Efeitos in vivo do ácido metilmalônico sobre o comportamento de ratos no labirinto aquático de morris e in vitro sobre alguns parâmetros de estresse oxidativo e sobre as atividades dos complexos I-IV da cadeia respiratória em homogeneizado de tecidos de ratos

A acidemia metilmalônica é uma desordem metabólica hereditária caracterizada bioquimicamente pelo acúmulo tecidual de ácido metilmalônico (MMA) e clinicamente por deterioração neurológica progressiva e falência renal. Os avanços no tratamento dessa doença alcançados nos últimos anos possibilitaram uma diminuição significativa na mortalidade dos mesmos. Entretanto, a morbidade continua alta, pois a maioria dos pacientes afetados por acidemia metilmalônica, mesmo recebendo o melhor tratamento disponível no momento, apresenta graus variáveis de comprometimento do sistema nervoso central refletido em retardo mental e atraso no desenvolvimento psicomotor. No presente estudo investigamos os efeitos in vivo da administração crônica do MMA em ratos Wistar durante o seu desenvolvimento (do 5º ao 28º dia de vida pós-natal) sobre o comportamento dos mesmos na tarefa do labirinto aquático de Morris. A tarefa foi realizada após um período de recuperação dos animais de 30 dias com o intuito de verificar dano neurológico permanente ou de longa duração nos animais. O labirinto aquático de Morris é uma tarefa bastante útil para a avaliação de aprendizado e memória espaciais. O protocolo da tarefa foi ligeiramente modificado para servir ao propósito de nosso trabalho, ou seja, o de avaliar o efeito da administração crônica de drogas sobre o comportamento de ratos. Verificamos que a administração crônica de MMA não provocou efeito no peso corporal, velocidade de natação e na fase de aquisição da tarefa. Porém, o tratamento prejudicou o desempenho dos animais no treino reverso, o que é condizente com comportamento perseverativo. Também avaliamos o efeito do ácido ascórbico, que foi administrado isoladamente ou em combinação com o MMA para testarmos se o estresse oxidativo poderia estar relacionado com as alterações comportamentais observadas no grupo tratado com MMA. Observamos que este antioxidante preveniu as alterações comportamentais provocadas pelo MMA, indicando que o estresse oxidativo pode estar envolvido com o efeito encontrado. Passamos então a avaliar o efeito in vitro do MMA sobre parâmetros de estresse oxidativo, mais especificamente na técnica de dosagem de substâncias reativas ao ácido tiobarbitúrico (TBA-RS), que é um parâmetro de lipoperoxidação, e sobre o potencial antioxidante total do tecido (TRAP) e a reatividade antioxidante do tecido (TAR), que são parâmetros de defesas antioxidantes teciduais. O MMA na concentração de 2,5 mM aumentou a lipoperoxidação in vitro em homogeneizado de estriado e hipocampo de ratos e diminuiu o TRAP e o TAR em homogeneizado de estriado de ratos. Tais resultados indicam fortemente que o MMA induz estresse oxidativo. Finalmente investigamos o efeito in vitro do MMA sobre a atividade enzimática dos complexos da cadeia respiratória em várias estruturas cerebrais e em órgãos periféricos em ratos de 30 dias de vida no sentido de melhor esclarecer os mecanismos fisiopatológicos dos danos teciduais desta doença. Verificamos que o MMA causou uma inibição significativa da atividade do complexo II da cadeia respiratória em estriado e hipocampo quando baixas concentrações de sucinato foram utilizadas no meio de incubação. Além disso, verificamos que este efeito inibitório do MMA sobre o complexo II ocorreu somente após exposição do homogeneizado ao ácido por pelo menos 10 minutos, além do que esta inibição não foi prevenida pela co-incubação com o inibidor da óxido nítrico sintetase Nω- nitro-L-argininametilester (L-NAME) ou por uma associação de catalase e superóxido dismutase. Estes resultados sugerem que as espécies reativas de oxigênio e nitrogênio mais comuns não estão envolvidas neste efeito, tornando improvável que a inibição do complexo II da cadeia respiratória seja mediada por estresse oxidativo. O MMA também causou uma inibição do complexo II-III em estriado, hipocampo, rim, fígado e coração; e inibiu o complexo I-III em fígado e rim. O complexo IV não foi afetado pela incubação com o ácido em nenhuma das estruturas testadas. Portanto, tomados em seu conjunto, estes resultados indicam que o MMA bloqueia a cadeia respiratória. Os resultados de nosso trabalho indicam que a administração crônica de MMA em ratos em desenvolvimento provocou alterações comportamentais de longa duração provavelmente mediadas por radicais livres, pois tais alterações foram prevenidas pelo antioxidante ácido ascórbico. O MMA também induziu estresse oxidativo in vitro em estriado e hipocampo e inibiu de forma diferenciada os complexos da cadeia respiratória nos tecidos estudados, sendo que as estruturas mais vulneráveis a esta ação foram o estriado e o hipocampo. Finalmente, nossos resultados sugerem que antioxidantes podem ajudar a prevenir, ou pelo menos atenuar, os danos teciduais provocados pelo MMA na acidemia metilmalônica.

Estudo morfológico da blenda polimérica poli(metacrilato de metila)/poli(tereftalato de etileno) reciclado (PMMA/PET)

Among the options for plastics modification more convenient, both from a technical-scientific and economic, is the development of polymer blends by processing in the molten state. This work was divide into two stages, with the aim to study the phase morphology of binary blend PMMA / PET blend and this compatibilized by the addition of the poly(methyl methacrylate-co-glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethyl acrylate) copolymer (MMA-GMA-EA). In the first stage is analyzed the morphology of the blend at a preliminary stage where we used the bottle-grade PET in a Haake torque rheometer and the effect of compatibilizer in this blend was evaluated. In the second stage the blend was processed using the recycled PET in a single screw extruder and subsequently injection molding in the shape of specimens for mechanical tests. In both stages we used a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to observe the morphologies of the samples and an image analyzer to characterize them. In the second stage, as well as analysis by TEM, tensile test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) was performed to correlate the morphology with the mechanical properties. The samples used in morphological analyzes were sliced by cryo-ultramicrotomy technique for the analysis by TEM and the analysis by SEM and AFM, we used the flat face of the block after cut cryogenic. It was found that the size of the dispersed phase decreased with the addition of MMA-GMA-EA in blends prepared in a Haake. In the tensile test, the values of maximum tensile strength and modulus of elasticity is maintained in a range between the value of pure PMMA the pure PET, while the elongation at break was influenced by the composition by weight of the PMMA mixture. The coupling agent corroborated the results presented in the blend PMMA / PETrec / MMA-GMA-EA (80/15/5 %w/w), obtained by TEM, AFM and SEM. It was concluded that the techniques used had a good morphologic correlation, and can be confirmed for final analysis of the morphological characteristics of the blends PMMA / PET

Influência de tratamentos térmicos no comportamento mecânico da blenda poli(metacrilato de metila) / poli(tereftalato de etileno) reciclado

Studies indicate that a variation in the degree of crystallinity of the components of a polymer blend influences the mechanical properties. This variation can be obtained by subjecting the blend to heat treatments that lead to changes in the spherulitic structure. The aim of this work is to analyze the influence of different heat treatments on the variation of the degree of crystallinity and to establish a relationship between this variation and the mechanical behavior of poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(ethylene terephthalate) recycled (PMMA / PETrec) with and without the use of compatibilizer agent poly(methyl methacrylate-al-glycidyl methacrylate-al-ethyl acrylate) (MMAGMA- EA). All compositions were subjected to two heat treatments. T1 heat treatment the samples were treated at 130 ° C for 30 minutes and cooled in air. In T2, the samples were treated at 230 ° C for 5 minutes and cooled to approximately -10 ° C. The variation of the degree of crystallinity was determined by the proportional relationship between crystallinity and density, with the density measured by pycnometry. The mechanical behavior was verified by tensile tests with and without the presence of notches and pre-cracks, and by method of fracture toughness in plane strain (KIC). We used the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to analyze the fracture surface of the samples. The compositions subjected to heat treatment T1, in general, showed an increase in the degree of crystallinity in tensile strength and a tendency to decrease in toughness, while compositions undergoing treatment T2 showed that the opposite behavior. Therefore, this work showed that heat treatment can give a polymer blend further diversity of its properties, this being caused by changes in the crystal structure

Analysis and functional annotation of an expressed sequence tag collection for tropical crop sugarcane

To contribute to our understanding of the genome complexity of sugarcane, we undertook a large-scale expressed sequence tag (EST),program. More than 260,000 cDNA clones were partially sequenced from 26 standard cDNA libraries generated from different sugarcane tissues. After the processing of the sequences, 237,954 high-quality ESTs were identified. These ESTs were assembled into 43,141 putative transcripts. of the assembled sequences, 35.6% presented no matches with existing sequences in public databases. A global analysis of the whole SUCEST data set indicated that 14,409 assembled sequences (33% of the total) contained at least one cDNA clone with a full-length insert. Annotation of the 43,141 assembled sequences associated almost 50% of the putative identified sugarcane genes with protein metabolism, cellular communication/signal transduction, bioenergetics, and stress responses. Inspection of the translated assembled sequences for conserved protein domains revealed 40,821 amino acid sequences with 1415 Pfam domains. Reassembling the consensus sequences of the 43,141 transcripts revealed a 22% redundancy in the first assembling. This indicated that possibly 33,620 unique genes had been identified and indicated that >90% of the sugarcane expressed genes were tagged.

Análise multitemporal dos elementos geoambientais da região da Ponta do Tubarão, área de influência dos campos petrolíferos de Macau e Serra, município de Macau/RN

The study area is inserted in Ponta do Tubarão region, Macau City, setentrional littoral of Rio Grande do Norte State, composed of Tertiary and Quatemary sedimentary rocks and sediments. This region is characterized for the intense action of the coastal processes, causing the morphologic instability in part of the area, beyond the interference of human activities, as the Petroliferous Industrial Polo, salt companies and shrimp farms. This justifies the integration of multidisciplinary and multitemporal detailed scientific studies dealing with the evaluation of the changing behavior of this coastal environment by geoenvironments elements characterization, identifying protected and recuperation areas, mainly those under socioeconomic intervention. The main objective was the coastal monitoring using geoprocessing techniques to prepare thematic maps useful for oil spilling environment risk areas survey. The methodology was based on multitemporal interpretation of remote sensing images and field checking, integrated in a Geographical Information System (GIS). The Geologic, Geomorphologic, Vegetation, Soil and Land Use maps were prepared, and later on they allowed the generation of the Natural Vulnerability and Environmental Vulnerability maps. These maps had been classified in accordance with vulnerability degrees: very low, low, medi um, high and very high. Beyond these maps the GIS allowed the analysis of the shoreline evolution for 10 distinct dates, using Landsat 5 TM and 7 ETM+ and SPOT-HRVIR images. This analysis made possible the attendance of the coastal morphodynamic evolution, where the results had been represented by areasof erosion and accretion (or deposition) of sediments, pointing critical areas under erosive process to the petroliferous industry (Macau and Serra fields). The GIS also provided to prepare the Environmental Sensitivity Maps of Oil Spill (SAO Maps) in operational scale (1: 10.000), according to the norms ofthe Ministério do Meio Ambiente (MMA 2002). The SAO Map in operational scale was based on IKONOS images mosaic where the ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index) was represented according with two tides phases of theregion. Therewere recognizedfiveESI (3, 4,7,9, 1O) for the low tide; to the high tide the ESI number increased to seven (3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10). All these information are necessary to the decisions making about oi! spill and its derivatives containment. These techniques application makes possible the optimization and implantation ofnew socioeconomics activities of low environmental impact, indicates areas for better productivity and security exploration, and benefits local communities with fauna and flora preservation. The development of these activities is inserted in the scope of Monitoramento Ambiental de Áreas de Risco a Derrames de Petróleo e Seus Derivados Cooperation Project (Rede 05/01 - PETRORISCO, FINEP/CTPETRO/PETROBRAS) of multidisciplinary and interinstitucional characteristics dealing with subjects involving the environmental monitoring and the petroliferous activity

Effect of methyl methacrylate monomer on bond strength of denture base resin to acrylic teeth

Bond failures at the acrylic teeth and denture base resin interface are still a common clinical problem in prosthodontics. The effect of methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer on the bond strength of three types of denture base resins (Acron MC, Lucitone 550 and QC-20) to two types of acrylic teeth (Biotone and Trilux) was evaluated. Twenty specimens were produced for each denture base resin/acrylic tooth combination and were randomly divided into control (acrylic teeth received no surface treatment) and experimental groups (MMA was applied to the surface of the acrylic teeth for 180 s) and were submitted to shear tests (1 mm/mm). Data (MPa) were analyzed using three-way ANOVA/Student's test (alpha = 0.05). MMA increased the bond strength of Lucitone denture base resins and decreased the bond strength of QC-20. No difference was detected for the bond strength of Acron MC base resin after treatment with MMA. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Antimicrobial Properties and Cytotoxicity of an Antimicrobial Monomer for Application in Prosthodontics

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

Frequency of Candida spp. in the Oral Cavity of Brazilian HIV-Positive Patients and Correlation with CD4 Cell Counts and Viral Load

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

Effect of cerium (IV) ions on the anticorrosion properties of siloxane-poly(methyl methacrylate) based film applied on tin coated steel

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

Highly corrosion resistant siloxane-polymethyl methacrylate hybrid coatings

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Temperature dependence of photoinduced birefringence in mixed Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of azobenzene-containing polymers

The temperature dependence of photoinduced birefringence was investigated for mixed Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films from the homopolymer poly[4'-[[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]ethyl-amino]-2-chloro-4-nitroazobenzene] (HPDR13) and cadmium stearate (Cdst) and from the copolymer 4-[N-ethyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)]amino-2'-chloro-4'-nitroazobenzene (MMA-DR13) and CdSt. Birefringence was achieved by impinging a linearly polarized light on the LB films. The maximum birefringence achieved decreased with temperature as thermal relaxation of the chromophores was facilitated. The buildup curves for birefringence were fitted with biexponential functions representing distinctly different mechanisms with time constants. The first, fast process is thermally activated and may be represented by an Arrhenius process. The decay of birefringence after switching off the laser source was described by a Kohlraush-Williams-Watts (KWW) function, consistent with a distribution of relaxation times for the polymer system. Activation energies were obtained from Arrhenius plots of the rate constant of the exponential functions and KWW function, which showed that the buildup of birefringence was very similar for the two polymer systems. The decay, however, was slower for the LB film from MMA-DR13/CdSt. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier B.V. Ltd.

Evolution of rheological properties and local structure during gelation of siloxane-polymethylmethacrylate hybrid materials

Hybrid siloxane-polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) nanocomposites with covalent bonds between the inorganic (siloxane) and organic (polymer) phases were prepared by the sot gel process through hydrolysis and polycondensation of 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propylmethacrylate (TMSM) and polymerization of methylmethacrylate (MMA) using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiator. The effect of MMA, BPO and water contents on the viscoelastic behaviour of these materials was analysed during gelation by dynamic rheological measurements. The changes in storage (G') and loss moduli (G), complex viscosity (eta*) and phase angle (6) were measured as a function of the reaction time showing the viscous character of the sot in the initial step of gelation and its progressive transformation to an elastic gel. This study was complemented by Si-29 and C-13 solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR/MAS) measurements of dried gel. The analysis of the experimental results shows that linear chains are formed in the initial step of the gelation followed by a growth of branched structures and formation of a three-dimensional network. Near the gel point this hybrid material demonstrates the typical scaling behaviour expected from percolation theory.