Effects of swimming and nandrolone decanoate treatment on vas deferens response to norepinephrine

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Stable carbon (delta(13)C) and nitrogen (delta(15)N) isotopes as natural indicators of live and dry food in Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg, 1887) larval tissue

This study proposed the use of the stable isotope technique to track the type of food utilized by pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus larvae during their development, and to identify the moment when the larvae start using nutrients from the dry diet by retaining its carbon and nitrogen atoms in their body tissues. Five-day-old pacu larvae at the onset of exogenous feeding were fed Artemia nauplii or formulated diet exclusively; nauplii+formulated diet during the entire period; or were weaned from nauplii to a dry diet after 3, 6 or 12 days after the first feeding. delta(13)C and delta(15)N values for Artemia nauplii were -15.1 parts per thousand and 4.7 parts per thousand, respectively, and -25.0 parts per thousand and 7.4 parts per thousand for the dry diet. The initial isotopic composition of the larval tissue was -20.2 parts per thousand and 9.5 parts per thousand for delta(13)C and delta(15)N respectively. Later, at the end of a 42-day feeding period, larvae fed Artemia nauplii alone reached values of -12.7 parts per thousand and 7.0 parts per thousand for delta(13)C and delta(15)N respectively. Larvae that received the formulated diet alone showed values of -22.7 parts per thousand for delta(13)C and 9.6 parts per thousand for delta(15)N. The stable isotope technique was precise, and the time at which the larvae utilized Artemia nauplii, and later dry diet as a food source could be clearly defined.

Cytokine production in lungs and adrenal glands of high and low antibody producing mice infected with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

Mice genetically selected for high (H) and low (L) antibody production (HIV-A and L-IV-A) were used in an experimental model of paracoccidioidomycosis. In a previous work, it was observed that male HIV-A animals were more susceptible to the infection due to adrenal gland damage. Male HIV-A and LIV-A animals were intravenously inoculated with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (strain 18) and sacrificed 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 weeks after inoculation. At each time interval, lungs and adrenals were removed to estimate recoverability of the fungus, as well as to determine Th1 (IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha) and Th2 (IL-4 and IL-10) cytokine profiles. While viable fungi recoverability from the lungs of HIV-A mice was higher after 4 and 8 weeks, there was less fungal recovery from the adrenals of LIV-A animals after the 2nd week, with total fungal elimination after the 8th week. With regard to Th2 cytokines, there was an inhibition in IL-4 production in the organs from infected animals, the extent of which varied according to the organ and the time period after initiation of infection. IL-10 production was found to be lower in both organs. Determination of Th1 cytokines revealed that IFN-gamma production increased in both organs, mainly in the adrenal of LIV-A after 8 and 10 weeks, when these animals showed a total fungal elimination. A significant difference was observed between HIV-A and LIV-A concerning TNF-alpha production in both organs and at all recovery times, in that LIV-A produced a higher level of this cytokine, mainly in the adrenal. These results may explain the high susceptibility of HIV-A to P. brasiliensis infection, is due, at least in part, to adrenal involvement. The higher production of Th1 cytokines by LIV-A in comparison to HIV-A mice may account for LIV-A resistance to P. brasiliensis infection. Our data reveal the importance of this experimental model in the study of the adrenal involvement in paracoccidioidomycosis, since this gland may be highly compromised in the patients, leading to the development of Addison's Disease.

The distribution of agglutinins and lytic activity against Trypanosoma rangeli and erythrocytes in Rhodnius prolixus and Triatoma infestans tissue extracts and haemolymph

Haemolymph, heads, salivary glands, crops, midguts, hindguts, and Malpighian tubules from Rhodnius prolixus and Triatoma infestans were extracted in phosphate or Tris buffer saline with calcium, and tested for agglutination and lytic activities by microtitration against both vertebrateerythrocytes and cultured epimatigote forms of Trypanosoma rangeli. Haemagglutination activity against rabbit erythrocytes was found in the crop, midgut and hindgut extracts of T. infestans but only in the haemolymph of R. prolixus. Higher titres of parasite agglutinins were found in R. prolixus haemolymph than T. infestans, whilst the converse occurred for the tissue extracts. In addition, the extracts of T. infestans salivary glands, but not those of R. prolixus, showed a trypanolytic activity that was heat-inactivated and was not abolished by pre-incubation with any of the sugars or glycoproteins tested. T. infestans, which is refractory to infection by T. rangeli, thus appears to contain a much wider distribution of agglutinating and trypanolytic factors in its tissues than the more susceptible species, R. prolixus

Morphology and histology of male and female reproductive systems in the inseminating species Scoloplax distolothrix (Ostariophysi : Siluriformes : Scoloplacidae)

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

Vitellogenin content in fat body and ovary homogenates of workers and queens of Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides during vitellogenesis

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

Ultrastructural Alterations in the Midgut of Diplopods after Subchronic Exposure to Substrate Containing Sewage Mud

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

Why are fruits colorful? The relative importance of achromatic and chromatic contrasts for detection by birds

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

Role of PKC and CaV1.2 in Detrusor Overactivity in a Model of Obesity Associated with Insulin Resistance in Mice

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

Bioconcentration of Cd and Pb by the River Crab Trichodactylus fluviatilis (Crustacea: Decapoda)

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

Detection of numerical chromosome anomalies in interphase cells of benign and malignant thyroid lesions using fluorescence in situ hybridization

Benign and malignant thyroid tumors constitute a wide range of neoplasias showing recurrent chromosome abnormalities. In an attempt to characterize specific numerical chromosome abnormalities in thyroid tissues, We present here the findings from a study of archival samples depicted by 10 malignant tumors, 30 benign lesions, and 10 normal thyroid tissues. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed on noncultured samples using biotinylated centromere-specific probes for chromosomes 7, 10, and 17. Trisomy or tetrasomy 7 were present in 19 benign and in 7 malignant tumors. Trisomy 10 or 17 were observed in 18 adenomas or goiters and in 9 carcinomas, and monosomy 17 was seen in 2 carcinomas. Our findings suggest that such abnormalities are an in vivo phenomenon and may be important in the neoplastic proliferation of thyroid gland. (C) Elsevier B.V., 2000. All rights reserved.

Peripheral position of CCND1 and HER-2/neu oncogenes within chromosome territories in esophageal and gastric cancers non-related to amplification and overexpression

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

Exposure to ethinylestradiol during prenatal development and postnatal supplementation with testosterone causes morphophysiological alterations in the prostate of male and female adult gerbils

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

Visceral pigmentation in four Dendropsophus species (Anura: Hylidae): Occurrence and comparison

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

Visceral Pigmentation in Three Species of the Genus Scinax (Anura: Hylidae): Distinct Morphological Pattern

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