Fatty acid profiles and tocopherol contents of buriti (Mauritia flexuosa), patawa (Oenocarpus bataua), tucuma (Astrocaryum vulgare), mari (Poraqueiba paraensis) and inaja (Maximiliana maripa) fruits

O buriti, tucumã, inajá, mari e patauá são palmeiras endêmicas da região Amazônica. As polpas destes frutos são tradicionalmente consumidas pela população local, mas ainda não ganharam os mercados nacionais e internacionais. A composição nutricional em ácidos graxos foi determinada por cromatografia gasosa (CG) e a de tocoferol determinada por cromatografia liquida de alta eficiência (CLAE). As polpas se mostraram bastante energéticas, com um alto teor de óleo que variou entre 31,0 a 41,8%. Os ácidos graxos que apresentaram maiores concentrações foram o oleico (C18:1) e o palmítico (C16:0), para todas as polpas estudadas. A polpa de buriti foi a que apresentou maior teor de vitamina E sendo considerada uma ótima fonte de tocoferol. O α-tocoferol foi o tocoferol predominante, com exceção da polpa de buriti. Os dados indicaram que as frutas estudadas são boas fontes de ácidos graxos insaturados e tocoferóis.

Brazilian Angiostrongylus cantonensis haplotypes, ac8 and ac9, have two different biological and morphological profiles

Angiostrongylus cantonensis is the etiologic agent of eosinophilic meningoencephalitis in humans. Cases have been recorded in many parts of the world, including Brazil. The aim of this study was to compare the differences in the biology and morphology of two different Brazilian haplotypes of A. : ac8 and ac9. A significantly larger number of L1 larvae eliminated in the faeces of rodents at the beginning of the patent period was observed for ac9 haplotype and compared to the total of L1 larvae eliminated, there was a significant difference between the two haplotypes. The ac9 haplotype showed a significant difference in the proportion of female and male specimens (0.6:1), but the same was not observed for ac8 (1.2:1). The morphometric analysis showed that male and female specimens isolated from ac8 haplotype were significantly larger with respect to body length, oesophagus length, spicule length (male) and distance from the anus to the rear end (female) compared to specimens from ac9. The morphological analysis by light microscopy showed little variation in the level of bifurcations at the lateral rays in the right lobe of the copulatory bursa between the two haplotypes. The biological, morphological and morphometric variations observed between the two haplotypes agree with the observed variation at the molecular level using the cytochrome oxidase subunit I marker and reinforce the possible influence of geographical isolation on the development of these haplotypes.

Semen parameters and seminal plasma protein and biochemical profiles of dogs with benign prostatic hyperplasia after botulinum toxin type A intraprostatic injection

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

EGHEP-ISFG collaborative exercise on mixture profiles of autosomal STRs (GHEP-MIX01, GHEP-MIX02 and GHEP-MIX03): Results and evaluation

One of the main objectives of the Spanish and Portuguese-Speaking Group of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (GHEP-ISFG) is to promote and contribute to the development and dissemination of scientific knowledge in the area of forensic genetics. Due to this fact, GHEP-ISFG holds different working commissions that are set up to develop activities in scientific aspects of general interest. One of them, the Mixture Commission of GHEP-ISFG, has organized annually, since 2009, a collaborative exercise on analysis and interpretation of autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) mixture profiles. Until now, three exercises have been organized (GHEP-MIX01, GHEP-MIX02 and GHEP-MIX03), with 32, 24 and 17 participant laboratories respectively. The exercise aims to give a general vision by addressing, through the proposal of mock cases, aspects related to the edition of mixture profiles and the statistical treatment. The main conclusions obtained from these exercises may be summarized as follows. Firstly, the data show an increased tendency of the laboratories toward validation of DNA mixture profiles analysis following international recommendations (ISO/IEC 17025: 2005). Secondly, the majority of discrepancies are mainly encountered in stutters positions (53.4%, 96.0% and 74.9%, respectively for the three editions). On the other hand, the results submitted reveal the importance of performing duplicate analysis by using different kits in order to reduce errors as much as possible. Regarding the statistical aspect (GHEP-MIX02 and 03), all participants employed the likelihood ratio (LR) parameter to evaluate the statistical compatibility and the formulas employed were quite similar. When the hypotheses to evaluate the LR value were locked by the coordinators (GHEP-MIX02) the results revealed a minor number of discrepancies that were mainly due to clerical reasons. However, the GHEP-MIX03 exercise allowed the participants to freely come up with their own hypotheses to calculate the LR value. In this situation the laboratories reported several options to explain the mock cases proposed and therefore significant differences between the final LR values were obtained. Complete information concerning the background of the criminal case is a critical aspect in order to select the adequate hypotheses to calculate the LR value. Although this should be a task for the judicial court to decide, it is important for the expert to account for the different possibilities and scenarios, and also offer this expertise to the judge. In addition, continuing education in the analysis and interpretation of mixture DNA profiles may also be a priority for the vast majority of forensic laboratories. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of lipid sources with different fatty acid profiles on the intake, performance, and methane emissions of feedlot Nellore steers

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

Analysis of Toll-Like Receptors, iNOS and Cytokine Profiles in Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis during Anti-Tuberculosis Treatment

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

Expression profiles of fetal membrane nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidases (NOX) 2 and 3 differentiates spontaneous preterm birth and pPROM pathophysiologies

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Comprehensive Analysis of Gene Expression Profiles of the Beet Armyworm Spodoptera exigua Larvae Challenged with Bacillus thuringiensis Vip3Aa Toxin

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Dose and temporal effects on gene expression profiles of urothelial cells from rats exposed to diuron

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

Frontonasal dysplasia: clinical evaluation on audiological and brainstem electrophysiological profiles

Frontonasal dysplasia (FND) is a rare malformative complex affecting the frontal portion of the face, the eyes and the nose; it may occur singly or associated with other clinical signs. No systematic studies describing hearing in this condition were found. AIM: To evaluate hearing sensitivity and sound stimulus conduction from cochlea to brainstem in patients with clinical signs of FND. METHODS: 21 patients with isolated or syndromic FND were submitted to a clinical (otological/vestibular antecedents and otoscopy) and instrumental (pure tone and speech audiometry, tympanometry and brainstem auditory evoked response) hearing evaluation. DESIGN: A clinical, cross-sectional observational prospective study. RESULTS: Hearing thresholds were normal in 15 (70%) patients, abnormal in 5 (25%), mostly with conductive hearing loss; one patient did not cooperate with testing. The tympanometric curve was type A in 30 (72%) ears, type C in 5 (12%), type As in 4 (9%) and type B in 3 (7%). The auditory brainstem response (ABR) showed no abnormalities. CONCLUSION: Patients with FND showed no abnormalities in the auditory system from cochlea to brainstem in this study. Mild conductive hearing loss found in some is probably related to cleft palate. Further evaluation of hearing pathways at higher levels is recommended.

Changes in gene expression in PBMCs profiles of PPAR alpha target genes in obese and non-obese individuals during fasting

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Profiles of steroid hormones in canine X-Linked muscular dystrophy via stable isotope dilution LC-MS/MS

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

Metabolite profiles of essential oils in citrus peels and their taxonomic implications

China is an important center of origin for the genus Citrus L. of the family Rutaceae and is rich in wild Citrus species. The taxonomy of Citrus has been a subject of controversy for more than a half century. We propose that the metabolite profiles of Chinese native Citrus species can be used for classification and understanding of the taxonomic relationships within the Citrus germplasm. In this study, triplicate gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) metabolite profiles of 20 Citrus species/varieties were acquired, including 10 native varieties originating in China. R-(+)-limonene, alpha-pinene, sabinene and alpha-terpinene were found to be major characteristic components of the essential oils analyzed in this study, and these compounds contributed greatly to the metabolic classification. The three basic species of the subgenus Eucitrus (Swingle's system), i.e., C. reticulata Blanco, C. medica L. and C. grandis Osb., were clearly differentiated based upon their metabolite profiles using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and partial least square-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). All the presumed hybrid genotypes, including sweet orange (C. sinensis Osb.), sour orange (C. aurantium L.), lemon (C. limon Burm.f.), rough lemon (C. jambhiri Lush.), rangpur lime (C. limonia Osb.) and grapefruit (C. paradisi Macf.), were grouped closely together with one of their suggested parent species in the HCA-dendrogram and the PLS-DA score plot. These results clearly demonstrated that the metabolite profiles of Citrus species could be utilized for the taxonomic classification of the genus and are complementary to the existing taxonomic evidence, especially for the identification and differentiation of hybrid species.

MicroRNA-499 expression distinctively correlates to target genes sox6 and rod1 profiles to resolve the skeletal muscle phenotype in nile tilapia

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

Characterization of the phenolic and antioxidant profiles of selected culinary herbs and spices: caraway, turmeric, dill, marjoram and nutmeg

Culinary herbs and spices have long been considered essentially as flavor enhancers or preservatives, with little attention given to their potential health-promoting properties. Nevertheless, recent research has shown them to be significant dietary sources of bioactive phenolic compounds. Despite noteworthy efforts performed in recent years to improve our knowledge of their chemical composition, a detailed phenolic profile of these plant-based products is still lacking. In the present work, antioxidant activities and phenolic composition of five herbs and spices, namely caraway, turmeric, dill, marjoram and nutmeg, have been studied. The use of liquid chromatography coupled to LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometry enabled the identification of up to 42 phenolic compounds. To the best of our knowledge, two of them, apigenin-C-hexoside-C-pentoside and apigenin-C-hexoside-C-hexoside have not been previously reported in turmeric. Qualitative and quantitative differences were observed in polyphenol profiles, with the highest phenolic content found in caraway. Multivariate statistical treatment of the results allowed the detection of distinctive features among the studied herbs and spices.