INFLUENCE OF DIETARY-PROTEIN INTAKE AND RECOMBINANT HUMAN SOMATOTROPIN ADMINISTRATION ON GROWTH AND BODY-COMPOSITION OF JUVENILE TAMBACU (A PIARACTUS-MESOPOTAMICUS X COLOSSOMA-MACROPOMUM CROSS)

This experiment was undertaken to study the interaction between level of dietary protein and recombinant human somatotropin (rhGH) administration on performance and body composition of juvenile tambacu (a crossbred Brazilian fish). A total of 72 juvenile tambacu, initially weighing and measuring (mean +/- s.e.m.) 23 +/- 2 g and 9 +/- 0.5 cm, respectively, were randomly divided into 18 groups of 4 fish each. Water temperature was 28 degrees C. Triplicate groups received one of two levels of dietary protein (15 and 30% as fed basis) and one of 3 doses of rhGH (0, 2 and 4 mu g/g) via intraperitoneal injection twice a week for 6 weeks, using a randomized complete block design. Somatotropin was noted to stimulate linear and body weight gain. The higher protein level supported increased growth in weight and length, but there was no interaction between protein level and rhGH dose for either parameter. Protein efficiency ratio and percentage protein deposited showed higher values on diets containing 15% protein. Somatotropin treatment did not significantly affect body composition, but there was a trend towards improved protein retention and reduced carcass lipid. In conclusion, the results of this experiment suggest that rhGH is able to stimulate linear gain in tambacu.

Jacalin interaction with human immunoglobulin A1 and bovine immunoglobulin G1: Affinity constant determined by piezoelectric biosensoring

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

Food-web composition affects cross-ecosystem interactions and subsidies

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

Nonlocal description of the nucleus-nucleus interaction

A parameter-free nonlocal double-folding-inspired interaction is proposed for the nucleus-nucleus systems. Excellent reproductions of elastic scattering differential cross section data were obtained for several systems over a wide range of bombarding energies. Our results should be of value in the description of the scattering of other many-body systems.

Coordination of Eu3+ ions in siliceous nanohybrids containing short polyether chains and bridging urea cross-links

Infrared and photoluminescence spectroscopies have been used to investigate the local environment of the Eu3+ ions in luminescent sol-gel derived materials-di-ureasils-based on a hybrid framework represented by U(600). This host is composed of a siliceous backbone grafted, through urea cross-links, to both ends of polymer segments incorporating 8.5 oxyethylene repeat units. The active centers have been introduced as europium perchlorate, Eu(ClO4)3. Samples with compositions n = 232, 62, 23, 12, and 6 (where n denotes the ratio of (OCH2CH2) moieties per lanthanide ion) have been examined. The combination of the information retrieved from the analysis of characteristic bands of the FTIR spectra-the perchlorate and the Amide I/Amide II features-with that obtained from the photoluminescence data demonstrates that at compositions n = 232 and 62 the anions are free, whereas the Eu3+ ions are complexed by the heteroatoms of the polyether chains. At higher salt concentration, the cations are bonded, not only to the ClO4 - ions, but also to the ether oxygen atoms of the organic segments and to the carbonyl oxygen atoms of the urea linkages. The dual behavior of U(600) with respect to cation coordination has been attributed to the presence in this nanohybrid of strong hydrogen-bonded urea-urea structures, which, at low salt content, cannot be disrupted, thus inhibiting the formation of Eu3+-O=C(urea) contacts and promoting the interaction between the lanthanide ions and the (OCH2CH2) moieties. The present work substantiates the claim that the activation of the coordinating sites of the di-ureasil framework can be tuned by varying either the guest salt concentration at constant chain length or the length of the.organic segments at constant salt concentration. This relevant property opens challenging new prospects in the fields of application of this class of hybrids. © 2001 American Chemical Society.

Short-distance part of the interaction of D mesons and nucleons

The short-distance part of the low energy interaction of D-mesons and nucleons is investigated in the context of a quark model. The quark model is based on Coulomb gauge QCD. The model contains a confining Coulomb potential and a transverse hyperfine interaction consistent with a finite gluon propagator in the infrared. The basic mechanism for the short-distance interaction between the D-mesons and nucleons is quark interchange. Using Resonating GroupMethod techniques an effective potential for the interaction between nucleons and D mesons can be obtained and used in a Lippmann-Schwinger equation to obtain differential cross-sections and phase shifts.

The interaction of D mesons and nucleons at finite density

We present results on the the influence of changes in the masses and sizes of D mesons and nucleons on elastic DN scattering cross sections and phase shifts in a hadronic medium composed of confined quarks in nucleons. We evaluate the changes of the hadronic masses due to changes of the light constituent quarks at finite baryon density using a chiral quark model based on Coulomb gauge QCD. The model contains a confining Coulomb potential and a transverse hyperfine interaction consistent with a finite gluon propagator in the infrared. We present results for the total cross section and the s-wave phase shift at low energies for isospin I=1-for I=0 and other partial waves the results are similar.

DN interaction from meson exchange

A model of the DN interaction is presented which is developed in close analogy to the meson-exchange KN potential of the Jülich group utilizing SU(4) symmetry constraints. The main ingredients of the interaction are provided by vector meson (ρ, ω) exchange and higher-order box diagrams involving D *N, DΔ, and D *Δ intermediate states. The coupling of DN to the π Λ c and π Σ c channels is taken into account. The interaction model generates the Λ c(2595)-resonance dynamically as a DN quasi-bound state. Results for DN total and differential cross sections are presented and compared with predictions of two interaction models that are based on the leading-order Weinberg-Tomozawa term. Some features of the Λ c(2595)-resonance are discussed and the role of the near-by π Σ c threshold is emphasized. Selected predictions of the orginal KN model are reported too. Specifically, it is pointed out that the model generates two poles in the partial wave corresponding to the Λ(1405)-resonance. © 2011 SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

DN interaction from the Jülich meson-exchange model

The DN interaction is studied in close analogy to the meson-exchange K̄N potential of the Jülich group using SU(4) symmetry constraints. The model generates the Λ c(2595) resonance dynamically as a DN quasi-bound state. Results for DN scattering lengths and cross sections are presented and compared with predictions based on the Weinberg-Tomozawa term. Some features of the Λ c(2595) resonance are also discussed emphasizing the role of the near-by πΣ c threshold. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.

Blends of cross-linked high amylose starch/pectin loaded with diclofenac

Polymers blends represent an important approach to obtain materials with modulated properties to reach different and desired properties in designing drug delivery systems in order to fulfill therapeutic needs. The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of drug loading and polymer ratio on the physicochemical properties of microparticles of cross-linked high amylose starch-pectin blends loaded with diclofenac for further application in controlled drug delivery systems. Thermal analysis and X-ray diffractograms evidenced the occurrence of drug-polymer interactions and the former pointed also to an increase in thermal stability due to drug loading. The rheological properties demonstrated that drug loading resulted in formation of weaker gels while the increase of pectin ratio contributes to origin stronger structures. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

D̄N interaction in a color-confining chiral quark model

We investigate the low-energy elastic D̄N interaction using a quark model that confines color and realizes dynamical chiral symmetry breaking. The model is defined by a microscopic Hamiltonian inspired in the QCD Hamiltonian in Coulomb gauge. Constituent quark masses are obtained by solving a gap equation, and baryon and meson bound-state wave functions are obtained using a variational method. We derive a low-energy meson-nucleon potential from a quark-interchange mechanism whose ingredients are the quark-quark and quark-antiquark interactions and baryon and meson wave functions, all derived from the same microscopic Hamiltonian. The model is supplemented with (σ, ρ, ω, a0) single-meson exchanges to describe the long-range part of the interaction. Cross sections and phase shifts are obtained by iterating the quark-interchange plus meson-exchange potentials in a Lippmann-Schwinger equation. Once coupling constants of long-range scalar σ and a0 meson exchanges are adjusted to describe experimental phase shifts of the K+N and K0N reactions, predictions for cross sections and s-wave phase shifts for the D̄0N and D-N reactions are obtained without introducing new parameters. © 2013 American Physical Society.

Measurement of the inelastic proton-proton cross section at root s=7 TeV

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Influência da superfície dentinária bovina na resistência de união de sistemas adesivos

Pós-graduação em Odontologia Restauradora - ICT

Cross-sensitization between testosterone and cocaine in adolescent and adult rats

Cocaine and anabolic-androgenic steroids are substances commonly co-abused. The use of anabolic steroids and cocaine has increased among adolescents. However, few studies investigated the consequences of the interaction between anabolic-androgenic steroids in animals' model of adolescence. We examined the effects of acute and repeated testosterone administration on cocaine-induced locomotor activity in adult and adolescent rats. Rats received ten once-daily subcutaneous (s.c.) injections of testosterone (10mg/kg) or vehicle. Three days after the last testosterone or vehicle injections rats received an intraperitoneal (i.p.) challenge injection of either saline or cocaine (10mg/kg). A different subset of rats was treated with a single injection of testosterone (10mg/kg) or vehicle and three days later was challenged with cocaine (10mg/kg, i.p.) or saline. Immediately after cocaine or saline injections the locomotor activity was recorded during forty minutes. Our results demonstrated that repeated testosterone induced locomotor sensitization to cocaine in adolescent but not adult rats.

Greater expression of the human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G) and interleukin-17 (IL-17) in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia: analytical cross-sectional study

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)