[turner Syndrome: Psychosocial Aspects].

Turner syndrome's (TS) incidence is about 1:2,130 live female births and its most important clinical features are short stature and gonadal dysgenesis, leading to primary amenorrhea, delayed pubertal development and infertility. Congenital and acquired anomalies and a great variety of dysmorphic signs can also be observed. Thus, many characteristics and symptoms may have bad consequences in the psychosocial aspects of the patients with TS. The objective of this paper is to review the literature on psychosocial aspects of TS, mainly the psychological effect caused by short stature, delayed pubertal development and infertility, self-esteem, social aspects, gender identity, sexual functioning, love relationships, family relationships, cognitive functioning, psychiatric diseases and the presence of a chronic disease. General remarks on psychological follow-up of the patients are also made.49157-6

Brief Cognitive Behavioral Intervention in Groups in a Brazilian Assisted Reproduction Program

The study's objective was to assess the effect of a cognitive behavioral group intervention on the pregnancy rates of patients submitted to in vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques or to intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The study was conducted on 188 patients, 93 who participated in a group of psychological intervention before the IVF and ICSI procedures and 95 patients submitted to IVF and ICSI during the same period of time, who did not participate in the intervention (control group). Clinical pregnancy was the outcome measure. Demographic and clinical variables were compared between groups in order to assess the group's homogeneity. Participants in the psychological intervention obtained a pregnancy rate of 39.8%, significantly higher than the 23.2% rate of nonparticipants (chi(2) = 6.03, p =.01, odds ratio of 22 (CI: 1.16-4.13). The data suggest that group psychological intervention before IVF and ICSI in order to control stress seems to increase the rate of success of these procedures

Lectins: Function, structure, biological properties andpotential applications

Lectins are a special class of proteins widely distributed in nature, which selectively recognize and reversibly bind to carbohydrates and glycoconjugates through their binding sites. These proteins, which can be detected through haemagglutination assays, interact with different carbohydrates present in cell surfaces. Lectins are generally classified according to their structure, specificity for carbohydrates and species location. Depending on their properties and distribution in tissues, lectins can play important physiological roles. The characteristic property of lectins to recognize other molecules in a distinct way makes it relevant in research involving purification, structural analysis, in vitro/in vivo applications of these macromolecules and biotechnological uses in different areas such as molecular and cell biology, immunology, pharmacology, medicine, clinical analysis, nanotechnology as well as in systems for drug release. Lectins can be used for analysis of structure and physiology of cells, tissues and pathogenic microorganisms. In agriculture, these proteins are used as insecticidal agents. Lectins have already been shown to exhibit different biological activities and effects, such as mitogenic and antiproliferative activities on cell lines of human cancer, inhibition of bacterial and fungal growth, action as promoting agents in cell aggregation, immunomodulatory activities and toxic effects. These proteins are promising as drugs for treatment and in diagnosis of human diseases; they are important tools in cytochemistry, histochemistry and immunohistochemistry and are also useful in forensic medicine. In summary, this review provides an overview of lectin research, with focus on physiological functions, structural performance, classification, potential biotechnological properties and applications.Authors acknowledge the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships to PMGP, MTSC and LCBBC. In addition, we are grateful to Grant SFRH/BPD/ 37349/2007 from the Foundation for Science and Technology and POPH/FSE, awarded to AFS

Leaf heteroblasty in Passiflora edulis as revealed by metabolic profiling and expression analyses of the microRNAs miR156 and miR172

Juvenile-to-adult phase transition is marked by changes in leaf morphology, mostly due to the temporal development of the shoot apical meristem, a phenomenon known as heteroblasty. Sugars and microRNA-controlled modules are components of the heteroblastic process in Arabidopsis thaliana leaves. However, our understanding about their roles during phase-changing in other species, such as Passiflora edulis, remains limited. Unlike Arabidopsis, P. edulis (a semi-woody perennial climbing vine) undergoes remarkable changes in leaf morphology throughout juvenile-to-adult transition. Nonetheless, the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown.Here we evaluated the molecular mechanisms underlying the heteroblastic process by analysing the temporal expression of microRNAs and targets in leaves as well as the leaf metabolome during P. edulis development.Metabolic profiling revealed a unique composition of metabolites associated with leaf heteroblasty. Increasing levels of glucose and α-trehalose were observed during juvenile-to-adult phase transition. Accumulation of microRNA156 (miR156) correlated with juvenile leaf traits, whilst miR172 transcript accumulation was associated with leaf adult traits. Importantly, glucose may mediate adult leaf characteristics during de novo shoot organogenesis by modulating miR156-targeted PeSPL9 expression levels at early stages of shoot development.Altogether, our results suggest that specific sugars may act as co-regulators, along with two microRNAs, leading to leaf morphological modifications throughout juvenile-to-adult phase transition in P. edulis

Molecular Characterization of the Schistosoma mansoni Zinc Finger Protein SmZF1 as a Transcription Factor

Schistosomes are parasites that exhibit a complex life cycle during which they progress through many morphological and physiological transformations. These transformations are likely accompanied by alterations in gene expression, making genetic regulation important for parasite development. Here we describe a Schistosoma mansoni protein (SmZF1) that may act as a parasite transcription factor. These factors are key proteins for gene regulation. We have previously demonstrated that SmZF1 is able to bind DNA and that its mRNA is present at different stages during the parasite life cycle. In this study we aimed to define if this protein can function as a transcription factor in S. mansoni. SmZF1 was detected in the nucleus of adult male worms, cercariae and schistosomula cells. It was not, however, observed in female cells, suggesting it to be gender specific. We used mammalian cells expressing recombinant SmZF1 to analyze if SmZF1 protein is able to activate/repress gene transcription and demonstrated that it increased the expression of a reporter gene by two-fold. The results obtained confirm SmZF1 as a S. mansoni transcription factor

Low prevalence of H. pylori Infection in HIV-Positive Patients in the Northeast of Brazil

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study conducted in Northeastern Brazil, evaluated the prevalence of <it>H. pylori </it>infection and the presence of gastritis in HIV-infected patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>There were included 113 HIV-positive and 141 age-matched HIV-negative patients, who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for dyspeptic symptoms. <it>H. pylori </it>status was evaluated by urease test and histology.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence of <it>H. pylori </it>infection was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in HIV-infected (37.2%) than in uninfected (75.2%) patients. There were no significant differences between <it>H. pylori </it>status and gender, age, HIV viral load, antiretroviral therapy and the use of antibiotics. A lower prevalence of <it>H. pylori </it>was observed among patients with T CD4 cell count below 200/mm³; however, it was not significant. Chronic active antral gastritis was observed in 87.6% of the HIV-infected patients and in 780.4% of the control group (p = 0.11). <it>H. pylori </it>infection was significantly associated with chronic active gastritis in the antrum in both groups, but it was not associated with corpus chronic active gastritis in the HIV-infected patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We demonstrated that the prevalence of <it>H. pylori </it>was significantly lower in HIV-positive patients compared with HIV-negative ones. However, corpus gastritis was frequently observed in the HIV-positive patients, pointing to different mechanisms than <it>H. pylori </it>infection in the genesis of the lesion.</p