Laura Oliveira - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Laura Oliveira

Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Akadémiai Kiadó, Bu... more Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary. This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be selfarchived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your work, please use the accepted author's version for posting to your own website or your institution's repository. You may further deposit the accepted author's version on a funder's repository at a funder's request, provided it is not made publicly available until 12 months after publication.

… of Radioanalytical and …, 2011

The determination of elemental concentrations for Br, Ca, Cl, Fe, K, Mg, Na, S, Sr, and Zn in blo... more The determination of elemental concentrations for Br, Ca, Cl, Fe, K, Mg, Na, S, Sr, and Zn in blood samples from White New Zealand rabbits was performed applying the NAA technique. Twenty whole blood samples (12 male and 8 female) collected in research ...

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Nov 1, 2010

The harmonisation of food composition databases (FCDB) has been a recognised need among users, pr... more The harmonisation of food composition databases (FCDB) has been a recognised need among users, producers and stakeholders of food composition data (FCD). To reach harmonisation of FCDBs among the national compiler partners, the European Food Information Resource (EuroFIR) Network of Excellence set up a series of guidelines and quality requirements, together with recommendations to implement quality management systems (QMS) in FCDBs. The Portuguese National Institute of Health (INSA) is the national FCDB compiler in Portugal and is also a EuroFIR partner. INSA's QMS complies with ISO/IEC (International Organization for Standardisation/International Electrotechnical Commission) 17025 requirements. The purpose of this work is to report on the strategy used and progress made for extending INSA's QMS to the Portuguese FCDB in alignment with EuroFIR guidelines. A stepwise approach was used to extend INSA's QMS to the Portuguese FCDB. The approach included selection of reference standards and guides and the collection of relevant quality documents directly or indirectly related to the compilation process; selection of the adequate quality requirements; assessment of adequacy and level of requirement implementation in the current INSA's QMS; implementation of the selected requirements; and EuroFIR's preassessment 'pilot' auditing. The strategy used to design and implement the extension of INSA's QMS to the Portuguese FCDB is reported in this paper. The QMS elements have been established by consensus. ISO/IEC 17025 management requirements (except 4.5) and 5.2 technical requirements, as well as all EuroFIR requirements (including technical guidelines, FCD compilation flowchart and standard operating procedures), have been selected for implementation. The results indicate that the quality management requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 in place in INSA fit the needs for document control, audits, contract review, non-conformity work and corrective actions, and users' (customers') comments, complaints and satisfaction, with minor adaptation. Implementation of the FCDB QMS proved to be a way of reducing the subjectivity of the compilation process and fully documenting it, and also facilitates training of new compilers. Furthermore, it has strengthened cooperation and trust among FCDB actors, as all of them were called to be involved in the process. On the basis of our practical results, we can conclude that ISO/IEC 17025 management requirements are an adequate reference for the implementation of INSA's FCDB QMS with the advantages of being well known to all members of staff and also being a common quality language among laboratories producing FCD. Combining quality systems and food composition activities endows the FCDB compilation process with flexibility, consistency and transparency, and facilitates its monitoring and assessment, providing the basis for strengthening confidence among users, data producers and compilers.

The Journal of Neuroscience, Aug 1, 2001

To address several fundamental questions regarding how multiwhisker tactile stimuli are integrate... more To address several fundamental questions regarding how multiwhisker tactile stimuli are integrated and processed by the trigeminal somatosensory system, a novel behavioral task was developed that required rats to discriminate the width of either a wide or narrow aperture using only their large mystacial vibrissae. Rats quickly acquired this task and could accurately discriminate between apertures of very similar width. Accurate discriminations required a large number of intact facial whiskers. Systematic removal of individual whiskers caused a decrease in performance that was directly proportional to the number of whiskers removed, indicating that tactile information from multiple whiskers is integrated as rats gauge aperture width. In different groups of rats, different sets of whiskers were removed in patterns that preferentially left whisker rows or whisker arcs intact. These different whisker removals caused similar decreases in performance, indicating that individual whiskers within the vibrissal array are functionally equivalent during performance of this task. Lesions of the barrel cortex abolished the ability of rats to discriminate, demonstrating that this region is critically involved in this tactile behavior. Interestingly, sectioning the facial nerve, which abolished whisker movements, did not affect the ability to perform accurate discriminations, indicating that active whisker movements are not necessary for accurate performance of the task. Collectively, these results indicate that the trigeminal somatosensory system forms internal representations of external stimuli (in this case, aperture width) by integrating tactile input from many functionally equivalent facial whiskers and that the vibrissal array can function as a fine-grained distance detector without active whisker movements.

Atherosclerosis Supplements, 2008

Background: The metabolic syndrome (MS) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and DM.Approp... more Background: The metabolic syndrome (MS) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and DM.Appropriate treatment can reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, family physicians in Israel may not routinely diagnosis the MS.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2001

To address several fundamental questions regarding how multiwhisker tactile stimuli are integrate... more To address several fundamental questions regarding how multiwhisker tactile stimuli are integrated and processed by the trigeminal somatosensory system, a novel behavioral task was developed that required rats to discriminate the width of either a wide or narrow aperture using only their large mystacial vibrissae. Rats quickly acquired this task and could accurately discriminate between apertures of very similar width. Accurate discriminations required a large number of intact facial whiskers. Systematic removal of individual whiskers caused a decrease in performance that was directly proportional to the number of whiskers removed, indicating that tactile information from multiple whiskers is integrated as rats gauge aperture width. In different groups of rats, different sets of whiskers were removed in patterns that preferentially left whisker rows or whisker arcs intact. These different whisker removals caused similar decreases in performance, indicating that individual whiskers w...

International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 2008

This study aimed to investigate gatifloxacin distribution into skeletal muscle and lung interstit... more This study aimed to investigate gatifloxacin distribution into skeletal muscle and lung interstitial fluid by microdialysis and to correlate free tissue and free plasma levels of the drug. Microdialysis recoveries were determined in vitro by extraction efficiency and retrodialysis at 80, 160 and 400 ng/ml resulting in 33.5 ± 1.3%, 33.1 ± 1.2%, 31.8 ± 2.7% and 31.4 ± 2.6%, 33.1 ± 2.2%, 30.6 ± 3.3%, respectively. In vivo recovery by retrodialysis in Wistar rats' skeletal muscle and lung were 29.1 ± 1.0% and 30.7 ± 1.4%, respectively. The recovery was constant and independent on the method or media used. Gatifloxacin tissue penetration was investigated after intravenous dosing of 6 mg/kg to Wistar rats. Free skeletal muscle, lung and plasma profiles were virtually super imposable resulting in similar area under the curve (AUC 0-9 ) of 3888 ± 734 ng h/ml, 4138 ± 1071 ng h/ml and 3805 ± 577 ng h/ml, respectively (˛= 0.05). The tissue distribution factors were 1.02 and 1.08 for muscle and lung relative to plasma. In conclusion, free plasma levels are a good surrogate for gatifloxacin active levels at the infection site.

International Journal of Obesity, 2011

Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, 2014

Virus Genes, 2010

Dengue virus (DENV; Genus Flavivirus, Family Flaviviridae) has been circulating in Brazil since a... more Dengue virus (DENV; Genus Flavivirus, Family Flaviviridae) has been circulating in Brazil since at least the mid-1980s and continues to be responsible for sporadic cases of Dengue fever and Dengue hemorrhagic fever throughout this country. Here, we describe the full genomes of two new Brazilian DENV-serotype 1 (DENV-1) variants and analyze these together with all other available American DENV-1 full-genome sequences. Besides confirming the existence of various country-specific DENV-1 founder effects that have produced a high degree of geographical structure in the American DENV-1 population, we also identify that one of the new viruses is one of only three detectable intra-American DENV-1 recombinants. Although such obvious evidence of genetic exchange among epidemiologically unlinked Latin American DENV-1 sequences is relatively rare, we find that at the population-scale there exists substantial evidence of pervasive recombination that most likely occurs between viruses that are so genetically similar that it is not possible to reliably distinguish and characterize individual recombination events.

Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 1994

PLANT PHYSIOLOGY, 1992

Promoters of most seed proteins in legumes contain one or more 5'-CATGCAT-3' elements. To test if... more Promoters of most seed proteins in legumes contain one or more 5'-CATGCAT-3' elements. To test if these elements have a function in the expression of these genes, the 2.3 kilobase pairs Gy2 glycinin promoter was ligated to a j6-glucuronidase reporter sequence and transformed into tobacco. Elimination of a 5'-CATGCAT-3' element 101 base pairs upstream from the transcription start site in the construction caused about a 10-fold reduction in the amount of j6-glucuronidase activity compared with when the element was present in the gene. Elimination of 1.9 kilobase pairs from the 5'-end of the promoter caused a twoto threefold reduction in activity. The results show that the 5'-CATGCAT-3' element plays a role in regulating the amount of expression from the gene, but that there are also other factors farther upstream from the gene that affect the level of expression.

Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2002

ing. The CS catheter was then replaced with the MESH electrode catheter. The MESH electrode was d... more ing. The CS catheter was then replaced with the MESH electrode catheter. The MESH electrode was deployed and RF lesions were delivered just outside and just inside the CS os. After each ablation the CS mapping catheter was rspositioned and activation sequence re-evaluated.

Reference values for some elements of clinical interest in whole blood of humans and also of anim... more Reference values for some elements of clinical interest in whole blood of humans and also of animals, used in veterinary medicine for experimentation, have been determined through Neutron Activation Analysis, using Au as flux monitor. All these estimations were proposed considering 68% confidence interval for normal population. The comparison between reference values of Humans and the selected animals permits to check the similarities becoming possible to select the similar species as reference and for experiments.

Journal of Hypertension, 2010

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2009

, but approximately 50% of serum samples from rubella cases collected on the day of rash onset ar... more , but approximately 50% of serum samples from rubella cases collected on the day of rash onset are negative for rubella virus-specific IgM. The ability to detect IgM in sera and oral fluids was compared with the ability to detect rubella virus RNA in oral fluids by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) by using paired samples taken within the first 4 days after rash onset from suspected rubella cases during an outbreak in Perú. Sera were tested for IgM by both indirect and capture enzyme immunoassays (EIAs), and oral fluids were tested for IgM by a capture EIA. Tests for IgM in serum were more sensitive for the confirmation of rubella than the test for IgM in oral fluid during the 4 days after rash onset. RT-PCR confirmed more suspected cases than serum IgM tests on days 1 and 2 after rash onset. The methods confirmed approximately the same number of cases on days 3 and 4 after rash onset. However, a few cases were detected by serum IgM tests but not by RT-PCR even on the day of rash onset. Nine RT-PCR-positive oral fluid specimens were shown to contain rubella virus sequences of genotype 1C. In summary, RT-PCR testing of oral fluid confirmed more rubella cases than IgM testing of either serum or oral fluid samples collected in the first 2 days after rash onset; the maximum number of confirmations of rubella cases was obtained by combining RT-PCR and serology testing.

Gene, 1992

A method for the oligodeoxyribonucleotide-directed mutagenesis of double-stranded DNA without the... more A method for the oligodeoxyribonucleotide-directed mutagenesis of double-stranded DNA without the necessity for phenotypic selection is described. Plasmids denatured with alkali and purified by adsorption to and elution from nitrocellulose have single-stranded regions where primers can hybridize and serve as templates for a T7 DNA polymerase-catalyzed synthesis of complementary mutant DNA strands. When this procedure was carried out such that the original nonmutant strand contained uracil [method of Kunkel, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82(1985)488-4921, mutation frequencies of between 3O"/b and 40% were obtained. The technique has been used to generate mutant genes in plasmids of a wide variety of sizes. The largest plasmid manipulated and successfully mutagenized was 22 kb. The method is rapid and efficient and is not dependent upon either fl phage vectors or the presence of restriction sites in the vicinity of the sequence targeted for mutation.

European Neuropsychopharmacology, 2010

Arquivos Brasileiros De Cardiologia, Sep 1, 2010

In Brazil, resolution 196/96 and its amendments regulate the preservation of rights, respect and ... more In Brazil, resolution 196/96 and its amendments regulate the preservation of rights, respect and dignity of human beings involved in research. To analyze the adequacy of Free Communications (FC) presented during the XVIII Congresso Pernambucano de Cardiologia to resolution 196/96. During a cross-sectional study, interviews were carried out with the authors of the FC presented at the Congress and the abstracts of the studies were assessed in order to identify the need for previous approval by a Research Ethics Committee (REC). A total of 90 FC were presented and, in most of them (86.8%), medical files were the most commonly used source of data. Only 23.1% of the FC were submitted to the assessment of a REC and 15.4% of them used a Free and Informed Consent Form (FICF). Among the authors whose studies were not assessed by a REC, 65.6% stated that this conduct was not necessary and 18% of them were unaware of the need to submit the study to such assessment. The written authorization given by the institution where the FC were carried out was not obtained in 56.6% of the studies. Most of the authors (80.0%) stated that they had never read Resolution 196/96. The proportion of FC submitted to a REC was significantly higher among authors that had read Resolution 196/96 (p = 0.005). The FC design influenced the non-submission of the studies to a REC (p < 0.001). Most of the FC that were authorized by the institution where they were carried out were submitted to a REC (p < 0.001). Most of the FC presented at the Congress did not follow the Brazilian regulations concerning the ethics in research.

J Physiol London, 2003

At synapses, ATP is released and metabolised through ecto-nucleotidases forming adenosine, which ... more At synapses, ATP is released and metabolised through ecto-nucleotidases forming adenosine, which modulates neurotransmitter release through inhibitory A 1 or facilitatory A 2A receptors, according to the amounts of extracellular adenosine. Neuromuscular junctions possess an ecto-AMP deaminase that can dissociate extracellular ATP catabolism from adenosine formation. In this study we have investigated the pattern of ATP release and its conversion into adenosine, to probe the role of ecto-AMP deaminase in controlling acetylcholine release from rat phrenic nerve terminals. Nerve-evoked ATP release was 28 ± 12 pmol (mg tissue) _1 at 1 Hz, 54 ± 3 pmol (mg tissue) _1 at 5 Hz and disproportionally higher at 50 Hz (324 ± 23 pmol (mg tissue) _1 ). Extracellular ATP (30 mM) was metabolised with a half time of 8 ± 2 min, being converted into ADP then into AMP. AMP was either dephosphorylated into adenosine by ecto-5‚-nucleotidase (inhibited by ATP and blocked by 200 mM a,b-methylene ADP) or deaminated into IMP by ecto-AMP deaminase (inhibited by 200 mM deoxycoformycin, which increased adenosine formation). Dephosphorylation and deamination pathways also catabolised endogenously released adenine nucleotides, since the nerveevoked extracellular AMP accumulation was increased by either a,b-methylene ADP (200 mM) or deoxycoformycin (200 mM). In the presence of nitrobenzylthioinosine (30 mM) to inhibit adenosine transport, deoxycoformycin (200 mM) facilitated nerve-evoked [ 3 H]acetylcholine release by 77 ± 9 %, an effect prevented by the A 2A receptor antagonist, ZM 241385 (10 nM). It is concluded that, while ecto-5‚-nucleotidase is inhibited by released ATP, ecto-AMP deaminase activity transiently blunts adenosine formation, which would otherwise reach levels high enough to activate facilitatory A 2A receptors on motor nerve terminals.

Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Akadémiai Kiadó, Bu... more Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary. This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be selfarchived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your work, please use the accepted author's version for posting to your own website or your institution's repository. You may further deposit the accepted author's version on a funder's repository at a funder's request, provided it is not made publicly available until 12 months after publication.

… of Radioanalytical and …, 2011

The determination of elemental concentrations for Br, Ca, Cl, Fe, K, Mg, Na, S, Sr, and Zn in blo... more The determination of elemental concentrations for Br, Ca, Cl, Fe, K, Mg, Na, S, Sr, and Zn in blood samples from White New Zealand rabbits was performed applying the NAA technique. Twenty whole blood samples (12 male and 8 female) collected in research ...

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Nov 1, 2010

The harmonisation of food composition databases (FCDB) has been a recognised need among users, pr... more The harmonisation of food composition databases (FCDB) has been a recognised need among users, producers and stakeholders of food composition data (FCD). To reach harmonisation of FCDBs among the national compiler partners, the European Food Information Resource (EuroFIR) Network of Excellence set up a series of guidelines and quality requirements, together with recommendations to implement quality management systems (QMS) in FCDBs. The Portuguese National Institute of Health (INSA) is the national FCDB compiler in Portugal and is also a EuroFIR partner. INSA's QMS complies with ISO/IEC (International Organization for Standardisation/International Electrotechnical Commission) 17025 requirements. The purpose of this work is to report on the strategy used and progress made for extending INSA's QMS to the Portuguese FCDB in alignment with EuroFIR guidelines. A stepwise approach was used to extend INSA's QMS to the Portuguese FCDB. The approach included selection of reference standards and guides and the collection of relevant quality documents directly or indirectly related to the compilation process; selection of the adequate quality requirements; assessment of adequacy and level of requirement implementation in the current INSA's QMS; implementation of the selected requirements; and EuroFIR's preassessment 'pilot' auditing. The strategy used to design and implement the extension of INSA's QMS to the Portuguese FCDB is reported in this paper. The QMS elements have been established by consensus. ISO/IEC 17025 management requirements (except 4.5) and 5.2 technical requirements, as well as all EuroFIR requirements (including technical guidelines, FCD compilation flowchart and standard operating procedures), have been selected for implementation. The results indicate that the quality management requirements of ISO/IEC 17025 in place in INSA fit the needs for document control, audits, contract review, non-conformity work and corrective actions, and users' (customers') comments, complaints and satisfaction, with minor adaptation. Implementation of the FCDB QMS proved to be a way of reducing the subjectivity of the compilation process and fully documenting it, and also facilitates training of new compilers. Furthermore, it has strengthened cooperation and trust among FCDB actors, as all of them were called to be involved in the process. On the basis of our practical results, we can conclude that ISO/IEC 17025 management requirements are an adequate reference for the implementation of INSA's FCDB QMS with the advantages of being well known to all members of staff and also being a common quality language among laboratories producing FCD. Combining quality systems and food composition activities endows the FCDB compilation process with flexibility, consistency and transparency, and facilitates its monitoring and assessment, providing the basis for strengthening confidence among users, data producers and compilers.

The Journal of Neuroscience, Aug 1, 2001

To address several fundamental questions regarding how multiwhisker tactile stimuli are integrate... more To address several fundamental questions regarding how multiwhisker tactile stimuli are integrated and processed by the trigeminal somatosensory system, a novel behavioral task was developed that required rats to discriminate the width of either a wide or narrow aperture using only their large mystacial vibrissae. Rats quickly acquired this task and could accurately discriminate between apertures of very similar width. Accurate discriminations required a large number of intact facial whiskers. Systematic removal of individual whiskers caused a decrease in performance that was directly proportional to the number of whiskers removed, indicating that tactile information from multiple whiskers is integrated as rats gauge aperture width. In different groups of rats, different sets of whiskers were removed in patterns that preferentially left whisker rows or whisker arcs intact. These different whisker removals caused similar decreases in performance, indicating that individual whiskers within the vibrissal array are functionally equivalent during performance of this task. Lesions of the barrel cortex abolished the ability of rats to discriminate, demonstrating that this region is critically involved in this tactile behavior. Interestingly, sectioning the facial nerve, which abolished whisker movements, did not affect the ability to perform accurate discriminations, indicating that active whisker movements are not necessary for accurate performance of the task. Collectively, these results indicate that the trigeminal somatosensory system forms internal representations of external stimuli (in this case, aperture width) by integrating tactile input from many functionally equivalent facial whiskers and that the vibrissal array can function as a fine-grained distance detector without active whisker movements.

Atherosclerosis Supplements, 2008

Background: The metabolic syndrome (MS) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and DM.Approp... more Background: The metabolic syndrome (MS) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and DM.Appropriate treatment can reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, family physicians in Israel may not routinely diagnosis the MS.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2001

To address several fundamental questions regarding how multiwhisker tactile stimuli are integrate... more To address several fundamental questions regarding how multiwhisker tactile stimuli are integrated and processed by the trigeminal somatosensory system, a novel behavioral task was developed that required rats to discriminate the width of either a wide or narrow aperture using only their large mystacial vibrissae. Rats quickly acquired this task and could accurately discriminate between apertures of very similar width. Accurate discriminations required a large number of intact facial whiskers. Systematic removal of individual whiskers caused a decrease in performance that was directly proportional to the number of whiskers removed, indicating that tactile information from multiple whiskers is integrated as rats gauge aperture width. In different groups of rats, different sets of whiskers were removed in patterns that preferentially left whisker rows or whisker arcs intact. These different whisker removals caused similar decreases in performance, indicating that individual whiskers w...

International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 2008

This study aimed to investigate gatifloxacin distribution into skeletal muscle and lung interstit... more This study aimed to investigate gatifloxacin distribution into skeletal muscle and lung interstitial fluid by microdialysis and to correlate free tissue and free plasma levels of the drug. Microdialysis recoveries were determined in vitro by extraction efficiency and retrodialysis at 80, 160 and 400 ng/ml resulting in 33.5 ± 1.3%, 33.1 ± 1.2%, 31.8 ± 2.7% and 31.4 ± 2.6%, 33.1 ± 2.2%, 30.6 ± 3.3%, respectively. In vivo recovery by retrodialysis in Wistar rats' skeletal muscle and lung were 29.1 ± 1.0% and 30.7 ± 1.4%, respectively. The recovery was constant and independent on the method or media used. Gatifloxacin tissue penetration was investigated after intravenous dosing of 6 mg/kg to Wistar rats. Free skeletal muscle, lung and plasma profiles were virtually super imposable resulting in similar area under the curve (AUC 0-9 ) of 3888 ± 734 ng h/ml, 4138 ± 1071 ng h/ml and 3805 ± 577 ng h/ml, respectively (˛= 0.05). The tissue distribution factors were 1.02 and 1.08 for muscle and lung relative to plasma. In conclusion, free plasma levels are a good surrogate for gatifloxacin active levels at the infection site.

International Journal of Obesity, 2011

Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology and Oral Radiology, 2014

Virus Genes, 2010

Dengue virus (DENV; Genus Flavivirus, Family Flaviviridae) has been circulating in Brazil since a... more Dengue virus (DENV; Genus Flavivirus, Family Flaviviridae) has been circulating in Brazil since at least the mid-1980s and continues to be responsible for sporadic cases of Dengue fever and Dengue hemorrhagic fever throughout this country. Here, we describe the full genomes of two new Brazilian DENV-serotype 1 (DENV-1) variants and analyze these together with all other available American DENV-1 full-genome sequences. Besides confirming the existence of various country-specific DENV-1 founder effects that have produced a high degree of geographical structure in the American DENV-1 population, we also identify that one of the new viruses is one of only three detectable intra-American DENV-1 recombinants. Although such obvious evidence of genetic exchange among epidemiologically unlinked Latin American DENV-1 sequences is relatively rare, we find that at the population-scale there exists substantial evidence of pervasive recombination that most likely occurs between viruses that are so genetically similar that it is not possible to reliably distinguish and characterize individual recombination events.

Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, 1994

PLANT PHYSIOLOGY, 1992

Promoters of most seed proteins in legumes contain one or more 5'-CATGCAT-3' elements. To test if... more Promoters of most seed proteins in legumes contain one or more 5'-CATGCAT-3' elements. To test if these elements have a function in the expression of these genes, the 2.3 kilobase pairs Gy2 glycinin promoter was ligated to a j6-glucuronidase reporter sequence and transformed into tobacco. Elimination of a 5'-CATGCAT-3' element 101 base pairs upstream from the transcription start site in the construction caused about a 10-fold reduction in the amount of j6-glucuronidase activity compared with when the element was present in the gene. Elimination of 1.9 kilobase pairs from the 5'-end of the promoter caused a twoto threefold reduction in activity. The results show that the 5'-CATGCAT-3' element plays a role in regulating the amount of expression from the gene, but that there are also other factors farther upstream from the gene that affect the level of expression.

Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2002

ing. The CS catheter was then replaced with the MESH electrode catheter. The MESH electrode was d... more ing. The CS catheter was then replaced with the MESH electrode catheter. The MESH electrode was deployed and RF lesions were delivered just outside and just inside the CS os. After each ablation the CS mapping catheter was rspositioned and activation sequence re-evaluated.

Reference values for some elements of clinical interest in whole blood of humans and also of anim... more Reference values for some elements of clinical interest in whole blood of humans and also of animals, used in veterinary medicine for experimentation, have been determined through Neutron Activation Analysis, using Au as flux monitor. All these estimations were proposed considering 68% confidence interval for normal population. The comparison between reference values of Humans and the selected animals permits to check the similarities becoming possible to select the similar species as reference and for experiments.

Journal of Hypertension, 2010

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2009

, but approximately 50% of serum samples from rubella cases collected on the day of rash onset ar... more , but approximately 50% of serum samples from rubella cases collected on the day of rash onset are negative for rubella virus-specific IgM. The ability to detect IgM in sera and oral fluids was compared with the ability to detect rubella virus RNA in oral fluids by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) by using paired samples taken within the first 4 days after rash onset from suspected rubella cases during an outbreak in Perú. Sera were tested for IgM by both indirect and capture enzyme immunoassays (EIAs), and oral fluids were tested for IgM by a capture EIA. Tests for IgM in serum were more sensitive for the confirmation of rubella than the test for IgM in oral fluid during the 4 days after rash onset. RT-PCR confirmed more suspected cases than serum IgM tests on days 1 and 2 after rash onset. The methods confirmed approximately the same number of cases on days 3 and 4 after rash onset. However, a few cases were detected by serum IgM tests but not by RT-PCR even on the day of rash onset. Nine RT-PCR-positive oral fluid specimens were shown to contain rubella virus sequences of genotype 1C. In summary, RT-PCR testing of oral fluid confirmed more rubella cases than IgM testing of either serum or oral fluid samples collected in the first 2 days after rash onset; the maximum number of confirmations of rubella cases was obtained by combining RT-PCR and serology testing.

Gene, 1992

A method for the oligodeoxyribonucleotide-directed mutagenesis of double-stranded DNA without the... more A method for the oligodeoxyribonucleotide-directed mutagenesis of double-stranded DNA without the necessity for phenotypic selection is described. Plasmids denatured with alkali and purified by adsorption to and elution from nitrocellulose have single-stranded regions where primers can hybridize and serve as templates for a T7 DNA polymerase-catalyzed synthesis of complementary mutant DNA strands. When this procedure was carried out such that the original nonmutant strand contained uracil [method of Kunkel, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82(1985)488-4921, mutation frequencies of between 3O"/b and 40% were obtained. The technique has been used to generate mutant genes in plasmids of a wide variety of sizes. The largest plasmid manipulated and successfully mutagenized was 22 kb. The method is rapid and efficient and is not dependent upon either fl phage vectors or the presence of restriction sites in the vicinity of the sequence targeted for mutation.

European Neuropsychopharmacology, 2010

Arquivos Brasileiros De Cardiologia, Sep 1, 2010

In Brazil, resolution 196/96 and its amendments regulate the preservation of rights, respect and ... more In Brazil, resolution 196/96 and its amendments regulate the preservation of rights, respect and dignity of human beings involved in research. To analyze the adequacy of Free Communications (FC) presented during the XVIII Congresso Pernambucano de Cardiologia to resolution 196/96. During a cross-sectional study, interviews were carried out with the authors of the FC presented at the Congress and the abstracts of the studies were assessed in order to identify the need for previous approval by a Research Ethics Committee (REC). A total of 90 FC were presented and, in most of them (86.8%), medical files were the most commonly used source of data. Only 23.1% of the FC were submitted to the assessment of a REC and 15.4% of them used a Free and Informed Consent Form (FICF). Among the authors whose studies were not assessed by a REC, 65.6% stated that this conduct was not necessary and 18% of them were unaware of the need to submit the study to such assessment. The written authorization given by the institution where the FC were carried out was not obtained in 56.6% of the studies. Most of the authors (80.0%) stated that they had never read Resolution 196/96. The proportion of FC submitted to a REC was significantly higher among authors that had read Resolution 196/96 (p = 0.005). The FC design influenced the non-submission of the studies to a REC (p < 0.001). Most of the FC that were authorized by the institution where they were carried out were submitted to a REC (p < 0.001). Most of the FC presented at the Congress did not follow the Brazilian regulations concerning the ethics in research.

J Physiol London, 2003

At synapses, ATP is released and metabolised through ecto-nucleotidases forming adenosine, which ... more At synapses, ATP is released and metabolised through ecto-nucleotidases forming adenosine, which modulates neurotransmitter release through inhibitory A 1 or facilitatory A 2A receptors, according to the amounts of extracellular adenosine. Neuromuscular junctions possess an ecto-AMP deaminase that can dissociate extracellular ATP catabolism from adenosine formation. In this study we have investigated the pattern of ATP release and its conversion into adenosine, to probe the role of ecto-AMP deaminase in controlling acetylcholine release from rat phrenic nerve terminals. Nerve-evoked ATP release was 28 ± 12 pmol (mg tissue) _1 at 1 Hz, 54 ± 3 pmol (mg tissue) _1 at 5 Hz and disproportionally higher at 50 Hz (324 ± 23 pmol (mg tissue) _1 ). Extracellular ATP (30 mM) was metabolised with a half time of 8 ± 2 min, being converted into ADP then into AMP. AMP was either dephosphorylated into adenosine by ecto-5‚-nucleotidase (inhibited by ATP and blocked by 200 mM a,b-methylene ADP) or deaminated into IMP by ecto-AMP deaminase (inhibited by 200 mM deoxycoformycin, which increased adenosine formation). Dephosphorylation and deamination pathways also catabolised endogenously released adenine nucleotides, since the nerveevoked extracellular AMP accumulation was increased by either a,b-methylene ADP (200 mM) or deoxycoformycin (200 mM). In the presence of nitrobenzylthioinosine (30 mM) to inhibit adenosine transport, deoxycoformycin (200 mM) facilitated nerve-evoked [ 3 H]acetylcholine release by 77 ± 9 %, an effect prevented by the A 2A receptor antagonist, ZM 241385 (10 nM). It is concluded that, while ecto-5‚-nucleotidase is inhibited by released ATP, ecto-AMP deaminase activity transiently blunts adenosine formation, which would otherwise reach levels high enough to activate facilitatory A 2A receptors on motor nerve terminals.