Apparent selectivity of sheep in deferred marandu palisadegrass pastures with variable initial heights / Seletividade aparente de ovinos em pastos de capim-marandu diferidos com alturas iniciais variáveis

The objective of this study was to evaluate the apparent selectivity of sheep in marandu palisadegrass (Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu) pastures with four heights at the beginning of the deferment period (15, 25, 35 and 45cm). The deferment period was 92 days and started on 03/21/2014. Evaluations occurred in the beginning (first week), middle (45th day) and end (92nd day) of the grazing period, in winter (06/21/2014 to 09/21/2014). Deferred pastures with 15 and 25cm presented lower forage mass (FM), but higher live leaf (LL) percentage in FM than deferred pastures with 35 and 45cm. The live stem percentage in the FM and the apparent selectivity index (ASI) of the LL were superior in the deferred pasture with 45cm. The dead stem (DS) percentage in the grazing simulation (GS) and the ASI of this morphological component were lower in the pasture with 15cm, compared to the deferred pasture with 45cm. The FM and the LL percentages in FM and in the GS sample decreased, while the DS percentages in FM and in GS sample increased with the grazing period. Marandu palisadegrass with 15cm at beginning of the deferment period improves the morphology of the deferred pasture. Selective grazing is difficult during the grazing period.(AU)

Objetivou-se avaliar a seletividade aparente de ovinos em pastos de capim-marandu (Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu) com quatro alturas no início do diferimento (15, 25, 35 e 45cm). O período de diferimento foi de 92 dias e iniciou em 21/03/2014. As avaliações ocorreram no início (primeira semana), meio (45° dia) e fim (92° dia) do período de pastejo, no inverno (21/06/2014 a 21/09/2014). Os pastos diferidos com 15 e 25cm apresentaram menor massa de forragem (MF), mas maior percentual de folha viva (FV) na MF do que os pastos diferidos com 35 e 45cm. O percentual de colmo vivo na MF e o índice de seletividade aparente (ISA) da FV foram superiores no pasto diferido com 45cm. O percentual de colmo morto (CM) na simulação de pastejo (SP) e o ISA desse componente morfológico foram menores no pasto diferido com 15cm, em comparação ao diferido com 45cm. A MF e os percentuais de FV na MF e na amostra de SP se reduziram, enquanto os percentuais de CM na MF e na amostra de SP aumentaram com o período de pastejo. O capim-marandu com 15cm no início do período de diferimento melhora a morfologia do pasto diferido. O pastejo seletivo é dificultado no decorrer do período de pastejo.(AU)

Doctors' awareness concerning primary immunodeficiencies in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: PIDs are a heterogeneous group of genetic illnesses, and delay in their diagnosis is thought to be caused by a lack of awareness among physicians concerning PIDs. The latter is what we aimed to evaluate in Brazil. METHODS: Physicians working at general hospitals all over the country were asked to complete a 14-item questionnaire. One of the questions described 25 clinical situations that could be associated with PIDs and a score was created based on percentages of appropriate answers. RESULTS: A total of 4026 physicians participated in the study: 1628 paediatricians (40.4%), 1436 clinicians (35.7%), and 962 surgeons (23.9%). About 67% of the physicians had learned about PIDs in medical school or residency training, 84.6% evaluated patients who frequently took antibiotics, but only 40.3% of them participated in the immunological evaluation of these patients. Seventy-seven percent of the participating physicians were not familiar with the warning signs for PIDs. The mean score of correct answers for the 25 clinical situations was 48.08% (±16.06). Only 18.3% of the paediatricians, 7.4% of the clinicians, and 5.8% of the surgeons answered at least 2/3 of these situations appropriately. CONCLUSIONS: There is a lack of medical awareness concerning PIDs, even among paediatricians, who have been targeted with PID educational programmes in recent years in Brazil. An increase in awareness with regard to these disorders within the medical community is an important step towards improving recognition and treatment of PIDs.

Severe combined immunodeficiency in Brazil: management, prognosis, and BCG-associated complications.

BACKGROUND: Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is one of the most severe forms of primary immunodeficiency. The objectives of this study were to analyze the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of SCID in Brazil and to document the impact of BCG vaccine. METHODS: We actively searched for cases by contacting all Brazilian referral centers. RESULTS: We contacted 23 centers and 70 patients from 65 families. Patients were born between 1996 and 2011, and 49 (70%) were male. More than half (39) of the diagnoses were made after 2006. Mean age at diagnosis declined from 9.7 to 6.1 months (P = .058) before and after 2000, respectively, and mean delay in diagnosis decreased from 7.9 to 4.2 months (P = .009). Most patients (60/70) were vaccinated with BCG before the diagnosis, 39 of 60 (65%) had complications related to BCG vaccine, and the complication was disseminated in 29 of 39 (74.3%). Less than half of the patients (30, 42.9%) underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Half of the patients died (35, 50%), and 23 of these patients had not undergone HSCT. Disseminated BCG was the cause of death, either alone or in association with other causes, in 9 of 31 cases (29%, no data for 4 cases). CONCLUSIONS: In Brazil, diagnosis of SCID has improved over the last decade, both in terms of the number of cases and age at diagnosis, although a much higher number of cases had been expected. Mortality is higher than in developed countries. Complications of BCG vaccine are an important warning sign for the presence of SCID and account for significant morbidity during disease progression.

Ecology of phlebotomines (Diptera: Psychodidae) in a transitional area between the Amazon and the Cerrado in the State of Maranhão, Brazil.

The Amazon rainforest and the Brazilian Cerrado both possess high phlebotomine diversity. The fragmentation of these habitats has resulted in the appearance of human cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis. In one altered area of mixed primary vegetation (forest and Cerrado) and its adjacent settlement in the northeast state of Maranhão, Brazil, evidence exists for the active transmission of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Accordingly, an entomological investigation was performed in both the forest and the settlement to compare the phlebotomine vector faunain each environment. The study was conducted from September 2009 to August 2010 in the municipality of Itapecuru Mirim in the state of Maranhão, Brazil. The phlebotomine species were captured using 24 light Center for Disease Control and Prevention traps that were placed in the forest and the settlement (peridomicile and intradomicile). The similarity between the phlebotomine compositions in the forest and those in the settlement was determined using a Principal Coordinate Analysis based on a dissimilarity matrix that was calculated using the Bray-Curtis index (relative abundance) and the Jaccard index (presence and absence of species). In total, 29 Lutzomyia species and one Brumptomyia species were collected. The phlebotomines were diverse and abundant in both the forest fragment (27 species, 4,606 specimens) and the settlement (22 species, 753 specimens). The most abundant species were L. infraspinosa (25%), L. davisi (21%), L. antunesi (21%), L. longipalpis (9%), L. saulensis (6%), L. flaviscutellata (5%), and L. wellcomei (4%). Some species were found strictly in the forest, other species were exclusive to the anthropic environment, and some species colonized both of the studied environments. The phlebotomines adaptation to these modified environments explains the autochthonous outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Fourier Transform Infrared and Raman spectra, DFT: B3LYP/6-311G(d, p) calculations and structural properties of bis(diethyldithiocarbamate)copper(II).

Theoretical and experimental bands have been assigned for the Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) and FT-Raman spectra of the bis(diethydithiocarbamate)Cu(II) complex, [Cu(DDTC)(2)]. The calculations and spectra interpretation have been based on the DFT/B3LYP method, infrared and Raman second derivative spectra, and band deconvolution analysis. To better assign the metal-ligand normal modes in the spectral region of low energy, the deviation percentage of the geometrical parameters was used, with values from the interpretation of the normal modes of L matrix. Results indicate a planar structure around the Cu(II) cation. The calculated infrared and Raman spectra, based on the proposed geometrical structure of the bis(diethyldithiocarbamate)copper(II) complex, agreed with the experimental spectra.

Cytogenetic characteristics of patients with signs and symptoms of myelodysplastic syndromes in the State of Pará, Brazil

The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are clonal hematopoietic diseases characterized by medullary dysplasia, cytopenias, and frequent evolution to acute myeloid leukemia. In 1982, the French-American-British (FAB) group proposed a classification for the MDS, based on morphological characteristics of peripheral blood and of the bone marrow. Later, cytogenetics proved to be a useful tool for the refinement of prognosis, through the use of the International Prognosis Score System (IPSS), as well as through evidence of clonality. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed a new classification for the MDS, based on significant modifications of the FAB proposal, with the inclusion of chromosome analysis. A cytogenetic analysis was made of 17 patients with symptoms of MDS in the State of Para, based on WHO recommendations, and application of the IPSS. Good metaphases were obtained for 13 patients; 12 had a normal karyotype and only one had a clonal abnormality, del(3)(p25). The genes related to neoplastic processes that have been mapped to 3p are: XPC in 3p25.1 and FANCD2 and VHL in 3p25-26. Four patients had classic symptoms of MDS; in the rest the possibility of MDS was excluded or several months of observation before diagnosis were recommended. Among those with MDS, it was not possible to apply IPSS and WHO recommendations, because fundamental data were lacking, specifically the medullary blast and ring sideroblast counts. We advocate the implementation of routine cytogenetic analyses for the study of MDS, especially in patients with moderate hematopoietic dysplasia

[Risk factors, clinical and laboratory aspects of asthma in children] / Fatores de risco, aspectos clínicos e laboratoriais da asma em crianças.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical and laboratory aspects and the risk factors associated with asthma in children treated at the Pediatric Outpatient Clinic of Hospital Universitário Júlio Müller. METHODS: A case-control study including 59 asthmatic children (cases) and 104 nonasthmatic children (controls). The following factors were considered for risk analysis: parents level of education, domestic exposure to allergens, passive smoking, breast feeding, low income, and family history of allergy. Samples of blood were collected for hemogram and to determine the total serum IgE as well as the one specific to allergens. Immediate hypersensitivity skin tests were performed with puncture for the detection of the following allergens: house dust mite, animals, molds, and cockroaches with positive (histamine) and negative controls (physiologic solution). A logistic regression model was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) adjusted for risk factors and for confounding factors. RESULTS: Among the risk factors studied, sex, parents low level of education, low income, length of the breast feeding period, and passive smoking were not associated with the presence of asthma. The domestic exposure to allergens was similar in both groups except for the higher frequency of pets at the homes of control patients (chi-square=16.9; P<0.05). Paternal history of rhinitis was the only association with asthma (OR=3.33; 95%CI: 1.03-11.17; P<0.05). The asthmatic children presented higher frequency of positive reactions to skin tests than the controls, mainly to house dust mites: Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (69.5%), Dermatophagoides farinae (59.3%) and Blomia tropicalis (59.3%); cockroaches: Periplaneta americana (59.3%), and cat: Felis domesticus (37.3%), with OR between 11.2-21.0; P<0.05. Eosinophilia and serum levels of total IgE were more elevated in the group of asthmatic children (P<0.05). The positivity of the specific IgE test for Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Blomia tropicalis was higher in the cases than in the controls (P<0.05). The multivariate analysis showed that sensitization to the allergens produced by cockroaches (OR=9.26; 95%CI: 2.59-33.4), animals (OR=3.93; 95%CI: 1.05-14.67) and house dust mites (OR=3.74; 95%CI: 1.18-11.8) were the most important risk factors for asthma. CONCLUSIONS: The sensitization to indoor allergens, mainly to house dust mites, cockroaches, and cats showed a strong association with asthma in this study.