Isolamento de Fonsecaea pedrosoi a partir de espinhos da planta Mimosa pudica, uma provável fonte natural de cromoblastomicose

We report the isolation of Fonsecaea pedrosoi from thorns of the plant Mimosa pudica L. at the place of infection identified by one of our patients. Clinical diagnosis of chromoblastomycosis was established by direct microscopic examination and cultures from the patient's lesion. The same species was isolated from the patient and from the plant. Scanning electron microscopy of the surface of the thorns showed the characteristic conidial arrangement of F. pedrosoi. These data indicate that M. pudica could be a natural source of infection for the fungus F. pedrosoi.Este trabalho demonstra o isolamento de Fonsecaea pedrosoi de espinhos da planta Mimosa pudica L., a partir do local de suposta infecção identificado pela paciente infectada. O diagnóstico clínico de cromoblastomicose foi estabelecido pelo achado de corpos fumagóides no exame microscópico direto e pelas culturas de F. pedrosoi do material obtido da lesão da paciente. A mesma espécie foi isolada da paciente e da planta. A microscopia eletrônica de transmissão da superfície dos espinhos evidenciou a disposição conidial característica de F. pedrosoi. Estes dados indicam que a planta M. pudica deve ser uma fonte natural de infecção do fungo F. pedrosoi

O Piso Salarial Nacional no Contexto do Financiamento da Educação no Brasil: limites e possibilidades do seu cumprimento

This article addresses the funding of education in Brazil, aiming to provide the understanding that the public policies implemented in the country, and new actions to be established, need to be sustained on a sound basis of how they can be financed. The National Wage Floor is an example of a policy that needs financial support, since from its promulgation the justifications given by the federated entities for their non-fulfillment are based on financial impossibility. It appears from the research that the increase of resources to be invested in this social sector is an urgent need and implies: the contribution of new financial resources; an increase to 10% of the GDP to be invested in education; implementation of goal 20 of the new National Education Plan and, especially, goal 17, in order to achieve effective compliance with the National Wage Floor legislation.O artigo versa sobre o financiamento da educação no Brasil e objetiva propiciar a compreensão de que políticas públicas implantadas no País e novas ações a serem implementadas necessitam ser sustentadas em uma base sólida de financiamento. O Piso Salarial Nacional é um exemplo de política que necessita de aporte financeiro para ter sustentação, pois, desde a sua promulgação, as justificativas dadas pelos entes federados para o seu não cumprimento esbarram na impossibilidade financeira. Depreende-se da pesquisa realizada que a ampliação de recursos a serem investidos nesse setor social é uma necessidade urgente e implica: aporte de novos recursos financeiros; elevação para 10% do percentual do PIB a ser investido na educação; execução da meta 20 do novo PNE e, principalmente, da meta 17, de modo a alcançar o efetivo cumprimento da Lei do PSPN

Students’ perception of campus sustainability in a Brazilian university

Over recent decades, higher education institutions (HEIs) have been recognised as ideal leaders in supporting the transition to sustainable societies. Leading by example, they have been embarking upon committing themselves to sustainability by incorporating sustainable development practices (SDP) into their integrated management system. As a major stakeholders group, students play a significant role in moving this agenda forward. This study aims to develop an assessment framework to evaluate the students’ perception of campus sustainability, based on a Brazilian HEI case study. A survey was assembled using five demographic questions, three dichotomous questions, and 43 items resorting to a 1–5 Likert scale and administered to a sample of 207 undergraduate technology students. Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, a reliable scale emerges with 31 items grouped into eight dimensions: Waste; Emissions/Procurement; Energy; Quality of Life in the Workplace (QLW); Fauna and Flora; Institutional Framework; Education/Research; and, Water. The dimensions explain 68.50% of the total model variance. The lowest-evaluated dimension was Emissions/Procurement, with a 2.26 average value, followed by water (2.27) and Energy (2.28); all three of these were below the scale’s midpoint. The best-evaluated dimension was Education/Research, with an average of 3.30. This research provides an insight into HEI students’ sustainability perception and into how the university decision-makers could improve the sustainable practices to increase the students’ engagement.- (undefined

PROJETO JOVEM PROFISSIONAL FEEVALE: INDICADORES DE EMPREGABILIDADE DE EGRESSOS

O Projeto Jovem Profissional Feevale visa a capacitar jovens em situação de vulnerabilidade social para a inserção no mundo do trabalho, possibilitando sua atuação em áreas administrativas ou técnicas que envolvam conhecimentos de informática. Além dessa capacitação técnica, objetiva-se a inclusão desse jovem nas dimensões social e cultural. Para tanto, o projeto mantém acompanhamento dos egressos, após a conclusão do curso, auferindo diversos indicadores, entre eles, os índices de aquisição e manutenção do emprego, bem como a satisfação com ele. No ano de 2007, formou-se a primeira turma com 19 jovens, cujo acompanhamento profissional, após um ano de conclusão do curso, revela que o projeto auxiliou, de maneira decisiva, os formados, tanto na aquisição e na manutenção do emprego quanto na satisfação com ele. O fato de a grande maioria dos jovens egressos ter conquistado uma colocação profissional, apresentando uma postura pró-ativa em busca de sua inserção social e profissional, justifica a ação do projeto Jovem Profissional Feevale junto à comunidade. Essa atuação se qualifica como útil na formação de jovens cidadãos que, muito além da formação técnica, são estimulados a exercer sua cidadania, passando a atuar como agentes da transformação social. Palavras-chave: Capacitação Profissional. Projetos Sociais. Empregabilidade

PROJETO JOVEM PROFISSIONAL FEEVALE: INDICADORES DE EMPREGABILIDADE DE EGRESSOS

O Projeto Jovem Profissional Feevale visa a capacitar jovens em situação de vulnerabilidade social para a inserção no mundo do trabalho, possibilitando sua atuação em áreas administrativas ou técnicas que envolvam conhecimentos de informática. Além dessa capacitação técnica, objetiva-se a inclusão desse jovem nas dimensões social e cultural. Para tanto, o projeto mantém acompanhamento dos egressos, após a conclusão do curso, auferindo diversos indicadores, entre eles, os índices de aquisição e manutenção do emprego, bem como a satisfação com ele. No ano de 2007, formou-se a primeira turma com 19 jovens, cujo acompanhamento profissional, após um ano de conclusão do curso, revela que o projeto auxiliou, de maneira decisiva, os formados, tanto na aquisição e na manutenção do emprego quanto na satisfação com ele. O fato de a grande maioria dos jovens egressos ter conquistado uma colocação profissional, apresentando uma postura pró-ativa em busca de sua inserção social e profissional, justifica a ação do projeto Jovem Profissional Feevale junto à comunidade. Essa atuação se qualifica como útil na formação de jovens cidadãos que, muito além da formação técnica, são estimulados a exercer sua cidadania, passando a atuar como agentes da transformação social.Palavras-chave: Capacitação Profissional. Projetos Sociais. Empregabilidade

Influence of different thermopolymerization methods on composite resin microhardness

Background: Additional heat polymerization in composite resins allows greater effective ness of microhardness, flexural strength, fracture tough ness, wear resistance, and increased color stability.Material and Methods: 150 composite resin specimens were made using a 4 mm diameter and 2 mm thick bipartite steel matrix. Five resins composed of different compositions were tested (Brilliant Everglow/Coltene, Filtek One BulkFill/3M, Filtek P60/3M, Filtek Z350XT/3M, Filtek Z250XT/3M), and for each of them three types of polyme-rization were tested: light curing only (n=50); photopolymerization + autoclave thermopolymerization (n=50) and photopolymerization + microwave thermopolymerization (n=50). Each specimen was submitted to three indenta-tions by means of the Vickers microhardness test, applying a load of 300gf, associated with the time of 15s. Data were analyzed descriptively by means of statistics, standard deviation and coefficient of variation and inferentially by the F test (ANOVA) in the comparison between groups. The margin of error used in statistical test decisions was 5%.Results: The highest vicker microhardness averages were from the Control group (light curing only) on P60 (82.16) and Z250 XT (79.61) resins. The lowest averages were all verified on Brilliant Everglow resin in all polymerization methods studied: Photopolymerization (37.32), with microwave (43.80) and autoclave (45.12), followed by Bulk Fill 3M resin, ranged from 52.23 to 59.15.Conclusions: Both autoclave and microwave thermopolymerization methods showed similar behavior on the mi-crohardness of the composites studied. Considering the resin type, there was a varied behavior compared to thermo-polymerization, which increased the microhardness values for Brilliant Everglow resins (Coltene) and Filtek One Bulkfill (3M) and decreased for Filtek P60, Filtek Z350XT and Filtek Z250XT resins

Accuracy of air temperature forecasts and its use for prediction of the reference evapotranspiration

The objective of this study was to verify the quality of the short-term forecasts made by some web sites, as well as the potential of its use in estimating reference evapotranspiration (ETo). For the period 2012-2013, every 4-days, the maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) air temperature forecasts for horizons of 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours provided by public sites for Uberlandia-MG were collected and used for calculating the reference evapotranspiration (ETo) by the Hargreaves-Samani (HS) calibrated equation. The sites www.accuweather.com (WEATHER); www.cemig.com.br (CEMIG); jornaldotempo.uol.com.br; (JORNAL) and www.climatempo.com.br (CLIMA) were evaluated. For the same period, the meteorological data were taken at the National Institute of Meteorology (www.inmet.gov.br). The performance of the Tmax and Tmin forecasts as well as the ETo estimates were made by regression analysis, the mean bias error (MBE), root mean square error (RMSE) and t-test. For all sites, there was a better performance in the prediction of Tmin when compared to Tmax, especially by a reduction in errors (MBE and RMSE) and an increase in coefficients b and R2. For ETo, the site CLIMA had lowest MBE and RMSE (0.9 mm d-1) following by the WEATHER and JORNAL. On the other hand, the site CEMIG presented higher values for MBE (-1.3 mm d-1) and RMSE (1.6 mm d-1). There was no worsening with an increase of the forecast horizon in these indices, except for R² values. The site CLIMA was the only one that did not differ significantly from the ETo values observed.  The results of diagnostic verification procedures indicate the potential use of air temperature forecasts in irrigation management

Mechanistic Insights into the Anti-angiogenic Activity of Trypanosoma cruzi Protein 21 and its Potential Impact on the Onset of Chagasic Cardiomyopathy

Chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy (CCC) is arguably the most important form of the Chagas Disease, caused by the intracellular protozoan Trypanosoma cruziit is estimated that 10-30% of chronic patients develop this clinical manifestation. The most common and severe form of CCC can be related to ventricular abnormalities, such as heart failure, arrhythmias, heart blocks, thromboembolic events and sudden death. Therefore, in this study, we proposed to evaluate the anti-angiogenic activity of a recombinant protein from T. cruzi named P21 (rP21) and the potential impact of the native protein on CCC. Our data suggest that the anti-angiogenic activity of rP21 depends on the protein's direct interaction with the CXCR4 receptor. This capacity is likely related to the modulation of the expression of actin and angiogenesis-associated genes. Thus, our results indicate that T. cruzi P21 is an attractive target for the development of innovative therapeutic agents against CCC.Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Departamento Microbiol Imunol Parasitol, BR-05508 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Uberlandia, Inst Ciencias Biomed, Dept Imunol, Lab Tripanosomatideos, Uberlandia, MG, BrazilUniv Fed Uberlandia, Inst Genet & Bioquim, Lab Bioquim & Toxinas Animais, Uberlandia, MG, BrazilCeTICS, Inst Butantan, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Uberlandia, Fac Med, Centro Referencia Nacl Dermatol Sanitaria Hanseni, Lab Patol Mol & Biotecnol, Uberlandia, MG, BrazilUniv Fed Uberlandia, Inst Ciencias Biomed, Dept Immunol, Lab Osteoimunol & Imunol Tumores, Uberlandia, MG, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Departamento Microbiol Imunol Parasitol, BR-05508 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Departamento Microbiol Imunol Parasitol, BR-05508 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Muscular Strength Imbalances Are not Associated with Skin Temperature Asymmetries in Soccer Players

Although strength imbalances using isokinetic dynamometer have been examined for injury risk screening in soccer players, it is very expensive and time-consuming, making the evaluation of new methods appealing. The aim of the study was to analyze the agreement between muscular strength imbalances and skin temperature bilateral asymmetries as well as skin temperature diferences in the hamstrings and quadriceps. The skin temperature of the anterior and posterior thigh of 59 healthy male soccer athletes was assessed at baseline using infrared thermography for the identification of hamstrings-quadriceps skin temperature diferences and thermal asymmetries (>0.5 ºC). Subsequently, concentric and eccentric peak torque of the quadriceps and hamstrings were considered in the determination of the ratios, as well as muscular asymmetries (>15%). When considering the torque parameters, 37.3% (n = 22) of the players would be classified as high risk for injuries. The percentage of those presenting skin temperature imbalances superior to 0.5 C was 52.5% (n = 31). The skin temperature assessment showed sensitivity (22%) and specificity (32.2%) to identify torque asymmetries, demonstrating the inability to identify false negatives (15.3%) and false positives (30.5%) from all soccer athletes. In conclusion, skin temperature diferences between hamstrings and quadriceps could be more related to thermoregulatory factors than strength imbalances

A successful strategy for the recovering of active P21, an insoluble recombinant protein of Trypanosoma cruzi

Structural studies of proteins normally require large quantities of pure material that can only be obtained through heterologous expression systems and recombinant technique. in these procedures, large amounts of expressed protein are often found in the insoluble fraction, making protein purification from the soluble fraction inefficient, laborious, and costly. Usually, protein refolding is avoided due to a lack of experimental assays that can validate correct folding and that can compare the conformational population to that of the soluble fraction. Herein, we propose a validation method using simple and rapid 1D H-1 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra that can efficiently compare protein samples, including individual information of the environment of each proton in the structure.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)INBEQMeDIUniv Fed Uberlandia, Inst Ciencias Biomed, BR-38400 Uberlandia, MG, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Inst Fis Sao Carlos, Sao Carlos, SP, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, Vila Mariana, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Minas Gerais, Inst Ciencias Biol, Dept Biol Geral, Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, Vila Mariana, SP, BrazilFAPESP: 2010/51867-6FAPESP: 2012/21153-7FAPEMIG: APQ-00621-11FAPEMIG: APQ-00305-12CAPES: 23038.005295/2011-40Web of Scienc