[Prevalence and factors associated with the risk of falls among the elderly registered in a primary healthcare unit of the city of Natal in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil].

The scope of the study was to analyze the prevalence and factors associated with falls among the elderly registered in a Primary Healthcare Unit (PHU) in Natal, State of Rio Grande do Norte. It involved a cross-sectional study conducted with 280 elderly individuals with data collected at the primary healthcare unit. The association between falls, recurrent falls and independent variables was assessed using bivariate analysis and Poisson regression with calculation of their respective prevalence ratios.

Catalytic properties of recombinant dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase from Escherichia coli: a comparative study with angiotensin I-converting enzyme.

Dipeptidyl carboxypeptidase from Escherichia coli (EcDcp) is a zinc metallopeptidase with catalytic properties closely resembling those of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE). However, EcDcp and ACE are classified in different enzyme families (M3 and M2, respectively) due to differences in their primary sequences. We cloned and expressed EcDcp and studied in detail the enzyme's S(3) to S(1)' substrate specificity using positional-scanning synthetic combinatorial (PS-SC) libraries of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) peptides.

Molecular characterization of VP4 and NSP4 genes from rotavirus strains infecting neonates and young children in Belém, Brazil.

Several reports have identified P[6] specificities in humans and in animals in different countries of the world, but few sequence data are available in public databases. In this work we have characterized the VP4 strains bearing P[6] specificity and NSP4 genotypes among diarrheic young children and diarrheic and non-diarrheic neonates from three studies previously conducted in Belém, Northern region of Brazil. As the to VP8* fragment, we observed a close relationship to both human prototypes of lineage P[6]-Ia (bootstrap of 99%) and porcine sublineages Ib and Ic (89.

Detection of a neonatal human rotavirus strain with VP4 and NSP4 genes of porcine origin.

A human rotavirus strain (NB-150) was detected in stool samples from a neonate hospitalized for mild/moderate community-acquired diarrhoea. This baby lived in the outskirts of Belém, Brazil, under poor sanitation conditions. The NB-150 strain displayed a typical long electrophoretic pattern with 11 gene segments.

Molecular analysis of VP4, VP7, and NSP4 genes of P[6]G2 rotavirus genotype strains recovered from neonates admitted to hospital in Belém, Brazil.

This investigation describes the molecular characterization of P[6]G2 rotavirus strains from hospitalized neonates with community-acquired diarrhea (CAD), nosocomial diarrhea (ND), and asymptomatic nosocomial infection (ANI) in Belém, Brazil. Twenty-six rotavirus strains with P[6]G2 genotype were sequenced to genes coding for VP4, VP7, and NSP4 proteins. Phylogenetic analysis of the VP4 gene, including prototype strains RV3, ST3, M37, and U1205, showed that local P[6]G2 strains clustered forming a distinct lineage (bootstrap of 99%).