Non-volant small mammals at an Atlantic forest area situated nearby a limestone quarry (Limeira quarry), state of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Our aim was to survey the non-flying small mammals inhabiting an Atlantic forest area situated nearby a limestone quarry (Limeira quarry), located at Ribeirao Grande municipality (SP), southeastern Brazil. Species were captured with pitfall and Sherman traps along eight pairs of 60 m transects distributed at four different distances from the quarry (60, 220, 740 and 1300 m). Between October 2005 and January 2008,20 small mammal species (11 rodents and nine marsupials) were captured through 4080 pitfall trap-nights and 2040 Sherman trapnights. The high values of richness, diversity (H' = 2.65) and equability (J = 0.88), and the presence of endemic and threatened species indicates a preserved study site and small mammal assemblage. Marmosops incanus, Monodelphis americana and Oligoryzomys nigripes were the commonest species at the study site. Trapping sites located closer to the quarry (60 and 220 m away from the quarry) presented lower richness and were dominated by disturbance-tolerant species, such as O. nigripes, that usually benefit from habitat alterations. On the other hand, sites located away from the quarry and closer to Serra do Mar Protected Area (740 and 1300 m away from the quarry) presented higher richness and diversity, and a higher abundance of disturbance-intolerant species. These results suggest a negative distance-dependent impact of quarrying on small mammal communities. In this way, our results point out to the importance of long-term monitoring of quarrying impacts on small non-flying mammal communities and populations, and the need of conservation strategies in order to ensure species persistence in these areas.124191197Companhia de Cimento Ribeirao Grande (CCRG)Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal do Nivel Superio

Ulnar nerve contribution in the innervation of the triceps brachii muscle ulnar nerve to the triceps brachii

The ulnar nerve is considered the thickest terminal branch of the medial cord in the brachial plexus and most authors does not mention the possibility of this nerve emitting branches to the arm. However, some studies reported that the ulnar nerve could supply the medial head of triceps brachii muscle. The main objective in this study was identifying the presence of ulnar nerve branches in triceps brachii muscle. Sixty upper limbs of adult Brazilian corpses of both sexes were used. The estimated age was between 25 and 80 years old. Every studied piece had the nerves and their branches quantified and measured with a manual mechanic caliper. The branches were photographed and had the data registered in individual files. Were found ulnar nerve branches for all the heads of triceps brachii muscle: 1 branch (9,1%) to lateral head, 2 branches (18,1%) to long head and 8 branches (72,7%) to medial head. Thus, we can conclude that the contribution of ulnar nerve to triceps brachii muscle constitutes an important anatomical variation.Key words: Ulnar nerve; Triceps brachii muscle; Innervation

O PROGRAMA DE EDUCAÇÃO TUTORIAL – PET/CONEXÕES GESTÃO POLÍTICA-PEDAGÓGICA COMO INSTRUMENTO DAS POLITICAS PUBLICAS

O presente estudo tem como objetivo descrever as ações realizadas dentro do Programa de Educação Tutorial - PET Conexões de Saberes Gestão Política Pedagógica: Diálogo entre a Universidade e Comunidades Populares, da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, o qual é um programa multidisciplinar com participação de pesquisadores de diferentes áreas. Para realizar esta pesquisa, foi feito um levantamento bibliográfico acerca dos escritos que abordam sobre o assunto e também sobre o grupo em destaque. Tal estudo visa, além de relatar este PET, mostrar como o mesmo contribui para o aproveitamento acadêmico do aluno participante, de forma que possa diminuir a evasão escolar dos estudantes oriundos de escolas públicas, e, portanto, aqueles mais vulneráveis. Ao decorrer deste trabalho, será mostrado como se deu a origem dos PET’s Conexões de Saberes e qual a filosofia do mesmo, já que é um programa direcionado aos estudantes de origem popular. Como forma de justificar a existência do referido, será dado destaque às políticas de Ações Afirmativas, isso pelo motivo de ser uma iniciativa que ajuda financeiramente esses estudantes durante sua graduação. Enfim, mostrar como o grupo contribui para a formação integral desse público

POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS: AÇÕES AFIRMATIVAS PARA PERMANÊNCIA NO ENSINO SUPERIOR

O objetivo deste estudo é analisar e demonstrar as políticas de ações afirmativas inicialmente na Universidade Federal de Pernambuco-UFPE e como esta tem oportunizado o acesso e permanência dos estudantes no ensino superior, visto que através deste estudo será proposto debater sobre os programas de assistência estudantil nas Instituições Federais de Ensino Superior - IFES no Brasil, e será observado de que forma estas ações afirmativas estão sendo operacionalizadas, também quais as características e realidade de cada campus e como elas são direcionadas aos estudantes, sabendo que eles são avaliados de acordo com o seu perfil socioeconômico. Será objeto de estudo a transmissão de informação, pois para que estes sujeitos possam usufruir e poder alcançar um direito é preciso saber que ele existe. É destacada a necessidade de ampliação dessas políticas de assistência estudantil. Percebesse que essas ações além de serem programas de assistência estudantil, devem ser mais que bolsas financeiras, precisam envolver atividades de ensino, pesquisa e extensão, para que o estudante tenha condições de uma permanência com qualidade na universidade, também o preparando para um objetivo a mais que a graduação e o mercado de trabalho. Diante disso o Serviço Social possui um papel relevante na reivindicação e no posicionamento a uma educação de qualidade gratuita propondo uma análise ampla dessas questões

Biogeographical ancestry is associated with socioenvironmental conditions and infections in a Latin American urban population.

Racial inequalities are observed for different diseases and are mainly caused by differences in socioeconomic status between ethnoracial groups. Genetic factors have also been implicated, and recently, several studies have investigated the association between biogeographical ancestry (BGA) and complex diseases. However, the role of BGA as a proxy for non-genetic health determinants has been little investigated. Similarly, studies comparing the association of BGA and self-reported skin colour with these determinants are scarce. Here, we report the association of BGA and self-reported skin colour with socioenvironmental conditions and infections. We studied 1246 children living in a Brazilian urban poor area. The BGA was estimated using 370,539 genome-wide autosomal markers. Standardised questionnaires were administered to the children's guardians to evaluate socioenvironmental conditions. Infection (or pathogen exposure) was defined by the presence of positive serologic test results for IgG to seven pathogens (Toxocara spp, Toxoplasma gondii, Helicobacter pylori, and hepatitis A, herpes simplex, herpes zoster and Epstein-Barr viruses) and the presence of intestinal helminth eggs in stool samples (Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichiuris trichiura). African ancestry was negatively associated with maternal education and household income and positively associated with infections and variables, indicating poorer housing and living conditions. The self-reported skin colour was associated with infections only. In stratified analyses, the proportion of African ancestry was associated with most of the outcomes investigated, particularly among admixed individuals. In conclusion, BGA was associated with socioenvironmental conditions and infections even in a low-income and highly admixed population, capturing differences that self-reported skin colour miss. Importantly, our findings suggest caution in interpreting significant associations between BGA and diseases as indicative of the genetic factors involved

Food insecurity in families with children under five years of age on the Brazil-Peru Amazon border

Food and nutrition security is the regular and permanent access to quality food in sufficient quantity. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with food insecurity in households with children under five in the Amazon frontier Brazil - Peru. The study was conducted in 352 households in Assis Brasil (Brazil) and 89 households Iñapari (Peru), finding a prevalence of food insecurity of 40.6 % and 38.2 % , respectively ( p = 0.856 ) . In Assis Brasil, having domicile with wood floors or land increased by 2.47 times the odds of food insecurity compared to cement fl oors, ceramic or quarry tiles . Belonging to the poorest tertile increased the chance of food insecurity in 6.04 times ( p < 0.001 ), and the increment of each new resident increased by 37 % the chance of food insecurity in the household . In Iñapari, only living in house made of wood or with a wood floor was associated with food insecurity, showing that income is still the main factor associated with food insecurity in the Amazonian borders

High yielding synthesis of N-ethyl dehydroamino acids

Recently we reported the use of a sequence of alkylation and dehydration methodologies to obtain N-ethyl-α, β-dehydroamino acid derivatives. The application of this N-alkylation procedure to several methyl esters of β, β-dibromo and β--bromo, β-substituted dehydroamino acids protected with standard amine protecting groups was subsequently reported. The corresponding N-ethyl, β-bromo dehydroamino acid derivatives were obtained in fair to high yields and some were used as substrates in Suzuki cross coupling reactions to give N-ethyl, β, β-disubstituted dehydroalanine derivatives. Herein, we further explore N-ethylation of β-halo dehydroamino acid derivatives using triethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate as alkylating agent but substituting N,N-diisopropylethylamine for potassium tert-butoxide as auxiliary base. In these conditions, for all β-halo dehydroamino acid derivatives, reactions were complete and the N-ethylated derivative could be isolated in high yield. This method was also applied for N-ethylation of non-halogenated dehydroamino acids. Again, with all compounds the reactions were complete and the N-ethyl dehydroamino acid derivatives could be isolated in high yields. Some of these N-ethyl dehydroamino acid methyl ester derivatives were converted in high yields to their corresponding acids and coupled to an amino acid methyl ester to give N-ethyl dehydrodipeptide derivatives in good yields. Thus, this method constitutes a general procedure for high yielding synthesis of N-ethylated dehydroamino acids, which can be further applied in peptide synthesis.Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)-Portugal and Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) for financial support to Chemistry Centre of University of Minho. The NMR spectrometer Bruker Avance II+ 400 is part of the National NMR Network and was purchased in the framework of the National Program for Scientific Re-equipment; contract REDE/1517/RMN/2005, with funds from POCI 2010, FEDER and FCT

New biomaterial based on cotton with incorporated biomolecules

The aim of this study was to investigate a method of embedding l-cysteine (l-cys), an antimicrobial agent, between layers of chitosan (CH) and sodium alginate (ALG) onto cotton samples obtained via a layer-by-layer electrostatic deposition technique via several embedding methods. The results show that the best way to incorporate l-cys into the layers was the one that used the property of gelling ALG. To monitor the l-cys embedding into the CH/ALG multilayer film, different methods were used: energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry analysis to assess the presence of sulfur on the sample, Ellman's reagent method to analyze l-cys release from the sample, and attenuated total reflectance (ATR) Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to compare the ATR–FTIR spectra of the pure l-cys and l-cys embedded in the CH/ALG multilayer film to study the interaction between the l-cys and the CH/ALG multilayer films. Functionalized CH/ALG cotton samples were also investigated for their antibacterial properties toward Staphylococcus aureus andKlebsiella pneumonia with the Japanese Industrial Standard method JIS L 1902:2002, and the results show an enhancement of the antibacterial effect due to the presence of l-cys.The authors thank Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia for the funding granted concerning the project PTDC/EBB-BIO/113671/ 2009 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-014752). Also, they thank Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional through COMPETE—Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade for cofunding

MMP-9/RECK imbalance: a mechanism associated with high-grade cervical lesions and genital infection by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Chlamydia trachomatis

"Manuscript"BACKGROUND: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are important enzymes in the tumor microenvironment associated with progression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) toward squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the cervix. However, the role of MMPs in the inflammatory process associated with Chlamydia trachomatis infection concomitant with the carcinogenic process driven by HPV has not yet been addressed. In the present study, we analyzed the state of the MMP-9-RECK axis in cervical carcinogenesis. METHODS: The levels of MMP-9 and RECK expression were analyzed by immunocytochemistry in liquid-based cytology samples from 136 women with high-grade cervical lesions (CIN2/CIN3) and cervical SCC diagnosed by LLETZ, and in 196 women without cervical neoplasia or CIN1. Real-time qPCR was performed to analyze expression of MMP-9 and RECK in 15 cervical samples. The presence of HPV-DNA and other genital pathogens was evaluated by PCR. RESULTS: We found a higher expression of MMP-9 [OR, 4.2; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.2-7.8] and lower expression of RECK (OR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2-0.7) in women with CIN2/CIN3/SCC when compared with women from the control group (no neoplasia/CIN1). A statistically significant association was also found between MMP-9/RECK imbalance and infection by alpha-9 HPV and C. trachomatis. The prevalence of C. trachomatis infection was significantly higher in women with high-grade cervical disease (OR, 3.7; 95% CI, 1.3-11.3). CONCLUSIONS: MMP-9/RECK imbalance in cervical smears is significantly associated with high-grade cervical diseases and infection by alpha-9 HPV and C. trachomatis. IMPACT: MMP-9/RECK imbalance during cervical inflammation induced by C. trachomatis might play a role in HPV-mediated cervical carcinogenesis.This work was supported by Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP), numbers 2008/03232-1 (to L.L. Villa) and 2012/09746-2 (to M.G. Discacciati and S.S. Maria-Engler) and National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development pharmaceutical innovation (CNPQ-INCT-if; to S.S. Maria-Engler)