RCAAP Repository

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.

LIMA , Deyseane Maria Araújo. ProJovem Urbano da Escola Papa João XXIII do Bairro Vila União: significados atribuídos pelos jovens na perspectiva da psicologia comunitária e da psicologia ambiental. 2010. 146f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Psicologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2010.

VIEIRA, Emanuel Meireles. Atividade comunitária e conscientização: uma investigação a partir dos modos de participação social. 2008. 135f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Psicologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-graduação em Psicologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2008.

FIGUEIREDO, Eugênia Bridget Gadelha. Diálogo entre modo de vida comunitário dos adolescentes em regime de liberdade assistida e a proposta de inserção comunitária do ECA. 2008. 151f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Psicologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-graduação em Psicologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2008.

The influenza virus is unique with it is ability to cause recurring annual epidemics in a short time interval, affecting all ages, with larger gravity in children and elderly people. The aim of this study is to describe demographic features and the pattern of the seasonality of acute respiratory infections caused by influenza virus in children attended at Albert Sabin Children Hospital, in Fortaleza – Ceará, over the period of January period 2001 at July 2004. A total of 1950 samples of nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from chidren with symptoms of acute respiratory infection. All samples were analyzed by indirect imunofluorescense assay (IFA). Forty seven Influenza A or B positive samples by IFA, in 2003 and 2004, were submitted to polimerase chain reaction with reverse transcription (RTPCR) for analysis of viral variant H1 and H3 and influenza b. A total of 156 samples were influenza A or influenza B positive, representing a prevalence rate of 8%. Among the viral infections, those caused by influenza viruses represented 24,1%. The influenza virus showed a pattern of regular annual occurrence, observed during the first semester of each year, correlated to the rainy periods. The peak of the epidemic periods of influenza preceded or occurred concomitantly to the national campaigns of vaccination. Influenza virus A and B cocirculated in all years of the study, with a significant predominance of the virus influenza A (91%) over influenza B (9%). Regarding to the medical care setting, the majority of the children with influenza infection were attended in ambulatories (48,7%) and emergency (39.7%). Eighteen children with influenza were attended in wards (11,5%). Regarding to the age of the children with influenza these infections predominated in children until two years of age. About 65,4% of the influenza infections were diagnosed as upper respiratory tract infections. Lower respiratory tract infection predominated in children until two years of age. In 2003 and 2004 were identified the variants A/H3 and B, with predominance of the first (78,7%)

ARAÚJO , Eveline Mourão de. Transmissão da psicanálise e universidade: a formulação de um saber mediante o dispositivo do ensinante de Lacan. 2009. 112f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Psicologia) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2009.

With developing of forensic observations, certain species of insects and microorganisms were described as indicators of periods of the degradation of the body. However, the literature is still scarce in the field of Forensic Mycology. It was investigated the microbiological characteristics of fungi presence in the post mortem change, as well as, it esteemed the value of the mycology exams in the study. 400 collections was accomplished in 60 human bodies (34 of the bloated stage, 06 of the putrefaction stage and 20 of the skeletonization stage) at the Fortaleza city morgue and public cemeteries in the state of Ceará, The picked material was analyzed through macro/microcharacteristics and specific biochemical tests. Ally to such analyses, was also accomplished the test of the perforation of the hair in vitro in hair of corpses in the bloated stage and in hair of healthy adults. The material gathered was analyzed at the Specialized Medical Mycology Center of the Federal University of Ceará. With the anthropological results, it was observed that male, in the interval of the 31 to the 40 years, was more commonly attacked, being the capital (Fortaleza) the more involved in the number of deaths. In the bloated stage, among the identified filamentous fungi, the presence of four orders was observed: Order Eurotiales (63 isolated Aspergillus spp and 21 isolated Penicillium spp), Order Mucorales (4 Mucor spp), Order Hypocreales (2 Acremonium spp, 1 Trichoderma spp and 1 Fusarium spp) and Order Saccharomycetales (2 Geotrichum spp). In the yeast distribution, it was observed the orders:Saccharomycetales (44 Candida spp) and Tremellales (5 Trichosporon spp). In the putrefaction stage, it was isolated the following orders: Eurotiales (Penicillium spp 2 and Aspergillus 2) and Hypocreales 1 (Acremonium spp). Regarding the yeasts, it was just isolated the Order Saccharomycetales (Candida spp 3). In the eskeletonization stage, the following orders were observed: Order Eurotiales (Aspergillus spp 22 and Penicillium spp 18), Order Mucorales (Mucor spp 10) and Order Hypocreales (Acremonium spp 2 and Trichoderma spp 1). Regarding the yeasts, two orders were found: Tremellales (Trichosporon spp 1) and Saccharomycetales (Candida spp 1). In the hair perforation test in vitro, it was positive in the bloated stage, differing of healthy adults,where the test was negative. For conclusion, Forensic Micology is still a rich field in data and fungi can come to be a tool in the aid of human post mortem diagnosis.

The Enterococcus are Gram-positive cocci catalase negative - which inhabit the gastrointestinal, and genitourinary tract. They are identified manually and the procedure is based on the classic of Facklam, by semi-authomatized and automatized systems as well as by Molecular Biology. Due to the diversity of identification methods and aiming to verify the concordance among some methods, it was accomplished the identification of 62 bacteria strains proceeding from the collection of the Centro Especializado em Micologia Médica (CEMM) of the Federal University of Ceará, in Brazil. They were presumably identified as Enterococcus sp. e Enterococcus faecalis by the Facklam scheme. This study was begun with the identification for two manual methods, modified from the Facklam scheme – Modified 1 and Modified 2- and semi-automatized – API 20 Strep. For the inconsistent results definition we used the semi-automatized – BBL and the Molecular Biology- PRC. The Franklin scheme identified 16% (10) as strains of the genre Enterococcus sp. and 52% (84) as E. faecalis. The Modified Scheme 1 presented the following identification: 82, 2% (51) E. faecalis, 9, 7% (6) E. mundtii and 8, 1% (5) E. gallinarum. The Modified 2 identified 98, 4% (61) E. faecalis and 1, 6% (1) E. gallinarum. The API 20 Strep identified 51,6% (32) E. faecalis, 19,4% (12) A viridans, 13,0% (8) E. avium, 4,8% (3) S. agalactiae, 3,2% (2) E. faecium, 1,6% (1) S. acidominimus, 1,6% (1) Leuconoctocc sp., 1,6% (1) S. uberis, 1,6% (1) A. adiacens and1,6% (1) unacceptable. It was made the selection of 10 sample (strains), among them, the ones numbered (05, 13, 15, 20, 27, 31, 32, 33, 50 and 60), which presented discordant results among the systems Modified 1, Modified 2 and API 20 Strep to be identified by BBL Crystal and by PCR. The BBL identified 6 samples as E. faecium, including the control- strain E. faecalis ATCC 29212 and did not identify 4 samples. In the PCR, one sample did not amplify and 9 were identified as Streptococcus spp. One sample was identified as positive for the genre Enterococcus, but it did not for the species E. faecalis and 1 (one) was amplified for the species S. agalactiae. None of the samples presented were positive for the species E. gallinarum. The control-sample – E. faecalis ATCC 29212 – was correctly amplified. With the analysis of the results, it was noticed that there was identification concordance of the 62 strains in 84% of the samples among the manual systems (Facklam, Modified 1 and Modified 2) and in 52% of the samples among the manual and semi-automatized systems (API 20 Strep). In 10 samples with disagreeing results there was no identification concordance among the manual systems, API 20 Strep and the BBL. A PCR agreed with the manual systems and the BBL and did not agree with the API 20 step, in genre, in one sample. Correlating the PCR with the API 20 Strep, there was agreement, in genre, in 01 sample and disagreement with the other systems.

Coccidiodomycosis is a disease caused by dimorphic fungi of the Coccidioides genus – C. immitis and C. posadasii – which afflicts people and various animals, such as cattle, goats, rodents and dogs. It is restricted to the Americas and cases have been reported in the state of Ceará only since 1995. The infection generally results from inhaling the infectious structures arthroconidia -of the fungus. In its parasitic phase, the microorganisms responsible for the clinical signs of the disease have a spherical shape. Most cases are asymptomatic, and respiratory problems are the most common symptoms in patients that are clinically affected. The disease’s diagnosis is based on microbiological techniques such as direct examination of clinical specimens and culturing, but these procedures require specialized biosecurity level 3 facilities because the microorganism falls in biological class 3. The immunological approach appears promising because it does not require manipulation of the fungi and can be performed in various laboratories equipped for routine mycological tests. The aim of this work is to outline the clinical and laboratory profile of the cases of coccidiodomycosis that occurred in the state of Ceará between 1995 and 2007 and to report experiments to obtain antigenic fractions from fractioning Antígeno total of C. posadasii, as a possible means for immunodiagnosis of the disease. A total of 19 cases of the disease were cataloged in the study period. All the patients were young men with respiratory symptoms, except for one case. All but one of the patients reported they engaged in recreational hunting of armadillos. The laboratory approach in these cases consisted of microbiological examination combined with molecular, immunological, histopathological techniques or animal experiments. The protein fractioning of Antígeno total of C. posadasii produced three antigenic fractions with different protein content, electrophoretic profile and immunoreactivity according to the Western blotting technique. The 60-90% fraction showed an immunoreactive band of approximately 30 to 40 KDa, recognizable by sera from patients with coccidiodomycosis, but showed crossreactivity with some sera from patient with histoplasmosis. This protein band, in subsequent studies, can be characterized and purified for potential use as a tool for immunodiagnosis of the disease.

Enterococcus faecalis has been suggested to be an important etiological agent in endodontic failure. It has been found in the root canal system in a perceptual ranging from 22% to 77% and it has been associated to organisms structured in biofilms. The aim of the present study was to evaluate, in vitro, the effectiveness of endodontic sealers, 2.5% sodium hypochlorite, and 0.5% Lippia sidoides essential oil in eliminating E. faecalis biofilms. Clinical material was collected from 37 patients with root canal chronic infections and 14 Enterococcus faecalis strains were isolated (37.8%). Biofilms from a reference (ATCC) and a clinical multirresistant strain (isolate 12 ) were grown for 8 days. This period was selected based on a chronological study of the Enterococcus faecalis biofilm development through Atomic Force Microscopy. It was verified that there was a significant reduction of the bacteria number when the biofilms were exposed to the endodontic sealers related to the control for the two tested strains (p<0.001). Analyzing the ATCC strain, it was seen that the Epiphany® endodontic sealer presented similar action compared to Endofill® (p>0.05), similar result was found for Isolate 12. When the strains susceptibilities against the sealers was compared it was verified that the isolate 12 was less susceptible than the ATCC strain (p<0.001). It was verified that the 0.5% essential oil solution of Lippia siodides presented a similar action to 2.5% sodium hypochlorite when the biofilm of ATCC strain and isolate 12 were exposed for 10 minutes to this substances (p<0.001). Comparing the susceptibility of the two strains to the solutions tested, there was no difference between them (p>0.05)

The gastric cancer is the fourth more frequent cancer, and the second cause of death for cancer in the world, recording approximately 934 thousand of new cases and 700 thousand of deaths a year. In Brazil, the gastric cancer is the sixth more frequent malignant tumor. In the Northeast area, it is the second more frequent cancer among the men and fourth among the women. In the state of Ceara, it is the third more frequent neoplasia. Among the infectious agents, the bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), which is considered carcinogenic agent of the group I, has been pointed in the last decades because of the connection with activated chronic gastritis, with the development of peptic ulcers and duodenais, and the increase of the risk of gastric cancer. Besides the presence, genetic variation of the strains of H. pylori seems to influence in the seriousness of the disease caused by infection. The pathogenic character is given by the presence, in some cepas, of the called cag pathogenicity island, cag-PAI; one gene fragment of 35-40 Kb strain specific, which possess a series of genes associates to a virulent type IV secretion apparatus. Moreover, another gene, called vacA, it is presented as an important virulence factor. Despite these associations does not have still a direct relation enters the presence of these genes with the tumorigenic process. One of the possible explanations is the presence of other genes that contribute for fenotype more serious or malignant, mainly associates cag-PAI. In this context, the present study objectified to investigate the frequency of H. pylori genotyped how much the alelics variants of vacA the presence of the genes cagA, cagE and virB11 and its association with the clinic- pathological dates of gastric adenocarcinoma of one population of the Ceara State. For in such a way, 101 cases of gastric adenocarcinoma (68 men and 33 women), gotten of two hospitals of Fortaleza, had been analyzed by PCR how much to the presence of H. pylori and the studied genes. The distribution of the gastric cancer by sex, anatomical sites and the histopatologic analysis, in general way, had reproduced the trends of world-wide literature. The bacterium was present in 93% of the analyzed cases. The genes of H. pylori had presented the following frequencies: vacAs1m1 (75,5%), vacAs1m2 (13,8%), vacAs2m1 (4,6%), vacA s2m2 (6,5%), cagA (64,9%), cagE (53,2%) and virB11 (60,6%). These data are the first ones in world-wide literature citing the frequency of virB11 and as for the gene cagE in gastric cancer and indicate a circulating variation of strains how much the presence of these genes when compared these data with the ones of other gastric diseases. The most frequent combination was vacAs1m1cagA(+)cagE(+)virB11(+), found in 36,2% of the analyzed cases, being considered strain more pathogenic. The integrity of cag-PAI was verified in 38,3% of the cases, when considered the three studied markers, however, considering at least one marker of right side (cagA and/or cagE) and the marker of the left side (virB11), the frequency was of 56,4%. The distribution of the genotypes of H. pylori in groups demonstrated that the biggest frequency of strains considered more pathogenic was in tumors of the gastric antrum, did not have predilection of the genotypic variations for none of the histologic types, besides verifying it high frequency of more pathogenic strains in tumor stage II and IV, demonstrating to the participation of H. pylori in gastric carcinogenesis.

The main objective of this thesis was to investigate the factors determining success in an aptitude test for admission in a public bank in the Northeast of Brazil. The data set is based in a questionnaire for 232,771 Candidates which is composed of the result of the test and a number of questions about some attributes of the candidate. Attributes selected were personal monthly income; household monthly income; education level; type of school attended (public or private); marital status; occupation and age. A logit model was used to estimate a regression of success in the test against the attributes defined above. Results of the estimated model show that all the coefficients but marital status were significant and with the expected sign. The marginal effects inform that a high school level (a requirement to take the test) had the strongest and negative impact on the probability of success. Specification tests for functional form and unobserved heterogeneity show that the model was correctly specified.

What is called a price puzzle is a positive and persistent response of in ation to a unit shock in the interest rate's innovation. Using a VAR to analyse monetary policy in Brazil, this paper comes to the conclusion that when nonlinearities in the data were considered, most of this e ect vanishes. This is done rstly by checking if the series are unit root processes or nonlinear trend stationary. After that a nonparametric co-trending analysis was applied. The test result favored a common nonlinear trend between in ation and the interest rate, which seems to a ect the system innovation analysis, inducing most of the price puzzle e ect.