Study on the use of Typha spp. for the phytotreatment of water contaminated with ibuprofen

Several studies on phytotoxic effects caused by organic xenobiotics and their removal from water by macrophytes have already been performed to evaluate the usefulness of these plants for phytoremediation technologies. In this context, a study was conducted to assess Typha spp.’s ability to withstand and remove, from water, the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen. For an initial ibuprofen concentration of 20 mgL 1, Typha removed nearly 60% of it within the first 24 h, attaining over 99% removal by the end of the assay (21 days). Exposure to higher ibuprofen concentrations did affect Typha’s growth but, by the end of the assays, plants’ growth as well as photosynthetic pigments approached normal values. An alteration in antioxidant enzymes activities (superoxide dismutase, catalase, guaiacol peroxidase) indicated that both roots and leaves were affected by the xenobiotic. Eventually, Typha seemed able to cope with ibuprofen’s induced oxidative damage suggesting its ability for phytotreatment of waters contaminated with ibuprofen

Operacionalização do conceito de classe social em estudos epidemiológicos

Procura-se demonstrar que é possível operacionalizar o conceito de classe social de forma a utilizá-lo em estudos epidemiológicos. Foi adaptado às características da formação social de Pelotas, RS (Brasil), modelo de classificação desenvolvido para o México e comparado com o desenvolvido para Ribeirão Preto, SP (Brasil). Mediu-se o poder discriminatório das duas classificações em termos do processo saúde-doença, tendo como variável dependente o crescimento de 5.384 crianças nascidas em 1982. As duas classificações estão associadas com diferenças significativas (PThe development of an operational classification of the Marxist concept of social class that could be used in epidemiological studies is attempted. Although such a classification will necessarily be restricted to the economic dimension of the concept, and leave aside its ideological and legal-political components, it is believed that it may lead to a better understanding of the distribution of ill-health in a given population. Two classifications are described - that developed in Ribeirão Preto, S. Paulo (Brazil), and a new classification based on work done in Mexico. These are compared in terms of how closely associated they are with the patterns of growth of 5,384 young children in the city of Pelotas in Southern Brazil. It is concluded that the proposed classification has greater power of discrimination in terms of child growth than that previously proposed

Spontaneous CP Violation in Non-Minimal Supersymmetric Models

We study the possibilities of spontaneous CP violation in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with an extra singlet tadpole term in the scalar potential. We calculate the Higgs boson masses and couplings with radiative corrections including dominant two loop terms. We show that it is possible to satisfy the LEP constraints on the Higgs boson spectrum with non-trivial spontaneous CP violating phases. We also show that these phases could account for the observed value of epsilonK.Comment: 21 pages, 7 Figures in Encapsulated Postscrip

Screening, production and biochemical characterization of a new fibrinolytic enzyme produced by Streptomyces sp. (Streptomycetaceae) isolated from Amazonian lichens

Thrombosis is a pathophysiological disorder caused by accumulation of fibrin in the blood. Fibrinolytic proteases with potent thrombolytic activity have been produced by diverse microbial sources. Considering the microbial biodiversity of the Amazon region, this study aimed at the screening, production and biochemical characterization of a fibrinolytic enzyme produced by Streptomyces sp. isolated from Amazonian lichens. The strain Streptomyces DPUA1576 showed the highest fibrinolytic activity, which was 283 mm2. Three variables at two levels were used to assess their effects on the fibrinolytic production. The parameters studied were agitation (0.28 - 1.12 g), temperature (28 - 36 ºC) and pH (6.0 - 8.0); all of them had significant effects on the fibrinolytic production. The maximum fibrinolytic activity (304 mm2) was observed at 1.12 g, 28 ºC, and pH of 8.0. The crude extract of the fermentation broth was used to assess the biochemical properties of the enzyme. Protease and fibrinolytic activities were stable during 6 h, at a pH ranging from 6.8 to 8.4 and 5.8 to 9.2, respectively. Optimum temperature for protease activity ranged between 35 and 55 °C, while the highest fibrinolytic activity was observed at 45 ºC. Proteolytic activity was inhibited by Cu2+ and Co2+ ions, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) and pepstatin A, which suggests that the enzyme is a serine protease. Enzymatic extract cleaved fibrinogen at the subunits A-chain, A-chain, and -chain. The results indicated that Streptomyces sp. DPUA 1576 produces enzymes with fibrinolytic and fibrinogenolytic activity, enzymes with an important application in the pharmaceutical industry.The authors grateful acknowledge the financial support of Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE, Pernambuco, Brazil, N. 0158-2.12/11), CNPq/ RENORBIO (National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development, N.55146/2010-3) and National Council for the Improvement of Higher Education (CAPES, Brazil) for the scholarship. The author thanks editor and reviewers for their review and comments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessing associations between the AURKAHMMR-TPX2-TUBG1 functional module and breast cancer risk in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers

While interplay between BRCA1 and AURKA-RHAMM-TPX2-TUBG1 regulates mammary epithelial polarization, common genetic variation in HMMR (gene product RHAMM) may be associated with risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 mutation carriers. Following on these observations, we further assessed the link between the AURKA-HMMR-TPX2-TUBG1 functional module and risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers. Forty-one single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in 15,252 BRCA1 and 8,211 BRCA2 mutation carriers and subsequently analyzed using a retrospective likelihood appr

Associations of common breast cancer susceptibility alleles with risk of breast cancer subtypes in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers

Introduction: More than 70 common alleles are known to be involved in breast cancer (BC) susceptibility, and several exhibit significant heterogeneity in their associations with different BC subtypes. Although there are differences in the association patterns between BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers and the general population for several loci, no study has comprehensively evaluated the associations of all known BC susceptibility alleles with risk of BC subtypes in BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers. Methods: We used data from 15,252 BRCA1 and 8,211 BRCA2 carriers to analyze the associations between approximately 200,000 genetic variants on the iCOGS array and risk of BC subtypes defined by estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and triple-negative- (TN) status; morphologic subtypes; histological grade; and nodal involvement. Results: The estimated BC hazard ratios (HRs) for the 74 known BC alleles in BRCA1 carriers exhibited moderate correlations with the corresponding odds ratios from the general population. However, their associations with ER-positive BC in BRCA1 carriers were more consistent with the ER-positive as