Resumo CKB3 é uma subunidade reguladora (beta) de CK2. Neste estudo, o mutante homozigoto ckb3 de Arabidopsis thaliana foi estudado para entender o papel da CKB3 na sinalização de ácido abscísico (ABA). Os resultados apresentados: CKB3 foi expresso em todos os órgãos e a maior expressão nas sementes, seguida pela raiz. Durante a germinação das sementes e o crescimento radicular, o mutante ckb3 mostrou sensibilidade reduzida ao ABA. O mutante ckb3 teve mais abertura estomática e aumento do acúmulo de prolina e perda de água nas folhas. Os níveis de expressão do número de genes na rede reguladora da ABA haviam mudado. Este estudo demonstra que CKB3 é um gene relacionado à sinalização ABA e pode desempenhar um papel positivo na sinalização ABA.

Abstract CKB3 is a regulatory (beta) subunit of CK2. In this study Arabidopsis thaliana homozygous T-DNA mutant ckb3 was studied to understand the role of CKB3 in abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. The results shown: CKB3 was expressed in all organs and the highest expression in the seeds, followed by the root. During seed germination and root growth the ckb3 mutant showed reduced sensitivity to ABA. The ckb3 mutant had more stomatal opening and increased proline accumulation and leaf water loss. The expression levels of number of genes in the ABA regulatory network had changed. This study demonstrates that CKB3 is an ABA signaling-related gene and may play a positive role in ABA signaling.

BACKGROUND: Bowel preparation is essential for quality colonoscopy. Although most bowel preparation regimens recommend dietary restriction for 24 to 48 hours before the procedure, the evidence for this is poor. This study aimed to investigate whether dietary restriction during bowel preparation improves the quality of colonoscopy. METHODS: A prospective, randomised controlled pilot study in which the dietary restriction (DR) group (control) was instructed not to ingest high fibre foods for 48 hours prior to the use of a polyethylene glycol (PEG) bowel preparation. The non-dietary restriction (NDR) group were given no dietary instruction but received instructions for the use of the PEG-based preparation. On the day of colonoscopy, the quality of the bowel effluent was assessed, and additional preparation given as necessary. The primary endpoint was quality of bowel cleansing using the Harefield Cleansing Scale during colonoscopy. The secondary endpoints were the need for additional bowel preparation and the quantity of additional bowel preparation given prior to endoscopy. Data were analysed on an intention to treat basis. RESULTS: Twenty-three participants were randomised to the intervention group and thirty-four to the control group. Patient demographics were similar in both groups. Dietary restriction did not influence the success rate of bowel preparation: 97% successful bowel preparation in the DR group, vs 91% successful bowel preparation in the NDR group (p = 0.559). Additional bowel preparation requirement were similar in both groups: 35% in the DR group vs 39% in the NDR group (p = 0.768). Mean amount of additional bowel preparation required was similar: 560 ml in the DR group vs 460 ml in the NDR group (p = 0.633). CONCLUSION: The quality of bowel preparation was comparable in patients with and without dietary restrictions prior to colonoscopy. Non-restrictive diets prior to bowel preparation should be considered to increase compliance. The sample size of this pilot study prohibited definite statistical conclusions but demonstrated this to be a reasonable methodology for a larger study.

A total of 4701 canine protocols, processed at the Laboratory of Histopathology of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the National University of San Marcos (Lima) during the period 2003-2014 were evaluated to determine the frequency of types of cancer diagnosed by histopathology and in the case of the transmissible venereal tumor (TVT) by cytology. There were 3480 cases of neoplasms, of which 554 (11.8%) belonged to canines from 0 to 5 years of age. The 4-5 years old dogs (261 cases, 47.1%) and the male dogs (333 cases, 60.1%) had the highest number of neoplasms. The benign neoplasms predominated with 279 cases (50.4%), with TVT being the most frequent neoplasia of this group and of the general count with 94 cases (33.7%). The most frequent malignant neoplasm was rhabdomyosarcoma, with 47 cases (17.1%)

Se evaluaron un total de 4701 protocolos de caninos, procesados en el Laboratorio de Histopatología de la Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Lima) durante el periodo 2003-2014 para determinar la frecuencia de los tipos de neoplasias diagnosticadas mediante histopatología y en el caso del tumor venéreo transmisible (TVT) por citología. Se hallaron 3480 casos de neoplasias, de las cuales 554 (11.8%) pertenecían a caninos de 0 a 5 años de edad. Los canes de 4 a 5 años (261 casos; 47.1%) y los de sexo masculino (333 casos; 60.1%) presentaron la mayor cantidad de neoplasias. Las neoplasias benignas predominaron con 279 casos (50.4%), siendo el TVT la neoplasia más frecuente de este grupo y del conteo general con 94 casos (33.7%). La neoplasia maligna más frecuente fue el rabdomiosarcoma, con 47 casos (17.1%)

ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the applicability of modified formulae based on plasma creatinine levels in Chinese diabetic patients with chronic kidney diseases (CKD). Methods: A total of 294 diabetic patients were investigated. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated with the Ruijin equation, Cockcroft-Gault (CG) and Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formulae. The accuracy of estimated GFR was compared with technetium-99m diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (99mTc-DTPA)-GFR (sGFR). Results: Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated that the Ruijin equation was more consistent with sGFR than the other equations. However, all the equations were not very consistent with sGFR. The analysis showed that the slope of the Ruijin equation was closer to the identical line and indicated that the bias of Ruijin equation was lowest. The 15%, 30% and 50% accuracies of the Ruijin equation were higher than those of the other equations; the 30% accuracy of Ruijin equation was more than 70%. Conclusions: Ruijin equation is more applicable in Chinese diabetic and CKD patients.

RESUMEN Objetivo: Evaluar la aplicabilidad de las fórmulas modificados basadas en los niveles de creatinina del plasma en pacientes diabéticos chinos con enfermedades renales crónicas (ERC). Métodos: Se investigaron un total de 294 pacientes diabéticos. La tasa de filtración glomerular (TFG) se estimó usando las fórmulas de Ruijin, Cockcroft-Gault (CG) y MDRD (Modification of Diet in Renal Disease). La exactitud de la TFG estimada se comparó con ácido dietileno-triamino-pentaacético con tecnecio-99m (DTPA-99mTc)-TFG (sTFG). Resultados: El análisis de Bland-Altman demostró que la ecuación de Ruijin fue más coherente con sTFG que las otras ecuaciones. Sin embargo, no todas las ecuaciones fueron coherentes con sTFG. El análisis mostró que la pendiente de la ecuación de Ruijin estaba más cercana a la línea idéntica e indicó que el sesgo de la ecuación de Ruijin fue menor. Las precisiones de 15%, 30% y 50% de la ecuación de Ruijin fueron superiores a las de las otras ecuaciones. La precisión de 30% de la ecuación de Ruijin fue más del 70%. Conclusiones: La ecuación de Ruijin es más aplicable en los pacientes chinos con diabetes y ERC.

In a recent paper, Chiu et al. (2014) utilized mathematical modeling and differential calculus to determine the common production cycle time that minimizes total production, inventory, and delivery costs for a multi-item economic production quantity (EPQ) model with scrap, rework, and multi-delivery. The present study proposes an algebraic approach substituting the use of differential calculus on the system cost function for deriving the optimal common cycle time in the aforementioned multi-item EPQ model. This simplified approach may enable managing practitioners to resolve real multi-item EPQ models more effectively.

The problem concerning the nature and the function of the dead space is of basic importance for the full comprehension of the respiratory physiology and pathophysiology. To study the effect of an imposed external dead space on the optimal respiratory control system, we simulated the optimal neuro-muscular drive and respiratory signals, including instantaneous airflow and lung volume profiles, with dead space loading under hypercapnia. The dead space measurement model by Gray was employed and the human respiratory control simulator based on an optimality hypothesis was implemented. The ventilatory control simulations were performed with external dead space loading of 0, 0.4 and 0.8 liters under rest condition (Pico2=0%) and CO2 inhalation of 3% to 7%. The optimization of the respiratory signals and model behavior of the optimal respiratory control under dead space loading and hypercapnia were verified and found to be in general agreement with experimental findings.

The bacterial resistance is a health problem to every country. To verified the antibacterial activity of the Solanum nigrum L. plant that grow in our country was made the phytochemical characterization to the extracts of leaves and stems, taking into account the Cuban norm establish for the investigation in medicine plants. It was determined the antibacterial activity in vitro employing the diffusion method superficial dissemination in disc. In phytochemical composition of extracts obtained from leaves and stems of Solanum nigrum L. predominate: alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, coumarins and tannins. The dry extracts of leaves and stems, the stems cloroformic and the obtained of leaves and stems in ethylacetate of Solanum nigrum L. showed antibacterial activity in front of Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC29737).

La resistencia de las bacterias ha devenido problema de salud. Para verificar la acción antibacteriana de Solanum nigrum L., planta que crece en Cuba se le realizó la caracterización fitoquímico a los extractos de tallos y hojas, teniendo en cuenta la norma cubana establecida para la investigación en plantas medicinales. Se le determinó la actividad antibacteriana in vitro empleando el método de difusión en agar por diseminación superficial en disco. En la composición fitoquímica de los extractos obtenidos de las hojas y tallos de la planta de Solanum nigrum L. predominan: flavonoides, alcaloides, taninos, aminoácidos, saponinas y cumarinas. Los extractos secos de hojas y tallos, el clorofórmico de tallos y el obtenido de hojas y tallos en acetato de etilo mostraron actividad antibacteriana frente al Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC29737).

This paper presents the performance of an adaptive location-estimation technique combining Kalman filtering (KF) with vision assisting for wireless sensor networks. For improving the accuracy of a location estimator, a KF procedure is employed at a mobile terminal to filter variations of the location estimate. Furthermore, using a vision-assisted calibration technique, the proposed approach based on the normalized cross-correlation scheme is an accuracy enhancement procedure that effectively removes system errors causing uncertainty in real dynamic environments. Namely, according to the vision-assisted approach to extract the locations of the reference nodes as landmarks, a KF-based approach with the landmark information can calibrate the location estimation and reduce the corner effect of a location-estimation system. In terms of the location accuracy estimated from the proposed approach, the experimental results demonstrate that more than 60 percent of the location estimates have error distances less than 1.4 meters in a ZigBee positioning platform. As compared with the non-tracking algorithm and non-vision-assisted approach, the proposed algorithm can achieve reasonably good performance.

The objective of the study was to determine the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in female llamas of Corpacancha, Cuyo, and Santa Ana production units of the Cooperative Pachacutec, located in the district of Marcapomacocha, Junín. Blood samples (n = 249) were collected in January and February 2003 from animals more than one year of age. The immunofluorescence test (IFAT) was used for the detection of antibodies against T. gondii. The seroprevalence was moderate (13.7 ± 4.3%, 34/249). There was a greater risk of infection for llamas over 6 years and for those at Santa Ana and Corpacancha production units.

El objetivo del estudio fue determinar la seroprevalencia de Toxoplasma gondii en llamas hembras de las unidades de producción Corpacancha, Cuyo y Santa Ana, de la Sociedad Agraria de Interés Social Pachacútec, en el distrito de Marcapomacocha, Junín. En enero y febrero de 2003 se colectaron muestras de sangre de 249 llamas mayores de 1 año de edad. Se empleó la prueba de inmunofluorescencia indirecta (IFI) para la detección de anticuerpos contra T. gondii. Se halló una seroprevalencia moderada de 13.7 ± 4.3% (34/249). Se evidenció que existe mayor riesgo de contraer la enfermedad en el grupo de llamas mayores de 6 años y que las unidades de producción de Santa Ana y Corpacancha representan un factor de riesgo en la enfermedad.

Os recifes de arenito holocênicos da praia de Jaguaribe, Pernambuco, Nordeste do Brasil, consistem de camadas de areias de praia dispostas de forma horizontal, cimentadas por carbonatos, com aproximadamente 40 cm de espessura. O cimento ocorre sob três tipos: a) calcítico, circundando os grãos siliciclásticos, b) micrítico, com uma franja acicular; e c) preenchendo os poros na forma de calcita criptocristalina. A cimentação, precoce, aconteceu ao nível freático abaixo da crista praial, onde condições geoquímicas, hidrodinâmicas e, talvez, microbiológicas favoreceram uma rápida precipitação de aragonita e/ou calcita magnesiana. delta13C varia de -1.8 a +1.5‰ para carbonato dissolvido em água intersticiale de +0.2 a +2.1‰ para componentes bioclásticos.delta18O varia de -2.8 a +0.5‰ na água do mar, água docee intersticial. delta13C e feições diagenéticas sugerem que a cimentação ocorreu em água meteórica-vadosa e/ou marinha-freática, por perda de CO2 durante a evaporação da água intersticial. Localmente, cimento calcítico pouco magnesiano superimposto sugere influência de água doce subseqüente. A composição do cimento das camadas de recifes de arenito empilhadas verticalmente na praia de Jaguaribe mostra que a camada do topo do recife de arenito é mais velha do a situada no presente nível freático. Isto implica em uma cimentação de cima para baixo, retratando provavelmente rebaixamento do nível do mar.

Holocene beachrocks of the Jaguaribe beach, State of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil, consist of horizontal, cemented layers approximately 40 cm thick. The cement shows three textural varieties: (a) calciferous, surrounding siliciclastic grains, (b) micritic, with an acicular fringe; and (c) cryptocrystalline calcite in pores. Early cementation took place at the water table below beach ridges, where geochemical, hydrodynamic and, perhaps, also microbiological conditions favored rapid precipitation of aragonite and/or high-Mg calcite. delta13C values range from -1.8 to +1.5‰ for dissolved carbonate in interstitial water and from +0.2 to +2.1‰ for bioclastic components. delta18O values range from -2.8 to +0.5‰ for seawater, freshwater and interstitial water. delta13C values and diagenetic features suggest that cementation occurred in meteoric-vadose and/or marine-phreatic water by loss of CO2 during evaporation of the interstitial water. Locally, superimposed low-Mg calcite cements point to subsequent freshwater influence. Total-rock cement composition of vertically stacked beachrock beds at the Jaguaribe beach shows that the highest beachrock bed is older than the one (of same petrographic composition) situated at the current groundwater level. This implies a downward progression of cementation, which probably followed the sea-level fall after a local high stand.

Este trabalho apresenta o refinamento da malha gravimétrica da região do Vale do Paraíba do Sul, leste do estado de São Paulo, através da implantação de 646 novas estações. Além das tradicionais correções Free-Air e Bouguer, foi necessário utilizar a Correção de Terreno devido à proximidade das serras da Mantiqueira e do Mar. Foi gerado, além do Mapa Bouguer para a região leste do estado, um Mapa Bouguer de Anomalia Residual, aplicando-se os filtros Continuação para Cima e Passa-Alta. Modelagens gravimétricas 2D foram realizadas em 4 perfís, utilizando modelos bi-dimensionais para os corpos causadores das anomalias, objetivando o melhor entendimento do arcabouço tectônico da Bacia de Taubaté. A partir da integração com dados de sísmica de reflexão, foi interpretada uma espessura sedimentar máxima de 800 metros. Também foi interpretado um corpo alcalino ultramáfico, situado em sub-superfície na região da cidade de Caçapava.

This paper presents the gravity survey refinement of the Paraíba do Sul river valley, east region of São Paulo state, by acquisition of 646 gravity stations. Further than the traditional Free-Air and Bouguer corrections, it was necessary to apply the Terrain Correction due the proximity of the Mantiqueira and Mar mountain ranges. An enhanced understanding of Taubaté Basin structural framework was the main objetive of this work. As result, we present the Bouguer Gravity Map of the east region of São Paulo State and the Residual Bouguer Gravity Map generated by Upward Continuation and High-pass filtering. The 2D Gravity Modeling was applied in 4 sections, using bi-dimensional models for the bodies that produced the anomalies (Talwani Method). After integrating the gravity data with the interpretation of 11 seismic sections, it was possible to delineate the Taubate Basin structural framework, which shows an utmost sedimentary thickness of 800 m in the depocenters. It was also interpreted an ultramaphic alkaline plug in the subsurface of Caçapava city.

Although gap junction channels are still widely viewed as large, non-specific pores connecting cells, the diversity in the connexin family has led more attention to be focused on their permeability characteristics. We summarize here the current status of these investigations, both published and on-going, that reveal both charge and size selectivity between gap junction channels composed of different connexins. In particular, this review will focus on quantitative approaches that monitor the expression level of the connexins, so that it is clear that differences that are seen can be attributed to channel properties. The degree of selectivity that is observed is modest compared to other channels, but is likely to be significant for biological molecules that are labile within the cell. Of particular relevance to the in vivo function of gap junctions, recent studies are summarized that demonstrate that the connexin phenotype can control the nature of the endogenous traffic between cells, with consequent effects on biological effects of gap junctions such as tumor suppression.