Sistema Financeiro da Habitação e programas habitacionais alternativos: diagnóstico e perspectivas

This paper presents a synthesis of the main conclusions of the research "housing finance system: short-term perspectives, impacts on the housing sector and alternative orms of housing production”, sponsored by DEPEA/CEF and carried out by IEI/UFRJ, during the period january/1987 - august/1988. The broad scope of the issues included in this discussion led to of examine the question of housing finance in Brazil in such a way as to integrate, on the one habd, the actual economic and financial aspects of the question -— that is, thinking the different entities of the SFH. As financial institutions and, therefore, affected by the behaviour of the main macroeconomic variables - and, on the other hand, the housing question itself. In this case, attention was given both to the formal housing market and to the problems related to the housing provision for the lower income classes.O presente texto apresenta uma síntese das principais conclusões da pesquisa "Sistema Financeiro da Habitação: Acompanhamento da Conjuntura, Impactos sobre o Setor Imobiliário e Formas Alternativas de Produção Habitacional", contratada pelo DEPEA/CEF e desenvolvida no âmbito do IEI/UFRJ, no período de janeiro/1987 a agosto/1988. A amplitude do tema abordado revela a preocupação em examinar a questão do financiamento habitacional no Brasil de tal maneira a integrar, por um lado, a questão econômico-financeira propriamente dita - ou seja, entendendo as diversas entidades componentes do SFH enquanto instituições financeiras e, portanto, afetadas pelo comportamento das principais variáveis macroeconômicas - e, por outro lado, a questão da moradia - sendo que, nesse caso, a atenção está voltada tanto para o setor "de mercado" como para a problemática da chamada “habitação popular"

Neuroanatomy and cadaver dissection in Italy: History, medicolegal issues, and neurosurgical perspectives.

Despite the significant Italian tradition of important anatomical studies, an outdated law historically influenced by the Catholic church restricts the use of cadavers for teaching and scientific purposes. The object of the present paper was to trace the historical evolution of the Italian anatomical tradition, particularly neuroanatomical studies, in relation to the juridical regulations on the use of cadavers today. Special attention was paid to the opportunities offered to neurosurgery by using cadavers and to the scientific and social issues in neurosurgical training in the twenty-first century. Considering the new Common European Constitution, the authors advocate a political solution from the European community to improve the quality of training in the disciplines with a social impact such as neurosurgery

Calcium binding promotes prion protein fragment 90–231 conformational change toward a membrane destabilizing and cytotoxic structure

Microglia-mediated inflammation in the central nervous system is a hallmark of the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease. Microglial cells activation follows the deposition of amyloid beta fibrils and it is generally considered a triggering factor in the early steps of the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Although the initial engagement of microglia seems to play a neuroprotective role, many lines of evidence indicate that a persistent activation with the production of pro-inflammatory molecules contributes to dismantle neuronal activity and to induce neuronal loss occurring in neurodegenerative diseases. To date, limited proteomic data are available on activated microglial cells in response to extracellular amyloidogenic peptides. In this study, murine microglial cells have been employed to investigate the effects of amyloid beta peptides in triggering microglial activation. The response was monitored at the proteome level through a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis based approach. Results show only a limited number of differentially expressed proteins, among these a more acidic species of the cytosolic actin, and the 14-3-3 protein, found significantly up-regulated in A-activated cells. 14-3-3 belongs to a regulatory protein family involved in important cellular processes, including those leading to neurodegenerative diseases, and thus its increased expression suggests a role of this protein in tuning microglia activation

Mild cognitive impairment is associated with poor physical function but not bone structure or density in late adulthood:Findings from the Hertfordshire Cohort Study

Mini Abstract This study investigated the association between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and physical function and bone health in older adults. MCI was associated with poor physical performance but not bone mineral density or bone microarchitecture. Abstract Purpose: Cross-sectional study to investigate the association between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and physical performance, and bone health, in a community-dwelling cohort of older adults. Methods: Cognitive function of 222 men and 221 women (mean age 75.5 and 75.8 years in men and women, respectively) was assessed by the Strawbridge questionnaire and Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE). Participants underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), peripheral-quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) and high-resolution peripheral-quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) scans to assess their bone density, strength and microarchitecture. Their physical function was assessed and a physical performance (PP) score was recorded. Results: 11.8% of women and 8.1% of men in the study were cognitive impaired on the MMSE (score<24). 24% of women were deemed cognitively impaired on the Strawbridge questionnaire, compared to 22.3% of men. Cognitive impairment on the Strawbridge questionnaire was associated with poorer physical performance score in men but not women in the unadjusted analysis. MMSE <24 was strongly associated with the risk of low physical performance in men (OR 12.9, 95% CI 1.67, 99.8, p=0.01) Higher MMSE score was associated with better physical performance in both sexes. Poorer cognitive function, whether assessed by the Strawbridge questionnaire, or by MMSE score, was not associated with bone density, shape or microarchitecture, in either sex. Conclusion: MCI in older adults was associated with poor physical performance, but not bone density, shape or microarchitecture

Eugenia punicifolia leaf extract has a hypotensive effect and inhibits angiotensin-converting enzyme activity in both in vitro and in vivo models.

Chronic high blood pressure has for many years been considered a public health problem. Eugenia punicifolia is a plant used to treat diabetes by the local population, however its hypotensive effect has never been investigated

Alzheimer's disease: Clinical practice guideline

El Grupo de Trabajo de Neurología de la Conducta y Neurociencias Cognitivas de la Sociedad Neurológica Argentina publicó en 2006 la primera Guía de práctica clínica sobre la enfermedad de Alzheimer para su aplicación en nuestro medio y, eventualmente, en el resto de los países hispanoparlantes del Cono Sur. La Guía que hoy publicamos, mediante la revisión y actualización del estado actual del conocimiento sobre la enfermedad de Alzheimer y su manejo clínico y neurológico, provee a los profesionales los estándares surgidos de la medicina basada en la evidencia para una adecuada implementación de las conductas diagnósticas y terapéuticas a su alcance en nuestro medio.In 2006, the Argentine Neurological Society Research Group on Behavioral Neurology and Cognitive Neurosciences published the first Clinical Practice Guideline on Alzheimer's Disease to be consulted in Argentina and eventually in other countries in Latin America. The present Guideline is a review of the state of the art concerning the 2010 knowledge on the management of this disease. It provides physicians with the usual standards provided by evidence based medicine in order to reach the most adequate diagnostic and therapeutic measures at hand in our countries.Fil: Allegri, Ricardo Francisco. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; Argentina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia. Instituto de Neurociencias - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Neurociencias; ArgentinaFil: Arizaga, Raúl Luciano. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Bavec, Claudia V.. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Colli, Liliana P.. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Demey, Ignacio. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, María C.. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Frontera, Silvina A.. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Garau, María L.. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Jiménez, Julio J.. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Golimstok, Angel. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Kremer, Janus. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Labos, Edith. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Mangone, Carlos Antonio. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Ollari, Juan A.. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Rojas, Zenón Galeno. Centro de Educación Médica e Investigaciones Clínicas "Norberto Quirno"; Argentina. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Salmini, Omar. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Ure, Jorge A.. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Zuin, Daniel R.. Sociedad Neurológica Argentina; Argentin