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The RFX-mod2 installation is planned to be completed by 2024 and the start of operations is expected in 2025. The high flexibility of the machine (already tested in the previous RFX-mod experiment) allows operation in Reversed Field Pinch and tokamak configuration as well as ultra-low q pulses. In this work we present predictive analysis on transport, performances and plasma control in RFX-mod2 in view of the first experimental campaigns.

The RFX-mod2 device, the upgraded version of the previous RFX-mod with a modified magnetic boundary, is presently under realization and will start to be operated in 2025. Significant upgrades of the diagnostic capabilities have been proposed and are under development. These include a largely increased number of in-vessel magnetic and electrostatic sensors, a new fast reciprocating manipulator for the exploration of the edge plasma in a wide range of experimental conditions, the improved Thomson scattering and soft x-ray diagnostics system for a detailed determination of the behavior of the electron temperature profile, new dedicated systems for the space and time resolved analysis of x-ray spectra and neutron rate, a reflectometric diagnostic for real-time determination of plasma position, two diagnostics devoted to the imaging of light impurities and influxes behavior along with arrays of halo current sensors. These diagnostic upgrades will be accompanied by a significant effort to improve the control of the electron density and of the impurity influxes by means of proper treatment of plasma facing components with in-vessel fixed electrodes distributed over the first wall. The described advancements will allow a deeper understanding of physics phenomena in the wide variety of magnetic configurations, including the tokamak, the reversed-field pinch and the Ultra-low q, which can be produced in RFX-mod2 thanks to its flexibility and unique MHD control capabilities.

The heterogeneous nature of human breast cancer (HBC) can still lead to therapy inefficacy and high lethality, and new therapeutics as well as new spontaneous animal models are needed to benefit translational HBC research. Dogs are primarily investigated since they spontaneously develop tumors that share many features with human cancers. In recent years, different natural phytochemicals including berberine, a plant alkaloid, have been reported to have antiproliferative activity in vitro in human cancers and rodent animal models. In this study, we report the antiproliferative activity and mechanism of action of berberine, its active metabolite berberrubine, and eight analogs, on a canine mammary carcinoma cell line and in transgenic zebrafish models. We demonstrate both in vitro and in vivo the significant effects of specific analogs on cell viability via the induction of apoptosis, also identifying their role in inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and activating the Hippo signals with a downstream reduction in CTGF expression. In particular, the berberine analogs NAX035 and NAX057 show the highest therapeutic efficacy, deserving further analyses to elucidate their mechanism of action more in detail, and in vivo studies on spontaneous neoplastic diseases are needed, aiming at improving veterinary treatments of cancer as well as translational cancer research.

The Thermal Helium Beam (THB) is a diagnostic for simultaneously measuring the electron temperature and density profiles of the plasma edge and scrape off layer (SOL). It exploits the line ratio technique of selected He line intensities, emitted by He gas puffed inside the plasma, to locally estimate the plasma properties through a dedicated collisional radiative model (CRM). Standard THB diagnostics used in nuclear fusion devices measure three HeI emission lines: 667.8, 706.5, and 728.1 nm. For the RFP experiment RFX-mod2, a new THB is designed and tested for the first time at the TCV tokamak. It acquires an additional emission line at 501.6 nm, which is exploited to estimate the radiation re-absorption, which is not negligible in regions of large neutral He densities (leading to high re-absorption) and simultaneously low electron density and temperature (lack of other excitation channels). It affects the measurements most strongly at the far SOL, while the significance of re-absorption decreases as it approaches the separatrix. In this paper, plasma density and temperature profiles of the plasma edge at the outboard midplane of TCV, measured with this newly designed THB, are presented. For the first time, the effect of radiation re-absorption on the estimation of electron temperature and density profiles is experimentally measured in a tokamak using the 501 nm line emission intensity. Different CRMs are compared with and without radiation re-absorption, showing good agreement when re-absorption is included and demonstrating how it plays an important role in the far SOL, as expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Condyloma acuminata (CA) is a benign proliferative disease mainly affecting in non-keratinized epithelia. Most cases of CA are caused by low-risk human papillomavirus (HPV), mainly HPV 6 and 11. The aim of the current study was to highlight the candidate genes and pathways associated with immune alterations in individuals who did not spontaneously eliminate the virus and, thus, develop genital warts. Paraffin-embedded condyloma samples (n = 56) were analyzed by immunohistochemistry using antibodies against CD1a, FOXP3, CD3, CD4, CD8, and IFN-γ. The immunomarkers were chosen based on the evaluation of the innate and adaptive immune pathways using qPCR analysis of 92 immune-related genes, applying a TaqMan Array Immune Response assay in HPV 6 or HPV 11 positive samples (n = 27). Gene expression analysis revealed 31 differentially expressed genes in CA lesions. Gene expression validation revealed upregulation of GZMB, IFNG, IL12B, and IL8 and downregulation of NFATC4 and IL7 in CA samples. Immunohistochemical analysis showed increased FOXP3, IFN-γ, CD1a, and CD4 expression in CA than in the control tissue samples. In contrast, CD3 and CD8 expression was decreased in CA lesion samples. Increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in HPV-positive patients compared with HPV-negative patients seem to reflect the elevated immunogenicity of HPV-positive CA lesions. Host defense against HPV begins during the early stages of the innate immune response and is followed by activation of T lymphocytes, which are mainly represented by CD4+ and regulatory T cells. The low CD8+ T cell count in CA may contribute to this recurrent behavior. Additional studies are needed to elucidate the mechanism of host defense against HPV infection in CA.

Diuron is one of the most used herbicide in the world, and its field application has been particularly increased in Brazil due to the expansion of sugarcane crops. Diuron has often been detected in freshwater ecosystems and it can be biodegraded into three main metabolites in the environment, the 3,4-dichloroaniline (DCA), 3,4-dichlorophenylurea (DCPU) and 3,4-dichlorophenyl-N-methylurea (DCPMU). Negative effects under aquatic biota are still not well established for diuron, especially when considering its presence in mixture with its different metabolites. In this study, we evaluated the effects of diuron alone or in combination with its metabolites, DCPMU, DCPU and 3,4-DCA on biochemical stress responses and biotransformation activity of the fish Oreochromis niloticus. Results showed that diuron and its metabolites caused significant but dispersed alterations in oxidative stress markers and biotransformation enzymes, except for ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity, that presented a dose-dependent increase after exposure to either diuron or its metabolites. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity was significant lower in gills after exposure to diuron metabolites, but not diuron. Diuron, DCPMU and DCA also decreased the multixenobiotic resistance (MXR) activity. Lipid peroxidation levels were increased in gill after exposure to all compounds, indicating that the original compound and diuron metabolites can induce oxidative stress in fish. The integration of all biochemical responses by the Integrated Biomarker Response (IBR) model indicated that all compounds caused significant alterations in O. niloticus, but DCPMU caused the higher alterations in both liver and gill. Our findings imply that diuron and its metabolites may impair the physiological response related to biotransformation and antioxidant activity in fish at field concentrations. Such alterations could interfere with the ability of aquatic animals to adapt to environments contaminated by agriculture.

Every Sunday afternoon, many dozens of Chinese migrants from all walks of life gather in a small building located north of the train station in Padua, Italy, at the headquarter of the Chinese Christian Evangelical Church of Italy (Jidujiao yidali huaren jiaohui 基督教義大利華人教會, CCEC), to celebrate a two-hour long ritual, chanting, praising the Lord and listening to a lecture in Mandarin about the Holy Scripture. The focus of this article is the weekly celebration of the CCEC. In particular, I will discuss a few changes that I have observed in the liturgy and in the general organisation of the activities of the CCEC since the outbreak of the COVID pandemic in 2020. The research questions attempt to study how the COVID pandemic has impacted on the Sunday activities of the Church. The results highlight changes in the organisation of the Sunday celebration and in the way religious practice is experienced by part of the audience. The data employed in this article, collected between the years 2019 and 2021, come from previous scholarship, from participant observation and from informal and semi-structured interviews with members of the church.

Non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory viral infections, such as influenza virus (FluV) and human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), have contributed considerably to the burden of infectious diseases in the non-COVID-19 era. While the rates of co-infection in SARS-CoV-2-positive group (SCPG) patients have been determined, the burden of other respiratory viruses in the SARS-CoV-2-negative group (SCNG) remains unclear. Here, we conducted a cross-sectional study (São José do Rio Preto county, Brazil), and we collected our data using a meta-analysis to evaluate the pooled prevalence of FluV and RSV among SCNG patients. Out of the 901 patients suspected of COVID-19, our molecular results showed positivity of FluV and RSV in the SCNG was 2% (15/733) and 0.27% (2/733), respectively. Co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and FluV, or RSV, was identified in 1.7% of the patients (3/168). Following our meta-analysis, 28 studies were selected (n = 114,318 suspected COVID-19 patients), with a pooled prevalence of 4% (95% CI: 3–6) for FluV and 2% (95% CI: 1–3) for RSV among SCNG patients were observed. Interestingly, FluV positivity in the SCNG was four times higher (OR = 4, 95% CI: 3.6–5.4, p < 0.01) than in the SCPG. Similarly, RSV positivity was significantly associated with SCNG patients (OR = 2.9, 95% CI: 2–4, p < 0.01). For subgroup analysis, cold-like symptoms, including fever, cough, sore throat, headache, myalgia, diarrhea, and nausea/vomiting, were positively associated (p < 0.05) with the SCPG. In conclusion, these results show that the pooled prevalence of FluV and RSV were significantly higher in the SCNG than in the SCPG during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) is associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Curcumin is a natural bioactive compound with antineoplastic properties. The use of nanoparticles containing curcumin could allow a better performance of this compound in therapies. So, VIN biopsies were collected and HPV DNA detection was performed by PCR, positive samples were genotyped by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) and HPV-16 variants were determined by sequencing. HPV-16 positive vulva carcinoma cells (A431) were transduced with E-P and E-350G HPV-16 E6 variants. The viability of the transduced cells treated with nanoemulsions was determined by MTT assay. Besides, apoptosis was evaluated by enzymatic activity of Caspase-3/7. The cell viability assay showed that both the empty nanoemulsion (NE-V) and the nanoemulsion of curcumin (NE-CUR) had little effect on cell viability as compared to control cells. Additionally, we observed that cells irradiated in the presence of NE-CUR presented 90% of cell death. The apoptosis assay further revealed a significant increase in the activity of caspases 3 and 7 in A431 cells expressing both HPV-16 E6 variants after treatment with NE-CUR. Finally, we submitted the HPV transduced A431 cells to organotypic cultures and observed that the combination of treatments affected tissue architecture with evident signals of tissue damage. We concluded that nanoemulsions attain good biocompatibility, since no cytotoxicity was observed and NE-CUR associated with photoactivation showed promising results, leading to death only in cells subjected to irradiation. This drug delivery system associated with photodynamic therapy may become promising in the treatment of vulva lesions.

O grupo Especialistas da Alegria atua no Hospital Erasto Gaertner, promovendo autoestima, bem-estar, momentos de interatividade e de leveza em um contexto hospitalar oncológico. Entretanto, no primeiro semestre de 2020, as restrições em razão da covid-19 resultaram na suspensão das atividades presenciais. A readaptação da interação e a utilização dos meios digitais foram as soluções encontradas pelos palhaços para fortalecer seu respeitável público nesse momento de adversidade. A aplicação presencial do projeto acontecia em quatro dias da semana, com grupos de três palhaços ou mais. Porém, as orientações para conter a pandemia limitaram as ações. Os voluntários, individualmente, iniciaram gravações de vídeos em ambiente doméstico. Equipes de enfermagem do hospital auxiliaram o intercâmbio entre o Especialistas da Alegria e os hospitalizados, apresentando os conteúdos produzidos nas televisões dos quartos e das áreas sociais do hospital. Ademais, vídeos foram disponibilizados nas mídias sociais semanalmente para que familiares também pudessem acompanhar. Os palhaços, cientes da responsabilidade exigida, desenvolveram um trabalho com seriedade e profissionalismo durante a pandemia. Além dos conteúdos produzidos, realizaram reuniões virtuais mensais pautadas em manuais de capacitação, a fim de consolidarem novas técnicas e aprofundarem os conhecimentos. Os palhaços tornam-se fontes de apoio, encorajam o enfrentamento da doença e auxiliam na complementação do cuidado integral envolvendo as esferas biopsicossociais.

Staphylococcal exfoliative toxins (ETs) are glutamyl endopeptidases that specifically cleave the Glu381-Gly382 bond in the ectodomains of desmoglein 1 (Dsg1) via complex action mechanisms. To date, four ETs have been identified in different Staphylococcus aureus strains and ETE is the most recently characterized. The unusual properties of ETs have been attributed to a unique structural feature, i.e., the 180° flip of the carbonyl oxygen (O) of the nonconserved residue 192/186 (ETA/ETE numbering), not conducive to the oxyanion hole formation. We report the crystal structure of ETE determined at 1.61 Å resolution, in which P186(O) adopts two conformations displaying a 180° rotation. This finding, together with free energy calculations, supports the existence of a dynamic transition between the conformations under the tested conditions. Moreover, enzymatic assays showed no significant differences in the esterolytic efficiency of ETE and ETE/P186G, a mutant predicted to possess a functional oxyanion hole, thus downplaying the influence of the flip on the activity. Finally, we observed the formation of ETE homodimers in solution and the predicted homodimeric structure revealed the participation of a characteristic nonconserved loop in the interface and the partial occlusion of the protein active site, suggesting that monomerization is required for enzymatic activity.

RESUMO Este trabalho teve como objeto de estudo a constituição histórica, cultural e social que transforma dificuldades de aprendizagem e de comportamento vividas no processo de escolarização em problemas individuais, de cunho biológico e/ou orgânico. A pesquisa consiste na análise da produção do discurso médico-científico que consolida bases de interpretação do referente às dificuldades de aprendizagem enquanto problemas médicos ou psicológicos, tanto quanto na organização das informações em uma Linha do Tempo, acerca de como os The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) vêm tratando as dificuldades de aprendizagem desde a sua primeira edição. Para viabilização, foi realizada pesquisa bibliográfica em fontes como MEDLINE, PubMED, LILACS, SCIELO, PsycInfo. Para compilação de dados e explanação dos resultados, apresenta-se a Linha do Tempo dos DSM, a qual se encontra publicada na Biblioteca Virtual de Saúde - BVS PSI, no endereço: http://newpsi.bvs-psi.org.br/uploads/linha%20do%20tempo%20DSM/linha.html e será periodicamente alimentada.

The edge of the RFX-mod (R=2m, a=0.46m) Reversed Field Pinch device is characterized by weak magnetic chaos affecting ion and electron diffusion. Edge particle transport is strongly influenced by a toroidal and poloidal asymmetry caused by magnetic islands and an ambipolar radial electric field ensures local neutrality. At higher plasma current (Iϕ>1MA) a spontaneous resonant dominant mode m/n=1/7, slowly rotating, develops in the inner region. The edge electron pressure Pe and floating potential Vf show a shape of the Plasma Wall Interaction (PWI) with the same toroidal periodicity, which follows the edge local ideal magnetic displacement Δ1,7.Detailed measurements along the poloidal direction of Pe and Vf have been undertaken newly, their time behavior present respect to Δ1,7 a time lag, which depends on the poloidal angle θ. The mode analysis in terms of helical angle reveals a role of the 0/7 mode in determining a poloidal phase lag respect to Δ1,7 of Pe and Vf. Since the 0/7 is the largest toroidal sideband of the 1/7 mode, this work suggests a role of toroidal coupling in determining the plasma response to a MP. Keywords: RFX, RFP, PWI, THB, MPs, Stochastic layers, Magnetic chaos

Condyloma acuminata (CA), or genital warts, are benign proliferative epidermal or mucous lesions that are caused by infection with human papillomavirus (HPV), mainly the low-risk types 6 and 11. HPV variants are defined as viral sequences that share identity in the nucleotide sequence of the L1 gene greater than 98%. Based on this criterion, HPV6 and 11 variant lineages have been studied, and there are ongoing attempts to correlate these genetic variants with different clinical findings of infection. Therefore, the aims of this study were to detect variants and nucleotide alterations present in the E6 regions of HPV types 6 and 11 found in CA samples, to correlate the HPV presence with the clinical-pathological data of the patients, and to determine phylogenetic relationships with variants from other places in the world. The E6 regions of 25 HPV6 samples and 7 HPV11 samples from CA were amplified using PCR with specific primers. The products were ligated to a cloning vector and five colonies of each sample were sequenced to observe the nucleotide alterations. Twelve samples were identified as the HPV6B3 variant, presenting the mutation (guanine) G474A (adenine), and one of them also showed the mutation (thymine) T369G. The other 13 patients were positive for HPV6B1 without nucleotide alterations. In the analysis of the HPV11 samples, all patients showed the mutations T137C and (cytosine) C380T. One patient also presented the nucleotide alteration T410C. None of the mutations found in the 32 analyzed samples resulted in amino acid changes. Patient age, local occurrence, and HIV infection did not show significant association with HPV infection. Besides, the data found in this study did not show a relationship with the geographical region of isolation when compared to other data from different regions of the world. In this way, despite the nucleotide alterations found, it was not possible to observe amino acid changes and variants grouping according to geographical region.

Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) are an important part of the tumour microenvironment but knowledge of their distribution in canine soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) is limited to absent. We analysed 38 STSs retrieved from the veterinary pathology archive; oral and visceral STSs, synovial cell sarcoma, tumours of histiocytic origin, haemangiosarcoma, carcinosarcomas, and undifferentiated tumours were excluded. Iba-1 positive, non-neoplastic tumour infiltrating cells (morphologically indicative of macrophages) were classified as TAMs and were counted in 10 consecutive tumours areas, where no necrosis or other inflammatory cells could be identified. Associations between numbers of TAMs and mitoses, differentiation, and necrosis scores or grade were investigated. TAMs were evident in all STSs and ranged between 6% to 62% of the cells in the microscopic field. The number of TAMs positively correlated with the STSs’ histologic grade. When the components of the grade were analysed separately, TAMs were statistically correlated with mitoses, but not with differentiation or necrosis score. The present findings suggest that TAMs are present in higher numbers when STS proliferation is the predominant feature that drives tumour grade. The abundant presence of TAMs in high-grade STSs may also increase the likelihood of a pathologist misdiagnosing STS for histiocytic sarcoma.

As transformações do espaço urbano vêm introduzindo novos padrões que revelam elementos da dinâmica capitalista. Nesse aspecto, o apartamento residencial é apresentado como um produto dotado de novos conceitos em sintonia com as mudanças do capitalismo. Este estudo tem como objetivo desenvolver uma análise sobre as propagandas imobiliárias na cidade de Vitória, entre as décadas de 1950 a 1970, no qual identificamos as estratégias do setor da construção imobiliária em relação a cozinha como item diferencial do imóvel e inserido no sistema de produção da sociedade de consumo. ABSTRACT This study aims to develop an analysis of the kitchen of the residential apartments in the city of Vitoria, between the 1950s and 1970s, as a space connected to the transformations promoted by capitalism. It was carried out a qualitative survey of advertisements published in a newspaper, as well as the use of authors who approach the relationship between the production of the urban space and the food. From this analysis, it was possible to verify that the transformation in the kitchen is indicative of the way of life established by the Brazilian urbanization during this period. Keywords: Kitchen; Urban space; Advertising.

A fisiopatologia da polipose rinossinusal não é totalmente compreendida, apesar de várias hipóteses em relação ao seu processo inflamatório. OBJETIVOS: Estudo prospectivo da expressão dos genes das proteínas, anexina-1 e a galectina-1, que têm ação anti-inflamatória, e sua modulação pelo glicocorticoide. MATERIAL E MÉTODOS: Onze pacientes portadores de polipose rinossinusal tiveram biopsiados seus pólipos em dois momentos: na ausência de glicocorticoide sistêmico, e na sua presença. Nas duas amostras, foi avaliada a expressão desses genes e comparada com a expressão na mucosa nasal normal do meato médio. RESULTADOS: Verificou-se que a média de expressão dos genes que codifica a anexina-1 e galectina-1 estava predominantemente aumentada, independente do uso do glicocorticoide em relação à mucosa nasal controle. Entretanto, nos pólipos sem uso de corticoide, a média de expressão do gene da anexina-1 foi significativamente maior do que nos pólipos que estavam sob uso de glicocorticoide. Com relação à galectina-1 não houve diferença significativa entre as médias de expressão antes e após o uso de glicocorticoide sistêmico. CONCLUSÃO: Os genes apresentaram um aumento da expressão na mucosa nasal polipoide, independente do uso do glicocorticoide, porém a relação destes dois genes das proteínas anti-inflamatórias com o glicocorticoide não ocorreu da mesma maneira.Rhinosinusal polyps physiopathology is not fully understand, despite numerous hypotheses regarding its inflammatory process. AIMS: a prospective study regarding the gene expression of proteins: anexin-1 and galectin-1, which has an anti-inflammatory action and is modulated by steroids. MATERIALS AND METHODS: eleven patients with rhinosinusal polyps suffered a biopsy of their polyps at two moments: in the absence of systemic steroids and during its use. In the two samples we assessed the expression of these genes and compared it to the normal nasal mucosa in the middle meatus. RESULTS: We noticed that the mean expression of the genes which code anexin-1 and galectin-1 was predominantly increased, regardless of the use of steroids in relation to the control nasal mucosa. Notwithstanding, in polyps without the use of steroids, the mean gene expression of anexin-1 was significantly higher than in the polyps which were under the use of steroids. Regarding galectin-1, there was no significant difference between the expression mean values before and after the use of systemic steroids. CONCLUSION: The genes present an expression increase in the polyp mucosa, regardless of the use of steroids; nonetheless, the relationship of these two genes of anti-inflammatory proteins with steroids did not happen the same way.

Alcohol is one of the drugs most widely used among teenagers. Just recently, studies have been developed regarding the screening of use of alcohol by this population. This work aimed to investigate the use of AUDIT as a method for screening and evaluation of alcohol consumption among High School students. The sample was composed by 1227 students from two public schools, who answered to the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and informed their socioeconomic level, religion, and occurrence of relationship problems caused by drunkenness of family members. Using an 8 cut-off point, AUDIT has identified 17.8% of students with risk drinking. These results have revealed that AUDIT is easy to be applied and well accepted by the students. It was also evident the importance of this instrument in the follow-up programs of prevention and intervention of alcoholic beverages use.

OBJETIVO: Avaliar o percentual de pacientes adequados às metas preconizadas pelas III Diretrizes sobre Dislipidemias da Sociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia, numa população de baixa renda. Determinar se havia diferença deste percentual, nos pacientes de alto risco, conforme a idade (75 anos). MÉTODOS: Analisamos consecutivamente 190 pacientes, divididos em dois grupos: 51 pacientes de baixo e médio risco (G I) e 139 de alto risco para doença arterial coronariana (G II). A amostra era caracterizada por pacientes de baixa renda (69% dos pacientes tinham uma renda familiar entre 1 e 2 salários mínimos), cuja terapêutica hipolipemiante era fornecida irregularmente pelo Estado. RESULTADOS: Os G I e G II apresentavam, respectivamente, 70,1±13,7 anos e 13,7% de homens e 68,5±10,6 anos e 62,6% de homens. Dentre os pacientes do G II, 30% apresentavam o LDL-colesterol dentro das metas preconizadas. Sendo que, a freqüência de pacientes adequados às metas foi, significativamente, menor em indivíduos com 75 anos ou mais que aqueles com menos de 75 anos (16% vs. 30%, p=0,04). CONCLUSÃO: Numa população, predominantemente, de baixa renda e sem assistência contínua do Estado para adquirir estatinas, a obtenção das metas preconizadas para o LDL- colesterol, pelas III Diretrizes sobre Dislipidemias da Sociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia, é baixa e ainda, significativamente, menor em pacientes muito idosos, com perfil de alto risco para aterosclerose.OBJECTIVE: To assess the percentage of patients suitable to the objectives preconized by III Diretrizes sobre Dislipidemias da Sociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia (3rd Guidelines on Dyslipidemia of Brazilian Society of Cardiology), in a low income population. To determine whether there was a difference of that percentage in high risk patients, according to their age (75 years old). METHODS: We analyzed, consecutively, 190 patients, divided in two groups: 51 low and middle risk patients (G I) and 139 high risk patients for coronaray artery disease (G II). The sample was characterized by low income patients (69% for the patients had a family income between 1 and 2 minimum salaries), whose hypolipidemic therapy was irregularly supplied by the State. RESULTS: G I and G II showed, respectively, 70.1±13.7 years old and 13.7% of men and 68.5±10.6 years old and 62.6% of men. Among patients from G II, 30% showed LDL-cholesterol within the preconized objectives. The frequency of patients suitable to the objectives was significantly lower in individuals with 75 years of age or older than among those younger than 75 years old (16% vs. 30%, p=0.04). CONCLUSION: In a predominantly low income population and without continuous assistance from the State to purchase statins, the achievement of preconized objectives for LDL-cholesterol, by 3rd Guidelines on Dyslipidemia of Brasilian Society of Cardiology, is low and also significantly lower among very old patients, with a high risk profile for atherosclerosis.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most common pathogen responsible for nosocomial infections.Approximately 20% of patients undergoing surgical operations acquires at least one nosocomial infection. Nasal carriers of S. aureus have been identified as one of the populations at major risk to develop this type of infection, particularly, after operations, dialysis, transplants and admission in intensive care unit. Our study was conducted on patients who came from a Neurosurgery Intensive Care Unit, where the incidence of MRSA is very low (8%) and where it is very important to identify MRSA carriers in order to adopt measures to avoid transmission.The use of chromogenic agar MRSA ID allowed us to identify green colonies of MRSA within 24 hours and to make a timely and careful diagnosis.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is still a pediatric common illness that afflicts children troughout the world. Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the most common and virulent pathogens so an early diagnosis is very important to do a right treatment. Our study has evaluated the role of symptoms, chest radiograph and microbiological test to determine a S.pneumoniae pneumonia.We conducted a prospective study from January to September 2005 including 44 children (1month-15 years old) admitted to the Padova Pediatric ED suffering from pneumonia confirmed with a chest radiograph. From the obtained results the nasopharyngeal aspirate culture and the pneumococcal urine antigen are complementary and we can make a right diagnosis if we associate this test with symptoms and laboratory test.