Ten male patients who shared a similar behaviour disorder have been seen. Their behaviour was characterized by extreme hostility towards close members of the family without aggressiveness towards others. The first manifestations of an increase in hostility may be acts aimed to injure of denigrate the spouse or close members of the family. The dynamics of Capgras's syndrome may be similar. This ...

OBJECTIVE To analyze whether quality of life in active, healthy elderly individuals is influenced by functional status and sociodemographic characteristics, as well as psychological parameters. METHODS Study conducted in a sample of 120 active elderly subjects recruited from two open universities of the third age in the cities of São Paulo and São José dos Campos (Southeastern Brazil) between...

The mechanism of conjugal transfer of plasmids in Gram-negative and unicellular Gram-positive bacteria is commonly via a type IV secretion system (T4SS) [1]. The genes encoding the T4S proteins are usually arranged in a single operon or a few operons. In Gram-negative Agrobacterium tumefaciens, the T4SS is encoded by the virB and virD operons (11 and 5 genes, respectively) [2]. Streptomyces are...

We have examined the relationship between two chromosomal mutations of Escherichia coli K-12, fexA (0 min) and fexB (85 min), in regulating expression of the F sex factor. Together, fexA and fexB exert a pleiotropic effect on the expression of the F tra genes. F pilus synthesis, conjugal donor activity, and surface exclusion activity are all inhibited in the fexA fexB mutant. Either fex mutatio...

Escherichia coli strain 86, isolated from a piglet with diarrhea, carries plasmid-linked genes for resistance to tetracycline, streptomycin, and sulfonamides and for production of heat-labile and heat-stable enterotoxin. Results of (i) genetic experiments involving conjugal transfer and phage P1-mediated transduction and (ii) physical experiments involving electron microscopic examination of pl...

IncN plasmids, including pKM101, strongly inhibit the conjugal transfer of cohabiting IncP plasmids. We localized the pKM101 DNA sufficient for this phenomenon to a 1.1-kilobase region (denoted fip). Two fip-deficient Tn5 insertion derivatives of pKM101 were isolated; neither affected other pKM101-mediated functions. fip did not inhibit either the synthesis of the IncP plasmid's sex pilus or it...