A retrospective analysis of clinicopathological and prognostic characteristics of ovarian tumors in the State of Espírito Santo, Brazil

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ovarian cancer is sixth most common cancer among women and the leading cause of death in women with gynecological malignancies. Despite the great impact ovarian cancer has on women's health and its great impact in public economy, Brazil still lacks valuable information concerning epidemiological aspects of this disease</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We've compiled clinical data of all ovarian tumors registered at the two public hospitals of reference (1997 - 2007), such as: patients' age at diagnosis, tumor histological type, tumor stage, chemotherapy regimens, chemotherapy responsiveness, disease-free survival, and overall survival.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Women's mean age at diagnosis was 54.67 ± 13.84 for ovarian cancer, 46.15 ± 11.15 for borderline tumors, and 42.01 ± 15.06 for adenomas. Among epithelial ovarian cancer cases, 30.1% were of serous, 13.7% were of mucinous, and 13.7% were of endometrioid type; exceptionally serous carcinoma was diagnosed in women younger than 30 years old. Endometrioid cancer had lower disease-free survival than others (p < 0.05). Cases were predominantly diagnosed as poor prognosis disease (FIGO III and IV, 56.2%). Regarding responsiveness to platinum-based therapy, 17.1% of patients were resistant, whereas 24.6%, susceptible. From these, we found equally responsiveness to platinum alone or its association with paclitaxel or cyclophosphamide.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Our data agreed with other studies regarding mean patients' age at diagnosis, histological type frequency, FIGO stages distribution, and chemotherapy regimens. However, the histological type distribution, with equal contribution of mucinous and endometrioid types seems to be a unique characteristic of the studied highly miscegenated population.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We have enlighten the profile of the studied ovarian cancer population, which might enable the development of more efficient political strategies to control this malignancy that is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women.</p

Short communication: Bovine milk sampling efficiency for pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAG) detection test

Two experiments were conducted to verify whether the time of day at which a milk sample is collected and the possible carryover in the milking system may affect pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAG) levels and, consequently, the pregnancy test results in dairy cows. In experiment one, we evaluated the effect of time of day at which the milk sample is collected from 51 cows. In experiment two, which evaluated the possible occurrence of carryover in the milk meter milking system, milk samples from 94 cows belonging to two different farms were used. The samples were subjected to pregnancy test using ELISA methodology to measure PAG concentrations and to classify the samples as positive (pregnant), negative (nonpregnant), or suspicious (recheck). We found that the time of milking did not affect the PAG levels. As to the occurrence of carryover in the milk meter, the PAG levels of the samples collected from Farm-2 were heavily influenced by a carryover effect compared with the samples from Farm-1. Thus, milk samples submitted to a pregnancy test can be collected during the morning or the evening milking. When the sample is collected from the milk meters, periodic equipment maintenance should be noted, including whether the milk meter is totally drained between different animals’ milking and equipment cleaning between milking is performed correctly to minimize the occurrence of carryover, thereby avoiding the effect on PAG levels and, consequently, the pregnancy test results. Therefore, a single milk sample can be used for both milk quality tests and pregnancy test

The Cellular Prion Protein Interacts with the Tissue Non-Specific Alkaline Phosphatase in Membrane Microdomains of Bioaminergic Neuronal Cells

BACKGROUND: The cellular prion protein, PrP(C), is GPI anchored and abundant in lipid rafts. The absolute requirement of PrP(C) in neurodegeneration associated to prion diseases is well established. However, the function of this ubiquitous protein is still puzzling. Our previous work using the 1C11 neuronal model, provided evidence that PrP(C) acts as a cell surface receptor. Besides a ubiquitous signaling function of PrP(C), we have described a neuronal specificity pointing to a role of PrP(C) in neuronal homeostasis. 1C11 cells, upon appropriate induction, engage into neuronal differentiation programs, giving rise either to serotonergic (1C11(5-HT)) or noradrenergic (1C11(NE)) derivatives. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The neuronal specificity of PrP(C) signaling prompted us to search for PrP(C) partners in 1C11-derived bioaminergic neuronal cells. We show here by immunoprecipitation an association of PrP(C) with an 80 kDa protein identified by mass spectrometry as the tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP). This interaction occurs in lipid rafts and is restricted to 1C11-derived neuronal progenies. Our data indicate that TNAP is implemented during the differentiation programs of 1C11(5-HT) and 1C11(NE) cells and is active at their cell surface. Noteworthy, TNAP may contribute to the regulation of serotonin or catecholamine synthesis in 1C11(5-HT) and 1C11(NE) bioaminergic cells by controlling pyridoxal phosphate levels. Finally, TNAP activity is shown to modulate the phosphorylation status of laminin and thereby its interaction with PrP. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The identification of a novel PrP(C) partner in lipid rafts of neuronal cells favors the idea of a role of PrP in multiple functions. Because PrP(C) and laminin functionally interact to support neuronal differentiation and memory consolidation, our findings introduce TNAP as a functional protagonist in the PrP(C)-laminin interplay. The partnership between TNAP and PrP(C) in neuronal cells may provide new clues as to the neurospecificity of PrP(C) function

Atividade repelente e inseticida do óleo essencial de carqueja doce sobre o caruncho do feijão

Com este trabalho se avaliaram o índice de preferência e o efeito inseticida do óleo de carqueja doce (Baccharis Articulata) sobre o caruncho do feijão (Acanthoscelides obtectus). Para a realização do experimento foram utilizados insetos não sexados, com idade entre 20 e 50 dias. O óleo essencial foi extraido da parte aérea da planta pelo método de hidrodestilação. O experimento foi conduzido conforme o delineamneto inteiramente casualizado, com 6 repetições, em esquema fatorial 6 x 3 e 6 x 7 (dose x tempo), respetivamente, para repelência e para atividade inseticida. Os testes de repelência e da atividade inseticida foram realizados com as doses de 0, 10, 20, 30, 50 e 100 µL de óleo essencial em 20 g de grãos de feijão sendo a avaliação realizada depois de transcorridas 24, 48 e 72 h para a repelência e após 1, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72 e 96 h para a atividade inseticida. Os resultados demonstram que a dosagem, o tempo de exposição e a interação tiveram efeito significativo na mortalidade dos insetos. Em relação à dosagem, seu aumento proporcionou incremento logaritmico na taxa de mortalidade sendo verificada, na dose aproximada de 52 µL, a morte de 90% dos insetos. O tempo de exposição de 35 h provocou a morte de 90% dos insetos. Também, foi observado efeito repelente do óleo essencial nas dosagens e tempos de exposição estudados

Carga do diabetes mellitus tipo 2 no Brasil

O diabetes mellitus tipo 2 se destaca, atualmente, na composição dos indicadores dos Estudos de Carga Global de Doença. Este estudo estimou a carga de doença atribuível ao diabetes mellitus tipo 2 e suas complicações crônicas no Brasil, 2008. Foram calculados os anos de vida perdidos ajustados por incapacidade (DALY), anos de vida perdidos por morte prematura (YLL) e os anos de vida perdidos por conta da incapacidade (YLD) estratificados por sexo, faixa etária e região. O diabetes mellitus tipo 2 representou 5% da carga de doença no Brasil, posicionando-se como a 3ª causa mais importante nas mulheres e a 6ª nos homens na construção do DALY. A maioria do DALY se concentrou na faixa etária entre 30 e 59 anos e foi representado majoritariamente pelo YLD. As maiores taxas de YLL e YLD se concentraram nas regiões Nordeste e Sul, respectivamente. As complicações crônicas do diabetes mellitus tipo 2 representaram 80% do YLD. O diabetes mellitus tipo 2 representou um dos principais agravos de saúde no Brasil em 2008, contribuindo com relevantes parcelas de mortalidade e morbidade