Depressive symptoms and level of physical activity in patients with Alzheimer's disease

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

Effects of malathion and cadmium on acetylcholinesterase activity and metallothionein levels in the fish Seriola dumerilli

The potential use of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and metallothionein (MT) responses as biomarker of organophosphorous (OPs) and trace metal were assessed in fish Seriola dumerilli exposed to 0, 4, 6 mg/kg of malathion for 2, 7 and 13 days, and to 0, 50, 100, 250 mu g/kg of Cd for 2 days. Brain AChE was significantly inhibited after 2 and 7 days of malathion exposure, in a dose-response manner, but no inhibition was observed after 13 days of exposure. When exposed to Cd for 2 days, S. dumerelli presented an increase in AChE activity at a concentration of 50 mu g/kg, but a strong and dose-dependent AChE inhibition at 100 and 250 mu g/kg. Cd treatment also caused a rapid increase in MTs concentration in liver, even at the lower concentration. Our experiments indicate that the measurement of hepatic MT concentration and brain AChE activity in S. dumerilli would be useful biomarkers of OP and Cd exposure and/or effects.

Comparison of oxidation efficiency of disperse dyes by chemical and photoelectrocatalytic chlorination and removal of mutagenic activity

Degradation of Disperse Orange 1, Disperse Red 1 and Disperse Red 13 dyes has been performed using electrochemical oxidation on Pt electrode, chemical chlorination and photoelectrochemical oxidation on Ti/TiO(2) thin film electrodes in NaCl or Na(2)SO(4) medium. 100% discoloration was obtained for all tested methods after 1 h of treatment. Faster color removal was obtained by photoelectrocatalytic oxidation in 0.1 mol L(-1) NaCl pH 4.0 under UV light and an applied potential of +1.0V (vs SCE reference electrode), which indicates also values around 60% of TOC removal. The conventional chlorination method and electrochemical oxidation on Pt electrode resulted in negligible reduction of TOC removal. All dyes showed positive mutagenic activity in the Salmonella/microsome assay with the strain TA98 in the absence and presence of S9 (exogenous metabolic activation). Nevertheless, there is complete reduction of the mutagenic activity after 1 h of photoelectrocatalytic oxidation, suggesting that this process would be good option to remove disperse azo dyes from aqueous media. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Composition and screening of antifungal activity against Cladosporium sphaerospermum and Cladosporium cladosporioides of essential oils of leaves and fruits of Piper species

This study investigated the composition and antifungal activity against Cladosporium sphaerospermum and Cladosporium cladosporioides of essential oils of leaves of Piper cernuum, Piper diospyrifolium, Piper crassinervium, Piper solmsianum and Piper umbelata and fruits of P. cernuum and P. diospyrifolium. The essentials oils were analyzed by GC-MS and submitted of the antifungal activity tests. The essential oils of fruits from P. cernuum and leaves of P. crassinervium and P. solmsianum showed potential antifungal activity against C. sphaerospermum and C. cladosporioides. In addition, this is the first report of the composition of essential oils of fruits of P. cernuum and P. diospyrifolium.

Vegetative and productive aspects of organically grown coffee cultivars under shaded and unshaded systems

Although Coffea arabica species has its origin in the African understories, there is great resistance on the part of the Brazilian producers for growing this species under agroforestry systems as they fear that shading reduces production. This study aimed at evaluating some vegetative traits and the productivity of organically grown coffee (Coffea arabica L.) cultivars under shaded and unshaded systems. Twelve treatments consisting of two cultivation systems (shaded and unshaded) and six coffee cultivars were arranged in randomized blocks with four replicates, in a split-plot scheme. Shading was provided by banana (Musa sp.) and coral bean plants (Erythrinaverna). Shading delayed fruit maturation. Late maturation cultivars, such as the Icatu and the Obatã, matured early in both cultivation systems, while medium and early maturation cultivars presented late maturation. Cultivation in the shaded system increased the leaf area and the number of lower branches, decreased the number of productive nodes per branch, and increased the distance between the nodes and the number of leaves present in the branches. Cultivation in the unshaded system presented greater number of plants with branch blight in relation to plants grown in the shade. The productivity of the cultivars was not different, at 30.0 processed bags per hectare in the shaded system, and 25.8 processed bags per hectare in the unshaded system. The most productive cultivars in the shaded system were the Tupi, the Obatã, and the Catuaí, while no differences between cultivars were obtained in the unshaded system.

Flavonoids and lignans from Virola surinamensis twigs and their in vitro activity against Trypanosoma cruzi

Dichloromethane extracts from twigs of Virola surinamensis (Myristicaceae) showed in vitro trypanosomicidal activity against trypomastigote form of Trypanosoma cruzi. The extract, fractionated by preparative circular chromatography and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography yielded two steroids, two lignans, five flavonoids, and one polyketide. Among the isolated compounds, the lignans presented the highest trypanosomicidal activity.

Effect of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus on subsequent Pasteurella multocida challenge in pigs

This trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSv) on a subsequent challenge with Pasteurella multocida in pigs. Sixteen, 3-4 week-old piglets, from a PRRSv and Aujeszky disease virus (ADV) free herd were used. Animals were equally and randomly allocated in four groups which were treated according the following schedule: Group I: negative controls; Group II: inoculation with only PRRSV; Group III: inoculation with PRRSV and P. multocida; Group IV: inoculation with ADV and multocida (positive controls), PRRSV and ADV were inoculated intranasally, at the doses of 10(4.6) and 10(4.5) TCID50/ml, respectively. Five days later, pigs from groups III and IV were inoculated intranasally, with two ml of a 10(9) CFU/mL suspension of equal parts of P. multocida, strains A52 and A24. No lesions were observed in piglets of group I. Microscopically, interstitial pneumonia was identified in all piglets of groups II and III and 3/4 piglets from group IV. Bronchopneumonia was detected in 3/4 of the piglets from group III and in all animals of group TV which, additionally, showed meningo-encephalitis and purulent rhinitis. Macroscopically, only piglets of groups III and IV had lung consolidation. However, much lower pneumonic scores (2.3%) were observed in group III, where 3 of 4 piglets were affected. on the other hand, all piglets of group IV showed some degree of pulmonary consolidation, with a mean score of 13.7%. Based on these results, it appears that the role of PRRSV as a initiator of secondary diseases is still undefined, but is probably mild, There was no clear interaction between PRRSV and Pasteurella multocida under the conditions and strains tested here. (C) 1997 Elsevier B.V. B.V.

INFLUENCE of HIP EXTERNAL ROTATION on HIP ADDUCTOR and RECTUS FEMORIS MYOELECTRIC ACTIVITY DURING A DYNAMIC PARALLEL SQUAT

Pereira, GR, Leporace, G, Chagas, DV, Furtado, LFL, Praxedes, J, and Batista, LA. Influence of hip external rotation on hip adductor and rectus femoris myoelectric activity during a dynamic parallel squat. J Strength Cond Res 24(10): 27492754, 2010-This study sought to compare the myoelectric activity of the hip adductors (HAs) and rectus femoris (RF) when the hip was in a neutral position or externally rotated by 30 degrees or 50 degrees (H0, H30, and H50, respectively) during a parallel squat. Ten healthy subjects performed 10 repetitions of squats in each of the 3 hip positions and the myoelectric activities of the HAs and RF were recorded. The signal was then divided into categories representing concentric (C) and eccentric (E) contractions in the following ranges of motion: 0-30 degrees (C1 and E1), 30-60 degrees (C2 and E2), and 60-90 degrees (C3 and E3) of knee flexion. From those signals, an root mean square (RMS) value for each range of motion in each hip position was obtained. All values were normalized to those obtained during maximum voluntary isometric contraction. We found that HAs showed a significant increase in myoelectric activity during C3 and E3 in the H30 and H50 positions, as compared with H0. Meanwhile, RF activity did not significantly differ between hip positions. Both muscles showed higher activation during 60-90 degrees (C3 and E3) of knee flexion, as compared with 0-30 degrees (C1 and E1) and 30-60 degrees (C2 and E2). The results suggest that if the aim is to increase HA activity despite the low percentage of muscle activation, squats should be performed with 30 degrees of external rotation and at least 90 degrees of knee flexion.

Effects of biofertilizer rates on the structural, morphogenetic and productive characteristics of Piata grass

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of different levels of biofertilizers from cattle and swine manure on the structural, morphogenetic and productive characteristics of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Piata. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized factorial design with split plots. The plots were defined by eight treatments: two biofertilizers (cattle and swine), four levels (0, 100, 200 and 300 kg N.ha(-1)) and subplots by four different cutting periods. The cutting for plant uniformity was performed at 45 days after sowing at 15 cm above the soil surface. The biofertilizeres were applied in a single level, after the cutting of plants, in rates of 0, 0.23 and 0.19, 0.45 and 0.38, 0.68 and 0.57 liters pot(-1) for the biofertilizers from cattle and swine manure, respectively. These rates were also equivalent to levels of 0, 100, 200 and 300 kg N.ha(-1). There was no significant difference between the types of biofertilizers as there was no interaction between them and the different levels, hence both biofertilizers could be applied without any loss of nutrient intake by the plants used in this experiment. There was a significant difference between the production of green and dry matter, the leaf appearance rate, phyllochron, leaf and pseudostem elongation rates, number of green leaves, final leaf length, number and weight of tillers, according to the increase of nitrogen rates, following linear prediction model. Effect of the cutting periods was also observed, once the plants harvested during the summer presented greater performance of structural and morphogenetic characteristics.

Palladium(II) Complexes with Thiosemicarbazones. Syntheses, Characterization and Cytotoxicity against Breast Cancer Cells and Anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis Activity

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

Association between IGF2 and CYP21 gene polymorphisms and characteristics of economic interest in Nellore cattle

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

Conceptual spaces and consciousness: Integrating cognitive and affective processes

In the book Conceptual Spaces: the Geometry of Thought [2000] Peter Gärdenfors proposes a new framework for cognitive science. Complementary to symbolic and subsymbolic [connectionist] descriptions, conceptual spaces are semantic structures constructed from empirical data representing the universe of mental states. We argue that Gärdenfors' modeling can be used in consciousness research to describe the phenomenal conscious world, its elements and their intrinsic relations. The conceptual space approach affords the construction of a universal state space of human consciousness, where all possible kinds of human conscious states could be mapped. Starting from this approach, we discuss the inclusion of feelings and emotions in conceptual spaces, and their relation to perceptual and cognitive states. Current debate on integration of affect/emotion and perception/cognition allows three possible descriptive alternatives: emotion resulting from basic cognition; cognition resulting from basic emotion, and both as relatively independent functions integrated by brain mechanisms. Finding a solution for this issue is an important step in any attempt of successful modeling of natural or artificial consciousness. After making a brief review of proposals in this area, we summarize the essentials of a new model of consciousness based on neuro-astroglial interactions. © 2011 World Scientific Publishing Company.