Envenomation caused by Latrodectus geometricus in São Paulo state, Brazil: a case report

Widow spiders (Latrodectus spp.), also known as "black widows", have a worldwide distribution and can cause latrodectism. To the best of our knowledge, in Brazil, only one case of Latrodectus geometricus (Koch, 1841) envenomation in a human has been reported. The aim of the present report is to describe a spider bite caused by Latrodectus geometricus in a patient who lives in Paranapanema, São Paulo state, Brazil

Assessment of cytokine values in serum by RT-PCR in HIV-1 infected individuals with and without highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART)

A cross-sectional study was performed on HIV-1 infected individuals with or without antiretroviral treatment (ARV) in the AIDS Day Hospital, Botucatu Medical School, UNESP. Between August 2004 and October 2005, 73 HIV-1 infected individuals were divided into three groups: infected individuals with or without AIDS who had never received ARV (G1 = 15); patients on HAART that had had plasma HIV-1 RNA viral load (VL) equal to or greater than 50 copies/mL (G2 = 27); and patients on HAART with undetectable VL for at least the past six months (G3 = 31). There was also an additional group that comprised blood donors without any sign of the disease and with negative HIV serum tests (G4 = 20), which was the control group. Serum cytokine levels (values in pg/mL) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and specific mRNA expression by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Both techniques were performed on the four groups for TNF-α, IL-2, INF-γ, IL-4 and IL-10. All patients were submitted to VL determination and CD4+ and CD8+T lymphocyte counts. The analysis of the results revealed a significant comparison among groups for both methods and an association between the latter (> 80% r² > 0.80). There was only one exception, in control individuals for IL-2 by ELISA. The cytokine profiles, in both methods, for the three patient groups, were mature Th-0. The behaviors of IL-2 and INF-γ required emphasis due to consequent expression of dominant Th profile. Both methods showed low IL-2 and high mean values of INF-γ in the three groups. Several authors have recently drawn attention to the substantial apoptosis of infected and non-infected CD4+T cells, mainly during primary infection, persisting only in those with INF-γ phenotype producer and not IL-2. HIV infected individuals submitted to HAART are expected to produce IL-2 in an attempt to present Th-1 profile, but in most cases this did not occur

Skin manifestations of tick bites in humans

Abstract: Ticks are blood-sucking arthropods that attach to human skin through oral devices causing diverse initial cutaneous manifestations, and may also transmit serious infectious diseases. In certain situations, the Health Teams (and especially dermatologists) may face difficulties in identifying the lesions and associating them to the parasites. To assist them in clinical diagnosis, we suggest a classification of the skin manifestations in primary lesions, which occur by the attachment the tick to the host (for toxicity and the anticoagulant substances in the saliva and/or marked inflammation by the penetration and permanence of the mouthparts) and secondary lesions that are manifestations of infections caused by rickettsia, bacteria, protozoa and fungi inoculated by the ticks

Assessment of cytokine values in serum by RT-PCR in HIV-1 infected individuals with and without highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART)

A cross-sectional study was performed on HIV-1 infected individuals with or without antiretroviral treatment (ARV) in the AIDS Day Hospital, Botucatu Medical School, UNESP. Between August 2004 and October 2005, 73 HIV-1 infected individuals were divided into three groups: infected individuals with or without AIDS who had never received ARV (G1 = 15); patients on HAART that had had plasma HIV-1 RNA viral load (VL) equal to or greater than 50 copies/mL (G2 = 27); and patients on HAART with undetectable VL for at least the past six months (G3 = 31). There was also an additional group that comprised blood donors without any sign of the disease and with negative HIV serum tests (G4 = 20), which was the control group. Serum cytokine levels (values in pg/mL) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and specific mRNA expression by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Both techniques were performed on the four groups for TNF-α, IL-2, INF-γ, IL-4 and IL-10. All patients were submitted to VL determination and CD4+ and CD8+T lymphocyte counts. The analysis of the results revealed a significant comparison among groups for both methods and an association between the latter (> 80% -r2 > 0.80). There was only one exception, in control individuals for IL-2 by ELISA. The cytokine profiles, in both methods, for the three patient groups, were mature Th-0. The behaviors of IL-2 and INF-γ required emphasis due to consequent expression of dominant Th profile. Both methods showed low IL-2 and high mean values of INF-γ in the three groups. Several authors have recently drawn attention to the substantial apoptosis of infected and non-infected CD4+T cells, mainly during primary infection, persisting only in those with INF-γ phenotype producer and not IL-2. HIV infected individuals submitted to HAART are expected to produce IL-2 in an attempt to present Th-1 profile, but in most cases this did not occur.Department of Tropical Diseases São Paulo State University UNESP, Botucatu, São Paulo StateDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology Sao Paulo State University UNESP, Botucatu, Sao Paulo StateDepartamento de Doenças Tropicais e Diagnóstics por Imagem Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu UNESP, Distrito de Rubião Júnior s/n, Botucatu, SP, 18618-000, BrasilDepartment of Tropical Diseases São Paulo State University UNESP, Botucatu, São Paulo StateDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology Sao Paulo State University UNESP, Botucatu, Sao Paulo StateDepartamento de Doenças Tropicais e Diagnóstics por Imagem Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu UNESP, Distrito de Rubião Júnior s/n, Botucatu, SP, 18618-000, Brasi

Taxes and Corporate Financing Decisions Evidence from the Belgian Ace Reform

We contribute to the empirical literature on the debt bias of corporate income taxation through a micro-econometric evaluation of the so-called ACE corporate tax reform in Belgium based on firm-level accounting data. We interpret the tax reform that came into effect in January 2006 as an economic quasi experiment. We identify its causal impact on the leverage ratio of Belgian corporations by means of a difference-in-differences (DiD) approach, using corporations from the UK as comparison group. Our results document that the ACE reform led to a systematic pattern of heterogeneous effects on the capital structure of Belgian corporations, as the estimated reduction of the leverage ratio is most pronounced for big firms. Estimation of quantile treatment effects further reveals that reform effects get monotonically larger across the distribution of firm leverage. Finally, we provide evidence of sectoral heterogeneity with significant effects observed for capital-intensive, but not for labor-intensive sectors.Klassische Systeme der Unternehmensbesteuerung verzerren die Finanzierungsentscheidung von Unternehmen ('Debt Bias'): Weil Zinsen für Fremdkapital von der Steuerbasis abgezogen werden können, die (Opportunitäts) Kosten für Eigenkapital jedoch nicht, gibt das Steuersystem den Unternehmen einen Anreiz für höhere Verschuldung. Diese Verzerrung kann mithilfe einer zinsbereinigten Gewinnsteuer überwunden werden, welche kalkulatorische Kosten für das Eigenkapital ebenfalls steuerabzugsfähig macht. Das Paper evaluiert die Einführung einer derartigen Reform in Belgien im Jahr 2006 auf der Basis von Bilanzdaten der betroffenen Firmen. Mithilfe eines Differenz-von-Differenzen-Ansatzes wird der Effekt der Reform auf den Verschuldungsgrad belgischer Unternehmen identifiziert, wobei Unternehmen aus Großbritannien die Vergleichsgruppe bilden. Es zeigt sich ein systematisches Muster heterogener Reformeffekte: Einerseits ist der Rückgang des Verschuldungsgrads für Großunternehmen am stärksten ausgeprägt. Quantilseffektschätzungen weisen zudem darauf hin, dass jene Unternehmen am stärksten auf die Reform reagieren, die zuvor einen überdurchschnittlich hohen Verschuldungsgrad aufgewiesen haben. Sektor-spezifische Schätzungen zeigen schließlich, dass signifikante Reformeffekte vor allem in kapital- aber nicht in arbeitsintensiven Wirtschaftszweigen auftreten