PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE PUTATIVE ASSOCIATION OF IL10 -3575 T/A GENETIC POLYMORPHISM WITH MALARIA SYMPTOMS

Only a small percentage of individuals living in endemic areas develop severe malaria suggesting that host genetic factors may play a key role. This study has determined the frequency of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in some pro and anti-inflammatory cytokine gene sequences: IL6 (-174; rs1800795), IL12p40 (+1188; rs3212227), IL4 (+33; rs2070874), IL10 (-3575; rs1800890) and TGFb1 (+869; rs1800470), by means of PCR-RFLP. Blood samples were collected from 104 symptomatic and 37 asymptomatic subjects. Laboratory diagnosis was assessed by the thick blood smear test and nested-PCR. No association was found between IL6 (-174), IL12p40 (+1188), IL4 (+33), IL10 (- 3575), TGFb1 (+869) SNPs and malaria symptoms. However, regarding the IL10 -3575 T/A SNP, there were significantly more AA and AT subjects, carrying the polymorphic allele A, in the symptomatic group (c2 = 4.54, p = 0.01, OR = 0.40 [95% CI - 0.17- 0.94]). When the analysis was performed by allele, the frequency of the polymorphic allele A was also significantly higher in the symptomatic group (c2 = 4.50, p = 0.01, OR = 0.45 [95% CI - 0.21-0.95]). In conclusion, this study has suggested the possibility that the IL10 - 3575 T/A SNP might be associated with the presence and maintenance of malaria symptoms in individuals living in endemic areas. Taking into account that this polymorphism is related to decreased IL10 production, a possible role of this SNP in the pathophysiology of malaria is also suggested, but replication studies with a higher number of patients and evaluation of IL10 levels are needed for confirmation

A roadmap of strain in doped anatase TiO2

Anatase titanium oxide is important for its high chemical stability and photocatalytic properties, however, the latter are plagued by its large band gap that limits its activity to only a small percentage of the solar spectrum. In that respect, straining the material can reduce its band gap increasing the photocatalytic activity of titanium oxide. We apply density functional theory with the introduction of the Hubbard + U model, to investigate the impact of stress on the electronic structure of anatase in conjunction with defect engineering by intrinsic defects (oxygen/titanium vacancies and interstitials), metallic dopants (iron, chromium) and non-metallic dopants (carbon, nitrogen). Here we show that both biaxial and uniaxial strain can reduce the band gap of undoped anatase with the use of biaxial strain being marginally more beneficial reducing the band gap up to 2.96 eV at a tensile stress of 8 GPa. Biaxial tensile stress in parallel with doping results in reduction of the band gap but also in the introduction of states deep inside the band gap mainly for interstitially doped anatase. Dopants in substitutional positions show reduced deep level traps. Chromium-doped anatase at a tensile stress of 8 GPa shows the most significant reduction of the band gap as the band gap reaches 2.4 eV

Práticas do cuidador informal do idoso no domicílio

Objetivou-se analisar a produção científica da Enfermagem brasileira, de 1979 a 2007, sobre as práticas do cuidador informal do idoso no domicílio. Trata-se de revisão bibliográfica, com abordagem qualitativa, desenvolvida em junho e julho de 2009, que estudou teses e dissertações publicadas nos catálogos do Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas em Enfermagem (CEPEn). Utilizou-se o sistema de categorização temática para a análise dos dados. Dos onze trabalhos levantados, chegou-se a quatro categorias: atividades realizadas pelo cuidador, dificuldades no cotidiano do cuidar, sentimentos vivenciados pelo cuidador e conhecimentos e experiências do cuidador. O conhecimento da atuação desses cuidadores é de fundamental importância para as ações do enfermeiro e da equipe de saúde, dirigindo o cuidado não só ao idoso, mas também ao seu cuidador

Sobrevida de dez anos e fatores prognósticos para o câncer de mama na região Sudeste do Brasil

Introduction: Breast cancer is an important public health issue in many parts of the world. Thus, it shows relevant incidence and is considered one of the main causes of death from cancer among women. Objective: To analyze ten-year survival and prognostic factors in women with invasive breast cancer. Methods: The cohort was composed of 195 women assisted in an oncology referral center in the municipality of Juiz de Fora, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, who were diagnosed with the disease in 2000 and 2001. Sociodemographic, tumoral, health service, and treatment-related characteristics were analyzed. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to estimate the survival functions and the Cox model of proportional hazards for the evaluation of prognostic factors. Results: The ten-year survival after diagnosis was of 56.3%. The major independent prognostic factors associated with increased risk of death were tumor size > 2.0 cm (hazard ratio – HR = 1.9; confidence interval – 95%CI 1.0 – 3.2) and presence of compromised lymph nodes (HR = 3.7; 95%CI 2.1 – 5.9). Conclusion: These findings reinforce the need of adopting actions that ensure access of the target population to the recommended diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, thus contributing to achieve earlier diagnosis and better survival rates.Introdução: O câncer de mama é um importante problema de saúde pública em diversas partes do mundo, apresentando relevante incidência e sendo considerado uma das principais causas de óbito por câncer no sexo feminino. Objetivo: Analisar a sobrevida de dez anos e os fatores prognósticos em mulheres com câncer de mama invasivo. Métodos: A coorte foi composta de 195 mulheres assistidas em centro de referência oncológica no município de Juiz de Fora, no estado de Minas Gerais, com diagnóstico da doença em 2000 e 2001. Foram analisadas características sociodemográficas, tumorais e relacionadas à utilização do serviço de saúde e do tratamento. O método Kaplan-Meier foi utilizado para estimar as funções de sobrevida e o modelo de riscos proporcionais de Cox para avaliação dos fatores prognósticos. Resultados: A sobrevida de dez anos após o diagnóstico foi de 56,3%. Os principais fatores prognósticos independentes associados ao aumento do risco de óbito foram tamanho de tumor > 2,0 cm (razão de risco - HR = 1,9; intervalo de confiança - IC95% 1,0-3,2) e presença de linfonodos comprometidos (HR = 3,7; IC95% 2,1-5,9). Conclusão: Os achados reforçam a necessidade da adoção de medidas que assegurem o acesso da população-alvo às modalidades diagnósticas e terapêuticas preconizadas, contribuindo para que sejam alcançados diagnósticos mais precoces e maior tempo de sobrevida

Floral Assemblages and Patterns of Insect Herbivory during the Permian to Triassic of Northeastern Italy

To discern the effect of the end-Permian (P-Tr) ecological crisis on land, interactions between plants and their insect herbivores were examined for four time intervals containing ten major floras from the Dolomites of northeastern Italy during a Permian-Triassic interval. These floras are: (i) the Kungurian Tregiovo Flora;(ii) the Wuchiapingian Bletterbach Flora;(iii) three Anisian floras;and (iv) five Ladinian floras. Derived plant-insect interactional data is based on 4242 plant specimens (1995 Permian, 2247 Triassic) allocated to 86 fossil taxa (32 Permian, 56 Triassic), representing lycophytes, sphenophytes, pteridophytes, pterido-sperms, ginkgophytes, cycadophytes and coniferophytes from 37 million-year interval (23 m. yr. Permian, 14 m. yr. Triassic). Major Kungurian herbivorized plants were unaffiliated taxa and pteridosperms;later during the Wuchiapingian cycadophytes were predominantly consumed. For the Anisian, pteridosperms and cycadophytes were preferentially consumed, and subordinately pteridophytes, lycophytes and conifers. Ladinian herbivores overwhelming targeted pteridosperms and subordinately cycadophytes and conifers. Throughout the interval the percentage of insect-damaged leaves in bulk floras, as a proportion of total leaves examined, varied from 3.6% for the Kungurian (N = 464 leaves), 1.95% for the Wuchiapingian (N = 1531), 11.65% for the pooled Anisian (N = 1324), to 10.72% for the pooled Ladinian (N = 923), documenting an overall herbivory rise. The percentage of generalized consumption, equivalent to external foliage feeding, consistently exceeded the level of specialized consumption from internal feeding. Generalized damage ranged from 73.6% (Kungurian) of all feeding damage, to 79% (Wuchiapingian), 65.5% (pooled Anisian) and 73.2% (pooled Ladinian). Generalized-to-specialized ratios show minimal change through the interval, although herbivore component community structure (herbivore species feeding on a single plant-host species) increasingly was partitioned from Wuchiapingian to Ladinian. The Paleozoic plant with the richest herbivore component community, the coniferophyte Pseudovoltzia liebeana, harbored four damage types (DTs), whereas its Triassic parallel, the pteridosperm Scytophyllum bergeri housed 11 DTs, almost four times that of P. liebeana. Although generalized DTs of P. liebeana were similar to S. bergeri, there was expansion of Triassic specialized feeding types, including leaf mining. Permian-Triassic generalized herbivory remained relatively constant, but specialized herbivores more finely partitioned plant- host tissues via new feeding modes, especially in the Anisian. Insect-damaged leaf percentages for Dolomites Kungurian and Wuchiapingian floras were similar to those of lower Permian, north-central Texas, but only one-third that of southeastern Brazil. Global herbivore patterns for Early Triassic plant-insect interactions remain unknown