Colonização de substrato artificial por macroinvertebrados límnicos, no delta do rio Jacuí (RS, Brasil).

Com a finalidade de avaliar a colonização de um substrato artificial por macroinvertebrados límnicos, foram realizados experimentos em duas estações de coleta no delta do rio Jacuí, em Porto Alegre (RS, Brasil): Canal do Jacuí (CJ) e Cais do Porto (PO). Os substratos foram constituídos de garrafa PET com uma malha interna de nylon. Os organismos que apresentaram os maiores valores de densidade média no substrato artificial exposto no CJ foram L. fortunei (8229,0ind.m-2), Chironomidae (188,9ind.m-2) e Heleobia piscium (39,6ind.m-2) e no PO, L. fortunei (3233,0ind.m-2), Chironomidae (288,9ind.m-2) e Oligochaeta (211,1ind.m-2). Trochospongilla paulula apresentou uma área de cobertura de bioincrustação de 0,016m2, equivalente a 31,1%, da superfície externa do substrato (PET). A esponja de água doce, Trochospongilla paulula, também cresceu sobre as valvas dos mexilhões (epizoísmo). Por meio do teste T de Student foram verificadas diferenças significativas (p=0,01) entre os valores de densidade média de Oligochaeta verificados no CJ (menor valor) e PO (maior valor). Também foram verificadas diferenças altamente significativas (p<0,0001) entre as áreas de bioincrustação de T. paulula verificados no CJ (maior valor) e PO (menor valor). Os valores de densidade média dos demais taxa nos substratos expostos no CJ e PO não diferiram estatisticamente. O substrato foi adequado para amostrar macroinvertebrados, sobretudo poríferos, grupo de difícil amostragem

The involvement of multiple thrombogenic and atherogenic markers in premature coronary artery disease

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of atherogenic and thrombogenic markers and lymphotoxin-alfa gene mutations with the risk of premature coronary disease. METHODS: This cross-sectional, case-control, age-adjusted study was conducted in 336 patients with premature coronary disease (;50% luminal reduction) or a previous myocardial infarction. The laboratory data evaluated included thrombogenic factors (fibrinogen, protein C, protein S, and antithrombin III), atherogenic factors (glucose and lipid profiles, lipoprotein(a), and apolipoproteins AI and B), and lymphotoxin-alfa mutations. Genetic variability of lymphotoxin-alfa was determined by polymerase chain reaction analysis. RESULTS: Coronary disease patients exhibited lower concentrations of HDL-cholesterol and higher levels of glucose, lipoprotein(a), and protein S. The frequencies of AA, AG, and GG lymphotoxin-alfa mutation genotypes were 55.0%, 37.6%, and 7.4% for controls and 42.7%, 46.0%, and 11.3% for coronary disease patients (p = 0.02), respectively. Smoking, dyslipidemia, family history, and lipoprotein(a) and lymphotoxin-alfa mutations in men were independent variables associated with coronary disease. The area under the curve (C-statistic) increased from 0.779 to 0.802 (

Temperature-controlled laminar airflow in severe asthma for exacerbation reduction (The LASER Trial): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BackgroundAsthma affects more than 5 million patients in the United Kingdom. Nearly 500,000 of these patients have severe asthma with severe symptoms and frequent exacerbations that are inadequately controlled with available treatments. The burden of severe asthma on the NHS is enormous, accounting for 80 % of the total asthma cost (£1 billion), with frequent exacerbations and expensive medications generating much of this cost.Of those patients with severe asthma, 70 % are sensitised to indoor aeroallergens, and the level of exposure to allergens determines the symptoms; patients exposed to high levels are therefore most at risk of exacerbations and hospital admissions.The LASER trial aims to assess whether a new treatment, temperature controlled laminar airflow (TLA) delivered by the Airsonett™ device, can reduce the frequency of exacerbations in patients with severe allergic asthma by reducing exposure to aeroallergens overnight.MethodsThis multicentre study is a placebo-controlled, blinded, randomised controlled, parallel group trial. A total of 222 patients with a new or current diagnosis of severe allergic asthma will be assigned with a random element in a 1:1 ratio to receive either an active device for one year or a placebo device. The primary outcome is the frequency of severe asthma exacerbations occurring over a 12-month period, defined in accordance with the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) guidelines. Secondary outcomes include changes in asthma control, lung function, asthma-specific and global quality of life for participants and their carers, adherence to intervention, healthcare resource use and costs, and cost-effectiveness. Qualitative interviews will be conducted to elicit participant’s and their partner’s perceptions of the treatment.DiscussionEffective measures of allergen avoidance have, to date, proved elusive. The LASER trial aims to address this. The study will ascertain whether home-based nocturnal TLA usage over a 12-month period can reduce the frequency of exacerbations and improve asthma control and quality of life as compared to placebo, whilst being cost-effective and acceptable to adults with poorly controlled, severe allergic asthma. The results of this study will be widely applicable to the many patients with allergic asthma both in the UK and internationally.Trial registrationCurrent controlled trials ISRCTN46346208 (Date assigned 22 January 2014)

Diagnóstico do meio físico da bacia hidrográfica do Rio do Imbé - RJ: aplicação de metodologia integrada como subsídio ao manejo de microbacias.

O Diagnóstico do Meio Físico da Bacia do Rio do Imbé (BHRI) integra os estudos que subsidiam o projeto Manejo Sustentável de Recursos Naturais em Microbacias do Norte-Noroeste Fluminense - SMH-SEAAPI/GEF (Global Enviroment Facility), cujo principal objetivo é apoiar produtores rurais de base familiar na autogestão dos recursos naturais, visando o desenvolvimento rural baseado em um modelo de agricultura socioambientalmente sustentável. A metodologia adotada partiu da integração da base cartográfica e dos dados digitais de mapeamentos temáticos do meio físico (clima, recursos hídricos, geologia, geomorfologia, solos e uso e ocupação das terras). Adotou-se no presente estudo a escala 1:250.000, compatível com a maioria dos dados secundários, que foram transformados para uma mesma projeção cartográfica e inseridos em uma base de dados digital. Inicialmente, foi realizada a síntese dos dados de solos e geomorfologia para a identificação e delimitação de unidades morfopedológicas. Em seguida, essas unidades foram agrupadas em seis zonas agroecológicas, considerando as potencialidades e fragilidades dos recursos naturais, os padrões de uso e o estado de degradação das terras. As zonas foram descritas e caracterizadas com base no conjunto de dados temáticos disponível e complementados com as informações levantadas em campo. O trabalho de campo foi orientado para verificação da diversidade dos aspectos físicos, das atividades antrópicas e dos problemas de degradação e conflitos relacionados ao uso dos recursos naturais. Foram considerados ainda o histórico socioeconômico e ambiental da região e a percepção dos atores locais com relação aos aspectos mencionados. Os resultados evidenciaram que a BHRI, face à singular interação dos aspectos fisiográficos e antrópicos, possui uma diversidade ambiental contrastante, apresentando diferentes potencialidades de uso e níveis de fragilidade. Contudo, o diagnóstico do meio físico, obtido segundo a metodologia apresentada, poderá constituir-se em um instrumento importante para subsidiar a tomada de decisões no que se refere às estratégias de planejamento, manejo adequado, monitoramento e avaliação dos recursos naturais, a serem adotados pelo projeto

Diagnóstico do meio físico da bacia hidrográfica do Rio Muriaé.

bitstream/CNPS-2010/14873/1/doc83-2005-diagnostico-muriae.pd

IKZF1 Deletions with COBL Breakpoints Are Not Driven by RAG-Mediated Recombination Events in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

IKZF1 deletion (ΔIKZF1) is an important predictor of relapse in both childhood and adult B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Previously, we revealed that COBL is a hotspot for breakpoints in leukemia and could promote IKZF1 deletions. Through an international collaboration, we provide a detailed genetic and clinical picture of B-ALL with COBL rearrangements (COBL-r). Patients with B-ALL and IKZF1 deletion (n = 133) were included. IKZF1 ∆1-8 were associated with large alterations within chromosome 7: monosomy 7 (18%), isochromosome 7q (10%), 7p loss (19%), and interstitial deletions (53%). The latter included COBL-r, which were found in 12% of the IKZF1 ∆1-8 cohort. Patients with COBL-r are mostly classified as intermediate cytogenetic risk and frequently harbor ETV6, PAX5, CDKN2A/B deletions. Overall, 56% of breakpoints were located within COBL intron 5. Cryptic recombination signal sequence motifs were broadly distributed within the sequence of COBL, and no enrichment for the breakpoint cluster region was found. In summary, a diverse spectrum of alterations characterizes ΔIKZF1 and they also include deletion breakpoints within COBL. We confirmed that COBL is a hotspot associated with ΔIKZF1, but these rearrangements are not driven by RAG-mediated recombination

Diagnóstico do meio físico das bacias hidrográficas do entorno da Mata do Carvão (BHMC), Noroeste do Estado do Rio de Janeiro.

bitstream/CNPS-2010/14876/1/doc78-2005-mata-carvao.pd

Unified superresolution experiments and stochastic theory provide mechanistic insight into protein ion-exchange adsorptive separations

Chromatographic protein separations, immunoassays, and biosensing all typically involve the adsorption of proteins to surfaces decorated with charged, hydrophobic, or affinity ligands. Despite increasingly widespread use throughout the pharmaceutical industry, mechanistic detail about the interactions of proteins with individual chromatographic adsorbent sites is available only via inference from ensemble measurements such as binding isotherms, calorimetry, and chromatography. In this work, we present the direct superresolution mapping and kinetic characterization of functional sites on ion-exchange ligands based on agarose, a support matrix routinely used in protein chromatography. By quantifying the interactions of single proteins with individual charged ligands, we demonstrate that clusters of charges are necessary to create detectable adsorption sites and that even chemically identical ligands create adsorption sites of varying kinetic properties that depend on steric availability at the interface. Additionally, we relate experimental results to the stochastic theory of chromatography. Simulated elution profiles calculated from the molecular-scale data suggest that, if it were possible to engineer uniform optimal interactions into ion-exchange systems, separation efficiencies could be improved by as much as a factor of five by deliberately exploiting clustered interactions that currently dominate the ion-exchange process only accidentally

Reflected Light from Sand Grains in the Terrestrial Zone of a Protoplanetary Disk

We show that grains have grown to ~mm size (sand sized) or larger in the terrestrial zone (within ~3 AU) of the protoplanetary disk surrounding the 3 Myr old binary star KH 15D. We also argue that the reflected light in the system reaches us by back scattering off the far side of the same ring whose near side causes the obscuration.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures. To be published in Nature, March 13, 2008. Contains a Supplemen