Soft toys are a major source of house dust mites (HDM) and HDM allergens, and sleeping with soft toys is a significant risk factor for HDM sensitization. We studied three techniques to eliminate HDM from soft toys, namely freezing, hot tumble drying and washing with eucalyptus oil. Thirty-six toys (12 in each treatment group) were enumerated for live HDM by the heat escape method before and aft...

A mechanism for eggshell production in Schistosoma mansoni has been proposed (Wells & Cordingley, 1991), and suggests that the release of eggshell protein globules from the vitelline cells occurs under alkaline conditions within the ootype followed by their subsequent fusion to form the eggshell. Fusion and tanning of these components produces eggshell which autofluoresces. The present study wa...

We compared the impregnation techniques for globules according to the Manual of Technical Norms for Homeopathic Pharmacies (MNTFH) of the Association of Homeopathic Pharmacists (ABFH), Brazilian Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia (FHB) and variations of these techniques. The variables were evaluated in this procedure, three different sizes of globules (No. 3, 5 and 7), the hydroalcoholic solution of 70%...

Lepidoptera pest species from eucalyptus were collected in Eucalyptus urophylla plantations in the region of Três Marias, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, every 15 days from June 1989 to June 1994 with five light traps. Twelve primary and 15 secondary pest species were collected in the period with an average of 13,387 and 812 individuals per light trap, respectively. Most collected primary pest s...

O ne of the important goals of protein engineering and design is to create proteins with novel binding specificities. In addition to the intrinsic interest in understanding how the affinity and specificity of protein–ligand interactions is modulated, one can imagine a variety of practical applications for such a technology. The most relevant natural proteins are antibodies, in which an incredib...

The forest industry in Uruguay has grown considerably during the last decade. Eucalyptus plantations account for 74% of the forested land, with Eucalyptus globulus being the most widely distributed species. This industry is dedicated exclusively to the production of wood without exploiting the by-products (leaves and small branches). Eucalyptus leaves are known to contain important amounts of e...

Eucalyptus species constitutes the most widely planted hardwood trees in temperate and subtropical regions. In this study, we compared the transcript levels of genes involved in lignocellulose formation such as cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin biosynthesis in two selected 3-year old hybrid Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus urophylla × Eucalyptus grandis) genotypes (AM063 and AM380) that have different ...

The fractal globule state is a popular model for describing chromatin packing in eukaryotic nuclei. Here we provide a scaling theory and dissipative particle dynamics computer simulation for the thermal motion of monomers in the fractal globule state. Simulations starting from different entanglement-free initial states show good convergence which provides evidence supporting the existence of a ...