Influence of removal of a non-native tree species Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth. on the regenerating plant communities in a tropical semideciduous forest under restoration in Brazil

Exotic species are used to trigger facilitation in restoration plantings, but this positive effect may not be permanent and these species may have negative effects later on. Since such species can provide a marketable product (firewood), their harvest may represent an advantageous strategy to achieve both ecological and economic benefits. In this study, we looked at the effect of removal of a non-native tree species (Mimosa caesalpiniifolia) on the understory of a semideciduous forest undergoing restoration. We assessed two 14-year-old plantation systems (modified taungya agroforestry system; and mixed plantation using commercial timber and firewood tree species) established at two sites with contrasting soil properties in São Paulo state, Brazil. The experimental design included randomized blocks with split plots. The natural regeneration of woody species (height ≥0.2 m) was compared between managed (all M. caesalpiniifolia trees removed) and unmanaged plots during the first year after the intervention. The removal of M. caesalpiniifolia increased species diversity but decreased stand basal area. Nevertheless, the basal area loss was recovered after 1 year. The management treatment affected tree species regeneration differently between species groups. The results of this study suggest that removal of M. caesalpiniifolia benefited the understory and possibly accelerated the succession process. Further monitoring studies are needed to evaluate the longer term effects on stand structure and composition. The lack of negative effects of tree removal on the natural regeneration indicates that such interventions can be recommended, especially considering the expectations of economic revenues from tree harvesting in restoration plantings.

Influence of Nd:YAG laser on intrapulpal temperature and bond strength of human dentin under simulated pulpal pressure

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of simulated pulpal pressure (SPP) on the variation of intrapulpal temperature (ΔT) and microtensile bond strength (μTBS) to dentin submitted to an adhesive technique using laser irradiation. One hundred sound human molars were randomly divided into two groups (n = 50), according to the presence or absence of SPP (15 cm H2O). Each group was divided into five subgroups (n = 10) according to Nd:YAG laser energy (60, 80, 100, 120, 140 mJ/pulse). The samples were sequentially treated with the following: 37 % phosphoric acid, adhesive (Scotchbond Universal), irradiation with Nd:YAG laser (60 s), and light curing (10 s). ΔT was evaluated during laser irradiation using a type K thermocouple. Next, a composite resin block was build up onto the irradiated area. After 48 h, samples were submitted to microtensile test (10 kgf load cell, 0.5 mm/min). Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA and Tukey tests (p = 0.05). ANOVA revealed significant differences for ΔT and TBS in the presence of SPP. For ΔT, the highest mean (14.3 ± 3.23 °C)(A) was observed in 140 mJ and without SPP. For μTBS, the highest mean (33.4 ± 4.15 MPa)(A) was observed in 140 mJ and without SPP. SPP significantly reduced both ΔT and μTBS during adhesive procedures, lower laser energy parameters resulted in smaller ΔT, and the laser parameters did not influence the μTBS values.

Acute physical exercise under hypoxia improves sleep, mood and reaction time

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

Alcohol levels in cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples from patients under pathological conditions

We measured alcohol levels by the Cordebard method in 148 CSF samples from individuals who had abstained from alcohol for at least 7 days prior to the beginning of the study. Each blood sample was accompanied by a CSF sample from the same patient. CSF samples found to be normal after analysis were used as controls. Mean alcohol concentration in blood did not differ significantly between the control group and the groups with altered CSF. The group with altered CSF had statistically higher alcohol levels in CSF than in blood. CSF lactate, glucose and protein levels were not correlated with alcohol level. The results suggest the presence of endogenous alcohol in the CSF, with levels increasing in the presence of pathological processes involving the nervous system.

Petroleum contamination impact on macrobenthic communities under the influence of an oil refinery: Integrating chemical and biological multivariate data

Petroleum contamination impact on macrobenthic communities in the northeast portion of Todos os Santos Bay was assessed combining in multivariate analyses, chemical parameters such as aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon indices and concentration ratios with benthic ecological parameters. Sediment samples were taken in August 2000 with a 0.05 m(2) van Veen grab at 28 sampling locations. The predominance of n-alkanes with more than 24 carbons, together with CPI values close to one, and the fact that most of the stations showed UCM/resolved aliphatic hydrocarbons ratios (UCM:R) higher than two, indicated a high degree of anthropogenic contribution, the presence of terrestrial plant detritus, petroleum products and evidence of chronic oil pollution. The indices used to determine the origin of PAH indicated the occurrence of a petrogenic contribution. A pyrolytic contribution constituted mainly by fossil fuel combustion derived PAH was also observed. The results of the stepwise multiple regression analysis performed with chemical data and benthic ecological descriptors demonstrated that not only total PAH concentrations but also specific concentration ratios or indices such as >= C24:< C24, An/178 and Fl/Fl + Py, are determining the structure of benthic communities within the study area. According to the BIO-ENV results petroleum related variables seemed to have a main influence on macrofauna community structure. The PCA ordination performed with the chemical data resulted in the formation of three groups of stations. The decrease in macrofauna density, number of species and diversity from groups III to I seemed to be related to the occurrence of high aliphatic hydrocarbon and PAH concentrations associated with fine sediments. Our results showed that macrobenthic communities in the northeast portion of Todos os Santos Bay are subjected to the impact of chronic oil pollution as was reflected by the reduction in the number of species and diversity. These results emphasise the importance to combine in multivariate approaches not only total hydrocarbon concentrations but also indices, isomer pair ratios and specific compound concentrations with biological data to improve the assessment of anthropogenic impact on marine ecosystems. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conjunctival inflammation in patients under topical glaucoma treatment with indication to surgery

PURPOSE: To compare the frequency of conjunctival HLA-DR expression (a surrogate marker for inflammation) in eyes treated with topical prostaglandin analogues versus eyes treated with other topical antiglaucomatous drugs. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with primary open-angle glaucoma presenting indication for trabeculectomy were divided in groups according to the use or not of prostaglandin analogues. All subjects were treated with the maximum tolerated dose of antiglaucomatous drugs until the date of the surgery. At the beginning of the surgical procedure, a 5 x 5 mm biopsy of the bulbar conjunctiva was collected, incubated with monoclonal anti-HLA-DR antibody and processed for histological analysis. RESULTS: Of the 31 eyes included (31 patients), 25 were under topical prostaglandin analogues (Group 1) and six under other topical pharmacological agents (Group 2). Fourteen eyes of Group 1 (56%) and three of Group 2 (50 %) were positive for the inflammatory marker HLA-DR (P=1.0). The percentage of stained cells ranged from 15.49 to 48.09% (median: 27.61) in Group 1, and from 18.35 to 28 (median: 20.71) in Group 2, with no differences statistically significant (p=0.33). CONCLUSION: The use of prostaglandin analogues did not increase conjunctival expression of HLA-DR compared to other topical antiglaucomatous agents.

Leakage of Saliva Through the Implant-Abutment Interface: In Vitro Evaluation of Three Different Implant Connections Under Unloaded and Loaded Conditions

Purpose: Bacterial leakage along the implant-abutment interface, with consequent species harboring the inner parts of two-part dental implant systems, has been reported in the literature. The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate bacterial leakage from human saliva to the internal part of the implants along the implant-abutment interface under loaded and unloaded conditions using DNA Checkerboard. Materials and Methods: Sixty denial implants-20 each of external-hexagon, internal-hexagon, and Morse cone-connection designs-and their conical abutments were used in this study. Each group was subdivided into two groups of 10 loaded and 10 unloaded implants. The assemblies were immersed in human saliva and either (1) loaded with 500,000 cycles at 120 N (experimental group) or (2) incubated in static conditions for 7 days at 35 degrees C (unloaded control group). Results: Microorganisms were found in the internal surfaces of all types of connections. The Morse cone connection presented the lowest count of microorganisms in both the unloaded and loaded groups. Loaded implants presented with higher counts of microorganisms than unloaded implants for external- and internal-hex connections. Conclusion: Bacterial species from human saliva may penetrate along the implant-abutment interface under both unloaded and loaded conditions for all connections evaluated. Morse cone-connection implants showed the lowest counts of microorganisms for both conditions. External- and internal-hex implants showed a higher incidence of bacteria and higher bacterial counts after simulated loading. INT J ORAL MAXILLOFAC IMPLANTS 2012;27:551-560.

In Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction, the Impact of Hyperglycemia as a Risk Factor for Mortality Is Not Homogeneous Across Age-Groups

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of hyperglycemia in different age-groups of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AM I). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 2,027 patients with AMI were categorized into one of five age-groups: <50 years (n = 301), >= 50 and <60 (n = 477),>= 60 and <70 (n = 545), >= 70 and <80 (n = 495), and years (n = 209). Hyperglycemia was defined as initial glucose >= 115 mg/dL. RESULTS The adjusted odds ratios for hyperglycemia predicting hospital mortality in groups 1-5 were, respectively, 7.57 (P = 0.004), 3.21 (P 0.046), 3.50 (P = 0.003), 3.20 (P < 0.001.), and 2.16 (P = 0.021). The adjusted P values for correlation between glucose level (as a continuous variable) and mortality were 0.007, <0.001, 0.043, <0.001, and 0.064. The areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) were 0.785, 0.709, 0.657, 0.648, and 0.613. The AUC in group 1 was significantly higher than those in groups 3-5. CONCLUSIONS The impact of hyperglycemia as a risk factor for hospital mortality in AMI is more pronounced in younger patients.

Evaluation of Microorganisms with Sulfidogenic Metabolic Potential under Anaerobic Conditions

The aim of this work was to identify groups of microorganisms that are capable of degrading organic matter utilizing sulfate as an electron acceptor. The assay applied for this purpose consisted of running batch reactors and monitoring lactate consumption, sulfate reduction and sulfide production. A portion of the lactate added to the batch reactors was consumed, and the remainder was converted into acetic, propionic and butyric acid after 111 hours of operation These results indicate the presence of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) catalyzing both complete and incomplete oxidation of organic substrates. The sulfate removal efficiency was 49.5% after 1335 hours of operation under an initial sulfate concentration of 1123 mg/L. The SRB concentrations determined by the most probable number (MPN) method were 9.0x10(7) cells/mL at the beginning of the assay and 8.0x10(5) cells/mL after 738 hours of operation.

First report on the kinetics of the uncatalyzed esterification of cellulose under homogeneous reaction conditions: a rationale for the effect of carboxylic acid anhydride chain-length on the degree of biopolymer substitution

The kinetics of the homogeneous acylation of microcrystalline cellulose, MCC, with carboxylic acid anhydrides with different acyl chain-length (Nc; ethanoic to hexanoic) in LiCl/N,N-dimethylacetamide have been studied by conductivity measurements from 65 to 85 A degrees C. We have employed cyclohexylmethanol, CHM, and trans-1,2-cyclohexanediol, CHD, as model compounds for the hydroxyl groups of the anhydroglucose unit of cellulose. The ratios of rate constants of acylation of primary (CHM; Prim-OH) and secondary (CHD; Sec-OH) groups have been employed, after correction, in order to split the overall rate constants of the reaction of MCC into contributions from the discrete OH groups. For the model compounds, we have found that k((Prim-OH))/k((Sec-OH)) > 1, akin to reactions of cellulose under heterogeneous conditions; this ratio increases as a function of increasing Nc. The overall, and partial rate constants of the acylation of MCC decrease from ethanoic- to butanoic-anhydride and then increase for pentanoic- and hexanoic anhydride, due to subtle changes in- and compensations of the enthalpy and entropy of activation.

Influenza A/H1N1 vaccination of patients with SLE: can antimalarial drugs restore diminished response under immunosuppressive therapy?

Objective. To assess the efficacy and safety of pandemic 2009 influenza A (H1N1) in SLE under different therapeutic regimens. Methods. A total of 555 SLE patients and 170 healthy controls were vaccinated with a single dose of a non-adjuvanted preparation. According to current therapy, patients were initially classified as SLE No Therapy (n = 75) and SLE with Therapy (n = 480). Subsequent evaluations included groups under monotherapy: chloroquine (CQ) (n = 105), prednisone (PRED) epsilon 20 mg (n = 76), immunosuppressor (IS) (n = 95) and those with a combination of these drugs. Anti-H1N1 titres and seroconversion (SC) rate were evaluated at entry and 21 days post-vaccination. Results. The SLE with Therapy group had lower SC compared with healthy controls (59.0 vs 80.0%; P < 0.0001), whereas the SLE No Therapy group had equivalent SC (72 vs 80.0%; P = 0.18) compared with healthy controls. Further comparison revealed that the SC of SLE No Therapy (72%) was similar to the CQ group (69.5%; P = 0.75), but it was significantly reduced in PRED epsilon 20 mg (53.9%; P = 0.028), IS (55.7%; P = 0.035) and PRED epsilon 20 mg + IS (45.4%; P = 0.038). The concomitant use of CQ in each of these later regimens was associated with SC responses comparable with SLE No Therapy group (72%): PRED epsilon 20 mg + CQ (71.4%; P = 1.00), IS + CQ (65.2%; P = 0.54) and PRED epsilon 20 mg + IS + CQ (57.4%; P = 0.09). Conclusion. Pandemic influenza A H1N1/2009 vaccine response is diminished in SLE under immunosuppressive therapy and antimalarials seems to restore this immunogenicity.

Digestible lysine levels in diets for pigs from 24 to 50 kg under sanitary segregation

This study evaluated the relationship between digestible lysine and metabolizable energy for barrow and gilts from 24 to 50 kg. Performance, digestibility and blood profile were studied. The experimental design was of randomized blocks, with five treatments, eight replicates and two animals per experimental unit in the performance assay and four replicates and one animal per experimental unit in the digestibility assay. The blood profile was chosen at 20 random animals of each sex, with four replicates per treatment and the animal as experimental unit. The treatments were 0.80, 0.90, 1.00, 1.10 and 1.20% digestible lysine. There was a linear effect of lysine levels on weight gain and feed conversion in females and crude protein in both sexes, gross energy excreted in the urine (kcal) and digestible energy (kcal). A quadratic effect of the amino acid studied in the daily consumption of crude protein (g) in both sexes, weight gain and feed conversion of barrows, as well as the nitrogen excreted in the urine (g) and nitrogen retained, and absorbed and retained. The relationship between neutrophils and lymphocytes had quadratic responses with increasing levels of lysine. The maximum performance for the studied genotype was obtained with 0.88 and 0.91% of digestible lysine or 2.60 and 2.67 g of digestible lysine/Mcal of metabolizable energy for females and barrows, respectively, corrected for digestibility trial.

Mapping of angular leaf spot resistance QTL in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) under different environments

Background: Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most important grain legume for human diet worldwide and the angular leaf spot (ALS) is one of the most devastating diseases of this crop, leading to yield losses as high as 80%. In an attempt to breed resistant cultivars, it is important to first understand the inheritance mode of resistance and to develop tools that could be used in assisted breeding. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling resistance to ALS under natural infection conditions in the field and under inoculated conditions in the greenhouse. Results: QTL analyses were made using phenotypic data from 346 recombinant inbreed lines from the IAC-UNA x CAL 143 cross, gathered in three experiments, two of which were conducted in the field in different seasons and one in the greenhouse. Joint composite interval mapping analysis of QTL x environment interaction was performed. In all, seven QTLs were mapped on five linkage groups. Most of them, with the exception of two, were significant in all experiments. Among these, ALS10.1(DG,UC) presented major effects (R-2 between 16% - 22%). This QTL was found linked to the GATS11b marker of linkage group B10, which was consistently amplified across a set of common bean lines and was associated with the resistance. Four new QTLs were identified. Between them the ALS5.2 showed an important effect (9.4%) under inoculated conditions in the greenhouse. ALS4.2 was another major QTL, under natural infection in the field, explaining 10.8% of the variability for resistance reaction. The other QTLs showed minor effects on resistance. Conclusions: The results indicated a quantitative inheritance pattern of ALS resistance in the common bean line CAL 143. QTL x environment interactions were observed. Moreover, the major QTL identified on linkage group B10 could be important for bean breeding, as it was stable in all the environments. Thereby, the GATS11b marker is a potential tool for marker assisted selection for ALS resistance.

Feasibility of Intralaminar, Lateral Mass, or Pedicle Axis Vertebra Screws in Children Under 10 Years of Age: A Tomographic Study

BACKGROUND: There are several techniques for screw insertion in upper cervical spine surgery, and the use of the 3.5-mm screw is usually the standard. However, there is no consensus regarding the feasibility of using these screws in the pediatric population. OBJECTIVE: To determine the measurement of the lamina angle, lamina and pedicle length and thickness, and lateral mass length of the topographic axial view of the axis vertebra of 2- to 10-year-old children to guide the use of surgical screws. METHODS: Seventy-five computed tomography scans from 24- to 120-month-old patients were studied. Measurements were taken in an axial view of C2 and correlated with 2 age groups and both sexes. Statistical analysis was performed with the Student t test. RESULTS: In the 24- to 48-month age group, only 5.5% of the lamina and 8.3% of the pedicles had thicknesses < 3.5 mm. In the 49- to 120-month age group, there were no lamina thickness values < 3.5 mm, and 1.2% of pedicle thicknesses were < 3.5 mm. Both age groups had no lamina and pedicle lengths < 12 mm and no lateral mass lengths > 12 mm. CONCLUSION: In the majority of cases, the use of 3.5-mm lamina and pedicle screws in children is feasible. A base value of 45 degrees for the spinolaminar angle can be adopted as a reference for insertion of screws in the C2 lamina. This information can be particularly useful for decision making during preoperative planning for C1-C2 or craniocervical arthrodesis in children.

Maximal Subgroups of Compact Lie Groups

This report aims at giving a general overview on the classification of the maximal subgroups of compact Lie groups (not necessarily connected). In the first part, it is shown that these fall naturally into three types: (1) those of trivial type, which are simply defined as inverse images of maximal subgroups of the corresponding component group under the canonical projection and whose classification constitutes a problem in finite group theory, (2) those of normal type, whose connected one-component is a normal subgroup, and (3) those of normalizer type, which are the normalizers of their own connected one-component. It is also shown how to reduce the classification of maximal subgroups of the last two types to: (2) the classification of the finite maximal Sigma-invariant subgroups of centerfree connected compact simple Lie groups and (3) the classification of the Sigma-primitive subalgebras of compact simple Lie algebras, where Sigma is a subgroup of the corresponding outer automorphism group. In the second part, we explicitly compute the normalizers of the primitive subalgebras of the compact classical Lie algebras (in the corresponding classical groups), thus arriving at the complete classification of all (non-discrete) maximal subgroups of the compact classical Lie groups.