Recognition of altered segments in Brazilian Sign Language

The purpose of this study was to verify discriminative control by segments of signs in adolescents with deafness who use Brazilian Sign Language (BSL). Four adolescent with bilateral deafness, with 3 years of BSL teaching, saw a video presenting a children's tale in BSL. After showing accurate understanding of the story, participants saw another video of the same story with 12 signs altered in one of their segments (hand configuration, place of articulation, or movement). They apparently did not detect the alterations. However, when the signs were presented in isolation in a matching-to-sample test, they virtually always selected the picture corresponding to the unaltered signs. Three participants selected an unfamiliar picture in 50% or more trials with an altered sign as a sample, showing that they could detect the majority of the altered signs.

alpha(1)-Adrenoceptors in proximal segments of tail arteries from control and reserpinised rats

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

Two short peptides including segments of subunit A of Escherichia coli DNA gyrase as potential probes to evaluate the antibacterial activity of quinolones

Quinolones constitute a family of compounds with a potent antibiotic activity. The enzyme DNA gyrase, responsible for the replication and transcription processes in DNA of bacteria, is involved in the mechanism of action of these drugs. In this sense, it is believed that quinolones stabilize the so-called 'cleavable complex' formed by DNA and gyrase, but the whole process is still far from being understood at the molecular level. This information is crucial in order to design new biological active products. As an approach to the problem, we have designed and synthesized low molecular weight peptide mimics of DNA gyrase. These peptides correspond to sequences of the subunit A of the enzyme from Escherichia coli, that include the quinolone resistance-determining region (positions 75-92) and a segment containing the catalytic Tyr-122 (positions 116-130). The peptide mimic of the non-mutated enzyme binds to ciprofloxin (CFX) only when DNA and Mg2+ were present (Kd = 1.6 × 10 -6 m), a result previously found with DNA gyrase. On the other hand, binding was reduced when mutations of Ser-83 to Leu-83 and Asp-87 to Asn-87 were introduced, a double change previously found in the subunit A of DNA gyrase from several CFX-resistant clinical isolates of E. coli. These results suggest that synthetic peptides designed in a similar way to that described here can be used as mimics of gyrases (topoisomerases) in order to study the binding of the quinolone to the enzyme-DNA complex as well as the mechanism of action of these antibiotics. Copyright © 2001 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Influence of cellulose nanofibrils on soft and hard segments of polyurethane/cellulose nanocomposites and effect of humidity on their mechanical properties

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

Contribution of different segments of the gastrointestinal tract to digestion in growing Saanen goats

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

Adventitious shoot induction from leaf segments in Anthurium andreanum is affected by age of explant, leaf orientation and plant growth regulator

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Use of scanning electron microscopy for the evaluation of intestinal epithelium integrity

Propõe-se, neste trabalho, o uso de microscopia eletrônica de varredura para avaliar perda de epitélio intestinal da mucosa intestinal de pintos machos e fêmeas submetidos a prolongado jejum pós-eclosão de água e ração. Dois segmentos do duodeno, jejuno e íleo por ave foram coletados e processados pelo método de rotina para microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Seis diferentes graus de perda de epitélio intestinal foram determinados: grau 0, vilos normais, sem extrusão; grau 1, vilos com pequenos pontos de extrusão; grau 2, vilos com perda de epitélio no ápice; grau 3, vilos com perda de epitélio na região apical; grau 4, vilos com perda de epitélio em sua metade superior; grau 5: vilos sem epitélio; grau 6: vilo quebrado. As três regiões intestinais das fêmeas apresentaram aproximadamente 90% de seus vilos normais (graus 0 e 1), enquanto nos machos ocorreu 38% de vilos normais no duodeno e jejuno e 85% no íleo. Além disso, machos apresentaram graus mais acentuados de perda de epitélio (graus 3, 4, 5 e 6) que as fêmeas (grau 3). Os dados indicaram que a mucosa intestinal de pintos machos é mais sensível a prolongado jejum pós-eclosão que a de pintos fêmeas. A microscopia eletrônica de varredura pode ser usada como um método de rotina seguro para a caracterização e quantificação de perda de epitélio intestinal.

Seasonality of macroalgal communities in a subtropical drainage basin in Paraná state, southern Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera assemblages from riffles in mountain streams of Central Brazil: environmental factors influencing the distribution and abundance of immatures

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

Stretch Injuries of Skeletal Muscles: Experimental Study in Rats' Soleus Muscle

The study aimed to verify the physiological injury behavior by stretching the soleus muscle of rats, using a noninvasive experimental model. Twenty-four rats were used and divided into three groups of eight animals: control group (A), group that performed tetanus followed by electrical stimulation and a sudden dorsiflexion of the left paw performed by a device equipped with a mechanism of muscle soleus rapid stretching (B); and a group that only received the tetanus (C). Three days later, the animals were killed, and the soleus muscle was resected and divided into three segments. Morphological changes indicative of muscle damage appeared in all three segments of group B. In a lesser degree, similar changes were also detected in muscles subjected to only tetanus. This model was effective; reproducing an injury similar to what occurs in human sports injuries.

Morphometry and morphology of the antennae of Panstrongylus megistus Burmeister, Rhodnius neglectus Lent, Rhodnius prolixus Stal and Triatoma vitticeps Stal (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Morphological changes of the intestinal mucosa of broilers and layers as affected by fasting before sample collection

The present study aimed at evaluating the histo-morphological changes resulting from different fasting periods before the collection of tissue samples in different segments of the small intestine (duodenum, jejunum and ileum) of 7-d-old male chicks of a broiler and a layer strain. A completely randomized experimental design in in a 2x7 factorial arrangement, being two strains with different growth rates (Ross 308 and HyLine® W36) and seven fasting periods (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 hours ), with six replicates, totaling 84 birds. The comparison of the morphometrics of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum of broiler and layer chicks demonstrated faster digestive tract development in broilers relative to layers. The fasting period caused morphological changes in the liver and small and large intestines in both strains. Therefore, it must be highlighted that in studies involving organ weights and intestinal morphometrics, birds must not be submitted to fasting before tissue collection.

A Modified Technique of Rat Tail Suspension for Longer Periods of Observation

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

Effect of Flasking and Polymerization Techniques on Tooth Movement in Complete Denture Processing

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the artificial tooth positional changes following the flasking and polymerization of complete dentures by a combination of two flasking methods and two polymerization techniques using computer graphic measurements.Materials and Methods: Four groups of waxed complete dentures (n = 10) were invested and polymerized using the following techniques: (1) adding a second investment layer of gypsum and conventional water bath polymerization (Control), (2) adding a second investment layer of gypsum and polymerization with microwave energy (Gyp-micro), (3) adding a second investment layer of silicone (Zetalabor) and conventional polymerization (Silwater), and (4) adding a second investment layer of silicone and polymerization with microwave energy (Silmicro). For each specimen, six segments of interdental distances (A to F) were measured to determine the artificial tooth positions in the waxed and polymerized stages using software program AutoCad R14. The mean values of the changes were statistically compared by univariate ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc test at 5% significance.Results: There were no significant differences among the four groups, except for segment D of the Silmicro group (-0.004 +/- 0.032 cm) in relation to the Gypwater group (0.044 +/- 0.031 cm) (p < 0.05), which presented, repectively, expansion and shrinkage after polymerization.Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, it was concluded that although the differences were not statistically significant, the use of a silicone investment layer when flasking complete dentures resulted in the least positional changes of the artificial teeth regardless of the polymerization technique.