Avaliação fisiológica e comportamental de cães utilizados em terapia assistida por animais (TAA) / Phyisiological and behavioral assessment in dogs used in Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)

Realizou-se a observação comportamental de nove cães terapeutas (oito da raça Labrador Retriever e um Golden Retriever), dosaram-se cortisol sérico e salivar, aferiram-se a temperatura retal, a pressão arterial sistólica e as frequências cardíaca e respiratória nos seguintes momentos: M0 (média de três avaliações do cão em repouso) e em M1, M2 e M3 (imediatamente antes, imediatamente após e decorridas 24h das atividades de terapia assistida por animais - TAA), respectivamente. Não houve diferença significativa quanto às características estudadas (P>0,05), exceto pela temperatura, que foi mais elevada em M1 e M2 do que em M0 (P=0,009). A avaliação comportamental, realizada de maneira descritiva, não apresentou alteração negativa. Houve diferença significativa quanto à concentração de cortisol sérico entre os momentos M1 e M3 (P=0,071), e não ocorreu diferença da concentração do cortisol salivar entre os quatro momentos (P=0,746). As alterações observadas foram atribuídas à contenção e à manipulação dos animais e não desencadearam desconforto físico ou estresse dignos de nota em cães.

Behavioral observation of nine therapist dogs (eight Labrador Retrievers and one Golden Retriever) was performed and serum and salivar cortisol dosage, rectal temperature, systolic blood pressure and heart and respiratory rates were measured and evaluated at the following moments: M0 (average of three evaluations of the dog at rest) and M1, M2 e M3 (immediately before, at the end and 24 hours after the AAT activities, respectively). There was no significant difference in the parameters between the moments (P>0.05) except for temperature, which was higher in M1 and M2 than M0 (P=0.009). The behavioral assessment was conducted in a descriptive way and didn't present a negative effect. There was significant difference when comparing the serum cortisol levels between M1 and M3 (P=0.0712). There wasn't asignificant difference in salivary cortisol levels when comparing the values of the four moments (P=0.7458). The observed alterations are probably related to the containment and handling of animals, demonstrating that the therapy doesn't have a negative effect on dogs.

Estudos cromossômicos em indivíduos portadores de retardo mental e atraso psicomotor / Chromosomal investigation in mentally handicapped and psychomotor retardation patients

O retardo mental é uma característica comum aos pacientes que buscam o Serviço de Genética Médica, apresentando heterogeneidade clínica e etiológica. Neste trabalho, estudos cromossômicos foram realizados em 30 indivíduos portadores de retardo mental e atraso psicomotor. Verificamos que 40 por cento dos indivíduos investigados apresentaram anomalias cromossômicas. Nos demais casos (60 por cento) o cariótipo foi normal. Este estudo reforça a importância da investigaçåo citogenética em indivíduos portadores de retardo mental e atraso psicomotor rastreando aberraçöes cromosssômicas numéricas ou estruturais e auxiliando no diagnóstico, prognóstico e aconselhamento gewnético das famílias

An in vitro model to study the effect of antibodies and cell receptor analogues on meningococcal adhrence to human oroepithelial cells

We have investigated different experimental schedules to achieve adherence of Neisseria meningitidis group B to cultured and buccal epithelial cells (BEC) and the effect of antibodies and receptor analogues on bacterial adherence. No adherence of meningococcus was observed when HeLa, HEp-2 or KB cells were used, but high rates of adherence to BEC occurred. The effect of antibodies on bacterial adherence was studied in assays carried out in the presence of saliva and serum collected from convalescing children with meningococcal meningitis and children vaccinated with VAMENGOC B-C. Both saliva and serum from the convalescent patients inhibited the adherence of meningococci, but saliva and serum from vaccinated children did not, corroborating our previous data of a poor antibody response induced by this vaccine. Human colostrum did not affect meningococcal adherence despite the presence of antibodies to N. meningitidis detected by ELISA. Inhibition of adherence by sera from an immunized horse, rabbits and mice, as well as by cell receptor analogues (outer-membrane complex and purified polysaccharide C), was observed. Our results show that up to now BEC continue to be the best cells to study meningococcal adherence and the effect of adherence inhibitors.

Inhibition of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli adhesion to HeLa cells by serum of infants with diarrhea and by cord serum

We have studied the effect of serum from infants with diarrhea and of cord serum on the localized adherence of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) to HeLa cells. Serum samples from 16 infants with diarrhea due to EPEC of serotypes O55:H6, O111: H-, O111:H2, O119:H6 and O142:H6 were used. The adherence ability of EPEC strains belonging to serotypes identical to (homologous) or different from (heterologous) those isolated from the infants' feces was highly inhibited by samples of infant serum collected both during the acute phase of the illness and upon discharge from the hospital. These data confirm the development of antibodies against EPEC adhesins and the cross-reaction between different EPEC serotypes. Cord serum inhibited the localized adherence of EPEC strains at different levels according to the serotype of the strain studied. These results suggest that the placental transfer of adhesin-related antibodies does not protect the newborn against EPEC infections, since half of our patients were less than 30 days old

Inhibition of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli adherence to Hela cells by immune rabbit sera

We have studied the effect of immune rabbit sera on the localized (LA) and diffuse (DA) adherence to Hela cells of 10 enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) strains belonging to serogroups 055, 086, 0111, 0119, and 0142. Anti-La1 serum, obtained by rabbit immunization with an E. coli strain harboring a cloned DNA fragment from an EPEC LA plasmid, strongly inhibited the adherence of all serogroups but one (0142). Similar results were obtained with anti-LA2 serum, which is anti-0111 serum absorbed with a non-adherence 0111:H-EPEC strain. In contrast, non-absorbed anti-055 and anti-0111 sera showed an inhibitory effect mainly on the adherence of homologous strains. Except for one experiment diffuse adherence was not inhibited by any antiserum used. The inhibitory effect of immune sera on localized adhere3nce does not seem to be correlated with plasmid curing sinceadherence plasmid pMS49 proved to be stable a after treatment with anti-055 and anti-0111 sera. The cross-inhibition of adherence by anti-LA sera suggests that localized adherence-related adhesions of the 0.55, 0.86, 0111, and 0119 strains share similar antigens

Stability and expression of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli adherence plasmid pMS49 in the presence of human colostrum

Adhesion of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) to HeLa cells is inhibited by human colostrum. In the present study we investigated the effect of colostrum on the stability of pMS49, an EPEC adherence plasmid coding for localized adhesion and ampicillin (Ap) resistance. The plasmid was highly stable after serial passage of bacterial cultures in Tryptic Soy Broth containing 67%, 50%, 10% (v/v) or no human colostrum. A few variants (0.4%) with a low adherence were observed regardless of the treatment given. Human colostrum did not enhance their emergence. No bactericidal or bacteriostatic effect of colostrum was observed under the experimental conditions used. A specific process regulating plasmid expression is supposed to occur in EPRC strains, giving rise to variants with a lower concentration of the outher-membrane adherence-related protein and consequently lower adherence ability. This process seems to also occur for Ap-resistance genes coded in the same plasmid