Filtyp
Sixteen years of hourly atmospheric pollutant data (1996-2011) in the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP), and seven years (2005-2011) of data measured in the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro (MARJ), were analyzed in order to study the extreme pollution events and their return period. In addition, the objective was to compare the air quality between the two largest Brazilian urban areas and p
Background and purpose: Recent studies have shown that it is possible to conduct entire radiotherapy treatment planning (RTP) workflow using only MR images. This study aims to develop a generalized intensity-based method to generate synthetic CT (sCT) images from standard T2-weighted (T2w) MR images of the pelvis. Materials and methods: This study developed a generalized dual model HU conversion m
BackgroundEven though the importance of a facilitator during an implementation process is well described, the facilitator’s role is rarely problematized in relation to the organizational context in terms of power and legitimacy; themes which have recently been brought to the fore when studying change in health care organizations. Therefore, in this article, we present a qualitative study with the
Objective: Aim of this study was observation of hypersensitivity reaction (HSR) frequency by using a 3-hour graduated infusion protocol with appropriate premedication as a prophylactic measure in patients with gynecological cancer receiving carboplatin retreatment in second line or above. None of the patients had experienced HSRs to platinum previously. Method: All the patients in this study recei
Interferons are important proteins for the immune system because of their antiviral, anti-proliferating and immunomodulatory activities. Therapeutic value of these proteins against certain types of tumors caused interest and investigations aimed to obtain highly purified interferons. Molecular imprinting is an efficient method for purification with high selectivity, specificity and good reproducib
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a vector-borne disease, highly influenced by environmental factors, which is an increasing public health problem in Iran, especially in the north-western part of the country. A geographical information system was used to extract data and map environmental variables for all villages in the districts of Kalaybar and Ahar in the province of East Azerbaijan. An attempt t
The Franco-Chinese migrant woman writer Shan Sa left Beijing for Paris at the age of almost eighteen in 1990. After her settlement in France, French soon became her additional, increasingly dominant language of literary creation. This article examines Shan’s three self-acclaimed ‘historical’ novels about ancient China – Les Quatre vies du saule (Prix Cazes 1999), La Cithare nue (2010), and Impérat
Background Strength training has shown effects in reducing neck pain. As neck pain is highly prevalent in tension-type headache (TTH), it is relevant to examine the effect of strength training of the shoulder muscles on TTH patients. Aim To examine the effect of strength training of the shoulder/neck muscles on TTH frequency and duration. Methods Sixty patients with TTH were randomised into streng
Engineering of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae towards efficient d-xylose assimilation has been a major focus over the last decades since d-xylose is the second most abundant sugar in nature, and its conversion into products could significantly improve process economy in biomass-based processes. Up to now, two different metabolic routes have been introduced via genetic engineering, consisting o
Background: Nuclear medicine imaging of neuroendocrine tumours is performed either by SPECT/CT imaging, using 111In-octreotide or by PET/CT imaging using 68Ga-radiolabelled somatostatin analogs. These imaging techniques will give different image quality and different detection thresholds for tumours, depending on size and activity uptake. The aim was to evaluate the image quality for 111In-SPECT a
caiman, Paleosuchus trigonatus, and Cuvier’s dwarf caiman, Paleosuchus palpebrosus, were sequenced and included in a mitogenomic phylogenetic study. The phylogenetic analyses, which included a total of ten crocodylian species, yielded strong support to a basal split between Crocodylidae and Alligatoridae. Osteolaemus fell within the Crocodylidae as the sister group to Crocodylus. Gavialis and Tomi
The fibrinolytic system (the plasminogen activating system) is involved in several physiological and pathological processes. Through the transformation of plasminogen to the aggressive broad spectrum protease plasmin, potent enzymatic activity is released. Plasmin acts directly on connective tissue components, and indirectly by activating proforms of the metalloproteinases. The destructive potenti
Optimal prevention of hereditary cancer is central and requires initiation of surveillance programmes and/or prophylactic measures at a safe age. Anticipation, expressed as an earlier age at onset in successive generations, has been demonstrated in hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). We specifically addressed anticipation in phenotypic HNPCC families without disease-predisposing mis
In this study a homogeneous liquid-liquid extraction based on the Ph-dependent phase-separation process was investigated using a ternary solvent system (water-acetic acid-chloroform) for the preconcentration of Cu2+ ions. 8-Hydroxy quinoline was used as the chelating agent prior to its extraction. Flame atomic absorption spectro photometry using acetylene-air flame was used for the quantitation of
The effects of UV-B radiation on the gas exchange rates, chlorophyll fluorescence, pigmentation, soluble sugars, starch, soluble proteins and carboxylating enzyme activities of maize (Zea mays L.) were investigated at four levels of applied nitrogen (0, 100, 200 and 300 kg ha−1 of N) under Mediterranean field conditions. The experiment simulated a 20% stratospheric ozone depletion over Portugal. S
Background: The first tissues to be deprived of perfusion and oxygenation in a hypovolemic situation and the last ones to be reperfused are the subcutaneous tissue and the gastrointestinal mucosa. We hypothesized that measurements of subcutaneous tissue gases and pH might reflect simultaneous changes in oxygenation of the intestinal mucosa. The aim of this study was to evaluate tissue gases and pH
Amelogenin is a dental enamel matrix protein involved in formation of dental enamel. In this study, we have expressed two different recombinant murine amelogenins in Escherichia coli: the untagged rM179, and the histidine tagged rp(H)M180, identical to rM179 except that it carries the additional N-terminal sequence MRGSHHHHHHGS. The effects of the histidine tag on expression levels, and on growth
Application of cellulolytic enzymes for upgrading of secondary fibers has extensively been studied during the last decades. In many cases, research has been carried out with industrial enzyme preparations which often consist of several enzyme components. The presence of various enzymes makes the determination of the role of each of them difficult in changes of pulp and paper properties. Therefore,
Production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) is an important part of the inflammatory response, but prolonged elevated levels of ROS/RNS as under chronic inflammation can contribute to the development of disease. Monitoring ROS/RNS in living animals is challenging due to the rapid turnover of ROS/RNS and the limited sensitivity and specificity of ROS/RNS probes. We have explored th
Defective assembly of alpha 3 alpha 4 alpha 5(IV) collagen in the glomerular basement membrane causes Alport syndrome, a hereditary glomerulonephritis progressing to end-stage kidney failure. Assembly of collagen IV chains into heterotrimeric molecules and networks is driven by their noncollagenous (NC1) domains, but the sites encoding the specificity of these interactions are not known. To identi
