Expression of a hantavirus N protein and its efficacy as antigen in immune assays

Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) has been recognized as an important public heath problem. Five hantaviruses associated with HCPS are currently known in Brazil: Juquitiba, Araraquara, Laguna Negra-like, Castelo dos Sonhos, and Anajatuba viruses. The laboratory diagnosis of HCPS is routinely carried out by the detection of anti-hantavirus IgM and/or IgG antibodies. The present study describes the expression of the N protein of a hantavirus detected in the blood sample of an HCPS patient. The entire S segment of the virus was amplified and found to be 1858 nucleotides long, with an open reading frame of 1287 nucleotides that encodes a protein of 429 amino acids. The nucleotide sequence described here showed a high identity with the N protein gene of Araraquara virus. The entire N protein was expressed using the vector pET200D and the Escherichia coli BL21 strain. The expression of the recombinant protein was confirmed by the detection of a 52-kDa protein by Western blot using a pool of human sera obtained from HCPS patients, and by specific IgG detection in five serum samples of HCPS patients tested by ELISA. These results suggest that the recombinant N protein could be used as an antigen for the serological screening of hantavirus infection.FAPES

Nuevas formas farmacéuticas para el tratamiento de enfermedades alérgicas

Specific immunotherapy involves certain drawbacks which could be minimized by the use of appropriate adjuvants, capable of amplifying the right immune response with minimal side effects. In this context, we review different types of immunotherapy vehicles and coadyuvants. We describe previous studies by our group in which we demonstrated the adjuvant capacity of Gantrez® AN nanoparticles, which can effectively enhance the immune response. We employed two types of nanoparticles (with and without LPS of Brucella ovis as immunomodulator) within capsulated ovoalbumin and Lollium perenne extract, tested on a model of mice sensitized to this allergenic mixture. In the challenge experiment involving the sensitized mice, differences in the mortality rate and in the MCP-1 levels were found between the treated groups and the control. Under the experimental conditions of this model of mice pre-sensitized to L. perenne, Gantrez®AN nanoparticles appeared to be a good strategy for immunotherapy. We finally tested these carriers administered by the oral route and found that they were able to protect a model of mice sensitized to ovalbumin from anaphylactic shock

Isotopic composition of fragments in multifragmentation of very large nuclear systems: effects of the chemical equilibrium

Studies on the isospin of fragments resulting from the disassembly of highly excited large thermal-like nuclear emitting sources, formed in the ^{197}Au + ^{197}Au reaction at 35 MeV/nucleon beam energy, are presented. Two different decay systems (the quasiprojectile formed in midperipheral reactions and the unique source coming from the incomplete fusion of projectile and target in the most central collisions) were considered; these emitting sources have the same initial N/Z ratio and excitation energy (E^* ~= 5--6 MeV/nucleon), but different size. Their charge yields and isotopic content of the fragments show different distributions. It is observed that the neutron content of intermediate mass fragments increases with the size of the source. These evidences are consistent with chemical equilibrium reached in the systems. This fact is confirmed by the analysis with the statistical multifragmentation model.Comment: 9 pages, 4 ps figure

Nanoparticulate adjuvants and delivery systems for allergen immunotherapy

In the last decades, significant progress in research and clinics has been made to offer possible innovative therapeutics for the management of allergic diseases. However, current allergen immunotherapy shows limitations concerning the long-term efficacy and safety due to local side effects and risk of anaphylaxis. Thus, effective and safe vaccines with reduced dose of allergen have been developed using adjuvants. Nevertheless, the use of adjuvants still has several disadvantages, which limits its use in human vaccines. In this context, several novel adjuvants for allergen immunotherapy are currently being investigated and developed. Currently, nanoparticles-based allergen-delivery systems have received much interest as potential adjuvants for allergen immunotherapy. It has been demonstrated that the incorporation of allergens into a delivery system plays an important role in the efficacy of allergy vaccines. Several nanoparticles-based delivery systems have been described, including biodegradable and nondegradable polymeric carriers. Therefore, this paper provides an overview of the current adjuvants used for allergen immunotherapy. Furthermore, nanoparticles-based allergen-delivery systems are focused as a novel and promising strategy for allergy vaccines

Comment on "Critique of q-entropy for thermal statistics" by M. Nauenberg

It was recently published by M. Nauenberg [1] a quite long list of objections about the physical validity for thermal statistics of the theory sometimes referred to in the literature as {\it nonextensive statistical mechanics}. This generalization of Boltzmann-Gibbs (BG) statistical mechanics is based on the following expression for the entropy: S_q= k\frac{1- \sum_{i=1}^Wp_i^q}{q-1} (q \in {\cal R}; S_1=S_{BG} \equiv -k\sum_{i=1}^W p_i \ln p_i) . The author of [1] already presented orally the essence of his arguments in 1993 during a scientific meeting in Buenos Aires. I am replying now simultaneously to the just cited paper, as well as to the 1993 objections (essentially, the violation of "fundamental thermodynamic concepts", as stated in the Abstract of [1]).Comment: 7 pages including 2 figures. This is a reply to M. Nauenberg, Phys. Rev. E 67, 036114 (2003

Homogenized dynamics of stochastic partial differential equations with dynamical boundary conditions

A microscopic heterogeneous system under random influence is considered. The randomness enters the system at physical boundary of small scale obstacles as well as at the interior of the physical medium. This system is modeled by a stochastic partial differential equation defined on a domain perforated with small holes (obstacles or heterogeneities), together with random dynamical boundary conditions on the boundaries of these small holes. A homogenized macroscopic model for this microscopic heterogeneous stochastic system is derived. This homogenized effective model is a new stochastic partial differential equation defined on a unified domain without small holes, with static boundary condition only. In fact, the random dynamical boundary conditions are homogenized out, but the impact of random forces on the small holes' boundaries is quantified as an extra stochastic term in the homogenized stochastic partial differential equation. Moreover, the validity of the homogenized model is justified by showing that the solutions of the microscopic model converge to those of the effective macroscopic model in probability distribution, as the size of small holes diminishes to zero.Comment: Communications in Mathematical Physics, to appear, 200

Mass and charge identification of fragments detected with the Chimera Silicon-CsI(Tl) telescopes

Mass and charge identification of charged products detected with Silicon-CsI(Tl) telescopes of the Chimera apparatus is presented. An identification function, based on the Bethe-Bloch formula, is used to fit empirical correlation between Delta E and E ADC readings, in order to determine, event by event, the atomic and mass numbers of the detected charged reaction products prior to energy calibration.Comment: 24 pages, 7 .jpg figures, submitted to Nucl.Instr.

Adubos verdes e seus efeitos no rendimento da cana-de-açúcar em sistema de plantio direto.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar adubos verdes e seus efeitos no rendimento da cana-de-açúcar em sistema de plantio direto (SPD). O trabalho foi realizado em Campos dos Goytacazes (RJ), no período de dezembro de 2003 a julho de 2005. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram: feijão-de-porco (Canavalia ensiformis), mucuna-preta(Mucuna aterrimum), crotalária (Crotalária juncea) em plantio direto e vegetação espontânea em preparo convencional (testemunha). Com crotalária aos 35 dias após emergência (DAE) houve maior taxa de cobertura do solo – 87% – e, aos 92 DAE produziu 17.852 kg ha-1 de matéria seca, respectivamente, 41%, 78% e 407% superior ao feijão-de-porco, mucuna e vegetação espontânea, além de superá-las em acúmulos de K, Mg, S, Zn e Fe. O feijão-de-porco e a mucuna proporcionaram o maior teor de N na parte aérea. Com feijão-de-porco, os teores de P e Ca foram maiores que a crotalária e a mucuna. Com vegetação espontânea, o maior teor de K foi na parte aérea. As leguminosas acumularam maiores quantidades de N e Cu do que a vegetação espontânea. A crotalária e o feijão-de-porco acumularam 66% a mais de P na parte área que a mucuna. O SPD utilizando a adubação verde contribuiu significativamente para a maior produtividade de cana-de-açúcar, 135.863 kg ha-1, sendo 37% superior ao PC com a vegetação espontânea

Os sistemas agroflorestais como alternativa de sustentabilidade em ecossistemas de várzea no Amazonas.

Os sistemas agroflorestais (SAFs) representam uma alternativa agroecológica de produção, sob regime sustentável, para os agricultores familiares na várzea dos Rios Solimões/Amazonas, principalmente no que se refere ao manejo florestal, à diversidade de produtos e à geração de renda. Diante disso, o objetivo deste trabalho foi compreender as diferentes formas de apropriação e de manejo dos recursos naturais através dos SAFs, nos subsistemas roça, sítio e lagos, como componente para a sustentabilidade dos agricultores familiares da localidade Costa da Terra Nova, município do Careiro da Várzea, Amazonas. O método empregado foi o Estudo de Caso com aplicação de questionários, entrevistas e observação participante. A produção familiar na Costa da Terra Nova é representada pelos SAFs, constituído pelos os subsistemas: roça quintal e lago, que proporcionam produtos tanto para subsistência quanto para comercialização local, e estabelecendo a agricultura como fundamental atividade na localidade. O principal produto para comercialização é obtido das hortaliças cultivadas na época da vazante no subsistema roça nas comunidades São Francisco e Nossa Senhora da Conceição; e do extrativismo pesqueiro no subsistema lago, na época da cheia, principalmente na comunidade São José. A criação de animal se dá no subsistema sítio e é apenas para subsistência, sendo as aves e os suínos os principais animais domésticos criados nas três comunidades. Portanto os SAFs tradicionais, constituídos pelos subsistemas, roça, sitio e lago, são responsáveis pela sustentabilidade socioeconômica da localidade pesquisada, servindo, como alternativa agrícola melhor adaptada às condições locais das áreas de várzea na Amazônia