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In 2011 a UV Raman-Lidar station become operational in the central Amazon region. The instrument is installed 30 km up-wind from Manaus-AM and remotely senses the troposphere using a 95 mJ Nd-Yag laser at 355 nm. Receiving optics consists of a cassegrain telescope with 400 mm and 4000 mm focal length. During the first year of operation, a narrow field of view was used to allow a reasonable signal to noise ratio near the tropopause. This study focuses on the characterization of tropical cirrus clouds observed during the first year of operation (February to December 2011). A cloud detection algorithm developed by Barja and Aroche (2001) was adapted for this system and used to determine the cloud base and top heights, and cloud thickness. The method based on the lidar transmittance factor was used to derive the cirrus optical depth. The occurrence of cirrus clouds is about 63% of the total observation time, and these are located between 10 and 16 km height typically. This result agrees with those derived by Sassen et al (2008) from Calipso data. We also found that around 26% of all cirrus were subvisual cirrus (τ<0.03), 43 % were thin cirrus (0.03<τ<0.3) and 31% were cirrus stratus (τ>0.3). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first coordinated effort to perform simultaneous lidar measurements in Latin America was carried out as a pilot campaign between 10 and 14 September 2012. Four lidar stations contributed to the campaign measurements: Manaus, São Paulo, Concepción and Buenos Aires. Data from all four contributing stations were manually screened and a 1-h average cloud-free profile was selected from each one. These four elastic profiles were analyzed by four of the groups using their own elastic lidar algorithm. Here, the results for the particle backscatter coefficient are compared and discussed. We show that after five stages, the results have an agreement better than the typical uncertainty in the retrieval. Systematic errors found in different algorithms during the five stages of the exercise emphasize the need for analysis, measurements and data quality protocols. Difficulties involved in the coordination of the campaign and in the collaborative analysis are also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors of the present paper studied some aspects of hydro and agrometeorological phenomena in terms of humidness, dryness and crop growing periods over India. Revised water balance model is used to obtain the above and the results are examined during the two half centuries i.e 1901 to 1950 and 1951 to 1995 in delineating the climate change impacts over India. Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) for All India is related to aridity and humidity indices to understand the dry and wet spells over India. The paper also holds its stand on the analysis and the trends of thermo and hygric components such as precipitation, maximum and minimum temperatures, water need, actual evapotranspiration and soil moisture for All India. The return rates of All India maximum and minimum rainfall and temperatures are obtained for different time intervals using Extreme Value Analysis, that might be useful in assessing the impact and thereby to plan over the risk management for the better environmental and thus the human sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The affinity isolation of pre-purified plasmid DNA (pDNA) from model buffer solutions using native and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) derivatized zinc finger–GST (Glutathione-S-Transferase) fusion protein was examined in PEG–dextran (DEX) aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs). In the absence of pDNA, partitioning of unbound PEGylated fusion protein into the PEG-rich phase was confirmed with 97.5% of the PEGylated fusion protein being detected in the PEG phase of a PEG 600–DEX 40 ATPS. This represents a 1322-fold increase in the protein partition coefficient in comparison to the non-PEGylated protein (K c =0.013). In the presence of pDNA containing a specific oligonucleotide recognition sequence, the zinc finger moiety of the PEGylated fusion protein bound to the plasmid and steered the complex to the PEG-rich phase. An increase in the proportion of pDNA that partitioned to the PEG-rich phase was observed as the concentration of PEGylated fusion protein was increased. Partitioning of the bound complex occurred to such an extent that no DNA was detected by the picogreen assay in the dextran phase. It was also possible to partition pDNA using a non-PEGylated (native) zinc finger–GST fusion protein in a PEG 1000–DEX 500 ATPS. In this case the native ligand accumulated mainly in the PEG phase. These results indicate good prospects for the design of new plasmid DNA purification methods using fusion proteins as affinity ligands. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The impacts of improved atmospheric absorption on radiative fluxes, atmospheric circulation, and hydrological cycle for long-term GCM integrations are investigated. For these runs the operational version of the Centro de Previsão de Tempo e Estudos Climáticos (CPTEC) AGCM and its enhanced version with a new solar radiation scheme are used. There is an 8% increase in the annual mean global average atmospheric absorption in the enhanced integration as compared with the operational model integration. The extra absorption is due to gases (0.5%), the water vapor continuum (1.5%), and background aerosols (6%), which were not considered in the operational solar radiation scheme. Under clear-sky conditions the enhanced model atmospheric absorption is in agreement with observations to within ±3 W m-2, while for all-sky conditions the remaining errors are related to unaccounted-for cloud absorption. There is a general warm-up of the atmosphere in the enhanced model with temperatures increasing up to ∼3 K in the troposphere and ∼5–8 K in the stratosphere, bringing the model closer to the reference values. The intensities of the tropospheric jets are reduced by 7%–8%, while that of the polar night stratospheric jet is increased by 5%–10%, reducing the model systematic error. The reduced availability of latent energy for the saturated convective processes weakens the meridional circulation and slows down the hydrological cycle. The model overestimation of December–February precipitation over the South Pacific convergence zone (SPCZ) and the South Atlantic convergence zone (SACZ) is reduced by 0.5–1.0 mm day-1, and that over the Northern Hemisphere storm-tracks region is reduced by 0.5 mm day-1. On a monthly time scale, the changes in the precipitation distribution over the SACZ are found to be much larger, ±2–3 mm day-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Endometriosis is a benign, estrogen-dependent, chronic gynecological disorder associated with pelvic pain and infertility. The disease most commonly affects women during the reproductive age, although postmenopausal patients do rarely present it. These rare occurrences are generally associated with hormonal use. Material and methods We present three cases of endometriosis in postmenopausal patients who have no history of hormone therapy and no previous history of endometriosis or infertility. Case reports In case 1, a 62-year-old woman presented with acyclic pelvic pain and a left ovarian homogeneous cystic mass. After laparoscopic salpingoophorectomy and histological analysis, an ovarian endometriotic cyst was confirmed. In case 2, a 78-year-old woman presented with a painful abdominal wall mass that was confirmed by ultrasound and tomography. Her past medical history included an abdominal hysterectomy 20 years prior to the discovery of this mass. The lesion was surgically excised and histological analysis showed areas of endometrial stroma and glands surrounded by fibrosis, compatible with endometriosis. In case 3, a 54-year-old woman presented with chronic pelvic pain and a nodule in the rectovaginal septum was noted during gynecological examination. Menopause occurred at 48 years of age. She had no previous dysmenorrhea. Ultrasound confirmed the nodule in the rectovaginal septum. The patient was submitted to a diagnostic colonoscopy that revealed a friable lesion, which was subsequently biopsied. The histological diagnosis was endometriosis. Conclusions These three cases of postmenopausal endometriosis support the celomic metaplasia theory for the genesis of this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The susceptibility of air quality, weather, terrestrial ecosystems, and climate to human activities was investigated in a tropical environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human T lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infects 10–20 million people worldwide. The majority of infected individuals are asymptomatic; however, approximately 3% develop the debilitating neurological disease HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). There is also currently no cure, vaccine or effective therapy for HTLV-1 infection, and the mechanisms for progression to HAM/TSP remain unclear. NK T cells are an immunoregulatory T cell subset whose frequencies and effector functions are associated critically with immunity against infectious diseases. We hypothesized that NK T cells are associated with HAM/TSP progression. We measured NK T cell frequencies and absolute numbers in individuals with HAM/TSP infection from two cohorts on two continents: São Paulo, Brazil and San Francisco, CA, USA, and found significantly lower levels when compared with healthy subjects and/or asymptomatic carriers. Also, the circulating NK T cell compartment in HAM/TSP subjects is comprised of significantly more CD4+ and fewer CD8+ cells than healthy controls. These findings suggest that lower numbers of circulating NK T cells and enrichment of the CD4+ NK T subset are associated with HTLV-1 disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fetal and neonatal pancreatic islets present a lower insulin secretory response as compared with adult islets. Prolonged culturing leads to an improvement of the glucose-induced insulin secretion response in neonatal pancreatic islets that may involve regulation of gap junction mediated cell communication. In this study, we investigated the effect of culturing neonatal islet cells for varying periods of time and with different glucose medium concentrations on the cellular expression of the endocrine pancreatic gap junction associated connexin (Cx) 36 and Cx43. We report here that the 7-d culture induced upregulation of the expression of these junctional proteins in neonatal islets in a time-dependent manner. A correlation was observed between the increased mRNA and protein expression of Cx36 and Cx43 and the increased insulin secretion following islet culturing. In addition, increasing glucose concentration within the culture medium induced a concentration-dependent enhancement of Cx36 islet expression, but not of Cx43 expression in cultured neonatal islets. In conclusion, we suggest that the regulation of gap junctional proteins by culture medium containing factors and glucose may be an important event for the maturation process of β cells observed at in vitro conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the automotive industry faces challenges to implement solutions that provide reductions in energy consumption, pollutants and greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. Exhaust heat recovery employing Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) enables the direct conversion of heat into electric energy without moving parts and little to no maintenance. On-board electrical production is especially useful given the growing electrification trend of road vehicles. The present work assesses the performance of a novel temperature-controlled thermoelectric generator (TCTG) concept in a light duty vehicle and its impact on fuel economy and GHG emissions under realistic driving conditions. The novel exhaust heat exchanger (HE) concept consists of corrugated pipes embedded in a cast aluminium matrix along with variable conductance heat pipes (VCHPs) acting as spreaders of excess heat along the longitudinal direction. This concept seems to have a quite good potential for highly variable thermal load applications, as it is able to avoid overheating by spreading heat instead of wasting it through by-pass systems. Furthermore, when compared to previous concepts by the group, it does not need gravity assistance and has a form factor similar to conventional generators. It also appears to be capable of delivering a breakthrough electric output for TEG systems in such light vehicles, with as much as 572 W and 1538 W of average and maximum electric powers during a driving cycle, respectively, and showing a quite promising reduction of 5.4% in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. • TEG embedding variable conductance HPs enables thermal control through heat spreading. • Corrugated pipes for exhaust flow and heat pipes embedded in cast aluminium matrix. • HPs absorb heat at over-heated regions and release it to under-heated regions. • Heat spreading maximizes heat utilization avoiding overheating or thermal dilution. • Heat spreading will cause active TEG modules to have optimized hot face temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nascimento I, Schaer R, Lemaire D, Freire S, Paule B, Carvalho S, Meyer R, Schaer-Barbosa H. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels as a tool to discriminate between malignant and nonmalignant ascites. APMIS 2004;112:585–7.Ascites formation is commonly associated with cancer, although it is also present in other diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of vascular endothelial growth factor as a malignancy marker in ascites of different etiologies. The levels of VEGF in 32 malignant and in 31 non-malignant ascites were determined by enzyme immunoassay (ELISA). VEGF levels were significantly higher in malignant than in non-malignant ascites (median=1265.9 pg/ml×114.6 pg/ml; p<0.0001). We observed 72% sensitivity and 90% specificity, using 662 pg/ml as a cut-off value. Therefore, this approach can be used as a marker for a first screening to discriminate between malignant and nonmalignant ascites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented about a case study of the nanomechanical properties of human hair shaft, pili annulati, by using atomic force microscopy.