Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolates in milk from flocks diagnosed with subclinical mastitis.

The Staphylococcus aureus is the most common isolated microorganism in ruminant animal species diagnostic with clinical or subclinical mastitis. Dairy herds with these diseases can transfer S. aureus into the milk supply, which can lead to food poisoning in humans. The objective of this study was to evaluate the profile of antimicrobial susceptibility, the presence of femA gene, the genetic relationships among isolates of S. aureus obtained from milk originating from flocks diagnosed with subclinical mastitis in nine rural properties in the northern of Minas Gerais State. To this end, 498 samples of bovine milk tested positive for the California mastitis test (CMT) were subjected to morphological methods and biochemical patterns for microbiological presumptive identification of S. aureus. The PCR test with the genetic marker femA was used to confirm the species S. aureus. All the 26 isolates presumptively identified as S. aureus amplified a fragment of 132 bp corresponding to the femA gene. The profile of antimicrobial susceptibility was performed according to the disk-diffusion methodology and two isolates were susceptible to all the antibiotics tested. The drug multiresistence was found in 80.76% of the isolates. The determination of the genetic profile and the clonal relationship among the isolates was performed by the method of DNA RAPD-PCR polymorphism. The S. aureus isolates were divided into two groups with 26 distinct subgroups. The analysis of RAPD-PCR showed no genetic diversity among them, heterogeneous profile and absence of clonality.

Electrochemical characterization of plutonium in n-tributyl phosphate.

This work investigates the electrochemical behavior of Pu(iv) and Pu(vi) complexes in n-tributylphosphate (TBP) as an entry to the electrochemical characterization of these complexes in organic extractants related to nuclear fuel reprocessing. Glassy carbon electrodes were used to show that Pu(iv) and Pu(vi) complexes display a reversible electrochemical reduction wave in TBP previously equilibrated with aqueous nitric acid solution. We investigated the reduction of Pu(iv) and Pu(vi) nitrato complexes extracted into TBP, with the aim to get thermodynamic (formal potential) and kinetic (diffusion coefficient) information about Pu(iv)/Pu(iii) and Pu(vi)/Pu(v) redox couples in the TBP medium. The formal potentials of the two redox couples were respectively 0.510 ± 0.005 and 0.478 ± 0.005 V per SCE in TBP equilibrated with 3 mol L-1 nitric acid at room temperature. The diffusion coefficient values of Pu(iv) and Pu(vi) species were estimated to be 0.72 × 10-6 and 0.77 × 10-6 cm2 s-1 respectively. Also, the Pu(iv) reduction showed a Nernstian dependence on the logarithm of nitric acid concentration in the organic phase, featuring the exchange of nitrates upon reduction of Pu(iv).

Speciation in aqueous solutions of nitric acid.

In this study, speciation in aqueous solutions of nitric acid at 25 °C was assessed in two independent ways. First, Raman experiments were carried out and interpreted in terms of free nitrate ions, ion pairs and neutral HNO(3) molecules. In parallel, a model was developed to account for the formation of these two kinds of pairs. It was based on an extension of the binding mean spherical approximation (BiMSA), or associative MSA (AMSA), in which the size and the charge of the ions in the chemical pair may differ from those of the free ions. A simultaneous fit of the osmotic coefficient and of the proportion of free ions (obtained from Raman spectroscopy experiments) led to an estimation of the speciation in nitric acid solutions. The result obtained using this procedure was compared with the estimation obtained from the Raman experiments.

Vocal quality of patients treated for laryngeal tuberculosis, before and after speech therapy.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate dysphonia in patients treated for laryngeal tuberculosis, and to assess the effect of speech therapy on patients' vocal quality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seven of 23 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of laryngeal tuberculosis, treated at the Evandro Chagas Institute of Clinical Research, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, underwent speech therapy for six months. These seven patients were evaluated by videolaryngoscopy and vocal acoustic analysis, before, during and after a course of speech therapy. RESULTS: The 23 patients with laryngeal tuberculosis comprised five women and 18 men, with ages ranging from 25 to 83 years (mean 41.3 years). Dysphonia was present in 91.3 per cent of these laryngeal tuberculosis patients, being present as the first symptom in 82.6 per cent. In laryngeal tuberculosis patients with dysphonia, laryngeal tuberculosis treatment resulted in dysphonia resolution in only 15.8 per cent. After speech therapy, dysphonia patients had better vocal quality, as demonstrated by statistical analysis of jitter, shimmer, fundamental frequency variability, maximum phonation time, and the ratio between maximum phonation time for voiceless and voiced fricative sounds. CONCLUSIONS: Following treatment of laryngeal tuberculosis, the incidence of dysphonia was very high. Speech therapy improved patients' vocal quality.

[Pregnancy and endocrinopathy. Activity, pathology and results at the outpatient obstetrics-endocrinology clinics of the University of Coimbra Hospitals--January 1980 through December 1988]. / Gravidez e endocrinopatias. Movimento, patologias e resultados da consulta externa de obstetrícia-endocrinologia dos Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra--Janeiro de 1980 a Dezembro de 1988.

The authors have elaborated a statistic survey about the pregnant women with endocrinopathies, that they have examined in the outpatient clinic from January of 1980 to December of 1988. Three hundred and twenty four women were examined in an amount of 2152 (two thousand one hundred and fifty two) observations. The incidence for 100 births was 0.54%. Maternal and fetal mobility and mortality were analysed in correlation with the maternal area of endocrinopathy (Diabetes Mellitus, Thyroid, Hypophysis and Adrenal Glands) and with the necessary therapeutic regimens. At last the A.A. made some considerations about the importance of a team approach in this area of medical care, and applied to the clinicians who work in primary care, to a better collaboration.