Morphometric differences in the grasshopper Cornops aquaticum (Bruner, 1906) from South America and South Africa

The semi-aquatic grasshopper Cornops aquaticum is native to South America and inhabits lowlands from southern Mexico to Central Argentina and Uruguay. It is host-specific to aquatic plants in the genera Eichhornia and Pontederia. A quarantine population has existed in South Africa for 10 y, and it is planned to release it there as a biological control agent of water hyacinth, E. crassipes. Various studies of C. aquaticum are coordinated under HICWA (www.mpil-ploen.mpg.de). This paper compares the morphometry of the release population and 11 native populations in South America. We tested four hypotheses: 1) South African and South American populations of C. aquaticum differ in morphology; 2) the South African laboratory population is more similar to other isolated populations in South America than to nonisolated populations; 3) morphology differs across sites; 4) morphology differs with host plant. South African populations differed from continental nonisolated populations, but not from continental isolated ones. Isolated populations presented smaller individuals than nonisolated, but there was also a change in male morphology: while in nonisolated populations male wing length was similar to their body length, in isolated populations, male wings were smaller than body length. Females were larger when on Eicchornia azurea than on E. crassipes, while males presented larger wings than their body on E. azurea, and similar lengths on E. crassipes. These morphological changes may have resulted from phenotypic plasticity, selection for small size, or because of a loss of genetic diversity in quantitative traits.Fil: Adis, Joachim. Institute for Limnology; AlemaniaFil: Sperber, Carlos F. Universidade Federal de Viçosa; BrasilFil: Brede, Edward G. Institute for Limnology; AlemaniaFil: Capello, Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Franceschini, Maria Celeste. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Hill, Martin. Rhodes University; SudáfricaFil: Lhano, Marcos G. Universidade Federal de Viçosa; BrasilFil: Marques, Marinê. A;z M.. Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso; BrasilFil: Nunes, Ana L.. Muséu Paraense Emílio Goeldi; BrasilFil: Polar, Perry. CAB International; Trinidad y Tobag

Epidemiological Profile of Precocious Neonatal Mortality in the Period 2008 to 2015 in Porto Velho, Rondonia, Brazil

The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiological profile of precocious neonatal infant mortality in the city of Porto Velho, Rondonia. A quantitative, descriptive study with an ecological approach was carried out. The data source used was secondary, originating from the linkage between SINASC and SIM databases, from the Health Surveillance Agency of the Rondonia Health Department. For treatment, absolute frequency analyzes were performed. The neonatal infant mortality rate was 9.7 deaths per thousand live births, with a predominance of the preterm neonatal patient: 7.2 deaths per thousand live births. Of the deaths, 482 (72.8%) occurred in the precocious neonatal period (0 to 6 days) and 164 (24.7%) in the late neonatal 7 to 27 days of life. The findings indicate the need to improve the quality of health care services available in the city, both prenatal and obstetric care in the neonatal period

Análise da prevalência e fatores associados à incontinência urinária entre idosos do Município de São Paulo, Brasil: Estudo SABE (Saúde, Bem-Estar e Envelhecimento)

To investigate the prevalence of urinary incontinence among elderly people living in São Paulo, Brazil and their associated risk factors. The Pan-American Health Organization and World Health Organization coordinated a multicenter study named Health, Wellbeing and Aging (SABE Study) in elderly people (over 60 years old) living in seven countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. In Brazil, the study was carried out in São Paulo in the year 2000. The total Brazilian sample included 2,143 people. The prevalence of self reported urinary incontinence was 11.8% among men and 26.2% for women. It was verified that among those reporting urinary incontinence, 37% also reported stroke and 34% depression. It was found that the greater the dependence that the elderly people presented, the greater the prevalence of urinary incontinence. The associated factors found were depression (odds ratio = 2.49), female (2.42), advanced age (2.35), important functional limitation (2.01). Urinary incontinence is a highly prevalent symptom among the elderly population of the municipality of São Paulo, especially among women. The adoption of preventive measures can reduce the negative effects of urinary incontinence.Investigar a prevalência de incontinência urinária entre idosos de São Paulo, Brasil, e fatores associados e de risco. A Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde e a Organização Mundial da Saúde coordenaram estudo multicêntrico denominado Saúde, Bem-Estar e Envelhecimento (Estudo SABE) em pessoas idosas (60 anos ou mais) que vivem em sete países da América Latina e Caribe. No Brasil, o estudo populacional foi realizado no Município de São Paulo no ano 2000. A amostra total brasileira foi de 2.143 pessoas. A prevalência da incontinência urinária auto-referida foi de 11,8% entre homens e 26,2% entre mulheres. Verificou-se que entre aqueles que relataram incontinência urinária, 37% também relataram acidente vascular cerebral e 34%, depressão. Observou-se que quanto maior a dependência do idoso, maior era a prevalência de incontinência urinária. Os fatores associados encontrados foram depressão (OR = 2,49), sexo feminino (2,42), idade avançada (2,35), limitação funcional (2,01). Incontinência urinária é um sintoma altamente prevalente entre a população idosa do Município de São Paulo, especialmente entre as mulheres. A adoção de medidas preventivas pode reduzir os efeitos negativos da incontinência urinária

A influência do vídeo de informação adicional em pacientes submetidas à mastectomia: o estudo da dor

OBJECTIVE: Pain is a high incidence symptom in cancer patients. In cases of breast cancer, the post mastectomy and post axillary curettage pain syndromes present the characteristic of neural pain and can occur in 10% of patients shortly after surgery. This paper presents the preliminary results of an ongoing research aimed at investigating the possible effects of a modern procedure of information, which used in the evaluation of perception of pain in mastectomy patients at the Mastectomy Center of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, southern Brazil. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of 22 patients was studied according to the classical experimental design with two groups. An informational video was shown to the  experimental group in the pre-surgery period. Both groups were evaluated using the McGill Pain Questionnaire and the Visual Analogue Scale pain score. RESULTS: Results indicated a tendency to reports of more post-surgical pain in the control group in both tests. In some of the subscales of the McGill Questionnaire there were significantly higher scores of post-surgical pain in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings seem to indicate the benefits of using informational videos with the objective of improving the well-being of patients. However, further studies should be carried out with larger population samples in order to better evaluate the trends observed in this studyOBJETIVO: A dor é um sintoma de alta ocorrência nos casos de câncer. No câncer de mama, as síndromes dolorosas pós-mastectomia e pós-esvaziamento axilar têm a característica de uma dor neural e chegam a ocorrer em 10% das pacientes, podendo aparecer imediatamente após a cirurgia. Este trabalho traz os primeiros resultados de uma pesquisa em andamento, elaborada para investigar os possíveis efeitos de um procedimento moderno de informação na avaliação da percepção de dor de pacientes submetidas à mastectomia no Serviço de Mastologia do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre.MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Uma amostra de 22 pacientes foi estudada segundo o delineamento experimental clássico, com dois grupos. O vídeo de informação foi apresentado no período pré-operatório apenas ao grupo experimental. Ambos os grupos foram avaliados em termos de dor, através do Questionário de McGill e da Escala Análogo-Visual de Dor.RESULTADOS: Os resultados revelaram tendências de maior avaliação da dor pósoperatória no grupo controle em comparação ao grupo experimental, em ambos os testes. Em algumas subescalas do Questionário de McGill houve aumento significativo dos escores de dor após a cirurgia no grupo controle.CONCLUSÕES: Esses achados parecem indicar a utilidade do vídeo de informação com vistas ao bem-estar das pacientes. Sugere-se, entretanto, o aumento da amostra da pesquisa para a melhor avaliação das tendências encontradas

Citrus leprosis virus C infection results in hypersensitive-like response, suppression of the JA/ET plant defense pathway and promotion of the colonization of its mite vector

Leprosis is a serious disease of citrus caused by Citrus leprosis virus C (CiLV-C, genus Cilevirus) whose transmission is mediated by false spider mites of the genus Brevipalpus. CiLV-C infection does not systemically spread in any of its known host plants, thus remaining restricted to local lesions around the feeding sites of viruliferous mites. To get insight into this unusual pathosystem, we evaluated the expression profiles of genes involved in defense mechanisms of Arabidopsis thaliana and Citrus sinensis upon infestation with non-viruliferous and viruliferous mites by using reverse-transcription qPCR. These results were analyzed together with the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the appearance of dead cells as assessed by histochemical assays. After interaction with non-viruliferous mites, plants locally accumulated ROS and triggered the salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonate/ethylene (JA/ET) pathways. ERE branch of the JA/ET pathways was highly activated. In contrast, JA pathway genes were markedly suppressed upon the CiLV-C infection mediated by viruliferous mites. Viral infection also intensified the ROS burst and cell death, and enhanced the expression of genes involved in the RNA silencing mechanism and SA pathway. After 13 days of infestation of two sets of Arabidopsis plants with non-viruliferous and viruliferous mites, the number of mites in the CiLV-C infected Arabidopsis plants was significantly higher than in those infested with the non-viruliferous ones. Oviposition of the viruliferous mites occurred preferentially in the CiLV-C infected leaves. Based on these results, we postulated the first model of plant/Brevipalpus mite/cilevirus interaction in which cells surrounding the feeding sites of viruliferous mites typify the outcome of a hypersensitive-like response, whereas viral infection induces changes in the behavior of its vector7CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP573848/08-4; 375843/2012-42012/18771- 0; 2014/00366-8; 2008/57909-2; 2014/08458-

Allergies and Diabetes as Risk Factors for Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever: Results of a Case Control Study

Dengue is an arboviral disease that affects large areas of countries in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Around 500,000 cases and 22,000 deaths of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF)/Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS), the most severe presentations of this disease, occur annually. It is unclear why some cases of dengue fever (0.5% to 4%) progress to DHF/DSS. There is weak evidence that some diseases could have a role in this process, such as diabetes, hypertension, and allergies. In epidemics most dengue fever cases are sent home as there are too many to be kept in observation, but if it were possible to identify those with a higher risk of progression to DHF, they could be kept for observation, for early detection of signs, symptoms and alterations in laboratory tests suggestive of DHF, to enable timely and effective clinical management and early intervention. We study this issue and we believe that the evidence produced in this study, when confirmed in other studies, suggests that screening criteria might be used to identify adult patients at a greater risk of developing DHF with a recommendation that they remain under observation and monitoring in a hospital

Chronic consumption of distilled sugarcane spirit induces anxiolytic-like effects in mice

OBJECTIVE: Chronic ethanol consumption is a major public health problem throughout the world. We investigated the anxiolytic-like effects and the possible ever injury induced by the chronic consumption of ethanol or sugarcane spirit in mice. METHOD: Adult mice were exposed to a two-bottle free-choice paradigm for 6 weeks. The mice in Group A (n = 16) had access to sugarcane spirit + distilled water, the mice in Group B (n = 15) had access to ethanol + distilled water, and the mice in Group C (control, n = 14) had access to distilled water + distilled water. The ethanol content in the beverages offered to Groups A and B was 2% for the first week, 5% for the second week and 10% for the remaining four weeks. At the end of the experimental period, the mice were evaluated using the elevated-plus maze and the hole-board test to assess their anxiety-related behaviors. We also determined the serum aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels. RESULTS: In the elevated-plus maze, the time spent in the open arms was increased in the mice exposed to chronic ethanol (32 + 8 vs. 7 + 2 s, n = 9) or sugarcane spirit (36 + 9 vs. 7 + 2 s, n = 9) compared to the controls. In the hole-board test, the mice exposed to ethanol or sugarcane spirit displayed increases in their head-dipping frequency (16 + 1 for the control group, 27 + 2 for the ethanol group, and 31 + 3 for the sugarcane-spirit group; n = 9 for each group). In addition, the mice exposed to sugarcane spirit displayed an increase in the aspartate aminotransferase / alanine aminotransferase ratio compared to the ethanol group (1.29 + 0.17 for the control group and 2.67 + 0.17 for the sugarcane spirit group; n = 8 for each group). CONCLUSION: The chronic consumption of sugarcane-spirit produces liver injury and anxiolytic-like effects and the possible liver injury in mice

Compatibility studies of Olanzapine pre-formulated with excipients by thermal analysis: preliminary study

Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to investigate drug-excipient interactions and, in consequence, their compatibility. For this purpose, binary mixtures of olanzapine drug substance and the excipients croscarmellose sodium, magnesium stearate and microcrystalline cellulose, were prepared and analysed. By the analysis of the binary mixtures DSC and TG curves it were observed changes on the temperature and enthalpy values of the drug melting and decomposition peak, with the likely formation of intermediate substances.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire