Development of a DNA-based vaccine strategy against bovine papillomavirus infection, involving the E5 or L2 gene.

Papillomaviruses are known to cause tumor lesions, generally benign, in epithelial tissues of diverse organisms; these lesions may progress to cancer under suitable conditions. Bovine papillomavirus (BPV) can cause urinary bladder cancer and cancer of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Furthermore, BPV1 and BPV2 are implicated in the development of tumors in equids. Many studies with animal models clearly demonstrate that DNA vaccines are very effective tools in controlling viral infections, providing strong humoral and cellular immune responses. In this study, we have described the development of two vaccine constructs for the control of diseases caused by BPV. The 1st strategy is prophylactic and is based on the L2 gene; the 2nd is therapeutic and is based on the E5 gene. Vaccine constructs were obtained and evaluated in vitro in mammalian cells. The results show the occurrence of E5 and L2 transcription and viral protein production. These results confirm the functionality of the vaccine constructs in mammalian cells. This is the 1st step in the development of a DNA-based vaccine strategy for the control and/or treatment of diseases caused by BPV.

Inhibition of Aurora kinase A activity enhances the antitumor response of beta-catenin blockade in human adrenocortical cancer cells.

Adrenocortical cancer (ACC) is a rare and aggressive type of endocrine tumor with high risk of recurrence and metastasis. The overall survival of patients diagnosed with ACC is low and treatment for metastatic stages remain limited to mitotane, which has low efficiency in advanced stages of the disease and is associated with high toxicity. Therefore, identification of new biological targets to improve ACC treatment is crucial. Blockade of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway decreased adrenal steroidogenesis and increased apoptosis of NCI-H295 human ACC cells, in vitro and in a xenograft mouse model. Aurora kinases play important roles in cell division during the G1-M phase and their aberrant expression is correlated with a poor prognosis in different types of tumors. Hence, we hypothesized that inhibition of aurora kinases activity combined with the beta-catenin pathway blockade would improve the impairment of ACC cell growth in vitro. We studied the combinatorial effects of AMG 900, an aurora kinase inhibitor and PNU-74654, a beta-catenin pathway blocker, on proliferation, survival and tumor progression in multiple ACC cell lines: NCI-H295, CU-ACC1 and CU-ACC2. Exposure of ACC cells to the combination of AMG 900 with PNU-74654 decreased cell proliferation and viability compared to either treatment alone. In addition, AMG 900 inhibited cell invasion and clonogenesis compared to PNU-74654, and the combination showed no greater effects. In contrast, PNU-74654 was more effective in decreasing cortisol secretion. These data suggest that inhibition of aurora kinases activity combined with blockade of the beta-catenin pathway may provide a combinatorial approach for targeting ACC tumors.

[Quality evaluation of primary health care in an urban area of southern Brazil]. / Avaliação da qualidade de assistência primária à saúde em localidade urbana da região sul do Brasil.

A 10% sample of patients who attended two Primary Health Care Units (PHCU) in Pelotas, RS (Brazil) was studied cross-sectionally for the purpose of measuring qualitatively the attention being offered to the population. According to domicilliar interviews, 15 days after their appointments, a solution (cure or improvement) was achieved in 87.9% of the patients. Patients or parents satisfaction (in the case of pediatric patients) was observed in nearly 90% of the sample. Patient satisfaction and solution were statistically associated (p = 0.04). Association between the solution and the availability of medicines in the PHCU was observed. Patients who had received the whole or a part of their treatment had 33% greater probability of solving their problem. Professional satisfaction was linearly associated with both perception of a better professional-patient relationship (PR = 3.48; CI95%2.17-5.59) and the expectation of a better patient prognosis (PR = 1.99; CI95%1.36-2.91).

Energia metabolizável da levedura de cana-de-açúcar submetida a diferentes temperaturas e tempos de secagem para frangos de corte e poedeiras / Metabolizable energy of sugar cane yeast submitted to different temperatures and drying times for broilers and layers hens

Objetivou-se determinar a temperatura e o tempo de secagem por rolos rotativos, aos quais a, levedura de cana-de-açúcar é submetida que permitam seu melhor aproveitamento energético por galinhas poedeiras e frangos de corte. Para isso foram realizados três ensaios de metabolismo para determinar os valores de energia metabolizável aparente (EMA), aparente corrigida para nitrogênio (EMAn) e os coeficientes de metabolizabilidade aparente da matéria seca (CMMS) e da energia bruta (CMEB). O primeiro ensaio foi conduzido com galinhas poedeiras (E1), o segundo com frangos de corte (E2) em crescimento e o terceiro com frangos de corte em diferentes idades (E3)...

This study aimed to determine the temperature and drying time through rotative rolls, that sugar cane yeast is subjected to in order to allow best energy utilization by laying hens and broilers. Three metabolism trials were conducted to determine the values of apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and apparent corrected for nitrogen balance (AMEn), coefficient of apparent metabolizable dry matter (CAMDM) and gross energy (CAMGE). The first experiment was conducted with laying hens (E1), the second with broilers (E2) in growth and the third with broilers at different ages (E3)...