Infecção pelo Sugarcane yellow leaf virus causa alterações na eficiência fotossintética e acúmulo de carboidratos nas folhas de cana-de-açúcar

Infection by Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (ScYLV) causes severe leaf symptoms in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) hybrids, which indicate alterations in its photosynthetic apparatus. To gain an overview of the physiological status of infected plants, we evaluated chlorophyll a fluorescence and gas exchange assays, correlating the results with leaf metabolic surveys, i.e., photosynthetic pigments and carbohydrate contents. When compared to healthy plants, infected plants showed a reduction in potential quantum efficiency for photochemistry of photosystem (PSII) and alterations in the filling up of the plastoquinone (PQ) pool. They also showed reduction in the CO2 net exchange rates, probably as a consequence of impaired quantum yield. In addition, reductions were found in the contents of photosynthetic leaf pigments and in the ratio chlorophyll a/chlorophyll b (chla/chlb). Carbohydrate content in the leaves was increased as a secondary effect of the ScYLV infection. This article discusses the relation of virus replication and host defense responses with general alterations in the photosynthetic apparatus and in the metabolism of infected plants.O vírus do amarelecimento foliar da cana-de-açúcar (Sugarcane yellow leaf virus, ScYLV) causa sintomas foliares severos e típicos de infecção por luteovirus, em cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum spp.). Uma vez que alterações no sistema fotossintético da planta seriam esperadas, avaliaram-se a análise da emissão da fluorescência da clorofila a e as trocas gasosas durante a fotossíntese, relacionando esses dados com análises metabólicas, ou seja, conteúdos de pigmentos fotossintéticos e carboidratos presentes nas folhas. As plantas infetadas apresentaram redução na eficiência quântica fotoquímica potencial do fotossistema II (PSII) e alterações no preenchimento do pool de plastoquinona (PQ). Essas plantas apresentaram, também, redução nas taxas de troca líquida de CO2, provavelmente em conseqüência da redução na eficiência quântica. Paralelamente, reduções nos conteúdos de pigmentos fotossintéticos foliares e na razão clorofila a/clorofila b (chla/chlb) foram verificadas. Adicionalmente, o conteúdo de açúcares nas folhas foi aumentado, provavelmente como um efeito secundário da infecção viral. A relação entre a replicação viral e as respostas de defesa da hospedeira com as alterações encontradas no aparelho fotossintético e no metabolismo das plantas infetadas é discutida.101

Ciliocytophthoria in cervical cytology

The Ciliocytophthoria occurs in the glandular epithelium/cylindrical ciliated cells, which are found in the respiratory and gynaecological systems. Although this phenomenon is considered rare in both systems, it is more unusual in the gynaecological system. Of the 5781 cases analysed at the centre in 2006, only one case was diagnosed as Ciliocytophthoria. In 1975, Kobold-Wolterbeek and Beyer-Boon observed the cervical smears of 18 000 women during a period of a year and a half, during which time a total of 32 cases of Ciliocytophthoria were found. This phenomenon consists of the separation of the cylindrical cells resulting in the formation of a non-nucleus portion – terminal plate with cilia – and a nucleus portion with granular cytoplasm containing eosinophilia inclusions. The relationship between Ciliocytophthoria and any disease or tumour in the female genital tract is unknown.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Análise Envoltória de Dados na avaliação de hospitais públicos nas capitais brasileiras

OBJECTIVE: To apply the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology for evaluating the performance of public hospitals, in terms of clinical medical admissions. METHODS: The efficiency of the hospitals was measured according to the performance of decision-making units in relation to the variables studied for each hospital, in the year 2000. Data relating to clinical medical admissions in hospitals within the public system in Brazilian state capitals and Federal District (mortality rate, mean length of stay, mean cost of stay and disease profile) were analyzed. The canonical correlation analysis technique was introduced to restrict the variation range of the variables used. The constant returns to scale model was used to generate scores that would enable assessment of the efficiency of the units. From the scores obtained, these cities were classified according to their relative performance in the variables analyzed. It was sought to correlate between the classification scores and the exogenous variables of the expenditure on primary care programs per inhabitant and the human development index for each state capital. RESULTS: In the hospitals studied, circulatory diseases were the most prevalent (23.6% of admissions), and the mortality rate was 10.3% of admissions. Among the 27 state capitals, four reached 100% efficiency (Palmas, Macapá, Teresina and Goiânia), seven were between 85 and 100%, ten were between 70 and 85% and ten had efficiency of less than 70%. CONCLUSIONS: The tool utilized was shown to be applicable for evaluating the performance of public hospitals. It revealed large variations among the Brazilian state capitals in relation to clinical medical admissions.OBJETIVO: Aplicar a metodologia de Análise Envoltória de Dados na avaliação do desempenho de hospitais públicos em termos das internações em suas clínicas médicas. MÉTODOS: A eficiência dos hospitais foi medida a partir do desempenho de unidades de decisão nas variáveis estudadas para cada hospital, no ano 2000. Foram analisados dados referentes às internações em clínica médica dos hospitais SUS das capitais estaduais do Brasil e Distrito Federal (taxas de mortalidade e tempo médio de internação, valor médio da internação e perfil de doenças). A técnica de análise de correlação canônica foi introduzida na restrição do intervalo de variação das variáveis. O modelo Constant Returns to Scale foi utilizado para gerar escores que permitissem avaliar a eficiência das unidades. A partir dos escores obtidos, os municípios foram classificados de acordo com seu desempenho relativo nas variáveis analisadas. Procurou-se correlação entre os escores de classificação com variáveis exógenas: despesas com programas de saúde básica por habitante e índice de desenvolvimento humano das capitais. RESULTADOS: Nos hospitais estudados se destacaram as doenças do aparelho circulatório (23,6% das internações); e a taxa de mortalidade foi de 10,3% das internações. Das 27 capitais, quatro alcançaram 100% de eficiência (Palmas, Macapá, Teresina e Goiânia), sete ficaram entre 85% e 100%, dez entre 70% e 85% e dez com menos de 70%. CONCLUSÕES: A ferramenta utilizada mostrou ser aplicável para a avaliação de desempenho de hospitais públicos, revelando a grande variabilidade entre as capitais brasileiras, no que se refere às internações em clínica médica

Wave profile and tide monitoring system for scalable implementation

A versatile, miniaturized, cost-effective, low-power wave profile and tide monitoring system, capable of long-term and scalable deployment, was developed to integrate pressure and temperature sensors in an RS485 network, for standalone operation with organized memory or real-time shared data monitoring. The pressure and temperature sensors are controlled by low-power microcontrollers, that communicate the data periodically to a datalogger, that depending on the application, store it in a removable SD card or send it to a server via Wi-Fi. The data is then analyzed to compensate for the loss in amplitude sensitivity according to the sensor’s depth. The wave profile can be sampled at a maximum rate of 100 Hz, with a 1 cm resolution. The system was tested successfully in real-life conditions, in rivers Douro and Cávado, and off the coast of Viana do Castelo.João Rocha was supported by the doctoral Grant PRT/BD/154322/2023 financed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), and with funds from Portuguese State Budget, European Social Fund (ESF) and Por_Norte, under MIT Portugal Program. This work is co-funded by the projects K2D: Knowledge and Data from the Deep to Space (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-045941), SONDA (PTDC/EME-SIS/1960/2020), ATLÂNTIDA (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000040) and CMEMS - UIDB/04436/2020 and UIDP/04436/2020

Fauna and stratification of male orchid bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and their preference for odor baits in a forest fragment

This is a study of the population fluctuation of euglossine species, as well as their preferences for scent baits (cineole, eugenol, vanillin and methyl salicylate) in two forest strata (canopy and under story) at the Reserva Florestal do Azulão, a forest fragment located in the municipality of Dourados, MS, Brazil (22°12'S, 54°55'W). We collected a total of 529 males from four genera and eight species. Diversity and equitability for both strata (under story: H' = 1.195 and J' = 0.6139; canopy: H' = 1.193 and J' = 0.6131) did not show a significant difference and a high similarity index was found (P = 87.5%). On the other hand, abundance was substantially higher in the canopy (n = 358) than in the under story (n = 171). From the scents used, eugenol attracted a larger number of individuals (n = 225), but cineole and vanillin attracted a higher number of species. © 2011 Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil

Comparison of different methods for liquid level adjustment in tank prover calibration

The adjustment of the liquid level during the calibration of tank provers with fixed volume is normally done by overfill but it can be done in different ways. In this article four level adjustment techniques are compared: plate, pipette, ruler and overfill adjustment. The adjustment methods using plate and pipette presented good agreement with the tank’s nominal volume and lower uncertainty among the tested methods.Indisponível

Sleep disorders, sleepiness and traffic safety: a public health menace

Sleep disorders are not uncommon and have been widely reported throughout the world. They have a profound impact on industrialized 24-h societies. Consequences of these problems include impaired social and recreational activities, increased human errors, loss of productivity, and elevated risk of accidents. Conditions such as acute and chronic insomnia, sleep loss, excessive sleepiness, shift-work, jet lag, narcolepsy, and sleep apnea warrant public health attention, since residual sleepiness during the day may affect performance of daily activities such as driving a car. Benzodiazepine hypnotics and zopiclone promote sleep, both having residual effects the following day including sleepiness and reduced alertness. In contrast, the non-benzodiazepine hypnotics zolpidem and zaleplon have no significant next-day residual effects when taken as recommended. Research on the effects of wakefulness-promoting drugs on driving ability is limited. Countermeasures for excessive daytime sleepiness have a limited effect. There is a need for a social awareness program to educate the public about the potential consequences of various sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, sleep apnea, shift-work-related sleep loss, and excessive daytime sleepiness in order to reduce the number of sleep-related traffic accidents.Mount Sinai School of Medicine Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep MedicineUniversity of Utrecht Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences Department of PsychopharmacologyUniversity of Toronto, and Sleep and Neuropsychiatry Institute Department of PsychiatryUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de PsicobiologiaUNIFESP, Depto. de PsicobiologiaSciEL

Epidemiological situation of bovine brucellosis in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil

Realizou-se um estudo para caracterizar a situação epidemiológica da brucelose bovina no Estado de Santa Catarina. O Estado foi estratificado em cinco circuitos produtores. Em cada circuito produtor foram amostradas aleatoriamente cerca de 300 propriedades e, dentro dessas, foi escolhido, de forma aleatória, um número pré-estabelecido de animais, dos quais foi obtida uma amostra de sangue. No total foram amostrados 7801 animais, provenientes de 1586 propriedades. O protocolo de testes utilizado foi o da triagem com o teste do antígeno acidificado tamponado e o reteste dos positivos com o do 2-mercaptoetanol. O rebanho foi considerado positivo se pelo menos um animal foi reagente às duas provas sorológicas. As prevalências de focos e de animais infectados no Estado foram de 0,32% [0,10-0,69%] e 0,06% [0,0-0,17%], respectivamente. A prevalência de focos nos circuitos pecuários foram: circuito 1, 0,33% [0,0-0,99%]; circuito 2, 0,33% [0,0-1,0%]; circuito 3, 0,25% [0,0-0,75%]; circuito 4, 0,66% [0,08-1,84%] e circuito 5, 0,33% [0,0-1,0%]. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTA study to characterize the brucellosis epidemiological situation in the State of Santa Catarina was carried out. The State was divided into five regions. Three hundred herds were randomly sampled in each region and a pre-established number of animals were sampled in each of these herds. A total of 7,801 serum samples from 1,586 herds were collected. In each herd, it was applied an epidemiological questionnaire regarding herd features and also husbandry and sanitary practices that could be associated with risk of infection. The serum samples were screened for antibodies to Brucella spp. by the Rose-Bengal Test (RBT), and all RBT-positive sera re-tested by the 2-mercaptoethanol test (2-ME). The herd was considered positive if at least one animal was positive on both RBT and 2-ME tests. The prevalences of infected herds and animals in Santa Catarina State were, respectively: 0.32% [0.10-0.69%] and 0.06% [0.0-0.17%]. The prevalence of infected herds in the regions were: region 1, 0.33% [0.0-0.99%]; region 2, 0.33% [0.0-1.0%]; region 3, 0.25% [0.0-0.75%]; region 4, 0.66% [0.08-1.84%]; and region 5, 0.33% [0.0-1.00%]

Preparation and evaluation of modified release zidovudine tablets

Zidovudine is a drug used for the treatment of AIDS. The objective of this work was to prepare tablets for modified release of zidovudine. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose HPMC K100LV and HPMC K4M at 12.50 %, 18.75 % and 25.00 % were used. The tablets produced with 12.50 % of HPMC reached 100 % of the zidovudine release in 6 hours, while those produced with 18.75 and 25.00 %, released 24 h, following the Higuchi and First Order kinetic models, respectively. The calculated release exponent pointed out that formulations follow the anomalous type of release mechanism, with a combined phenomena of diffusion and erosion.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Induction of a Protective Response in Mice by the Dengue Virus NS3 Protein Using DNA Vaccines

The dengue non-structural 3 (NS3) is a multifunctional protein, containing a serino-protease domain, located at the N-terminal portion, and helicase, NTPase and RTPase domains present in the C-terminal region. This protein is considered the main target for CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses during dengue infection, which may be involved in protection. However, few studies have been undertaken evaluating the use of this protein as a protective antigen against dengue, as well as other flavivirus. In the present work, we investigate the protective efficacy of DNA vaccines based on the NS3 protein from DENV2. Different recombinant plasmids were constructed, encoding either the full-length NS3 protein or only its functional domains (protease and helicase), fused or not to a signal peptide (t-PA). The recombinant proteins were successfully expressed in transfected BHK-21 cells, and only plasmids encoding the t-PA signal sequence mediated protein secretion. Balb/c mice were immunized with the different DNA vaccines and challenged with a lethal dose of DENV2. Most animals immunized with plasmids encoding the full-length NS3 or the helicase domain survived challenge, regardless of the presence of the t-PA. However, some mice presented clinical signs of infection with high morbidity (hind leg paralysis and hunched posture), mainly in animal groups immunized with the DNA vaccines based on the helicase domain. On the other hand, inoculation with plasmids encoding the protease domain did not induce any protection, since mortality and morbidity rates in these mouse groups were similar to those detected in the control animals. The cellular immune response was analyzed by ELISPOT with a specific-CD8+ T cell NS3 peptide. Results revealed that the DNA vaccines based on the full-length protein induced the production of INF-γ, thus suggesting the involvement of this branch of the immune system in the protection