Laicidade da educa??o em quest?o : encontros de ensino religioso nas cidades de Ouro Preto e Mariana.

Baseado em recorte de pesquisa desenvolvida no Programa de P?s-Gradua??o em Educa??o apresentado ? Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, o estudo investigou como a laicidade do Estado brasileiro e a diversidade religiosa foram abordadas nos Encontros de Metodologia e Filosofia de Ensino Religioso nas tricenten?rias cidades de Ouro Preto e Mariana (MG). A forma??o era oferecida aos professores de ensino religioso das redes p?blica e privada pela Secretaria de Estado da Educa??o/SRE Ouro Preto e Arquidiocese de Mariana. Adotou-se an?lise qualitativa, pesquisa documental, observa??o-participante, entrevista semiestruturada e question?rios para identificar a proposta pedag?gica das reuni?es e compreender e analisar como a diversidade religiosa e o conceito de Estado laico eram abordados. Os resultados mostraram que a diversidade religiosa n?o foi respeitada, o Estado n?o regulou tais pr?ticas pedag?gicas e que as forma??es podem ser consideradas inadequadas para forma??o de professores, considerando os princ?pios da escola p?blica e laica.Based on part of a research carried cut in the Graduate Program in Education presented to the Federal University of Ouro Preto, the study investigated how the secular nature of the Brazilian State and religious diversity were addressed in the Methodology Meetings and Religious Teaching of Philosophy in the three hundred years cities of Ouro Preto and Mariana (MG). The training was offered to religious education teachers in public and private schools by the Ministry of Education/SRE Ouro Preto and Mariana Archdiocese. It was adopted a qualitative analysis, documentary research, participant observation, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires to identify the pedagogical proposal of the meetings and understand and analyze how religious diversity and the concept of secular state were addressed. The results showed that religious diversity is not respected, the state did not regulate such teaching practices and that training may be considered inadequate teacher training, considering the principles of public and secular school

VISCERAL LEISHMANIASIS IN PETROLINA, STATE OF PERNAMBUCO, BRAZIL, 2007-2013

Visceral leishmaniasis is a life-threatening disease of great public health relevance in Brazil. The municipality of Petrolina is an endemic area in the State of Pernambuco, Brazil. This study was designed to assess the recent expansion of VL in the municipality ofPetrolina, Pernambuco. Patients data were obtained from the Brazilian National Information System for Notifiable Diseases (SINAN). A total of 111 records from 2007 to 2013 were investigated, of which 69 were residents in Petrolina. The disease has predominantly affected 1-4 year old children (34.8%). Most of the patients were males (59.4%). Co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus occurred in 14.5% of the cases. The criterion most frequently used was the clinical and epidemiological confirmation (59.4%), with clinical cure in 78.3% of cases and one fatal outcome. Visceral leishmaniasis is endemic in Petrolina with transmission levels varying from moderate to high. The present study has shown the precariousness of the use of diagnostic tests in primary healthcare units, and this misuse has interfered with the diagnosis and treatment of cases

Phylogenetic and functional diversity of metagenomic libraries of phenol degrading sludge from petroleum refinery wastewater treatment system

In petrochemical refinery wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), different concentrations of pollutant compounds are received daily in the influent stream, including significant amounts of phenolic compounds, creating propitious conditions for the development of particular microorganisms that can rapidly adapt to such environment. In the present work, the microbial sludge from a refinery WWTP was enriched for phenol, cloned into fosmid vectors and pyrosequenced. The fosmid libraries yielded 13,200 clones and a comprehensive bioinformatic analysis of the sequence data set revealed a complex and diverse bacterial community in the phenol degrading sludge. The phylogenetic analyses using MEGAN in combination with RDP classifier showed a massive predominance of Proteobacteria, represented mostly by the genera Diaphorobacter, Pseudomonas, Thauera and Comamonas. The functional classification of phenol degrading sludge sequence data set generated by MG-RAST showed the wide metabolic diversity of the microbial sludge, with a high percentage of genes involved in the aerobic and anaerobic degradation of phenol and derivatives. In addition, genes related to the metabolism of many other organic and xenobiotic compounds, such as toluene, biphenyl, naphthalene and benzoate, were found. Results gathered herein demonstrated that the phenol degrading sludge has complex phylogenetic and functional diversities, showing the potential of such community to degrade several pollutant compounds. This microbiota is likely to represent a rich resource of versatile and unknown enzymes which may be exploited for biotechnological processes such as bioremediation

GLAST: Understanding the High Energy Gamma-Ray Sky

We discuss the ability of the GLAST Large Area Telescope (LAT) to identify, resolve, and study the high energy gamma-ray sky. Compared to previous instruments the telescope will have greatly improved sensitivity and ability to localize gamma-ray point sources. The ability to resolve the location and identity of EGRET unidentified sources is described. We summarize the current knowledge of the high energy gamma-ray sky and discuss the astrophysics of known and some prospective classes of gamma-ray emitters. In addition, we also describe the potential of GLAST to resolve old puzzles and to discover new classes of sources.Comment: To appear in Cosmic Gamma Ray Sources, Kluwer ASSL Series, Edited by K.S. Cheng and G.E. Romer

Effects of luteectomy in early pregnancy on the maintenance of gestation and plasma progesterone concentrations in the viviparous temperate lizard Barisia imbricata imbricata

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several studies have shown that the corpus luteum is the principal source of progesterone during the gravidity period in reptiles; however, its participation in the maintenance of gestation in the viviparous squamata is in dispute. The effects of ovariectomy or luteectomy vary according to the species and the time at which the procedure is performed. In this paper, we describe the effects of luteectomy during early pregnancy on the maintenance of gestation and progesterone concentrations in the temperate Mexican viviparous lizard <it>Barisia imbricata imbricata.</it></p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-four lizards were subjected to three different treatments: luteectomy, sham luteectomy or non-surgical treatment, and blood samples were obtained before and after surgical treatment at different stages of gestation to determine the effects of luteectomy on the maintenance of gestation and progesterone concentrations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Spontaneous abortion was not observed in any of the females. However, luteectomy provoked abnormal parturition and a significant reduction in the number of young born alive. Parturition was normal in untreated females as well as those submitted to sham luteectomy. The surgical treatment also caused a significant reduction in progesterone concentrations in luteectomised females during early and middle gestation. However, no significant differences in hormone concentrations were observed among the three groups during late gestation or immediately post-parturition.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our observations indicate that the presence of the corpus luteum is not necesary for the maintenance of gestation, but that it does participate in parturition control. Moreover, the corpus luteum of the viviparous lizard <it>B. i. imbricata</it> produces progesterone, at least during the first half of pregnancy, and that an extra-ovarian source of progesterone must maintain gestation in the absence of luteal tissue.</p

Physical Activity Is Associated With Macular Thickness: A Multi-Cohort Observational Study

PURPOSE. To assess the association between physical activity and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT)–measured rates of macular thinning in an adult population with primary open-angle glaucoma. METHODS. The correlation between accelerometer-measured physical activity and rates of macular ganglion cell–inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thinning was measured in 735 eyes from 388 participants of the Progression Risk of Glaucoma: RElevant SNPs with Significant Association (PROGRESSA) study. The association between accelerometer-measured physical activity and cross-sectional SD-OCT macular thickness was then assessed in 8862 eyes from 6152 participants available for analysis in the UK Biobank who had SD-OCT, ophthalmic, comorbidity, and demographic data. RESULTS. Greater physical activity was associated with slower rates of macular GCIPL thinning in the PROGRESSA study (beta = 0.07 μm/y/SD; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.03–0.13; P = 0.003) after adjustment for ophthalmic, demographic and systemic predictors of macular thinning. This association persisted in subanalyses of participants characterized as glaucoma suspects (beta = 0.09 μm/y/SD; 95% CI, 0.03–0.15; P = 0.005). Participants in the upper tertile (greater than 10,524 steps/d) exhibited a 0.22-μm/y slower rate of macular GCIPL thinning than participants in the lower tertile (fewer than 6925 steps/d): −0.40 ± 0.46 μm/y versus −0.62 ± 0.55 μm/y (P = 0.003). Both time spent doing moderate/vigorous activity and mean daily active calories were positively correlated with rate of macular GCIPL thinning (moderate/vigorous activity: beta = 0.06 μm/y/SD; 95% CI, 0.01–0.105; P = 0.018; active calories: beta = 0.06 μm/y/SD; 95% CI, 0.006–0.114; P = 0.032). Analysis among 8862 eyes from the UK Biobank revealed a positive association between physical activity and cross-sectional total macular thickness (beta = 0.8 μm/SD; 95% CI, 0.47–1.14; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS. These results highlight the potential neuroprotective benefits of exercise on the human retina

Search for gamma-ray emission from magnetars with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

We report on the search for 0.1-10 GeV emission from magnetars in 17 months of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) observations. No significant evidence for gamma-ray emission from any of the currently-known magnetars is found. The most stringent upper limits to date on their persistent emission in the Fermi-LAT energy range are estimated between ~10^{-12}-10^{-10} erg/s/cm2, depending on the source. We also searched for gamma-ray pulsations and possible outbursts, also with no significant detection. The upper limits derived support the presence of a cut-off at an energy below a few MeV in the persistent emission of magnetars. They also show the likely need for a revision of current models of outer gap emission from strongly magnetized pulsars, which, in some realizations, predict detectable GeV emission from magnetars at flux levels exceeding the upper limits identified here using the Fermi-LAT observations.Comment: ApJ Letters in press; Corresponding authors: Caliandro G. A., Hadasch D., Rea N., Burnett

Effects of adult exposure to bisphenol A on genes involved in the physiopathology of rat prefrontal cortex

Several neurological and behavioral dysfunctions have been reported in animals exposed to bisphenol A (BPA). However, little is known about the impact of adult exposure to BPA on brain physiopathology. Here, we focused on prefrontal cortex (PFC) of rats, because it is an important area for cognitive control, complex behaviors and is altered in many psychopathologies. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and serotonin (5-HT) systems are essential for PFC function. Therefore, we examined the effects of adult exposure to BPA on 5α-Reductase (5α-R) and cytochrome P450 aromatase (P450arom), enzymes that synthesize GABAA receptor modulators, and tryptophan hydroxylase (Tph), the rate-limiting enzyme in 5-HT biosynthesis. To gain better understanding of BPA’s action in the adult PFC, 84 genes involved in neurotoxicity were also analysed. Adult male and female rats were subcutaneously injected for 4 days with 50 µg/kg/day, the current reference safe dose for BPA. mRNA and protein levels of 5α-R, P450arom and Tph were quantified by real-time RT-PCR and Western blot. Genes linked to neurotoxicity were analyzed by PCR-Array technology. Adult exposure to BPA increased both P450arom and Tph2 expression in PFC of male and female, but decreased 5α-R1 expression in female. Moreover, we identified 17 genes related to PFC functions such as synaptic plasticity and memory, as potential targets of BPA. Our results provided new insights on the molecular mechanisms underlying BPA action in the physiopathology of PFC, but also raise the question about the safety of short-term exposure to it in the adulthood.This research was supported by grants from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (BFU2008-05340) and by the Junta de Andalucía (CTS202-Endocronología y Metabolismo)