Applying a new version of the Brazilian-Portuguese UPSIT smell test in Brazil

Standardized olfactory tests are now available to quantitatively assess disorders of olfaction. A Brazilian-Portuguese version of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) is currently being developed specifically for the Brazilian population. The most recent Brazilian-Portuguese version of the UPSIT (UPSIT-Br2) was administered to 88 Brazilian subjects who had no history of neurological or otorhinolaryngological disease. UPSIT-Br2 scores decreased with age, were lower in men than in women, and were lower in subjects with lower income. The degree to which the poorer performance of subjects with lower socio-economic status reflects lack of familiarity with test items is not known. Although this version of the UPSIT provides a sensitive and useful test of smell function for the Brazilian population, a revision of some test items is needed to achieve comparable norms to those found using the North American UPSIT in the United States

Posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and hopelessness in women who are victims of sexual violence

Objective: To evaluate posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and hopelessness in women 1 and 6 months after they experienced sexual violence. Methods: This prospective study, in which the clinician-administered PTSD scale, the Beck depression inventory, and the Beck hopelessness scale were used, included 67 women at 1 month and 52 women at 6 months after they experienced sexual violence. Results: Overall, 77.6% of the women were <= 24 years of age, and 52% were adolescents; 15% had a history of drug abuse, and 13.5% had a history of previous sexual violence. The aggressor was unknown in 76% of cases, and there was more than 1 aggressor in 9% of cases. In the first month, 43% of the women had moderate or very severe PTSD; 52.2% had moderate or severe depression; and 22.4% had moderate or severe hopelessness, which decreased to 21%, 20% and 10%, respectively, at 6 months. In the first month, severity of PTSD was associated with moderate or severe depression, and at 6 months severity of PTSD was associated with multiple aggressors and previous psychiatric disorders. All scores decreased in the sixth month. Conclusion: Severe mental health disorders were still present 6 months after women had experienced sexual violence. (C) 2011 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.1131586

Native crystal structure of a nitric oxide-releasing lectin from the seeds of Canavalia maritima

Here, we report the crystallographic study of a lectin from Canavalia maritima seeds (ConM) and its relaxant activity on vascular smooth muscle, to provide new insights into the understanding of structure/function relationships of this class of proteins. ConM was crystallized and its structure determined by standard molecular replacement techniques. The amino acid residues, previously suggested incorrectly by manual sequencing, have now been determined as I17, I53, S129, S134, G144, S164, P165, S187, V190, S169, T196, and S202. Analysis of the structure indicated a dimer in the asymmetric unit, two metal binding sites per monomer, and loops involved in the molecular oligomerization. These confer 98% similarity between ConM and other previously described lectins, derived from Canavalia ensiformis and Canavalia brasiliensis. Our functional data indicate that ConM exerts a concentration-dependent relaxant action on isolated aortic rings that probably occurs via an interaction with a specific lectin-binding site on the endothelium, resulting in a release of nitric oxide. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved