279 research outputs found
Bench-to-bedside review: The role of glycosaminoglycans in respiratory disease.
The extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a significant role in the mechanical behaviour of the lung parenchyma. The ECM is composed of a three-dimensional fibre mesh that is filled with various macromolecules, among which are the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). GAGs are long, linear and highly charged heterogeneous polysaccharides that are composed of a variable number of repeating disaccharide units. There are two main types of GAGs: nonsulphated GAG (hyaluronic acid) and sulphated GAGs (heparan sulphate and heparin, chondroitin sulphate, dermatan sulphate, and keratan sulphate). With the exception of hyaluronic acid, GAGs are usually covalently attached to a protein core, forming an overall structure that is referred to as proteoglycan. In the lungs, GAGs are distributed in the interstitium, in the sub-epithelial tissue and bronchial walls, and in airway secretions. GAGs have important functions in lung ECM: they regulate hydration and water homeostasis; they maintain structure and function; they modulate the inflammatory response; and they influence tissue repair and remodelling. Given the great diversity of GAG structures and the evidence that GAGs may have a protective effect against injury in various respiratory diseases, an understanding of changes in GAG expression that occur in disease may lead to opportunities to develop innovative and selective therapies in the future
Minor psychiatric disorders among Brazilian ragpickers: a cross-sectional study
BACKGROUND: Ragpickers are informal workers who collect recyclable materials to earn a small wage. Their life and working conditions are extremely difficult. We examined minor psychiatric disorders (MPD) among a cohort of ragpickers in Pelotas, a city in southern Brazil. METHODS: Ragpickers were matched by sex, age, and years of schooling with a sample of non-ragpickers from the same poor neighborhoods. The cross-sectional study gathered data by interview on 990 individuals in 2004. MPD were assessed using a standard self-reporting questionnaire, the SRQ-20. RESULTS: The prevalence of MPD among ragpickers was 44.7%, higher than reported by neighborhood controls (33.6%; p < 0.001). MPD were more common among females, those of lower economic level, smokers and alcoholics. Among occupational characteristics, MPD prevalence was associated with frequent static postures, low job satisfaction and recent work accidents. CONCLUSION: Ragpickers more frequently report MPD than other poor workers living in the same neighborhoods, with many of the same life conditions. Improving the work lives of these precarious workers should address not only the physical hazards of their jobs but their mental and emotional health as well
Asteroseismology and Interferometry
Asteroseismology provides us with a unique opportunity to improve our
understanding of stellar structure and evolution. Recent developments,
including the first systematic studies of solar-like pulsators, have boosted
the impact of this field of research within Astrophysics and have led to a
significant increase in the size of the research community. In the present
paper we start by reviewing the basic observational and theoretical properties
of classical and solar-like pulsators and present results from some of the most
recent and outstanding studies of these stars. We centre our review on those
classes of pulsators for which interferometric studies are expected to provide
a significant input. We discuss current limitations to asteroseismic studies,
including difficulties in mode identification and in the accurate determination
of global parameters of pulsating stars, and, after a brief review of those
aspects of interferometry that are most relevant in this context, anticipate
how interferometric observations may contribute to overcome these limitations.
Moreover, we present results of recent pilot studies of pulsating stars
involving both asteroseismic and interferometric constraints and look into the
future, summarizing ongoing efforts concerning the development of future
instruments and satellite missions which are expected to have an impact in this
field of research.Comment: Version as published in The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review, Volume
14, Issue 3-4, pp. 217-36
Effects of gustatory stimulation on the behavioral states of premature newborns
OBJETIVO: Observar os estados comportamentais apresentados por recĂŠm-nascidos prematuros a partir de oferta de estĂmulos gustativos.
MĂTODOS: Estudo experimental, analĂtico, duplo cego. Participaram 90 recĂŠm-nascidos prematuros nascidos em uma maternidade pĂşblica de Sergipe. O teste foi filmado, dividido em trĂŞs etapas de cinco minutos. Na primeira e na Ăşltima, nĂŁo houve estĂmulo; na segunda aconteceu estimulação gustativa, sendo que os recĂŠm-nascidos foram divididos em dois grupos (ĂĄgua ou sacarose para anĂĄlise 12%). Os estados comportamentais observados foram sono profundo, sono leve, sonolento, alerta, irritado/agitado e choro. Os dados foram analisados estatisticamente.
RESULTADOS: No grupo sacarose houve correlação forte nos estados comportamentais sono leve e alerta, durante e apĂłs a estimulação, e redução de correlação nos estados sonolento, agitado/irritado e choro. JĂĄ no grupo ĂĄgua, apĂłs a estimulação houve aumento de correlação nos estados agitado/irritado e choro. CONCLUSĂO: A permanĂŞncia ou mudança do estado comportamental do recĂŠm-nascido prematuro foi influenciada positivamente pela administração de estĂmulo gustativo, apontando para o possĂvel uso da sacarose na contribuição de estados comportamentais favorĂĄveis nessa população. _________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT: Purpose: To observe the behavioral states presented by premature new-borns in response to gustatory stimulation. Methods: Experimental, analytical and double-blind study. Ninety premature newborns born in
a public maternity hospital in Sergipe took part in the test which was filmed and divided into three parts of five minutes. In the first and last, there was no stimulus; in the second, the gustatory stimulation was
applied and the newborn children were divided into two groups (water or analysis for sucrose 12%). The observed behavioral states were deep sleep, light sleep, drowsy, alert, agitated/irritated and crying. The data
were statistically analyzed. Results: In the sucrose group, during and after stimulation, the correlation was strong in the light sleep and alert behavioral states and decreased in the drowsy, agitated/irritated and crying states. In the water group there was an increase in correlation in the agitated/irritated and crying states after stimulation. Conclusion: The continuity or change of the behavioral state of the premature newborns was positively influenced by the administration of gustatory stimulus, pointing to the possibility of using sucrose in benefit of the favorable behavioral states of that population
Search for new physics with same-sign isolated dilepton events with jets and missing transverse energy
A search for new physics is performed in events with two same-sign isolated
leptons, hadronic jets, and missing transverse energy in the final state. The
analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of
4.98 inverse femtobarns produced in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of
7 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. This constitutes a factor of
140 increase in integrated luminosity over previously published results. The
observed yields agree with the standard model predictions and thus no evidence
for new physics is found. The observations are used to set upper limits on
possible new physics contributions and to constrain supersymmetric models. To
facilitate the interpretation of the data in a broader range of new physics
scenarios, information on the event selection, detector response, and
efficiencies is provided.Comment: Published in Physical Review Letter
Measurement of jet fragmentation into charged particles in pp and PbPb collisions at sqrt(s[NN]) = 2.76 TeV
Jet fragmentation in pp and PbPb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of
2.76 TeV per nucleon pair was studied using data collected with the CMS
detector at the LHC. Fragmentation functions are constructed using
charged-particle tracks with transverse momenta pt > 4 GeV for dijet events
with a leading jet of pt > 100 GeV. The fragmentation functions in PbPb events
are compared to those in pp data as a function of collision centrality, as well
as dijet-pt imbalance. Special emphasis is placed on the most central PbPb
events including dijets with unbalanced momentum, indicative of energy loss of
the hard scattered parent partons. The fragmentation patterns for both the
leading and subleading jets in PbPb collisions agree with those seen in pp data
at 2.76 TeV. The results provide evidence that, despite the large parton energy
loss observed in PbPb collisions, the partition of the remaining momentum
within the jet cone into high-pt particles is not strongly modified in
comparison to that observed for jets in vacuum.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of High Energy Physic
Manufacturing polycrystalline pellets of natural quartz for applications in thermoluminescence dosimetry
Coadministration of the Three Antigenic Leishmania infantum Poly (A) Binding Proteins as a DNA Vaccine Induces Protection against Leishmania major Infection in BALB/c Mice
Highly conserved intracellular proteins from Leishmania have been described as antigens in natural and experimental infected mammals. The present study aimed to evaluate the antigenicity and prophylactic properties of the Leishmania infantum Poly (A) binding proteins (LiPABPs). Three different members of the LiPABP family have been described. Recombinant tools based on these proteins were constructed: recombinant proteins and DNA vaccines. The three recombinant proteins were employed for coating ELISA plates. Sera from human and canine patients of visceral leishmaniasis and human patients of mucosal leishmaniasis recognized the three LiPABPs. In addition, the protective efficacy of a DNA vaccine based on the combination of the three Leishmania PABPs has been tested in a model of progressive murine leishmaniasis: BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania major. The induction of a Th1-like response against the LiPABP family by genetic vaccination was able to down-regulate the IL-10 predominant responses elicited by parasite LiPABPs after infection in this murine model. This modulation resulted in a partial protection against L. major infection. LiPABP vaccinated mice showed a reduction on the pathology that was accompanied by a decrease in parasite burdens, in antibody titers against Leishmania antigens and in the IL-4 and IL-10 parasite-specific mediated responses in comparison to control mice groups immunized with saline or with the non-recombinant plasmid. The results presented here demonstrate for the first time the prophylactic properties of a new family of Leishmania antigenic intracellular proteins, the LiPABPs. The redirection of the immune response elicited against the LiPABP family (from IL-10 towards IFN-Îł mediated responses) by genetic vaccination was able to induce a partial protection against the development of the disease in a highly susceptible murine model of leishmaniasisThe study was supported in Spain by grants from Ministerio de Ciencia e InnovaciĂłn FIS
PI11/00095 and FISPI14/00366 from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III within the Network of TropicalDiseases Research (VI P I+D+I 2008-2011, ISCIII -SubdirecciĂłn General de Redes y Centros de InvestigaciĂłn Cooperativa (RD12/0018/0009)). This work was also supported in Brazil by a grant from CNPq (Ciencia sem Fronteiras-PVE 300174/2014-4). A CBMSO institutional grant from FundaciĂłn RamĂłn Areces is also acknowledged. EAFC is a grant recipient of CNPq. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscrip
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