Association between functional fitness and overweight in elderly women

The purpose of this study was to verify the association between functional fitness (FF) and excessive fatness (EF) in aged women. Three hundred ninety four women, averaged 69.4 years of age (DP = 3.4 years), participated in the study. FF was measured by means of a battery of motor tests. EF was determined by corporal mass and height measurements. FF was compared with AAHPERD normative values. Chi-square test (p < .05) was applied in order to verify an association between FF and EF. EF prevalence was 46.5% and there was an association (p < .05) between the index of functional aptitude (IAFG) and EF. Among those with EF, 87.8% presented a weak IAFG. EF was associated with a 5.07 (IC 95% = 3.12 – 7.14) times greater chance of lower FF. Results point to the conclusion that morphologic condition (EF) needs to be considered in evaluating FF in aged women

Anticorpos líticos induzidos por infecção pelo Trypanosoma cruzi reconhecem epitopos presentes nas formas tripomastigotas e epimastigotas do parasita

Sera of Chaga's disease patients containing anti-T. cruzi lytic antibodies were submitted to affinity chromatography using Sepharose 4B conjugated with antigen extracted from epimasiigote or trypomasiigote forms of the parasite. Epimastigotes were obtained from culture at the exponential growth phase and the trypomastigotes from blood of infected and immunosuppressed mice. Antigen of both parasite forms was obtained by sonication of the parasites followed by centrifugation. Both antigens were then conjugated to activated Sepharose 4B. Affinity chromatography was performed by passing sera from chagasic patients through an immunoadsorbent column containing either epimasiigote or trypomasiigote antigens. Antibodies bound to the column were eluted with cold 0,2 M glycine buffer pH 2,8. The eluted antibodies were analysed regarding their isotype and lytic activity. The results showed that anti-T. cruzi lytic antibodies present in sera from chagasic patients are mainly located in the IgG isotype and recognize epitopes present in both trypomasiigote and epimastigote forms. A brief report of this work has already been published12.Soro de pacientes com doença de Chagas na fase crônica foram submetidos a cromatografia de afinidade com Sepharose 4B conjugada com um extrato antigênico obtido de formas epimastigotas ou tripomastigotas de T. cruzi: os epimastigotas foram obtidos de cultura na fase exponencial de crescimento e os tripomastigotas de sangue de camundongos infectados e imunossuprimidos. Os antígenos de ambas formas parasitárias foram obtidos por tratamento dos parasitas por ultra-som, seguido de centrifugação. A cromatografia de afinidade foi feita passando-se os soros chagásicos através de uma coluna de imunoadsorvente contendo antígenos de epimastigotas ou tripomastigotas. Os anticorpos foram eluídos da coluna com tampão glicina 0,2 M pH 2,8 a 4°C. Os anticorpos eluidos foram analisados quanto ao seu isotipo e atividade lítica. Os resultados mostraram que os anticorpos anti-T. cruzi com atividade lítica presentes em soros chagásicos estão localizados no isotipo IgG e reconhecem epitopos presentes tanto nos tripomastigotas quanto nos epimastigotas

The Southern Ocean Exchange: Porous boundaries between humpback whale breeding populations in southern polar waters

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are a cosmopolitan species and perform long annual migrations between low-latitude breeding areas and high-latitude feeding areas. Their breeding populations appear to be spatially and genetically segregated due to long-term, maternally inherited fidelity to natal breeding areas. In the Southern Hemisphere, some humpback whale breeding populations mix in Southern Ocean waters in summer, but very little movement between Pacific and Atlantic waters has been identified to date, suggesting these waters constituted an oceanic boundary between genetically distinct populations. Here, we present new evidence of summer co-occurrence in the West Antarctic Peninsula feeding area of two recovering humpback whale breeding populations from the Atlantic (Brazil) and Pacific (Central and South America). As humpback whale populations recover, observations like this point to the need to revise our perceptions of boundaries between stocks, particularly on high latitude feeding grounds. We suggest that this “Southern Ocean Exchange” may become more frequent as populations recover from commercial whaling and climate change modifies environmental dynamics and humpback whale prey availability