Reproductive cycle and ovarian development of the marine ornamental shrimp Stenopus hispidus in captivity

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Presence of calcium in oocytes of the diplopod Rhinocricus padbergi Verhoeff (Spirobolida, Rhinocricidae)

In diplopods, the presence of calcium-containing structures seems to be a common finding in some species, with its formation being similar to that observed for other intracellular mineralization systems. In the present study, using histochemistry and transmission electron microscopy, a large amount of calcium was observed in the oocytes of Rhinocricus padbergi. Calcium was detected in both less and well developed oocytes, i.e., the occurrence of calcium coincided with the beginning of vitellogenesis. Calcium was observed as fine granulation distributed within the cytoplasm or deposited in spherical structures apparently formed by overlapping calcium layers. Some authors have suggested that these structures represent a type of reserve used for the calcification of the embryo exoskeleton, whereas others believe that calcium inclusions are a mechanism of organism detoxification as a result of excess calcium ingested by animals during soil turnover. We suggest in this paper that the first hypothesis could be occurring in R. padbergi since at the juvenile stages of the individuals the uptake of calcium is low and because the oocyte is a specialized cell not associated with detoxification.

Ultrastructural studies of the mandibular gland of Melipona quadrifasciata Lepeletier, 1836 (Apidae, Meliponini): a comparison between workers and queens

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

Contribuições para o trabalho com valores em Educação Ambiental

Neste artigo discute-se o trabalho com valores em Educação Ambiental, o que exige uma fundamentação e posicionamento adequados. Diante do impasse entre posições relativistas e universalistas para a educação em valores, aponta-se para a necessidade de explicitar nossa posição e ação em favor dos valores ambientalmente desejáveis, considerando que as questões envolvidas com o meio ambiente dizem respeito à vida e à sobrevivência de todos os seres do planeta. Estes valores podem ser identificados junto aos princípios presentes no Tratado de educação global para sociedades sustentáveis e responsabilidade global, apresentado pela sociedade civil na ECO-92. Por fim, ressalta-se a necessidade de se desenvolverem estratégias educativas que envolvam as dimensões aqui denominadas de cognição, afetividade e ação, resultando em um trabalho abrangente, que amplie as possibilidades de o indivíduo apreender, de maneira mais efetiva, um dado valor, tendo, então, melhores condições de construí-lo em sua vida.

Are the anticipatory trunk movements occurring during load-carrying activities protective or risky?

This study evaluated anteroposterior trunk movements and the time spent on activities of load-carrying to surfaces at different heights, among experienced and inexperienced individuals. Thirty-six healthy males (16 experienced and 20 inexperienced in load-carrying) had their trunk movements recorded by an electrogoniometer while transporting boxes (7 and 15 kg) to surfaces of variable heights (low, low intermediate, high intermediate and high). Longer time was spent on trunk flexion when carrying loads to low surfaces and on trunk extension when carrying to high surfaces (p<0.05). Differences in time spent on trunk flexion/extension were identified between loads, and between groups for the heavier load. There were no differences in flexion/extension amplitudes between groups or loads. Although unnecessary flexion/extension occurring prior to a task may increase the exposure of the trunk to risky movements, the amplitudes reported here were relatively small and seemed to have occurred to facilitate the final tasks.Relevance to industryLifting devices and technological assistance are increasingly available in industrial settings. However, distribution centers and delivery services represent new demands on workers and involve an expressive amount of manual handling and carrying activities. Thus, studies on carrying strategies are necessary as they can provide guidelines for safer activities. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Time-dependent expression of annexin 1 in a model of chronic granulomatous inflammation

Objective and design: To determine the expression pattern and distribution of the glucocorticoid-inducible protein annexin 1 (ANXA1) in a murine model of chronic granulomatous inflammation.Materials or subjects: TO Mouse.Treatment: Chronic granulomatous inflammation was induced by injecting into dorsal sub-cutaneous air-pouches in mice, a mixture of croton oil and Freund's complete adjuvant (CO/FCA).Methods: Western and northern analysis, corticosterone assay, and immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA followed by Tukey's pair-wise comparisons or Dunnett's multiple comparisons.Results: ANXA1 protein levels changed significantly throughout the 4-week time course, with an initial peak at day 7 and a later elevation at 28 days. ANXA1 mRNA levels peaked at days 1 and 3, with a significant decline at day 7 followed by an upward trend to day 28. Plasma corticosterone measurements taken throughout the time course revealed an increase from 14 days onward, suggesting that corticosterone does not influence ANXA1 expression during the initial stages of the model. Immunogold staining revealed that ANXA1 expression in the inflamed tissue was mainly in extravasated neutrophils, with intact protein (37 kDa) being predominantly observed on the cell membrane.Conclusions: the pattern of ANXA1 expression indicates that infiltrated neutrophils are responsible for the majority of ANXA1 present both at early and later stages of this model of granulomatous inflammation.

Pectinase production by a Brazilian thermophilic fungus Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae N31 in solid-state and submerged fermentation

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

Visceral Pigmentation in Three Species of the Genus Scinax (Anura: Hylidae): Distinct Morphological Pattern

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

A mass-transportation approach to a one dimensional fluid mechanics model with nonlocal velocity

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

Production and partial characterization of polygalacturonases produced by thermophilic Monascus sp N8 and by thermotolerant Aspergillus sp N12 on solid-state fermentation

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

Polycation-Based Gene Therapy: Current Knowledge and New Perspectives

At present, gene transfection insufficient efficiency is a major drawback of non-viral gene therapy. The 2 main types of delivery systems deployed in gene therapy are based on viral or non-viral gene carriers. Several non-viral modalities can transfer foreign genetic material into the human body. To do so, polycation-based gene delivery methods must achieve sufficient efficiency in the transportation of therapeutic genes across various extracellular and intracellular barriers. These barriers include interactions with blood components, vascular endothelial cells and uptake by the reticuloendothelial system. Furthermore, the degradation of therapeutic DNA by serum nucleases is a potential obstacle for functional delivery to target cells. Cationic polymers constitute one of the most promising approaches to the use of viral vectors for gene therapy. A better understanding of the mechanisms by which DNA can escape from endosomes and traffic to enter the nucleus has triggered new strategies of synthesis and has revitalized research into new polycation-based systems. The objective of this review is to address the state of the art in gene therapy with synthetic and natural polycations and the latest advances to improve gene transfer efficiency in cells.

Quantization of the superstring in Ramond-Ramond backgrounds

Sigma model actions are constructed for the type II superstring compactified to four-and six-dimensional curved backgrounds which can contain non-vanishing Ramond-Ramond fields. These actions are N = 2 worldsheet superconformally invariant and can be covariantly quantized preserving manifest spacetime supersymmetry. They are constructed using a hybrid Version of superstring variables which combines features of the Ramond-Neveu-Schwarz and Green-Schwarz formalisms. For the AdS(2) x S-2 and AdS(3) x S-3 backgrounds, these actions differ from the classical Green-Schwarz actions by a crucial kinetic term for the fermions. Parts of this work have been done in collaborations with M Bershadsky, T Hauer, W Siegel, C Vafa, E Witten, S Zhukov and B Zwiebach.

Limits of validity for a semiclassical mean-field two-fluid model for Bose-Einstein condensation thermodynamics

We reinvestigate the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) thermodynamics of a weakly interacting dilute Bose gas under the action of a trap using a semi-classical two-fluid mean-field model in order to find the domain of applicability of the model. Such a model is expected to break down once the condition of diluteness and weak interaction is violated. We find that this breakdown happens for values of coupling and density near the present experimental scenario of BEG. With the increase of the interaction coupling and density the model may lead to unphysical results for thermodynamic observables. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier B.V. B.V, All rights reserved.

Axial-vector torsion and the teleparallel Kerr spacetime

In the context of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity, we obtain the tetrad and the torsion fields of the stationary axisymmetric Kerr spacetime. It is shown that, in the slow rotation and weak-field approximations, the axial-vector torsion plays the role of the gravitomagnetic component of the gravitational field, and is thus responsible for the Lense-Thirring effect.