Environmental Controls In The Water Use Patterns Of A Tropical Cloud Forest Tree Species, Drimys Brasiliensis (winteraceae).

Trees from tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF) display very dynamic patterns of water use. They are capable of downwards water transport towards the soil during leaf-wetting events, likely a consequence of foliar water uptake (FWU), as well as high rates of night-time transpiration (Enight) during drier nights. These two processes might represent important sources of water losses and gains to the plant, but little is known about the environmental factors controlling these water fluxes. We evaluated how contrasting atmospheric and soil water conditions control diurnal, nocturnal and seasonal dynamics of sap flow in Drimys brasiliensis (Miers), a common Neotropical cloud forest species. We monitored the seasonal variation of soil water content, micrometeorological conditions and sap flow of D. brasiliensis trees in the field during wet and dry seasons. We also conducted a greenhouse experiment exposing D. brasiliensis saplings under contrasting soil water conditions to deuterium-labelled fog water. We found that during the night D. brasiliensis possesses heightened stomatal sensitivity to soil drought and vapour pressure deficit, which reduces night-time water loss. Leaf-wetting events had a strong suppressive effect on tree transpiration (E). Foliar water uptake increased in magnitude with drier soil and during longer leaf-wetting events. The difference between diurnal and nocturnal stomatal behaviour in D. brasiliensis could be attributed to an optimization of carbon gain when leaves are dry, as well as minimization of nocturnal water loss. The leaf-wetting events on the other hand seem important to D. brasiliensis water balance, especially during soil droughts, both by suppressing tree transpiration (E) and as a small additional water supply through FWU. Our results suggest that decreases in leaf-wetting events in TMCF might increase D. brasiliensis water loss and decrease its water gains, which could compromise its ecophysiological performance and survival during dry periods.

Beam-energy Dependence Of The Directed Flow Of Protons, Antiprotons, And Pions In Au+au Collisions.

Rapidity-odd directed flow (v1) measurements for charged pions, protons, and antiprotons near midrapidity (y=0) are reported in sNN=7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, 39, 62.4, and 200 GeV Au+Au collisions as recorded by the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. At intermediate impact parameters, the proton and net-proton slope parameter dv1/dy|y=0 shows a minimum between 11.5 and 19.6 GeV. In addition, the net-proton dv1/dy|y=0 changes sign twice between 7.7 and 39 GeV. The proton and net-proton results qualitatively resemble predictions of a hydrodynamic model with a first-order phase transition from hadronic matter to deconfined matter, and differ from hadronic transport calculations.

Electrochemical Oxidation Of Landfill Leachate In A Flow Reactor: Optimization Using Response Surface Methodology.

Response surface methodology based on Box-Behnken (BBD) design was successfully applied to the optimization in the operating conditions of the electrochemical oxidation of sanitary landfill leachate aimed for making this method feasible for scale up. Landfill leachate was treated in continuous batch-recirculation system, where a dimensional stable anode (DSA(©)) coated with Ti/TiO2 and RuO2 film oxide were used. The effects of three variables, current density (milliampere per square centimeter), time of treatment (minutes), and supporting electrolyte dosage (moles per liter) upon the total organic carbon removal were evaluated. Optimized conditions were obtained for the highest desirability at 244.11 mA/cm(2), 41.78 min, and 0.07 mol/L of NaCl and 242.84 mA/cm(2), 37.07 min, and 0.07 mol/L of Na2SO4. Under the optimal conditions, 54.99 % of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 71.07 ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) removal was achieved with NaCl and 45.50 of COD and 62.13 NH3-N with Na2SO4. A new kinetic model predicted obtained from the relation between BBD and the kinetic model was suggested.

Characterization Of Cumulative Joint Damage Patterns In Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Clinical, Serological, And Gene Polymorphism Perspective.

To characterize cumulative joint damage (CJD) patterns in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and determine their associations with demographic/clinical features and HLA-DRB1 gene polymorphism. Hand and foot radiographs were obtained from 404 patients with RA. CJD patterns were determined by 3 derivations from Sharp/van der Heijde scores, obtained by the mathematical division of scores for hands/feet (Sharp-h/f score), fingers/wrists (Sharp-f/w score), and erosion/space narrowing (Sharp-e/sn score), respectively. DNA and serum were obtained for determination of HLA-DRB1 polymorphism, rheumatoid factor (RF), and anticitrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA). Patients with wrist-dominant CJD pattern were more likely to have severe RA than those with finger-dominant pattern (68.4% vs 46.0%; p = 0.036) as were those with foot-dominant vs hand-dominant CJD pattern (76.5% vs 56.4%; p = 0.044). HLA-DRB1 shared epitope (SE) alleles were associated with erosion-dominant CJD pattern (p = 0.021). Patients with erosion-dominant CJD pattern had higher levels of RF and ACPA than those with space-narrowing-dominant CJD pattern (median RF 71.35 U/ml vs 22.05 U/ml, respectively; p = 0.003; median ACPA 187.9 U/ml vs 143.2 U/ml, respectively; p < 0.001). The majority of triple-positive patients (SE+, RF+, ACPA+) had erosion-dominant CJD pattern (62.3%) while the majority of triple-negative patients (SE-, FR-, ACPA-) had space narrowing-dominant CJD pattern (75%; p = 0.017). ACPA was associated with HLA-DRB1 SE alleles (p < 0.05). Patients with foot-dominant CJD pattern were taller than those with hand-dominant CJD pattern (p = 0.002); those with erosion-dominant CJD pattern had higher weight and body mass index than those with space narrowing-dominant CJD pattern (p = 0.014, p = 0.001). CJD patterns were associated with disease severity, HLA-DRB1 SE status, presence and titer of ACPA and RF, and morphometric features.

Triboelectric Effect As A New Strategy For Sealing And Controlling The Flow In Paper-based Devices.

We reported here for the first time that triboelectric charges on PET sheets can be used to seal and control the flow rate in paper-based devices. The proposed method exhibits simplicity and low cost, provides reversible sealing and minimizes the effect of sample evaporation.

Effect Of Concurrent Training With Blood Flow Restriction In The Elderly.

The aim of this present study was to investigate on the effects of concurrent training with blood flow restriction (BFR-CT) and concurrent training (CT) on the aerobic fitness, muscle mass and muscle strength in a cohort of older individuals. 25 healthy older adults (64.7±4.1 years; 69.33±10.8 kg; 1.6±0.1 m) were randomly assigned to experimental groups: CT (n=8, endurance training (ET), 2 days/week for 30-40 min, 50-80% VO2peak and RT, 2 days/week, leg press with 4 sets of 10 reps at 70-80% of 1-RM with 60 s rest), BFR-CT (n=10, ET, similar to CT, but resistance training with blood flow restriction: 2 days/week, leg press with 1 set of 30 and 3 sets of 15 reps at 20-30% 1-RM with 60 s rest) or control group (n=7). Quadriceps cross-sectional area (CSAq), 1-RM and VO2peak were assessed pre- and post-examination (12 wk). The CT and BFR-CT showed similar increases in CSAq post-test (7.3%, P<0.001; 7.6%, P<0.0001, respectively), 1-RM (38.1%, P<0.001; 35.4%, P=0.001, respectively) and VO2peak (9.5%, P=0.04; 10.3%, P=0.02, respectively). The BFR-CT promotes similar neuromuscular and cardiorespiratory adaptations as CT.

Patterns Of Seizure Control In Patients With Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy With And Without Hippocampus Sclerosis.

Objective Patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) may present unstable pattern of seizures. We aimed to evaluate the occurrence of relapse-remitting seizures in MTLE with (MTLE-HS) and without (MTLE-NL) hippocampal sclerosis. Method We evaluated 172 patients with MTLE-HS (122) or MTLE-NL (50). Relapse-remitting pattern was defined as periods longer than two years of seizure-freedom intercalated with seizure recurrence. Infrequent seizures was considered as up to three seizures per year and frequent seizures as any period of seizures higher than that. Results Thirty-seven (30%) MTLE-HS and 18 (36%) MTLE-NL patients had relapse-remitting pattern (X2, p = 0.470). This was more common in those with infrequent seizures (X2, p < 0.001). Twelve MTLE-HS and one MTLE-NL patients had prolonged seizure remission between the first and second decade of life (X2, p = 0.06). Conclusion Similar proportion of MTLE-HS or MTLE-NL patients present relapse-remitting seizures and this occurs more often in those with infrequent seizures.

Nitric Oxide Released From Luminal S-nitroso-n-acetylcysteine Increases Gastric Mucosal Blood Flow.

Nitric oxide (NO)-mediated vasodilation plays a key role in gastric mucosal defense, and NO-donor drugs may protect against diseases associated with gastric mucosal blood flow (GMBF) deficiencies. In this study, we used the ex vivo gastric chamber method and Laser Doppler Flowmetry to characterize the effects of luminal aqueous NO-donor drug S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine (SNAC) solution administration compared to aqueous NaNO2 and NaNO3 solutions (pH 7.4) on GMBF in Sprague-Dawley rats. SNAC solutions (600 μM and 12 mM) led to a rapid threefold increase in GMBF, which was maintained during the incubation of the solutions with the gastric mucosa, while NaNO2 or NaNO3 solutions (12 mM) did not affect GMBF. SNAC solutions (600 μM and 12 mM) spontaneously released NO at 37 °C at a constant rate of 0.3 or 14 nmol·mL-1·min-1, respectively, while NaNO2 (12 mM) released NO at a rate of 0.06 nmol·mL-1·min-1 and NaNO3 (12 mM) did not release NO. These results suggest that the SNAC-induced GMBF increase is due to their higher rates of spontaneous NO release compared to equimolar NaNO2 solutions. Taken together, our data indicate that oral SNAC administration is a potential approach for gastric acid-peptic disorder prevention and treatment.

Flow injection green method for the quantitative analysis of ketoconazole in pharmaceutical preparations

A flow injection method for the quantitative analysis of ketoconazole in tablets, based on the reaction with iron (III) ions, is presented. Ketoconazole forms a red complex with iron ions in an acid medium, with maximum absorbance at 495 nm. The detection limit was estimated to be 1×10--4 mol L-1; the quantitation limit is about 3×10--4 mol L-1 and approximately 30 determinations can be performed in an hour. The results were compared with those obtained with a reference HPLC method. Statistical comparisons were done using the Student's t procedure and the F test. Complete agreement was found at the 0.95 significance level between the proposed flow injection and the HPLC procedures. The two methods present similar precision, i.e., for HPLC the mean relative standard deviation was ca. 1.2% and for FIA ca. 1.6%.

Respostas agudas da variabilidade da frequência cardíaca após sesão de exercício de força com restrição de fluxo sanguíneo = : Acute responses of heart rate variabiblity afer blood flow restriction resistance exercise

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Motivação intrinseca e o estado mental flow em corredores de rua

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física