Relação fenotípica e genotípica entre isolados clínicos e ambientais de Candida spp em dois hospitais de São José do Rio Preto, SP

Pós-graduação em Microbiologia - IBILCE

Variabilidade genética de amostras de Salmonella Typhi isoladas de surto e de casos esporádicos ocorridos em Belém, Brasil

INTRODUÇÃO: Salmonella Typhi é o agente da febre tifóide (doença caracterizada por febre, cefaléia, mialgia, artralgia, diarréia ou constipação), cujo quadro pode se complicar e levar o paciente a óbito. No Brasil, a febre tifóide é endêmica nas regiões Norte e Nordeste, com surtos ocorridos nos meses de intenso calor. OBJETIVO: Analisar e comparar a variabilidade genética de S. Typhi isoladas de surto e casos esporádicos de febre tifóide ocorridos em determinado período na cidade de Belém (PA). MATERIAL E MÉTODOS: Foram analisadas 20 amostras de S. Typhi: 10 isoladas de um surto ocorrido no bairro do Guamá, Belém, entre os meses de dezembro/2005 e março/2006, e 10 de casos esporádicos ocorridos em diferentes localidades da mesma cidade e no mesmo período do surto. A caracterização genética foi realizada pela análise do perfil de macrorrestrição obtido pela enzima XbaI e definido por eletroforese em gel de campo pulsado (PFGE). RESULTADOS: A análise de XbaI-PFGE das amostras estudadas demonstrou uma similaridade genética de 83% a 100%. CONCLUSÃO: Este estudo pôde demonstrar a relação clonal das amostras S. Typhi causadoras de surto e de casos esporádicos de febre tifóide ocorridos na cidade de Belém no período de dezembro/2005 a março/2006.

Prevalence of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) clone harboring sfa gene in Brazil

Escherichia coli sfa+ strains isolated from poultry were serotyped and characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). Isolates collected from 12 Brazilian poultry farms mostly belonged to serogroup O6, followed by serogroups O2, O8, O21, O46, O78, O88, O106, O111, and O143. Virulence genes associated were: iuc 90%, fim 86% neuS 60%, hly 34%, tsh 28%, crl/csg 26%, iss 26%, pap 18%, and 14% cnf. Strains from the same farmpresented more than one genotypic pattern belonging to different profiles in AFLP. AFLP showed a clonal relation between Escherichia coli sfa+ serogroup O6. The virulence genes found in these strains reveal some similarity with extraintestinal E. coli (ExPEC), thus alerting for potential zoonotic risk.

Analysis of physiological data from the International Clonal Trial (CFC)

A range of physiological parameters (canopy light transmission, canopy shape, leaf size, flowering and flushing intensity) were measured from the International Clone Trial, typically over the course of two years. Data were collected from six locations, these being: Brazil, Ecuador, Trinidad, Venezuela, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Canopy shape varied significantly between clones, although it showed little variation between locations. Genotypic variation in leaf size was differentially affected by the growth location; such differences appeared to underlie a genotype by environment interaction in relation to canopy light transmission. Flushing data were recorded at monthly intervals over the course of a year. Within each location, a significant interaction was observed between genotype and time of year, suggesting that some genotypes respond to a greater extent than others to environmental stimuli. A similar interaction was observed for flowering data, where significant correlations were found between flowering intensity and temperature in Brazil and flowering intensity and rainfall in Côte d’Ivoire. The results demonstrate the need for local evaluation of cocoa clones and also suggest that the management practices for particular planting material may need to be fine-tuned to the location in which they are cultivated.

Review article : ecological approach in studying the relation of perception-action : review of the theoretical and empirical data

In daily activities people are using a number of available means for the achievement of balance, such as the use of hands and the co-ordination of balance. One of the approaches that explains this relationship between perception and action is the ecological theory that is based on the work of a) Bernstein (1967), who imposed the problem of ‘the degrees of freedom’, b) Gibson (1979), who referred to the theory of perception and the way which the information is received from the environment in order for a certain movement to be achieved, c) Newell (1986), who proposed that movement can derive from the interaction of the constraints that imposed from the environment and the organism and d) Kugler, Kelso and Turvey (1982), who showed the way which “the degrees of freedom” are connected and interact. According to the above mentioned theories, the development of movement co-ordination can result from the different constraints that imposed into the organism-environment system. The close relation between the environmental and organismic constraints, as well as their interaction is responsible for the movement system that will be activated. These constraints apart from shaping the co-ordination of specific movements can be a rate limiting factor, to a certain degree, in the acquisition and mastering of a new skill. This frame of work can be an essential tool for the study of catching an object (e.g., a ball). The importance of this study becomes obvious due to the fact that movements that involved in catching an object are representative of every day actions and characteristic of the interaction between perception and action.

Development of a controlled drinking self-efficacy scale and appraising its relation to alcohol dependence

There is no specific self-efficacy measure that has been developed primarily for problem drinkers seeking a moderation drinking goal. In this article, we report the factor structure of a 20-item Controlled Drinking Self-Efficacy Scale (CDSES; Sitharthan et al., 1996; Sitharthan et al., 1997). The results indicate that the CDSES is highly reliable, and the factor analysis using the full sample identified four factors: negative affect, positive mood/social context, frequency of drinking, and consumption quantity. A similar factor structure was obtained for the subsample of men. In contrast, only three factors emerged in the analysis of data on female participants. Compared to women, men had low self-efficacy to control their drinking in situations relating to positive mood/social context, and subjects with high alcohol dependence had low self-efficacy for situations relating to negative affect, social situations, and drinking less frequently. The CDSES can be a useful measure in treatment programs providing a moderation drinking goal.