Ganho de peso e alterações anatomopatológicas de tilápia-do-nilo arraçoadas com farelo de cacau

The experiment was carried out on the Laboratory of Fish Nutrition - F.M.V.Z., Campus Botucatu - integrated to the UNESP Aquaculture Center, with the main purpose of evaluating the effects of the use of cocoa meal (Theobroma cacao) on diets for Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings. Six diets with increasing levels of cocoa meal (CM): 0% CM; 4% CM; 8% CM; 12% CM; 16% CM and 20% CM were fed for 120 days to the fingerlings, in a completely randomized design. Results showed no significant adverse effect of cocoa meal on weight gain (p>0.05), but there were restrictions to its use on diet, as it was found pathological effects on liver and also behavior disturbs caused by alkaloids present on the product.

Effects of erythrinian alkaloids isolated from Erythrina mulungu (Papilionaceae) in mice submitted to animal models of anxiety

The effects of acute oral administration of erythrinian alkaloids, Le. (+)-alpha-hydroxy-erysotrine, erythravine and (+)-11 alpha-hydroxy-erythravine isolated from the flowers of Erythrina mulungu were investigated in two animal models of anxiety in mice-the light-dark transition model (LDTM) and the elevated plus-maze (EPM). In the LDTM, erythravine (3, 10 mg/kg) and (+)-11 alpha-hydroxy-erythravine (10mg/kg) increased the time spent by the animals in the illuminated compartment and (+)-11 alpha-hydroxy-erythravine (3 mg/kg) increased the number of transitions between compartments of the LDTM, suggesting an anxiolytic-like effect of these erythrinian alkaloids. Nevertheless, the third alkaloid studied, (+)-alpha-hydroxy-erysotrine, did not change any behavioral response with the range of doses used (3-10 mg/kg). Since the oral administration of the crude extract of E. mulungu (EM) (100-400 mg/kg) did not modify the conventional measures of anxiety in the EPM, this animal model was not chosen to evaluate the anxiolytic properties of the isolated alkaloids. These results suggest that the alkaloids erythravine and (+)-11 alpha-hydroxy-erythravine are responsible for the anxiolytic effects of the crude extract of E. mulungu.

Microwave synthesis of YAG : Eu by sol-gel methodology

Yttrium-aluminum oxides are interesting compounds and they have been extensively used as host for lasers and phosphors, due to their stable physical and chemical properties. The fabrication of yttrium-aluminum garnet (YAG) has been investigated thoroughly. Single-crystal YAG is expensive and to produce it a new way has been investigated. This process consists of modifying the methodology of reagents mixture and the process of heating them. The microwave irradiation is used to heat-treat the oxide mixture. The traditional synthesis of YAG powders occurs through the reaction of aluminum and yttrium powders at high temperatures. With this work we investigated the preparation of YAG by non-hydrolytic sol-gel route as an alternative methodology to obtain yttrium-aluminum matrix from inorganic precursors (yttrium and aluminum chloride). The preparation of the gel was carried out in an oven-dried glassware. The AlCl3, YCl3 and ethanol were reacted in reflux under argon atmosphere. Europium III chloride was added as a structural probe. The powder was dried and heat-treated in modified microwaves. The samples were pre-treated at 50 and 800 C during I h and then heated in microwaves for 30 s, 2 and 4 min. The formation process and structure of the powders were studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM). XRD presents only picks corresponding to the YAG phase and confirmed by TEM. PL date showed that the YAG phase was formed in 2 min with the samples pre-treated at 50 C. For the samples pretreated at 800 degrees C, the YAG phase appears in 30s. The excitation spectra present a maximum of 394 nm corresponding to the L-5(6) level and emission spectra of Eu III ion present bands characteristic transitions arising from the D-5(0) -> F-7(J) (J= 1, 2, 3, 4) monifolds excited at their maximum. The magnetic dipole D-5(0) -> F-7(1) transition presents more intensity than the electric dipole D-5(0) -> F-7(2) transition. This methodology showed efficiency in obtaining YAG phase. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A natural combinatorial chemistry strategy in acylpolyamine toxins from Nephilinae orb-web spiders

The present study shows how nature combined a small number of chemical building blocks to synthesize the acylpolyamine toxins in the venoms of Nephilinae orb-web spiders. Considering these structures in four parts, it was possible to rationalize a way to represent the natural combinatorial chemistry involved in the synthesis of these toxins: an aromatic moiety is connected through a linker amino acid to a polyamine chain, which in turn may be connected to an optional tail. The polyamine chains were classified into seven subtypes (from A to G) depending on the way the small chemical blocks are combined. These polyamine chains may be connected to one of the three possible chromophore moieties: 2,4-dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid, or 4-hydroxyindole acetic acid, or even with the indole acetic group. The connectivity between the aryl moiety and the polyamine chain is usually made through an asparagine residue; optionally a tail may be attached to the polyamine chain; nine different types of tails were identified among the 72 known acylpolyamine toxin structures. The combinations of three chromophores, two types of amino acid linkers, seven sub-types of polyamine backbone, and nine options of tails results in 378 different structural possibilities. However, we detected only 91 different toxin structures, which may represent the most successful structural trials in terms of efficiency of prey paralysis/death.

A constraints generator in structural determination by microcomputer

We present a new expert system: a constraints generator for structure determination of natural products. The constraints that the system furnishes are: skeleton (reliability: 95%), large substructures (reliability: 98%) and their associated assignments (reliability: 90%) This system is intended for structure determination of carbon-rich compounds (sesqui-, di- and triterpenes, sterols etc.) for which most structures generators are not very effective. We also present a new algorithm that can avoid the combinatorial explosion during subspectrum/substructure analysis.

Desempenho em pastagens e características de carcaça da 16a progênie dos rebanhos Nelore, Guzerá e Caracu de Sertãozinho (sp)

Forty one young bulls of herds selected for 378 day's weight (W378), born in 1996, were finished on pastures of Panicum Maximum (Jacq.), Panicum Maximum (Jaq) cv. Tanzania 1 and Brachiaria brizantha (Hoschst) Stapf cv. Marandu at the Sertaozinho Experimental Station, São Paulo State, Brazil. The samples, representing the W378 mean for each herd, were composed by 11 Nellore Selection (NeS) and by 10 of each one of the groups Nelore Control (NeC), Guzera Selection (GuS) and Caracu (Ca). The slaughter was carried out when the animals were 824 days older, with a body condition score averaging 7.6, in a 1-9 scale. The minimum and maximum adjusted means for the main traits, including all groups, were: average weight daily gain, 406 (NeC) and 501 g (NeS); slaughter weight (SW), 446.8 (NeC) and 544.3 kg (NeS); carcass weight (CW), 249.8 (NeC) and 309.7 kg (NeS); dressing percentage (DP), 54.0 (GuS) and 56.3% (NeC and NeS). In the 9(th) - 11(th) rib section: muscle, 59.6 (NeC) and 65.2% (Ca); fat, 15.6 (Ca) and 21.4% (NeC); bone, 18.9 (NeC) and 20.2% (GuS); fat thickness (FT), 2.0 (Ca) and 4.2 mm (NeC); loin eye area, 65.6 (NeC) and 71.1 cm(2) (NeS and Ca); Warner-Bratzler shear force (SF), 4.5 (Ca) and 6.6 kg (GuS) and total cooking losses (TCL), 22.5 (NeC) and 24.9% (GuS). The selection for weight promoted higher SW and CW in the NeS group, without changing the DP, the physical composition of the rib, SF and TCL in the meat. However, there was lower FT compared to NeC. The GuS animals had intermediates SW and CW, compared to NeS and Ca and lower DP. The Ca animals presented higher muscle percentage, in the rib section, and also higher meat tenderness compared to the meat of the Zebu animals.

Tissue tolerance of diclofenac sodium encapsulated in liposomes after intramuscular administration

In this work the effect of the encapsulation of diclofenac sodium within liposomes on the reduction of the myotoxicity after intramuscular administration in rats was studied. Diclofenac sodium was encapsulated in small unilamellar liposomes obtained from phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol, and a-tocopherol (40:10:0.04 mM), and administered by intramuscular injection in the quadriceps femoral muscle of male Wistar rats. After a single dose of 0.2 mg diclofenac formulations the local tissue damage was assessed by plasma creatine kinase (CPK) activity and histological analysis. It was demonstrated that formulations containing free diclofenac produced a higher increase in CPK activity, while those encapsulated in liposomes exhibited CPK activity similar to the control groups. Histopathological analysis of local muscle tissue performed on the third and seventh days following the injection showed intense cellular damage when free drug solution was used, while encapsulation in liposome protected the tissue against the local tissue inflammation.

Influence of temperature on the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of bismuth titanate thin films obtained by the polymeric precursor method

The (1 1 7) and (0 0 1 0)-oriented Bi4Ti3O12 thin films were fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by using a polymeric precursor solution under appropriate crystallization conditions. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy showed relatively large grains, which is typical for this system. The capacitance dependence on voltage is strongly non-linear, confirming the ferroelectric properties of the films resulting from the domain switching. The (1 1 7)-oriented films exhibited a higher remanent polarization (23.7 μ C cm(-2)) than the (0 0 1 0)-oriented films (11.8 μ C cm(-2)). Fatigue tests revealed that the temperature of thermal treatment and degree of orientation affect the performance of the device. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Size distribution and sex ratio in the spider crab Epialtus brasiliensis (Dana 1852) associated with seaweed on a rocky shore in southeastern Brazil (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura, Majoidea, Epialtidae).

This study analyzed a population of the spider crab Epialtus brasiliensis, in regard to its size distribution, sex ratio and Sexual maturity. The study was conducted on a rocky shore in the Ubatuba region, state of Silo Paulo, Brazil, where a wide strip of algae covers the intertidal zone. A total of 378 specimens were obtained: 200 males (128 juvenile and 72 adult crabs) and 178 females (46 juveniles and 132 adults). Their Sizes ranged from 3.4 to 16.7 mm carapace length (CL). Taking into account that the pubertal and terminal molts are coincident in majid crabs, the maximum sizes attained by males and females are especially dependent on the factors that influence sexual maturity, mainly food resources, temperature and intraspecific competition. Males of E. brasiliensis occurred in all size classes, whereas females occurred only as far the 10th size class (12-13 min CL). file total sex ratio did not differ statistically from 1 : 1, but when the juvenile and adult specimens were analyzed separately the differences between sexes were significantly different, with higher proportions of immature males and mature females. The CL50 calculated for males and females was 10.4, and 6.9 min CL, respectively. Thus, males reach their sexual maturity at a larger size than females. This feature may be important for the reproductive strategy of this species, because larger males probably have greater reproductive Success.

TROMBOSE VENOSA EXPERIMENTAL NA COBAIA: EFEITO DA HEPARINA E DE DROGAS QUE ALTERAM A FUNCAO PLAQUETARIA

Thrombosis was induced in the jugular vein of guinea pigs by damage of the epithelium with a sclerosing solution. The effect of heparin, Dextran 70, acetylsalicylic acid, dipyridamole and phenylbutazone in preventing the development of the thrombus was investigated. Only heparin in high doses showed this effect.

Compatibility of a model for the QCD-Pomeron and chiral-symmetry breaking phenomenologies

The phenomenology of a QCD-Pomeron model based on the exchange of a pair of non-perturbative gluons, i.e. gluon fields with a finite correlation length in the vacuum, is studied in comparison with the phenomenology of QCD chiral symmetry breaking, based on non-perturbative solutions of Schwinger-Dyson equations for the quark propagator including these non-perturbative gluon effects. We show that these models are incompatible, and point out some possibles origins of this problem.

Optic neuropathy in sheep associated with overdosage of closantel

This report describes clinical and pathological findings in 2 flocks in Brazil where blindness and deaths in sheep occurred after closantel overdosage. Depression, weakness, and blindness affected 37 animals and 17 died in 2 flocks of 190 animals. Two animals submitted for ophthalmic examination showed no inflammation in the anterior segment of both eyes; posterior segment evaluation by indirect ophthalmoscopy suggested retinal degeneration. One postmortem evaluation local spongy vacuolization was in several regions of the brain and the optical nerves had severe axonal degeneration.