Bioactive substance contents and antioxidant capacity of the lipid fraction of Annona crassiflora Mart. seeds

Annona crassiflora Mart. is a typical fruit of the Brazilian cerrado, considered to be a species of economic interest, mainly for its use in cooking, which is widespread among the inhabitants of that region, and can be found in many typical local dishes, especially sweets, jellies, liqueurs, soft drinks, ice creams and juices. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the bioactive substance contents and the antioxidant capacity of the lipid fraction of A. crassiflora Mart. seeds in the interest of better identifying the quality of this raw material from the Brazilian cerrado. After the receipt of the fruits, the seeds were removed manually and, then, the lipid fraction was obtained by cold extraction with chloroform:methanol:water (2:1:0.8, v/v/v) and analyzed for the composition of phytosterols, tocopherols, fatty acids, total carotenoids, antioxidant activity and oxidative stability index. The lipid fraction showed significant quantity of bioactive substances, especially phytosterols, tocopherols and unsaturated fatty acids, as well as significant antioxidant capacity and oxidative stability, influenced by the content of phytosterols and the composition of fatty acids present in the analyzed fraction. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Associação entre fatores de risco cardiovascular e capacidade funcional de idosos longevos

Study design: cross-sectional study. Objective: To assess the association between the presence of cardiovascular risk factor (CRP) and functional capacity of the oldest old. Methods: The sample 9onsisted of 91 elderly aged 80 and 90 years (83.0 ± 2.5 years) with 60 women (82.2 ± 2.1 years) and 31 men (83.2 ± 2,6 years) residing in the city of Presidente Prudente - SP. The FRC were analyzed: arterial hypertension (AH) and excess body fat (total and trunk). The presence of hypertension was verified by means of self-reported questionnaire based on the Standard Health Questionnaire (SHQ). Assessment of body was made by absorpiometria dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and functional capacity was assessed by the functional tests (static balance, normal walking speed and force of the lower limbs). For statistical analysis we carried out the chi-square test, the software used was SPSS (13.0) and the significance level was set at 5%. Results. In males, with hypertension and the presence of excess %BF had lower performance in the lower limbs (83.3% lower and 16.7% higher), p = 0.011 compared to those with only a VCF. The elderly women with hypertension and the presence of excess GTron% also had lower performance on the same test (80.6% lower and 19.4% higher), p = 0.018 and the test of walking speed (80.6% lower and 19.4% higher), p = 0.034. Conclusion: Arterial hypertension and excess body fat (total and trunk) aggregated are FRC, which are associated with reduced functional capacity of the oldest old.

Semi-synthetic minimal cells: Biochemical, physical, and technological aspects

The construction of synthetic cells is one of the major goals of bioengineering. The most successful approach consists in the encapsulation of biochemical materials (DNA, RNA, enzymes, etc.) inside lipid vesicles (liposomes), mimicking a cell structure. In this contribution, that also aims at introducing the reader to 'chemical synthetic biology,' we describe the current state of the art of 'semi-synthetic minimal cells' (SSMCs), namely, cell-like structures containing the minimal number of biological compounds that are required to reconstruct a function of interest. We will first describe how the concept of the minimal cell was originated and its relation with the theory of autopoiesis, then we review the most advanced results focused on genetic/metabolic networks inside liposomes. Next, we emphasize that relevance of physical aspects (too often neglected) that impact on the solute entrapment process, and finally we discuss new technological trends in SSMC research that will probably allow their future use in biotechnology. © 2013 Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Structural and functional studies with mytoxin II from Bothrops moojeni reveal remarkable similarities and differences compared to other catalytically inactive phospholipases A2-like

Lys49-phospholipases A2 (Lys49-PLA2s) are proteins found in bothropic snake venoms (Viperidae family) and belong to a class of proteins which presents a phospholipase A2 scaffold but are catalytically inactive. These proteins (also known as PLA2s-like toxins) exert a pronounced local myotoxic effect and are not neutralized by antivenom, being their study relevant in terms of medical and scientific interest. Despite of the several studies reported in the literature for this class of proteins only a partial consensus has been achieved concerning their functional-structural relationships. In this work, we present a comprehensive structural and functional study with the MjTX-II, a dimeric Lys49-PLA2 from Bothrops moojeni venom which includes: (i) high-resolution crystal structure; (ii) dynamic light scattering and bioinformatics studies in order to confirm its biological assembly; (iii) myographic and electrophysiological studies and, (iv) comparative studies with other Lys49-PLA2s. These comparative analyses let us to get important insights into the role of Lys122 amino acid, previously indicated as responsible for Lys49-PLA2s catalytic inactivity and added important elements to establish the correct biological assembly for this class of proteins. Furthermore, we show two unique sequential features of MjTX-II (an amino acid insertion and a mutation) in comparison to all bothropic Lys49-PLA2s that lead to a distinct way of ligand binding at the toxin's hydrophobic channel and also, allowed the presence of an additional ligand molecule in this region. These facts suggest a possible particular mode of binding for long-chain ligands that interacts with MjTX-II hydrophobic channel, a feature that may directly affect the design of structure-based ligands for Lys49-PLA2s. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Time-course morphological and functional disorders of the kidney induced by long-term high-fat diet intake in female rats

BackgroundEvidence is emerging that highlights the far-reaching consequences of a high-fat diet (HFD) on kidney morphology and function disorders.MethodsThe present study was performed on 3-, 5-, 7- and 9-week-old HFD female rats compared with the appropriate gender and age-matched animals. We evaluated the kidney expression of angiotensin type II receptor and fibrotic and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, by immunoblotting and immunohistochemical and histological techniques, in parallel with kidney function.ResultsIn the current study, the time-course HFD-treated group showed, by immunoblotting and immunohistochemical analysis, an early time-course increase in the expression of transforming growth factor β-1 (TGFβ-1) in the entire kidney of HFD-treated rats, compared with that observed in the control group. Simultaneously, the study shows a transient increase in the expression of ZEB2 in the HFD whole kidney accompanied by a fall in the E-cadherin expression and increased collagen and fibronectin deposition. A pronounced decrease in fractional urinary sodium excretion was also demonstrated in the long-term HFD-treated rats. The decreased FENa + was accompanied by a fall in FEPNa + and FEPP Na +, which occurred in association with significantly decreased CCr and, certainly on the sodium-filtered load. The reduction in the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) occurred in parallel to proteinuria and glomerular desmin overexpression.ConclusionsThe results of the current study suggest that podocyte injury in parallel with observed proteinuria and evidence of EMT transformation are associated with long-term loss of kidney function and renal sodium and water retention. © 2013 The Author. All rights reserved.

Efeitos do treinamento resistido sobre a variabilidade da frequência cardíaca, capacidade funcional e força muscular periférica na DPOC

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Análise do Comportamento Eletromiográfico dos Músculos Estabilizadores Primários e a Relação com a Capacidade Física Funcional de Indivíduos Assintomáticos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estudo eletrocardiográfico e ecocardiográfico de pacientes com doença pulmonar obstrutiva crônica (DPOC)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Efeitos do exercício nos parâmetros do andar de idosas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Efeito do treinamento físico na qualidade de vida, capacidade funcional e fatores de risco cardiovascular nos portadores de doença renal crônica em tratamento conservador

Pós-graduação em Fisiopatologia em Clínica Médica - FMB

Optimization of the sampling scheme for maps of physical and chemical properties estimated by kriging

The sampling scheme is essential in the investigation of the spatial variability of soil properties in Soil Science studies. The high costs of sampling schemes optimized with additional sampling points for each physical and chemical soil property, prevent their use in precision agriculture. The purpose of this study was to obtain an optimal sampling scheme for physical and chemical property sets and investigate its effect on the quality of soil sampling. Soil was sampled on a 42-ha area, with 206 geo-referenced points arranged in a regular grid spaced 50 m from each other, in a depth range of 0.00-0.20 m. In order to obtain an optimal sampling scheme for every physical and chemical property, a sample grid, a medium-scale variogram and the extended Spatial Simulated Annealing (SSA) method were used to minimize kriging variance. The optimization procedure was validated by constructing maps of relative improvement comparing the sample configuration before and after the process. A greater concentration of recommended points in specific areas (NW-SE direction) was observed, which also reflects a greater estimate variance at these locations. The addition of optimal samples, for specific regions, increased the accuracy up to 2 % for chemical and 1 % for physical properties. The use of a sample grid and medium-scale variogram, as previous information for the conception of additional sampling schemes, was very promising to determine the locations of these additional points for all physical and chemical soil properties, enhancing the accuracy of kriging estimates of the physical-chemical properties.

Changes in plant species composition and functional traits along the successional trajectory of a restored patch of Atlantic Forest

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

Structural and functional characterization of the chaperone Hsp70 from sugarcane. Insights into conformational changes during cycling from cross-linking/mass spectrometry assays

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

Some Physical and Mechanical Properties of Medium-Density Fiberboard Made from Giant Bamboo

The objective of this study was to evaluate the density, density profile, water swelling and absorption, modulus of elasticity and rupture from static bending, and tensile strength of experimental medium-density fiberboards manufactured using Dendrocalamus giganteus (Munro bamboo). The fiber production was carried out through the chemo-thermo-mechanical pulping process with four different conditions. The panels were made with 10% urea formaldehyde resin based on dry weight of the fibers, 2.5% of a catalyzer (ammonium sulfate) and 2% paraffin. The results indicate that treatments with the highest alkali (NaOH) percentage, time and splinter heating temperature improved the physical properties of the panels. The root-fiber interface was evaluated through scanning electron microscopy in fracture zones, which revealed fibers with thick, inflexible walls. The panels' mechanical properties were affected due to the fiber wall characteristics and interaction with resin. Giant bamboo fiber has potential for MDF production, but other studies should be carried out.

Morphometric and Functional Characteristics of Buffaloes and Cows Corpus Luteum at Different Stages of the Estrous Cycle

The aims of the present study were to evaluate the morphometry of corpus luteum (CL) and progesterone (P-4) plasma concentration of 86 buffaloes (33 pregnant and 53 non-pregnant) and 95 cows (36 pregnant and 59 non-pregnant) at the moment of slaughter. Seventy CLs of buffaloes and 110 CL of cattle were analyzed. The CL classified as II and III were more common in both species (35.7 and 41.4% for buffaloes and 43.6 and 35.5% for cows). The 29 non-pregnant buffaloes had a total of 36 CL, being 19.4% CLI; 33.3% CL II; 27.8% CL III and 19.4% CL IV. The 51 nonpregnant cows had a total of 71 CL, being 26.8% CL I; 47.9% CL II; 21.1% CL III and 4.2% CL IV. The average diameters of bubaline and bovine CL were 5.2 +/- 0.9 and 6.4 +/- 1.8 mm (CL I); 17.6 +/- 2.6 and 19.8 +/- 3.2 mm (CL II); 17.2 +/- 2.1 and 20.0 +/- 3.2 mm (CL III); 7.8 +/- 1.8 and 8.7 +/- 2.7 mm (CL IV), respectively. The mean plasma concentrations of P4 were 5.6 (CL I); 5.4 (CL II); 4.7 (CL III) and 0.5 (CL IV) ng/mL for buffaloes and 0.02 (CL I); 6.3 (CL II) and 6.4 (CL III) ng/mL for cows. In both species, P4 concentration was similar between stages II and III. The results indicated that the characterization of the CL provides important information about the status of estrous cycle.