Toxicity of sediments from a mangrove forest patch in an urban area in Pernambuco (Brazil).

Industrial and urban residues are discharged every day to the rivers and may arrive at the mangrove forest and prejudice the quality of the environment and the organisms present there. The mangrove forest patch studied is encircled by an urban area of the city of Recife (Brazil) that has approximate 1.5 million inhabitants and is one of the most industrialized centers in Northeast Brazil.

Bond strength and Raman analysis of the zirconia-feldspathic porcelain interface.

Statement Of Problem: Zirconia has the best mechanical properties of the available ceramic systems. However, the stability of the zirconia-feldspathic porcelain interface may be jeopardized by the presence of the chipping and debonding of the feldspathic porcelain.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the shear bond strength of 3 cold isostatic pressed zirconia materials and a feldspathic veneer by analyzing their interface with micro-Raman spectroscopy.

Glibenclamide treatment modulates the expression and localization of myosin-IIB in diabetic rat brain.

Background: Myosin-IIB is a non-muscle isoform in the brain with increased expression in the brains of diabetic rats. Chronic hyperglycemia caused by diabetes can impair learning and memory. Oral hypoglycemic agents such as glibenclamide have been used to control hyperglycemia.

[Social inequalities and tuberculosis: an analysis by race/color in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil].

Objective: To describe the sociodemographic and clinical-epidemiological characteristics of tuberculosis cases and identify associated factors with abandoning treatment and death whilst undergoing treatment.

Methods: Epidemiological study based on cases of tuberculosis recorded in indigenous and non-indigenous individuals according to race/color in Mato Grosso do Sul, Midwestern Brazil, between 2001 and 2009. Descriptive analysis of the cases was carried out according to the variables of sex, age group, residence, type of test used in the diagnosis, clinical form, supervised treatment and final status, according to race/color.

Risk analysis for occurrences of schistosomiasis in the coastal area of Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Background: Manson's schistosomiasis continues to be a severe public health problem in Brazil, where thousands of people live under the risk of contracting this parasitosis. In the Northeast of Brazil, schistosomiasis has expanded from rural areas to the coast of Pernambuco State, where the intermediate host is Biomphalaria glabrata snails. This study aims at presenting situational analyses on schistosomiasis at the coastal locality of Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco, Brazil, by determining the risk factors relating to its occurrence from the epidemiological and spatial perspectives.

Effects of thermal stress on hepatic melanomacrophages of Eupemphix nattereri (Anura).

Melanomacrophages are the pigmented cells present in the hematopoietic organs. Besides melanin, hemosiderin and lipofuscin are also observed in the melanomacrophages. For the liver, however, numerous studies relate these cells to immunological and metabolic functions.

Geographic information systems and logistic regression for high-resolution malaria risk mapping in a rural settlement of the southern Brazilian Amazon.

Background: In Brazil, 99% of the cases of malaria are concentrated in the Amazon region, with high level of transmission. The objectives of the study were to use geographic information systems (GIS) analysis and logistic regression as a tool to identify and analyse the relative likelihood and its socio-environmental determinants of malaria infection in the Vale do Amanhecer rural settlement, Brazil.

Methods: A GIS database of georeferenced malaria cases, recorded in 2005, and multiple explanatory data layers was built, based on a multispectral Landsat 5 TM image, digital map of the settlement blocks and a SRTM digital elevation model.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in candidate genes and dengue severity in children: a case-control, functional and meta-analysis study.

Dengue is an arthropod-borne emerging viral disease with high morbidity and mortality risk in tropical countries like Brazil. Clinical manifestations are vast, ranging from asymptomatic to most severe forms of dengue such as shock. Previous data have shown that host genetics play a role in disease susceptibility and severity.

A new protocol for ecotoxicological assessment of seawater using nauplii of Tisbe biminiensis (Copepoda:Harpacticoida).

Copepods are largely used in toxicity tests. The nauplii of these organisms are more sensitive to contaminants than the adult stage. The aim of the present study was to test a protocol for the use of nauplii of the copepod Tisbe biminiensis in the ecotoxicological assessment of seawater.

Cardiovascular risk in individuals with depression.

Depression and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are both common illnesses. Several studies demonstrated that depressed individuals have higher mortality compared to age- and gender-matched population, with an excess of cardiovascular deaths. There is a bidirectional association between depression and CVD.

Adverse reactions to antituberculosis drugs in Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Objectives: This study aimed to characterize and estimate the frequency of adverse reactions to antituberculosis drugs in the population treated at the Centro de Saúde Escola Germano Sinval Faria, a primary health care clinic in Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro City, and to explore the relationship between adverse drug reactions and some of the patients' demographic and health characteristics.

Methods: This descriptive study was conducted via patient record review of incident cases between 2004 and 2008.

Results: Of the 176 patients studied, 41.

In situ screening of 3-arylcoumarin derivatives reveals new inhibitors of mast cell degranulation.

Due to the severity and high prevalence of allergic diseases, there is growing interest in the development of inhibitors of such conditions. 3-Arylcoumarin derivatives emerge as promising compounds for the treatment of allergic disorders, in particular due to their close structural similarity to flavonoids, whose anti-allergic activity has been extensively reported. The aim of this work was to perform a screening of a set of 3-arylcoumarins as potential inhibitors of mast cell degranulation, a key event for the development of allergic reactions.

Biological and environmental factors associated with risk of schistosomiasis mansoni transmission in Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco State, Brazil.

Schistosomiasis has expanded to the coast of Pernambuco State, Brazil, where there are frequent reports of Biomphalaria glabrata snails and human cases of the disease. This study analyzes factors related to schistosomiasis transmission risk in Porto de Galinhas. A one-year malacological survey was conducted to identify biological, abiotic, and environmental factors related to the host snail breeding sites.

In vitro anti-allergic activity of the fungal metabolite pyridovericin.

Mast cells play a critical role during the development of an allergic response. Upon activation by an antigen and IgE, via FcεRI receptors, mast cells release histamine and other mediators that initiate and propagate immediate hypersensitivity reactions. Mast cells also secrete cytokines that regulate the immune responses.

From primary care to hospitalization: clinical warning signs of severe dengue fever in children and adolescents during an outbreak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

We analyzed factors associated with severe cases of dengue in children and adolescents hospitalized during the 2007/2008 epidemic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This is a retrospective case-control study that covers 88 cases of severe dengue in patients admitted to four tertiary care children's hospitals. Controls consisted of 22 children with non-severe dengue living in the same neighborhood as the patients with severe dengue.

The nonpeptide ANG-(1-7) mimic AVE 0991 attenuates cardiac remodeling and improves baroreflex sensitivity in renovascular hypertensive rats.

Aims: The nonpeptide Ang-(1-7) analog, AVE 0991, is recognized as having beneficial cardiovascular effects similar to those induced by Ang-(1-7). In this study, we evaluated the effects of AVE 0991 on cardiovascular functions and on cardiac and renal remodeling in rats with 2K1C renovascular hypertension.

Main Methods: Fisher rats underwent surgery to induce 2K1C renovascular hypertension and were then treated with AVE 0991 (1 or 3mg/kg) for 28days.

Use of the microalgae Thalassiosira weissflogii to assess water toxicity in the Suape industrial-port complex of Pernambuco, Brazil.

Microalgae are among the organisms that are most frequently recommended to assess water toxicity levels. They provide qualitative and quantitative population changes and have become important in environmental monitoring. The aim of the present study was to assess the sensitivity of the microalgae Thalassiosira weissflogii to water toxicity in the Suape industrial-port complex, and to potassium dichromate in the months of July, September and November of 2010 and January and September of 2011, as well as to compare the microalgae results to those obtained in tests with the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus.

Prediction of postoperative facial swelling, pain and trismus following third molar surgery based on preoperative variables.

Objective: This paper investigates the relationship between preoperative findings and short-term outcome in third molar surgery.

Study Design: A prospective study was carried out involving 80 patients who required 160 surgical extractions of impacted mandibular third molars between January 2009 and December 2010. All extractions were performed under local anesthesia by the same dental surgeon.

Factors associated with the incidence of malaria in settlement areas in the district of Juruena, Mato Grosso state, Brazil.

Factors associated with the incidence of malaria in the Vale do Amanhecer settlement, Juruena, Mato Grosso in 2005 were analyzed. Two hundred settlers of both genders and aged 18 years and above were interviewed. The prevalence of malaria reported in 2005 was 33%.

Analysis of bone microarchitecture related to anthropometry in climateric women.

Background: Osteoporosis is one of the most important public health problems involving a high percentage of costs in the medical care system. Reliable diagnostic techniques for an early detection of bone deterioration and studies of factors that influence its development in menopausal women are crucial. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between bone microarchitecture and anthropometry in climacteric women.

[Epidemiological aspects of leprosy: a spatial approach].

The objective of this study was to identify spatial patterns in the occurrence of leprosy in Duque de Caxias, a municipality (county) with high endemicity for the disease in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The authors selected all new leprosy cases reported to the Brazilian National Database on Diseases of Notification (SINAN) from 1998 to 2006. The analysis was performed according to three-year periods, followed by spatial analysis according to the local empirical Bayesian method and calculation of global (Moran) and local (LISA) spatial autocorrelation.

[Spatial and temporal distribution of tuberculosis in indigenous and non-indigenous of Rondônia State, Western Amazon, Brazil].

This study analyzed the spatial and temporal distribution of crude and adjusted rates of incidence of tuberculosis (TB) between 1997 and 2006, identifying areas of greatest risk to the indigenous and non-indigenous population of Rondônia State, Brazil. An ecological study was conducted analyzing municipalities and Indian reserves, using the local empirical Bayesian method. The crude average rate of incidence of TB among the non-indigenous population was 35.

Visceral pigmentation in three species of the genus Scinax (Anura: Hylidae): distinct morphological pattern.

Amphibians share with other ectothermic vertebrates an extracutaneous pigmentary system consisting of melanin-containing cells in various organs and tissues. We describe the interspecific variation in the visceral pigmentation in three anuran species (Scinax similis, S. fuscovarius, and S.

Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in patients with commotio retinae.

Purpose: To describe the morphologic characteristics of commotio retinae using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and to evaluate its utility in prognosis and follow-up.

Methods: Consecutive patients with commotio retinae underwent complete ophthalmic examination, color fundus photography, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, fundus autofluorescence, and near-infrared autofluorescence.

Results: There were 11 eyes of 11 patients (8 men), with a mean age of 30.