Fatores de risco cardiovascular e distribuição de gordura corporal em brasileiros com 80 anos ou mais

Modelo do estudo: Estudo transversal. Objetivo: Analisar a presença de fatores de risco cardiovascular (FRC) de acordo com o padrão de distribuição de gordura corporal em brasileiros com 80 anos ou mais. Materiais e Método: A amostra foi composta de 113 idosos, com média de idade de 83,4 anos, de ambos os sexos. O percentual de gordura corporal total e abdominal, hipertensão e perfil lipídico foram usados para caracterização dos FRC. O teste qui-quadrado foi utilizado para avaliação das proporções de FRC e o teste Mann-Whitney foi utilizado para comparar os resultados de adiposidade. Resultados: Idosos eutróficos apresentaram baixo triglicerídeos (p=0,017) e colesterol total (p=0,001) além de menores prevalências de hipertensão (p=0,003) e hipertrigliceridemia (p=0,007). Idosos com maior adiposidade abdominal apresentaram maior colesterol total (p=0,026) e prevalência de hipertrigliceridemia (p=0,011) e hipercolesterolemia (p=0,026) quando comparados com os de menor adiposidade abdominal. Aqueles com excesso de gordura (total, ou abdominal ou ambos), com exceção da glicemia (p=0,877), apresentaram alta prevalência de FRC. Aqueles com ambos os excessos de gordura apresentam diferenças, com maior nível de prevalência quando comparados aqueles com apenas um ou nenhum dos excessos. Conclusão: A obesidade, sendo abdominal ou total, é associada, da mesma maneira, com FRC em sujeitos com 80 anos ou maisStudy design: Cross-sectional study. Objective: To analyze the presence of cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs) according to the pattern of body fat distribution, in Brazilians aged 80 years or over. Methods: The sample consisted of 113 subjects, of 83.4 years, of both sexes. The percentages of total and abdominal body fat, hypertension and lipid profile were used for characterization of CRFs. The chisquare test was used to assess proportions of CRFs and the Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the results of adiposity. Results: Eutrophic subjects presented lower triglycerides (p=0.017), total cholesterol (p=0.001) and prevalence of both hypertension (p=0.003) and hypertriglyceridemia (p=0.007). Subjects with higher abdominal adiposity presented higher total cholesterol (p=0.026) and prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia (p=0.011) and hypercholesterolemia (p=0.026) than those with no excess abdominal adiposity. Those with excess fat (total, abdominal or both), with the exception of glucose (p=0.877), presented a high prevalence of CRFs. Those with both types of excess fat presented differences, with a higher prevalence level when compared to those with only one or neither of the excesses. Conclusion: Obesity, whether abdominal or total, is similarly associated with CRFs in subjects aged 80 years and ove

Electroweak Precision Observables within a Fourth Generation Model with General Flavour Structure

We calculate the contributions to electroweak precision observables (EWPOs) due to a fourth generation of fermions with the most general (quark-)flavour structure (but assuming Dirac neutrinos and a trivial flavour structure in the lepton sector). The new-physics contributions to the EWPOs are calculated at one-loop order using automated tools (FeynArts/FormCalc). No further approximations are made in our calculation. We discuss the size of non-oblique contributions arising from Z--quark--anti-quark vertex corrections and the dependence of the EWPOs on all CKM mixing angles involving the fourth generation. We find that the electroweak precision observables are sensitive to two of the fourth-generation mixing angles and that the corresponding constraints on these angles are competitive with those obtained from flavour physics. For non-trivial 4x4 flavour structures, the non-oblique contributions lead to relative corrections of several permille and should be included in a global fit

Genomic analysis of two phlebotomine sand fly vectors of Leishmania from the New and Old World.

Phlebotomine sand flies are of global significance as important vectors of human disease, transmitting bacterial, viral, and protozoan pathogens, including the kinetoplastid parasites of the genus Leishmania, the causative agents of devastating diseases collectively termed leishmaniasis. More than 40 pathogenic Leishmania species are transmitted to humans by approximately 35 sand fly species in 98 countries with hundreds of millions of people at risk around the world. No approved efficacious vaccine exists for leishmaniasis and available therapeutic drugs are either toxic and/or expensive, or the parasites are becoming resistant to the more recently developed drugs. Therefore, sand fly and/or reservoir control are currently the most effective strategies to break transmission. To better understand the biology of sand flies, including the mechanisms involved in their vectorial capacity, insecticide resistance, and population structures we sequenced the genomes of two geographically widespread and important sand fly vector species: Phlebotomus papatasi, a vector of Leishmania parasites that cause cutaneous leishmaniasis, (distributed in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa) and Lutzomyia longipalpis, a vector of Leishmania parasites that cause visceral leishmaniasis (distributed across Central and South America). We categorized and curated genes involved in processes important to their roles as disease vectors, including chemosensation, blood feeding, circadian rhythm, immunity, and detoxification, as well as mobile genetic elements. We also defined gene orthology and observed micro-synteny among the genomes. Finally, we present the genetic diversity and population structure of these species in their respective geographical areas. These genomes will be a foundation on which to base future efforts to prevent vector-borne transmission of Leishmania parasites

Borboletas (Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea e papilionoidea) de val de serra, região central do rio grande do sul, Brasil

The butterfly fauna of the Atlantic Forest Biome is reasonably well-known up to the southern limit of its distribution. However, there are knowledge gaps nearby the central region of Rio Grande do Sul State, whose forest areas are considered priorities for biological conservation. This study investigated the butterfly assemblage of a riparian fragment in an ecotone area between Mixed Ombrophilous Forest and Seasonal Decidous Forest, in Itaara municipality. From September 2005 to September 2006, after 105 net-hours through active search sampling, 877 butterflies were registered representing 104 species. Three more species were registered posteriorly, increasing total richness to 107. The most abundant species were the Nymphalidae Hermeuptychia hermes (Fabricius, 1775), Yphthimoides celmis (Godart, [1824]), Agraulis vanillae maculosa (Stichel, [1908]), Tegosa claudina (Eschscholtz, 1821) and Vanessa braziliensis (Moore, 1883). One new record for the State and four new ones for the central region were registered besides the southern endemic Papilionidae Euryades corethrus (Boisduval, 1836) and the Lycaenidae Arcas ducalis (Westwood, 1852), considered indicator of Atlantic forest preserved areas. Due to the representativeness of the registered fauna, it is suggested the increase of conservation efforts in the area and stimulation of new ecological studies with the local biodiversity