RESUMO
In primates, males compete for a mate, which is a non-sharable resource. This makes the conditions lessconducive for males to have stable relationships. One such special kind of relationship is a bond where theinteractions are reciprocated, equitable and differentiated. Bonds in macaque societies are based on the degreeof within-group contest competition for mates which is dependent on the synchronization of female fertilephase and reliability of fertility signals. Species of the Fascicularis group, including Nicobar subspecies, showintermediate reliability in the signals with mild peaks, and studies have shown reciprocity but no differentiation. We conducted a study on a group of wild Nicobar long-tailed macaques Macaca fascicularis umbrosusto understand the existing patterns of male-male relationships. We examined whether there is reciprocity inaffiliation among the individuals and whether the rate of affiliation is balanced. We also measured the dominance linearity and steepness in the group to understand the monopolizability of females. We used socialnetwork analysis to understand whether the relations are differentiated based on hierarchical position andwhether the high-ranking individuals are the most central individuals in the distribution of grooming in thegroup. We found that there is reciprocity among the males although that is not equitable. There was no rankrelated differentiation of affiliation among the males of the group. Instead, the identities of individualsinfluenced affiliation patterns. Our results correspond to the existent strong relationships but lack of social bondotherwise found in the Fascicularis group of macaques.
RESUMO
Background: Blood component therapy is a rational replacement therapy of proven clinical value and efficacy, but it is a double-edged sword as it is associated with many hazards of transfusion reaction. Because of ease of availability and gap in the knowledge of medical professional's blood products are being used very liberally leading to huge mismatch in the demand and supply of life saving blood product.Methods: Prospective cross-sectional observational study was done over a period of 1 year in a tertiary hospital, in western part of India. 225 events of blood component therapy were studied in neonates (<1month) and pediatric (1month-16years) age groups. Indications and reactions to blood components therapy were studied in both the groups. Each component therapy was considered as one event and its indication was compared with standard guidelines for terming it as appropriate or inappropriate.Results: Out of total 225 events of transfusions, most commonly used was PRBC (48.9%) followed by FFP (24.9%), platelet (16.0%), IVIG (9.8%) and whole blood (0.4%).' Authors found that overall 17.3% of the component therapy' were inappropriate( neonates 10.2%' and 7.1% in the rest). Most commonly misused blood product was FFP (37.5%) followed by IVIG (22.7%), platelets (16.7%) and PRBC (6.4%).Conclusions: Regular audit of blood and its component usage is essential to assess the blood utilization pattern and set ideal policies in all the medical specialties to make it appropriate, ensure availability and save patients from its hazards.
RESUMO
Proteins belonging to the NFAT (nuclear factor of activated T cells) family of transcription factors are expressed in most immune cell types, and play a central role in the transcription of cytokine genes, such as IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and GM-CSF. The activity of NFAT proteins is regulated by the calcium/calmodulin-dependent phosphotase calcinerium, a target for inhibition by CsA and FK506. Recently, two different groups have described that mice lacking the NFAT1 transcription factor show an enhanced immune reponse, with tendency towards the development of a late Th-like response. This review evaluates the possible role of NFAT proteins in the Th immune response and in the eosinophil-mediated allergic response.