Toxic, antimicrobial and hemagglutinating activities of the purple fluid of the sea hare Aplysia dactylomela Rang, 1828

The antimicrobial, hemagglutinating and toxic activities of the purple fluid of the sea hare Aplysia dactylomela are described. Intact or dialyzed purple fluid inhibited the growth of species of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and the action was not bactericidal but bacteriostatic. The active factor or factors were heat labile and sensitive to extreme pH values. The fluid preferentially agglutinated rabbit erythrocytes and, to a lesser extent, human blood cells, and this activity was inhibited by the glycoprotein fetuin, a fact suggesting the presence of a lectin. The fluid was also toxic to brine shrimp nauplii (LD50 141.25 µg protein/ml) and to mice injected intraperitoneally (LD50 201.8 ± 8.6 mg protein/kg), in a dose-dependent fashion. These toxic activities were abolished when the fluid was heated. Taken together, the data suggest that the activities of the purple fluid are due primarily to substance(s) of a protein nature which may be involved in the chemical defense mechanism of this sea hare.

Evaluation of the cholinomimetic actions of trimethylsulfonium, a compound present in the midgut gland of the sea hare Aplysia brasiliana (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia)

Trimethylsulfonium, a compound present in the midgut gland of the sea hare Aplysia brasiliana, negatively modulates vagal response, indicating a probable ability to inhibit cholinergic responses. In the present study, the pharmacological profile of trimethylsulfonium was characterized on muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. In rat jejunum the contractile response induced by trimethylsulfonium (pD2 = 2.46 ± 0.12 and maximal response = 2.14 ± 0.32 g) was not antagonized competitively by atropine. The maximal response (Emax) to trimethylsulfonium was diminished in the presence of increasing doses of atropine (P<0.05), suggesting that trimethylsulfonium-induced contraction was not related to muscarinic stimulation, but might be caused by acetylcholine release due to presynaptic stimulation. Trimethylsulfonium displaced [³H]-quinuclidinyl benzilate from rat cortex membranes with a low affinity (Ki = 0.5 mM). Furthermore, it caused contraction of frog rectus abdominis muscles (pD2 = 2.70 ± 0.06 and Emax = 4.16 ± 0.9 g), which was competitively antagonized by d-tubocurarine (1, 3 or 10 µM) with a pA2 of 5.79, suggesting a positive interaction with nicotinic receptors. In fact, trimethylsulfonium displaced [³H]-nicotine from rat diaphragm muscle membranes with a Ki of 27.1 µM. These results suggest that trimethylsulfonium acts as an agonist on nicotinic receptors, and thus contracts frog skeletal rectus abdominis muscle and rat jejunum smooth muscle via stimulation of postjunctional and neuronal prejunctional nicotinic cholinoreceptors, respectively.

Hare's preference utilitarianism: an overview and critique

My purpose in this paper is to summarize some aspects of utilitarianism and to provide a general overview of Hare's preference utilitarianism, followed by a critique of Hare's preference theory.

Depressão, ansiedade e psicopatia: um estudo correlacional com indivíduos privados de liberdade

RESUMO Objetivo Investigar se existe correlação entre sintomas depressivos, sintomas ansiosos e psicopatia em 25 prisioneiros de um município do Rio Grande do Sul. Métodos Para a coleta de dados, foram utilizados os Inventários de Depressão e Ansiedade Beck e a Escala Hare para psicopatia. As entrevistas foram realizadas nas dependências de uma instituição prisional de forma individual. Resultados Foi encontrada correlação estatisticamente significativa entre depressão e ansiedade, e o escore total de psicopatia não se correlacionou com ansiedade, somente com depressão. Por outro lado, o fator 2 da escala, referente ao aspecto comportamental do transtorno, apresentou correlação com ansiedade e depressão. Conclusão Embora alguns dados tenham sido concordantes com os da literatura, a pesquisa apresentou resultados não encontrados em estudos anteriores. Dessa forma, evidencia-se a necessidade de realizar novos estudos na área.

Abundance of Conepatus chinga (Carnivora, Mephitidae) and other medium-sized mammals in grasslands of southern Brazil

Between January 2007 and December 2010, the abundance of medium-sized mammals was studied, with special focus on the Molina's hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus chinga (Molina, 1782), at four locations in southern Brazil. In this study, transect line methodology was used to obtain data for Distance Analyses. Transects were traveled by car at night, searching with spotlights along the edges of secondary roads in agricultural landscapes. Along 1,811 km, we obtained 620 observations of 20 mammal species. The most common species was the exotic European hare, Lepus europaeus (Pallas, 1778); the highest abundance estimated for South America was observed in one of the study areas, where its density was estimated as 32 individuals/km². Carnivores were the most commonly recorded mammals, represented by 10 species and comprising 51% of all observations. Molina's hog-nosed skunk occurred in all study areas, but occurred in sufficient numbers to obtain density estimates in only two of the areas. We estimated 1.4 to 3.8 individuals/km², in the first density estimate made by the transect method for a member of Conepatus in the Neotropics. These values are similar to those estimated for North American species of Mephitidae. In Brazil, C. chinga is apparently more abundant in the Pampa biome than in the grasslands of the Atlantic Forest. For two other carnivores, Lycalopex gymnocercus (Fisher, 1814) and Cerdocyon thous (Linnaeus, 1766), we estimated preliminary densities that were similar to those previously cited for different regions.

Épocas de semeadura de triticale em Capão Bonito, SP

O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar o rendimento de grãos, o peso hectolítrico e o peso de mil sementes de dez genótipos de triticale e dois genótipos de trigo, em três épocas de semeadura. O experimento foi instalado na Estação Experimental de Capão Bonito, região sudoeste do Estado de São Paulo, no qüinqüênio 1991-95. Estudou-se a disponibilidade hídrica do solo, mediante balanços hídricos decendiais, considerando 100 mm como capacidade de retenção de água no solo. Os resultados indicaram a primeira época como a melhor para os parâmetros estudados, e a terceira época não deve ser recomendada. Com relação ao rendimento de grãos, destacaram-se, nas três épocas, os genótipos IAC 2 e BGL"S"/CIN"S"//MUS"S". Os genótipos IAC 3, Hare 212, Ardilla"S" e ICT 8803 apresentaram-se produtivos na segunda e terceira épocas, e o genótipo MERINOS"S"/JLO"S"/3/BGL"S"/CIN"S"//MUS"S", somente na terceira época. O melhor genótipo, independentemente de época, foi o IAC 2. O rendimento de grãos está associado positivamente com o peso de mil sementes. A ocorrência dos agentes causais de manchas foliares foi mais intensa no genótipo de trigo IAC 24 do que nos genótipos de triticales, excetuando-se o CEP 15.

Um breve estudo histórico-analítico da Lei de Hume

A Lei de Hume, pela qual um dever ser não pode resultar de um ser, e a sua recíproca, pela qual um ser não pode resultar de um dever ser, ocupam posições proeminentes nas discussões de metaética. Neste trabalho mostrarei relações lógicas entre distintas formulações da Lei de Hume e da sua recíproca. Também mostrarei como essas formulações estão relacionadas a teses sustentadas por importantes pensadores como Poincaré, Nelson, Jörgensen e Hare.