Composite interval mapping and mixed models reveal QTL associated with performance and carcass traits on chicken chromosomes 1, 3, and 4

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

Critical points on growth curves in autoregressive and mixed models

Adjusting autoregressive and mixed models to growth data fits discontinuous functions, which makes it difficult to determine critical points. In this study we propose a new approach to determine the critical stability point of cattle growth using a first-order autoregressive model and a mixed model with random asymptote, using the deterministic portion of the models. Three functions were compared: logistic, Gompertz, and Richards. The Richards autoregressive model yielded the best fit, but the critical growth values were adjusted very early, and for this purpose the Gompertz model was more appropriate.

Oligomeric state and structural stability of two hyperthermophilic beta-glucosidases from Thermotoga petrophila

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

Soft edge of hadron scattering and minijet models for the total and inelastic pp cross sections at LHC and beyond

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

Effect of mucoadhesive polymers on the in vitro performance of insulin-loaded silica nanoparticles: Interactions with mucin and biomembrane models

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

Genetic analysis of the temperament of Nellore cattle using linear and threshold models

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The role of the state in health public policies: an overview of the debate on the concept of State and the Brazilian case

This article is the result of a narrative literature review. The objective is to show the development of an overview on the ideological debate on the design of state health policies. We argue that the role of the state in the development of health policy, even under the pressure of the global market, may create alternatives to promote and drive economic and social development, meaning they are not subject to economic constraints imposed by the liberal ideal of market. Here is a part of a theoretical discussion about the construction and presence of the State in Latin America, particularly in Brazil. We take the approaches of the Marxist tradition and liberal to the issue as reference. This discussion allows us to understand the historical role of the state in the maintenance of social policies, specifically health, is an alternative to public control eases the intense capital mobility promoted by economic globalization. In this sense, the theme makes the Brazilian health an important issue of social sciences, why is the historicity of the construction of the Brazilian health system, as a public policy that can mirror the actual reconstruction of the institutional framework of the Brazilian state with the establishment instances of negotiation between the various spheres of power that strengthen the state in this process of democratization of Brazilian society.

Adjuvants and delivery systems for antifungal vaccines: Current state and future developments

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Modeling architecture and reference models for the ERF5 project

The adoption of ERPs systems by small and middle-sized companies may not be possible due to their cost. At the same time, when adapting ERP to the company's particular needs, the user keeps depending on the system's sellers due to the lack of access and knowledge of the respective code. Free and open-source software may promote advantages to the enterprises, however, for its adoption it is necessary the development of techniques and tools in order to facilitate its deployment and code maintenance. This article emphasizes the importance of defining modeling architectures and reference models for the development and maintenance of open-source ERPs, in special the ERP5 project.

Effects of nitric oxide synthesis inhibitor or fluoxetine treatment on depression-like state and cardiovascular changes induced by chronic variable stress in rats

Comorbidity between mood disorders and cardiovascular disease has been described extensively. However, available antidepressants can have cardiovascular side effects. Treatment with selective inhibitors of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) induces antidepressant effects, but whether the antidepressant-like effects of these drugs are followed by cardiovascular changes has not been previously investigated. Here, we tested in male rats exposed to chronic variable stress (CVS) the hypothesis that nNOS blockers are advantageous compared with conventional antidepressants in terms of cardiovascular side effects. We compared the effects of chronic treatment with the preferential nNOS inhibitor 7-nitroindazole (7-NI) with those evoked by the conventional antidepressant fluoxetine on alterations that are considered as markers of depression (immobility in the forced swimming test, FST, decreased body weight gain and increased plasma corticosterone concentration) and cardiovascular changes caused by CVS. Rats were exposed to a 14-day CVS protocol, while being concurrently treated daily with either 7-NI (30 mg/kg) or fluoxetine (10 mg/kg). Fluoxetine and 7-NI prevented the increase in immobility in the FST induced by CVS and reduced plasma corticosterone concentration in stressed rats. Both these treatments also prevented the CVS-evoked reduction of the depressor response to vasodilator agents and baroreflex changes. Fluoxetine and 7-NI-induced cardiovascular changes independent of stress exposure, including cardiac autonomic imbalance, increased intrinsic heart rate and vascular sympathetic modulation, a reduction of the pressor response to vasoconstrictor agents, and impairment of baroreflex activity. Altogether, these findings provide evidence that fluoxetine and 7-NI have similar effects on the depression-like state induced by CVS and on cardiovascular function.

Integration of spatial and temporal models to predict extreme water table depths

The objective of this work was to evaluate extreme water table depths in a watershed, using methods for geographical spatial data analysis. Groundwater spatio-temporal dynamics was evaluated in an outcrop of the Guarani Aquifer System. Water table depths were estimated from monitoring of water levels in 23 piezometers and time series modeling available from April 2004 to April 2011. For generation of spatial scenarios, geostatistical techniques were used, which incorporated into the prediction ancillary information related to the geomorphological patterns of the watershed, using a digital elevation model. This procedure improved estimates, due to the high correlation between water levels and elevation, and aggregated physical sense to predictions. The scenarios showed differences regarding the extreme levels - too deep or too shallow ones - and can subsidize water planning, efficient water use, and sustainable water management in the watershed.

GROUND STATE AND NON-GROUND STATE SOLUTIONS OF SOME STRONGLY COUPLED ELLIPTIC SYSTEMS

We study an elliptic system of the form Lu = vertical bar v vertical bar(p-1) v and Lv = vertical bar u vertical bar(q-1) u in Omega with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition, where Lu := -Delta u in the case of a bounded domain and Lu := -Delta u + u in the cases of an exterior domain or the whole space R-N. We analyze the existence, uniqueness, sign and radial symmetry of ground state solutions and also look for sign changing solutions of the system. More general non-linearities are also considered.

Effect of the interaction between food state and the action of estrogen on oxytocinergic system activity

Increased plasma osmolality by food intake evokes augmentation of plasma oxytocin (OT). Ovarian steroids may also influence the balance of body fluids by acting on OT neurones. Our aim was to determine if estrogen influences the activity of OT neurones in paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and supraoptic nucleus (SON) under different osmotic situations. Ovariectomized rats (OVX) were treated with either estradiol (E-2) or vehicle and were divided into three groups: group I was fed ad libitum, group II underwent 48 h of fasting, and group III was refed after 48 h of fasting. On the day of the experiment, blood samples were collected to determine the plasma osmolality and OT. The animals were subsequently perfused, and OT/FOS immunofluorescence analysis was conducted on neurones in the PVN and the SON. When compared to animals which were fasted or fed ad libitum, the plasma osmolality of refed animals was higher, regardless of whether they were treated with vehicle or E-2. We observed neural activation of OT cells in vehicle-or E-2-treated OVX rats refed after 48 h of fasting, but not in animals fed ad libitum or in animals that only underwent 48 h of fasting. Finally, the percentage of neurones that co-expressed OT and FOS was lower in both the PVN and the SON of animals treated with E-2 and refed, when compared to vehicle-treated animals. These results suggest that E-2 may have an inhibitory effect on OT neurones and may modulate the secretion of OT in response to the increase of osmolality induced by refeeding. Journal of Endocrinology (2012) 212, 129-138

Impact of the Manaus urban plume on trace gas mixing ratios near the surface in the Amazon Basin: Implications for the NO-NO2-O-3 photostationary state and peroxy radical levels

We measured the mixing ratios of NO, NO2, O-3, and volatile organic carbon as well as the aerosol light-scattering coefficient on a boat platform cruising on rivers downwind of the city of Manaus (Amazonas State, Brazil) in July 2001 (Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia-Cooperative LBA Airborne Regional Experiment-2001). The dispersion and impact of the Manaus plume was investigated by a combined analysis of ground-based (boat platform) and airborne trace gas and aerosol measurements as well as by meteorological measurements complemented by dispersion calculations (Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model). For the cases with the least anthropogenic influence (including a location in a so far unexplored region similar to 150 km west of Manaus on the Rio Manacapuru), the aerosol scattering coefficient, sigma(s), was below 11 Mm(-1), NOx mixing ratios remained below 0.6 ppb, daytime O-3 mixing ratios were mostly below 20 ppb and maximal isoprene mixing ratios were about 3 ppb in the afternoon. The photostationary state (PSS) was not established for these cases, as indicated by values of the Leighton ratio, Phi, well above unity. Due to the influence of river breeze systems and other thermally driven mesoscale circulations, a change of the synoptic wind direction from east-northeast to south-southeast in the afternoon often caused a substantial increase of ss and trace gas mixing ratios (about threefold for sigma(s), fivefold for NOx, and twofold for O-3), which was associated with the arrival of the Manaus pollution plume at the boat location. The ratio F reached unity within its uncertainty range at NOx mixing ratios of about 3 ppb, indicating "steady-state" conditions in cases when radiation variations, dry deposition, emissions, and reactions mostly involving peroxy radicals (XO2) played a minor role. The median midday/afternoon XO2 mixing ratios estimated using the PSS method range from 90 to 120 parts per trillion (ppt) for the remote cases (sigma(s) < 11 Mm(-1) and NOx < 0.6 ppb), while for the polluted cases our estimates are 15 to 60 ppt. These values are within the range of XO2 estimated by an atmospheric chemistry box model (Chemistry As A Box model Application-Module Efficiently Calculating the Chemistry of the Atmosphere (CAABA/MECCA)-3.0).

Testing phenomenological and theoretical models of dark matter density profiles with galaxy clusters

We use the stacked gravitational lensingmass profile of four high-mass (M 1015M ) galaxy clusters around z≈0.3 from Umetsu et al. to fit density profiles of phenomenological [Navarro– Frenk–White (NFW), Einasto, S´ersic, Stadel, Baltz–Marshall–Oguri (BMO) and Hernquist] and theoretical (non-singular Isothermal Sphere, DARKexp and Kang & He) models of the dark matter distribution. We account for large-scale structure effects, including a two-halo term in the analysis.We find that the BMO model provides the best fit to the data as measured by the reduced χ2. It is followed by the Stadel profile, the generalized NFW profile with a free inner slope and by the Einasto profile. The NFW model provides the best fit if we neglect the two-halo term, in agreement with results from Umetsu et al. Among the theoretical profiles, the DARKexp model with a single form parameter has the best performance, very close to that of the BMO profile. This may indicate a connection between this theoretical model and the phenomenology of dark matter haloes, shedding light on the dynamical basis of empirical profiles which emerge from numerical simulations.