Repositório RCAAP

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is detached as an important pathogen of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in children, mainly in the first year of life. This study had as purposes: to determine the prevalence of RSV in cases of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in children served in Albert Sabin Children Hospital, in Fortaleza – CE, over the period of January 2001 to July 2004; describe the seasonality pattern of RSV circulation along the study period; observe characteristics clinical-epidemiological of these infections; characterize antigenically the circulating RSV in the epidemic period from 2003 to 2004 and determine the isolation rate of RSV in HEp-2 cells culture from samples collected in 2002, 2003, and 2004 and stored at –20ºC. Aspirated from nasopharynx were collected from children with up to seven days from the beginning of ARIs symptoms and submitted to the reaction of indirect immunofluorescence (IIF). Samples collected in 2002, 2003, and 2004, and stored at –20ºC, were inoculated in monolayers of HEp-2 cells. During the 43 months of study, RSV was identified in 21.0% (409/1950) of the clinical specimens collected. Virus circulation was initially observed during the months of January or February and the last cases were recorded in July or August of each year of study. The peak of these infections was observed from March to July, associated with the rainy season of the city. The infections caused by RSV were more frequent in male children and those with up to two years of age. Bronchiolitis and pneumonia were the clinical syndromes more associated with the virus. Dyspnea, throat pain, coryza, sneezes and cyanosis were the significant clinical signs and symptoms in ARIs caused by RSV. About 9.5 % (39/409) of the infected children presented problems associated, such as prematurity, heart diseases and congenital pulmonary diseases. Among the risk factors associated with these infections, was pointed out the exposure to ARIs in the domicile. Strains of RSV A and B co-circulated during the epidemical periods analyzed, without a significant predominance of any antigenical group. About 29.8 % (122/409) of the positive samples for RSV, stored at –20ºC, were inoculated in monolayers of HEp-2 cells. The isolation percentage varied from 0.0 %, in samples collected in 2002, to 36.8 %, in 2004. Our results confirm the importance of the RSV as etiological agent of ARIs, especially LRTI, in young children. The occurrence of RSV in the city of Fortaleza showed a regular seasonal pattern associated with the rains. The conservation of samples at –20ºC did not make impossible the isolation in cells culture up to one year after freezing.

Gastric cancer is the most deadly malignant neoplasia worldwide, with high incidence in Brazil and Helicobacter pylori infection is a well-established risk factor. Depending on the presence of virulence genes such as cagA, cagE, vacA and virB11, H. pylori can cause differentiated inflammatory responses, with large amounts of nitric oxide (NO) generated primarily by iNOS. High amount of NO resulting in accumulation of reactive oxygen species can cause DNA oxidative damage. The genomic integrity is guaranteed by important repair enzymes as: APE-1, OGG-1 and PARP-1. Genetic polymorphisms that modify the activity of these enzymes may influence the ability to repair and therefore the host susceptibility to the development of gastric cancer H.pylori associated. Therefore, the goal of this study was to evaluate the association of the C150T polymorphism in iNOS, T2197G in APE-1, C1245G in OGG -1 and A40676G in PARP-1 with H.pylori genotype in 109 cases of patients with gastric adenocarcinoma from hospitals in Fortaleza, Ceará. The identification of polymorphisms was performed by PCR-RFLP and the detection and genotyping of H.pylori were performed by PCR. The studied polymorphisms showed the following frequencies: iNOS 78% CC, 21.1% CT and 0.9% TT; PARP-1 69.7% AA 26.6% AG and 3.7% GG to OGG -1 56% CC, 39.4% CG and 4.6% GG and APE-1 38.5% TT, 47.7% TG and 13.8% GG. Valuable to note the low frequency of the homozygous polymorphic (TT) of iNOS and the high frequency of heterozygous (TG) from APE-1. The variant alleles of iNOS and PARP-1 were correlated with subjects ≤ 55 years, suggesting that these polymorphisms were associated with early development of the neoplasia. Intestinal tumors located in the non-antrum were correlated with heterozygous genotype of OGG-1 (CG), while diffuse, located on the body with the AA genotype of PARP-1. H. pylori was detected in 92.6% of cases. The genes cagA, cagE and virB11 were detected in 65.3%, 50.4% and 60.3% of cases respectively and vacAs1m1 was detected in 72.2%. The cases were also grouped considering the alleles of vacA and the integrity of the cag-pathogenicity island. Thus, the groups A1 and A2, consist of more pathogenic strains, were observed in 33.6% and 13.8% of patients, respectively. In the individual analysis of each enzyme, we observed that individuals carrying the variant alleles of APE-1 (TG+GG) were infected with low pathogenic strains (p=0.0422). These low pathogenic strains were also associated with patients carrying the wild genotype (AA) of PARP-1 (p=0.0396). These data were confirmed when patients infected with more virulent strains were compared to those infected with less virulent strains (p = 0.046). Analyzing only the group A1, it was also observed a correlation of APE-1 (TG) with OGG-1 (CC). When genotypes were combined by considering only the repair enzymes studied or two by two, it was found that most patients infected with the wild-type of PARP-1 were carriers of the variant allele for at least one of the enzymes and that most patients infected with less pathogenic strains possess a polymorphic allele of APE-1, independent of the genotype associated with the repair enzyme. Taken together, these data indicate the relevance of the APE-1 polymorphism in the development of gastric cancer in individuals infected with less virulent strains and corroborate the importance of the bacterial genotype, since; in general, individuals with wild-type for enzymes repair studied developed gastric cancer when infected with virulent strains.

Adenoviruses (Ad) are important etiological agents of acute respiratory infections (ARI) in children, particularly between six months and five years old. This was a retrospective study, whose objectives were: to perform clinical and epidemiologic profile of adenoviral respiratory infections in children attended in Hospital Infantil Albert Sabin, in the city of Fortaleza, from January 2001 to December 2006; to observe the detection frequency of Ad in cases of ARI in children attended in that hospital; to describe the main clinical features of adenoviral respiratory infections; to search for the existence of a seasonal pattern of adenoviral infections in the city of Fortaleza; to determine the isolation rate of Ad in HEp-2 cell lines inoculated with samples of nasopharyngeal secretions (NPS) considered positive to Ad by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF); and to create a collection of Ad strains for future studies on antigenic and genomic diversity of these agents. NPS samples of 3,070 children with ARI up to seven days of the onset of symptoms were collected. IIF was applied to all of the samples, and among them, 54 were positive to Ad. Forty one of those positive samples were inoculated into HEp-2 cells, resulting in 32 viral isolations. Other 103 randomly choosen negative samples were also inoculated, resulting in more three isolations, reaching the number of 57 confirmed cases of Ad infections. The detection frequency of Ad was 1.86% of total number of cases of ARI and 6.1% of cases of viral ARI. It was not observed any seasonal pattern or correlation to rainy or dry season. Most cases of adenoviral ARI occurred in children aged seven to 24 months, representing 63.15% of cases. Ad ARI was observed mainly in children attended in the out-patient facility (50.88%), and the predominant diagnosis was upper respiratory tract infection (70.18%). The main clinical features in Ad patients were fever, cough, rhinorrhea, anorexia, vomiting or diarrhea, nasal obstruction, and dyspnea. The main therapeutic management for Ad patients was use of nebulization (about 42% of patients)

Analise o mercado de microcrédito sob o foco da demanda. Busca identificar a forma de atuação dos pequenos empresários e sua rotatividade no mercado. Sobre a decisão de ingressar neste mercado, há o contraponto entre as características pessoais do tomador em avaliar suas necessidades empresariais e as condições das agências fornecedoras de microcrédito. Foram elaborados modelos que atendessem a tríplice condição de um microempresário vir a ser, ser ou deixar de ser um usuário de microcrédito. Para tanto, foram desenvolvidos, inicialmente, dois modelos de escolha discreta multinomiais que contemplassem e mensurassem os fatores determinantes na decisão do tomador em ser usuário de microcrédito, dadas as suas características pessoais em face das condições do micronegócio. O terceiro modelo, de escolha discreta binária, objetivou estimar a chance de o tomador deixar de ser usuário de microcrédito levando-se em conta a oferta e o desempenho do próprio micronegócio. Os resultados obtidos a partir de dados primários e secundários permitiram concluir de uma forma geral que os pequenos empresários procuram manter-se no mercado buscando expandir seus negócios, tendo o microcrédito como um dos instrumentos iniciais para este fim.

SILVA, Jéssica Soares. Entre toadas, leis e cachês: as práticas das bandas cabaçais do Cariri cearense e as ressignificações do conceito de culturas populares. 2011. 96f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Sociologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Ciências Sociais, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Sociologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2011.

Chronic hepatitis C has been associated with non-organ-specific autoantibodies (NOSA) production. Despite of increasing number of researches about this subject, there is no agreement among the authors of which autoantibodies are produced during combinated therapy of interferon and ribavirin or the clinical relevance of NOSA in patient’s organism. Our aim was to evaluate the profile of NOSA in patients with chronic hepatitis C who attended to Walter Cantídio Hospital (HUWC) and received combinated antiviral therapy (interferon-ribavirin). A total of 34 patients with hepatitis C were studied. Anti-nuclear antibody (ANA), anti-smooth muscle antibody (SMA), anti-liver/kidney microsomal antibody type 1 (LKM-1) and anti-mitochondrial antibody (AMA) were detected by indirect immunofluorescence. The presence of NOSA was related to clinical and epidemiological variables and to the outcome of antiviral combination therapy with interferon-alfa and ribavirin. Patients were classified as nonresponders, relapsers or long-term responders depending on the outcome of treatment. In our study, before therapy, 23 patients were NOSA positive (SMA was detected in 6 patients, SMA and AMA in 10 and SMA, AMA and ANA in 7). On the 24th week of treatment, 24 patientes were NOSA positive (SMA was detected in 4 patients, SMA and AMA in 10, ANA and SMA in 1, ANA and AMA in 1 and SMA, AMA and ANA in 8). NOSA behavior did not show significant variation during treatment. The overall rate of long-term response was 26,5% (9/34). Long-term response occurred in 17,4% (4/23) of NOSA positive patients and 45,5% (5/11) of NOSA negative patients. Positivity of autoantibodies was not associated with gender, age, viral genotype or aminotransferase levels. In conclusion, ANA was the only NOSA associated with treatment outcome. The absence of NOSA might indicate a significantly higher chance for viral clearance in response to combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C infection.

The genus Malassezia enclose lipophylic and lipid-dependent yeast that after many changes in its taxonomic classification, comprises in the atuality 13 species, including M. pachydermatis, M. furfur, M. sympodialis, M. globosa, M. obtusa, M. restricta, M. slooffiae, M. dermatis, M. japonica, M. yamatoensis, M. nana, M. equine, and M. caprae. These yeasts are associated to several diseases including, such as pityriasis versicolor, or dermatoses, seborrheic dermatitis and atopic dermatitis, among others. The general aim of this study was to contribute to better knowledgement about the phenotypical identification, storage in fungal collection and in vitro antifungal susceptibility of Malassezia spp. The phenotiping was based on macro and micromorphologics characteristics, as well as biochemistry and nutritional analisys. Twenteen strains suffers storage at -80ºC in vegetables oils. The microdilution technique was accomplished in RPMI 1640 broth, supplemented with ox bile, Tween 20 and glycerol, being complemented with subculture on Dixon agar, for determination of the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal fungicidal concentration (CFM). The drugs tested were ketoconazole (KET), itraconazole (ITR), fluconazole (FLC), amphotericin B (AMB) and caspofungine (CAS). With the conventional phenotypical analysis of the strains (n=38), could suggest the presence of the M. furfur/ M. dermatis (n=17), M. sympodialis (n=8), M. slooffiae (n=5) and M. pachydermatis (n=8). The stored accomplished in vegetable oils at -80ºC showed meaningful rate of recorver, but physiologic characteristics was modified, such as _-glicosidase activity and Chremophor EL assimilation. Most of the strains (84,21%) was sensitive for KET and ITR, obtaining values of MIC 0.03μg/mL. For FLC the MIC range was 4 to 64μg/mL, against VOR the strains of M. pachydermatis obtained MIC range <0,03 a 2μg/mL, therefore the lipid-dependents strains of Malassezia spp. obtained dispersive results from <0.03 to >16μg/mL. Against ANB, the MIC range was 1 to >16μg/mL. It was not possible determinate the MIC and MFC values for caspofungine. The extracts from avocado seeds were active against strains of M. pachydermatis.

The human metapneumovírus (hMPV) is a newly discovered virus that has been considered as one of the most common agents of acute respiratory infections (ARI) virus in childhood. The objectives of this study were: 1) to observe the frequency of infections caused by hMPV among children attending Hospital Infantil Albert Sabin, a major pediatric hospital in Ceará, from January 2006 to December 2007; 2) to describe aspects of seasonality of these infections relating them to the occurrence of rain and the circulation of other respiratory viruses, 3) to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients infected by hMPV, compared with positive and negative patients for other viruses; 4) to evaluate the IFI assay as a method of diagnosis for the detection of hMPV. Nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from children with symptoms of ARI and submitted to indirect immunofluorescence assays for the detection of the following respiratory viruses: hMPV, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza A and B, adenovirus and parainfluenza 1, 2 and 3. During the 24 months of study, samples were collected from 1276 and respiratory viruses were demonstrated in 380 (29.78%) samples. The hMPV was the second most frequently detected respiratory viruses representing a total of 8.69% of all samples and 29% among the samples positive for the virus analyzed. It was not observed for hMPV a pattern of seasonality or correlation with the rainy season. Most patients positive for hMPV were attended in the emergence (89.2%). The mean age of patients infected by hMPV was 27 months, wich is significantly older than that for VSR (15 months), adenovirus (14 months) and parainfluenza virus 3 (18 months). Among patients infected by hMPV, 53.2% had a diagnosis of infections of the upper airways and 46.7% had a diagnosis of infections of the lower airways. The hMPV infections showed the same spectrum of infections caused by other viruses analyzed. The hMPV associated to more cases of pneumonia that led to the hospitalization of children infected than other viruses analyzed. More than half of these patients used the aerosol / salbutamol as conduct therapy (68.5%). The IFI assay proved to be quite effective as a method of diagnosis for the detection of hMPV in this study

The contemporary world of work is permeated by a backdrop of profound transformations, exemplified by the change in labor relations, increasingly dynamic and competitive, labor market, which spread into the outsourcing, subcontracting, and modes of organization and production, predominantly centered in the capital. Among the coping strategies of the models of precarious employment and alternative income generation, draws attention to the proliferation of solidarity organizations, which are based on values very different from those most widely used in today\'s society, such as cooperation, mutual aid, democratic decision-making. This specificity motivated this research, which aimed to understand the general meanings attributed to work by members of enterprises based on the principles of Solidarity Economy. The research was conducted from the standpoint of the workers associated themselves and had the theoretical ideas presented by authors such as Antunes (2000), Castel (2005), Singer (2002) and Vygotsky (2001). The methodology for achieving goals followed the referential quality and data collection was conducted through individual interviews. The discursive material collected, in turn, was analyzed based on Content Analysis proposed by Bardin (1977). The data analyzed showed that inserting these projects brings a positive impact on the meanings attributed to work, while remaining references to the notion of working with a formal contract as a guarantee of rights and labor protections.

Otitis results from auricular inflammation and represents 8-15% of all cases received in the veterinarian practices. This study was done to outline and compare the isolation profile in external and middle ears from dogs with otitis. Between August/2003 and March/2004, 64 dogs with both otitis externa and media and 50 dogs with bilateral otitis externa were studied. Fifty dogs with healthy ears were used as control group. The collection was done ate the Zoonosis Control Center in Fortaleza-CE and the microbiological analysis at the Microbiological Center - Department of Pathology and Legal Medicine-UFC. Samples from the external ears were collected with sterile swabs and the ones from the middle ears by osteotomy of the tympanic bulla. The microrganisms were cultured and identified according to methods previously described and susceptibility tested by agar diffusion method (NCCLS). In otitic dogs the most frequent alterations were: lesions of the pinna (72%), local pain (12%) and alteration of the pinna position (12%). Sixty-two per cent of the dogs showed entire tympanic membrane with some structural alteration. Microbiogical growth was seen in 48% of the samples fromdogss with otitis media, and the most frequent isolates were: Estafilococos positive-coagulase (62.5%), non-fermentative Gram-negative (10%), Enterobacteriaceae (5%) and Candida albicans (5%). It was observed that there was an increased number and variety of species isolated in external ears comparaed to middle ears. In samples from external ears, the following predominated: Bacillus sp. (27.1%), M. pachydermatis (23.4%) e S. intermedius (21.8%). The most frequent species isolated in dogs with bilateral otitis externa were: Bacillus sp. (27.9% e 31%), M. pachydermatis (25.9% e 24%), S. intermedius (23.8% e 24.6%) e Enterobactérias (6% e 6.1%). There was a significative difference (p<0.0001) in the way the isolates were associated, which showed the individuality from each ear in bilateral otitis externa. In this study, no anaerobic microrganisms were isolated. S. intermedius strains (n=83) showed intermediate resistance to most of the cntimicrobials tested and high resistance to penicillin (36.1%), ampicillin (27.7%), tetracyclin (27.7%), erythromycin (14.5%) and clindamycin (12.0%). These results describe tha variety of bacterial and fungal isolates associated with canine otitis and reveal the need to adopt systematic procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of dogs with otitis.

ARAÚJO, Claúdio Romero Pereira de. Teoria vygotskiana e educação: o que falam desta relação os docentes das universidades de Fortaleza? . 2007. 140 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Psicologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2007.

As citocinas desempenham um papel importante na resposta imune do hospedeiro contra o M. leprae. Polimorfismos de genes de citocinas têm sido implicados como um fator do hospedeiro influenciando a susceptibilidade para doenças infecciosas. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a relação entre a hanseníase e os polimorfismos dos genes TNFα (fator de necrose tumoral-α) -308 G→A; IFNγ (interferon-γ) +874 T→A; IL-6 (interleucina-6) -174 G→C; IL-10 -1082 A→T, -819 C→T, -592 A→C e TGFβ (fator de crescmento tumoral-β) códon 10 e códon 25. O estudo foi realizado com moradores do município de Sobral com 15 anos ou mais, no Estado do Ceará, durante o período de março de 2006 a julho de 2008. Os indivíduos foram divididos em três grupos. O grupo caso índice foi composto por 46 indivíduos com hanseníase. Controles internos foram 110 contactantes que residiam no domicílio do caso índice e os controles externos foram 83 indivíduos que não residiam no mesmo domicílio do caso índice. Desses indivíduos foram coletados 3ml para extração de DNA através do “Genomic Prep Blood DNA Isolation Kit” (GE Healthcare) e para tipificação dos polimorfismos dos genes das citocinas através do “kit” da “One-Lambda” (Canoga Park, CA, EUA). Também forma coletados 4,9ml de sangue para detecção de anticorpos IgM para PGL-I utilizando um teste ELISA. Os dados epidemiológicos e clínicos foram obtidos a partir de um questionário aplicado à todos participantes, padronizado para o projeto “Epidemiologia da hanseníase no Ceará: aprofundamento dos estudos imuno-epidemiológicos”, ao qual esse estudo está vinculado. Assim, não foram observadas associações significantes entre os polimorfismos dos genes das citocinas estudados e a susceptibilidade à hanseníase. Em relação ao gene IL-10, os indivíduos com o genótipo GCC/GCC apresentaram uma tendência a desenvolver a hanseníase mais precocemente. Em relação aos SNPs do gene IFNγ e TGFβ encontramos uma associação do genótipo T/T do IFNγ e do genótipo T/T G/G do TGFβ com uma predisposição à doença em indivíduos vacinados, podendo ser que indivíduos com esses genótipo não sejam beneficiados com a vacina. Em relação aos SNPs do gene IL-6 do grupo de controles internos foi observada uma associação entre um considerável aumento do genótipo C/C e a positividade para o anti-PGL-I. Dessa forma, o estudo do polimorfismo dos genes das citocinas traz um melhor esclarecimento da relação entre a genética do hospedeiro e a hanseníase, complementando estudos sobre a sua transmissão e fatores intra e extra-familiares em suas características imunológicas.

Leprosy, which is caused by Mycobacterium leprae, is an illness of ample clinical and immunopathological spectrum. Its clinical manifestations are correlated with distinct immunologic form, varying from a vigorous immune response mediated by cells to M. leprae, with type 1 standard in the tuberculóide polar region, to an absence of specific cellular response to antigens of M. leprae in the lepromatous polar region, with predominance of type 2 response and exacerbations of humoral response. The capacity of whole M. leprae antigen to stimulate peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) in the IFN-y production was measured in leprosy patients and their household’s contacts, in the city of Sobral, state of Ceará. A total of 30 leprosy patients were used for the study, before start chemotherapy. The paucibacilary leprosy patient group consisted of eight polar indeterminate, ten polar tuberculóide, two borderline tuberculóide, and the multibacilary leprosy patient group consisted of ten lepromatous leprosy and two borderline lepromatous leprosy. The household contacts group consisted of sixty healthy individuals, consanguineous and non consanguineous. The whole M. leprae antigen stimulated IFN-y production in the PBMC of seven borderline tuberculóide/tuberculóide (DT/TT), three indeterminate form, two borderline lepromatous/lepromatous (DV/VV the DT/TT group produced IFN-y levels significantly higher than DV/VV group (Fisher Test, p=0,027). The IFN-y production in the household contacts was observed in 34, 21 consanguineous and 13 non consanguineous. It wasn’t observed significant difference between paucibacilary household’s contacts (DT/TT, indeterminate form) and multibacilary household’s contacts groups in the IFN-y production to whole M. leprae antigen. However, it was observed significant difference in the production of these cytokine between household contacts and DV/VV patients. This study suggests that there wasn’t significative difference in the production IFN-y between non consanguineous and consanguineous subjects of the paucibacilary and multibacilary cases. Moreover, at correlacionated the production in these cytokine in the subjects with the presence of scar, we didn’t observed significative difference too.

Studies show that hospitals are propitious sites for the establishment and proliferation of certain insects. This situation is of particular concern because some insects, such as ants, can carry microorganisms on their body surfaces. The aim of this study was evaluate capacity to the ant species present in two tertiary public hospitals in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará, to carry fungi and to establish a correlation with the airborne fungal microbiota. From March 2007 to February 2008, 2,899 ants were evaluated at two hospitals. The ant communities were sampled monthly, during two periods (day and night), by setting out nontoxic baited traps. Along with collection of the ants, the fungi present in the air of the hospital environments were isolated and identified through the passive sedimentation method in Petri dishes containing Sabouraud dextrose agar. To identify the ant species, a sample from each trap was sent to the Entomology Laboratory of State University of Ceará, where the ants captured were classified by morphological criteria. Another sample of the captured ants from each trap was sent to the Specialized Medical Mycology Center of the same university. The mycological identification was done by growth in culture media, seeded and incubated at 26-28ºC for up to 15 days, with identification through macro and micromorphological analysis, biochemical profiling and growth in chromogenic medium. From this study, five genera and thirteen species of ants were identified, from the hospitals’ critical areas (8% of the collected ants) and semi-critical areas (92%), during the daytime (48%) and nighttime (52%) periods. In the mycological analysis, 75% of the ants were fungi carriers, with Tapinoma melanocephalum and species from the genus Pheidole having the most potential as carriers of airborne fungi (75% and 18%, respectively) and yeasts (6% and 1%, respectively). Among the airborne fungi identified, those belonging to the Aspergillus (46%), Penicillium (18.5%) and Cladosporium (7%) genera were most common on the ants’ body surfaces. The predominant yeasts belonged to the Candida genus (70% of those isolated). Comparison of the fungal strains found in the air with those found on the ants did not establish any statistic correlation between the two fungal microbiotas. In summary, ants act as potential vectors of airborne fungi and yeasts, including some pathogenic species. Therefore, vigilance against insects and systematic air monitoring are important measures to ensure the healthfulness of hospital environments.

SILVA , Daniela Adonai Lima e. Cultura digital e sua influência na sociabilização dos jovens, segundo a percepção docente . 2009. 168 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Psicologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2009.

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been related to the tumorigenesis of the gastric carcinomas, varying from 1.3-19.3% according to the studied population. Several studies have demonstrated strong evidences of its relation in this process, such as the monoclonality of the viral genome and its the presence in almost all tumor cells. However, most of the mechanisms used by the virus to control this process are still unknown. In this context, the present study aimed to investigate the frequency of the EBV and the association with the BCL-2, BAX and c-MYC proteins. Therefore, 100 cases of gastric carcinoma (67 males and 33 females), obtained from two hospitals in Fortaleza, were assessed to detect the EBV by PCR and in situ hybridization (aimed to the EBER1 transcript) using the standard method and GenPoint®. Immunohistochemistry technique was done to evaluate the expression of the referred cellular proteins, by streptavidin-biotin-peroxidase method. The distribution by sex, age, tumor anatomic site and the histopathologic analysis, in general, reproduced the pattern of the world scientific bibliographies. Regarding virus detection by in situ hybridization, 8 (8%) cases were positive, 6 of these had shown diffuse pattern of staining, and 2 had demonstrated focal pattern. From 100 cases, only 2 presented infected lymphocytes. In general, the EBV demonstrated higher association with: males (87.5%[p=0.265]), tumors situated in the cardia (37.5% [p=0.549]), advanced stage (IIIB and IV), intestinal type (87.5%[p=0.136]), and moderately differentiated (75%).There were no EBV-positive cases which exhibited BCL-2 staining. Although the BAX and the c-MYC (nuclear) proteins have demonstrated significant positivity index and scores averages in the EBV-positive group, these were lower than the values of the EBV-negative group, notably the c-MYC nuclear protein (Mann-Withney test LI p=0.039 and HS p=0.045). The cytoplasmic staining of the c-MYC protein revealed slightly higher staining values in the EBV-positive group. The balance between the BCL-2 and BAX proteins demonstrated that the majority of the evaluated cases had exhibited apoptosis-orientation, however 62.3% of the EBV-positive cases exhibited equilibrium between these proteins. Twenty-nine cases (28 negative and 1 positive) were submitted to the biotinyl tyramide system (in situ hybridization method - GenPoint®), demonstrating the same results obtained by the standard technique. From the 61 cases assessed by PCR, 35 (57.4%) were positive, being verified a low concordance index (kappa = -0.026 [±0.069]) with the standard in situ hybridization technique. The 30bp deletion of LMP1 gene was investigated in 24 out of 35 positive cases, being verified in 37.5% of these. The results obtained in the present study, concerning the EBV frequency and the correlation with clinic-histopathologic data, reproduced findings of researches done in several world regions. The correlation with the proteins suggests that in vivo the virus is not related to the overexpression of BCL-2 and c-MYC (nuclear) that could act in synergism to promote the tumor development. The suppression of the BAX expression might represent a viral mechanism for apoptosis inhibition. The results of the cytoplasmic c-MYC point to a possible involvement of the EBV with transport mechanisms of the nuclear membrane, resulting in its accumulation in the cytoplasm. The low frequency of infected lymphocytes indicates that they are not the main responsible of the high number of positivity in the PCR technique. It could be, at least in part, due to the infected normal and/or pre-neoplastic epithelium, suggesting a new latency pattern which not express the EBER1.

SOUZA , David Britto de. A subjetividade maquínica em Guattari. 2008. 125 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Psicologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2008.

RODRIGUES, Dayane Silva. Sentidos sobre saúde-doença mental: uma interlocução com usuários que participam de um grupo terapêutico do CAPS. 2011. 109 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Psicologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-graduação em Psicologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2011.

Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are an important public health problem throughout the world and parainfluenza viruses are among the major etiologic agents. The objectives of this study were: a) to determine the frequency of parainfluenza infections among children attending Hospital Infantil Albert Sabin, a major pediatric hospital in Fortaleza - CE, from January 2001 to December 2006; b) to describe the seasonal pattern and the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of these infections; and c) to compare clinical and epidemiological characteristics of parainfluenza infections and infections caused by other respiratory viruses. Nasopharyngeal aspirates from children with acute respiratory symptoms were collected and submitted to indirect immunofluorescence assays to detect human parainfluenza virus 1, 2 and 3 (HPIV-1, 2 and 3), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza A and B and adenovirus. During the six-year study period, samples were collected from 3,070 generally healthy children and respiratory viruses were demonstrated in 933 cases (30.39%), of which 117 were positive for parainfluenza virus (3.81%). HPIV-3 was the most frequently detected type of parainfluenza virus accounting for 83.76% of cases, followed by HPIV-1 (11.96%) and HPIV-2 (4.27%). HPIV-3 infections were seasonal with most cases observed from September to November. Although the total number of ARIs was directly associated with the time of the rainy season, HPIV-3 infections were inversely related with rainfall indices. Most HPIV-3 infections were seen in outpatients. The mean age of patients infected by HPIV-3 was 20 months, which is significantly younger than for influenza A (mean age: 34 months) and significantly older than for RSV (mean age: 15 months). HPIV-3 patients presented significantly lower indices of dyspnea, cough, crackles, chest retractions and radiologic abnormalities than RSV patients. Upper airway infection was the most frequent clinical syndrome among HPIV-3 patients. HPIV-3 patients needed less oxygen, salbutamol, antibiotics, corticosteroids and nebulization than RSV patients. In contrast with earlier observations for Northeastern Brazil, our results demonstrate a seasonal pattern for the occurrence of HPIV-3 infections with most cases observed during the dry season. The results also suggest that infections caused by HPIV-3 are milder than infections caused by RSV in previously healthy children.

MATIAS , Delane Pessoa. Abuso sexual e sociometria: um estudo dos vínculos afetivos em famílias incestuosa. 2006. 144 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Psicologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2006.