Complete ¹H and 13C NMR structural assignments for a group of four goyazensolide-type furanoheliangolides

Four goyazensolide-type sesquiterpene lactones - lychnofolide, centratherin, goyazensolide and goyazensolide acetate - were thoroughly studied by NMR experimental techniques. ¹H NMR, 13C NMR {¹H}, COSY, HMQC, HMBC, J-res. and NOE experiments were performed to provide the needed structural information. Complete and unequivocal assignment, including the determination of all multiplicities, was obtained for each structure and the data collections are presented in tables.

Use of experimental design in the optimisation of a solid phase preconcentration system for Cobalt determination by GFAAS

In this work is proposed a solid phase preconcentration system of Co2+ ions and its posterior determination by GFAAS in which fractional factorial design and response surface methodology (RSM) were used for optimization of the variables associated with preconcentration system performance. The method is based on cobalt extraction as a complex Co2+-PAN (1:2) in a mini-column of polyurethane foam (PUF) impregnated with 1-(2-pyridylazo)-naphthol (PAN) followed by elution with HCl solution and its determination by GFAAS. The chemical and flow variables studied were pH, buffer concentration, eluent concentration and preconcentration and elution flow rates. Results obtained from fractional factorial design 2(5-1) showed that only the variables pH, buffer concentration and interaction (pH X buffer concentration) based on analysis of variance (ANOVA) were statistically significant at 95% confidence level. Under optimised conditions, the method provided an enrichment factor of 11.6 fold with limit of detection and quantification of 38 and 130 ng L-1, respectively, and linear range varying from 0.13 to 10 µg L-1. The precision (n = 9) assessed by relative standard deviation (RSD) was respectively 5.18 and 2.87% for 0.3 and 3.0 µg L-1 cobalt concentrations.

Telomerase activity associated with progression of cervical lesions in a group of Colombian patients

Abstract PURPOSE To analyze the relation between the cytological findings and telomerase activity (TA). METHODS Cervical samples were evaluated and classified according to the Bethesda System. Telomerase activity was measured total product generated values (TPG) using the TRAP assay (telomeric repeat amplification protocol); data were analyzed statistically using the χ2 test, with the level of significance set at p<0.05. RESULTS The study was conducted on 102 patients. Of these, 3.9% showed normal cytological findings, 8.8% showed cervicitis; 2% showed Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance (ASCUS); 67.6% showed Low Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (LSIL); 11.8% showed High Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (H-SIL) and 5.9% showed Squamous Carcinoma. Among telomerase-positive samples, the TPG values were cervicitisof lesion, supporting the association between TA and type of lesion.

Reducing bumblefoot lesions in a group of captive Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) with the use of environmental enrichment

Captive penguins are prone to pododermatitis (bumblefoot) lesions due to sedentary habits, changes in normal activity patterns, prolonged time on hard and abrasive surfaces, and less time swimming in the water. Environmental enrichment allows the use of creative and ingenious techniques that aim to keep the captive animals occupied by increasing the range and the diversity of behavioral opportunities always respecting the ethological needs of the species. The main goal of this work was to use environmental enrichment techniques to reduce pododermatitis in a group of captive penguins. Five captive Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) that were showing bumblefoot lesions were followed during this project. To monitor the lesions, all animals were physically restraint 3 times a week over a period of 12 weeks. Environmental enrichment was introduced daily in the water with the goal of enhancing their time in the water for one extra hour daily. The results demonstrate that in a twelve weeks period, four animals showed significant reduction of the lesions in both feet and in two animals the lesions were completely healed. With these results we can conclude that aquatic environmental enrichment allowed this group of penguins to spend more time in the water, favoring the reduction of the bumblefoot lesions.

The C-peptide response to a standard mixed meal in a group of Brazilian type 1 diabetic patients

In order to analyze the different parameters used in the interpretation of C-peptide response in a functional test, we compared a group of 26 type 1 diabetics aged 21.1 ± 8.2 years, with a diabetes duration of 7.9 ± 6.7 months, with a group of 24 non-diabetic subjects aged 25.0 ± 4.4 years. A standard mixed meal of 317 kcal was used as a stimulus. Blood sampling for C-peptide determinations was performed at regular intervals. Although all the studied C-peptide variables were significantly lower in the diabetic group (P<0.0001), some overlapping of parameters was observed between the two groups. The highest degree of overlapping was found for basal value (BV) (30.8%) and percent increase (42.31%), and the lowest for incremental area, absolute increase, peak value (PV) (3.8%), and total area (7.7%) (c2 = 31.6, P<0.0001). We did not observe a definite pattern in the time of maximum response among the 21 diabetics who showed an increase in C-peptide levels after the stimulus. In this group, however, there was a highly significant number of late responses (120 min) (c2 = 5.7, P<0.002). Although BV showed a significant correlation with PV (rS = 0.95, P<0.0001), the basal levels of C-peptide did not differentiate the groups with and without response to the stimulus. We conclude that the diabetic group studied showed delayed and reduced C-peptide responses, and that the functional test can be an important tool for the evaluation of residual ß cell function.

Association of Alport's syndrome with HLA-DR2 antigen in a group of unrelated patients

A few family studies have evaluated HLA antigens in Alport's syndrome; however, there are no large population studies. In the present report, we studied 40 unrelated white patients with Alport's syndrome seen at the Unit of Renal Transplantation, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. HLA-A, -B, -DR and -DQ antigens were typed using a complement-dependent microlymphocytotoxicity assay. A control white population (N = 403) from the same geographical area was also typed for HLA antigens. Although the frequencies of HLA-A and -B antigens of patients were not statistically different from controls, the frequency of HLA-DR2 antigen observed in patients (65%) was significantly increased in relation to controls (26%; P<0.001). The relative risk and etiologic fraction for HLA-DR2 antigen were 5.2 and 0.525, respectively. Although few immunological abnormalities have been shown in Alport's syndrome, in this report we emphasize the association of HLA molecules and Alport's syndrome. Besides the well-known inherited molecular defects encoded by type IV collagen genes in Alport's syndrome, the major histocompatibility alleles may be in linkage disequilibrium with these defective collagen genes

Design of automatic control system for the precipitation of bromelain from the extract of pineapple wastes

In this work, bromelain was recovered from ground pineapple stem and rind by means of precipitation with alcohol at low temperature. Bromelain is the name of a group of powerful protein-digesting, or proteolytic, enzymes that are particularly useful for reducing muscle and tissue inflammation and as a digestive aid. Temperature control is crucial to avoid irreversible protein denaturation and consequently to improve the quality of the enzyme recovered. The process was carried out alternatively in two fed-batch pilot tanks: a glass tank and a stainless steel tank. Aliquots containing 100 mL of pineapple aqueous extract were fed into the tank. Inside the jacketed tank, the protein was exposed to unsteady operating conditions during the addition of the precipitating agent (ethanol 99.5%) because the dilution ratio "aqueous extract to ethanol" and heat transfer area changed. The coolant flow rate was manipulated through a variable speed pump. Fine tuned conventional and adaptive PID controllers were on-line implemented using a fieldbus digital control system. The processing performance efficiency was enhanced and so was the quality (enzyme activity) of the product.

Susceptibility of clinical isolates of Bacteroides fragilis group strains to cefoxitin, cefoperazone and ticarcillin/clavulanate

A total of 40 strains of the B. fragilis group was isolated from clinical specimens in two hospital centers in Fortaleza from 1993 to 1997. The most frequently isolated species was Bacteroides fragilis (19 strains) and most isolates came from intra-abdominal and wound infections. The susceptibility profile was traced for cefoxitin, cefoperazone and ticarcillin-clavulanate by using the agar dilution reference method. All isolates were susceptible to ticarcillin-clavulanate (128/2mug/ml). Resistance rates of 15 and 70% were detected to cefoxitin (64mug/ml) and cefoperazone (64mug/ml), respectively. Such regional results permit a better orientation in choosing this group of antibiotics for prophylaxis and therapy especially in relation to cefoxitin, which is frequently used in the hospital centers studied.

Two new species of Drosophila belonging to the canalinea group (Diptera, rosophilidae)

Drosophila piratininga sp. nov. and Drosophila sampa sp. nov., belonging to the canalinea group of the subgenus Drosophila, are described based mostly on wild-caught specimens collected at a forest reserve of the Cidade Universitária "Armando de Salles Oliveira", an urban remnant of the montane Atlantic Forest located at west São Paulo city, state of São Paulo, Brazil. The two species are readily distinguished from each other mostly by having different wing patterns: the main crossveins being remarkably clouded in the first one and unclouded in the latter. Illustrations of terminalia are also provided.

A new Culicoides of the stigmalis group (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

Notes are presented on the three known Neotropical species of the Culicoides stigmalis group of boodsucking midges: alvarezi Ortiz, fluviatilis (Lutz), stigmalis Wirth, and on deanei n.sp., which is described from the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A diagnosis is given for the group, as well as a key for identification and comparative phtographs of the female wings.

Do fly parasites of bats and their hosts coevolve?speciation in Trichobius phyllostomae group (Diptera, Streblidae) and their hosts (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) suggests that they do not

We examined whether, like many parasite-host systems of coevolution, a group of obligate parasitic bat flies (Trichobius phyllostomae Kessel and related species) cospeciate with their hosts. We first did a cladistic analysis of the T. phyllostomae group and combined that analysis with a phylogenetic hypothesis from the literature for the Stenodermatinae bats. The cladistic analysis included, as outgroups, one species from each morphological group and complex of Trichobius Gervais, and one species from the following genera: Paratrichobius Miranda-Ribeiro, Megistopoda Macquart, Megistapophysys Dick & Wenzel, Neotrichobius Wenzel & Aitken, Speiseria Kessel and Strebla Wiedemann. The cladogram was rooted with a species of Strebla in the subfamily Streblinae. One cladogram was obtained and which found Trichobius to be polyphyletic. The phylogenetic hypothesis as follows: (Paratrichobius, (Neotrichobius, (Megistopoda, Megistapophysis)))) is the sister-group of the phyllostomae group and the following relationships within the ingroup, (((T. vampyropis Wenzel, Trichobius sp. 2) ((T. hispidus Wenzel, T. petersoni Wenzel) ((Trichobius sp. 1 (T. phyllostomae, T. brennani Wenzel))))). When we compared phylogenies through historical association analyses, cospeciation was uncommon, while host-switching was more common and better explained the association between the phyllostomae group and their bat hosts.

Designs and model effects definitions in the initial stage of a plant breeding program

The objective of this work was to compare the relative efficiency of initial selection and genetic parameter estimation, using augmented blocks design (ABD), augmented blocks twice replicated design (DABD) and group of randomised block design experiments with common treatments (ERBCT), by simulations, considering fixed effect model and mixed model with regular treatment effects as random. For the simulations, eight different conditions (scenarios) were considered. From the 600 simulations in each scenario, the mean percentage selection coincidence, the Pearsons´s correlation estimates between adjusted means for the fixed effects model, and the heritability estimates for the mixed model were evaluated. DABD and ERBCT were very similar in their comparisons and slightly superior to ABD. Considering the initial stages of selection in a plant breeding program, ABD is a good alternative for selecting superior genotypes, although none of the designs had been effective to estimate heritability in all the different scenarios evaluated.

Use of interactive performance optimization for identifying the ideal profile of swine finishing producers

The present research aimed to develop a modeling capable of identifying the ideal profile of swine finishing producers using the interactive performance optimization, which began by verifying qualitative the criteria considered most relevant to the decision-making, generating a closed structured diagnosis that covers the socioeconomic aspects about the activity, until the design of a mathematical model able to translate the data obtained in quantitative information. For the verification, it was proposed a practical study for a universe of 120 members of a cooperative in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The results showed that, from the application and the definition of the ideal profile, it was possible to verify that 82 producers are in the group of those who have obtained a "Good" performance, and to 44 the result is in the range between 86% to 90% from the ideal, which means that most have short or medium-term conditions to evolve their status for the considered "Very Good", where only 12.5% of the producers are currently.

Evaluation of behavioral states among morning and evening active healthy individuals

The Horne-Östberg questionnaire partly covers some factors that may be important determinants of peak time and characterize patterns of behavior. We conducted a study for the evaluation of self-reported behavioral states (hunger sensation, availability for study, physical exercise, solving daily problems, and time preferences) as expressions of underlying cyclic activity. Three hundred and eighteen community subjects without history of medical, psychiatric, or sleep disorders were evaluated in a cross-sectional design. A self-report about daily highest level of activity was used to categorize individuals into morning, evening, and indifferently active. Time-related behavioral states were evaluated with 23 visual analog questions. The responses to most analogic questions were significantly different between morning and evening active subjects. Logistic regression analysis identified a group of behaviors more strongly associated with the self-reported activity pattern (common wake up time, highest subjective fatigue, as well as wake up, bedtime, exercise and study preferences). These findings suggested that the patterns of activity presented by normal adults were related to specific common behavioral characteristics that may contribute to peak time.

Genetic analysis of the porcine group B rotavirus NSP2 gene from wild-type Brazilian strains

Group B rotaviruses (RV-B) were first identified in piglet feces, being later associated with diarrhea in humans, cattle, lambs, and rats. In human beings, the virus was only described in China, India, and Bangladesh, especially infecting adults. Only a few studies concerning molecular analysis of the RV-B NSP2 gene have been conducted, and porcine RV-B has not been characterized. In the present study, three porcine wild-type RV-B strains from piglet stool samples collected from Brazilian pig herds were used for analysis. PAGE results were inconclusive for those samples, but specific amplicons of the RV-B NSP2 gene (segment 8) were obtained in a semi-nested PCR assay. The three porcine RV-B strains showed the highest nucleotide identity with the human WH1 strain and the alignments with other published sequences resulted in three groups of strains divided according to host species. The group of human strains showed 92.4 to 99.7% nucleotide identity while the porcine strains of the Brazilian RV-B group showed 90.4 to 91.8% identity to each other. The identity of the Brazilian porcine RV-B strains with outer sequences consisting of group A and C rotaviruses was only 35.3 to 38.8%. A dendrogram was also constructed to group the strains into clusters according to host species: human, rat, and a distinct third cluster consisting exclusively of the Brazilian porcine RV-B strains. This is the first study of the porcine RV-B NSP2 gene that contributes to the partial characterization of this virus and demonstrates the relationship among RV-B strains from different host species.