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Research on the physiological and anatomical mechanisms of yam species (Dioscorea sp.) in response to water deficiency is scarce in the Brazil's Legal Amazon. Our aim was to analyse in an integrated way the effects of drought stress on the physiological and anatomical traits of endemic and non-endemic Dioscorea species from Brazil's Amazon at greenhouse conditions. We characterized growth parameters, biomass allocation, leaf gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, water management, and anatomical traits using a factorial design considering plantlets of three Dioscorea varieties (one endemic and two non-endemic plant species) under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions. The highest values of growth parameters (e.g., number of leaves, plant height, dry biomass) were found on pots where D. alata L. var. purpurea was cultivated under irrigated conditions, whereas for aboveground biomass allocation, and root biomass allocation the highest values were found on pots where D. alata var. white was cultivated. For gas exchange we found the highest values in the endemic plant species D. trifida L.f. Impacts of water deficit were also observed on the anatomical traits. The results of this study highlight the importance to consider drought stress modulating Dioscorea species' traits. Our findings suggest that (1) the non-endemic species proved to be more tolerant to drought due to better water management, while the endemic species managed to maintain photosynthesis using mechanism of biomass allocation and leaf gas exchange, and (2) by altering plant traits, endemic and non-endemic plant species may create different response by changing their morphology, physiology, and/or anatomy to improve their own tolerance to drought stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the prevalence of destructive periodontal disease and its risk indicators in adult Kiriri Indians from Northeast Brazil., Materials and Methods: Full-mouth periodontal examinations were performed on a sample of 215 Indians (≥19 years). Bivariate analyses and logistic models were applied to assess associations between periodontitis and its putative risk factors., Results: Prevalence of clinical attachment loss of ≥3, ≥5 and ≥7 mm was 97.8%, 63.8% and 30.8% respectively. Percentage of teeth per individual showing clinical attachment loss of ≥3, ≥5 and ≥7 mm was 49.8%, 18.4% and 8.0% respectively. After adjustment for covariates, individuals aged ≥35 years (OR = 5.83, 95% CI: 3.09-11.00; p < 0.001), men (OR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.15-4.11; p = 0.02) and diabetics (OR = 3.92, 95% CI 1.03-14.99; p = 0.05) had a higher risk for destructive periodontitis, classified according to the CDC/AAP case definition., Conclusion: Though periodontitis was highly prevalent in Kiriri Indians, only few teeth showed advanced disease, and periodontitis was associated with higher age, male sex and diabetes. A public health action that includes programs of prevention and treatment targeting high-risk groups is vital to improve the periodontal status of this population., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

We studied 46 Staphylococcus aureus strains with three patterns of antimicrobial resistance (MARSA, MRSA and MSSA) obtained from inpatients of a large community hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The strains showed a single biochemical pattern. On the contrary, remarkable phage-typing differences could be observed. Thirteen strains were associated to phagic group III and the remainder could not be typed even though most of them had shown a weak sensitivity to phage 54. Fourteen strains synthesized one or more enterotoxins. Enterotoxin D was synthesized more often. Neither was EEB produced nor TSSF-1. The results suggested the widespreading of different staphylococci strains in that hospital. There was strong evidence that some cases of nosocomial infections leading to death have been caused by the same S. aureus strain recovered from some inpatients in the intensive care unit.

Limited proteolysis of intact red cells has been shown to yield peptides of 60 kDa and, in some individuals, 63 kDa, from the band-3 membrane protein. In a random population sample of 117 Brazilians of Japanese origin, the allele frequencies of the band-3 variants were p60 = 0.889 +/- 0.0205 and p63 = 0.111 +/- 0.0205. The phenotype frequencies fit the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for the hypothesis of three phenotypes controlled by two codominant alleles of a single autosomal locus. The frequencies of the alleles in this population of Japanese ancestry are highly different from those of Brazilian Caucasoid blood donors but rather similar to those of Brazilian Negroid donors.