Influence of ageing, heat shock treatment and in vivo total antioxidant status on gene-expression profile and protein synthesis in human peripheral lymphocytes

Ageing results in a progressive, intrinsic and generalised imbalance of the control of regulatory systems. A key manifestation of this complex biological process includes the attenuation of the universal stress response. Here we provide the first global assessment of the ageing process as it affects the heat shock response, utilising human peripheral lymphocytes and cDNA microarray analysis. The genomic approach employed in our preliminary study was supplemented with a proteomic approach. In addition, the current study correlates the in vivo total antioxidant status with the age-related differential gene expression as well as the translational kinetics of heat shock proteins (hsps). Most of the genes encoding stress response proteins on the 4224 element microarray used in this study were significantly elevated after heat shock treatment of lymphocytes obtained from both young and old individuals albeit to a greater extent in the young. Cell signaling and signal transduction genes as well as some oxidoreductases showed varied response. Results from translational kinetics of induction of major hsps, from 0 to 24 It recovery period were broadly consistent with the differential expression of HSC 70 and HSP 40 genes. Total antioxidant levels in plasma from old individuals were found to be significantly lower by comparison with young, in agreement with the widely acknowledged role of oxidant homeostasis in the ageing process. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of bioelectrical impedance analysis for the prediction of total body water in cystic fibrosis

The aim of this study was to compare the measurement of total body water (TBW) by deuterium ((H2O)-H-2) dilution and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and healthy controls. Thirty-six clinically stable patients with CF (age 25.4 +/- 5.6 yrs) and 42 healthy controls (age 25.4 +/- 4.8) were recruited into this study. TBW was measured by (H2O)-H-2 dilution and predicted by BIA in patients and controls. The TBW predicted from BIA was significantly different from TBW as measured using (H2O)-H-2 in patients (P

Total energy expenditure and body composition changes following peripheral blood stem cell transplantation and participation in an exercise programme

The purpose of this investigation was to assess changes in total energy expenditure (TEE), body weight (BW) and body composition following a peripheral blood stem cell transplant and following participation in a 3-month duration, moderate-intensity, mixed-type exercise programme. The doubly labelled and singly labelled water methods were used to measure TEE and total body water (TBW). Body weight and TBW were then used to calculate percentage body fat (%BF), and fat and fat-free mass (FFM). TEE and body composition measures were assessed pretransplant (PI), immediately post-transplant (PII) and 3 months post-PII (PIII). Following PII, 12 patients were divided equally into a control group (CG) or exercise intervention group (EG). While there was no change in TEE between pre- and post-transplant, BW (P

Calculation of bound and resonance states of HO2 for nonzero total angular momentum

Bound and resonance states of HO2 have been calculated quantum mechanically by the Lanczos homogeneous filter diagonalization method [Zhang and Smith, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 3, 2282 (2001); J. Chem. Phys. 115, 5751 (2001)] for nonzero total angular momentum J = 1,2,3. For lower bound states, agreement between the results in this paper and previous work is quite satisfactory; while for high lying bound states and resonances these are the first reported results. A helicity quantum number V assignment (within the helicity conserving approximation) is performed and the results indicate that for lower bound states it is possible to assign the V quantum numbers unambiguously, but for resonances it is impossible to assign the V helicity quantum numbers due to strong mixing. In fact, for the high-lying bound states, the mixing has already appeared. These results indicate that the helicity conserving approximation is not good for the resonance state calculations and exact quantum calculations are needed to accurately describe the reaction dynamics for HO2 system. Analysis of the resonance widths shows that most of the resonances are overlapping and the interferences between them lead to large fluctuations from one resonance to another. In accord with the conclusions from earlier J = 0 calculations, this indicates that the dissociation of HO2 is essentially irregular. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.

Centile reference for total energy expenditure in infants from 1 to 12 months

Background: A knowledge of energy expenditure in infancy is required for the estimation of recommended daily amounts of food energy, for designing artificial infant feeds, and as a reference standard for studies of energy metabolism in disease states. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to construct centile reference charts for total energy expenditure (TEE) in infants across the first year of life. Methods: Repeated measures of TEE using the doubly labeled water technique were made in 162 infants at 1.5, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. In total, 322 TEE measurements were obtained. The LMS method with maximum penalized likelihood was used to construct the centile reference charts. Centiles were constructed for TEE expressed as MJ/day and also expressed relative to body weight (BW) and fat-free mass (FFM). Results: TEE increased with age and was 1.40,1.86, 2.64, 3.07 and 3.65 MJ/day at 1.5, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, respectively. The standard deviations were 0.43, 0.47, 0.52, 0.66 and 0.88, respectively. TEE in MJ/kg increased from 0.29 to 0.36 and in MJ/day/kg FFM from 0.36 to 0.48. Conclusions: We have presented centile reference charts for TEE expressed as MJ/day and expressed relative to BW and FFM in infants across the first year of life. There was a wide variation or biological scatter in TEE values seen at all ages. We suggest that these centile charts may be used to assess and possibly quantify abnormal energy metabolism in disease states in infants.

Measured and predicted total body water in children with myelomeningocele

Objective: Children with myelomeningocele (MMC) have an altered body composition and an atypical distribution of total body water (TBW). The aim of the present study was to determine the accuracy of current predictive equations, based on bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), in determining TBW when compared with measured TBW using deuterium dilution. Methods: Fourteen children with MMC were measured for whole body BIA and TBW (using deuterium dilution and the Plateau method). Total body water was predicted using equations based on the resistance and characteristic frequency from BIA measurements and heights of subjects. Results: The mean measured TBW was 15.46 +/- 8.28 L and the mean predictions for TBW using equations based on the resistance and characteristic frequency from BIA measurements and heights of subjects were 18.29 +/- 8.41 L, 17.72 +/- 11.42 L and 12.51 +/- 7.59 L, respectively. The best correlation was found using characteristic frequency. The limits of agreement between measured and predicted TBW values using Bland-Altman analysis were large. Conclusions: The present study suggests that the prediction of TBW in children with MMC can be made accurately using the equation of Cornish et al . based on BIA measurements of characteristic frequency.

Gerenciamento da qualidade total do INSS

A experi??ncia por n??s vivenciada no projeto piloto de Gerenciamento pela Qualidade Total, refor??a positivamente a nossa convic????o de que ?? poss??vel implementar esta mudan??a de cultura no SERVI??O P??BLICO, expandindo o projeto, por etapas, em todo o pa??s. Que esta mudan??a ?? centrada nas pessoas e que depende fundamentalmente do estabelecimento de uma VIS??O COMUM de Institui????o, de uma lideran??a que conquiste o comprometimento dos servidores e que crie espa??o para a valoriza????o das pessoas e o reconhecimento aos resultados atingidos

Programa de incentivo ?? produtividade e ?? qualidade total

A Ag??ncia da Receita Federal (ARF) Centro-Norte do Rio de Janeiro, a maior do Brasil, era conhecida, ao final de 1995, como ???ARF Inferno???. Os funcion??rios s?? atuavam a partir da cobran??a direta dos chefes de se????o. Estes ficavam sobrecarregados, executando tarefas que cabiam aos seus funcion??rios ??? e deixavam de gerenciar adequadamente suas se????es. A busca de solu????es come??ou pelo hor??rio de trabalho e de atendimento ao p??blico da ag??ncia, que foi mudado de 10:00 ??s 16:30 horas para de 07:00 ??s 19:00 horas, no sistema de turnos interpenetrantes, com hor??rio corrido de 6 horas. Este sistema ficava vinculado ao aumento de produtividade, efic??cia e qualidade do servi??o. Foi instalado um programa de controle eletr??nico do ponto, no qual cada funcion??rio digita sua senha secreta ao entrar e sair do trabalho. Em atendimentos como conta-corrente, foram criadas duplas de funcion??rios para dividir a responsabilidade pela produ????o. Constata-se acentuada satisfa????o da clientela. Os funcion??rios se tornaram mais produtivos, respons??veis e disciplinados e exibem orgulho e satisfa????o com o trabalho. A ag??ncia se tornou modelo para outras. Ocorreu um aprendizado no sentido de que ?? poss??vel fazer muito com poucos recursos, e de que as a????es de mudan??as devem ser adotadas com rapidez, para inibir as rea????es contr??rias e criar a predisposi????o favor??vel a uma transforma????o radical

Sistema de Gest??o da Gera????o Interligada da Superintend??ncia de Gera????o Hidr??ulica (OGH): Modelo de Excel??ncia da Gest??o (MEG) Integrado ?? Manuten????o Produtiva Total (TPM)

Com os crescentes n??veis de competitividade do mercado, ?? preciso inovar no modelo organizacional. Para isso, a Superintend??ncia de Gera????o Hidr??ulica, uma unidade aut??noma da Eletrobras Eletronorte que tem como seu principal produto a energia el??trica produzida hidraulicamente, visando a se manter competitiva, inovou no seu modelo de gest??o, por meio da integra????o de duas metodologias; Modelo de Excel??ncia da Gest??o (MEG), da Funda????o Nacional da Qualidade, e a Manuten????o Produtiva Total (TPM), da Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance (JIPM). Este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar a integra????o das metodologias, que visou a fortalecer a gest??o da organiza????o e com isso melhorar o seu desempenho. Com a implementa????o do Novo Sistema de Gest??o da Gera????o Interligada, foi poss??vel notar uma melhoria significativa no sistema de gest??o da empresa, evidenciada pelos resultados alcan??ados

Rela????o indiv??duo e institui????o total: socializa????o, controles e coes??o internos em uma organiza????o policial

O artigo analisa os resultados de uma pesquisa realizada com 1.322 indiv??duos pertencentes ?? Pol??cia Militar de Minas Gerais. ?? luz das discuss??es de Goffman, Foulcalt e Etzioni, buscou-se verificar a inser????o dos servidores na institui????o, sua percep????o quanto ao aparato de controle institucional e os conflitos resultantes da intera????o entre superior e subordinado. Concluiu-se que reformas ocorridas ap??s a eclos??o de greve na institui????o em 1997 ainda s??o t??midas diante do aparato de socializa????o existente e do distanciamento entre oficiais e pra??as. Assim, ?? necess??ria a revis??o dos mecanismos de socializa????o e coer????o, para que a organiza????o policial avance na consecu????o de seus objetivos e d?? respostas efetivas ??s necessidades dos atores envolvidos, a si pr??pria e ?? sociedade.

Influence of renal denervation on blood pressure, sodium and water excretion in acute total obstructive apnea in rats

Obstructive apnea (OA) can exert significant effects on renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) and hemodynamic parameters. The present study focuses on the modulatory actions of RSNA on OA-induced sodium and water retention. The experiments were performed in renal-denervated rats (D; N = 9), which were compared to sham (S; N = 9) rats. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were assessed via an intrafemoral catheter. A catheter was inserted into the bladder for urinary measurements. OA episodes were induced via occlusion of the catheter inserted into the trachea. After an equilibration period, OA was induced for 20 s every 2 min and the changes in urine, MAP, HR and RSNA were recorded. Renal denervation did not alter resting MAP (S: 113 ± 4 vs D: 115 ± 4 mmHg) or HR (S: 340 ± 12 vs D: 368 ± 11 bpm). An OA episode resulted in decreased HR and MAP in both groups, but D rats showed exacerbated hypotension and attenuated bradycardia (S: -12 ± 1 mmHg and -16 ± 2 bpm vs D: -16 ± 1 mmHg and 9 ± 2 bpm; P < 0.01). The basal urinary parameters did not change during or after OA in S rats. However, D rats showed significant increases both during and after OA. Renal sympathetic nerve activity in S rats increased (34 ± 9%) during apnea episodes. These results indicate that renal denervation induces elevations of sodium content and urine volume and alters bradycardia and hypotension patterns during total OA in unconscious rats.

Estudo da Influência do Número de Acidez Total e Teor de Enxofre Total nas Frações Destiladas no Processo de Corrosão em Aços do Tipo AISI 1020 e AISI 316

Os danos causados pelos processos corrosivos em equipamentos presentes nas refinarias de petróleo, durante as destilações, foram descritos inicialmente em 1920. Inúmeras são as referências reportando estudos de processos corrosivos envolvendo tanto os ácidos naftênicos como os compostos sulfurados; em contrapartida, raras são as fontes de estudo envolvendo simultaneamente ambos. Neste trabalho, escolheram-se dois tipos de óleos: um óleo A - com alto teor de enxofre e um petróleo B com elevada acidez. Fez-se então um blend 50/50 em volume obtendo assim o óleo C para verificar a influência tanto da acidez quanto dos teores de enxofre nos processos corrosivos pelos cortes destes óleos. Após a destilação das três amostras, os derivados obtidos foram caracterizados e submetidos aos testes laboratoriais de corrosão. Os cortes do petróleo A apresentaram teores de enxofre e taxas de corrosão crescentes em função do aumento da temperatura final dos derivados, apresentando uma corrosão máxima de 1,66 mm/ano e produtos de corrosão como troilita (FeS) e pirrota (Fe1-xS). As frações de B apresentaram altos valores de NAT na faixa de temperatura de 220-400 °C, enquanto as taxas de corrosão foram de 0,83 mm/ano para esta faixa de temperatura; os produtos de corrosão encontrados foram o óxido de ferro (Fe2O3) e goetite (α-FeOOH). Por fim, os derivados do blend C, apresentaram propriedades intermediárias aos cortes anteriores o que corroborou para taxas de corrosão menores de 0,50 mm/ano até uma temperatura de 300 °C, expondo assim, a eficiência em utilizar a técnica de misturas de petróleos para o refino.