Community-wide spatial and temporal discordances of seed-seedling shadows in a tropical rainforest

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

Degradabilidade e digestibilidade de híbridos de milho em função do estádio de colheita, tamanho de partícula e processamento por meio do esmagamento na ensilagem

During the process of silage corn, should take into consideration some aspects that will result in better utilization. The aim of this study was to evaluate the degradability of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and starch digestibility and in vitro dry matter (DM) of silage corn hybrids due two textures, three stages of harvest, three particle sizes and processing by crushing. After harvesting and chipping, part of the material was crushed and then ensiled and sealed for 45 days. After opening the silos, analyzed the degradability in the incubation time of 20 hours using the technique in situ macro bag. The experimental design was a randomized split plot. The DM degradability was influenced only by the effect of stages of sampling used. The degradability of CP showed interaction between processing and particle size (Tp), noting that increased degradation due to processing. For NDF degradation significant interaction of factors, hybrid and processing, similar to the degradation of starch. The IVDMD was influenced by the effects of hybrid, stadium, Tp and processing. It can be concluded that benefits were higher with the use of processing associated with more advanced stages of harvest, in larger particle sizes.

Um estudo da adaptação cinematográfica da figura do herói do romance Stardust, de Neil Gaiman

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Glyphosate impairs male offspring reproductive development by disrupting gonadotropin expression

Sexual differentiation in the brain takes place from late gestation to the early postnatal days. This is dependent on the conversion of circulating testosterone into estradiol by the enzyme aromatase. The glyphosate was shown to alter aromatase activity and decrease serum testosterone concentrations. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of gestational maternal glyphosate exposure (50 mg/kg, NOAEL for reproductive toxicity) on the reproductive development of male offspring. Sixty-day-old male rat offspring were evaluated for sexual behavior and partner preference; serum testosterone concentrations, estradiol, FSH and LH; the mRNA and protein content of LH and FSH; sperm production and the morphology of the seminiferous epithelium; and the weight of the testes, epididymis and seminal vesicles. The growth, the weight and age at puberty of the animals were also recorded to evaluate the effect of the treatment. The most important findings were increases in sexual partner preference scores and the latency time to the first mount; testosterone and estradiol serum concentrations; the mRNA expression and protein content in the pituitary gland and the serum concentration of LH; sperm production and reserves; and the height of the germinal epithelium of seminiferous tubules. We also observed an early onset of puberty but no effect on the body growth in these animals. These results suggest that maternal exposure to glyphosate disturbed the masculinization process and promoted behavioral changes and histological and endocrine problems in reproductive parameters. These changes associated with the hypersecretion of androgens increased gonadal activity and sperm production.

Sunflower Oil Supplementation Has Proinflammatory Effects and Does Not Reverse Insulin Resistance in Obesity Induced by High-Fat Diet in C57BL/6Mice

High consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as sunflower oil has been associated to beneficial effects in plasma lipid profile, but its role on inflammation and insulin resistance is not fully elucidated yet. We evaluated the effect of sunflower oil supplementation on inflammatory state and insulin resistance condition in HFD-induced obese mice. C57BL/ 6 male mice (8 weeks) were divided in four groups: (a) control diet (CD), (b) HFD, (c) CD supplemented with n-6 (CD + n-6), and (d) HFD supplemented with n-6 (HFD + n-6). CD + n-6 and HFD + n-6 were supplemented with sunflower oil by oral gavage at 2 g/ Kg of body weight, three times per week. CD and HFD were supplemented with water instead at the same dose. HFD induced whole andmuscle-specific insulin resistance associated with increased inflammatory markers in insulin-sensitive tissues andmacrophage cells. Sunflower oil supplementation was not efficient in preventing or reducing these parameters. In addition, the supplementation increased pro-inflammatory cytokine production by macrophages and tissues. Lipid profile, on the other hand, was improved with the sunflower oil supplementation in animals fed HFD. In conclusion, sunflower oil supplementation improves lipid profile, but it does not prevent or attenuate insulin resistance and inflammation induced by HFD in C57BL/ 6 mice.

Two new species of marsupial tree-frogs genus Gastrotheca Fitzinger, 1843 (Anura, Hemiphractidae) from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Two new species of Gastrotheca are described from northeastern Minas Gerais and southern Bahia, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Data on morphology, calls, mitochondrial, and nuclear DNA are provided. Allied to G. fissipes and G. megacephala, the new taxa provide evidence for a higher diversity of species of Gastrotheca than previously thought at the Atlantic Forest. The data also suggest that G. pulchra, another Atlantic Forest taxon, is more closely related to non-Atlantic Forest species than to the remaining analyzed Brazilian Gastrotheca species. This implies that the Gastrotheca at the Brazilian coastal forests have at least two independent origins.

Nuclear-modification factor for open-heavy-flavor production at forward rapidity in Cu plus Cu collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV

Background: Heavy-flavor production in p + p collisions is a good test of perturbative-quantum-chromodynamics (pQCD) calculations. Modification of heavy-flavor production in heavy-ion collisions relative to binary-collision scaling from p + p results, quantified with the nuclear-modification factor (R-AA), provides information on both cold-and hot-nuclear-matter effects. Midrapidity heavy-flavor R-AA measurements at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider have challenged parton-energy-loss models and resulted in upper limits on the viscosity-entropy ratio that are near the quantum lower bound. Such measurements have not been made in the forward-rapidity region. Purpose: Determine transverse-momentum (p(T)) spectra and the corresponding R-AA for muons from heavy-flavor meson decay in p + p and Cu + Cu collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV and y = 1.65. Method: Results are obtained using the semileptonic decay of heavy-flavor mesons into negative muons. The PHENIX muon-arm spectrometers measure the p(T) spectra of inclusive muon candidates. Backgrounds, primarily due to light hadrons, are determined with a Monte Carlo calculation using a set of input hadron distributions tuned to match measured-hadron distributions in the same detector and statistically subtracted. Results: The charm-production cross section in p + p collisions at root s = 200 GeV, integrated over p(T) and in the rapidity range 1.4 < y < 1.9, is found to be d(sigma e (e) over bar)/dy = 0.139 +/- 0.029 (stat)(-0.058)(+0.051) (syst) mb. This result is consistent with a perturbative fixed-order-plus-next-to-leading-log calculation within scale uncertainties and is also consistent with expectations based on the corresponding midrapidity charm-production cross section measured by PHENIX. The R-AA for heavy-flavor muons in Cu + Cu collisions is measured in three centrality bins for 1 < p(T) < 4 GeV/c. Suppression relative to binary-collision scaling (R-AA < 1) increases with centrality. Conclusions: Within experimental and theoretical uncertainties, the measured charm yield in p + p collisions is consistent with state-of-the-art pQCD calculations. Suppression in central Cu + Cu collisions suggests the presence of significant cold-nuclear-matter effects and final-state energy loss.

Quality of life assessment septoplasty in patients with nasal obstruction

Naasal obstruction is a common complaint in the population. When caused by a deviated nasal septum, septoplasty is the procedure of choice for treating these patients. NOSE is a tool for assessing the disease-specific quality of life related to nasal obstruction. Aim: To assess the impact of septoplasty on patients with nasal obstruction secondary to deviated nasal septum based on the disease-specific quality-of-life questionnaire. Design: Prospective. Methods: Patients undergoing septoplasty with/without turbinectomy after no clinical improvement with medical treatment were assessed by the NOSE questionnaire before and 3 months after surgery. We evaluated the surgical improvement based on total score, the magnitude of the surgery in the disease-specific quality of life and the correlation between the preoperative score and postoperatively improvement. Results: Fourty-six patients were included in the study. There was a statistically significant improvement in the preoperative NOSE score (md = 75, IQR = 26) and after three months (md = 10, IQR = 20) (p < 0.001.T-Wilcoxon). The standardized response mean was 3.07. We found a strong correlation between the preoperative score in the NOSE questionnaire and improvements in the postoperative period (r = -0.789, p < 0.001, Spearman). No difference was found in improvement scores by gender. (p = 0.668, U-Mann-Whitney). Conclusion: Septoplasty resulted in a statistically significant improvement in the disease-specific QOL questionnaire.

The Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in International Cooperation in Public Health

This article discusses the possibility of the NGOs acting on international health cooperation and how this acting is regulated. Firstly, the international cooperation and its relation with public health is presented. After that, data on Brazilian bilateral health cooperation are brought in, in which it is possible to find the formal recognition of NGOs as partners of States. This allows the consideration of the role of NGOs in health cooperation. Although the action of NGOs is legitimated by international law, their regulation is just beginning. This suggests important issues to be improved in the legal relation between NGOs and States in the field of public health.

Virulence attributes and genetic variability of oral Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis isolates

The wide spectrum of candidiasis and its clinical importance encourage the research with the purpose of clarifying the mechanisms of pathogenicity and identification of virulence factors of Candida sp. Therefore, the aim of this study was to verify the adhesion capacity, protease activity and genotypic diversity of oral C. albicans and C. tropicalis isolates. The adhesion ability to the extracellular matrix glycoproteins laminin and fibronectin was evaluated using the ELISA technique. The research of proteases was carried out in agar plate containing bovine albumin and through a quantitative method in buffer solution containing haemoglobin. Intra and interspecies polymorphisms was verified through random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. All C. albicans and C. tropicalis isolates binded to immobilised laminin and fibronectin. Ca33 and Ct13 isolates had relative adhesion index significantly higher than the other isolates for both glycoproteins (P < 0.001). Protease activity was observed in all isolates of C. albicans using either the semi-quantitative or quantitative assay. The protease activity of C. tropicalis was better detected through the quantitative assay. The genotypic diversity by RAPD revealed a heterogeneous population in both species. Nevertheless, C. tropicalis presented higher genetic variability than C. albicans strains.

Oral Administration of Oleic or Linoleic Acids Modulates the Production of Inflammatory Mediators by Rat Macrophages

Oleic (OLA) and linoleic (LNA) acids are commonly consumed fatty acids and they can modulate the inflammatory response, in which macrophages play an important role. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of these two fatty acids on the production of inflammatory mediators by macrophages. Rats received oral administration of water (control), OLA or LNA (0.22 g/kg body weight) daily for 10 days and peritoneal resident macrophages were then isolated. Subsequently, they were seeded in culture plates and the production of various inflammatory mediators was assessed. Oral administration with OLA decreased the production of IL-1 beta, IL-6 and CINC-2 alpha beta by resident macrophages and LNA decreased the production of IL-1 beta, IL-6 and VEGF in the absence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), although it accelerated IL-1 beta release and decreased IL-10 synthesis when cells were stimulated with LPS. Neither fatty acid affected the production of superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, nitrite, TNF-alpha, PGE(2), LTB4 or 15(S)-HETE. Thus, OLA and LNA influence the production of several inflammatory mediators by macrophages.

MicroRNAs miR-146-5p and let-7f as prognostic tools for aggressive papillary thyroid carcinoma: a case report

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most incident histotype of thyroid cancer. A certain fraction of PTC cases (5%) are irresponsive to conventional treatment, and refractory to radioiodine therapy. The current prognostic factors for aggressiveness are mainly based on tumor size, the presence of lymph node metastasis, extrathyroidal invasion and, more recently, the presence of the BRAFT(1799A) mutation. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been described as promising molecular markers for cancer as their deregulation is observed in a wide range of tumors. Recent studies indicate that the over-expression of miR-146b-5p is associated with aggressiveness and BRAFT(1799A) mutation. Furthermore, down-regulation of let-7f is observed in several types of tumors, including PTC. In this study, we evaluated the miR146b-5p and let-7f status in a young male patient with aggressive, BRAFT(1799A)-positive papillary thyroid carcinoma, with extensive lymph node metastases and short-time recurrence. The analysis of miR-146b-5p and let-7f expression revealed a distinct pattern from a cohort of PTC patients, suggesting caution in evaluating miRNA expression data as molecular markers of PTC diagnosis and prognosis. Arq Bras Endocrinol Metab. 2012;56(8):552-7

A relict new species of Oreobates (Anura, Strabomantidae) from the Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and its implication to the biogeography of the genus and that of South American Dry Forests

A new species of Oreobates is described from Cavernas do Peruacu National Park, Januaria, Minas Gerais state, in the Atlantic Dry Forests of Brazil. The new species is distinguished from all other Oreobates by having the following combination of characters: large tympanum, discs broadly enlarged and truncate on Fingers III and IV, smooth dorsal skin, nuptial pads absent, snout subacuminate, and a very short pulsatile (2-3 pulses) single-noted advertisement call with dominant frequency of about 3150 Hz, and no harmonic structure. Molecular phylogenetic analyses using partial sequences of the mitochondrial genes cytochrome b (cyt b) and 16S using multiple outgroups recovered the new species within Oreobates and sister to O. heterodactylus. The latter species inhabits the Dry Forests of Mato Grosso (Cerrado) and Bolivia (Chiquitano forests), and is strictly associated to these habitats, which suggests a preterit connection between Chiquitano and Atlantic Dry Forests. The discovery of a new Oreobates in the Atlantic Dry Forest is of great importance for the conservation of these dry forests, as it is known only from this type of habitat.