Annual profile of fecal androgen and glucocorticoid levels in free-living male American kestrels from southern mid-latitude areas

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Behavioural responses of workers towards worker-produced male larvae and queen-produced worker larvae in Acromyrmex subterraneus brunneus Forel, 1911 (Hym., Formicidae)

Leaf-cutting ant workers care for larvae with an elaborate behavioural repertoire to satisfy the needs of the offspring. In order to investigate worker discrimination ability in the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex subterraneus brunneus, we compared the behavioural responses of workers towards worker-produced male larvae and queen-produced worker larvae, including the following behavioural acts: licking the larval body, transporting larvae, feeding larvae with hyphae, scraping larval mouth parts, ingesting faecal fluid excreted by the larva, and inserting hyphae of the symbiontic fungus on the larval body. We verified that workers behaved differently depending on larval origin, i.e. licking the larval body, transporting larvae and inserting hyphae of the symbiontic fungus on the larval body. Observed differences denote the ability of workers in discriminating among larvae, probably because of their different individual needs.

Male and female interactions during courtship of the Neotropical damselfly Mnesarete pudica (Odonata: Calopterygidae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Resting Heart Rate is Associated with Blood Pressure in Male Children and Adolescents

Objectives To analyze the association between resting heart rate and blood pressure in male children and adolescents and to identify if this association is mediated by important confounders.Study design Cross-sectional study carried out with 356 male children and adolescents from 8 to 18 years old. Resting heart rate was measured by a portable heart rate monitor according to recommendations and stratified into quartiles. Blood pressure was measured with an electronic device previously validated for pediatric populations. Body fatness was estimated by a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.Results Obese subjects had values of resting heart rate 7.8% higher than nonobese (P = .001). Hypertensive children and adolescents also had elevated values of resting heart rate (P = .001). When the sample was stratified in nonobese and obese, the higher quartile of resting heart rate was associated with hypertension in both groups of children and adolescents.Conclusions This study confirms the existence of a relationship between elevated resting heart rate and increased blood pressure in a pediatric population, independent of adiposity, ethnicity and age. (J Pediatr 2011; 158:634-7).

The Accuracy of National Body Fat Cutoff Levels in the Prediction of Elevated Blood Pressure among Brazilian Male Adolescents

Objective: To assess viability of the development of percentage body fat cutoffs based on blood pressure values in Brazilian adolescents.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 358 male subjects from 8 to 18 years old. Blood pressure was measured by the oscilometric method, and body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).Results: For the identification of elevated blood pressure, these nationally developed body fat cutoffs presented relative accuracy. The cutoffs were significantly associated with elevated blood pressure [odds ratio = 5.91 (95% confidence interval: 3.54-9.86)].Conclusions: Development of national body fat cutoffs is viable, because presence of high accuracy is an indication of elevated blood pressure.

Lesões desportivas na elite do atletismo brasileiro: estudo a partir de morbidade referida

Os processos de quantificação e associação das lesões do esporte aos seus possíveis fatores causais são importantes para melhor entendimento sobre assunto. Assim constituiu-se como objetivo do presente estudo a observação das lesões desportivas (LD) em atletas da elite brasileira do atletismo, associando-as aos seus mecanismos de instalação e características da modalidade. Foram entrevistados 86 atletas (47 homens e 39 mulheres) convocados para representar o Brasil durante o ano de 2003. Utilizou-se um inquérito de morbidade referida, validado anteriormente, para obtenção dos dados referentes aos atletas e suas lesões. Para a análise dos resultados adotou-se o teste de Goodman para contrastes entre e dentro de proporções binomiais, sendo todas as conclusões discutidas para 5% de significância estatística. Os resultados mostraram que há maior taxa de lesão por atleta (l/a), nas provas combinadas (3,5 l/a), seguidas por eventos de velocidade (2,6 l/a), resistência (1,9 l/a) e saltos (1,9 l/a) respectivamente. O principal mecanismo causal é a alta intensidade acometendo preferencialmente velocistas e fundistas. Outra forte associação foi observada entre lesões musculares e provas de velocidade, que também apresentam preferência para ocorrência de lesão na região da coxa. As atividades com elevada intensidade foram o principal responsável por lesões musculares, enquanto as osteoarticulares e tendinopatias ocorrem com excesso de repetições. Concluiu-se, a partir dos achados, que existem associações entre lesões e fatores causais, como entre provas e lesões, mecanismos de lesão e local anatômico.

Effects of a ferment soy product on the adipocyte area reduction and dyslipidemia control in hypercholesterolemic adult male rats

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Comparative effects of acute and subacute lycopene administration on chromosomal aberrations induced by cisplatin in male rats

Lycopene is a natural carotenoid, free radical scavenger, and presents protective effects by inhibiting oxidative DNA damage. The objective of the current study was to investigate the cytogenetic effects of a single acute and four daily gavage administrations of lycopene, and to examine possible protective effects on chromosomal damage induced by the antitumor drug cisplatin (cDDP) in rat bone marrow cells. The animals were divided into treatment groups, with three lycopene doses in the acute treatment (2, 4, and 6 mg/kg b.w.), three lycopene doses in the subacute treatment (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mg/kg b.w.) with and without cDDP (5 mg/kg b.w. i.p.), and respective controls. The results indicated that lycopene is neither cytotoxic nor clastogenic when compared with the negative controls (P > 0.01). cDDP-treated animals submitted to acute and subacute treatments with different lycopene doses showed a significant reduction (p < 0.01) in the number of abnormal metaphases when compared with the animals treated only with cDDP. The protective effects of lycopene on cDDP-induced chromosomal damage may be attributed to its antioxidant activity. These results suggest that this carotenoid may prove useful in reducing some of the toxic effects associated with certain classes of chemotherapeutic agents. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Maternal separation stress in male mice: long-term increases in alcohol intake

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Male Homosexuality in Brazilian Indexing Languages: Some Ethical Questions

Studies on ethics in information organization have deeply contributed to the recognition of the social dimension of Information Science. The subject approach to information is linked to an ethical dimension because one of its major concerns is related to its reliability and usefulness in a specific discursive community or knowledge domain. In this direction, we propose, through an exploratory research design with qualitative and inductive characteristics, to identify the specific terminology that Brazilian indexing languages allow for terms relating to male homosexuality. We also analyzed the terms assigned to papers published in the Journal of Homosexuality, Sexualities and Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health between the years 2005 to 2009. From this analysis of terms and the Brazilian indexing languages, we see (1) the Brazilian context, (2) imprecision in the terminology, (3) indications of prejudices disseminated by political correctness, (4) biased representation of the subject matter, (5) and the presence of figures of speech.

No mutations found in exons of TP53, H-RAS and K-RAS genes in liver of male Wistar rats submitted to a medium-term chemical carcinogenesis assay

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects of swim training on liver carcinogenesis in male Wistar rats fed a low-fat or high-fat diet

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Semen parameters, fertility and testosterone levels in male rats exposed prenatally to betamethasone

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Could zinc prevent reproductive alterations caused by cigarette smoke in male rats?

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)