Method for determining reaction rate of mild steel containers during melting of magnesium-aluminium alloys and effect of aluminium content on directionally solidified microstructures

A magnesium alloy of eutectic composition (33 wt-'%Al) was directionally solidified in mild steel tubes at two growth rates, 32 and 580 mum s(-1,) in a temperature gradient between 10 and 20 K mm(-1). After directional solidification, the composition of each specimen varied dramatically, from 32'%Al in the region that had remained solid to 18%Al (32 mum s(-1) specimen) and 13%Al (580 mum s(-1) specimen) at the plane that had been quenched from the eutectic temperature. As the aluminium content decreased, the microstructure contained an increasing volume fraction of primary magnesium dendrites and the eutectic morphology gradually changed from lamellar to partially divorced. The reduction in aluminium content was caused by the growth of an Al-Fe phase ahead of the Mg-Al growth front. Most of the growth of the Al-Fe phase occurred during the remelting period before directional solidification. The thickness of the Al-Fe phase increased with increased temperature and time of contact with the molten Mg-Al alloy. (C) 2003 Maney Publishing.

Familial aggregation of human infection with Schistosoma japonicum in the Poyang Lake region, China

Despite the success of extensive control measures that have been implemented in China for over 50 years, the number of individuals infected with Schistosoma japonicum remains high in the existing endemic areas. A variance components analysis was undertaken to estimate the heritable and environmental components that contribute to S. japonicum infection in the Poyang Lake region of Jiangxi Province, PR China. The total target population was 3148 from four separate administrative villages. Two thousand seven hundred and five of these comprised 400 families ranging in size from 3 to 188. After adjustments were made for gender, water contact and past history of having had schistosomiasis, the heritable component was estimated to account for as much as 58% of the phenotype variation under the polygenic model. Household was not shown to be an important environmental factor. Incorporating village effects indicated that the results were valid for the total population. We conclude that genetic heritability in this region is high and plays an important role in determining risk of infection with S. japonicum. (c) 2005 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gene mapping and expression analysis of 16q loss of heterozygosity identifies WWOX and CYLD as being important in determining clinical outcome in multiple myeloma.

We performed fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) for 16q23 abnormalities in 861 patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma and identified deletion of 16q [del(16q)] in 19.5%. In 467 cases in which demographic and survival data were available, del(16q) was associated with a worse overall survival (OS). It was an independent prognostic marker and conferred additional adverse survival impact in cases with the known poor-risk cytogenetic factors t(4;14) and del(17p). Gene expression profiling and gene mapping using 500K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mapping arrays revealed loss of heterozygosity (LOH) involving 3 regions: the whole of 16q, a region centered on 16q12 (the location of CYLD), and a region centered on 16q23 (the location of the WW domain-containing oxidoreductase gene WWOX). CYLD is a negative regulator of the NF-kappaB pathway, and cases with low expression of CYLD were used to define a "low-CYLD signature." Cases with 16q LOH or t(14;16) had significantly reduced WWOX expression. WWOX, the site of the translocation breakpoint in t(14;16) cases, is a known tumor suppressor gene involved in apoptosis, and we were able to generate a "low-WWOX signature" defined by WWOX expression. These 2 genes and their corresponding pathways provide an important insight into the potential mechanisms by which 16q LOH confers poor prognosis.

MORPHOLOGICAL DIVERSITY OF MANGO GERMPLASM FROM THE UPPER ATHI RIVER REGION OF EASTERN KENYA: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON NON- FRUIT DESCRIPTORS

Phenotypic variation in plants can be evaluated by morphological characterization using visual attributes. Fruits have been the major descriptors for identification of different varieties of fruit crops. However, even in their absence, farmers, breeders and interested stakeholders require to distinguish between different mango varieties. This study aimed at determining diversity in mango germplasm from the Upper Athi River (UAR) and providing useful alternative descriptors for the identification of different mango varieties in the absence of fruits. A total of 20 International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) descriptors for mango were selected for use in the visual assessment of 98 mango accessions from 15 sites of the UAR region of eastern Kenya. Purposive sampling was used to identify farmers growing diverse varieties of mangoes. Evaluation of the descriptors was performed on-site and the data collected were then subjected to multivariate analysis including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster analysis, one- way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Chi square tests. Results classified the accessions into two major groups corresponding to indigenous and exotic varieties. The PCA showed the first six principal components accounting for 75.12% of the total variance. A strong and highly significant correlation was observed between the color of fully grown leaves, leaf blade width, leaf blade length and petiole length and also between the leaf attitude, color of young leaf, stem circumference, tree height, leaf margin, growth habit and fragrance. Useful descriptors for morphological evaluation were 14 out of the selected 20; however, ANOVA and Chi square test revealed that diversity in the accessions was majorly as a result of variations in color of young leaves, leaf attitude, leaf texture, growth habit, leaf blade length, leaf blade width and petiole length traits. These results reveal that mango germplasm in the UAR has significant diversity and that other morphological traits apart from fruits can be useful in morphological characterization of mango.

Hydrodynamism and its influence on the density of the decorator crab Microphrys bicornutus (Mithracidae) on intertidal rocky shores from a subtropical region

Hydrodynamism is an environmental stressor on marine communities with effects on populations of intertidal organisms. Microphrys bicornutus is a crab species associated with secondary substrates on rocky shores and little is known about its population dynamics and its relation to the shore hydrodynamics. The aim of this study is to describe the population structure of Microphrys bicornutus on intertidal rocky shores from the north coast of the São Paulo State, Brazil, and the influence of wave exposure on the density of this decorator crab. There was a greater density of M. bicornutus on sheltered than on exposed rocky shores, which is probably due to the hydrodynamic influence on M. bicornutus populations on rocky shores: directly ( by the physical stress caused by wave impact) and indirectly ( by determining the dominance of the secondary substrate) acting on the density of these crabs. Our results also suggest a vertical distribution of juveniles and adults, where the juveniles might be more abundant on the infralittoral fringe and, thus, more influenced by hydrodynamism than adults in the infralittoral.

Generalities of vertebrate responses to landscape composition and configuration gradients in a highly heterogeneous Mediterranean region

Aim To examine the distributional patterns of vertebrates (including birds, bats, carnivores and lagomorphs) along landscape composition and configuration gradients to better understand the effects of landscape modification on occurrence patterns at both species and community level. Location The region of Alentejo, a forest-dominated area of southern Portugal. Methods The study area was framed using 1647 hexagonal plots, each of 259 ha in size. Composition and configuration gradients were obtained for each plot by integrating the proportions of the main land cover types and their configuration patterns using multivariate analyses. Species-specific vertebrate responses were investigated using data from 75 plots in which carnivores, bats and lagomorphs were sampled, and from 135 plots in the case of birds. Community- level responses were investigated through changes in species richness and beta-diversity in 57 plots where all vertebrate groups were simultaneously sampled. At the species-level, an information-theoretic approach was used to determine the effects of landscape gradients on species’ responses. At the community level, Mantel tests were used to determine between-plot differences in species composition using the Sørensen dissimilarity index. Results We found that the occurrence patterns of most vertebrate species were best predicted by composition-related gradients, although configuration gradients were also frequently included in species-specific occurrence models. We also found a weak correlation between species richness and most landscape gradients suggesting a turnover in the identity of species, something that was corroborated by the stronger correlation between environmental gradients and beta-diversity measures. The amount of forest cover and landscape complexity (estimated as the heterogeneity in the size and number of land cover types) were the main composition and configuration gradients determining vertebrate responses at both species and community level. Main conclusions Our work contributes to a more refined understanding of the mechanisms underlying species distributional patterns in real-world human-modified landscapes. By uncovering generalities of species with multiple ecological requirements and by describing the entire landscape mosaic through landscape gradients, we also suggest that our work greatly helps to fill the gap between existing conceptual landscape models aimed to understand species distributional patterns in human-modified landscapes.

Clinical Consequences Of Tityus Bahiensis And Tityus Serrulatus Scorpion Stings In The Region Of Campinas, Southeastern Brazil.

Scorpion stings account for most envenomations by venomous animals in Brazil. A retrospective study (1994-2011) of the clinical consequences of Tityus scorpion stings in 1327 patients treated at a university hospital in Campinas, southeastern Brazil, is reported. The clinical classification, based on outcome, was: dry sting (no envenoming), class I (only local manifestations), class II (systemic manifestations), class III (life-threatening manifestations, such as shock and/or cardiac failure requiring inotropic/vasopressor agents, and/or respiratory failure), and fatal. The median patient age was 27 years (interquartile interval = 15-42 years). Scorpions were brought for identification in 47.2% of cases (Tityus bahiensis 27.7%; Tityus serrulatus 19.5%). Sting severity was classified and each accounted for the following percentage of cases: dry stings - 3.4%, class I - 79.6%, class II - 15.1%, class III - 1.8% and fatal - 0.1%. Pain was the primary local manifestation (95.5%). Systemic manifestations such as vomiting, agitation, sweating, dyspnea, bradycardia, tachycardia, tachypnea, somnolence/lethargy, cutaneous paleness, hypothermia and hypotension were detected in class II or class III + fatal groups, but were significantly more frequent in the latter group. Class III and fatal cases occurred only in children <15 years old, with scorpions being identified in 13/25 cases (T. serrulatus, n = 12; T. bahiensis, n = 1). Laboratory blood abnormalities (hyperglycemia, hypokalemia, leukocytosis, elevations in serum total CK, CK-MB and troponin T, bicarbonate consumption and an increase in base deficit and blood lactate), electrocardiographic changes (ST segment) and echocardiographic alterations (ventricular ejected fraction <54%) were frequently detected in class III patients. Seventeen patients developed pulmonary edema, 16 had cardiac failure and seven had cardiogenic shock. These results indicate that most scorpion stings involved only local manifestations, mainly pain; the greatest severity was associated with stings by T. serrulatus and in children <15 years old.

Genetic Diversity Of Giardia Duodenalis: Multilocus Genotyping Reveals Zoonotic Potential Between Clinical And Environmental Sources In A Metropolitan Region Of Brazil.

Giardia duodenalis is a flagellate protozoan that parasitizes humans and several other mammals. Protozoan contamination has been regularly documented at important environmental sites, although most of these studies were performed at the species level. There is a lack of studies that correlate environmental contamination and clinical infections in the same region. The aim of this study is to evaluate the genetic diversity of a set of clinical and environmental samples and to use the obtained data to characterize the genetic profile of the distribution of G. duodenalis and the potential for zoonotic transmission in a metropolitan region of Brazil. The genetic assemblages and subtypes of G. duodenalis isolates obtained from hospitals, a veterinary clinic, a day-care center and important environmental sites were determined via multilocus sequence-based genotyping using three unlinked gene loci. Cysts of Giardia were detected at all of the environmental sites. Mixed assemblages were detected in 25% of the total samples, and an elevated number of haplotypes was identified. The main haplotypes were shared among the groups, and new subtypes were identified at all loci. Ten multilocus genotypes were identified: 7 for assemblage A and 3 for assemblage B. There is persistent G. duodenalis contamination at important environmental sites in the city. The identified mixed assemblages likely represent mixed infections, suggesting high endemicity of Giardia in these hosts. Most Giardia isolates obtained in this study displayed zoonotic potential. The high degree of genetic diversity in the isolates obtained from both clinical and environmental samples suggests that multiple sources of infection are likely responsible for the detected contamination events. The finding that many multilocus genotypes (MLGs) and haplotypes are shared by different groups suggests that these sources of infection may be related and indicates that there is a notable risk of human infection caused by Giardia in this region.

Triatominae Survey (hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae) In The South-central Region Of The State Of Bahia, Brazil Between 2008 And 2013.

Triatomine surveillance in rural areas, artificial ecotypes, and natural ecotopes of the cities of Caturama, Ibipitanga, Macaúbas, and Seabra in the south-central region of the Brazilian state of Bahia was carried out between 2008 and 2013. Natural infection by Trypanosoma cruzi was evaluated in the specimens collected to monitor vectors of Chagas disease. A total of 1,357 specimens were collected, and four species were identified: Triatoma sordida (83%), Triatoma lenti (16.4%), Triatoma pseudomaculata (0.5%), and Panstrongylus geniculatus (0.1%). Triatoma sordida was found in four cities, only 0.7% in intradomiciliary environments. Triatoma lenti was found only in Macaúbas; 8.5% were found in intradomiciliary environments, 88.3% in peridomiciliary environments, and 3.1% in sylvatic environments. Natural infection by T. cruzi was 0.5% for T. sordida and 3.1% T. lenti. All of these cases were found in peridomiciliary environments of Macaúbas. As the results show, triatomines were found in intradomiciliary environments in three cities that were surveyed in the south-central region of the state of Bahia. Thus, an epidemiologic survey should be performed to avoid the risk of transmission to the population.

The C-terminal Region Of The Human P23 Chaperone Modulates Its Structure And Function.

The p23 protein is a chaperone widely involved in protein homeostasis, well known as an Hsp90 co-chaperone since it also controls the Hsp90 chaperone cycle. Human p23 includes a β-sheet domain, responsible for interacting with Hsp90; and a charged C-terminal region whose function is not clear, but seems to be natively unfolded. p23 can undergo caspase-dependent proteolytic cleavage to form p19 (p231-142), which is involved in apoptosis, while p23 has anti-apoptotic activity. To better elucidate the function of the human p23 C-terminal region, we studied comparatively the full-length human p23 and three C-terminal truncation mutants: p23₁₋₁₁₇; p23₁₋₁₃₁ and p23₁₋₁₄₂. Our data indicate that p23 and p19 have distinct characteristics, whereas the other two truncations behave similarly, with some differences to p23 and p19. We found that part of the C-terminal region can fold in an α-helix conformation and slightly contributes to p23 thermal-stability, suggesting that the C-terminal interacts with the β-sheet domain. As a whole, our results suggest that the C-terminal region of p23 is critical for its structure-function relationship. A mechanism where the human p23 C-terminal region behaves as an activation/inhibition module for different p23 activities is proposed.

Proposição de um método de análise de movimentos de jogadores de tênis de campo a partir de vídeos televisivos = : Proposition of a method for tennis players motion analysis on broadcast videos

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Fine needle aspiration biopsy in the oral cavity and head and neck region

The objective of the current study was to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of submucous nodules from the oral cavity and head and neck region as an auxiliary diagnostic tool. Fifty patients with nodule lesions in the oral cavity and the head and neck region were selected. All of them were submitted to FNAB and to either incisional or excisional biopsy. The diagnoses from the FNABs were compared with the biopsy diagnosis as the gold standard. All the cases of FNAB were analyzed by a single oral pathologist prior to the biopsy diagnosis. The results showed that the sensitivity of FNAB was 75%, its specificity was 96% and its accuracy was 58.8%. The false positive and false negative rates were 6.7% and 13.3%, respectively. The positive predictive value was 86% and the negative predictive value was 93%. The inconclusive rate was 16/50. FNAB displayed a high success rate for identifying both malignant and benign lesions, but a low accuracy for making a final diagnosis.

Detection of Brucella ovis in ovine from Paraíba State, in the Northeast region of Brazil

To determine the presence of Brucella ovis in ovine from Paraíba State, in the Northeast region of Brazil, 80 animals slaughtered in the public slaughterhouse of Patos city were used. Before slaughter, blood samples were collected by jugular venopuncture from each animal, and after slaughter, testicles, epidydimus and uterus were aseptically collected. For the serological diagnosis of B. ovis and B. abortus infections, the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) and Rose Bengal (RBT) tests were carried out, respectively. In addition, microbiological culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were performed on testicle, epidydimus and uterus samples. Six animals (7.5%) tested positive for the presence of B. ovis antibodies and all animals tested negative for the presence of B. abortus antibodies. One AGID-positive animal tested positive at uterine swab culture. PCR was able to amplify DNA of Brucella spp. from the pool of testicle, epidydimus and uterus samples from AGID-positive animals. This is the first report of isolation and detection of B. ovis DNA by PCR in ovine from the Northeast region of Brazil.

Association of polymorphisms at the ADIPOR1 regulatory region with type 2 diabetes and body mass index in a Brazilian population with European or African ancestry

Association studies between ADIPOR1 genetic variants and predisposition to type 2 diabetes (DM2) have provided contradictory results. We determined if two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP c.-8503G>A and SNP c.10225C>G) in regulatory regions of ADIPOR1 in 567 Brazilian individuals of European (EA; N = 443) or African (AfA; N = 124) ancestry from rural (quilombo remnants; N = 439) and urban (N = 567) areas. We detected a significant effect of ethnicity on the distribution of the allelic frequencies of both SNPs in these populations (EA: -8503A = 0.27; AfA: -8503A = 0.16; P = 0.001 and EA: 10225G = 0.35; AfA: 10225G = 0.51; P < 0.001). Neither of the polymorphisms were associated with DM2 in the case-control study in EA (SNP c.-8503G>A: DM2 group -8503A = 0.26; control group -8503A = 0.30; P = 0.14/SNP 10225C>G: DM2 group 10225G = 0.37; control group 10225G = 0.32; P = 0.40) and AfA populations (SNP c.-8503G>A: DM2 group -8503A = 0.16; control group -8503A = 0.15; P = 0.34/SNP 10225C>G: DM2 group 10225G = 0.51; control group 10225G = 0.52; P = 0.50). Similarly, none of the polymorphisms were associated with metabolic/anthropometric risk factors for DM2 in any of the three populations, except for HDL cholesterol, which was significantly higher in AfA heterozygotes (GC = 53.75 ± 17.26 mg/dL) than in homozygotes. We conclude that ADIPOR1 polymorphisms are unlikely to be major risk factors for DM2 or for metabolic/anthropometric measurements that represent risk factors for DM2 in populations of European and African ancestries.

A new species of the genus Pimelerodius Vanin from the Amazon Region, with notes on the geografic distribution of Pimelerodius motacilla (Boheman) (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Otidocephalini)

Pimelerodius punctiventris sp. nov. (type locality Brazil, Amazonas, Itacoatiara) is described and illustrated. The new taxon is compared with similar species, being distinguished from the other 12 known species of the genus by the presence of punctures in ventrite I. The available published key for identification of species of Pimelerodius is adapted to include the new species. A modification of the generic description of the aedeagus of Pimelerodius is provided, a necessity due to the differences observed in the aedeagus of the new species. The occurrence of P. motacilla (Boheman, 1843) in the Amazon Region, recorded in sympatry with P. punctiventris in Itacoatiara, AM, is discussed and confirmed, based on the study of 41 available specimens.