Temporal variation in fish assemblage composition on a tidal flat

Os peixes de uma planície de maré da praia Balneário de Pontal do Sul, Paraná, foram coletados, na preamar diurna e na baixa-mar diurna e noturna das marés de sizígia e de quadratura, visando caracterizar as mudanças temporais entre agosto de 1998 e julho de 1999. As coletas totalizaram 64.265 peixes de 133 espécies. Foram observadas diferenças significativas na captura média em número de espécies e de peixes, peso total e nos índices de riqueza, diversidade (H' peso) e eqüitatividade entre os meses de coleta. A dissimilaridade da ictiofauna foi maior entre os meses de agosto, setembro e outubro em comparação com o período de novembro a janeiro. A ação combinada da temperatura da água, salinidade e intensidade do vento, influenciaram mais sobre a estrutura da assembléia de peixes.Annual variation in the fish assemblage characteristics on a tidal flat was studied in coastal Paraná, in southern Brazil. Fish were collected between August 1998 and July 1999, during the diurnal high tide and diurnal and nocturnal low tide of the syzygial (full moon) and quadrature (waning moon) tides, to characterize temporal change in assemblage composition. A total of 64,265 fish in 133 species were collected. The average number of species and individuals, biomass, species richness, diversity (mass) and equitability varied significantly over time . The dissimilarity of the assemblage was greatest in August, September and October in contrast with the period from November to January, with the lowest dissimilarity. The combined action of water temperature, salinity and wind intensity had a great influence over the structure of the fish assemblage

Epithelium and stroma from nasal polyp mucosa exhibits inverse expression of TGF- beta(1) as compared with healthy nasal mucosa

Objective: To evaluate TGF-beta(1) expression in polypoid mucosa (epithelium and stroma) of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP).Methods: Cross-sectional study with two groups: 17 patients with nasal polyposis and 11 controls. Polyps and normal nasal mucosa were processed by immunohistochemical methods for TGF-beta 1 visualization. Then, the percentage of TGF-beta 1 expression in stroma and epithelium was objectively quantified using UT Morph software.Results: A lower percentage of positive expression was found in the epithelium of CRSwNP patients (32.44%) versus normal controls (55.91%) (p < 0.05), and a higher percentage of positive expression in the stroma of CRSwNP patients (23.24%) versus controls (5.88%) (p < 0.05).Conclusion: the lower percentage of TGF-beta(1) expression in the nasal epithelium of CRSwNP patients may have an impact on epithelium-directed topical treatments employed in this patient population.Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Otolaryngol Head & Neck Surg, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Ghent, Ghent Univ Hosp, Dept Otorhinolaryngol, Upper Airway Res Lab, B-9000 Ghent, BelgiumUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Pathol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Otolaryngol Head & Neck Surg, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Pathol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Associating the Incest and Paternity Index to discriminate sexual aggression among close blood relatives

 A violência sexual no Brasil, além de um crime hediondo, é uma questão de saúde pública. Entre as crianças, parentes destacam-se como agressores. Quando um crime de natureza sexual resulta em gravidez, o exame de paternidade consiste no meio de prova mais fidedigno. Este exame consiste em verificar o compartilhamento de alelos entre o pretenso filho e o suposto pai, de modo a atribuir termos probabilísticos à transmissão dos alelos por parte do suspeito em relação a um homem qualquer na população, não relacionado, o que se denomina índice de paternidade. Porém, em casos cujo suposto pai possui vínculo biológico com a vítima, devem-se considerar alguns parâmetros matemáticos de modo a evitar a superestimativa dos valores atribuídos aos índices de paternidade. Torna-se preciso distinguir Alelos Idênticos por Descendência daqueles Idênticos por Estado. A partir de análise comparativa de 3 casos incestuosos foram efetuados cálculos de Índice de Paternidade da maneira usual, considerando o suspeito como não relacionado à vítima e considerando o suspeito como relacionado à vítima, atribuindo a este cálculo a denominação Índice de Incesto. O Índice de Paternidade Combinado foi superior ao Índice Combinado de Incesto em até 103 vezes, mostrando que as análises usuais podem superestimar os resultados nos exames de vínculo genético. Assim, propõe-se o uso desta metodologia matemática nos cenários incestuosos a fim de evitar a emissão de laudos equivocados ou estatisticamente sobrevalorizados.Sexual violence in Brazil, as well as being a heinous crime, is a public health issue. In the majority of cases of sexually abused children, close relatives are the most common aggressors. When a crime of a sexual nature results in pregnancy, a paternity test is the most reliable form of evidence. The purpose of this test is to verify the sharing of alleles between the child and alleged father, in order to assign probabilistic terms related to the transmission of alleles from the suspect in relation to an unrelated man in population—this is called the Paternity Index. However, in cases where the alleged father has a biological relationship with the victim, some mathematical parameters should be considered, in order to avoid overestimation of the values assigned to the indices of paternity. It becomes necessary to distinguish alleles identical by descent from those identical by state. From a comparative analysis of 3 incestuous cases, calculations of the Paternity Index were performed in the usual way, both considering the suspect as being unrelated to the victim, and considering the suspect as being related to the victim, and this calculation was named the Incest Index. The Combined Paternity Index was higher than the combined ratio of Incest by up to 103 times, showing that the usual analysis may overestimate the results in the exams of genetic link. Thus, the use of this mathematical methodology is proposed for both incestuous scenarios, in order to avoid issuing overrated or erroneous statistical reports of incest

Diacutaneous fibrolysis versus passive stretching after articular immobilisation : muscle recovery and extracellular matrix remodelling

Introduction Atrophy and muscle shortening due to articular immobilisation are common problems in musculoskeletal rehabilitation. Muscle stretching mechanical stimuli might be considered as the golden standard procedure to improve muscle flexibility in rehabilitation. Muscle stretching generates mechanotransduction, potentiating specific gene expression and promotes sarcomerogenesis and extracellular matrix remodelling on shortened and atrophied muscles. Hypothesis Diacutaneous fibrolysis, like stretching, uses an external force to stress connective and muscle tissues mechanically to treat muscle shortening; thus, it is widely used in clinical practice even if there is no evidence to support it. Considering this subject, we have hypothesised that diacutaneous fibrolysis can generate mechanotransduction, affecting muscle hypertrophy and extracellular matrix remodelling after immobilisation. Evaluation of hypothesis We have designed a laboratory experimental study with a sample of 50 rats. The sample was randomly divided into five groups: Control group (n = 10) with non–immobilised rats; 3–week immobilisation group (n = 10); 3–week immobilisation/3–week non–immobilisation group (n = 10);3–week immobilisation/3–week stretching group (n = 10); and 3–week immobilisation/3–week diacutaneous fibrolysis group (n = 10). All rats had their left tibiotarsal joint immobilised in maximum plantar flexion with the orthotics for 3 consecutive weeks. After the immobilisation period, the intervention groups received their respective intervention on their left triceps suralis for 3 weeks. Dependent variables of the study were sarcomere analysis, polymerase chain reaction, connective tissue density, collagen birefringence and matrix metalloproteinases. Statistical analysis was performed using analysis of variance and Duncan post hoc test was applied for differences between groups. For all calculations, a 5% (p < 0.05) significance level was established. Conclusion If the hypothesis is confirmed, the present study might provide evidence to support the use of this physical therapy resource widely used to treat muscle dysfunctions

Using of essential oils in the treatment of mice infected with Trypanosoma evansi

Objective. This study aimed to test the effectiveness of copaiba, andiroba and aroeira essential oils for controlling trypanosomosis by Trypanosoma evansi with mice as experimental model. Materials and methods. Sixty-six mice were divided into eleven groups (A to L) with six animals each. Group A was the unique composed by healthy and uninfected animals (negative control). Animals in groups B to L were inoculated with 0.1 mL of blood containing 2.7 x 106 trypanosomes. Group B was used as a positive control without treatment. In experiment were tested copaiba (C, D and E), andiroba (F, G and H) and aroeira (I, J and L) oils at doses of 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 mL kg-1 to infected mice (T. evansi). Results. These protocols did not provide curative efficacy; however, the mice treated with highest dose of copaiba showed a significant increase in the longevity when compared others groups. Conclusions. Previously in our studies, these essential oils have shown trypanocidal activity in vitro, but when they were tested in vivo in mice infected with T. evansi, this trypanocidal activity, or the curative effect was not found, being only able to prolong the lifespan of the animals treated with copaiba oil