Variants of transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene and incident glucose intolerance in Japanese-Brazilians

Common variants of the transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene have been found to be associated with type 2 diabetes in different ethnic groups. The Japanese-Brazilian population has one of the highest prevalence rates of diabetes. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess whether two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TCF7L2, rs7903146 and rs12255372, could predict the development of glucose intolerance in Japanese-Brazilians. In a population-based 7-year prospective study, we genotyped 222 individuals (72 males and 150 females, aged 56.2 ± 10.5 years) with normal glucose tolerance at baseline. In the study population, we found that the minor allele frequency was 0.05 for SNP rs7903146 and 0.03 for SNP rs12255372. No significant allele or genotype association with glucose intolerance incidence was found for either SNP. Haplotypes were constructed with these two SNPs and three haplotypes were defined: CG (frequency: 0.94), TT (frequency = 0.027) and TG (frequency = 0.026). None of the haplotypes provided evidence for association with the incidence of glucose intolerance. Despite no associations between incidence of glucose intolerance and SNPs of the TCF7L2 gene in Japanese-Brazilians, we found that carriers of the CT genotype for rs7903146 had significantly lower insulin levels 2 h after a 75-g glucose load than carriers of the CC genotype. In conclusion, in Japanese-Brazilians, a population with a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes, common TCF7L2 variants did not make major contributions to the incidence of glucose tolerance abnormalities

A Brazilian glycoprotein E-negative bovine herpesvirus type 1.2a (BHV-1.2a) mutant is attenuated for cattle and induces protection against wild-type virus challenge

The authors previously reported the construction of a glycoprotein E-deleted (gE-) mutant of bovine herpesvirus type 1.2a (BHV-1.2a). This mutant, 265gE-, was designed as a vaccinal strain for differential vaccines, allowing the distinction between vaccinated and naturally infected cattle. In order to determine the safety and efficacy of this candidate vaccine virus, a group of calves was inoculated with 265gE-. The virus was detected in secretions of inoculated calves to lower titres and for a shorter period than the parental virus inoculated in control calves. Twenty one days after inoculation, the calves were challenged with the wild type parental virus. Only mild signs of infection were detected on vaccinated calves, whereas non-vaccinated controls displayed intense rhinotracheitis and shed virus for longer and to higher titres than vaccinated calves. Six months after vaccination, both vaccinated and control groups were subjected to reactivation of potentially latent virus. The mutant 265gE- could not be reactivated from vaccinated calves. The clinical signs observed, following the reactivation of the parental virus, were again much milder on vaccinated than on non-vaccinated calves. Moreover, parental virus shedding was considerably reduced on vaccinated calves at reactivation. In view of its attenuation, immunogenicity and protective effect upon challenge and reactivation with a virulent BHV-1, the mutant 265gE- was shown to be suitable for use as a BHV-1 differential vaccine viru

Tracking rates of ecotone migration due to salt-water encroachment using fossil mollusks in coastal South Florida

We determined the rate of migration of coastal vegetation zones in response to salt-water encroachment through paleoecological analysis of mollusks in 36 sediment cores taken along transects perpendicular to the coast in a 5.5 km2 band of coastal wetlands in southeast Florida. Five vegetation zones, separated by distinct ecotones, included freshwater swamp forest, freshwater marsh, and dwarf, transitional and fringing mangrove forest. Vegetation composition, soil depth and organic matter content, porewater salinity and the contemporary mollusk community were determined at 226 sites to establish the salinity preferences of the mollusk fauna. Calibration models allowed accurate inference of salinity and vegetation type from fossil mollusk assemblages in chronologically calibrated sediments. Most sediments were shallow (20–130 cm) permitting coarse-scale temporal inferences for three zones: an upper peat layer (zone 1) representing the last 30–70 years, a mixed peat-marl layer (zone 2) representing the previous ca. 150–250 years and a basal section (zone 3) of ranging from 310 to 2990 YBP. Modern peat accretion rates averaged 3.1 mm yr)1 while subsurface marl accreted more slowly at 0.8 mm yr)1. Salinity and vegetation type for zone 1 show a steep gradient with freshwater communities being confined west of a north–south drainage canal constructed in 1960. Inferences for zone 2 (pre-drainage) suggest that freshwater marshes and associated forest units covered 90% of the area, with mangrove forests only present along the peripheral coastline. During the entire pre-drainage history, salinity in the entire area was maintained below a mean of 2 ppt and only small pockets of mangroves were present; currently, salinity averages 13.2 ppt and mangroves occupy 95% of the wetland. Over 3 km2 of freshwater wetland vegetation type have been lost from this basin due to salt-water encroachment, estimated from the mollusk-inferred migration rate of freshwater vegetation of 3.1 m yr)1 for the last 70 years (compared to 0.14 m yr)1 for the pre-drainage period). This rapid rate of encroachment is driven by sea-level rise and freshwater diversion. Plans for rehydrating these basins with freshwater will require high-magnitude re-diversion to counteract locally high rates of sea-level rise

Electron transport in the dye sensitized nanocrystalline cell

Dye sensitised nanocrystalline solar cells (Gr\"{a}tzel cells) have achieved solar-to-electrical energy conversion efficiencies of 12% in diffuse daylight. The cell is based on a thin film of dye-sensitised nanocrystalline TiO$_2$ interpenetrated by a redox electrolyte. The high surface area of the TiO$_2$ and the spectral characteristics of the dye allow the device to harvest 46% of the solar energy flux. One of the puzzling features of dye-sensitised nano-crystalline solar cells is the slow electron transport in the titanium dioxide phase. The available experimental evidence as well as theoretical considerations suggest that the driving force for electron collection at the substrate contact arises primarily from the concentration gradient, ie the contribution of drift is negligible. The transport of electrons has been characterised by small amplitude pulse or intensity modulated illumination. Here, we show how the transport of electrons in the Gr\"{a}tzel cell can be described quantitatively using trap distributions obtained from a novel charge extraction method with a one-dimensional model based on solving the continuity equation for the electron density. For the first time in such a model, a back reaction with the I$_3^-$ ions in the electrolyte that is second order in the electron density has been included.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, invited talk at the workshop 'Nanostructures in Photovoltaics' to appear in Physica

Field Evaluation Of Safety During Gestation And Horizontal Spread Of A Recombinant Differential Bovine Herpesvirus 1 (bohv-1) Vaccine

Bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1) is recognized as a major cause of respiratory, reproductive disease and abortion in cattle. Vaccination is widely applied to minimize losses induced by BoHV-1 infections; however, vaccination of dams during pregnancy with modified live virus (MLV) vaccines has been occasionally associated to abortions. We have previously reported the development of a BoHV-1 recombinant virus, constructed with basis on a Brazilian BoHV-1 (Franco et al. 2002a) from which the gene coding for glycoprotein E (gE) was deleted (gE-) by genetic manipulation. Such recombinant has been previously evaluated in its potential as a differential vaccine (gE-vaccine) that allows differentiation between vaccinated and infected animals. Here, in the first part of the present study, the safety of the gE-vaccine during pregnancy was evaluated by the intramuscular inoculation of 107.4 tissue culture 50% infective doses (TCID50) of the virus into 22 pregnant dams (14 BoHV-1 seronegative; 8 seropositive), at different stages of gestation. Other 15 pregnant dams were kept as non-vaccinated controls. No abortions, stillbirths or fetal abnormalities were seen after vaccination. Seroconversion was observed in both groups of previously seronegative vaccinated animals. In the second part of the study, the potential of the gE-vaccine virus to spread among beef cattle under field conditions was examined. Four heifers were inoculated intranasally with a larger amount (107.6TCID50) of the gE-vaccine (to increase chances of transmission) and mixed with other sixteen animals at the same age and body condition, in the same grazing area, at a population density equal to the average cattle farming density within the region (one cattle head per 10,000 m2), for 180 days. All animals were monitored daily for clinical signs. Serum samples were collected on days 0, 30, 60 and 180 post-vaccination. Seroconversion was observed only in vaccinated heifers. These results indicate that, under the conditions of the present study, the gE-vaccine virus did not cause any noticeable harmful effect on pregnant dams and on its offspring and did not spread horizontally among cattle.2515458Belknap, E.B., Walters, L.M., Kelling, C., Ayers, V.K., Norris, J., McMillend, J., Hayhowe, C., Collins, J.K., Immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a gE, gG and US2 gene-deleted bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) vaccine (1999) Vaccine, 17, pp. 2297-2305Bouma, A., De Jong, M.C.M., Kimman, T.G., Transmission of pseudorabies virus within pig populations is independent of the size of the population (1995) Prev. Vet. Med., 23, pp. 163-172Casal, J., Planasdemunt, L., Varo, J.A., Martín, M., The use of different vaccination schedules for sows to protect piglets against Aujeszky's disease (2004) Vet. Med. B, 51, pp. 8-11D'Arce, R.C.F., Almeida, R.S., Silva, T.C., Franco, A.C., Spilki, F., Roehe, P.M., Arns, C.W., Restriction endonuclease and monoclonal antibody characterization of Brazilian isolates of bovine herpesviruses types 1 and 5 (2002) Vet. Microbiol., 88, pp. 315-324Ellis, J.A., Hassard, L.E., Cortese, V.S., Morley, P.S., Effects of perinatal vaccination on humoral and cellular immune responses in dams and young calves (1996) J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc., 208, pp. 393-400Flores, E.F., Donis, R.O., Isolation of a mutant MDBK cell line resistant to bovine viral diarrhea virus infection due to a block in viral entry (1995) Virology, 208, pp. 565-575Flores, E.F., Osorio, F.A., Zanella, E.L., Kit, S., Kit, M., Efficacy of a deletion mutant bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) vaccine that allows serologic differentiation of vaccinated from naturally infected animals (1993) J. Vet. Diagn. Invest., 5, pp. 534-540Franco, A.C., Rijsewijk, F.A.M., Flores, E.F., Weiblen, R., Roehe, P.M., Construction and characterization of a glycoprotein E deletion of bovine herpesvirus type 1.2 strain isolated in Brazil (2002) Braz. J. Microbiol., 33, pp. 274-278Franco, A.C., Spilki, F.R., Esteves, P.A., Lima, M., Weiblen, R., Flores, E.F., Rijsewijk, F.A.M., Roehe, P.M., A Brazilian glycoprotein E-negative bovine herpesvirus type 1.2a (BHV-1.2a) mutant is attenuated for cattle and induces protection against wild-type virus challenge (2002) Pesq. Vet. Bras., 22, pp. 135-140Hage, J.J., Schukken, Y.H., Barkema, H.W., Benedictus, G., Rijsewijk, F.A.M., Wentink, G.H., Population dynamics of bovine herpesvirus infection a dairy herd (1996) Vet. Microbiol., 53, pp. 169-180Guy, J.S., Potgieter, L.N., Bovine herpesvirus-1 infection of cattle: Kinetics of antibody formation after intranasal exposure and abortion induced by the virus (1985) Am. J. Vet. Res., 46, pp. 893-898Kaashoek, M., (1995) Marker Vaccines Against Bovine Herpesvirus 1 Infections, 155p. , Ph.D. Thesis, Utrecht University, NetherlandsKleiboeker, S.B., Lee, S.M., Jones, C.A., Estes, D.M., Evaluation of shedding of bovine herpesvirus 1, bovine viral diarrhea virus 1, and bovine viral diarrhea virus 2 after vaccination of calves with a multivalent modified-live virus vaccine (2003) J. Am. Vet. Med Assoc., 222, pp. 1399-1403Lomba, F., Vascoboinic, E., Zygraich, N., Immunization of pregnant dams with a temperature-sensitive mutant of the IBR Virus (1976) 6th Int. Congr. Diseases of Cattle, pp. 395-399. , ParisMars, M.H., De Jong, M.C.M., Van Oirschot, J.T., A gE-negative BHV-1 vaccine virus strain cannot perpetuate in cattle populations (2000) Vaccine, 18, pp. 2120-2124McFelly, R.A., Merrit, A.M., Stearly, E.L., Abortion in a dairy herd vaccinated for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (1964) Vet. Path., 1, pp. 7-17Miller, J.M., Whetstone, C.A., Van Der Maaten, M.J., Abortfacient property of bovine herpesvirus type 1 isolates that represent three subtypes determined by restriction endonuclease analysis of viral DNA (1991) Am. J. Vet. Res., 52, pp. 458-461Miller, J.M., Whetstone, C.A., Bello, L.J., Lawrence, W.C., Whitbeck, J.C., Abortions in heifers inoculated with a thymidine kinase-negative recombinant of bovine herpesvirus 1 (1995) Am. J. Vet. Res., 56, pp. 870-874Mitchell, D., An outbreak of abortion in a dairy herd following inoculation with an intramuscular infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (1964) Can. Vet. J., 26, pp. 8-14Odde, K.G., Survival of the neonatal calf. Factors influencing colostral and calf serum immunoglobulin levels (1988) Vet. Clin. North Am. Food Anim. Pract., 4, pp. 501-508Pastoret, P.P., Babiuk, L.A., Misra, V., Griebel, P., Reactivation of temperature sensitive and non-temperature-sensitive infectious bovine rhinotracheitis vaccine virus with dexamethasone (1980) Infect. Immun., 29, pp. 483-488Roehe, P.M., (1991) Studies on the Comparative Virology of Pestiviruses, 361p. , Ph.D. thesis. University of Surrey, Guildford, UKSiebert, S., Auer, S., Heinem, E., Kretzdom, D., Strube, W., Marker vaccines - Opportunities for IBR control. Part I: BHV-1 infections - The problem (1995) Tierärztl. Umschau, 50, pp. 530-533Siebert, S., Auer, S., Heinem, E., Kretzdom, D., Strube, W., Marker vaccines - Opportunities for IBR control. Part II: Safety and efficacy of the gE-deleted Bayovac IBR marker vaccines (1995) Tierärztl. Umschau, 50, pp. 582-584Strube, W., Abar, B., Bergle, R.D., Safety aspects in the development of an infectious bovine rhinotracheitis marker vaccine. Non-target effects of live vaccines (1995) Dev. Biol. Stand., 84, pp. 75-81Turin, L., Russo, S., Poli, G., BHV-1: New molecular approaches to control a common and widespread infection (1999) Mol. Med., 5, pp. 261-284Van Drunen Littel-van Den Hurk, S., Parker, M.D., Massie, B., Van Den Hurk, J.V., Harland, R., Babiuk, L.A., Zamb, T.J., Protection of cattle from BHV-1 infection by immunization with recombinant glycoprotein gIV (1993) Vaccine, 11, pp. 25-35Van Engelenburg, F.A.C., Kaashoek, M.J., Van Oirschot, J.T., Rijsewijk, F.A.M., A glycoprotein E deletion mutant of bovine herpesvirus 1 infects the same limited number of tissues in calves as wild-type virus, but for a shorter period (1995) J. Gen. Virol., 76, pp. 2387-2392Wentink, G.H., Van Oirschot, J.T., Verhoeff, J., Risk of infection with bovine herpes virus 1 (BHV-1): A review (1993) Vet. Quarterly, 15, pp. 30-33Whetstone, C.A., Wheeler, J.G., Reed, D.E., Investigation of possible vaccine-induced epizootics of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, using restriction endonuclease analysis of viral DNA (1986) Am. J. Vet. Res., 47, pp. 1789-1795Zuckermann, F.A., Husmann, R.J., Schwartz, R., Brandt, J., Mateu De Antonio, E., Martin, S., Interleukin-12 enhances the virus-specific interferon gamma response of pigs to an inactivated pseudorabies virus vaccine (1998) Vet. Immunol. Immunopath., 63, pp. 57-6

Influência do butralin como anti-brotante em cultura de fumo (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. 'Goiano')

Com a finalidade de se evitar a operação de desbrota manual em plantas de fumo (Nicotiana tabacum L.), controlando a brotação axilar, conduziu-se um experimento, em Piracicaba (SP), em condições de campo, utilizando-se um inibidor de brotação, o 4-(1,1-dimetiletil)-N-(1-metilpropil)-2,6-dinitrobenzenamina (butralin), nas concentrações de 1, 2 e 3% do produto comercial, na dose de 20 ml da emulsão por planta, aplicada logo após a retirada da inflorescência principal, na extremidade superior da haste atingindo as gemas axilares uniformemente. Os resultados mostram que o butralin, nas concentrações utilizadas, em comparação com o controle, promove a inibiçao no desenvolvimento dos meristemas das gemas axilares, sem afetar o desenvolvimento das folhas. A concentração de 2% do produto comercial, foi a que proporcionou maior peso de matéria seca de folhas e menor de matéria seca de brotos. Os resultados mostram que o butralin, nas concentrações utilizadas, em comparação com o controle, promove a inibiçao no desen volvimento dos meristemas das gemas axila-res, sem afetar o desenvolvimento das folhas. A concentração de 2% do produto comercial, foi a que proporcionou maior peso de materia seca de folhas e menor de materia seca de brotos.An experiment to verify the possibility in reducing manual bud pruning in tobacco (Nicoticma tabacum L.) by controlling axilary buds with an inhibitor of axillary bud growth was conducted, Butralin, at 1, 2 and 3% of commercial product, using 20 ml per plant, applied just after removing the principal inflorescence on upper stem end was used. The results have showed that all concentrations of butralin promoved inhibition of axillary sprout meristem developments, without affecting leaf growth. The concentration of 2% of commercial product gave the highest leaf dry matter and the lowest axillary sprout dry matter weight

Integrating an autonomous robot on a dance and new technologies festival

This paper presents the results of a project to integrate an autonomous mobile robot into a modern dance performance at a dance and new technologies festival. The main goal is to integrate a simple low cost mobile robot into the dance performance, in order to study the possibilities that this kind of platforms can offer to the artists. First, this work explains the process and design to embed the robotic platform into the choreography theme. Another contribution described in this work is the system architecture proposed and built to make the robot behaviours match the artists requirements: precise, synchronized and robust robot movements. Finally, we discuss the main issues and lessons learned for this kind of robotics and arts applications and summarize the results obtained, including the successful final live performance results

Time series forecasting with the WARIMAX-GARCH method

It is well-known that causal forecasting methods that include appropriately chosen Exogenous Variables (EVs) very often present improved forecasting performances over univariate methods. However, in practice, EVs are usually difficult to obtain and in many cases are not available at all. In this paper, a new causal forecasting approach, called Wavelet Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average with eXogenous variables and Generalized Auto-Regressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (WARIMAX-GARCH) method, is proposed to improve predictive performance and accuracy but also to address, at least in part, the problem of unavailable EVs. Basically, the WARIMAX-GARCH method obtains Wavelet “EVs” (WEVs) from Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average with eXogenous variables and Generalized Auto-Regressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (ARIMAX-GARCH) models applied to Wavelet Components (WCs) that are initially determined from the underlying time series. The WEVs are, in fact, treated by the WARIMAX-GARCH method as if they were conventional EVs. Similarly to GARCH and ARIMA-GARCH models, the WARIMAX-GARCH method is suitable for time series exhibiting non-linear characteristics such as conditional variance that depends on past values of observed data. However, unlike those, it can explicitly model frequency domain patterns in the series to help improve predictive performance. An application to a daily time series of dam displacement in Brazil shows the WARIMAX-GARCH method to remarkably outperform the ARIMA-GARCH method, as well as the (multi-layer perceptron) Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and its wavelet version referred to as Wavelet Artificial Neural Network (WANN) as in [1], on statistical measures for both in-sample and out-of-sample forecasting

Microwave dielectric permittivity and photoluminescence of Eu 2O3 doped laser heated pedestal growth Ta 2O5 fibers

Partilhar documento na coleção da comunidade Laboratório Associado I3NWe report the microwave dielectric properties and photoluminescence of undoped and europium oxide doped Ta2O5 fibers, grown by laser heated pedestal growth technique. The effects of Eu2O3 doping 1–3 mol % on the structural, optical, and dielectric properties were investigated. At a frequency of 5 GHz, the undoped material exhibits a dielectric permittivity of 21 and for Eu2O3 doped Ta2O5 samples it increases, reaching up to 36 for the highest doping concentration. Nevertheless, the dielectric losses maintain a very low value. For this wide band gap oxide, Eu3+ optical activation was achieved and the emission is observed up to room temperature. Thus, the transparency and high permittivity make this material promising for electronic devices and microwave applications. © 2008 American Institute of Physics.FCT-PTDC/FIS/66262/06FCT-PTDC/CTM/66195/200

O movimento de mulheres piauienses para obter sua formação profissional como enfermeiras 1959-1973

O estudo objetivou descrever a luta de mulheres piauienses por sua formação como enfermeiras em outros estados do Brasil. Tratase de uma pesquisa histórico- social produzida a partir de fontes orais e secundárias. Os dados foram analisados à luz dos conceitos de espaço social, campo, capital, poder simbólico, luta e violência simbólica de Pierre Bourdieu. Os resultados apontam as lutas simbólicas no processo de formação profissional dessas piauienses, em sua maioria, em universidades na região nordeste. Ao realizarem o curso de enfermagem fora do Estado, essas jovens tiveram um conjunto de conhecimentos incorporados, que aliados à diversidade de culturas favoreceram o ganho de capital científico e cultural. Conclui-se que as lutas desenvolvidas por essas mulheres resultaram em ganhos simbólicos e sociais, além da incorporação do habitus profissional. O estudo contribuirá para a história da enfermagem, na construção de novos registros, além de abrir portas para a realização de novas pesquisas sobre a temática.El estudio tuvo como objetivo describir la lucha de las mujeres Piauí para su formación como enfermeras en otros estados de Brasil. Se trata de una investigación histórico-social producida a partir de fuentes orales y secundarias. Los datos se analizaron de acuerdo a los conceptos de espacio social, campo, el capital, el poder simbólico, la lucha y la violencia simbólica de Pierre Bourdieu. Los resultados muestran las luchas simbólicas en el proceso de formación de éstos mujeres piauienses, en su mayoría en las universidades en el noreste. En la realización del programa de enfermería fuera del estado, estos jóvenes tenían un conjunto de conocimientos incorporados, lo que combinado con la diversidad de culturas favoreció el capital científico y cultural de ganancia. En conclusión, las luchas que estas mujeres resultaron en ganancias simbólicas y sociales así como la incorporación de habitus profesional. El estudio contribuirá a la historia de la enfermería en la construcción de nuevos registros, y abrir las puertas a nuevas investigaciones sobre el tema.The study aimed to describe the struggle of Piauí women for their training as nurses in other Brazilian states. It is a social-historical research produced from oral and secondary sources. Data were analyzed according to the concepts of social space, field, capital, symbolic power, struggle and symbolic violence of Pierre Bourdieu. The results show the symbolic struggles in the training process of these women do Piauí, mostly at universities in the Northeast. When conducting the nursing course outside the state, these young people had a set of embedded knowledge, which combined with the diversity of cultures promoted the gain scientific and cultural capital. In conclusion, the fights undertaken by these women resulted in symbolic and social gains as well the incorporation of professional habitus. The study will contribute to the history of nursing in the construction of new records, and open doors to new research on the subject