Free field realizations of the elliptic affine Lie algebra sl(2, R) circle plus (Omega(R)/dR)

In this paper we construct two free field realizations of the elliptic affine Lie algebra sl(2, R) circle plus Omega(R)/dR where R = C[t. t(-1), u vertical bar u(2) = t(3) - 2bt(2) + t]. The first realization provides an analogue of Wakimoto`s construction for Affine Kac-Moody algebras, but in the setting of the elliptic affine Lie algebra. The second realization gives new types of representations analogous to Imaginary Verma modules in the Affine setting. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Carcass quality of feedlot finished steers fed yeast, monensin, and the association of both additives

To evaluate the effects of the supplementation of feed additives on carcass quality in beef cattle, 72 Nellore steers (339.5kg, 20-month old) were feedlot finished and fed for 91 days one of the following diets: 1) control with no additives; or added of 2) live yeast culture; 3) monensin; or 4) the association of both additives. After slaughter, renal, pelvic, and inguinal fat and hot carcass weights were recorded and carcass was split into muscle, bone, and trimmable fat. Carcass Longissimus muscle area and subcutaneous fat thickness at the 12th rib were measured and steaks of Longisimus muscle were taken to determine meat color, shear force, drip, and cooking losses. Yeast increased carcass dressing percentage but there were no effects on hot carcass weight, Longissimus area, subcutaneous fat thickness, percentage and weight of retail cut yield and trimmings. Feed additives had no effect on carcass pH, meat color, fat content, shear force, and drip losses. Supplementation of yeast, monensin or the association of both additives had no important effects on carcass traits and on meat quality of feedlot finished steers.

Desempenho produtivo, características de carcaça e avaliação econômica de bovinos cruzados, castrados e não-castrados, terminados em pastagens de Brachiaria decumbens

Avaliou-se o efeito da castração sobre o desempenho produtivo e sobre as características de carcaça e realizou-se a avaliação econômica de bovinos terminados em pastagens de Brachiaria decumbens. Foram utilizados oito novilhos Canchim-Nelore com 14 meses de idade, sendo quatro animais castrados e quatro não-castrados, com média de peso corporal de 273,2kg. O delineamento foi inteiramente ao acaso com quatro repetições por tratamento. Os animais receberam, diariamente, 0,7% do PC de suplemento proteíco-energético e foram abatidos aos 26 meses de idade. O peso de abate e o ganho médio diário (GMD) diferiram entre castrados e não-castrados, com médias de 441,0 e 482,2kg e 0,6 e 0,7kg/dia, respectivamente. Não houve efeito da castração sobre as características avaliadas, com exceção do peso de abate, do peso da carcaça quente, 252,3 versus 229,9kg, da cor da carne, 3,25 versus 4,50 pontos e da espessura da gordura subcutânea, 0,6 versus 1,4mm, respectivamente, para não-castrados e castrados. A lucratividade por animal e por hectare foi de 14,5 e 15,8% para não-castrados e 4,5 e 5,8% para castrados, respectivamente. Sugere-se a utilização de bovinos não-castrados suplementados em pastagens de Brachiaria decumbens.

Consumo, desempenho e parâmetros econômicos de novilhos Nelore e F1 Brangus x Nelore terminados em pastagens, suplementados com mistura mineral e sal nitrogenado com uréia ou amiréia

Avaliou-se o efeito da suplementação protéica (40% PB) com amiréia ou uréia sobre o consumo de suplemento, desempenho e características econômicas de novilhos terminados em pastagens. Foram utilizados 120 novilhos com 19 meses de idade e 358kg, sendo 60 Nelore e 60 F1 Brangus x Nelore, divididos em três tratamentos com 20 animais, alojados em piquetes de Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu de 10 hectares cada, totalizando 120 hectares, sendo dois piquetes por grupo genético e tratamento, pastejados alternadamente a cada pesagem (42 dias). Os tratamentos consistiram em mistura mineral com amiréia-150S (AM), mistura mineral com uréia+milho+enxofre (UR) e mistura mineral (MM). As médias de consumo de suplemento dos animais F1 foram de 206,1; 145,9 e 73,1g/dia, e as dos animais Nelore, 236,0; 205,1 e 94,3g/dia para os tratamentos AM, UR e MM, respectivamente. Para os novilhos Nelore, houve efeito (P<0,05) do suplemento sobre o peso de abate (PA), sendo a média do tratamento UR, 518,85kg, mais alta que a dos demais, 491,89 e 485,20kg, respectivamente, para AM e MM. Para os novilhos F1, foi significativo o efeito da suplementação protéica (P<0,05), com médias de 515,90 e 520,15kg, respectivamente, para os tratamentos UR e AM. A suplementação protéica proporcionou bom desempenho em animais F1 durante períodos de abundância de forragem. O uso de uréia apresentou melhor viabilidade econômica.

A novel missense mutation p.L76P in the GJB2 gene causing nonsyndromic recessive deafness in a Brazilian family

Mutations in the GJB2 gene, encoding connexin 26 (Cx26), are a major cause of nonsyndromic recessive hearing loss in many countries. We report here on a novel point mutation in GJB2, p.L76P (c.227C>T), in compound heterozygosity with a c.35delG mutation, in two Brazilian sibs, one presenting mild and the other profound nonsyndromic neurosensorial hearing impairment. Their father, who carried a wild-type allele and a p.L76P mutation, had normal hearing. The mutation leads to the substitution of leucine (L) by proline (P) at residue 76, an evolutionarily conserved position in Cx26 as well as in other connexins. This mutation is predicted to affect the first extracellular domain (EC1) or the second transmembrane domain (TM2). EC1 is important for connexon-connexon interaction and for the control of channel voltage gating. The segregation of the c.227C>T (p.L76P) mutation together with c.35delG in this family indicates a recessive mode of inheritance. The association between the p.L76P mutation and hearing impairment is further supported by its absence in a normal hearing control group of 100 individuals, 50 European-Brazilians and 50 African-Brazilians.

Association of polymorphisms at the ADIPOR1 regulatory region with type 2 diabetes and body mass index in a Brazilian population with European or African ancestry

Association studies between ADIPOR1 genetic variants and predisposition to type 2 diabetes (DM2) have provided contradictory results. We determined if two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP c.-8503G>A and SNP c.10225C>G) in regulatory regions of ADIPOR1 in 567 Brazilian individuals of European (EA; N = 443) or African (AfA; N = 124) ancestry from rural (quilombo remnants; N = 439) and urban (N = 567) areas. We detected a significant effect of ethnicity on the distribution of the allelic frequencies of both SNPs in these populations (EA: -8503A = 0.27; AfA: -8503A = 0.16; P = 0.001 and EA: 10225G = 0.35; AfA: 10225G = 0.51; P < 0.001). Neither of the polymorphisms were associated with DM2 in the case-control study in EA (SNP c.-8503G>A: DM2 group -8503A = 0.26; control group -8503A = 0.30; P = 0.14/SNP 10225C>G: DM2 group 10225G = 0.37; control group 10225G = 0.32; P = 0.40) and AfA populations (SNP c.-8503G>A: DM2 group -8503A = 0.16; control group -8503A = 0.15; P = 0.34/SNP 10225C>G: DM2 group 10225G = 0.51; control group 10225G = 0.52; P = 0.50). Similarly, none of the polymorphisms were associated with metabolic/anthropometric risk factors for DM2 in any of the three populations, except for HDL cholesterol, which was significantly higher in AfA heterozygotes (GC = 53.75 ± 17.26 mg/dL) than in homozygotes. We conclude that ADIPOR1 polymorphisms are unlikely to be major risk factors for DM2 or for metabolic/anthropometric measurements that represent risk factors for DM2 in populations of European and African ancestries.

Engagement of multifocal neural circuits during recall of autobiographical happy events

Happy emotional states have not been extensively explored in functional magnetic resonance imaging studies using autobiographic recall paradigms. We investigated the brain circuitry engaged during induction of happiness by standardized script-driven autobiographical recall in 11 healthy subjects (6 males), aged 32.4 ± 7.2 years, without physical or psychiatric disorders, selected according to their ability to vividly recall personal experiences. Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) changes were recorded during auditory presentation of personal scripts of happiness, neutral content and negative emotional content (irritability). The same uniform structure was used for the cueing narratives of both emotionally salient and neutral conditions, in order to decrease the variability of findings. In the happiness relative to the neutral condition, there was an increased BOLD signal in the left dorsal prefrontal cortex and anterior insula, thalamus bilaterally, left hypothalamus, left anterior cingulate gyrus, and midportions of the left middle temporal gyrus (P < 0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons). Relative to the irritability condition, the happiness condition showed increased activity in the left insula, thalamus and hypothalamus, and in anterior and midportions of the inferior and middle temporal gyri bilaterally (P < 0.05, corrected), varying in size between 13 and 64 voxels. Findings of happiness-related increased activity in prefrontal and subcortical regions extend the results of previous functional imaging studies of autobiographical recall. The BOLD signal changes identified reflect general aspects of emotional processing, emotional control, and the processing of sensory and bodily signals associated with internally generated feelings of happiness. These results reinforce the notion that happiness induction engages a wide network of brain regions.

Cognitive control associated with irritability induction: an autobiographical recall fMRI study

OBJECTIVE: Despite the relevance of irritability emotions to the treatment, prognosis and classification of psychiatric disorders, the neurobiological basis of this emotional state has been rarely investigated to date. We assessed the brain circuitry underlying personal script-driven irritability in healthy subjects (n = 11) using functional magnetic resonance imaging. METHOD: Blood oxygen level-dependent signal changes were recorded during auditory presentation of personal scripts of irritability in contrast to scripts of happiness or neutral emotional content. Self-rated emotional measurements and skin conductance recordings were also obtained. Images were acquired using a 1,5T magnetic resonance scanner. Brain activation maps were constructed from individual images, and between-condition differences in the mean power of experimental response were identified by using cluster-wise nonparametric tests. RESULTS: Compared to neutral scripts, increased blood oxygen level-dependent signal during irritability scripts was detected in the left subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, and in the left medial, anterolateral and posterolateral dorsal prefrontal cortex (cluster-wise p-value < 0.05). While the involvement of the subgenual cingulate and dorsal anterolateral prefrontal cortices was unique to the irritability state, increased blood oxygen level-dependent signal in dorsomedial and dorsal posterolateral prefrontal regions were also present during happiness induction. CONCLUSION: Irritability induction is associated with functional changes in a limited set of brain regions previously implicated in the mediation of emotional states. Changes in prefrontal and cingulate areas may be related to effortful cognitive control aspects that gain salience during the emergence of irritability.

The Na+/glucose cotransporters: from genes to therapy

Glucose enters eukaryotic cells via two types of membrane-associated carrier proteins, the Na+/glucose cotransporters (SGLT) and the facilitative glucose transporters (GLUT). The SGLT family consists of six members. Among them, the SGLT1 and SGLT2 proteins, encoded by the solute carrier genes SLC5A1 and SLC5A2, respectively, are believed to be the most important ones and have been extensively explored in studies focusing on glucose fluxes under both physiological and pathological conditions. This review considers the regulation of the expression of the SGLT promoted by protein kinases and transcription factors, as well as the alterations determined by diets of different compositions and by pathologies such as diabetes. It also considers congenital defects of sugar metabolism caused by aberrant expression of the SGLT1 in glucose-galactose malabsorption and the SGLT2 in familial renal glycosuria. Finally, it covers some pharmacological compounds that are being currently studied focusing on the interest of controlling glycemia by antagonizing SGLT in renal and intestinal tissues.

Antibody responses elicited in mice immunized with Bacillus subtilis vaccine strains expressing Stx2B subunit of enterohaemorragic Escherichia coli O157:H7

No effective vaccine or immunotherapy is presently available for patients with the hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) induced by Shiga-like toxin (Stx) producedbyenterohaemorragic Escherichia coli (EHEC) strains, such as those belonging to the O157:H7 serotype. In this work we evaluated the performance of Bacillus subtilis strains, a harmless spore former gram-positive bacterium species, as a vaccine vehicle for the expression of Stx2B subunit (Stx2B). A recombinant B. subtilis vaccine strain expressing Stx2B under the control of a stress inducible promoter was delivered to BALB/c mice via oral, nasal or subcutaneous routes using both vegetative cells and spores. Mice immunized with vegetative cells by the oral route developed low but specific anti-Stx2B serum IgG and fecal IgA responses while mice immunized with recombinant spores developed anti-Stx2B responses only after administration via the parenteral route. Nonetheless, serum anti-Stx2B antibodies raised in mice immunized with the recombinant B. subtilis strain did not inhibit the toxic effects of the native toxin, both under in vitro and in vivo conditions, suggesting that either the quantity or the quality of the induced immune response did not support an effective neutralization of Stx2 produced by EHEC strains.

Synthesis, screening for antiacetylcholinesterase activity and binding mode prediction of a new series of [3-(disubstituted-phosphate)-4,4,4-trifluoro-butyl]-carbamic acid ethyl esters

A series of nine new [3-(disubstituted-phosphate)-4,4,4-trifluoro-butyl]-carbamic acid ethyl esters (phosphate-carbamate compounds) was obtained through the reaction of (4,4,4-trifluoro-3-hydroxybut-1-yl)-carbamic acid ethyl esters with phosphorus oxychloride followed by the addition of alcohols. The products were characterized by ¹H, 13C, 31P, and 19F NMR spectroscopy, GC-MS, and elemental analysis. All the synthesized compounds were screened for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity using the Ellman method. All compounds containing phosphate and carbamate pharmacophores in their structures showed enzyme inhibition, being the compound bearing the diethoxy phosphate group (2b) the most active compound. Molecular modeling studies were performed to investigate the detailed interactions between AChE active site and small-molecule inhibitor candidates, providing valuable structural insights into AChE inhibition.

Anticorpos anti-rickettsias do grupo da febre maculosa em equídeos e caninos no norte do Estado do Paraná, Brasil

The Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF) is a zoonosis that can be fatal if not trteated. As there are few studies of the BSF in the Paraná State, the occurrence of BSF was serologically investigated in dogs and horses by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA), in the North of that State, in animals that are regarded as sentinels for BSF. A total of 241 samples of sera of equine, four of asinine, and 29 of dogs were collected in nine farms of three municipalities in the North of Paraná: Arapongas, Douradina, and Umuarama. From fifteen samples of equine serum with positive titres for RIFI, eight (53.3 %) had titre of 64 against R. rickettsii, two (13.3 %) 128 against R. rickettsii, and five (33.3 %) were reactants for R. parkeri and R. rickettsii, with titres ranging from 64 to 2048, and 128 to 1024, respectively. The results showed that domestic animals, sentinels for BSF, are under low exposition to ticks infected with spotted fever group Rickettsia, indicating low risk of human infection by these agents in the studied area.

Situação epidemiológica da brucelose bovina no Estado do Mato Grosso do Sul

Realizou-se um estudo para caracterizar a situação epidemiológica da brucelose bovina no Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. Foram definidos três estratos (regiões): Pantanal-corte, Planalto-corte e Planalto-leite, este último subdividido em Bolsão, Campo Grande e Dourados. Em cada estrato foram amostradas aleatoriamente propriedades e, dentro dessas, foi escolhido, de forma aleatória, um número pré-estabelecido de animais, dos quais foi obtida uma amostra de sangue. No total, foram amostrados 14.849 animais, provenientes de 1.004 propriedades. Em cada propriedade amostrada foi aplicado um questionário epidemiológico para verificar suas características e também para detectar transtornos reprodutivos que poderiam estar associados à infecção brucélica. O teste utilizado foi o do antígeno acidificado tamponado. O rebanho foi considerado positivo se pelo menos um animal foi reagente à prova sorológica. Para o Estado, a prevalência de focos foi de 41,5% [36,5-44,7%]. As prevalências de focos e de animais infectados por estrato foram, respectivamente, de: 59,0% [52,8-64,9%] e 12,6% [9,1-17,2%] para o estrato Pantanal-corte, e 40,6% [35,8-45,5%] e 4,5% [2,1-9,0%] para Planalto-corte. No estrato Planalto-leite, a prevalência de focos foi de 33,1% [28,4-38,1%]. Os fatores de risco (odds ratios, OR) associados à condição de foco foram: ter ≥500 vacas (OR = 2,46 [1,81-3,34]), ocorrência de bezerros fracos (OR = 1,20 [0,87-1,65]) e uso da inseminação artificial (OR = 0,71 [0,50-1,01]).