Differential expression of genes during mastitis in Holstein-Zebu crossbreed dairy cows

Among the potential public health problems of animal production, infectious-contagious diseases stand out. Mastitis is among the main diseases affecting dairy cattle. One of the most promising options to reduce the problems caused by this disease, besides proper sanitary and management practices, is selective breeding of resistant animals. To shed light on the immune response mechanisms involved in the resistance/susceptibility phenotype to this disease, we quantified the relative expression of the genes IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, IFN-γ, TNF-α, TLR-2, SEMA5A, and FEZL in cells of crossbreed dairy cows, divided into two groups, one healthy and the other suffering from clinical mastitis. Total RNA was extracted from the cells in the milk from the animals in each group (with and without clinical mastitis). Gene expression was determined using the real-time PCR method. The levels of gene expression were compared, and the cows with mastitis were found to express 2.5

Fulfillment of the Brazilian Agenda of Priorities in Health Research

This commentary describes how the Brazilian Ministry of Health's (MoH) research support policy fulfilled the National Agenda of Priorities in Health Research (NAPHR). In 2003, the MoH started a democratic process in order to establish a priority agenda in health research involving investigators, health managers and community leaders. The Agenda was launched in 2004 and is guiding budget allocations in an attempt to reduce the gap between scientific knowledge and health practice and activities, aiming to contribute to improving Brazilian quality of life. Many strategies were developed, for instance: Cooperation Agreements between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science and Technology; the decentralization of research support at state levels with the participation of local Health Secretariats and Science and Technology Institutions; Health Technology Assessment; innovation in neglected diseases; research networks and multicenter studies in adult, women's and children's health; cardiovascular risk in adolescents; clinical research and stem cell therapy. The budget allocated by the Ministry of Health and partners was expressive: US$419 million to support almost 3,600 projects. The three sub-agenda with the higher proportion of resources were "industrial health complex", "clinical research" and "communicable diseases", which are considered strategic for innovation and national development. The Southeast region conducted 40.5% of all projects and detained 59.7% of the resources, attributable to the concentration of the most traditional health research institutes and universities in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The second most granted region was the Northeast, which reflects the result of a governmental policy to integrate and modernize this densely populated area and the poorest region in the country. Although Brazil began the design and implementation of the NAPHR in 2003, it has done so in accordance with the 'good practice principles' recently published: inclusive process, information gathering, careful planning and funding policy, transparency and internal evaluation (an external independent evaluation is underway). The effort in guiding the health research policy has achieved and legitimated an unprecedented developmental spurt to support strategic health research. We believe this experience is valuable and applicable to other countries, but different settings and local political circumstances will determine the best course of action to follow

Ichthyofauna of the Mata de Itamacaoca, an urban protected area from the upper Munim River basin, Northern Brazilian Cerrado

The Munim River basin is one of the main river drainages of the Hydrological unit Maranhão, but there are few published studies which focus on ichthyological surveys and taxonomic work within this basin. The present study aims to provide a fish species inventory of the Mata da Itamacaoca, one of the few urban protected areas from the upper Munim River basin, comparing the ichthyofauna with other lists by conducted at the upper Munim River basin. A total of 42 collection expeditions were conducted, the sampling was conducted at five collecting sites distributed within the boundaries of Mata de Itamacaoca, upper Munim River basin. Diversity indices were calculated and generalised linear models (GLMs) were employed to assess differences in species richness, diversity and evenness depending on season and location in relation to the reservoir dam wall. In order to visualize fish community differences, non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) and a one-way PERMANOVA was used to understand whether factors of site, season and location to the dam wall had an effect on fish community compositions. A total of six orders, 13 families, and 23 fish species were found, and the order with the highest species richness, considering all reaches, was Characiformes followed by Cichliformes. The most abundant species was Nannostomus beckfordi, while Pimelodella parnahybae and Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus were the rarer species sampled. There were no alien invasive species collected within the study area. Species richness was significantly higher below the dam wall, but there were no other significant differences in diversity indices with regards to season or location. Fish community composition was significantly different above and below the dam wall and was significantly affected by sampling site. Season did not have an effect on fish community. This study corroborates other studies conducted in the Unidade Hidrológica Maranhão sensu Hubbert and Renno (2006), that the ichthyofaunal composition and taxonomy of species within this region face major data deficits, anthropogenic impacts, this study may be a baseline for comparing similar environments throughout the region

Isokinetic muscle function comparison of lower limbs among elderly fallers and non-fallers

O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar se há diferenças entre o desempenho muscular de tornozelo, joelho e quadril em idosos com e sem relato de queda nos últimos seis meses. Foram incluídos 81 idosos com 65 anos ou mais: 56 negaram quedas (G1) e 25 relataram quedas (G2). Utilizou-se o questionário perfil de atividade humana para medir o nível de atividade física, e o dinamômetro isocinético para mensurar os parâmetros físicos da função muscular. Os grupos não diferiram entre si em relação à idade (p=0,925), duração (p=0,065) e frequência (p=0,302) da prática do exercício físico, índice de massa corpórea (p=0,995) e nível de atividade física (p=0,561). O G2 apresentou menor desempenho para as variáveis pico de torque de flexão e extensão de joelho esquerdo (p=0,027 e p=0,030, respectivamente) e trabalho por peso corporal (p=0,040) de flexão de joelho esquerdo a 60°/s; pico de torque e trabalho por peso corporal de flexão e extensão de joelho a 180°/s bilateralmente (p<0,050); e potência média de flexão de joelhos direito e esquerdo (p=0,030). A maioria das variáveis do tornozelo e quadril não apresentou diferenças entre os grupos. Apenas a variável pico de torque de extensão de quadril esquerdo foi significativamente maior no G1 (p=0,035). É importante considerar a função muscular do joelho na avaliação clínica de idosos para direcionar a intervenção terapêutica e a prevenção de quedas.The aim of this study was to identify whether there are differences between the performance of muscular groups of ankle, knee and hip among elderly people who didn't have falls and individuals who reported falls in the last six months. The study included 81 elderly aged 65 or older: 56 non-faller subjects (G1) and 25 faaller subjects (G2). To obtain the level of physical activity, the questionnaire Human Activity Profile was used, and the muscle function of the lower limbs was assessed using isokinetic dynamometer. The groups did not differ regarding age (p=0.925), duration (p=0.065) and frequency (p=0.302) of the practice of physical exercise, body mass index (BMI) (p=0.995) and level of physical activity (p=0.561). The G2 showed a lower performance of peak torque of left knee flexion and extension (p=0.027 and p=0.030, respectively) and work proportional to body weight (p=0.040) of left knee flexion at 60°/s; peak torque and work proportional to body weight of bilaterally knee flexion and extension at 180°/s (p<0.05) and average power of right and left knee extension (p=0.03). Most variables of ankle and hip joints did not differ between groups. Only peak torque of left hip extension was significantly higher in the non-faller group (p=0.035). It is important to consider knee muscle function in the clinical evaluation of elderly in order to make the intervention more assertive and thus to prevent falls

A canonical correlation analysis of the association between carcass and ham traits in pigs used to produce dry-cured ham

The association between carcass and ham traits in a pig population used to produce dry-cured ham was studied using canonical correlation analysis. The carcass traits examined were hot carcass weight (HCW), backfat thickness (BT) and loin depth (LD), and the ham traits studied were gross ham weight (GHW), trimmed ham weight (THW), ham inner layer fat thickness (HIFT), ham outer layer fat thickness (HOFT), pH (pH) and the Göfo value. Carcass and ham traits are not independent. The canonical correlations (r) between the carcass and ham traits at 130 kg were 0.77, 0.24 and 0.20 for the first, second and third canonical pair, respectively, and were all significant (p < 0.01) by the Wilks test. The corresponding canonical correlations between the three canonical variate pairs for the carcass and ham traits at 160 kg were 0.88, 0.42 and 0.14, respectively (p < 0.05 for all, except the third). The correlations between the traits and their canonical variate showed an association among HCW, GHW and THW, and between BT and HOFT. These results indicate that carcass traits should be used to cull pigs that are not suitable for dry-cured ham production

Arachnoid cyst in a patient with psychosis: Case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aetiology of a psychotic disturbance can be due to a functional or organic condition. Organic aetiologies are diverse and encompass organ failures, infections, nutritional deficiencies and space-occupying lesions. Arachnoid cysts are rare, benign space-occupying lesions formed by an arachnoid membrane containing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In most cases they are diagnosed by accident. Until recently, the coexistence of arachnoid cysts with psychiatric disturbances had not been closely covered in the literature. However, the appearance of some references that focus on a possible link between arachnoid cysts and psychotic symptoms has increased the interest in this subject and raised questions about the etiopathogeny and the therapeutic approach involved.</p> <p>Clinical presentation</p> <p>We present the clinical report of a 21-year-old man, characterised by the insidious development of psychotic symptoms of varying intensity, delusional ideas with hypochondriac content, complex auditory/verbal hallucinations in the second and third persons, and aggressive behaviour. The neuroimaging studies revealed a voluminous arachnoid cyst at the level of the left sylvian fissure, with a marked mass effect on the left temporal and frontal lobes and the left lateral ventricle, as well as evidence of hypoplasia of the left temporal lobe. Despite the symptoms and the size of the cyst, the neurosurgical department opted against surgical intervention. The patient began antipsychotic therapy and was discharged having shown improvement (behavioural component), but without a complete remission of the psychotic symptoms.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>It is difficult to be absolutely certain whether the lesion had influence on the patient's psychiatric symptoms or not.</p> <p>However, given the anatomical and neuropsychological changes, one cannot exclude the possibility that the lesion played a significant role in this psychiatric presentation. This raises substantial problems when it comes to choosing a therapeutic strategy.</p

Sex differences in risk factors for coronary heart disease: a study in a Brazilian population

BACKGROUND: In Brazil coronary heart disease (CHD) constitutes the most important cause of death in both sexes in all the regions of the country and interestingly, the difference between the sexes in the CHD mortality rates is one of the smallest in the world because of high rates among women. Since a question has been raised about whether or how the incidence of several CHD risk factors differs between the sexes in Brazil the prevalence of various risk factors for CHD such as high blood cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, sedentary lifestyle and cigarette smoking was compared between the sexes in a Brazilian population; also the relationships between blood cholesterol and the other risk factors were evaluated. RESULTS: The population presented high frequencies of all the risk factors evaluated. High blood cholesterol (CHOL) and hypertension were more prevalent among women as compared to men. Hypertension, diabetes and smoking showed equal or higher prevalence in women in pre-menopausal ages as compared to men. Obesity and physical inactivity were equally prevalent in both sexes respectively in the postmenopausal age group and at all ages. CHOL was associated with BMI, sex, age, hypertension and physical inactivity. CONCLUSIONS: In this population the high prevalence of the CHD risk factors indicated that there is an urgent need for its control; the higher or equal prevalences of several risk factors in women could in part explain the high rates of mortality from CHD in females as compared to males

Insulin resistance in adolescents with Down syndrome: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is higher in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) than in the general population; it may be due to the high prevalence of obesity presented by many of them. The aim of this study was to evaluate the insulin resistance (IR) using the HOMA (Homeostasis Model Assessment) method, in DS adolescents, describing it according to the sex, body mass index (BMI) and pubertal development. METHODS: 15 adolescents with DS (8 males and 7 females) were studied, aged 10 to 18 years, without history of disease or use of medication that could change the suggested laboratory evaluation. On physical examination, the pubertal signs, acanthosis nigricans (AN), weight and height were evaluated. Fasting plasma glucose and insulin were analysed by the colorimetric method and RIA-kit LINCO, respectively. IR was calculated using the HOMA method. The patients were grouped into obese, overweight and normal, according to their BMI percentiles. The EPIINFO 2004 software was used to calculate the BMI, its percentile and Z score. RESULTS: Five patients were adults (Tanner V or presence of menarche), 9 pubertal (Tanner II – IV) and 1 prepubertal (Tanner I). No one had AN. Two were obese, 4 overweight and 9 normal. Considering the total number of patients, HOMA was 1.7 ± 1.0, insulin 9.3 ± 4.8 μU/ml and glucose 74.4 ± 14.8 mg/dl. The HOMA values were 2.0 ± 1.0 in females and 1.5 ± 1.0 in males. Considering the nutritional classification, the values of HOMA and insulin were: HOMA: 3.3 ± 0.6, 2.0 ± 1.1 and 1.3 ± 0.6, and insulin: 18.15 ± 1.6 μU/ml, 10.3 ± 3.5 μU/ml and 6.8 ± 2.8 μU/ml, in the obese, overweight and normal groups respectively. Considering puberty, the values of HOMA and insulin were: HOMA: 2.5 ± 1.3, 1.4 ± 0.6 and 0.8 ± 0.0, and insulin: 13.0 ± 5.8 μU/ml, 7.8 ± 2.9 μU/ml and 4.0 ± 0.0 μU/ml, in the adult, pubertal and prepubertal groups respectively. CONCLUSION: The obese and overweight, female and adult patients showed the highest values of HOMA and insulin