591 research outputs found
Hansen's Disease in Portugal: Multibacillary Patients Treated Between 1988 and 2003
BACKGROUND:
There is an estimate low incidence of patients with Hansen's disease in Portugal. Following the 1982 World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, extended multidrug therapy (MDT) was started for multibacillary (MB) patients. Patients were then treated with rifampicine (RFP), clofazimine (CLF) and dapsone (DDS) for a minimum of 2 years or until smear negativity. The aim of this study was to evaluate MDT efficacy in our patient population.
METHODS:
Retrospective and descriptive study of 102 MB patients who underwent MDT from 1988 to 2003.
RESULTS:
The number of new MB patients has gradually increased since 1960, the first year of our consultation, due mostly to a rise in imported cases. Overall, 34% of the subjects were immigrants, mainly from former Portuguese Colonies. Forty-six patients had previously received monotherapy with DDS (mean duration of this treatment, 22 years). Relapse after MDT occurred in 9 cases (8.8%), but importantly, all relapsed cases were smear negative at least on one occasion after the end of treatment, suggesting these were true relapses rather than treatment failures.
CONCLUSIONS:
Despite the 2-year WHO-MDT regimen, patients with MB disease clearly face the possibility of relapse. We propose that any reduction in the duration of therapy such as the recently proposed 6-month standard MDT is likely to increase the relapse rate even further. Important issues for future consideration are the needs to identify those at risk of relapse and in need of alternative antimicrobial treatment with a prolonged clinical follow-up.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Decaying Dark Matter in the Supersymmetric Standard Model with Freeze-in and Seesaw mechanims
Inspired by the decaying dark matter (DM) which can explain cosmic ray
anomalies naturally, we consider the supersymmetric Standard Model with three
right-handed neutrinos (RHNs) and R-parity, and introduce a TeV-scale DM sector
with two fields \phi_{1,2} and a discrete symmetry. The DM sector only
interacts with the RHNs via a very heavy field exchange and then we can explain
the cosmic ray anomalies. With the second right-handed neutrino N_2 dominant
seesaw mechanism at the low scale around 10^4 GeV, we show that \phi_{1,2} can
obtain the vacuum expectation values around the TeV scale, and then the
lightest state from \phi_{1,2} is the decay DM with lifetime around \sim
10^{26}s. In particular, the DM very long lifetime is related to the tiny
neutrino masses, and the dominant DM decay channels to \mu and \tau are related
to the approximate \mu-\tau symmetry. Furthermore, the correct DM relic density
can be obtained via the freeze-in mechanism, the small-scale problem for power
spectrum can be solved due to the decays of the R-parity odd meta-stable states
in the DM sector, and the baryon asymmetry can be generated via the soft
leptogensis.Comment: 24 pages,3 figure
Influence of the colon in liver regeneration of rats submitted to hepatectomy and colectomy
The Cayman Crab Fly Revisited â Phylogeny and Biology of Drosophila endobranchia
BACKGROUND: The majority of all known drosophilid flies feed on microbes. The wide spread of microorganisms consequently mean that drosophilids also can be found on a broad range of substrates. One of the more peculiar types of habitat is shown by three species of flies that have colonized land crabs. In spite of their intriguing lifestyle, the crab flies have remained poorly studied. Perhaps the least investigated of the three crab flies is the Cayman Island endemic Drosophila endobranchia. Apart from its life cycle very little is known about this species, including its phylogenetic position, which has remained unresolved due to a cryptic set of characteristics. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Based on molecular data, corroborated by a re-analysis of the morphological make up, we have resolved the phylogenetic position of D. endobranchia and show that it somewhat surprisingly belongs to the large Neotropical repleta radiation, and should be considered as an aberrant member of the canalinea species group. Furthermore we also provide additional data on the behavior of these remarkable flies. CONCLUSION: Our findings reveal that the two Caribbean crab flies are not as distantly related as first thought, as both species are members of the derived repleta radiation. That this lineage has given rise to two species with the same odd type of breeding substrate is curious and prompts the question of what aspects of their shared ancestry has made these flies suitable for a life on (and inside) land crabs. Knowledge of the phylogenetic position of D. endobranchia will allow for comparative explorations and will aid in efforts aimed at understanding processes involved in drastic host shifts and extreme specialization
Cultivares de batata para sistemas orgùnicos de produção.
InformaçÔes a respeito de cultivares adaptadas ao sistema de cultivo orgĂąnico sĂŁo escassas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar, sob sistema de cultivo orgĂąnico, genĂłtipos nacionais e estrangeiros desenvolvidos para o cultivo convencional, quanto ao potencial produtivo, em condiçÔes de campo. O experimento foi conduzido em 2008, no PĂłlo APTA Leste Paulista, em Monte Alegre do Sul-SP. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso, com 18 tratamentos e quatro repetiçÔes. Cada parcela foi constituĂda por 80 batatas-semente, dispostas em quatro linhas de 5 m de comprimento, espaçadas de 80 cm, com 25 cm entre tubĂ©rculos. Os genĂłtipos avaliados foram Agata, Asterix, Caesar, Cupido, Ăden, Melody, Novella e Vivaldi, de origem estrangeira; e ApuĂŁ, Aracy, Catucha, IAC Aracy Ruiva, ItararĂ©, Monte Alegre 172, IAC 6090, APTA 16.5, APTA 15.20 e APTA 21.54, nacionais. Foram avaliadas as caracterĂsticas de produtividade total e comercial de tubĂ©rculos, massa mĂ©dia total e comercial de tubĂ©rculos, teor de matĂ©ria seca e severidade da pinta-preta (Alternaria solani). Os clones APTA 16.5, APTA 21.54 e IAC 6090, e as cultivares Cupido, ApuĂŁ, ItararĂ© e Monte Alegre 172 foram os mais produtivos. âAPTA 21.54â superou os demais em relação a produtividade comercial (18,07 t ha-1), sendo que âAPTA 16.5â, âCupidoâ, âIAC 6090â e âItararĂ©â formaram o segundo grupo. As maiores massas mĂ©dias de tubĂ©rculos foram apresentadas pelas cultivares ItararĂ© e Cupido. O clone IAC 6090 e as cultivares Aracy e Aracy Ruiva foram as que apresentaram maiores teores de matĂ©ria seca, com valor mĂ©dio de 22,91%. âAPTA 16.5â, âApuĂŁâ, âAracyâ, âAracy Ruivaâ, âĂdenâ, âIbituaçĂșâ e âMonte Alegre 172â apresentaram alto nĂvel de resistĂȘncia Ă pinta-preta. As cultivares ItararĂ©, ApuĂŁ e Cupido sĂŁo adaptadas ao cultivo orgĂąnico, e os clones avançados APTA 16.5, APTA 21.54 e IAC 6090 apresentam potencial de cultivo no sistema orgĂąnico
Effect of controlled and uncontrolled cooling rate on motility parameters of cryopreserved ram spermatozoa
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ram spermatozoa are sensitive to extreme changes in temperature during the freeze-thaw process. The degree of damage depends on a combined effect of various factors including freezing temperature. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of two cooling method (controlled-rate and uncontrolled-rate) on pre-freezing and post-thaw sperm motility parameters.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Ejaculates were collected using the artificial vagina from four Chal rams and three replicates of the ejaculates were diluted with a Tris-based extender and packed in 0.25 ml straws. Then, sample processed according to the two methods. Method 1: straws cooled from 37 to 5°C, at a liner rate of -0.3°C/min in a controlled-rate cooling machine (custom-built) and equilibrated at 5°C for 80 min, then the straws were frozen at rate of -0.3°C/min from 5°C to -10°C and -25°C/min from -10°C to -150°C and plunged into liquid nitrogen for storage. Method 2: straws were transferred to refrigerator and maintained at 5°C for 3 h, then the straws were frozen in liquid nitrogen vapor, 4 cm above the liquid nitrogen for 15 min and plunged into liquid nitrogen. Computer-assisted sperm motility analysis was used to analyze sperm motion characteristics.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Controlled rate of freezing (Method 1) significantly improve the pre-freezing and post-thaw total and progressive motility compared to uncontrolled rate (Method 2). In specific kinetic parameters, Method 1 gives significantly higher value for VSL and VCL in comparison with Method 2. There are no significant differences between the two methods for VAP and LIN. In conclusion, controlled rate of cooling conferred better cryopreserving ability to ram spermatozoa compared to uncontrolled rate of cooling prior to programmable freezing.</p
Genetic association study of QT interval highlights role for calcium signaling pathways in myocardial repolarization.
The QT interval, an electrocardiographic measure reflecting myocardial repolarization, is a heritable trait. QT prolongation is a risk factor for ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD) and could indicate the presence of the potentially lethal mendelian long-QT syndrome (LQTS). Using a genome-wide association and replication study in up to 100,000 individuals, we identified 35 common variant loci associated with QT interval that collectively explain âŒ8-10% of QT-interval variation and highlight the importance of calcium regulation in myocardial repolarization. Rare variant analysis of 6 new QT interval-associated loci in 298 unrelated probands with LQTS identified coding variants not found in controls but of uncertain causality and therefore requiring validation. Several newly identified loci encode proteins that physically interact with other recognized repolarization proteins. Our integration of common variant association, expression and orthogonal protein-protein interaction screens provides new insights into cardiac electrophysiology and identifies new candidate genes for ventricular arrhythmias, LQTS and SCD
Fighting by sleep-deprived rats as a possible manifestation of panic: effects of sodium lactate
EmergĂȘncia e desenvolvimento de mudas de tomate IPA 6 em substratos, contendo esterco ovino
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