Todo es posible, menos volar : Homo II

Fondo Margaritainés Restrepo

Correos : no es imposible la intervención recíproca : contestacón dada por el Administrador principal de Correos de Benavente don Antonio Diaz Herrera á la circular que la Direccion jeneral [sic] del ramo dirijió [sic] á todas las Administraciones principales en 1835 en consulta sobre la intervención recíproca de toda la correspondencia del Reino...

Mode of access: Internet.

A Presença da literatura em Crônicas de fim do milênio de Antonio Callado

Pós-graduação em Letras - IBILCE

Latina Super-heroines: Hot Tamales in Tights vs. Women Warriors, Wrestlers and Guerrilla Fighters of La Raza

The year 1977 saw the making of the first Latino superhero by a Latino artist. From the 1980s onwards it is also possible to find Latina super-heroines, whose number and complexity has kept increasing ever since. Yet, the representations of spandexed Latinas are still few. For that reason, the goal of this paper is, firstly, to gather a great number of Latina super-heroines and, secondly, to analyze the role that they have played in the history of American literature and art. More specifically, it aims at comparing the spandexed Latinas created by non-Latino/a artists and mainstream comic enterprises with the Latina super-heroines devised by Latino/a artists. The conclusion is that whereas the former tend to conceive heroines within the constraints of the logic of Girl Power, the latter choose to imbue their works with a more daring political content and to align their heroines with the ideologies of Feminism and Postcolonialism.

1a Revista Salud Pùblica. Facultad de Medicina. Año 2003

Primera revista de Salud Pùblica de la Maestria en Salud Publica de la Facultad de Medicina.

McCoy cell line as a possible model containing CD4+ receptors for the study of HIV-1 replication

Several studies have recently shown the use of recombinant rabies virus as potential vector-viral vaccine for HIV-1. The sequence homology between gp 120 and rabies virus glycoprotein has been reported. The McCoy cell line has therefore been used to show CD4+ or CD4+ like receptors. Samples of HIV-1 were isolated, when plasma of HIV-1 positive patients was inoculated in the McCoy cell line. The virus infection was then studied during successive virus passages. The proteins released in the extra cellular medium were checked for protein activity, by exposure to SDS Electrophoresis and blotting to nitro-cellulose filter, then reacting with sera of HIV positive and negative patients. Successive passages were performed, and showed viral replication, membrane permeabilization, the syncytium formation, and the cellular lysis (cytopathic effect). Flow cytometry analysis shows clear evidence that CD4+ receptors are present in this cell line, which enhances the likelihood of easy isolation and replication of HIV. The results observed allow the use of this cell line as a possible model for isolating HIV, as well as for carrying out studies of the dynamics of viral infection in several situations, including exposure to drugs in pharmacological studies, and possibly studies and analyses of the immune response in vaccine therapies.

Cholestasis in a murine experimental model: lesions include hepatocyte ischemic necrosis

OBJECTIVE: To establish a murine experimental model of bile duct obstruction that would enable controlled observations of the acute and subacute phases of cholestasis. METHODOLOGY: Adult male isogenic BALB/c mice underwent a bile duct ligation (22 animals) or a sham operation (10 animals). Fifteen days after surgery, or immediately after the animal's death, macroscopic findings were noted and histological study of the liver, biliary tree, and pancreas was performed (hematoxylin-eosin and Masson trichromic staining). RESULTS: Beginning 24 hours after surgery, all animals from the bile duct ligation group presented progressive generalized malaise. All animals presented jaundice in the parietal and visceral peritoneum, turgid and enlarged liver, and accentuated dilatation of gallbladder and common bile duct. Microscopic findings included marked dilatation and proliferation of bile ducts with accentuated collagen deposits, frequent areas of ischemic necrosis, hepatic microabscesses, and purulent cholangitis. Animals from the sham operation group presented no alterations. CONCLUSION: We established a murine experimental model of induced cholestasis, which made it possible to study acute and subacute tissue lesions. Our data suggests that in cholestasis, hepatic functional ischemia plays an important role in inducing hepatic lesions, and it also suggests that the infectious process is an important factor in morbidity and mortality.

Distribution of risk factors in parents and siblings of patients with early coronary artery disease

OBJECTIVE: Early coronary artery disease (CAD) is associated with risk factors (RF). Offspring of parents with a RF have a greater prevalence of them. However, the distribution of RF in parents and siblings of patients with early CAD is unknown. METHODS: The study comprised the parents and siblings of 42 patients with early CAD (< 45 years), 29 males. Their mean age was 39.5&plusmn;3.7 years. The following major RF were analyzed: smoking (> 5 cigarretes/day), hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterol > 200 mg/dL), hypertension (diastolic blood pressure > 90 mmHg), and diabetes (glycemia > 126 mg/dL). RESULTS: Of a total of 102 RF, 4, 3, 2, and 1 were observed in, respectively, 5, 15, 15, and 7 patients with early CAD, the most prevalent being smoking (86%) and hypercholesterolemia (83%). Diabetes was observed in 15 (36%) and hypertension in 16 (38%) patients. Smoking was more prevalent in the fathers (76%) and hypercholesterolemia in the mothers (30%). In 183 siblings, 131 RF were observed (1 patient with the disease had a mean of 4.7 siblings). The prevalences of smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes in the siblings were, respectively, 32%, 18%, 14%, and 9%. The incidence of RF was as follows: 72 (39%) siblings had 1 RF, 25 (14%) siblings had 2 RF, and 3 (2%) siblings had 3 RF. In parents and their offspring, smoking was moderately correlated (r=0.43; P=0.02) with CAD. CONCLUSION: Smoking habit of parents is passed on to offspring, and, in association with hypercholesterolemia, it was the major cause of early CAD in offspring. High prevalence of smoking in offspring shows the potential responsibility of parents in the incidence of the disease in offspring.

Coinfection with Mycoplasma Pneumoniae and Chlamydia Pneumoniae in ruptured plaques associated with acute myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVE: To study atheromas, Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae), and Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae). METHODS: C. pneumoniae was studied with immunohistochemistry and M. pneumoniae with in situ hybridization (ISH), in segments of coronary arteries (SCA) as follows: group A - thrombosed ruptured plaques (TRP) of 23 patients who died due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI); group B - 23 nonruptured plaques (NRP) of group A patients; group C - NRP of 11 coronary patients who did not die due to AMI; and group D - 11 SCA from patients with dilated cardiomyopathy or Chagas' disease without atherosclerosis. RESULTS: The mean number of C. pneumoniae+ cells/400x in groups A, B, C, and D was, respectively, 3.3±3.6; 1.0±1.3; 1.2±2.4; and 0.4±0.3; and the percentage of M. pneumoniae area was, respectively, 3.9±3.5; 1.5± 1.6; 0.9±0.9; and 0.4±0.2. More M. pneumoniae and C. pneumoniae were found in of group A than in group B (P<0.01). Good correlation was seen between the area of the vessel and the M. pneumoniae area in the plaque (r = 0.46; P=0.001) and between C. pneumoniae+ cells and CD4+ T lymphocytes (r = 0.42; P<0.01). The number of C. pneumoniae+ cells correlated with CD20+ B cells (r=0.48; P<0.01). CONCLUSION: M. pneumoniae and C. pneumoniae are more frequently found in TRP correlate with the intensity of the inflammation and diameter of the vessel (positive remodeling).

Coronary heart disease clinical manifestation and risk factors in Japanese immigrants and their descendents in the city of São Paulo

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether a difference exists in coronary heart disease clinical manifestations and the prevalence of risk factors between Japanese immigrants and their descendents in the city of São Paulo. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of coronary artery disease clinical manifestations and the prevalence of risk factors, comparing 128 Japanese immigrants (Japanese group) with 304 Japanese descendents (Nisei group). RESULTS: The initial manifestation of the disease was earlier in the Nisei group (mean = 53 years), a difference of 12 years when compared with that in the Japanese group (mean = 65 years) (P<0.001). Myocardial infarction was the first manifestation in both groups (P = 0.83). The following parameters were independently associated with early coronary events: smoking (OR = 2.25; 95% CI = 1.35-3.77; P<0.002); Nisei group (OR = 10.22; 95% CI = 5.64-18.5; P<0.001); and female sex (OR = 5.04; 95% CI = 2.66-9.52; P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The clinical presentation of coronary heart disease in the Japanese and their descendents in the city of São Paulo was similar, but coronary heart disease onset occurred approximately 12 years earlier in the Nisei group than in the Japanese group.

Right ventricular structure and function as possible determinants of surgical outcome 30 years after repair of tetralogy of Fallot

OBJECTIVE: To identify the variables that may be involved in the persistence of symptoms (functional class II, III, or IV vs. I) in patients being followed up for 30 years after surgical repair of tetralogy of Fallot. METHODS: Fifty-three patients (27 women), who underwent corrective surgery for tetralogy of Fallot between 1960 and 1970, were studied. Their ages ranged from 7 months to 26 years. At the end of follow-up, 13 patients were asymptomatic and the remaining were in functional class II (N=24), III (N=15), and IV (N=1). To differentiate asymptomatic from symptomatic patients, the following variables were analyzed: age at surgery, need for widening the pulmonary ring and trunk, need for a second (2nd OP) or 3rd operation, residual defect of the interventricular septum, residual regurgitation of the pulmonary valve, systolic gradient through the right ventricular outflow tract, right ventricular dilation or hypertrophy (RVH), cardiothoracic index (CTI), right and left ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF/LVEF), and arrhythmias. RESULTS: The univariate analysis showed an association between the presence of symptoms and the 2nd OP (P=0.03), an increase in the CTI (P=0.0001), moderate to severe RVH (P=0.002), and dilation (P=0.0003). In the logistic regression model, the combination of the 2nd OP (P=0.008), the RVH (P=0.002), and the reduction in RVEF (P=0.01) determined the presence of symptoms. CONCLUSION: Despite the surgical treatment, right ventricular remodeling and performance were the major determinants in the late follow-up of tetralogy of Fallot.

Variações nos teores de nitrogênio mineral em solo suplementado com iodo de esgoto

O conhecimento da dinâmica da mineralização de materiais orgânicos adicionados ao solo é importante para predizer os efeitos das possíveis perdas de N para o ambiente. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a variação do N mineral, no período da seca e das águas, em solo cultivado com milho, após incorporação de doses crescentes de lodo de esgoto. Os tratamentos constituíram-se de parcelas não fertilizadas, parcelas com adubação nitrogenada (NM), parcelas com dose de lodo de esgoto calculada para fornecer à cultura o mesmo teor de N do tratamento NM (1N) e parcelas com duas, quatro e oito vezes a dose de lodo de esgoto do tratamento 1N. As quantidades de lodo de esgoto a serem aplicadas ao solo, devem ser diferentes no período da seca e das águas mesmo quando se baseiam nas necessidades de N, em decorrência das perdas desse elemento em períodos de intensas precipitações.

Distribuição geográfica e diversidade varietal de frutíferas e nozes de clima temperado no Estado de São Paulo

Pesquisaram-se, de 1998 a 2002, os locais e as áreas de cultivo, o número de plantas e as principais espécies e cultivares comerciais de frutíferas e nozes de clima temperado do Estado de São Paulo. Para tanto, analisaram-se os dados do Projeto LUPA (Levantamento Censitário de Unidades de Produção Agrícola do Estado de São Paulo) e de consultas aos fruticultores de diversas regiões paulistas. Verificou-se a existência de 6 famílias botânicas, 11 gêneros e 12 principais espécies de frutíferas e uma de noz de clima temperado. São elas, em ordem decrescente do número de plantas: videira rústica, videira fina, pessegueiro (incluindo nectarineira), figueira, caquizeiro, nogueira-macadâmia, macieira, ameixeira, pereira européia, pereira asiática, nespereira, quivizeiro e marmeleiro, sendo as duas primeiras responsáveis por 51% de toda a área ocupada com as referidas culturas de clima temperado. Constatou-se que esse segmento da fruticultura está sendo praticado em 9.510 propriedades de 65% dos municípios paulistas, englobando todas as 40 regionais agrícolas da CATI (Coordenadoria de Assistência Técnica e Integral), existentes no Estado. A videira e a pereira foram as únicas culturas que apresentaram mais de uma espécie botânica sendo cultivada comercialmente. Foram detectadas 53 principais cultivares, sendo a cultura do pessegueiro responsável pela maior fonte de diversidade varietal. Considerando as épocas de colheita das frutíferas e nozes pesquisadas, observaram-se produções de frutos em todos os meses do ano, especialmente entre outubro e abril. Registraram-se novos e importantes nichos de cultivo nas regiões de Jales, Presidente Prudente, Barretos e Jaú, com predominância das uvas finas, das pêras asiáticas, dos pêssegos adaptados e da nogueira-macadâmia, respectivamente.