Surto de varíola bovina causada pelo vírus Vaccinia na região da Zona da Mata Mineira / Outbreak of exantemal disease caused by Vaccinia virus in human and cattle in Zona da Mata region, Minas Gerais

Relata-se um surto de doença exantemática, caracterizada como varíola bovina, acometendo bovinos e seres humanos na Zona da Mata Mineira. Setenta e duas propriedades, distribuídas em 20 municípios localizados na região, foram visitadas para se levantar os aspectos clínicos e epidemiológicos da doença. Detectaram-se 1020 vacas doentes durante a investigação, quando houve queda na produção do leite associada a infecções bacterianas secundárias. Casos humanos foram registrados em 83 por cento das propriedades visitadas. Espécimes clínicos e amostras de soro foram coletados dos animais doentes ou convalescentes. O diagnóstico de laboratório mostrou o envolvimento de um ortopoxvírus, precisamente o Vaccinia virus como agente etiológico do surto.

The use and misuse of the "impact factor" as a parameter for evaluation of scientific publication quality: a proposal to rationalize its application

We present a critical analysis of the generalized use of the "impact factor". By means of the Kruskal-Wallis test, it was shown that it is not possible to compare distinct disciplines using the impact factor without adjustments. After assigning the median journal the value of one (1.000), the impact factor value for each journal was calculated by the rule of three. The adjusted values were homogeneous, thus permitting comparison among distinct disciplines.

Surto de varíola murina em camundongos suíços em biotério - Relato de caso / An outbreak of mousepox in swiss mice in a laboratory animal facility - Case report

Duzentos camundongos suíços foram alojados em um biotério com instalaçöes e condiçöes de manejo adequadas para uma criaçäo de animais convencionais sadios. Após 14 dias de alojamento, dois animais tiveram morte súbita, e em 74 animais (37 por cento) foram observados sintomas clínicos como edema da face e das patas. Uma semana após foram observadas lesöes generalizadas na pele ou somente no dorso, na face, no focinho e nas patas, nódulos na cauda, e em cinco animais conjuntivite. A necropsia de 10 camundongos indicou alteraçöes como hepatomegalia, esplenomegalia e hiperplasia dos gânglios. Amostras do fígado, baço e de lesöes da cauda foram inoculadas em membrana corioalantóide (MCA) de ovos embrionados de galinha. Após 72 horas foram detectadas lesöes necróticas típicas denominadas "pocks". As MCAs foram maceradas e inoculadas em culturas de células Vero e detectado efeito citopático após 72 horas. O diagnóstico da varíola murina foi baseado nos sinais clínicos, lesöes, cultivo e na identificaçäo do vírus

Distinct antigenic subtypes of human beta-interferon can be distinguished by neutralization

Different molecular configurations of human beta interferon were titrated with the standard reference antiserum of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) which had been prepared with natural beta fibroblast interferon in order to determine to what extent differences in these configurations would influence the neutralization of the antiviral action of interferon. Neutralization tests were carried out in Vero cells by diluting both interferon and antiserum. Encephalomyocarditis virus was employed as challenge virus. The neutralization titer was considered to have been reached when the effect of eight units of interferon was reduced to one. Two natural beta interferons prepared from fibroblasts and from amniotic membranes gave similar high titers. However, titers were reduced five-fold with recombinant interferons expressed in Escherichia coli, which do not contain carbohydrate, one with the natural sequence and a mutant with a single amino acid substitution (cysteine for serine). The NIH antiserum did not neutralize the effect of a protein fraction from amniotic membranes antigenically different from the human alpha, beta, or gamma interferons but having the biological activity of interferon. We conclude that the carbohydrate moieties of human beta interferons are essential for their recognition by the NIH antiserum and that antibodies specific for human recombinant beta interferon, which does not contain carbohydrate, are needed.

Partial characterization of human amniotic membrane interferon

The molecular weight and the electrofocusing profile of human amniotic membrane interferon (IFN-AM) were determined. When submitted to gel filtration, IFN-AM showed a single 26-28 kDa component; in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis one component of 19,500. In electrofocusing, IFN-AM displayed a terogeneity was reduced by previous treatment of IFN-AM with neuraminidase. IFN-AMis a siaglycoprotein similarto human beta IFN in terms of antigenicity but different from it in electrofocusing profile