Morphology of the vas deferens in an ethanol-drinking strain of rats (UChA and UChB)

Chronic alcoholism alters reproduction and therefore may be responsible for alterations of vas deferens, which are the subject of this analysis in UCh ethanol-drinking rats. The proximal and distal segments of the vas deferens of 20 animals were submitted to macroscopic, light microscopy, electron microscopy and morphometric analysis. The UCh rats showed atrophy of the epithelium of the vas deferens and alterations of the hypothalamus-pituitary axis. Ethanol induces changes in the epithelium of the vas deferens and hypothalamus-pituitary axis of UCh rats.

Effect of fortification of drinking water with iron plus ascorbic acid or with ascorbic acid alone on hemoglobin values and anthropometric indicators in preschool children in day-care centers in Southeast Brazil

Background. Iron-deficiency anemia currently is the most frequently occurring nutritional disorder worldwide. Previous Brazilian studies have demonstrated that drinking water fortified with iron and ascorbic acid is an adequate vehicle for improving the iron supply for children frequenting day-care centers. Objective. The objective of this study was to clarify the role of ascorbic acid as a vehicle for improving iron intake in children in day-care centers in Brazil. Methods. A six-month study was conducted on 150 children frequenting six day-care centers divided into two groups of three day-care centers by drawing lots: the iron-C group (3 day-care centers, n = 74), which used water fortified with 10 mg elemental iron and 100 mg ascorbic acid per liter, and the comparison group (3 day-care centers, n = 76), which used water containing only 100 mg ascorbic acid per liter. Anthropometric measurements and determinations of capillary hemoglobin were performed at the beginning of the study and after six months of intervention. The food offered at the day-care centers was also analyzed. Results. The fo od offered at the day-care center was found to be deficient in ascorbic acid, poor in heme iron, and adequate in non-heme iron. Supplementation with fortified drinking water resulted in a decrease in the prevalence of anemia and an increase in mean hemoglobin levels associated with height gain in both groups. Conclusions. Fortification of drinking water with iron has previously demonstrated effectiveness in increasing iron supplies. This simple strategy was confirmed in the present study. The present study also demonstrated that for populations receiving an abundant supply of non-heme iron, it is possible to control anemia in a simple, safe, and inexpensive manner by adding ascorbic acid to drinking water. © 2005, The United Nations University.

Faecal contamination (viral and bacteria) detection in groundwater used for drinking purposes in São Paulo, Brazil

This project has been developed to evaluate the possible relationship between the cesspit (pit latrine) in as far as it degrades the quality of underground water. Its importance is due to the fact that in the rural communities in the State of São Paulo (Brazil) this type of cesspit is very common as a means of sewage disposal and these communities use underground water for their supply of drinking water. Rural properties distributed over the rural area in the municipality of São José do Rio Preto were selected. A preliminary study was then set up to determine the social situation and health of the households as well as qualitative evaluations on the type of water supply and sewage disposal of these communities. Campaigns of water sampling then followed and laboratory analyses of water taken from wells were carried out. Parameters were set up to evaluate the potability according to Brazilian legislation (2004) paying attention to microbiologic (coliforms, Crytosporidium sp., and adenovirus). The analyses showed evidence of possible interaction between the wells and the sewage effluents and drainage in these communities. A PCR reaction to detect adenovirus showed a presence in 53.3% of the samples. The tests for the detection of Cryotosporidium sp all showed a negative result.

Experimental damage detection using system norms

Nowadays there is great interest in structural damage detection in systems using nondestructive tests. Once the failure is detected, as for instance a crack, it is possible to take providences. There are several different approaches that can be used to obtain information about the existence, location and extension of the fault in the system by non-destructive tests. Among these methodologies, one can mention different optimization techniques, as for instance classical methods, genetic algorithms, neural networks, etc. Most of these techniques, which are based on element-byelement adjustments of a finite element (FE) model, take advantage of the dynamic behavior of the model. However, in practical situations, usually, is almost impossible to obtain an accuracy model. In this paper, it is proposed an experimental technique for damage location. This technique is based on H: norm to obtain the damage location. The dynamic properties of the structure were identified using experimental data by eigensystem realization algorithm (ERA). The experimental test was carried out in a beam structure through varying the mass of an element. For the output signal was used a piezoelectric sensor. The signal of input of sine form was generated through SignalCalc® software.

Phenotypic plasticity of composite beef cattle performance using reaction norms model with unknown covariate

The objective of the present study was to determine the presence of genotype by environment interaction (G × E) and to characterize the phenotypic plasticity of birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), postweaning weight gain (PWG) and yearling scrotal circumference (SC) in composite beef cattle using the reaction norms model with unknown covariate. The animals were born between 1995 and 2008 on 33 farms located throughout all Brazilian biomes between latitude -7 and -31, longitude -40 and -63. The contemporary group was chosen as the environmental descriptor, that is, the environmental covariate of the reaction norms. In general, higher estimates of direct heritability were observed in extreme favorable environments. The mean of direct heritability across the environmental gradient ranged from 0.05 to 0.51, 0.09 to 0.43, 0.01 to 0.43 and from 0.12 to 0.26 for BW, WW, PWG and SC, respectively. The variation in direct heritability observed indicates a different response to selection according to the environment in which the animals of the population are evaluated. The correlation between the level and slope of the reaction norm for BW and PWG was high, indicating that animals with higher average breeding values responded better to improvement in environmental conditions, a fact characterizing a scale of G × E. Low correlation between the intercept and slope was obtained for WW and SC, implying re-ranking of animals in different environments. Genetic variation exists in the sensitivity of animals to the environment, a fact that permits the selection of more plastic or robust genotypes in the population studied. Thus, the G × E is an important factor that should be considered in the genetic evaluation of the present population of composite beef cattle. © The Animal Consortium 2012.

Detecção de Binge drinking em estudantes do ensino médio: efetividade de diferentes métodos

Pós-graduação em Alimentos e Nutrição - FCFAR

Beber se embriagando (binge drinking): estudo de uma população de estudantes universitários que fazem uso do álcool de risco

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Application of Reactions Norms in Study of Genotype Environmental Interaction for Milk Yield of Buffaloes

The aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for milk yield (MY) in buffaloes using reaction norms. Model included the additive direct effect as random and contemporary group (herd and year of birth) were included as fixed effects and cow age classes (linear) as covariables. The animal additive direct random effect was modeled through linear Legendre polynomials on environment gradient (EG) standardized means. Mean trends were taken into account by a linear regression on Legendre polynomials of environmental group means. Residual variance was modeled trough 6 heterogeneity classes (EG). These classes of residual variance was formed : EG1: mean = 866,93 kg (621,68 kg-1011,76 kg); EG2: mean = 1193,00 kg (1011,76 kg-1251,49 kg); EG3: mean = 1309,37 kg (1251,49 kg -1393,20 kg); EG4: mean = 1497,59 kg (1393,20 kg-1593,53 kg); EG5: mean = 1664,78 kg (1593,53 kg -1727,32kg) e EG6: mean = 1973,85 kg (1727,32 kg -2422,19 kg).(Co) variance functions were estimated by restricted maximum likelihood (REML) using the GIBBS3F90 package. The heritability estimates for MY raised as the environmental gradient increased, varying from 0.20 to 0.40. However, in intermediate to favorable environments, the heritability estimates obtained with Considerable genotype-environment interaction was found for MY using reaction norms. For genetic evaluation of MY is necessary to consider heterogeneity of variances to model the residual variance.

Cyanobacteria, microcystins and cylindrospermopsin in public drinking supply reservoirs of Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

DRIS Norms for Pera Orange

Chemical analysis of leaves is an effective tool for detecting nutritional imbalances and providing data for fertilizer recommendations. Therefore, it is extremely important to establish criteria for interpreting these results. The DRIS (Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System) method is an alternative to the interpretation of results of leaf analysis as it allows the calculation of indexes for each nutrient, using its relations with others and comparing them with a reference population. Thus, we aimed to establish preliminary DRIS norms, by both Beaufils's and Jones's methods, and to derive critical levels and nutrient sufficiency ranges in the leaf tissue for Pera orange, by studying a commercial crop in the growing conditions of the Sao Paulo state. The methods (Beaufils and Jones) differed in the limiting nutrients in the Pera orange orchard. The use of regional norms must be prioritized because of differences between the management methods applied. In the methods used, the nutrients that had a greater number of concordant cases in decreasing order: Mn > Mg > B > N > Cu > Fe > Zn > K > P > Ca. Amplitudes related to the DRIS methods used were narrower than the conventional literature.

Effectiveness of different methods for the detection of binge drinking in dentistry students

The purpose of this study was to estimate the alcoholic beverage consumption among undergraduate students of a Dentistry Course and compare the effectiveness of screening methods for the detection of binge drinking. A total of 284 undergraduate students participated in the research. We used the full AUDIT and their reduced forms (AUDIT-3 and AUDIT-C). In addition, a ROC curve was created and its area was calculated. Of the students, 91.0% and 90.6% of the male and female genders, respectively, reported alcohol beverage consumption. Bing-drinking behavior occurred in 69.2% of the men and in 52.4% of the women. The 3 methods showed good discriminatory ability. For the women, there was a significant difference between the AUDIT-3 and AUDIT-C. Both the complete version of AUDIT and its reduced forms presented good discriminatory ability

Influence of microbiological quality of drinking water in the intestinal morphology of broilers

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

Detection of hormones in surface and drinking water in Brazil by LC-ESI-MS/MS and ecotoxicological assessment with Daphnia magna

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Reaction norms for the study of genotype-environment interaction for growth and indicator traits of sexual precocity in Nellore cattle

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

Dris norms and critical leaf nutrient levels for ‘Niagara rosada’ grape in Jundiaí region, São Paulo (Brasil)

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