Down-regulation of dendritic cell activation induced by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis.

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) endemic in Latin America, is a progressive systemic mycosis caused by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb). The infection can evolve to different clinical forms that are associated to various degrees of suppressed cell-mediated immunity. With the recognition that DCs are able to initiate response in naïve T cells and that they also participate in Th cell education, the present study was undertaken to check whether DCs interact with P.

Architecture of the photosynthetic oxygen-evolving center.

Photosynthesis uses light energy to drive the oxidation of water at an oxygen-evolving catalytic site within photosystem II (PSII). We report the structure of PSII of the cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus at 3.5 angstrom resolution.

[Mother-infant indicators in adolescence and youth: socio-demographic, prenatal, delivery and newborns].

OBJECTIVE: To identify characteristics and associations between maternal age and gestation, delivery, and livebirths of adolescent and young adult mothers in the city of Feira de Santana, state of Bahia, Brazil. METHODS: We carried out a cross-sectional, epidemiological study with a population of livebirths and adolescent mothers (aged 10-16 and 17-19 years) and young adult mothers (aged 20-24 years). The information were obtained from the Livebirths Information System (SINASC-1998) for a total of 5,279 livebirths.

Genetic characterization of the peptidases of Polistes versicolor (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).

Starch gel electrophoresis with L-leucyl-beta-naphthylamide as substrate revealed five aminopeptidases in extracts of Polistes versicolor. These enzymes are presumably products of five structural gene loci. All but Lap1 aminopeptidases exhibited differential distribution in the developmental stages and in the tissues.

Aquatic macrophytes as feeding site for small fishes in the Rosana Reservoir, Paranapanema River, southeastern Brazil.

In the present investigation we studied the feeding habits of the fishes associated with aquatic macrophytes in the Rosana Reservoir, southeastern Brazil. Twenty fish species were collected during four field trips, regularly distributed across the dry and wet seasons. Focal snorkeling observations of the fishes were made over a total of six hours.

Regulation of T helper cell differentiation in vivo by GP43 from Paracoccidioides brasiliensis provided by different antigen-presenting cells.

Paracoccidioidomycosis, endemic in Latin America, is a progressive systemic mycosis caused by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. The infection can evolve into different clinical forms that are associated with various degrees of suppressed cell-mediated immunity. Assuming that the effector immune response is a consequence of the preferential activation of either Th1 or Th2 subsets, in the present work we evaluated whether the nature of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) can influence the Th1/Th2 balance in vivo.

Modulation of proliferation, differentiation and cytokine secretion of murine B-1b cells by proteins of the extracellular matrix.

At least three B cell subsets, B-1a (Ly-1B), B-1b and B-2, are present in the mouse periphery. B-1a and B1-b cells represent a small population in the adult spleen and are abundant in the peritonial and pleural cavities. It has been demonstrated in our laboratory that B-1b cells spontaneously proliferated in stationary cultures of adherent peritonial cells.

Assessing microleakage on class V composite resin restorations after Er:YAG laser preparation varying the adhesive systems.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the performance of three bonding agents in preventing microleakage of class V cavities prepared and treated by Er:YAG laser associating with acid etching.

Background Data: There has been very little research comparing the efficiency of single-component and self-etching adhesive systems in preventing microleakage of cavities prepared and conditioned with Er:YAG laser.

Materials And Methods: Thirty cavities - with occlusal margin in enamel and cervical in dentin/cementum - were prepared in sound human third molars using a short pulsed Er:YAG laser (500 mJ/5 Hz) The enamel and dentin surfaces were conditioned for 30 sec using lower dosimetries (120 mJ/4 Hz), and the samples were randomly assigned into three groups, according to the adhesive system: (I) Bond-1; (II) Prime & Bond NT; and (III) Etch & Prime 3.

[Childbirth and live newborns of adolescent and young adult mothers in the municipality of Feira de Santana, Bahia State, Brazil, 1998].

Data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health and the literature indicate that adolescents may be overrepresented in the prevalence of maternal morbidity and mortality and neonatal complications. This study focused on childbirth and live newborns among adolescent and young adult mothers in the municipality of Feira de Santana, Bahia, identifying risk factors for morbidity and mortality. A cross-sectional cohort study was conducted based on data from the Information System on Live Births (SINASC) in the municipality in 1998, totaling 5,279 live births among adolescent (10 to 19 years) and young adult mothers (20 to 24 years).

[Selenium concentration in food consumed in Brazil].

Objective: To determine the selenium content of foods consumed in Brazil.

Methods: The project was carried out between 1993 and 1999. The food samples were collected in stores in several Brazilian states.

4-Cyanopyridine and amide-N and amide-O linkage isomers of 4-pyridinecarboxamide on trans-chloro(1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane)ruthenium(II/III).

The synthesis, UV-vis spectra, and electrochemical behavior of the nitrile-bonded trans-[Ru(II)Cl(cyclam)(4-NCpyH(+))](BF(4))(2) (4-Ncpy = 4-cyanopyridine; cyclam = 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) and of trans-[Ru(III)Cl(cyclam)(NHC(O)-4-pyH(+))](2+) are described. The UV-vis spectrum of the Ru(II) nitrile complex shows a MLCT band at 548 nm at pH 1, which is shifted to 440 nm at pH approximately 6, for the unprotonated species. trans-[Ru(II)Cl(cyclam)(4-NCpyH(+))](2+) was electrolytically oxidized (+600 mV vs Ag/AgCl) at pH 1 to Ru(III), followed by hydrolysis (k = 0.

Thyroid disease in HCV carriers undergoing antiviral therapy with interferon plus ribavirin.

High prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies, with or without overt thyroiditis, has been described in hepatitis C patients, particularly in those undergoing alpha-interferon treatment. The aim of this study was to describe the frequency and clinical outcome of thyroid disease in a cohort of HCV carriers before and during combination therapy with interferon plus ribavirin. Between May, 1997, and May, 1999, 111 previously untreated (naive) patients were treated with a-interferon plus ribavirin for 6 or 12 months.

Activation of ionic channels by deoxycholate in frog and human cell lines.

Humans, after extensive ileal resection, frequently suffer from diarrhoea, which may be due to an increased delivery of deoxycholate (DOC) to the large intestine. In the frog skin the addition of DOC (0.5 mM) to the apical side induced the activation of amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels and an increase in the unidirectional Cl- fluxes.

[Myocardial revascularization surgery via a left minithoracotomy].

Purpose: There is, today, a global tendency towards a surgical approach privileging very small incisions, the so-called minimally invasive intervention, which results in a less aggressive action. The introduction of this new technique makes it possible to dissect the left internal thoracic artery (LITA) and to perform in the anastomosis with the anterior interventricular artery (AIA) through a left minithoracotomy.

Methods: From May of 1996 to october of 1997, 11 patients with ischemic heart disease and a single proximal lesion of the AIA were submitted to a myocardial revascularization (MR).

Chloride channels in the eel intestine.

Patches of freshly isolated epithelial cells from eel Anguilla anguilla intestine bathed by the same solution on both sides in the cell-attached configuration had conductances of 57.0+/-1.8 pS (for positive voltages) and 13.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

The authors present a rare case of Langerhans cell histiocytosis in a 31 year old female patient with vulvar, peri-anal and oral lesions, diabetes insipidus, pulmonary skin and bone infiltrations. Skin biopsy immunohistochemistry presented positive S100 protein and vimentin, but the diagnosis was done with the demonstration of Birbeck granules with electronic microscopy. The treatment was based on systematical chemotherapy although vulvar lesion has a bad response to chemotherapy.

Sequential flow cytometry and fluorescence in situ hybridization for the study of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded breast cancer cells.

Both flow cytometry and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) are useful techniques in the analysis of cancer tissues. When the two are used in the study of the same specimens, they are usually performed in parallel, separately. This is problematic where there is a scarcity of material, making completion of both studies impossible.

Apoptosis as a function of ovarian reserve in women undergoing in vitro fertilization.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that preovulatory follicles from women with diminished ovarian reserve contain fewer numbers of luteinized granulosa cells and have a greater percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis as compared with women with uncompromised ovarian reserve undergoing superovulation for IVF-ET.

Design: Comparative study.

Setting: Academic clinical practice.

The effect of bile acid on the activation of amiloride-sensitive sodium channels in frog skin.

The effect of the bile acid, deoxycholic acid (DOC), on the transport properties of isolated frog skin was studied under short-circuit conditions. The addition of DOC (1 mM) to the apical side of the frog skin induced a threefold increase in the short-circuit current (Iac). This effect was inhibited by amiloride.

Opening of frog skin sodium channels by phenobarbital.

This paper presents a study of the action of phenobarbital (anticonvulsant barbituric acid with pK1 = 7.3 and pK2 = 11.8) on the short-circuit current and on the transepithelial conductance of the frog isolated skin.

ION TRANSPORT IN THE INTESTINE OF ANGUILLA ANGUILLA: GRADIENTS AND TRANSLOCATORS.

The transport of Na+, K+ and Cl- across the isolated epithelium of the eel intestine was studied using a combination of four experimental strategies: short-circuiting, measurements of intracellular potentials and ion concentrations, application of a variety of transport inhibitors and measurement of unidirectional fluxes with radioactive tracers. When short-circuited, the system performs a net transport of Cl- and Na+ towards the blood side, with a stoichiometry approaching 2, and a much smaller net transport of K+ towards the lumen. The system is totally driven by the sodium pump located in the basolateral barrier and the main coupling between the fluxes of the three ions is through the operation of a furosemide-sensitive transporter in the apical barrier, probably a 2Cl-/Na+/K+ symporter.

Ion transport across the epithelium of the rabbit caecum.

The isolated rabbit caecum was studied in vitro. Under our experimental conditions, the rabbit caecum secreted potassium and chloride and absorbed sodium. To characterize the transport properties of the apical and the basolateral barriers, transepithelial electrical and flux (22Na, 36Cl and 86Rb) measurements and their sensitivity to transport inhibitors (furosemide, DIDS, ouabain and barium) are presented together with intracellular measurements with double-barrelled microelectrodes of intracellular electrical potentials and ionic activities.

The effect of trimethoprim on sodium transport across the frog skin epithelium.

Trimethoprim, a dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, is used as a therapeutical agent in combination with sulfamethoxazole. Studies of the interaction of trimethoprim with membrane transport are rare. This paper presents a study of the effect of trimethoprim on the short-circuit current (Isc) and on the transepithelial total conductance (Gt) of the isolated frog skin.