Novel down-regulatory mechanism of the surface expression of the vasopressin V2 receptor by an alternative splice receptor variant.

In rat kidney, two alternatively spliced transcripts are generated from the V2 vasopressin receptor gene. The large transcript (1.2 kb) encodes the canonical V2 receptor, whereas the small transcript encodes a splice variant displaying a distinct sequence corresponding to the putative seventh transmembrane domain and the intracellular C terminus of the V2 receptor.

Balance and motor coordination are not fully developed in 7-year-old blind children.

Visually impaired children show difficulties in recognizing their own bodies, objects around then and the spatial parameters that are essential for independent movement. This study analyzes the neuro-psychomotor development of a group of congenitally visually impaired children as compared to children with normal sight. We have evaluated two groups of seven-year-olds by means of neurological evolution examination (NEE).

The anxiogenic video-recorded Stroop Color-Word Test: psychological and physiological alterations and effects of diazepam.

From among the few human experimental models that can be used to predict the clinical activity of new anxiolytic drugs, the video-recorded Stroop Color-Word Test (VRSCWT), which uses subjective scales to evaluate anxious states, is notable for its simplicity. However, considering that the choice of treatment for anxiety disorders is heavily dependent on the level of somatic symptomatology, a quantitative evaluation of the physiological alterations elicited by the anxiogenic situation of the VRSCWT would also be of great interest. In the present study, 36 healthy male and female volunteers were submitted to either the VRSCWT or to a nonanxiogenic test.

Sleep disorders in pregnancy.

Context: The precise function of sleep in animals and human beings is still unknown, and any sort of physical, social or psychological variation may change the normal sleep-wake cycle.

Purpose: This research aims is to determine the sleep disorders (SD) for each of the three trimesters of the pregnancy comparing them to the pre-pregnancy state (PG).

Method: SD were investigated in three hundred pregnant women 11- to 40-years-old through with a brief clinical interview based on directed questions.

Cognitive dysfunction in children with sleep disorders.

Unlabelled: Sleep is basic for physical and cognitive development and some studies have suggested that there may be an association between sleep disorders (SD) and cognitive dysfunction (CD) in children. Little is known, however, about SD and cognition in 7-10-year-old children, a fact that motivated the present study.

Method: We applied an SD questionnaire in 1180 children, 547 with SD and 633 without SD (CG), to assess cognition with a screening test (Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test - BT).

[Patients with ischemic stroke are taken care quickly in São Paulo Hospital].

We observed inpatients with the diagnosis of ischemic stroke hospitalized at least 24 hours. We investigated the reasons for early or late arrival to the Emergency Room, the time span from arrival to computed tomography (CT) scanning, factors associated to hospitalization time, and patients outcome. We concluded that people who are cared for by São Paulo Hospital now get to the hospital sooner than they did 3 years ago (47% arrived in 3 hours or less) and that the patient flow inside the hospital became much faster, once any stroke patient is considered now a medical emergency by the hospital staff.

Structural ecosystems therapy for HIV-seropositive African American women: effects on psychological distress, family hassles, and family support.

This study tests the efficacy of Structural Ecosystems Therapy (SET), a family-ecological intervention, in improving psychosocial functioning when compared with an attention-comparison person-centered condition and a community control condition. A sample of 209 HIV-seropositive, urban, low-income, African American women was randomized into 1 of the 3 conditions. Results of growth curve analyses over 5 time points revealed that SET was more efficacious than either of the control conditions in reducing psychological distress and family-related hassles.

Intermittent diazepam and continuous phenobarbital to treat recurrence of febrile seizures: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Unlabelled: Convulsions triggered by fever are the most common type of seizures in childhood, and 20% to 30% of them have recurrence. The prophylactic treatment is still controversial, so we performed a systematic review to find out the effectiveness of continuous phenobarbital and intermittent diazepam compared to placebo for febrile seizure recurrence.

Method: Only randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials were analyzed.

[Kinesiotherapy prevents shoulder pain in hemiplegic/paretic patients on sub-acute stage post-stroke].

Background: Painful shoulder is considered the most common complication of hemiplegic/parethic (H/P) stroke patients. It is a negative factor for neuromotor recovery.

Purpose: To study the effects of kinesiotherapy treatment on shoulder pain prevention, and as a secondary endpoints, to analyze muscle strength of H/P shoulder looking at basic functional active mobility.

Sleep disruption in systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) patients: clinical and polysomnographic findings.

Background: Progressive systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease characterized by endothelial lesions and fibrosis of the skin and other organs. Patients' quality of life and life expectancy are determined by the intensity of pulmonary, esophageal, cardiac, and renal involvement. Neurological involvement was considered to be rare, but increasing evidence indicates that peripheral and autonomic neuropathies commonly occur.

Personality features in a sample of psychophysiological insomnia patients.

Unlabelled: The personality is the way people express themselves inside the environment they live. Sleep, quality or quantity, is a way of this physical and psychological expression of well being. Psychological factors, associated with psychophysiological insomnia (PPI) suggest an exaggerated perception of the difficulties to fall asleep.

Familias Unidas: the efficacy of an intervention to promote parental investment in Hispanic immigrant families.

This paper reports a test of the efficacy of Familias Unidas, a Hispanic-specific, ecologically focused, parent-centered preventive intervention, in promoting protection against and reducing risk for adolescent behavior problems. Specifically, the intervention was designed to foster parental investment, reduce adolescent behavior problems, and promote adolescent school bonding/academic achievement, all protective factors against drug abuse and delinquency. One-hundred sixty seven Hispanic families of 6th and 7th grade students from three South Florida public schools were stratified by grade within school and randomly assigned to intervention and no-intervention control conditions.

Toxigenic fungi associated with processed (green) coffee beans (Coffea arabica L.).

Processed (green) coffee beans from Coffea arabica in Brazil were assessed for the presence of Aspergillus and Penicillium species both before and after surface sterilisation, the aflatoxigenic and ochratoxigenic potential of the isolates and ochratoxin A levels. Contamination by Aspergillus and Penicillium species was found on 96% and 42%, respectively, of 45 samples from 11 localities. After disinfection with 1% sodium hypochlorite, the levels fell to 47% and 24%, respectively.

Labral-ligamentous complex of the shoulder. Evaluation with double oblique axial MR arthrography.

Purpose: To assess the ability of double oblique axial (DOA) MR arthrography in evaluating labral-ligamentous complex compared with conventional axial (CA) MR arthrography.

Material And Methods: MR arthrography of 51 shoulders, subsequently examined with arthroscopy, were retrospectively reviewed. DOA imaging was performed in all 51 shoulders and both DOA and CA imaging in 37 using a 1.

Time of presentation of stroke patients in São Paulo Hospital.

With the advent of time-dependent thrombolytic therapy for ischemic stroke it has become increasingly important for stroke patients to arrive at the hospital quickly. This study investigated the time that our patients took since the recognition of the symptoms until the stroke diagnosis in a hospital in the city of S o Paulo. We concluded that in our hospital medical personnel and paramedics did not consider stroke as a medical emergency before neurological evaluation.

Chimeric exchanges within the bradykinin B2 receptor intracellular face with the prostaglandin EP2 receptor as the donor: importance of the second intracellular loop for cAMP synthesis.

The prostaglandin E2 (PGE(2)) EP2 receptor (EP2R) type is G protein coupled (GPCR) and links to Galphas. Through this receptor PGE(2) activates cAMP production. The bradykinin (BK) B2 receptor (BKB2R) is also a GPCR but links to Galphaq and Galphai and does not activate cAMP production in response to bradykinin.

Relational factors and family treatment engagement among low-income, HIV-positive African American mothers.

Clinically derived hypotheses regarding treatment engagement of families of low-income, HIV-positive, African American mothers are tested using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Predictors are baseline family relational factors (family support, mother's desire for involvement with family, and family hassles) and mother's history of substance dependence. The study examines a subsample of 49 mothers enrolled in a clinical trial testing the efficacy of Structural Ecosystems Therapy (SET).

Hybrid formation between the intracellular faces of the bradykinin B2 and angiotensin II AT1 receptors and signal transduction.

Most frequently, the physiologic functions of the angiotensin II (Ang II) type 1 receptor (AT1R) and bradykinin B2 receptor (BKB2R) are antagonistic, particularly with respect to the regulation of vascular tone. Despite major differences in their physiologic actions, the receptors share sequence similarities. Both link to Galpha(i) and Galpha(q) and transduce very similar signal paths, not only those relating to the traditional G-protein associated second messengers, but also those involved in transactivation mechanisms involving receptor tyrosine kinases.

Stability of sulfonamides, nitrofurans, and chloramphenicol residues in preserved raw milk samples measured by liquid chromatography.

A stability study was made of 10 antimicrobials: 6 sulfonamides, 3 nitrofurans, and chloramphenicol residues in raw milk samples preserved with 0.1 % potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) and 0.05% mercuric bichloride (HgCl2) during cold storage for 7 days.

Mechanisms regulating the expression, self-maintenance, and signaling-function of the bradykinin B2 and B1 receptors.

Bradykinin (BK) is a potent short-lived effector belonging to a class of peptides known as kinins. It participates in inflammatory and vascular regulation and processes including angioedema, tissue permeability, vascular dilation, and smooth muscle contraction. BK exerts its biological effects through the activation of the bradykinin B2 receptor (BKB2R) which is G-protein-coupled and is generally constitutively expressed.

Role of prostaglandin E(2) EP receptors and cAMP in the expression of connective tissue growth factor.

Wild-type (WT) Rat-1 fibroblasts express undetectable quantities of the prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) EP1, EP2, and EP3 receptor types and detectable amounts of the EP4 receptor. In the WT Rat-1, PGE(2) enhances connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) mRNA. PGE(2) does not stimulate cAMP production in these cells.

Global chimeric exchanges within the intracellular face of the bradykinin B2 receptor with corresponding angiotensin II type Ia receptor regions: generation of fully functional hybrids showing characteristic signaling of the AT1a receptor.

The intracellular (IC) face of the G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR), bradykinin (BK) B2 and angiotensin (AT) 1a, is similar in sequence homology and in size. Both receptors are known to link to Galphai and Galphaq but differ markedly in a number of physiologic actions, particularly with respect to their hemodynamic action. We made single as well as multiple, global replacements within the IC of BKB2R with the corresponding regions of the AT1aR.

Structural insight into the role of the second intracellular loop of the bradykinin 2 receptor in signaling and internalization.

The second cytoplasmic loop (IC2) of the bradykinin B2 receptor plays a vital role in its dynamic life cycle including the activation, internalization, desensitization, and resensitization of this receptor. Here, we probe the structure and function of the IC2, with particular emphasis on threonine-137, which is crucial for signal transduction and internalization. Mutation of this threonine to proline (T137P) produces wild type (WT) signaling and complete inhibition of internalization.

Predicting protected sexual behaviour using the Information-Motivation-Behaviour skills model among adolescent substance abusers in court-ordered treatment.

The Information-Motivation-Behavioural skills model (Fisher & Fisher, 1992) was used to predict condom use among adolescents residing in a court-ordered inpatient substance abuse treatment programme (N = 271; 181 male and 90 female, primarily of minority ethnicity). In a predictive structural equation model, demographic variables, HIV transmission knowledge, and motivational variables of pro-condom norms and attitudes, and perceived susceptibility predicted condom use skills and condom use self-efficacy. Along with the other variables in the model, condom skills and condom self-efficacy were hypothesized to predict condom use over a three-month period.