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The objective of this study was to analyze the satisfaction of the users of a private hospital in terms of a number of attributes of the services in units. This exploratory, descriptive study used a quantitative approach and was developed in a private hospital in the city of São Paulo. The casuistry consisted of 71 users and data collection was performed during the period from March to August 2007, using a derivative of the scale model of the Service Quality (SERVQUAL) of the evaluative model of Parasuraman et al. The level of overall satisfaction ranged around 95%. The assurance (96%) and reliability (96%) were considered the most important dimensions of quality, followed by empathy (95%), responsiveness (93%) and tangibility (88%). Medical and nursing staffs introduced high levels of satisfaction. 91% has intention to recommend the hospital. This research provided the knowledge of the attributes most important in terms of satisfaction and contributed to confirming or reshaping assistance and management processes.

In a 17-kb genomic fragment of Trypanosoma cruzi chromosome XX, we identified three tandemly linked genes coding for CX(2)CX(4)HX(4)C zinc finger proteins. We also showed that similar genes are present in T. brucei and Leishmania major, sharing three monophyletic groups among these trypanosomatids. In T. cruzi, TcZFP8 corresponds to a novel gene coding for a protein containing eight zinc finger motifs. Molecular cloning of this gene and heterologous expression as a fusion with a His-tag were performed in Escherichia coli. The purified recombinant protein was used to produce antibody in rabbits. Using Western blot analysis, we observed the presence of this protein in all three forms of the parasite: amastigote, trypomastigote and epimastigote. An analysis of cytoplasmic and nuclear cell extracts showed that this protein is present in nuclear extracts, and indirect immunofluorescence microscopy confirmed the nuclear localization of TcZFP8. Homologues of TcZFP8 in T. brucei are apparently absent, while one candidate in L. major was identified.

We report the prevalence of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) variants in women with cervical lesions from the Federal District, Central Brazil. We analyzed 34 HPV-16 samples, identifying the sequence variations of E6 and L1 genes and correlating variant frequency with disease status. The most prevalent HPV-16 variant was the European (50%), followed by Asian-American (41.2%), African-1 (5.9%), and African-2 (2.9%). European and non-European variants appeared in equal frequencies among the cytological types of lesions - atypical squamous or glandular cells of undetermined significance, cytological alterations suggesting HPV infection, cervical intraepithelial neoplasias, squamous cell carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma.

In order to standardize and to characterize a chondrocyte primary culture, cells from rat rib resting cartilage were used. High yield (0.99 +/- 0.18 x 10(6) cells/rat) and viability (91.76%) of costal cartilage cells was reached by enzymatic digestion with collagenase. The cells were cultivated in Dulbecco's medium (DME) supplemented with 10%. Heat inactivated newborn calf serum, at 37 degrees under humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 in air. Two or three days after plating, the cells were attached to the surface of tissue culture weel, and began dividing. Adhesion was independent of plating density. The doubling time of cell population was found to be 23.19 hours. The cells became a monolayer and required easy maintenance. The results support the contention that rat costal cartilage is a good source of chondrocytes for primary culture cells experiments.