Improvement of heart rate variability after exercise training and its predictors in COPD

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Exercise Training and Caloric Restriction Prevent Reduction in Cardiac Ca2+-Handling Protein Profile in Obese Rats

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Pulvinus functional traits in relation to leaf movements: A light and transmission electron microscopy study of the vascular system

Previous studies on legume pulvini suggest that the vascular system plays an important role in the redistribution of ions and transmission of stimuli during leaf's movements. However, the number of anatomical and ultrastructural studies is limited to few species. The aim of this paper is to investigate the structure and cellular features of the pulvinus vascular system of nine legume species from Brazilian cerrado, looking for structural traits pointing to its participation in the leaf's movements. Samples were excised from the medial region of opened pulvinus of Bauhinia rufa, Copaifera langsdorffii, Senna rugosa (Caesalpinioideae), Andira humilis, Dalbergia miscolobium, Zornia dilphylla (Faboideae), Mimosa rixosa, Mimosa flexuosa and Stryphnodendron polyphyllum (Mimosoideae), and were prepared following light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and histochemical standard techniques. The vascular system occupies a central position, comprises phloem and xylem and is delimited by a living sheath of septate fibers in all the species studied. This living cells sheath connects the cortex to the vascular tissues via numerous plasmodesmata. The absence of fibers and sclereids, the presence of phenolic idioblasts and the abundance and diversity of protein inclusions in the sieve tube members are remarkable features of the phloem. Pitted vessel elements, parenchyma cells with abundant cytoplasm and living fibriform elements characterize the xylem. The lack of lignified tissues and extensive symplastic continuity by plasmodesmata are remarkable features of the vascular system of pulvini of the all studied species. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intracellular papillae of Actinocephalus (Eriocaulaceae-Poales) roots and their interaction with fungi: A light and transmission electron microscopy study

The genus Actinocephalus comprises 25 species and is restricted to Brazil, occurring mainly in the Espinhaco Mountains of Minas Gerais and Bahia States. Previous anatomical studies have reported the occurrence of intracellular papillae in the Actinocephalus roots, without dealing with their ultrastructure and function. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the structure, the composition and the probable function of the intracellular papillae of Actinocephalus roots, based on light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and histochemical tests. The intracellular papillae occurred in all root tissues, from the rhizodermis to the vascular cylinder; they presented different forms and sizes and, ultrastructurally, they corresponded to material deposited between the cell wall and the plasma membrane. The histochemical tests carried out were positive for cellulose, pectin and callose. The intracellular papillae are responses of the plant cells to the interaction with fungi. They work as a physical barrier restricting fungal penetration, and they may also favor the supply of water and nutrients to the plant, since they increase root absorption surface. This might explain why the species of Actinocephalus are among the tallest Eriocaulaceae despite their reduced radicular system and the nutritional deficiency of the soil in which they grow. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Acquisition and transmission of Hepatozoon canis (Apicomplexa: Hepatozoidae) by the tick Amblyomma ovale (Acari: Ixodidae)

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

Distribution of Xylella fastidiosa in citrus rootstocks and transmission of citrus variegated chlorosis between sweet orange plants through natural root grafts

To study translocation of Xylella fastidiosa to citrus rootstocks, budsticks from citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC)-affected cv. Pera sweet orange (Citrus sinenesis (L.) Osb.) were top grafted on 15 citrus rootstocks. Disease symptoms were conspicuous 3 months later on all 15 rootstocks tested. The presence of X. fastidiosa was confirmed by light microscopy, double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and polymerase chain reaction in rootlets and main roots of CVC-symptomatic Pera sweet orange in 11 of the 15 rootstocks tested. These results suggest that bacterial translocation from the aerial plant parts to the root system occurs but is not essential for X. fastidiosa to induce symptoms in the aerial parts. Bacterial translocation to the roots was not correlated with CVC leaf-symptom severity in the Pera scion. To determine if CVC disease could be transmitted by natural root grafts, two matched seedlings of each of four sweet orange cultivars (Pera, Natal, Valencia, and Caipira) were transplanted into single pots. One seedling rootstock of each pair was inoculated by top grafting with a CVC-contaminated budstick while the other seedling rootstock was cut but not graft inoculated. Transmission of X. fastidiosa from an inoculated plant to a noninoculated plant sharing the same pot was observed in all four sweet orange cultivars tested. Transmission was confirmed by observation of natural roots grafts between the two plants, presence of X. fastidiosa in the root grafts, and disease development in the uninoculated plants. This is the first report of transmission of CVC disease through natural root grafts.

Alternative continuation method for loading margin improvement and transmission losses reduction

This paper presents an alternative methodology for loading margin improvement and total real power losses reduction by using a continuation method. In order to attain this goal, a parameterizing equation based on the total real power losses and the equations of the reactive power at the slack and generation buses are added to the conventional power flow equations. The voltages at these buses are considered as control variables and a new parameter is chosen to reduce the real power losses in the transmission lines. The results show that this procedure leads to maximum loading point increase and consequently, in static voltage stability margin improvement. Besides, this procedure also takes to a reduction in the operational costs and, simultaneously, to voltage profile improvement. Another important result of this methodology is that the resulting operating points are close to that provided by an optimal power flow program. © 2004 IEEE.

Combining adapted Judo training and pharmacological treatment to improve bone mineral density on postmenopausal women: A two years study

Background & Study Aim: Physical activity has been an important factor to increase bone mineral density (BMD) and, consequently, to prevent and treat osteoporosis. The study aimed the effects of adapted Judo training on BMD in postmenopausal women, during pharmacological treatment. Material & Methods: Eighteen female volunteers participated in this study. They were separated into two groups: Adapted Judo training (AJT) (n=11; 52.2±5.3 years) and control group (CG) (n=7; 53.8±4.4 years). Lunar GE Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA) measured BMD at lumbar L2-L4, femoral neck and trochanter sites. The training period for AJT was two years, comprised 12 mesocycles with different intensities. ANOVA compared 2 groups in 3 moments of testing and Scheffé Test allowed multiple comparisons between groups for the L2-L4 and femoral neck sites, but at trochanter was Fisher LSD. Results: ANOVA showed significant differences in the AJT group (F(2, 32)=15.187, p=0.000023). Scheffé Test showed significant increase on lumbar BMD after one year of AJT (Δ%=+8.9%, p=0.000017) and after two years this improvement stand still (p=0.33). The CG after one year presented significant decrease in BMD of femoral neck (Δ%=-6.9%, p=0.03) and trochanter (Δ%=-3.7%, p=0.0084). However, the CG recovered the loss of BMD of femoral neck (Δ%=+7.6%, p=0.02) and trochanter (Δ%=+3.8%, p=0.0079) after two years of study. Conclusions: Drug therapy, without the physical activity practice, can aid the maintenance of BMD. AJT may be considered as an efficient physical activity for postmenopausal women with low BMD in pharmacological treatment. © ARCHIVES OF BUDO | SCIENCE OF MARTIAL ARTS.

Role of Training and Detraining on Inflammatory and Metabolic Profile in Infarcted Rats: Influences of Cardiovascular Autonomic Nervous System

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

Social-spider optimization-based artificial neural networks training and its applications for Parkinson's disease identification

Evolutionary algorithms have been widely used for Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) training, being the idea to update the neurons' weights using social dynamics of living organisms in order to decrease the classification error. In this paper, we have introduced Social-Spider Optimization to improve the training phase of ANN with Multilayer perceptrons, and we validated the proposed approach in the context of Parkinson's Disease recognition. The experimental section has been carried out against with five other well-known meta-heuristics techniques, and it has shown SSO can be a suitable approach for ANN-MLP training step.