Universidade Positivo

About: Universidade Positivo is a education organization based out in Curitiba, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 1290 authors who have published 1237 publications receiving 9335 citations. The organization is also known as: Positive University.

Analysis of environmental indicators in Passaúna reservoir.

Abstract: The relevance of environmental indicators is associated with their use as tools with which society evaluates its own evolution. In the environmental context, indicators are parameters which are representative of the processes involved, are concise and easy to interpret, and which are used to represent the main characteristics of a certain area. The present work proposes a set of environmental indicators for the Passauna reservoir, one of the main sources of drinking water in Curitiba, Brazil, based on 14 parameters. This paper also presents a proposal for the determination of an environmental stress index (ICA) based on the relative importance of pollution threats. An example is shown, considering the available data for six parameters, which indicates that the Passauna reservoir is under strong environmental stress.

Are mTOR and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Pathway Genes Associated with Oral and Bone Diseases

Abstract: The purpose of this cohort study was to identify associations between combined oral and bone disease phenotypes and genes present in cell regulatory pathways The studied pathways play important roles in cellular growth, proliferation, differentiation, and homeostasis DNA samples extracted from whole saliva of 3,912 individuals were genotyped and these data analyzed according to dental caries experience, periapical lesions, periodontitis, osteoporosis, or temporomandibular joint discomfort Samples were obtained from the Dental Registry and DNA Repository project at the University of Pittsburgh Twenty-seven polymorphisms in eight genes related to mTOR or endoplasmic reticulum stress pathways were selected for genotyping Allele frequencies and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were calculated Analyses were performed comparing genotypes between affected and unaffected individuals for each phenotype, as well as for the associated phenotypes combined For all analyses, we used the software PLINK with an alpha of 0002 Borderline associations with multiple variants of several genes were found, suggesting that both pathways may be involved in the susceptibility to multiple conditions affecting the oral cavity and bones When combining patients that had concomitant dental caries, periodontitis, and periapical pathology, several markers in RHEB showed statistically significant association Multiple conditions affecting bone and teeth (ie, dental caries, periodontitis, periapical lesion formation, and osteoporosis) appear to share similar underlying genetic etiological factors, which allow us to hypothesize that instead of individually, they should be studied in conjunction in human populations

Infections and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Abstract: Objective To determine the incidence of infections in a population of systemic lupus erythematosus individuals and the characteristics of infections regarding original site, as well as to study the possible associations between infections and treatment. Methods An analytical retrospective study using data from medical charts of systemic lupus erythematosus patients from a single university hospital. A total of 144 patients followed up for five years were included. Data collected comprised age of patients and age at onset of lupus, sex and ethnicity, disease duration before the study period, medications, cumulative dose of prednisone, occurrence of infections and their original site. Results The most frequent infections were urinary tract infections (correlated to use of prednisone − p<0.0001 and cyclophosphamide − p=0.045), upper airways infections (correlated to use of prednisone − p=0.0004, mycophenolate mofetil − p=0.0005, and cyclosporine − p=0.025), and pneumonia (associated to prednisone − p=0.017). Conclusion Prednisone was the drug more often associated with presence of infections, pointing to the need for a more judicious management of this drug.

Food Storage by the Savanna Termite Cornitermes cumulans (Syntermitinae): a Strategy to Improve Hemicellulose Digestibility?

Abstract: It has been suggested that food storage inside the nest may offer termites with a nutritional provision during low resource availability. Additionally, feces employed as construction material provide an excellent environment for colonization by microorganisms and, together with the storage of plant material inside the nest, could thus provide some advantage to the termites in terms of lignocellulose decomposition. Here, we conducted for the first time a comprehensive study of the microbial communities associated to a termite exhibiting food storage behavior using Illumina sequencing of the 16S and (ITS2) regions of rRNA genes, together with enzymatic assays and data collected in the field. Cornitermes cumulans (Syntermitinae) stored grass litter in nodules made from feces and saliva located in the nest core. The amount of nodules increased with nest size and isolation, and interestingly, the soluble fraction of extracts from nodules showed a higher activity against hemicellulosic substrates compared to termite guts. Actinobacteria and Sordariales dominated microbial communities of food nodules and nest walls, whereas Spirochetes and Pleosporales dominated gut samples of C. cumulans. Within Syntermitinae, however, gut bacterial assemblages were dissimilar. On the other hand, there is a remarkable convergence of the bacterial community structure of Termitidae nests. Our results suggest that the role of nodules could be related to food storage; however, the higher xylanolytic activity in the nodules and their associated microbiota could also provide C. cumulans with an external source of predigested polysaccharides, which might be advantageous in comparison with litter-feeding termites that do not display food storage behavior.