Early sensory contributions to contextual encoding deficits in schizophrenia.

Context: The AX version of the visual continuous performance task (AX-CPT) is widely used for investigating visual working memory dysfunction in schizophrenia. Event-related potentials (ERP) provide an objective index of brain function and can be used to evaluate brain substrates underlying impaired cognition in schizophrenia.

Objective: To assess the mechanisms that underlie visual working memory dysfunction in schizophrenia relative to impairment of early visual processing.

Immunohistochemical expression of p53, p16 and hTERT in oral squamous cell carcinoma and potentially malignant disorders.

Oral carcinogenesis is a multi-step process. One possible step is the development of potentially malignant disorders known as leukoplakia and erytroplakia. The objective of this study was to use immunohistochemistry to analyze the patterns of expression of the cell-cycle regulatory proteins p53 and p16(INK4a) in potentially malignant disorders (PMD) of the oral mucosa (with varying degrees of dysplasia) and in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) to correlate them with the expression of telomerase (hTERT).

[Evidence of transmission of visceral leishmaniasis by Lutzomyia cruzi in the municipality of Jaciara, State of Mato Grosso, Brazil].

Introduction: The municipality of Jaciara was classified in 2003 as a transmission area for visceral leishmaniasis in outbreak situations. This study aimed to establish evidence of transmission of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi by Lutzomyia cruzi in the municipality of Jaciara, State of Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Methods: This municipality is located 127 km from the state capital (Cuiabá) and is an important center for ecotourism practitioners.

Suppression of viscous fluid fingering: a piecewise-constant injection process.

The injection of a fluid into another of larger viscosity in a Hele-Shaw cell usually results in the formation of highly branched patterns. Despite the richness of these structures, in many practical situations such convoluted shapes are quite undesirable. In this Brief Report, we propose an efficient and easily reproducible way to restrain these instabilities based on a simple piecewise-constant pumping protocol.

Finger tip behavior in small gap gradient Hele-Shaw flows.

Finger tip splitting and finger tip narrowing phenomena are not commonly observed during early flow stages in parallel-plate rectangular Hele-Shaw cells. However, an interesting experimental study performed by Zhao [Phys. Rev.

Stroop matching task: role of feature selection and temporal modulation.

We conducted an event-related potential (ERP) study to investigate the electrocortical dynamics of attentional feature-based processing in the Stroop matching task. Participants in the study (n = 37) compared the ink color of a colored word with the meaning of a color-word in white ink. The two task stimuli were presented simultaneously or with SOAs (Stimulus Onset Asynchrony) of 400 and 1,200 ms.

Eco-epidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis in the urban area of Paracatu, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The present study was developed in the urban area of Paracatu, an endemic city for the American visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil. A six-month canine survey was performed with 6295 domiciled dogs in 28 districts in that area and showed that 4.2% of those (267 dogs) were positive for VL by ELISA and IFAT serum assays.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of a phonoaudiology program for the rehabilitation of dysphagia in the elderly.

The object of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a phonoaudiology rehabilitation program directed towards the degenerative changes of the neurophysiological mechanisms responsible for the upper digestive system compromised by the age between 80 and 90 years, in a regime of internment in a long permanence institution in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which express, bodily, their difficulty in swallowing food of liquid or pasty consistency. To achieve such an object, the current study was developed in an experimental format or design, comprised of a sample group of 23 elderly subjects, of both genders, undergoing evaluation by the phonoaudiology protocol for evaluating the risk of dysphagia (abbreviated from the Portuguese name: Protocolo de Avaliação do Risco para Disfagia=PARD), pre- and post-intervention procedure. The developed program used the indirect therapy approach based on the adaptive myotherapeutic and myofunctional stimulation, contemplating two isometric and isokinetic orofacial active myotherapeutic exercises, two passive myotherapeutic manipulations for the supra-hyoidal musculature, as well as adaptive cephalic postural maneuvres, associated to the intra-oral olfactive and gustative sensory stimulation.

Association between the prevalence of infestation by Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Ctenocephalides felis felis and the presence of anti-Leishmania antibodies: A case-control study in dogs from a Brazilian endemic area.

The association between the prevalence of infestation by Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Ctenocephalides felis felis and the presence of anti-Leishmania antibodies has been evaluated in dogs located in a city of Brazil endemic for canine visceral leishmaniasis. Blood samples from 5556 domestic dogs domiciliated in the urban area of Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais state) were submitted to enzyme linked immunosorbent (ELISA) and indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFAT) assays, and 432 (7.8%) animals tested positive.

Impaired visual object processing across an occipital-frontal-hippocampal brain network in schizophrenia: an integrated neuroimaging study.

Context: Perceptual closure is the ability to identify objects based on partial information and depends on the function of a distributed network of brain regions that include the dorsal and the ventral visual streams, prefrontal cortex (PFC), and hippocampus.

Objective: To evaluate network-level interactions during perceptual closure in schizophrenia using parallel event-related potential (ERP), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and neuropsychological assessment.

Design: Case-control study.

Microcystin-LR activates the ERK1/2 kinases and stimulates the proliferation of the monkey kidney-derived cell line Vero-E6.

Microcystin-LR (MCLR) is a peptide produced by freshwater cyanobacteria that induces severe hepatotoxicity in humans and animals. MCLR is also a potent tumour promoter and it has been proposed that this activity is mediated by the inhibition of protein phosphatases PP1/PP2A, possibly through the activation of proto-oncogenes c-jun, c-fos and c-myc. However, the mechanisms underlying MCLR-induced tumour promotion are still largely unknown, particularly in non-liver cells.

Diagnosis of severe silicosis in young adults working in stone polishing and mining in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

This study describes the occurrence of silicosis in a group of stone polishing and/or mining workers who began working under the age of 18, the minimum age in Brazil for working in hazardous or unhealthy conditions. The design is that of a case series with medical follow up via a surveillance program that included medical and occupational histories, chest radiography interpreted according to International Labour Organization (ILO) Classification, and spirometry. The findings call attention to the importance of the problem of silicosis, which persists in the region despite new production technologies, legal requirements, and initiatives to protect workers.

Determination of dynamic characteristics of microbiota in a fermented beverage produced by Brazilian Amerindians using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods.

Cauim is a fermented beverages prepared by Tapirapé Amerindians in Brazil from substrates such as cassava, rice, peanuts, pumpkin, cotton seed and maize. Here we study the microorganisms associated with peanut and rice fermentation using a combination of culture-dependent and -independent methods. The bacterial population varied from 7.

Monitoring of Lutzomyia longipalpis Lutz & Neiva, 1912 in an area of intense transmission of visceral leishmaniasis in Rio Grande do Norte, Northeast Brazil.

Urban increase of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Brazil is associated with the adaptation of its vector, Lutzomyia longipalpis, to environments modified by humans. The present study reports the results of an entomological monitoring of L. longipalpis and the effect of environmental variables on its population density.

Control of radial fingering patterns: a weakly nonlinear approach.

It is well known that the constant injection rate flow in radial Hele-Shaw cells leads to the formation of highly branched patterns, where finger tip-splitting events are plentiful. Different kinds of patterns arise in the lifting Hele-Shaw flow problem, where the cell's gap width grows linearly with time. In this case, the morphology of the emerging structures is characterized by the strong competition among inward moving fingers.

Evaluation of holocellulase production by plant-degrading fungi grown on agro-industrial residues.

Agaricus brasiliensis CS1, Pleurotus ostreatus H1 and Aspergillus flavus produced holocellulases when grown in solid and submerged liquid cultures containing agro-industrial residues, including sugar cane bagasse and dirty cotton residue, as substrates. These isolates proved to be efficient producers of holocellulases under the conditions used in this screening. Bromatological analysis of agro-industrial residues showed differences in protein, fiber, hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin content.

Post-treatment of UASB reactor effluent in waste stabilization ponds and in horizontal flow constructed wetlands: a comparative study in pilot scale in Southeast Brazil.

The results of a 20-month period study in Brazil were analyzed to compare horizontal-flow constructed wetlands (CW) and waste stabilization pond (WSP) systems in terms of land area requirements and performance to produce effluent qualities for surface water discharge, and for wastewater use in agriculture and/or aquaculture. Nitrogen, E. coli and helminth eggs were more effectively removed in WSP than in CW.

Association of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae) population density with climate variables in Montes Claros, an area of American visceral leishmaniasis transmission in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

In the present paper, we evaluate the relationship between climate variables and population density of Lutzomyia longipalpis in Montes Claros, an area of active transmission of American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) in Brazil. Entomological captures were performed in 10 selected districts of the city, between September 2002-August 2003. A total of 773 specimens of L.

Histogenesis of Abrikossoff tumour of the oral cavity.

Background: Abrikossoff or granular cell tumour (GCT) is a relatively rare neoplasia, benign in most of the cases. It may occur in any part of the human body, but it has an oral location in 70% of the cases. Its origin has been discussed for decades, and it is not yet definitively determined.

[Environmental and workers' health, within the framework of primary health care in the Brazilian National Health System (SUS): opportunities and challenges].

This paper has the purpose of contributing to the discussion of the crossing areas between Environmental Health and Workers Health, in the Brazilian context of Labor, Production, Environment and Health. This paper emerges in the context of the current organizational changes of the Brazilian National Health System (SUS), with a major focus on Primary Health Care, having in mind, also, the preparation of the 1st National Environmental Health Conference (1 feminine CNSA) to be held in December of 2009. So, historical and conceptual aspects of those fields are described in a summarized manner, as well as some shared features and expected actions of the Health System, with emphasis to the role of Primary Health Care and to the importance of the dialogue with the social movement.

Evaluation of the vectorial capacity of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae) in the transmission of canine visceral leishmaniasis.

The vectorial capacity of Rhipicephalus sanguineus in the transmission of canine visceral leishmaniasis has been evaluated through a laboratory-controlled experiment. One healthy Leishmania-free dog and two dogs naturally infected with Leishmania were infested with R. sanguineus in various stages of development.

Inducible nitric oxide synthase/CD95L-dependent suppression of pulmonary and bone marrow eosinophilia by diethylcarbamazine.

Rationale: The mechanism of action of diethylcarbamazine (DEC), an antifilarial drug effective against tropical pulmonary eosinophilia, remains controversial. DEC effects on microfilariae depend on inducible NO synthase (iNOS). In eosinophilic pulmonary inflammation, its therapeutic mechanism has not been established.