' averages for arousal were higher than North-Americans'. CONCLUSIONS: The results show stability in relation to the first part of the Brazilian standardization and they are also consistent with the North-American standards, despite minor differences relating to interpretation of the arousal dimension, demonstrating that IAPS is a reliable instrument for experimental studies in the Brazilian population.

Nobel Prizes: Contributions to Cardiology

The Nobel Prize was created by Alfred Nobel. The first prize was awarded in 1901 and Emil Adolf von Behring was the first laureate in medicine due to his research in diphtheria serum. Regarding cardiology, Nobel Prize’s history permits a global comprehension of progress in pathophysiology, diagnosis and therapeutics of various cardiac diseases in last 120 years. The objective of this study was to review the major scientific discoveries contemplated by Nobel Prizes that contributed to cardiology. In addition, we also hypothesized why Carlos Chagas, one of our most important scientists, did not win the prize in two occasions. We carried out a non-systematic review of Nobel Prize winners, selecting the main studies relevant to heart diseaseamong the laureates. In the period between 1901 and 2013, 204 researches and 104 prizes were awarded in Nobel Prize, of which 16 (15%) studies were important for cardiovascular area. There were 33 (16%) laureates, and two (6%) were women. Fourteen (42%) were American, 15 (45%) Europeans and four (13%) were from other countries. There was only one winner born in Brazil, Peter Medawar, whose career was all in England. Reviewing the history of the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine area made possible to identify which researchers and studies had contributed to advances in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Most winners were North Americans and Europeans, and male.

Meddelanden af Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica.

Haft. 28 (1901-1902)

Meddelanden af Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica.

Haft. 19 (1893)

Meddelanden af Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica.

Haft. 27 (1900-1901)

Meddelanden af Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica.

Haft. 23 (1896-1897)

Meddelanden af Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica.

Haft. 25 (1898-1899)

Meddelanden af Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica.

Haft. 29 (1902-1903)

Meddelanden af Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica.

Haft. 37 (1910-1911)

Meddelanden af Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica.

Haft. 24 (1897-1898)

Meddelanden af Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica.

Haft. 26 (1899-1900)

Meddelanden af Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica.

Haft. 35 (1908-1909)

Meddelanden af Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica.

Haft. 34 (1907-1908)