Coumarins and terpenoids from Dorstenia asaroides Gardn. in Hook

Phytochemical investigation of rhizomes and leaves of Dorstenia asaroides Gardn. in Hook. (Moraceae) afforded the furocoumarins psoralen and bergapten, the triterpenes α-amyrin, α-amyrin acetate, β-amyrin acetate, lupeyl acetate and simiarenol and saccharose.

Caries and its association with infant feeding and oral health-related behaviours in 3-4-year-old Brazilian children

Objectives: To investigate the relationships between socio-demographic factors, infant feeding habits, oral hygiene and the prevalence and patterns of caries in Brazilian 3-4-year-olds. Methods: Systematic random sampling was used to select children enrolled in municipal nurseries in Araraquara, Brazil, in 1998. Clinical examinations were carried out by one examiner using dmft and dmfs indices and WHO criteria. Questionnaires for information related to the socio-demographic background, oral hygiene and dietary history of the children were completed by their mothers. Results: Caries was seen in 46% of the children; 17% of them had the more extensive pattern involving molars and incisors. Social class, mother's education, and age at which breast-feeding terminated showed statistically significant associations with caries. Feeding bottles with added sugars were still being given to 80% of the children. When the significant variables were taken into account only age at which breast-feeding terminated showed a significant relationship to the pattern of disease. Children who were never breast-fed or were breast-fed beyond the age of 24 months had a higher prevalence of the more extensive pattern of caries. Conclusions: The association between the length of time a mother breast-feeds and extensive caries should be a consideration in any local infant feeding policies or health promotion strategies. The duration for appropriate breast- or bottle-feeding should be emphasised.

Intrauterine dentistry: an integrated model of prevention.

Intrauterine Dentistry is a highly relevant subject of our time. The use of preventive measures in the intrauterine stage can avoid several diseases, among these, dental caries. The WHO advises that from the 4th month of pregnancy, women should avoid the intake of sugar, so that the fetus, future child, does not develop an exaggerated attraction for these types of foods, thus being susceptible to caries. Through questionnaires sent to gynecologist-obstetricians and dentists, this research investigated the information they have about this subject and how they instruct their patients. Questionnaires were also sent to pregnant women requesting information about the instructions they had received for the prevention of oral diseases of their fetus. Seventy-one percent of the dentists and 80% of the gynecologist-obstetricians reported having instructed the pregnant women to reduce the intake of sugar. However, only 13.6% of the dentists and no gynecologist-obstetrician instructed the reduction of sugar intake between the 12th and 18th week of pregnancy. A total of 42.2% of the pregnant women referred to these instructions, but none received instruction as to the specific period of the 12th and 18th week. An ideal model of treatment for pregnant women must include integrated and multiprofessional treatment, in which general dentists and gynecologist-obstetricians work together with the participation of the patient.

Carbohydrate and lipid status in soybean roots influenced by ferulic acid uptake

The objective of this research was to investigate how the allelochemical ferulic acid affects the carbohydrate and lipid contents of soybean roots cultivated in nutrient culture. The results presented revealed that ferulic acid has significant effects on carbohydrates by the increase in xylose, fructose and sucrose and decrease in glucose, after 24 h treatment of roots. Ferulic acid increased the contents of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids of the polar and non-polar lipid fractions. The results may contribute as additional data to explain allelopathic effects caused by ferulic acid.

Enzymes present in the thoracic gland extracts from workers and males of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

This research deals with the analysis of the enzymes present in thoracic gland extracts from newly emerged, nurse workers, forager workers, newly emerged males, and mature males of A. mellifera L. (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Apidae). The enzymes found in larger quantities in the thoracic gland occurred in all classes of workers and are digestive. Acid phosphatase and Naphtol-AS-BI-phosphohydrolase act in protein synthesis, leucine arylamidase hydrolyses proteins and a-glucosidase actuate in the nectar processing into honey. Naphtol-AS-BI-phosphohydrolase was found in larger quantities only in workers, this suggests action in protein synthesis by the thoracic gland, b-galactosidase is in larger amounts in the newly emerged bees (workers and males) this aids in the provision of other substances to be used as an energy source when glucose or sucrose are absent. Differences between enzymatic profiles from workers and males are usually related to their colony tasks, or related to their physiological necessities per individual in specific life stages.

Viability of Streptococcus mutans on transparent and opaque toothbrushes.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the viability of the microorganism Streptococcus mutans on toothbrushes made of opaque and transparent materials. METHODS: Twenty-eight toothbrushes (14 opaque and 14 transparent) were inoculated in tubes with brain heart infusion (BHI) broth of a standard strain of S. mutans and incubated in candle jars at 37 degrees C for 24 hours. Both the opaque and transparent toothbrushes were removed at T = 0 h (control); T = 0.5 h; T = 1 h; T = 2 h; T = 4 h; T = 8 h; and T = 24 h. Individual toothbrushes were subjected to agitation in a saline solution and samples of the solution were diluted and inoculated in Bacitracin Sucrose Agar--SB-20. RESULTS: After half an hour (T2) there was a significant decrease in the number of microorganisms on the transparent and opaque toothbrushes, respectively 6.0 x 10(5) and 9.4 x 10(5), when compared to the control. After the T3 = 1 hour, T4 = 2 hours, T5 = 4 h, the number of microorganisms decreased from 4.1 x 10(5); 2.1 x 10(5); 1.4 x 10(5); and 9.2 x 10(5); 5.7 x 10(5); 1.2 x 10(5) to zero (0.0) in T6 = 8 h, respectively on the transparent and opaque toothbrushes. The reduction in viable microorganisms was more obvious with the transparent toothbrushes, although the number of viable microorganisms was not significantly different for the two types of toothbrushes at the end of the experiment, T5 = 1.4 x 10(5) (transparent) and T5 = 1.2 x 10(5) (opaque). CONCLUSIONS: With both opaque and transparent toothbrushes, the number of microorganisms decreased with time. A reduction in the number of microorganisms on the transparent toothbrushes was observed following inoculation and incubation. This suggests the transparent toothbrushes inhibit the viability of the S. mutans.

Putative pyrophosphate phosphofructose 1-kinase genes identified in sugarcane may be getting energy from pyrophosphate

Pyrophosphate-dependent phosphofructokinase (PPi-PFK) has been detected in several types of plant cells, but the gene has not been reported in sugar cane. Using Citrux paradixi PPi-PFK gene (AF095520 and AF095521) sequences to search the sugar cane EST database, we have identified both the α and β subunits of this enzyme. The deduced amino acid sequences showed 76 and 80% similarity with the corresponding α and β subunits of C. paradisi. A high degree of similarity was also observed among the PFK β subunits when the alignment of the sugar cane sequences was compared to those of Ricinus communis and Solanum tuberosum, it appears that α and β are two distinct subunits; they were found at different concentrations in several sugar cane tissues. It remains to be determined if the different gene expression levels have some physiological importance and how they affect sucrose synthesis, export, and storage in vacuoles. A comparison between the amino acid sequences of β PFKs from a variety of organisms allowed us to identify the two critical Asp residues typical of this enzyme's activity site and the other binding sites; these residues are tightly conserved in all members of this protein family. Apparently, there are catalytic residues on the β subunit of the pyrophosphate-dependent enzyme.

Assessment of the diet of 0- to 6-year-old children in municipal schools in a Brazilian city

Diet control is one of the important factors in the prevention of dental caries because food functions as substratum for fermentation and, consequently, for the formation of the organic acids that demineralize the tooth surface. This study aims to descriptively assess school diet and the associated caries-preventive methods applied to children in all municipal nursery schools of a Brazilian city (Aragatuba/SP). For this, a questionnaire with open and closed questions was used. The results showed that all schools serve school meal, which is composed mainly of sugar, carbohydrates, and proteins. The students enjoy the meal very much because for most of them, the meal served at school is the only source of food. It was observed that 90% of the schools offer other kinds of food besides the main school meal. The snacks served such as cakes, white hominy, and milk fudge are composed of sweet and highly cariogenic foods. It was also verified that in 13.30% of the schools, the daily supervised dental hygiene, an important procedure that should not be neglected, is not carried out. This procedure introduces the children to healthy habits that are added to those acquired in the family environment. It was concluded that the school diet is potentially cariogenic and, in association with the lack of daily dental hygiene, this potential may become even higher.

Comparative field test between two sugar cane (Saccharum spp.) harvesters under two different operational conditions in Brazil

The sugar cane crop is one of the main products in Brazil and according to several authors can generate, besides the industrialized stalks, an amount of crop residues from the order of 15 to 30 % in weight of the aerial part of the plants, depending on the field conditions. The sugar cane area in Brazil is around 5.5×106 hectares, with an amount of 400.106 tons of stalks, with stalks yield of 72 tons.ha-1. This study took place in a sugar cane plot (Latitude 22°46'S, Longitude 47°23'W and 600m of altitude) with 3% of slope, located in São Paulo State. The sugar cane variety was SP 80-1816, in its forth cut, 11 months old and with a planted row spacing of 1.40 m. By other side, several sugar mills are bringing the crop residue to their patio to produce energy with the bagasse. One choice is to bring the crop residue at the same moment with the stalks, avoiding the next operation of baling it. The objective of this study was to analyze some operational parameters of two different sugar cane harvesters under the same field conditions, which was divided in four treatments: T1 = CAMECO CHT2500B operating normally; T2 = CAMECO CHT2500B operating without the cleaning system; T3 = CASE 7700 operating normally; T4 = CASE 7700 operating without the cleaning system. The results obtained were: Table presented CEB = Gross effective capacity; CEL = Net effective capacity. The conclusion is that under normal operation the CASE harvester worked better then CAMECO in the parameters CEL stalks and Manipulation efficiency. And without the cleaning system operating CASE also worked better in the parameters of CEB raw material, CEB stalks, CEL raw material and CEL stalks.

Sugar cane (Saccharum spp.) crop residue baling for energy purposes in Brazil

The sugar cane crop according to several authors can generate, besides the industrialized stalks, an amount of crop residues from the order of 15 to 30% in weight of the aerial part of the plants, depending on the field conditions. The sugar cane area in Brazil is around 5.5×106 hectares, with an amount of 400.106 tons of stalks, with stalks yield of 72 tons.ha-1 (Unica, 2005). This study took place in a sugar cane plot (Latitude 22°46'S, Longitude 47°23'W and 600m of altitude) with 3% of slope, located in São Paulo State. The sugar cane variety was SP 80-1816, in its forth cut, 11 months old and with a planted row spacing of 1.40m. By other side, several sugar mills are bringing the crop residue to their patio to produce energy with the bagasse. One way for that is the baling operation to bring the crop residue at the sugar mill. Some fundamental variables were obtained to define the best set of machines to work with in sugar cane crop residue removal in the baling system among the studied ones, some of the variables were: Soil Index (T1 = 0.83%, T2 = 0.46%, T3 = 0.65%, T4 = 0.57%); Energy Efficiency (T1 = 82.48%, T2 = 83.88%, T3 = 82.83% and T4 = 82.97%) of the system and Effective Cost for Equivalent Energy in US$.EBP-1 (T1 = 11.10, T2= 10.46, T3 = 11.47 and T4 = 10.57) of the baled trash delivered at the sugar mill.

Water relations of cut inflorescences of Alpinia purpurata treated with seven pulsing solutions

Alpinia purpurata (Vieill) K. Schum, common name red ginger belongs to Zingiberaceae family, and is a perennial, with nice inflorescences composed of layers of bracts arranged in spirals. The utilization of keeping-quality solutions seeks to prolong vase-life and to maintain the quality of cut flowers. This research was performed to evaluate the effect of seven pulsing solutions (during 24 hours) on water relations, quality (turgor, browning and curvature) and the longevity of cut red ginger. The experiment followed complete randomized design, in factorial arrangement. The following treatments were studied: 1) distilled water (control), 2) sucrose 2% + 8-hidroxyquinoline citrate 200 ppm, 3) sucrose 2%, 4) sucrose 2% + citric acid, 5) benzyladenine 10 μM, 6) benzyladenine 10 μmol + sucrose 2%, 7) quaternary ammonia 0,5 mL/L. There was no significant (P>0.05) reduction of the relative water content (RWC) of the inflorescence bracts, among solutions, in the first period (7 days) and in the second period (14 days) and, between the two periods for all treatments. Significant differences among RWC of some treatments were recorded after 16 days of vase life. The utilization of benzyladenine, benzyladenine plus sucrose and sucrose plus citric acid, in the pulsing solution, allowed to keep the flowers quality for longer periods than the other treatments.

Production of saccharogenic and dextrinogenic amylases by Rhizomucor pusillus A 13.36

A newly-isolated thermophilic strain of the zygomycete fungus Rhizomucor pusillus 13.36 produced highly active dextrinogenic and saccharogenic enzymes. Cassava pulp was a good alternative substrate for amylase production. Dextrinogenic and saccharogenic amylases exhibited optimum activities at a pH of 4.0-4.5 and 5.0 respectively and at a temperature of 75°C. The enzymes were highly thermostable, with no detectable loss of saccharogenic or dextrinogenic activity after 1 h and 6 h at 60°C, respectively. The saccharogenic activity was inhibited by Ca2+ while the dextrinogenic was indifferent to this ion. Both activities were inhibited by Fe2+ and Cu2+ Hydrolysis of soluble starch by the crude enzyme yielded 66% glucose, 19.5% maltose, 7.7% maltotriose and 6.6% oligosaccharides. Copyright © 2005, The Microbiological Society of Korea.

Efeito da sacarose e sorbitol na conservação in vitro de Passiflora giberti N. E. Brown

This work objectified the study of sucrose and sorbitol effect in the in vitro conservation for Passiflora giberti N. E. Brown, access. Therefore, an experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design to compare control treatment (standard MS) to MS medium supplemented with three sucrose concentrations (0, 15 and 30 g L -1) combined with three sorbitol concentrations (10, 20 and 40 g L -1), in a total of 10 treatments with 20 replicas. The experiment evaluation was carried out at 30, 60, 90 and 120 days of incubation, whereas the height of shoots (cm), number of roots, number and color of leaves were observed. The results showed the possibility to maintain passion-fruit microplants for a four months period under slow growth in MS medium supplemented with 10 or 20 g L -1 of sorbitol, without sucrose, and kept under 16 hours photoperiod (22 μ E m -2 s -1) and temperature of 27 ± 1°C. Sucrose sustained the longest development of the microplants. Root formation was affected by the sorbitol in the concentration of 40 g L -1 and by the absence of sucrose in the culture medium.

Excipientes de medicamentos e as informações da bula

Aim: To evaluate the presence of preservatives, dyes, sweeteners and flavouring substances in 73 pharmaceutical preparations of 35 medicines for oral administration, according to drug labeling information about the excipients. Methods: 35 medications were selected, both over-the-counter and prescription durgs, marketed in Brazil. The sample included: analgesic/antipyretic, antimicrobial, mucoregulatory, cough and cold, decongestant, antihistamine, bronchodilator, corticosteroid, antiinflammatory and vitamin medications. We collected data on 73 preparations of these drugs, according to drug labeling information regarding preservatives, dyes, sweeteners and flavourings. Results: Methylparaben and propylparaben were the most common preservatives found (43% and 35.6% respectively). The most common sweeteners were: sucrose (sugar) (53.4%), sodium saccharin (38.3%) and sorbitol (36.9%). Twenty-one medicines (28,7%) contained two sweeteners. Colourless medicines predominated (43.8%), followed by those with sunset yellow dye (FD&C yellow no. 6) (15%). Five products (6.8%) contained more than one colour agent. Tartrazine (FD&C yellow no. 5) was present in seven preparations (9.5%). Fruit was the most common flavouring found (83%). Labelings of drugs which contained sugar frequently omitted its exact concentration (77%). Of the four labelings of medicines which contained aspartame, two did not warn patients regarding phenylketonuria. Conclusions: Omission and inacuracy of drug labeling information on pharmaceutical excipients may expose susceptible individuals to adverse reactions caused by preservatives and dyes. Complications of inadvertent intake of sugar-containing medicines by diabetics, or aspartame intake by patients with phenylketonuria may also occur.

The effect of alcohol consumption on periodontal bone support in experimental periodontitis in rats

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the alcohol consumption on the periodontal bone support (PBS) in experimental periodontitis in rats. Materials and Methods: Sixty-three male rats were divided into seven groups: G1 (control); G2 (10% ethanol); G3 (nutritional control of G2); G4 (20% ethanol); G5 (nutritional control of G4); G6 (30% ethanol) and G7 (nutritional control of G6). The groups G3, G5 and G7 received controlled diets with equivalent caloric amounts to those consumed in G2, G4 and G6 respectively, with the ethanol replaced by sucrose. After anesthesia, ligatures were installed around the mandibular first molar, leaving the contralateral teeth unligated. After 8 weeks, the rats were killed and their mandibles were radiographed to measure the percentage of PBS on the distal aspect. Results: The intragroup analyses showed that presence of ligatures induced periodontitis (p<0.05). Unligated groups did not show significant differences among the percentages of PBS (p=0.1969). However, in ligated groups the rats that received alcohol (G2:48.71%±3.88; G4:47.66%±2.54; G6:47.32%±3.24) and the nutritional control group associated with a high concentration of ethanol (G7:47.40%±3.24) presented a significantly lower percentage of PBS than the other groups (G1:52.40%±2.75; G3:52.83%±2.41; G5:50.85%±4.14). Conclusions: These results demonstrated that alcohol consumption in rats may result in a direct effect on alveolar bone loss and increased development of periodontitis. In addition, they suggest that heavy caloric consumption of ethanol may also present an indirect effect on periodontal tissue as a consequence of malnutrition.