Unconventional strategies for the suppression of allergic asthma

Allergic asthma results from an intrapulmonary allergen-driven Th2 response and is characterized by intermittent airway obstruction, airway hyperreactivity, and airway inflammation. An inverse association between allergic asthma and microbial infections has been observed. And this observation constitutes the base of the hygiene hypothesis. Here we discuss the hygiene hypothesis with emphasis on regulatory cells. We review the evidence for the emergence of regulatory cells, such as CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells during infection or during induction of tolerance by mucosal antigen administration. The review focuses also on the emergence of activated CD8(+) T cells and macrophages, induced by infections or microbial products, which also can result in the suppression of asthma. The underlying mechanisms by which regulatory immune cells suppress asthma may represent novel unconventional strategies controlling asthma.     

Boutonneuse fever in Portugal: 1995-2000. Data of a state laboratory

From 1995 through 2000, 3239 clinical samples were tested for rickettsiosis at the Center for Vectors and Infectious Diseases Research – National Health Institute in Portugal. Boutonneuse fever due to R. conorii Malish or R. conorii Israel was laboratory confirmed in 374 samples (11.5%). Clinical and epidemiological features are discussed.     

Control of lead emissions from a battery repair shop in the city of Rio de Janeiro using the air as indicator

Lead levels in the air surrounding a battery repair shop (BRS) located in the Olaria neighborhood (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) were monitored from April to July 1999. Most of the samples collected within 25 meters of the BRS exceeded the limit of 1.5 micro g.Pb.m-3 established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These results were published in a previous article (Quiterio et al., 2001). In the current study, installation of a Venture ventilation system and some changes in the operational procedure were proposed. After the modifications in the BRS, a new monitoring campaign was performed (August and September, 2000). Three points were selected for air collection, corresponding to the most critical points found in the previous assessments. The new concentrations ranged from 0.8 to 17.6 micro g.Pb.m-3, showing that lead emissions into the environment had decreased adequately. However, concentration at the chimney exhaust was still higher than EPA limits, and further improvements in the installations and procedures are definitely needed.     

Oral health of schoolchildren residing in areas with or without water fluoridation in Sorocaba,São Paulo State,Brazil

This study describes dental caries data and fluorosis in seven municipalities in the Sorocaba region, S o Paulo State, Brazil, comparing those with fluoridated as opposed to non-fluoridated water. Criteria were those proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO, 1997), adapted by the School of Public Health, University of S o Paulo. The sample was selected at random, without replacement, and was calculated by age, accepting a design error of 2 and a sampling loss of 20% (n = 96 per age). There were six trained examiners, with accepted agreement percentage above 89% for all variables. In the Sorocaba region, the dmft index in 5 year-old children was 3.1, and 37.6% were caries-free (DMFT = 0). At age 12, 32.3% were caries-free (DMFT = 0), and the DMFT index in the region was 2.6, thus characterizing the area as having a low prevalence of caries. In areas with fluoridated water, the proportion of caries-free children at 12 years was higher than in those without fluoridated water (p = 0.019), and the DMFT was lower (p = 0.001). Prevalence of fluorosis at age 12 was 12.7% in the Sorocaba area and did not pose a public health problem according to the community fluorosis index (CFI).     

Approach to the elderly in family health programs

This article discusses the role of the Brazilian National Policy for Senior Citizens' Health in the promotion of healthy aging, preservation and improvement of functional capacity in the elderly, disease prevention, recovery of those who fall ill, and rehabilitation of those with limited functional capacity, will the goal of ensuring that senior citizens can remain in their surroundings and independently exercise their functions in society. Care for the elderly should be based primarily on the family, with support from primary health care services, under the family health strategy, representing a link between the elderly and the health system. The article goes on to list some health problems among the elderly in which family health programs can have a major impact. The Family Health Strategy in Brazil is analyzed in relation to health care for the elderly, along with the responsibilities, skills, and attributions required by the health care team.     

Do risk factors for childhood infections and malnutrition protect against asthma? A study of Brazilian male adolescents

OBJECTIVES: We studied the association between early life conditions and asthma in adolescence. METHODS: We conducted a population-based birth cohort study involving 2250 male 18-year-olds residing in Brazil. RESULTS: Approximately 18% of the adolescents reported having asthma. Several childhood factors were found to be significantly associated with increased asthma risk: being of high socioeconomic status, living in an uncrowded household, and children being breastfed for 9 months or longer. CONCLUSIONS: The present results are consistent with the "hygiene hypothesis," according to which early exposure to infections provides protection against asthma. The policy implications of our findings are unclear given that risk factors for asthma protect against serious childhood diseases in developing countries.     

Study of the microencapsulation of camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia) juice

The camu-camu, like many other Amazonian fruits, shows an excellent potential for use due to its high vitamin C content, and the use of these natural resources could result in greater development of the Amazonian region. Few studies have been conducted with this fruit, and such studies are necessary in order to develop the required technology to allow for its utilization, thus avoiding or at least decreasing wastage of such a rich raw material. The principle objective of this study was to develop a process for the microencapsulation of camu-camu juice, optimizing the operational conditions. The processing conditions consisted of blanching at a temperature of 95 +/- 2 degrees C for 2 min, followed by cooling in an ice bath and juice extraction using a brush type depulper. The juice was dried with gum arabic or malt dextrin in a mini-spray dryer using an air entry temperature of between 100-160 degrees C and wall material concentration varying between 5-35%, in accordance with a factorial experimental design. Both the air entry temperature and the amount of wall material, plus the interaction between the two, gave significant positive effects at the level of 5% probability on the yield of juice powder. The optimum conditions for juice yield and vitamin C retention were established as 15% wall material and an air entry temperature of 150 degrees C.     

Form and Function: A Neuronal Dialog

The emergence of functional maturity in the brain relies upon the interplay between form and function during its developmental history. This interaction continues throughout life and changes in neuronal function lead to changes in diverse structural scales in the brain. Both regulatory genes, which define compartments in the nervous system, and activity-dependent processes cooperate to determine neuronal phenotype and tissue structure. The influence of electrical activity as a regulator of early developmental events such as proliferation and migration is being considered. Spontaneous neuronal activity may influence early axonal and dendritic arbor formation and activity blockade alters branch density both for axon arbors and dendrites. Although large-scale changes in axon morphology may occur until late stages of development, the remodeling of axon and dendrite morphology in terms of their terminal arborization area is less pronounced than initially thought. Electrical (or neural) activity is important for synapse stabilization and circuit formation and sensory experience performs a refinement of neuronal shape. This fine-tuning appears to be a dynamical process sustained into adulthood, with smaller scale changes occurring mainly at the dendritic spine level. These subcellular compartments are now believed to restrict biochemical changes in dendrites to particular synapses during (or undergoing) synaptic plasticity. Events at dendritic spines underlie alterations in the morphology of individual neurons that will ultimately affect the function of complex neuronal networks.     

Physical activity and risk of renal cell carcinoma

The role of physical activity in the development of renal cell carcinoma was examined using a population-based case-control study conducted in the province of Ontario. Physical activity was examined in several ways, including by intensity and during various life periods. Frequency-matching by 5-year age groups and sex produced sets of 486 females (133 cases and 353 controls) and 447 males (172 cases, 275 controls). Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). After adjusting for age, body mass index and smoking, women who performed relatively high amounts of recent recreational activity (OR = 0.41, 95% CI 0.21-0.82 for the highest vs. lowest quartile of activity, 2 years ago), as well as strenuous recreational activity (OR = 0.40, 95% CI 0.22-0.75), had a reduced risk of developing the disease. In general, moderate recreational activity did not appear to be associated with risk in females. In males, a relatively high frequency of total and moderate recreational activity was associated with reduced risk (total, OR = 0.49, 95% CI 0.27-0.87; moderate, OR = 0.49, 95% CI 0.27-0.89), especially during the teen years. Recreational activity during one's 30s was not associated with cancer risk. There was also no association between occupational activity and cancer risk in females or males. The results of our study, in general, suggest that physical activity may be associated with a decreased risk of developing renal cell carcinoma.