[First report of Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus in the state of Ceará, Brazil]. / Primeiro registro de Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus no Estado do Ceará, Brasil.

For the first time, the occurrence of Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus in an urban area of the city of Fortaleza, Northeastern, Brazil, is reported. From January to July 2005, ovitraps were used to collect eggs from Aedes spp., which were kept under laboratory conditions to develop into the adult phase. The resultant mosquitoes were identified and subjected to dengue virus isolation tests. Thirteen specimens of Aedes albopictus, all females, were identified. No dengue virus was isolated in any of the mosquito pools. Even though Aedes albopictus has not been incriminated in Brazilian dengue outbreaks, the possibility of dengue virus transmission by these mosquitoes cannot be dismissed.

The overexpression of a new ABC transporter in Leishmania is related to phospholipid trafficking and reduced infectivity.

This paper reports the characterization of a new ABC transporter (LtrABC1.1), related to the human ABCA subfamily, in the protozoan parasite Leishmania tropica. LtrABC1.1 is a tandem duplicated gene flanked by inverted repeats. LtrABC1.1 is expressed mainly in the flagellar pocket of the parasite. Drug resistance studies in Leishmania overexpressing LtrABC1.1 showed the transporter not to confer resistance to a range of unrelated drugs. LtrABC1.1 appears to be involved in lipid movements across the plasma membrane of the parasite since overexpression reduces the accumulation of fluorescent phospholipid analogues. The activity of this protein may also affect membrane movement processes since secreted acid phosphatase (SAP) activity was significantly lower in promastigotes overexpressing LtrABC1.1. In vitro infection experiments with macrophages indicated LtrABC1.1-transfected parasites to be significantly less infective. Together, these results suggest that this new ABC transporter could play a role in lipid movements across the plasma membrane, and that its activity might influence vesicle trafficking. This is the first ABCA-like transporter described in unicellular eukaryotes.

Primeiro registro de Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus no Estado do Ceará, Brasil / First report of Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus in the state of Ceará, Brazil

Pela primeira vez é registrada a ocorrência de Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus em área urbana da cidade de Fortaleza, no Estado do Ceará, Brasil. De janeiro a julho de 2005 foram utilizadas ovitrampas para a coleta de ovos de Aedes spp., os quais foram mantidos em laboratório para desenvolvimento até a fase adulta. Os mosquitos resultantes foram identificados e submetidos a testes para o isolamento dos vírus da dengue. Foram identificados 13 espécimes de Aedes albopictus, todos fêmeas. Não foi isolado vírus da dengue em nenhum dos pools de mosquitos. Apesar de o Aedes albopictus não ter sido incriminado por surtos de dengue no Brasil, não se pode descartar a possibilidade da transmissão dos vírus da dengue por tais mosquitos.

For the first time, the occurrence of Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus in an urban area of the city of Fortaleza, Northeastern, Brazil, is reported. From January to July 2005, ovitraps were used to collect eggs from Aedes spp., which were kept under laboratory conditions to develop into the adult phase. The resultant mosquitoes were identified and subjected to dengue virus isolation tests. Thirteen specimens of Aedes albopictus, all females, were identified. No dengue virus was isolated in any of the mosquito pools. Even though Aedes albopictus has not been incriminated in Brazilian dengue outbreaks, the possibility of dengue virus transmission by these mosquitoes cannot be dismissed.

Questionário de percepçäo dos pais Q.P.P / Parent's perception questionaire (QPP)

Com base na literatura psicológica e sociológica pertinente, foi construído um instrumento de 43 itens (QPP) para avaliar a percepçäo que os filhos possuem de seus pais. A validaçäo fatorial foi efetuada com uma amostra de 574 estudantes de 2- grau e superior. Quatro fatores apareceram na figura pai: companheiro amigo, disciplina punitiva, disciplina lassa, centralizaçäo no filho; quatro fatores surgiram também na figura da mäe: intimidade amiga, superproteçäo, controle lasso, puniçäo. Esses quatro fatores em ambas as figuras parentais se agrupam em dois fatores de segunda ordem: amor e disciplina. Todos eles possuem índice satisfatórios de precisäo. Säo apresentados igualmente o instrumento e o seu modo de utilizaçäo