A simplified model of homemade microscope.

Neste trabalho ? apresentada uma nova alternativa para a constru??o de microsc?pios caseiros, e uma nova forma de se obter lentes esf?ricas, utilizando-se de materiais mais baratos, o que facilita a constru??o e o uso do equipamento. A simplicidade da montagem e a facilidade do manuseio favorecem a aplica??o do microsc?pio em locais com poucos recursos, al?m de torn?-lo port?til. Al?m disso, s?o apresentadas sugest?es de amostras a serem estudadas, pelos estudantes de diferentes disciplinas, o que pode fomentar a elabora??o e a participa??o de alunos e professores em projetos interdisciplinares. O microsc?pio caseiro permite a visualiza??o de pequenas estruturas, suas formas e cores, o que pode despertar o interesse do aluno pela an?lise de materiais e objetos, de uma forma muito mais instigante, que a mera observa??o a olho nu.This work presents a project for a homemade microscope with a new and alternative way to get spherical lenses, using cheap materials, which can facilitates its construction and use. The simplicity in its assembling and handling encourages its use in poor resourced places and additionally makes it a very portable instrument. Furthermore, suggestions of samples to be examined by students of different disciplines are also presented. This may encourage students and teachers to be more involved in elaboration of and/or participation in interdisciplinary projects. This homemade microscope enables visualization of small structures, their shapes and colors. The use of this simple instrument can grow in the students the desire and interest in the study and analysis of materials and objects in a much more instigating way, then by simple unaided eye observation

Perception of the residents of Antonio Pereira, district of Ouro Preto - MG, about environment, sanitation and local environmental assets.

O distrito de Ant?nio Pereira, pertencente ao munic?pio de Ouro Preto/MG, possui significativas riquezas ambientais. Por outro lado, o distrito enfrenta dificuldades causadas por defici?ncias na infraestrutura urbana, no sistema de saneamento b?sico e outros problemas que t?m trazido desconforto para a popula??o. Este trabalho levantou dados sobre a percep??o da popula??o local acerca da situa??o ambiental do distrito. Para tanto, foram realizadas 178 entrevistas com moradores por meio de question?rios. Mediante resultados, constatou-se que, no tocante ?s quest?es gerais de meio ambiente, houve reconhecimento, por parte da popula??o, das riquezas ambientais existentes no distrito, sendo as mais indicadas o min?rio de ferro, as cachoeiras e o antigo garimpo de top?zio imperial. De um modo geral, percebeu-se a necessidade de que sejam realizados mais estudos sobre as tem?ticas apontadas no presente artigo e tamb?m em outras ?reas do conhecimento, tais como sa?de e educa??o.The district of Ant?nio Pereira, belonging to the city of Ouro Preto (MG), has significant environmental riches. On the other hand, it faces difficulties caused by deficiencies in the urban infrastructure, in the sanitation system and in the environment, that have brought discomfort to the population. This paper collected data on the perception of the local population about the environmental situation of the district. Therefore, 178 interviews were realized with residents out through questionnaires. Through the results, it was verified that, regarding the general environmental issues, there was recognition of the district's environmental wealths, with the most indicated being iron ore, the waterfalls and the former gold mining of imperial topaz. The greatest problems identified by the residents of Ant?nio Pereira were the deficiencies in health in the first place, the performance of politicians, the problems associated to education and the environmental degradation. Among the main environmental problems mentioned are uncontrolled fires, the pollution of rivers and of other sources of fresh water and lack of basic sanitation, respectively. The main responsible for causing the environmental problems in the district, according to the residents, are the individuals who live there, followed by the large local miners and the Ouro Preto City Hall. In general, it was noticed that the residents of Ant?nio Pereira demonstrated a favorable perception to the preservation of the local environment and its responsibilities

Growth hormone as concomitant treatment in severe fibromyalgia associated with low IGF-1 serum levels. A pilot study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is evidence of functional growth hormone (GH) deficiency, expressed by means of low insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) serum levels, in a subset of fibromyalgia patients. The efficacy of GH versus placebo has been previously suggested in this population. We investigated the efficacy and safety of low dose GH as an adjunct to standard therapy in the treatment of severe, prolonged and well-treated fibromyalgia patients with low IGF-1 levels.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-four patients were enrolled in a randomized, open-label, best available care-controlled study. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either 0.0125 mg/kg/d of GH subcutaneously (titrated depending on IGF-1) added to standard therapy or standard therapy alone during one year. The number of tender points, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and the EuroQol 5D (EQ-5D), including a Quality of Life visual analogic scale (EQ-VAS) were assessed at different time-points.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At the end of the study, the GH group showed a 60% reduction in the mean number of tender points (pairs) compared to the control group (p < 0.05; 3.25 ± 0.8 <it>vs</it>. 8.25 ± 0.9). Similar improvements were observed in FIQ score (p < 0.05) and EQ-VAS scale (p < 0.001). There was a prompt response to GH administration, with most patients showing improvement within the first months in most of the outcomes. The concomitant administration of GH and standard therapy was well tolerated, and no patients discontinued the study due to adverse events.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present findings indicate the advantage of adding a daily GH dose to the standard therapy in a subset of severe fibromyalgia patients with low IGF-1 serum levels.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>NCT00497562 (ClinicalTrials.gov).</p

MIF Participates in Toxoplasma gondii-Induced Pathology Following Oral Infection

BACKGROUND: Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is essential for controlling parasite burden and survival in a model of systemic Toxoplasma gondii infection. Peroral T. gondii infection induces small intestine necrosis and death in susceptible hosts, and in many aspects resembles inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Considering the critical role of MIF in the pathogenesis of IBD, we hypothesized that MIF participates in the inflammatory response induced by oral infection with T. gondii. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Mif deficient (Mif(-/-)) and wild-type mice in the C57Bl/6 background were orally infected with T. gondii strain ME49. Mif(-/-) mice had reduced lethality, ileal inflammation and tissue damage despite of an increased intestinal parasite load compared to wt mice. Lack of MIF caused a reduction of TNF-α, IL-12, IFN-γ and IL-23 and an increased expression of IL-22 in ileal mucosa. Moreover, suppressed pro-inflammatory responses at the ileal mucosa observed in Mif(-/-) mice was not due to upregulation of IL-4, IL-10 or TGF-β. MIF also affected the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) but not MMP-2 in the intestine of infected mice. Signs of systemic inflammation including the increased concentrations of inflammatory cytokines in the plasma and liver damage were less pronounced in Mif(-/-) mice compared to wild-type mice. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: In conclusion, our data suggested that in susceptible hosts MIF controls T. gondii infection with the cost of increasing local and systemic inflammation, tissue damage and death

Sleep duration, vital exhaustion and perceived stress among pregnant migraineurs and non-migraineurs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Migraine has been associated with sleep disorders in men and non-pregnant women, but little is known about sleep complaints among pregnant migraineurs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cohort of 1,334 women was interviewed during early pregnancy. At the time of interview we ascertained participants' migraine diagnosis status and collected information about sleep duration before and during early pregnancy, daytime sleepiness, vital exhaustion and perceived stress during early pregnancy. Multivariable logistic regression procedures were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of short/long sleep duration, excessive daytime sleepiness, vital exhaustion and elevated perceived stress associated with a history of migraine.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Approximately 19.4% of the cohort (n = 259) reported having a medical diagnosis of migraine prior to the study pregnancy. Compared with women without migraine, the multivariable-adjusted ORs (95% CI) among migraineurs for short sleep duration before and during early pregnancy were 1.51 (1.09-2.09), and 1.57 (1.11-2.23), respectively. The corresponding OR (95% CI) for long sleep duration before and during pregnancy were 1.33 (0.77-2.31) and 1.31 (0.94-1.83), respectively. A modest and statistically insignificant association between migraine history and excessive daytime sleepiness in early pregnancy was noted (OR = 1.46; 95% CI 0.94-2.26). Migraineurs had an increased risk of vital exhaustion (OR = 2.04; 95% CI 1.52-2.76) and elevated perceived stress (OR = 1.57; 95% CI 1.06-2.31). Observed associations were more pronounced among overweight migraineurs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These data support earlier research documenting increased risks of sleep disorders among migraineurs; and extends the literature to include pregnant women. Prospective studies are needed to more thoroughly explore factors that mediate the apparent migraine-sleep comorbidity among pregnant women.</p

Combined Patterns of IGHV Repertoire and Cytogenetic/Molecular Alterations in Monoclonal B Lymphocytosis versus Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Background:Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)-like monoclonal B lymphocytosis (MBL) with (MBLhi) or without (MBLlo) absolute B-lymphocytosis precedes most CLL cases,the specific determinants for malignant progression remaining unknown.Methodology/Principal Findings:For this purpose, simultaneous iFISH and molecular analysis of well-established cytogenetic alterations of chromosomes 11, 12, 13, 14 and 17 together with the pattern of rearrangement of the IGHV genes were performed in CLL-like cells from MBL and CLL cases. Our results based on 78 CLL-like MBL and 117 CLL clones from 166 subjects living in the same geographical area, show the existence of three major groups of clones with distinct but partially overlapping patterns of IGHV gene usage, IGHV mutational status and cytogenetic alterations. These included a group enriched in MBLloclones expressing specific IGHV subgroups (e.g. VH3-23) with no or isolated good-prognosis cytogenetic alterations, a second group which mainly consisted of clinical MBLhiand advanced stage CLL with a skewed but different CLL-associated IGHV gene repertoire (e.g. VH1-69), frequently associated with complex karyotypes and poor-prognosis cytogenetic alterations, and a third group of clones with intermediate features, with prevalence of mutated IGHV genes, and higher numbers of del(13q)+clonal B-cells.Conclusions/Significance:These findings suggest that the specific IGHV repertoire and IGHV mutational status of CLL-like B-cell clones may modulate the type of cytogenetic alterations acquired, their rate of acquisition and/or potentially also their clinical consequences. Further long-term follow-up studies investigating the IGHV gene repertoire of MBLloclones in distinct geographic areas and microenvironments are required to confirm our findings and shed light on the potential role of some antigen-binding BCR specificities contributing to clonal evolution