Ultrastructural changes in Tritrichomonas foetus after treatments with AlPcS4 and photodynamic therapy.

The Tritrichomonas foetus is an amitochondrial parasitic protist which causes bovine trichomoniasis, a major sexually transmitted disease in cattle. No effective drugs for this disease have been approved to this date. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an experimental treatment that shows great potential for treating bacteria, fungi, yeasts, and viruses.

Relocalization of the V-ATPase B2 subunit to the apical membrane of epididymal clear cells of mice deficient in the B1 subunit.

An acidic luminal pH in the epididymis contributes to maintaining sperm quiescent during their maturation and storage. The vacuolar H(+)ATPase (V-ATPase), located in narrow and clear cells, is a major contributor to luminal acidification. Mutations in one of the V-ATPase subunits, ATP6v1B1 (B1), cause distal renal tubular acidosis in humans but surprisingly, B1(-/-) mice do not develop metabolic acidosis and are fertile.

Population structure and transmission dynamics of Plasmodium vivax in rural Amazonia.

Understanding the genetic structure of malaria parasites is essential to predict how fast some phenotypes of interest originate and spread in populations. In the present study, we used highly polymorphic microsatellite markers to analyze 74 Plasmodium vivax isolates, which we collected in cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys performed in an area of low malaria endemicity in Brazilian Amazonia, and to explore the transmission dynamics of genetically diverse haplotypes or strains. P.

Jones criteria and underdiagnosis of rheumatic fever.

Objective: The authors attempt to determine whether typical clinical and laboratory manifestations of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) are in accordance to what has been traditionally described and how useful the Jones criteria are for diagnosis.

Methods: Data from 81 cases of ARF were retrospectively collected.

Inclusion Criteria: 5 to 15 years of age and diagnosis of ARF confirmed by 2 or more rheumatologists, sustained for at least 6 months and two or more visits.

Hepatitis A virus in environmental water samples from the Amazon Basin.

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a significant waterborne human pathogen. Of the global supply of potable water, Brazil retains 13%, of which 75% resides in the Amazon Basin. Although hepatitis A morbidity has declined progressively in Brazil as a whole, it remains high in the Amazon region.

[Morphologic, morphometrical, and histological aspects of the eggs of four species of the genera Meccus (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae)].

The objective of this work was to analyze the morphological, morphometrical, and histological characteristics of eggs of four triatomine bugs species still not studied, in order to understand phylogenetic aspects and to facilitate parameters used in taxonomy, with the purpose of a specific and generic characterization of these vectors in public health. The eggs of each species had come from the collections of the Laboratory of Triatomine bugs and Culicid mosquitoes of the Faculdade de Saúde Pública - USP (Faculty of Public Health/USP). The morphologic studies were carried out through optic microscopy (OM) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM).

Nuclear reorganisation and chromatin decondensation are conserved, but distinct, mechanisms linked to Hox gene activation.

The relocalisation of some genes to positions outside chromosome territories, and the visible decondensation or unfolding of interphase chromatin, are two striking facets of nuclear reorganisation linked to gene activation that have been assumed to be related to each other. Here, in a study of nuclear reorganisation around the Hoxd cluster, we suggest that this may not be the case. Despite its very different genomic environment from Hoxb, Hoxd also loops out from its chromosome territory, and unfolds, upon activation in differentiating embryonic stem (ES) cells and in the tailbud of the embryo.

Adiponectin and resistin in human cerebrospinal fluid and expression of adiponectin receptors in the human hypothalamus.

Context: The adipokine leptin has critical importance in central appetite regulation. In contrast to some suggestion of adiponectin influencing energy homeostasis in rodents, there is no evidence for adiponectin or resistin entering the human blood-brain barrier.

Objective: The objective was to establish the presence of adiponectin or resistin in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and to compare their distribution with leptin.

Effect of 2% iodine disinfecting solution on bond strength to dentin.

Introduction: Disinfection of dentin surfaces is desirable so long as it does not interfere with subsequent bonding of adhesive resins.

Objective: To test the null hypothesis that bond strengths to dentin are not affected by previous application of an iodine disinfecting solution.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-four extracted non-carious molars were selected.

Lipopolysaccharide activates an innate immune system response in human adipose tissue in obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Unlabelled: Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation. Adipose tissue (AT) may represent an important site of inflammation. 3T3-L1 studies have demonstrated that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activates toll-like receptors (TLRs) to cause inflammation.

The in vitro effects of resistin on the innate immune signaling pathway in isolated human subcutaneous adipocytes.

Context: Obesity-associated inflammation is a contributory factor in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); the mechanisms underlying the progression to T2DM are unclear. The adipokine resistin has demonstrated proinflammatory properties in relation to obesity and T2DM.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to characterize resistin expression in human obesity and address the role of resistin in the innate immune pathway; to examine the influence of lipopolysaccharide, recombinant human resistin (rhResistin), insulin, and rosiglitazone in human adipocytes; and, finally, to analyze the effect of rhResistin on the expression of components of the nuclear factor-kappaB pathway and insulin signaling cascade.

An opposite role is exerted by the acarian Myocoptes musculinus in the outcome of Toxoplasma gondii infection according to the route of the protozoa inoculation.

Infection with Toxoplasma gondii leads to a Th1 immune response. Alternatively, the acarian Myocoptes musculinus induces a disease in BALB/c mice that involves Th2 immune mechanisms. In this study, we investigated whether infestation by M.

Sequential gene integration for the engineering of Kluyveromyces marxianus.

The attributes of the yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus (rapid growth rate at high temperature, utilization of a wide range of inexpensive carbon sources) make it a promising industrial host for the synthesis of protein and non-protein products. However, no stable multicopy plasmids are currently available for long-term culture of K. marxianus.

A novel peptide from the ACEI/BPP-CNP precursor in the venom of Crotalus durissus collilineatus.

In crotaline venoms, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors [ACEIs, also known as bradykinin potentiating peptides (BPPs)], are products of a gene coding for an ACEI/BPP-C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) precursor. In the genes from Bothrops jararaca and Gloydius blomhoffii, ACEI/BPP sequences are repeated. Sequencing of a cDNA clone from venom glands of Crotalus durissus collilineatus showed that two ACEIs/BPPs are located together at the N-terminus, but without repeats.

Segmental and cellular expression of aquaporins in the male excurrent duct.

The male reproductive tract and accessory glands comprise a complex but interrelated system of tissues that are composed of many distinct cell types, all of which contribute to the ability of spermatozoa to carry out their ultimate function of fertilizing an oocyte. Spermatozoa undergo their final steps of maturation as they pass through the male excurrent duct, which includes efferent ducts, the epididymis and the vas deferens. The composition of the luminal environment in these organs is tightly regulated.

Optimization of biodiesel production from castor oil.

The transesterification of castor oil with ethanol in the presence of sodium ethoxide as catalyst is an exceptional option for the Brazilian biodiesel production, because the castor nut is quite available in the country. Chemically, its oil contains about 90% of ricinoleic acid that gives to the oil some beneficial characteristics such as its alcohol solubility at 30 degrees C. The transesterification variables studied in this work were reaction temperature, catalyst concentration and alcohol oil molar ratio.

Nanoencapsulation of usnic acid: An attempt to improve antitumour activity and reduce hepatotoxicity.

Despite the recognised antiproliferative and antitumour properties of usnic acid, its therapeutic application has yet to be introduced. In fact, the high hepatotoxicity and low water solubility of usnic acid have somewhat restricted its practical use in anticancer therapy. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the antitumour activity of usnic acid encapsulated into nanocapsules prepared with lactic co-glycolic acid polymer.

Assessment of T-wave alternans after acute myocardial infarction: influence of the timing of PTCA on cardiac electrical stabilization.

Unlabelled: It is accepted that the timing of myocardial revascularization in patients undergoing PTCA for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) may improve the clinical outcome. However, its impact on microvolt T-wave alternans (TWA), a recognized tool for assessing vulnerability to ventricular tachyarrhythmias that can cause sudden cardiac death in infarction survivors, remains unknown.

Aim: To analyze TWA in patients with AMI treated by PTCA and assess whether the timing of myocardial revascularization can influence TWA measurements.

Influence of the feldspathic ceramic thickness and shade on the microhardness of dual resin cement.

This study evaluated the microhardness of a dual resin cement under the influence of thickness and shade of a feldspathic ceramic. Ninety-five bovine incisors were selected; the crowns, with the roots removed, were embedded in a polystyrene resin and were randomly divided into 19 groups (n=5). On the buccal surface, a standardized cavity, 4.

Cavectomy for the treatment of Wilms tumor with vascular extension.

Purpose: Vascular extension to the vena cava occurs in 4% of Wilms tumor cases and can reach the right atrium in up to 1%. When this happens the thrombus is usually not adherent to the vessel wall, and there is blood flow around it. Preoperative chemotherapy can cause thrombus regression and even resolution.

A case-control study of protection against tuberculosis by BCG revaccination in Recife, Brazil.

Setting: Metropolitan region of Recife, Brazil.

Objective: To estimate the additional protection against tuberculosis (TB) provided by a second dose of bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine.

Design: Case-control study.

Coagulase gene typing of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from cows with mastitis in southeastern Brazil.

A typing procedure based on polymorphism of the coagulase gene (coa) was used to discriminate Staphylococcus aureus isolated from Minas Gerais dairy cows with mastitis. Amplification of the gene from the 64 S. aureus isolates produced 27 different polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products; 60 isolates showed only 1 amplicon, and 4 showed 2 amplicons.

Adiponectin is a candidate marker of metabolic syndrome in obese children and adolescents.

The aim of this study was to compare the use of several biomarkers to identify obese children and adolescents with increased metabolic risk. One hundred sixty-two Caucasian obese children and adolescents (41% males, 9-18 years old) referred to the Istituto Auxologico Italiano between 2003 and 2004 underwent an oral glucose tolerance test. Circulating levels of adiponectin (AD), plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), interleukin 18 (IL-18), C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, uric acid, lipids and insulin were measured.

Metabolic pathway engineering for complex polyketide biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Polyketides are a diverse group of natural products with significance in human and veterinary medicine. Because polyketides are structurally complex molecules and fermentation is the most commercially viable route of production, a generic heterologous host system for high-level polyketide production is desirable. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been shown to be an excellent production host for a simple polyketide, yielding 1.

Postnatal expression of aquaporins in epithelial cells of the rat epididymis.

The mammalian aquaporins (AQPs) are a family of 13 transmembrane channel proteins that are involved in the transport of water in numerous organs. In the male excurrent duct, the movement of fluid and solutes across the epithelium is essential for establishing the proper luminal environment in which sperm mature and are stored. AQP9 is abundantly expressed in the efferent ducts, the epididymis, and the vas deferens, where it could represent an important apical pathway for transmembrane water and solute movement.