Effects of supplementation with free glutamine and the dipeptide alanyl-glutamine on parameters of muscle damage and inflammation in rats submitted to prolonged exercise

In this study, we investigated the effect of the supplementation with the dipeptide L-alanyl-L-glutamine (DIP) and a solution containing L-glutamine and L-alanine on plasma levels markers of muscle damage and levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and glutamine metabolism in rats submitted to prolonged exercise. Rats were submitted to sessions of swim training for 6 weeks. Twenty-one days prior to euthanasia, the animals were supplemented with DIP (n = 8) (1.5 g.kg(-1)), a solution of free L-glutamine (1 g.kg(-1)) and free L-alanine (0.61 g.kg(-1)) (G&A, n = 8) or water (control (CON), n = 8). Animals were killed at rest before (R), after prolonged exercise (PE-2 h of exercise). Plasma concentrations of glutamine, glutamate, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and activity of creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and muscle concentrations Of glutamine and glutamate were measured. The concentrations of plasma TNF-alpha, PGE2 and the activity of CK were lower in the G&A-R and DIP-R groups, compared to the CON-R. Glutamine in plasma (p < 0.04) and soleus muscle (p < 0.001) was higher in the DIP-R and G&A-R groups relative to the CON-R group. G&A-PE and DIP-PE groups exhibited lower concentrations of plasma PGE2 (p < 0.05) and TNF-alpha (p < 0.05), and higher concert I rations of glutamine and glutamate in soleus (p < 0.001) and gastrocnemius muscles (p < 0.05) relative to the CON-PE group. We concluded that supplementation with free L-glutamine and the dipeptide LL-alanyl-LL-glutamine represents an effective source of glutamine, which may attenuate inflammation biomarkers after periods of training and plasma levels of CK and the inflammatory response induced by prolonged exercise. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) Aqueous Extract Decreases Intestinal SGLT1 Gene Expression but Does Not Affect Other Biochemical Parameters in Alloxan-Diabetic Wistar Rats

Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) is rich in polyphenols, especially chlorogenic acids. Evidence suggests that dietary polyphenols could play a role in glucose absorption and metabolism. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antidiabetic properties of yerba mate extract in alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats. Animals (n = 41) were divided in four groups: nondiabetic control (NDC, n = 10), nondiabetic yerba mate (NDY, n = 10), diabetic control (DC, n = 11), and diabetic yerba mate (NDY, n = 10). The intervention consisted in the administration of yerba mate extract in a 1 g extract/kg body weight dose for 28 days; controls received saline solution only. There were no significant differences in serum glucose, insulin, and hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase activity between the groups that ingested yerba mate extract (NDY and DY) and the controls (NDC and DC). However, the intestinal SGLT1 gene expression was significantly lower in animals that received yerba mate both in upper (p = 0.007) and middle (p < 0.001) small intestine. These results indicate that bioactive compounds present in yerba mate might be capable of interfering in glucose absorption, by decreasing SGLT1 expression.

Pozzolanic behavior of bamboo leaf ash: Characterization and determination of the kinetic parameters

The paper presents a characterization and study of the pozzolanic behavior between calcium hydroxide (CH) and bamboo leaf ash (BLAsh), which was obtained by calcining bamboo leaves at 600 degrees C for 2 h in a laboratory electric furnace. To evaluate the pozzolanic behavior the conductometric method was used, which is based on the measurement of the electrical conductivity in a BLAsh/CH solution with the reaction time. Later, the kinetic parameters are quantified by applying a kinetic-diffusive model. The kinetic parameters that characterize the process (in particular, the reaction rate constant and free energy of activation) were determined with relative accuracy in the fitting process of the model. The pozzolanic activity is quantitatively evaluated according to the values obtained of the kinetic parameters. Other experimental techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), were also employed. The results show that this kind of ash is formed by silica with a completely amorphous nature and a high pozzolanic activity. The correlation between the values of free energy of activation (Delta G(#)) and the reaction rate constants (K) are in correspondence with the theoretical studies about the rate processes reported in the literature. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selection of operational parameters for the production of instant soy protein isolate by pulsed fluid bed agglomeration

The objective of this study was to select the optimal operational conditions for the production of instant soy protein isolate (SPI) by pulsed fluid bed agglomeration. The spray-dried SPI was characterized as being a cohesive powder, presenting cracks and channeling formation during its fluidization (Geldart type A). The process was carried out in a pulsed fluid bed, and aqueous maltodextrin solution was used as liquid binder. Air pulsation, at a frequency of 600 rpm, was used to fluidize the cohesive SPI particles and to allow agglomeration to occur. Seventeen tests were performed according to a central composite design. Independent variables were (i) feed flow rate (0.5-3.5 g/min), (ii) atomizing air pressure (0.5-1.5 bar) and (iii) binder concentration (10-50%). Mean particle diameter, process yield and product moisture were analyzed as responses. Surface response analysis led to the selection of optimal operational parameters, following which larger granules with low moisture content and high process yield were produced. Product transformations were also evaluated by the analysis of size distribution, flowability, cohesiveness and wettability. When compared to raw material, agglomerated particles were more porous and had a more irregular shape, presenting a wetting time decrease, free-flow improvement and cohesiveness reduction. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study of the pozzolanic reaction kinetics in sugar cane bagasse-clay ash/calcium hydroxide system: kinetic parameters and pozzolanic activity

This paper presents a study of the pozzolanic reaction kinetics between calcium hydroxide and a mixture of sugar cane bagasse with 20 and 30% of clay, burned at 800 and 1000 degrees C (SCBCA) by electrical conductivity measurements. A kinetic-diffusive model produced in previous studies by some of the authors was used. The model was fitted to the experimental data, which allowed the computation of the kinetic parameters of the pozzolanic reaction (reaction rate constant and free energy of activation) that rigorously characterised the pozzolanic activity of the materials. The results show that SCBCA demonstrated reactivity and good pozzolanic qualities in the range 800-1000 degrees C.

A prospective 12-month study of the effect of smoking cessation on periodontal clinical parameters

P>Aim The aim of this 12-month prospective study was to assess the adjunctive effect of smoking cessation in non-surgical periodontal therapy of subjects with severe chronic periodontitis. Materials and methods Of the 201 subjects enrolled from a smoking cessation clinic, 93 were eligible and received non-surgical periodontal treatment and concurrent smoking cessation treatment. Periodontal maintenance was performed every 3 months. Full-mouth periodontal examination in six sites per tooth was performed by a calibrated examiner, blinded to smoking status, at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months after non-surgical periodontal treatment. Furthermore, expired air carbon monoxide concentration measurements and interviews based on a structured questionnaire were performed in order to collect demographic and smoking data. Results Of the 93 eligible subjects, 52 remained in the study after 1 year. Of these, 17 quit smoking and 35 continued smoking or oscillated. After 1 year, only quitters presented significant clinical attachment gain (p=0.04). However, there were no differences between the groups regarding clinical attachment level, probing depth, bleeding on probing and plaque index after 1 year (p > 0.05). Conclusion Smoking cessation promoted clinical attachment gain in chronic periodontitis subjects from a smoking cessation clinic after 1 year of follow-up.

Quantized fields and gravitational particle creation in f (R) expanding universes

The problem of cosmological particle creation for a spatially flat, homogeneous and isotropic universes is discussed in the context of f (R) theories of gravity. Different from cosmological models based on general relativity theory, it is found that a conformal invariant metric does not forbid the creation of massless particles during the early stages (radiation era) of the universe. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The SARS algorithm: detrending CoRoT light curves with Sysrem using simultaneous external parameters

Surveys for exoplanetary transits are usually limited not by photon noise but rather by the amount of red noise in their data. In particular, although the CoRoT space-based survey data are being carefully scrutinized, significant new sources of systematic noises are still being discovered. Recently, a magnitude-dependant systematic effect was discovered in the CoRoT data by Mazeh et al. and a phenomenological correction was proposed. Here we tie the observed effect to a particular type of effect, and in the process generalize the popular Sysrem algorithm to include external parameters in a simultaneous solution with the unknown effects. We show that a post-processing scheme based on this algorithm performs well and indeed allows for the detection of new transit-like signals that were not previously detected.

An accelerating cosmology without dark energy

The negative pressure accompanying gravitationally-induced particle creation can lead to a cold dark matter (CDM) dominated, accelerating Universe (Lima et al. 1996 [1]) without requiring the presence of dark energy or a cosmological constant. In a recent study, Lima et al. 2008 [2] (LSS) demonstrated that particle creation driven cosmological models are capable of accounting for the SNIa observations [3] of the recent transition from a decelerating to an accelerating Universe, without the need for Dark Energy. Here we consider a class of such models where the particle creation rate is assumed to be of the form Gamma = beta H + gamma H(0), where H is the Hubble parameter and H(0) is its present value. The evolution of such models is tested at low redshift by the latest SNe Ia data provided by the Union compilation [4] and at high redshift using the value of z(eq), the redshift of the epoch of matter - radiation equality, inferred from the WMAP constraints on the early Integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect [5]. Since the contributions of baryons and radiation were ignored in the work of LSS, we include them in our study of this class of models. The parameters of these more realistic models with continuous creation of CDM are constrained at widely-separated epochs (z(eq) approximate to 3000 and z approximate to 0) in the evolution of the Universe. The comparison of the parameter values, {beta, gamma}, determined at these different epochs reveals a tension between the values favored by the high redshift CMB constraint on z(eq) from the ISW and those which follow from the low redshift SNIa data, posing a potential challenge to this class of models. While for beta = 0 this conflict is only at less than or similar to 2 sigma, it worsens as beta increases from zero.

The effects of stocking density in physiological parameters and growth of the endangered teleost species piabanha, Brycon insignis (Steindachner, 1877)

This study investigated the effects of stocking density on the growth and fatty acid (FA) of Brycon insignis metabolism. Fingerlings (360) were distributed into eight ponds at two stocking densities (105 and 210 g/m(3)). The analysis of growth showed that the condition factor (K) and the coefficient of variation (CV) for body mass were not affected by stocking density. However, final body mass and length, specific growth rate (SGR), and weight gain (WG) were higher in the low stocking density group, which also presented a higher feed efficiency (FE) and survival (S). By contrast, muscle protein levels were higher in the high stocking density group. The plasma and muscle lipid content were not affected by stocking density, but fish reared at lower stocking density presented higher lipid concentration in the liver, with no differences in hepatosomatic index values. Even with the differences observed in metabolic and growth parameters, plasma cortisol was not affected by stocking density. The FA profile in the muscle and liver neutral fraction were not affected by stocking density, but the FA in the polar fractions differed between the two stocking densities. In the liver, total polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and PUFA n - 3 increased in higher stocking density, mainly due to an increase in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In addition, PUFA n - 6 were also increased in the higher stocking density group, mainly due to an increase in arachidonic acid (AA) and docosadienoic acid (22:2n - 6). In the muscle polar fraction, the saturated fatty acids (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) decreased in the animals from the higher stocking density group, and this reduction was compensated by an increase in PUFA n - 3 and PUFA n - 6, mainly the FA with 20-22 carbons (20:4n - 6: 22:4:n - 6; 22:5n - 6, 22:5n - 3, and 22:6n - 3). A different profile was observed for the C18 PUFAs, mainly 18:2n - 6 and 18:4n - 6, which were higher in the lower density stocking group. The data suggest that when living in high stocking density, B. insignis differentially utilizes the hepatic lipids as energy source and remodels the membrane fatty acids, with higher amounts of DHA in the polar muscle fraction compensated for by a decrease in MUFA. The zootechnical and physiological indices reveal that the lower stocking density group achieve overall better performance. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The combined effect of copper and low pH on antioxidant defenses and biochemical parameters in neotropical fish pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg, 1887)

Copper sulfate is widely used in aquaculture. Exposure to this compound can be harmful to fish, resulting in oxidative metabolism alterations and gill tissue damage. Pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus, (wt = 43.4 +/- A 3.35 g) were distributed in experimental tanks (n = 10; 180 l) and exposed for 48 h to control (without copper addition), 0.4Cu (0.4 mg l(-1)), 0CupH (without copper addition, pH = 5.0) and 0.4CupH (0.4 mg l(-1), pH = 5.0). In liver and red muscle, the superoxide dismutase (SOD) was responsive to the increases in the aquatic copper. The plasmatic intermediary metabolites and hematological variables in the fish of group 0.4Cu were similar to those of the control group. Conversely, the exposure to 0.4CupH caused an increase in the plasmatic lactate, number of red blood cells (RBC) and hemoglobin (Hb). Plasmatic copper concentration [Cu(p)] increased in group 0.4Cu and 0.4CupH, which is higher in group 0.4CupH, suggests an effect of water pH on the absorbed copper. Exposure to 0.4Cu and 0.4CupH resulted in a reduction in the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity and an increase in metallothionein (MT) in the gills. Exposure to 0CupH caused a decrease in glucose and pyruvate concentrations and an increase in RBC, Hb, and the branchial Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase activity. These responses suggest that the fish triggered mechanisms to revert the blood acidosis, save energy and increase the oxygen uptake. MT was an effective biomarker, responding to copper in different pHs and dissolved oxygen. Combined-factors caused more significant disturbance in the biomarkers than single-factors.

On the Hartman-Grobman Theorem with Parameters

The Hartman-Grobman Theorem of linearization is extended to families of dynamical systems in a Banach space X, depending continuously on parameters. We prove that the conjugacy also changes continuously. The cases of nonlinear maps and flows are considered, and both in global and local versions, but global in the parameters. To use a special version of the Banach-Caccioppoli Theorem we introduce equivalent norms on X depending on the parameters. The functional setting is suitable for applications to some nonlinear evolution partial differential equations like the nonlinear beam equation.

Immunological parameters related to the adjuvant effect of the ordered mesoporous silica SBA-15

In 2006, the first report of a nanostructured material as adjuvant was described establishing the effectiveness of the ordered mesoporous SBA-15 silica as an immune adjuvant. The present study evaluated the SBA-15 capacity to modulate the immune responsiveness of High and Low responder mice immunized with BSA encapsulated/adsorbed in SBA-15 by the intramuscular or oral route and the adjuvant effect was compared with the responsiveness induced by BSA in aluminum hydroxide salts or emulsified in Incomplete Freund adjuvant. These results demonstrate the ability of the non-toxic SBA-15 nanoparticles to increase the immunogenicity and repair the responsiveness of the constitutively low responder individuals inducing both the IgG2a and the IgG1 isotypes, independently of the immune cell committed and conditioning the low phenotype. This new adjuvant may reveal novel therapeutic targets for immune modulation and vaccine design. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cobalt-related impurity centers in diamond: electronic properties and hyperfine parameters

Cobalt-related impurity centers in diamond have been studied using first principles calculations. We computed the symmetry, formation and transition energies, and hyperfine parameters of cobalt impurities in isolated configurations and in complexes involving vacancies and nitrogen atoms. We found that the Co impurity in a divacant site is energetically favorable and segregates nitrogen atoms in its neighborhood. Our results are discussed in the context of the recently observed Co-related electrically active centers in synthetic diamond.

A dedicated setup for the measurement of the electron transport parameters in gases at large electric fields

Electron transport parameters are important in several areas ranging from particle detectors to plasma-assisted processing reactors. Nevertheless, especially at high fields strengths and for complex gases, relatively few data are published. A dedicated setup has been developed to measure the electron drift velocity and the first Townsend coefficient in parallel plate geometry. An RPC-like cell has been adopted to reach high field strengths without the risk of destructive sparks. The validation data obtained with pure Nitrogen will be presented and compared to a selection of the available literature and to calculations performed with Magboltz 2 version 8.6. The new data collected in pure Isobutane will then be discussed. This is the first time the electron drift velocity in pure Isobutane is measured well into the saturation region. Good agreement is found with expectations from Magboltz. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.