Maternal perceptions and self-perception of the nutritional status of children and adolescents from private schools.

Objective: To describe and compare maternal perception and the self-perception of children/adolescents of their nutritional status, identifying factors associated with incorrect perceptions.

Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out in Salvador, BA, Brazil with 1,741 students aged 6 to 19 years, classified according to body mass index (BMI) percentiles as underweight (BMI < p5), well-nourished (p5 /= p95). Students and their mothers answered questions on perception of weight, patterns of physical exercise and dieting.

Cellular uptake of carotenoid-loaded oil-in-water emulsions in colon carcinoma cells in vitro.

Oil-in-water emulsions allow the preparation of lipophilic compounds such as carotenoids in the liquid form. Here, the effect of a combination of some emulsifiers, such as two whey protein isolates (BiPro and BioZate), sucrose laurate (L-1695), and polyoxyethylene-20-sorbitan-monolaurate (Tween 20), on the stability of lycopene and astaxanthin in emulsions, droplet size, and cellular uptake of these carotenoids has been investigated. The degradation of lycopene was slightly more pronounced than that of astaxanthin in all emulsions.

Molecular characterization of Portuguese patients with mucopolysaccharidosis type II shows evidence that the IDS gene is prone to splicing mutations.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II) is an X-linked recessive lysosomal storage disease caused by a defect in the iduronate-2-sulfatase gene (IDS). Alternative splicing of the IDS gene can occur and the underlying regulatory mechanism may be rather complex. Nevertheless, little information is available on the role of variations at the IDS locus in the splicing process.

[Temperature modifications in shantytown environments and thermal discomfort].

Objective: To study aspects of the microclimate in a shantytown (favela), in order to understand the influence of the land occupation pattern on its climatic parameters.

Methods: The study was carried out in a shantytown located in the southwestern region of the city of São Paulo, Brazil, between February 19 and July 31, 2003, i.e.

Evaluation of a compost obtained from forestry wastes and solid phase of pig slurry as a substrate for seedlings production.

A composted material obtained from forestry wastes and solid phase of pig slurry was evaluated as a substrate component for the production of tomato and lettuce seedlings. Four different substrates were tested: compost (100C), a mixture of 75% compost and 25% peat substrate (75C), a mixture of 50% compost and 50% peat substrate (50C), and peat-based substrate (control). Compost increased the pH of the substrate from 6.

Study of biochemical and microbiological parameters during composting of pine and eucalyptus bark.

To study the possibility of some residues from pulp and paper industry being used as substrates to produce seedlings in containers, three composting experiments were carried out using eucalyptus bark, pine bark and a mixture (60:40, v:v) of pine bark+eucalyptus bark. Biochemical parameters studied were: acid and alkaline phosphatases, lipase (C10), protease, urease, beta-glucosidase and total cellulases. The microbiological populations of total aerobic bacteria, total fungi, actinomycetes, nitrifying bacteria, cellulolytic bacteria and fungi were also evaluated.

The magnitude of alpha7 nicotinic receptor currents in rat hippocampal neurons is dependent upon GABAergic activity and depolarization.

Hippocampal alpha7(*) nicotinic acetylcholine receptors modulate the release of GABA and glutamate. The control of functional receptor pools by cell firing or synaptic activity could therefore allow for a local adjustment of the sensitivity to cholinergic input upon changes in neuronal activity. We first investigated whether tonic depolarization or cell firing affected the function of alpha7(*).

Airpolishing effect on bovine enamel and the posterior remineralizing effect of saliva. An in vitro study.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the alterations of surface microhardness and wear caused by the sodium bicarbonate jet on bovine enamel and the further remineralizing effect of artificial saliva.

Methods: Fifteen enamel samples (4,0mm x 4,0mm) were used, which constituted the groups: no treatment (MI); treatment with sodium bicarbonate jet (MII and DI); treatment with sodium bicarbonate jet and immersion in saliva for one hour (MIII and DII), 24 hours (MIV and DIII) and 7 days (MV and DIV). Microhardness tests were carried out using a microdurometer in groups M and wear tests by a rugosimeter in groups D.

Behçet's disease associated with superior vena cava syndrome without thrombosis.

Behçet's disease is a multisystemic vasculitis of unknown etiology, which is characterized by recurrent urogenital ulceration, cutaneous eruptions, ocular manifestations, arthritis and vasculitis, and its diagnosis is based on clinical criteria. Superior vena cava (SVC) thrombosis is a rare but well-recognized manifestation of Behçet's disease, whereas SVC syndrome due to vasculopathy, without evidence of thrombosis, has not yet been described in the literature. The authors report the case of a patient with Behçet's disease, who presented SVC syndrome with reduction in the lumen of the SVC due to thickening of the vessel wall, without evidence of thrombosis upon computed tomography and magnetic angioresonance.

Systematics and identification of Afrotropical Toxorhynchitinae (Diptera: Culicidae).

I define two new species groups of Afrorhynchus from the Afrotropical Region and examine the taxonomic structure of the genus in the region. Keys are provided for the identification of adult males and females of all known Afrotropical Toxorhynchites.

Airborne pollen of Olea in five regions of Portugal.

The aim of this work was to study spatial and temporal distribution of Olea europeae airborne pollen in different Portuguese regions: Reguengos de Monsaraz (south); Bairrada (west); Braga (northwest); Valença do Douro and Foz Côa (north-east). Airborne pollen sampling was conducted from 1998-2003 using "Cour" type samplers located in each region. The main pollen season (MPS) of Olea lasted on average 36 days and occurred from late April until middle-to-end of June.

Annual variation of fungal spores in atmosphere of Porto: 2003.

The seasonal distribution of fungal spore concentration in the city of Porto, Portugal, was continuously studied, from 1 January to 31 December 2003, using a 7-day volumetric Burkard trap. In Portugal, aerobiological studies are scarce, and to our knowledge there are no published data on the atmospheric concentration of fungal spores. The aim of this work therefore is to initiate the aeromycological studies in Porto.

Direct experimental evidence of exciton-phonon bound states in carbon nanotubes.

We present direct experimental observation of exciton-phonon bound states in the photoluminescence excitation spectra of isolated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) in aqueous suspension. The photoluminescence excitation spectra from several distinct SWNTs show the presence of at least one sideband related to the tangential modes, lying 0.2 eV above the main absorption or emission peak.

Community-based monitoring of diarrhea in urban Brazilian children: incidence and associated pathogens.

Community-based monitoring was conducted in order to investigate the occurrence of diarrhea in 'sentinel areas' of Salvador, Brazil, and to establish a preliminary profile of the most common pathogens present in children's diarrhea by screening stool samples. This report describes the results obtained from twice weekly home visits to identify and follow diarrhea episodes and testing of carer-requested stool sample collection over a 6-month period. Participants were selected from a large longitudinal study in 21 areas representing the city's poorer socioeconomic and sanitary conditions.

Prevalence of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli in children with diarrhea in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

We report the frequency of the different diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) categories isolated from children with acute endemic diarrhea in Salvador, Bahia. The E. coli isolates were investigated by colony blot hybridization with the following genes probes: eae, EAF, bfpA, Stx1, Stx2, ST-Ih, ST-Ip, LT-I, LT-II, INV, and EAEC, as virulence markers to distinguish typical and atypical EPEC, EHEC/STEC, ETEC, EIEC, and EAEC.

Bioecology and vectorial capacity of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Macao, China, in relation to dengue virus transmission.

Until 2001, the Chinese Territory of Macao had not registered any autochthonous dengue cases, despite the abundance of Aedes albopictus (Skuse), a known vector. This work describes a bioecological characterization of the local Ae. albopictus adult population, with the purpose of estimating the receptivity of Macao to dengue introduction.

Three new species and one new subspecies of Toxorhynchites (Diptera: Culicidae) of the afrotropical region.

Three new species and one new subspecies in the subgenus Afrorhynchus of the genus Toxorhynchites are described from the Afrotropical region. With the addition of these four new taxa, 14 species and two subspecies of subgenus Afrorhynchus are presently known in the region. Keys are provided for the identification of adult males and females of the subgenus Afrorhynchus in Africa.

Phonon-assisted excitonic recombination channels observed in DNA-wrapped carbon nanotubes using photoluminescence spectroscopy.

By using a sample of DNA-wrapped single-wall carbon nanotubes strongly enriched in the (6,5) nanotube, photoluminescence emissions observed at special excitation energy values were identified with specific mechanisms of phonon-assisted excitonic absorption and recombination processes associated with (6,5) nanotubes, including one-phonon, two-phonon, and some continuous-luminescence processes. Such detailed processes are not separately identified in three-dimensional semiconducting materials. A general theoretical framework is presented to interpret the experimentally observed phonon-assisted processes in terms of excitonic states.

[Blockade of renin-angiotensin system attenuates cardiac remodeling in rats undergoing aortic stenosis].

Objective: To assess the role of the AT1 receptor blocker and the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor in cardiac remodeling induced by aortic stenosis in rats.

Methods: Wistar rats were divided into the following 4 groups: 1) C--control (n=13); 2) AoS--aortic stenosis (n=11); 3) LIS--AoS treated with lisinopril, 20 mg/kg/day (n=11); and 4) LOS--AoS treated with losartan, 40 mg/kg/day (n=9). The treatments were initiated 3 days before surgery.

American visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) in hospitalized children from an endemic area.

Objective: To study epidemiological and clinical aspects of American visceral leishmaniasis in hospitalized children in Ceará, Brazil.

Methods: A retrospective and observational study was carried out with children suffering from American visceral leishmaniasis admitted to Hospital Infantil Albert Sabin in Fortaleza. Medical records were reviewed consistently.

Intestinal barrier function and weight gain in malnourished children taking glutamine supplemented enteral formula.

Objective: We examined the effect of standard formula and glutamine or glycine supplemented enteral formula on intestinal permeability and weight gain in children with malnutrition.

Methods: 80 children aged 2 to 60 months with a weight-for-age z-score less than -- 2 were studied. From December 1996 to April 1999, 27 study patients received nonsupplemented formula.

Functional groups of forest succession as dissipative structures: an applied study.

This study tested the hypothesis that dissipative efficiency of tropical tree species could be an ecological advantage in the forest succession process. Daily leaf gas exchanges of a pioneer species (Guazuma ulmifolia) and a late successional species (Cariniana legalis) were evaluated under well-irrigated conditions and by withholding irrigation. Analyses of network connectance (Cg) and plant autonomy (At) were carried out in order to assess metabolic network changes in response to environmental perturbation.

Growth and carcass characteristics of pasture fed LHRH immunocastrated, castrated and intact Bos indicus bulls.

The effectiveness of a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) fusion protein vaccine or surgical castration, at two years of age, on growth and carcass characteristics of Bos indicus bulls was evaluated. Seventy Nelore-cross bulls were divided into three groups: (1) immunized, (2) castrated and (3) intact control. At slaughter (three years of age), intact bulls had higher body weights, ADG, carcass weights, and muscle percentage compared to immunized and surgically castrated animals.

Improved systolic ventricular function with normal myocardial mechanics in compensated cardiac hypertrophy.

There is still controversy about the relation between changes in myocardial contractile function and global left ventricular (LV) performance during stable concentric hypertrophy. To clarify this, we analyzed LV function in vivo and myocardial mechanics in vitro in rats with pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy. Male Wistar rats (70 g) underwent ascending aortic stenosis for 8 weeks (group AAS, n = 9).