Variação espacial e temporal da irradiância solar e da razão entre vermelho e vermelho - extremo que chegam ao solo em diferentes microhabitats na região de Tucuruí - PA

RESUMOEste trabalho visa preliminarmente estudar a irradiância total entre 300 e 1100 nm, assim como a razão vermelho-vermelho extremo que chegam ao solo de um trecho de floresta primária e de uma clareira. As áreas selecionadas estão localizadas numa região próxima a cidade de Tucurui, Estado do Pará, Brasil.

Associação entre a razão cintura-estatura e hipertensão e síndrome metabólica: estudo de base populacional

FUNDAMENTO: Hipertensão e síndrome metabólica são fatores de risco cardiovascular associados com o aumento da adiposidade. Em um estudo anterior, a razão cintura-estatura (RCE) foi identificada como o melhor índice de obesidade associado com hipertrofia do ventrículo esquerdo. OBJETIVO: Comparar a capacidade desse índice na identificação da hipertensão e síndrome metabólica com outros índices de obesidade (índice de massa corporal - IMC; circunferência da cintura - CC e razão cintura-quadril - RCQ) através da análise de curvas ROC (receiver operator characteristics). MÉTODOS: 1.655 (45,8% homens) participantes do Projeto MONICA-WHO/Vitória, com idade média de 45 ± 11 anos foram investigados. A prevalência de síndrome metabólica (critérios ATP-III) foi de 32,9%, hipertensão de 42,4% e obesidade de 19,2%. RESULTADOS: Em relação à capacidade de identificar a hipertensão, houve uma superioridade significante da RCE em relação ao IMC e CC (p < 0,05), independentemente do sexo, mas não em relação à RCQ (p > 0,05). Em relação à capacidade de identificar a síndrome metabólica, houve uma superioridade significante da RCE em relação à RCQ em homens (p < 0,001), mas não em relação ao IMC e à CC (p = 0,16 e p = 0,9 respectivamente). Entretanto, em mulheres, a RCE foi significativamente superior em relação à RCQ (p < 0,001) e IMC (p = 0,025), mas não em relação à CC (p = 0,8). Os pontos de corte são 0,52 e 0,53 para hipertensão e 0,53 e 0,54 para síndrome metabólica, para homens e mulheres, respectivamente. CONCLUSÃO: A obesidade abdominal identificada pela RCE, ao invés da obesidade geral identificada pelo IMC, é o índice mais simples e melhor aplicável, associado à hipertensão e síndrome metabólica, em nossa população.

New solutions for an old challenge : chances and limitations of optical, non-invasive acquisition and digital processing techniques for the age estimation of latent fingerprints

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Informatik, Diss., 2014

Gamma Knife radiosurgery after previous microvascular decompression decreases the chances of pain free in classical trigeminal neuralgia

Purpose: To evaluate the safety-efficacy of Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) as a second treatment for classical trigeminal neuralgia (CTN), and the influence of prior microvascular decompression (MVD). Methods: Between July 1992 and November 2010, 737 patients have been operated with GKRS for ITN and prospectively evaluated in Timone University Hospital in Marseille, France. Among these, 54 patients had a previous history of MVD. Radiosurgery using a Gamma Knife (model B or C or Perfexion) was performed on the basis of on both MR and CT targeting. A single 4 mm isocenter was positioned in the cisternal portion of the trigeminal nerve at a median distance of 7.6 mm (range 3.9-11.9) anteriorly to the emergence of the nerve (retrogasserian target). A median maximum dose of 85 Gy (range 70-90) was delivered. Here, the 45 patients with previous MVD and a follow-up longer than one year are evaluated (the patients with megadolichobasilar artery compression and multiple sclerosis were excluded). Results: The median age in this series was 56.75 years (range 28.09-82.39). The median follow-up period was 39.48 months (range 14.10-144.65). All the patients had a past history of surgery, with at least one previous failed MVD, but also radiofrequency lesion (RFL) in 16 patients (35.6%), balloon microcompression in 7 (15.6%) and glycerol rhizotomy in 1 (2.2%). Thirty-five patients (77.8%) were initially pain free after GKS within a median time of 14 days (range 0, 180). Patients from this group had less probability of being pain free compared to our global population of essential trigeminal neuralgia without previous MVD history (p=0.010, hazard ratio of 0.64). Their probability of remaining pain free at 3, 5, 7 and 10 years was 66.5%, 59.1%, 59.1% and 44.3%, respectively. Twelve patients (34.3%) initially pain free experienced a recurrence with a median delay of 31.21 months (range 3.40-89.93). The hypoesthesia actuarial rate at 1 year was 9.1% and remained stable till 12 years with a median delay of onset of 8 months (range 8-8). Conclusions: Retrogasserian GKS proofed to be safe and effective on the long-term basis even after failed previous MVD. Even if the initial result of pain free was only 77.8%, the toxicity was low with only 9.1% hypoesthesia. No patient reported a bothersome hypoesthesia. The probability of maintaining pain relief in the long-term was of 44.3% at 10 years.

Chances and risks of nanomaterials for health and environment

Nanomaterials have properties that are often very different from normal materials made of the same substance, which can be used to create novel products with exciting properties. However, the health and environmental impact of these nanomaterials is also changed and their potential risk needs to be studied. There is evidence that some nanomaterials can pass through tissue barriers (including the blood-brain barrier) and cell membranes. This is interesting for medical applications, but it raises concerns about the impact of non-medical nanomaterials. Current research aims at better coordinating research efforts and at better communication between researchers and involved stakeholders. Many research labs and production sites currently follow strategies that were established for dealing with very toxic chemicals and powders, until future research in this field helps identify the appropriate level of protection. All these efforts will ultimately ensure a safe, healthy and environmental friendly production, use and disposal of nanomaterials.

The Tightness of the Cotton Swabs Meshing Influences the Chances of Getting Conclusive DNA Profiles

Objective: The chance of obtaining a conclusive DNA profile strongly depends on the quantity of biological material that can be recovered from a crime scene sample. Optimizing the collection strategy is therefore of prime interest. A difference in the level of tightness of the cotton meshed around the shaft has been observed between manufacturers and is hypothesized to affect the collection and subsequent release capacity of cotton swabs. Consequently, we compared the performance of cotton swabs from two different suppliers: Applimed SA and DryswabTM. Methods: These swabs were used to recover 50 ml of blood, either pure or diluted (1:1000 and 1:5000), deposited on both smooth and absorbent surfaces. Performance was compared in terms of ease of use, concentration of extracted DNA, and quality of DNA profiles. DNA quantification was obtained by real-time PCR using the QuantifilerTM Human DNA Quantification Kit. Evaluation of DNA profiles was based on profiles obtained using AmpFlSTR® NGM SElectTM PCR Amplification kit. Results: When considering smooth surfaces, recovered DNA was more concentrated when using the DryswabTM than the Applimed SA cotton swab. More precisely, DNA concentrations ranged from 15.7 to 28.8 ng/ml and 6.7 to 21.2 ng/ml, respectively for samples of pure blood. The same trend was observed for the absorbent surface, with 2.0 to 5.0 ng/ml and 0.9 to 1.4 ng/ml, respectively. Conclusion: Our results illustrate that different cotton swabs produce different results in terms of ease of use and quantity of recovered DNA and this should be taken into consideration when choosing which swab to use at both the crime scene and laboratory. More specifically, results from the present study suggest that looser meshing of the cotton fibres

Avoiding transcription factor competition at promoter level increases the chances of obtaining oscillations

Background: The ultimate goal of synthetic biology is the conception and construction of genetic circuits that are reliable with respect to their designed function (e.g. oscillators, switches). This task remains still to be attained due to the inherent synergy of the biological building blocks and to an insufficient feedback between experiments and mathematical models. Nevertheless, the progress in these directions has been substantial. Results: It has been emphasized in the literature that the architecture of a genetic oscillator must include positive (activating) and negative (inhibiting) genetic interactions in order to yield robust oscillations. Our results point out that the oscillatory capacity is not only affected by the interaction polarity but by how it is implemented at promoter level. For a chosen oscillator architecture, we show by means of numerical simulations that the existence or lack of competition between activator and inhibitor at promoter level affects the probability of producing oscillations and also leaves characteristic fingerprints on the associated period/amplitude features. Conclusions: In comparison with non-competitive binding at promoters, competition drastically reduces the region of the parameters space characterized by oscillatory solutions. Moreover, while competition leads to pulse-like oscillations with long-tail distribution in period and amplitude for various parameters or noisy conditions, the non-competitive scenario shows a characteristic frequency and confined amplitude values. Our study also situates the competition mechanism in the context of existing genetic oscillators, with emphasis on the Atkinson oscillator.

Risco de lesões em motociclistas nas ocorrências de trânsito

Este estudo teve como objetivo identificar entre os motociclistas envolvidos em ocorrências de trânsito fatores associados ao risco de lesões. No ano de 2004, foram identificados, em Maringá-PR, um total de 2.362 motociclistas envolvidos em ocorrências de trânsito com registro nos boletins da Polícia Militar. Para identificar os fatores associados à presença de lesão, foi utilizada a análise multivariada. Uma probabilidade, significantemente mais elevada de motociclistas se ferirem, foi observada entre aqueles envolvidos em colisão (Odds Ratio = 11,19) e quedas (Odds Ratio = 3,81); para o sexo feminino, a razão de chance estimada foi em torno de 4, e aqueles que estiveram envolvidos em ocorrências com até dois veículos, mostraram 2,63 vezes mais chances de apresentar lesões que os demais. Mulheres, envolvidas em ocorrências com motocicleta do tipo quedas e colisões com até dois veículos destacaram-se como grupo de risco para apresentar lesões.