28 research outputs found
Immunology of multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) leading to demyelination, axonal damage, and progressive neurologic disability. The development of MS is influenced by environmental factors, particularly the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and genetic factors, which include specific HLA types, particularly DRB1*1501-DQA1*0102-DQB1*0602, and a predisposition to autoimmunity in general. MS patients have increased circulating T-cell and antibody reactivity to myelin proteins and gangliosides. It is proposed that the role of EBV is to infect autoreactive B cells that then seed the CNS and promote the survival of autoreactive T cells there. It is also proposed that the clinical attacks of relapsing-remitting MS are orchestrated by myelin-reactive T cells entering the white matter of the CNS from the blood, and that the progressive disability in primary and secondary progressive MS is caused by the action of autoantibodies produced in the CNS by meningeal lymphoid follicles with germinal centers
Revisiting Some Developments of Boundary Elements for Thick Plates in Brazil
This work reviews the developments of Boundary Element Method formulations to solve several types of plate bending problems, including non-linear bending. The formulation is developed and solved using the standard BEM procedure, and different integration approaches were discussed and tested. Object oriented implementation issues are commented. Results were obtained for linear and non-linear elastic bending as well as buckling of selected cases of thick plates, including cases of step variation in thickness under large displacements regime
Beef cattle production system competitiveness in the south of brazil
The internal competitiveness of the beef cattle
production systems in the Southern Region of
Brazil was studied. Thirty-six beef cattle farmers
of the state of Rio Grande do Sul were interviewed
during the first quarter of 2010. The main indicators
that affect the farm gate sector competitiveness
were defined: technology, management, market
relations, and institutional environment. Then, those
indicators were developed into 10, 10, 4 and 7
factors respectively. They were assigned indivi-
dual weights in order to calculate their competi-
tiveness indices (CI) with specific equations. The
competitiveness indices for the 4 indicators and
the 31 factors were also calculated, and they
ranged from unfavorable to very favorable. The
Item Response Theory was employed to statistically
treat the data. Data analysis also employed the
Correspondence Analysis Technique (ANACOR)
available in the SPSS software in its 18.0 version.
The average CI of the production systems 7.27,
which is considered a favorable one. The main cri-
tical competitiveness factors include the producers'
organization, price formation, strategic planning
and availability of technological innovations.
Researches like the current one are of fundamen-
tal importance to develop strategies to be carried
out by both the public and the private sectors
aiming to enhance competitiveness of the beef
production chain.Objetivou-se mensurar a competitividade in-
terna dos sistemas de produção que atuam na
bovinocultura de corte na Região Sul do Brasil.
Foram realizadas entrevistas durante o primeiro
trimestre de 2010 com 36 pecuaristas que atuam
na bovinocultura de corte no Estado do Rio Grande
do Sul. Foram definidos os principais direciona-
dores que afetam a competitividade dentro da
porteira, sendo estes a tecnologia, a gestão, as
relações de mercado e o ambiente institucional.
Posteriormente estes foram desdobrados em dez,
dez, quatro e sete fatores, respectivamente, sendo
atribuídos pesos específicos para cada um deles
a fim de determinar o índice de competitividade (IC)
por meio de equações específicas. Foi calculado
também o grau de competitividade dos quatro
direcionadores e dos 31 fatores, variando de
muito desfavorável a muito favorável. Os resulta-
dos foram analisados estatisticamente pela teoria
de resposta ao item e pela análise de correspon-
dência através do software SPSS. Os sistemas
de produção apresentaram, em média, um IC favo
rável (7,27). Entre os principais fatores críticos de
competitividade destacaram-se a organização dos
produtores, formação de preços, planejamento
estratégico e o acesso a inovações tecnológicas.
Estes trabalhos são fundamentais para identificar
as ações prioritárias a ser realizadas pelos órgãos
públicos, privados e de fomento para alcançar
maior competitividade a cadeia produtiva da carne
bovina
Complete genome sequence of campylobacter fetus isolated from a sheep.
ABSTRACT: Campylobacter fetus is an important reproductive pathogen of ruminants that occasionally infects humans. Here, we describe the complete circularized genome of a strain of Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus isolated from a sheep. The final assembly consisted of a unique contig with a length of 1,849,237 b
Placentitis and abortion caused by a multidrug resistant strain of Campylobacter fetus subspecies fetus in a sheep in Uruguay.
Resumen: Campylobacter fetus fetus (Cff) es una importante causa de abortos en ovinos y un patógeno oportunista en humanos. La información sobre Cff como abortifaciente en ovinos en Sudamérica es limitada. Describimos un caso de aborto causado por una cepa de Cff multirresistente a antibióticos en una oveja en Uruguay. En agosto de 2017, 3/57 ovejas prenadas ?(5,3%) abortaron en una semana. El examen histopatológico de la placenta de una de ellas reveló placentitis neutrofílica fibrinonecrosante severa, vasculitis y trombosis. Cff fue aislado en microaerobiosis en agar Skirrow, y confirmado mediante amplificación del ADNr 16S por PCR seguida de secuenciación, y por PCR punto final y qPCR. Las pruebas de sensibilidad antimicrobiana revelaron resistencia a tetraciclinas, ácido nalidíxico, telitromicina y clindamicina. No se detectaron otros abortifacientes. Son necesarios más estudios para determinar la distribución geográfica, ecología, epidemiología, el impacto económico y la resistencia antimicrobiana de Cff en majadas ovinas de Uruguay.Abstract Campylobacter fetus fetus (Cff) is a major infectious cause of abortion in sheep worldwide, and an opportunistic human pathogen. Information on Cff as an ovine abortifacientin South America is limited. We describe a case of abortion caused by a multidrug resistantstrain of Cff in a sheep in Uruguay. In August 2017, 3/57 pregnant ewes (5.3%) aborted whithin one week. Histopathologic examination of the placenta of an aborted ewe revealed severe neutrophilic and fibrinonecrotizing placentitis with vasculitis and thrombosis of the chorionicarterioles. Cff was isolated on microaerobic culture in Skirrow agar, and further confirmed by 16S rDNA PCR amplification and sequencing, and endpoint and real time PCR assays. Antimicrobial sensitivity testing revealed resistance to tetracyclines, nalidixic acid, telithromycin andclindamycin. Other abortifacients were not detected. Further studies are necessary to determine the geographic distribution, ecology, epidemiology, economic impact, and antimicrobial resistance of Cff in sheep flocks in Uruguay