Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase classes and groups in prokaryotes.

Knowledge on the evolution of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases is crucial to studies on the origins of life. The relationships between the different aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase specificities in prokaryotic organisms are studied in this work. We reconstructed the ancestor sequences and the phylogenetic relationships utilizing the Maximum Likelihood method.

Aqueous Barbier allylation of aldehydes mediated by tin.

The aqueous tin-mediated Barbier reaction affords good to excellent yields and moderate syn diastereoselectivity under basic and acidic conditions. The high yields and stereoselectivity observed in the case of o-substituted aldehydes suggest a cyclic organotin intermediate or transition state in K2HPO4 solution. A practical and efficient aqueous tin allylation of methoxy- and hydroxybenzaldehydes can be carried out in HCl solution in 15 minutes to afford the corresponding homoallylic alcohols in high yields.

Mannose binding lectin gene polymorphisms are associated with type 1 diabetes in Brazilian children and adolescents.

Mannose-binding lectin is an important constituent of the innate immune system, the serum levels of which are greatly affected by polymorphisms of the MBL2 gene: three polymorphisms in exon 1, as well as nucleotide variations in the promoter region of the gene, have been associated with protein deficiency and some infectious and autoimmune disease. The aim of this study was to investigate a possible association between MBL2 gene polymorphisms in patients who have developed type 1 diabetes during childhood and adolescence. We evaluated MBL2 gene polymorphisms in 214 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes and compared them with a healthy control group, finding significant differences in genotypic and allelic frequencies (p = 0.

Speeding up coeliac disease diagnosis in the developing countries.

Background: Anti-transglutaminase antibodies are highly predictive markers of active coeliac disease. Because limited facilities are available for routine use of anti-transglutaminase antibodies assays in developing countries, a simple, economical immunological test would represent a great step forward in the screening of coeliac disease.

Aim: We determined the prevalence of coeliac disease in two different populations living in an urban area and in a sub-urban impoverished area of Recife (Brazil), using two rapid tests based on detection of anti-transglutaminase antibodies in serum and in one drop of whole blood.

Absence of nasal air flow and maxillary sinus development.

Unlabelled: Paranasal sinuses development mechanisms are not well known. Nasal air flow, according to one of the proposed theories, would be fundamental to the growth and healthy development of paranasal sinuses.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the maxillary sinus growth and health in the presence and absence of postnasal air flow through a unique model.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx in a young woman with Fanconi's anemia.

Fanconi's anemia is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by congenital malformation, bone marrow failure and genomic instability, with a predisposition to develop malignancies, especially the leukemias and upper aerodigestive tract tumors. Due to inherent characteristics to this syndrome, the treatment of such neoplasms is particularly difficult. In this paper we report the case of a 24-year-old woman with Fanconi's anemia who developed a squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx; she had none of the traditional risk factors, such as smoking and alcohol abuse.

Surgical treatment of otosclerosis in medical residency training.

Unlabelled: The number of patients with stapes otosclerosis compared to the number of otorhinolaryngologists has declined over the past several years. As a result a controversy has arisen in the literature, whether or not stapes surgery should be included in residency programs.

Aim: the objective of the present study is to evaluate the results and complications of estapedotomies performed by residents between January, 1997 and January, 2000, and consequently study the feasibility of including estapedotomies in residency programs.

Analysis and estimative of schistosomiasis prevalence for the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, using multiple regression with social and environmental spatial data.

The aim of this work is to establish a relationship between schistosomiasis prevalence and social-environmental variables, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, through multiple linear regression. The final regression model was established, after a variables selection phase, with a set of spatial variables which contains the summer minimum temperature, human development index, and vegetation type variables. Based on this model, a schistosomiasis risk map was built for Minas Gerais.

Effect of 650 nm low-power laser on bone morphogenetic protein in bone defects induced in rat femors.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of 650 nm GaAlAs laser on the action of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) in bone defects produced in rat femurs.

Methods: The sample consisted of 12 male albino Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus). The animals were randomly divided into four experimental groups.

Quantitative analysis of somatostatin receptor subtype (SSTR1-5) gene expression levels in somatotropinomas and non-functioning pituitary adenomas.

Objective: It is believed that the variable effectiveness of somatostatin analogs in post-surgical management of somatotropinomas and non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA) may be due in part to variable expression of somatostatin receptor isoforms (SSTR1-5), within and between pituitary tumor types.

Design And Methods: Quantitative real-time RT-PCR was used to compare absolute mRNA copy numbers for all five SSTR isoforms in 23 somatotropinomas and 19 NFPA.

Results: Somatostatin receptor subtype 5 mRNA was present at the highest level in somatotropinomas, followed by SSTR2>SSTR3>>SSTR1>>>SSTR4.

Use of glass fiber post and composite resin in restoration of a vertical fractured tooth.

Combined coronal and vertical root fractures are difficult to treat and extraction of the affected tooth is quite often indicated. In anterior teeth, esthetics and function must be reestablished immediately. This case describes the restoration of a fractured upper right central incisor using a glass fiber post and adhesive composite.

Health capital, life course and ageing.

Background: The difference in individual ageing remains a not fully understood subject.

Objective: To discuss the use of the health capital concept and its application to the life course approach as an alternative to understand factors involved on individual ageing and identify genetic, socioeconomic, psychological and biological influences.

Results: The initial capital (genetics and development in uterus) and other lifelong assets like education, social status, locus of control, cognitive reserve, and humor are important modulators of ageing.

Structure of the genetic code suggested by the hydropathy correlation between anticodons and amino acid residues.

The correlation between hydropathies of anticodons and amino acids, detected by other authors utilizing scales of amino acid molecules in solution, was improved with the utilization of scales of amino acid residues in proteins. Three partitions were discerned in the correlation plot with the principal dinucleotides of anticodons (pDiN, excluding the wobble position). (a) The set of outliers of the correlation: Gly-CC, Pro-GG, Ser-GA and Ser-CU.

[Health research in Brazil: context and challenges].

The deficiencies in Brazilian science and technology policies with regard to the challenges of the twenty-first century are discussed, while acknowledging that these policies have in some respects been very successful. The importance of health research within the framework of general endeavors in science, technology and innovation in this country is also demonstrated. The distribution of research around the world is then summarized, and a specific position is claimed for Brazil, along with some other countries, within the global panorama.

Defining and implementing a national policy for science, technology, and innovation in health: lessons from the Brazilian experience.

The need for clearly-defined health research policies and priorities has been emphasized in the international scenario. In Brazil, this process began in 2003, when a group appointed by the National Health Council proposed 20 sub-agendas to account for the various health research specificities. The second step was to identify research priorities for each sub-agenda during national seminars involving 510 researchers and policymakers.

Effect of mitomycin C in eosinophilic nasal polyposis, in vivo: concentration of IL5 and GM-CSF, RT-PCR.

Unlabelled: Eosinophilic nasosinusal polyposis is a chronic inflammatory infection with elevated infiltration of eosinophils, which presents high rate of recurrence after surgical treatment. The continuous inflammatory process that leads to the formation of polyps requires constant clinical treatment. Contributing to the maintenance of eosinophilia are cytokines IL5 (interleukin-5) and GM-CSF (granulocyte macrophages colony-stimulating factor), which show up in elevated concentrations.

[Acute test with subcutaneous octreotide as a predictor of the response to treatment with octreotide LAR].

Somatostatin analogues are frequently used to treat acromegaly. To determine the value of the acute test (AT) with subcutaneous (SC) octreotide as a predictor of the response to treatment with octreotide LAR, we analyzed data from 20 patients. For the AT, blood was drawn before and two hours after the SC administration of octreotide for measuring GH.

Effect of mitomycin C on the secretion of granulocyte macrophages colonies stimulating factor and interleukin-5 in eosinophilic nasal polyps stromal culture.

Unlabelled: The research involving tissue factors, such as granulocyte macrophage colonies stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin 5 (IL-5), leads to the mechanisms involved in the maintenance of eosinophilia, which is essential for the pathogenesis on eosinophilic nasal polyps. Mitomycin C has been successfully used in otolaryngology.

Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of mitomycin C in secretion of GM-CSF and IL-5 on eosinophilic nasal polyps.

Proprioception in individuals with ACL-deficient knee and good muscular and functional performance.

The objective of this study was to verify whether proprioception is affected in individuals with ACL-deficient knees and good functional and muscular performances. Eleven subjects with ACL injury and 11 controls participated in the study. Functional performance was assessed using the Cincinnati Knee Rating System (CKRS), hop index, and figure-eight ratio.

[Health regions and geographic scales].

The present article aims to discuss how the so-called health regions have been organized in Brazil since the respective governing ruling was issued (NOAS - SUS 01/2001). In order to clarify this new context, the author emphasises such concepts as region and geographic scale. The regional division under this ruling is based on the regional planning concept underlying the country's territorial policies since the founding of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

[Visual outcome with binocular implantation of SA-40N multifocal intraocular lens at "Hospital de Olhos de Minas Gerais"].

Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes of phacoemulsification with binocular implantation of SA-40N multifocal intraocular lens at the "Hospital de Olhos de Minas Gerais".

Methods: The charts of 58 patients (116 eyes) who were submitted to phacoemulsification with binocular implantation of SA-40N multifocal intraocular lens were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: The mean preoperative spherical equivalent was +1.

[Anal cytology as a screening method for early detection of anal cancer: are hydrophilic cotton smears really unsatisfactory?].

Purpose: To test the ability of analpaps performed with cotton swab smears to produce satisfactory cytologic readings as compared to traditional sampling materials.

Methods: 318 consecutive patients were examined at the Ambulatório Araújo Lima of Hospital Universitario Getúlio Vargas in the Anal Cancer Prevention Week and were sampled for the performance of analpap. 180 of these patients were randomly sorted to be sampled by either one of the following materials: cytologic brush, dacron swab or cotton swab.

A clinical evaluation of packable and microhybrid resin composite restorations: one-year report.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical performance of two packable and one microhybrid resin composites placed in occlusal cavities of posterior permanent teeth after 1 year.

Method And Materials: Sixty occlusal restorations were placed in 18 male or female patients aged 21 to 44 years. The restorations were divided into three groups according to the restorative material: G1 (Surefil + Prime&Bond NT); G2 (Filtek P60 + Singlebond), and G3 (Suprafill + Suprafill).