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

A hybrid intelligent agent for notification of users distracted by mobile phones in an urban environment

Mobile devices are now ubiquitous in daily life and the number of activities that can be performed using them is continually growing. This implies increased attention being placed on the device and diverted away from events taking place in the surrounding environment. The impact of using a smartphone on pedestrians in the vicinity of urban traffic has been investigated in a multimodal, fully immersive, virtual reality environment. Based on experimental data collected, an agent to improve the attention of users in such situations has been developed. The proposed agent uses explicit, contextual data from experimental conditions to feed a statistical learning model. The agent’s decision process is aimed at notifying users when they become unaware of critical events in their surroundings

Natural Growth Promoters Replacing Traditional Growth Promoters in Diets for Light Replacement Pullets: A Systematic Approach

ABSTRACT The effect of using natural growth promoters (NGP) to replace traditional antimicrobials on performance, biometry of digestive and reproductive organs, sexual maturity and bone characteristics of replacement pullets was evaluated; and the relationship between these variables according to the diets was verified. Eight-week-old birds were randomly assigned to a completely randomized design and fed different diets: negative control (without growth promoters); positive control - conventional growth promoter; organic acids (OA); symbiotic (S); essential oil (EO); OA + S; and EO + S. The performance, relative weight of digestive and reproductive organs and length intestines, height and crest length, sternum length, bone quality and sexual maturity of birds were similar (p>0.05) between treatments. The heat map combined with cluster analysis showed a uniform static pattern with the formation of three horizontal groups formed by the treatments: 1) negative control, S and OA + S; 2) positive control and OE and 3) OA and OE + S. A null relationship between the treatments and the variables under study was observed. The principal components analysis revealed an association of variables in three components with 60.55% of variation. NGP can replace traditional promoters, as they do not interfere with performance, biometrics or sexual maturity. Height and length are predictive variables for the development of reproductive organs, especially the oviduct. A similarity was identified through multivariate techniques between symbiotic and organic + symbiotic acids; positive control and essential oils; and organic and symbiotic acids + essential oils

Vaccines against toxoplasma gondii : challenges and opportunities

Development of vaccines against Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans is of high priority, given the high burden of disease in some areas of the world like South America, and the lack of effective drugs with few adverse effects. Rodent models have been used in research on vaccines against T. gondii over the past decades. However, regardless of the vaccine construct, the vaccines have not been able to induce protective immunity when the organism is challenged with T. gondii, either directly or via a vector. Only a few live, attenuated T. gondii strains used for immunization have been able to confer protective immunity, which is measured by a lack of tissue cysts after challenge. Furthermore, challenge with low virulence strains, especially strains with genotype II, will probably be insufficient to provide protection against the more virulent T. gondii strains, such as those with genotypes I or II, or those genotypes from South America not belonging to genotype I, II or III. Future studies should use animal models besides rodents, and challenges should be performed with at least one genotype II T. gondii and one of the more virulent genotypes. Endpoints like maternal-foetal transmission and prevention of eye disease are important in addition to the traditional endpoint of survival or reduction in numbers of brain cysts after challenge

Inhibition of Neurotoxic Secretory Phospholipases A(2) Enzymatic, Edematogenic, and Myotoxic Activities by Harpalycin 2, an Isoflavone Isolated from Harpalyce brasiliana Benth

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Secretory phospholipases A(2) (sPLA(2)) exert proinflammatory actions through lipid mediators. These enzymes have been found to be elevated in many inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, sepsis, and atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of harpalycin 2 (Har2), an isoflavone isolated from Harpalyce brasiliana Benth., in the enzymatic, edematogenic, and myotoxic activities of sPLA2 from Bothrops pirajai, Crotalus durissus terrificus, Apis mellifera, and Naja naja venoms. Har2 inhibits all sPLA(2) tested. PrTX-III (B. pirajai venom) was inhibited at about 58.7%, Cdt F15 (C. d. terrificus venom) at 78.8%, Apis (from bee venom) at 87.7%, and Naja (N. naja venom) at 88.1%. Edema induced by exogenous sPLA(2) administration performed in mice paws showed significant inhibition by Har2 at the initial step. In addition, Har2 also inhibited the myotoxic activity of these sPLA(2)s. In order to understand how Har2 interacts with these enzymes, docking calculations were made, indicating that the residues His48 and Asp49 in the active site of these enzymes interacted powerfully with Har2 through hydrogen bonds. These data pointed to a possible anti-inflammatory activity of Har2 through sPLA(2) inhibition.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)FUNCAP (Fundacao Cearense de Apoio a Pesquisa)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Access to infertility services in Canada for HIV-positive individuals and couples: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Family and pregnancy planning issues are important among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive individuals and couples. However, access to fertility services may be limited for this population. The objective of this study was to estimate the types of services available in fertility clinics in Canada for these individuals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A survey was sent to all registered fertility clinics in Canada to assess the availability of services (investigations and treatment) for infertility and/or viral transmission risk reduction in achieving pregnancy. The proportion and location of clinics willing to carry out investigations and treatments were determined. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess differences in response rates, investigations, and treatments by province and by couple scenario.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Completed surveys were received from 23/28 (82%) of clinics across eight Canadian provinces. Seventy-eight per cent (18/23) were willing to accept HIV-positive individuals in consultation, and 52% had actually seen at least one HIV-positive man or woman in the previous year. Clinics in every province were willing to offer infertility investigations, but only clinics located in five provinces were willing to offer fertility treatments. The most commonly available treatment was intrauterine insemination for couples in which the female partner was HIV-positive (52%). Other techniques, such as sperm washing (26%) or in vitro fertilization (17%), were less commonly offered. A smaller number of clinics were willing to offer risk reduction techniques in achieving pregnancy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Access to infertility investigations and treatments in Canada is limited and regionally dependent.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Registered with ClinicalTrials.gov at <url>http://www.clinicaltrials.gov</url>, registration number NCT00782132.</p