Atividades Biológicas De Xilana De Sabugo De Milho

The corn cob is an agricultural by-product still little used, this in part due to the low knowledge of the biotechnological potential of their molecules. Xylan from corn cobs (XSM) is a polysaccharide present in greater quantity in the structure of plant and its biotechnology potential is little known. This study aimed to the extraction, chemical characterization and evaluation of biological activities of xylan from corn cobs. To this end, corncobs were cleaned, cut, dried and crushed, resulting in flour. This was subjected to a methodology that combines the use of alkaline conditions with waves of ultrasound. After methanol precipitation, centrifugation and drying was obtained a yield of 40% (g/g flour). Chemical analysis indicated a high percentage of polysaccharides in the sample (60%) and low contamination by protein (0.4%) and phenolic compounds (> 0.01%). Analysis of monosaccharide composition indicated the presence of xylose:glucose:arabinose:galactose:mannose:glucuronic acid in a molar ratio 50:20:15:10:2.5:2.5. The presence of xylan in the sample was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H and ¹³C) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). Tests were conducted to evaluate the antioxidant potential of XSM. This showed a total antioxidant capacity of 48.45 EAA/g sample. However, did not show scavenging activity of superoxide and hydroxyl radical and also reducing power. But, showing a high capacity chelating iron ions with 70% with about 2 mg/mL. The ability to XSM to influence cell proliferation in culture was also evaluated. This polymer did not influence the proliferation of normal fibroblast cells (3T3), however, decreased the rate of proliferation of tumor cells (HeLa) in a dose-dependent, reaching an inhibition of about 50% with a concentration around 2 mg/mL. Analyzing proteins related to cell death, by immunoblotting, XSM increases the amount of Bax, Bcl-2 decrease, increase cytochrome c and AIF, and reduce pro-caspase-3, indicating the induction of cell death induced apoptosis dependent and independent of caspase. XSM did not show anticoagulant activity in the PT test. However, the test of activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), XSM increased clotting time at about 5 times with 600 μg of sample compared with the negative control. The presence of sulfate on the XSM was discarded by agarose gel electrophoresis and IR. After carboxyl-reduction of XSM the anticoagulant activity decreased dramatically. The data of this study demonstrate that XSM has potential as antioxidant, antiproliferative and anticoagulant compound. Future studies to characterize these activities of XSM will help to increase knowledge about this molecule extracted from corn and allow their use in functional foods, pharmaceuticals and chemical industries.

Produção de enzimas quitosanolíticas utilizando Paenibacillus ehimensis e Paenibacillus chitinolyticus para obtenção de quitoologossacarídeos

The acquisition of oligosaccharides from chitosan has been the subject of several studies in the pharmaceutical, biochemical, food and medical due to functional properties of these compounds. This study aimed to boost its production of chitooligosaccharides (COS) through the optimization of production and characterization of chitosanolytic enzymes secreted by microorganisms Paenibacillus chitinolyticus and Paenibacillus ehimensis, and evaluating the antioxidant potential of the products obtained. In the process of optimizing the production of chitosanase were employed strategies Fractional Factorial Experimental Design and Central Composite Rotatable Design. The results identified the chitosan, peptone and yeast extract as the components that influenced the production of chitosanase by these microorganisms. With the optimization of the culture media was possible to obtain an increase of approximately 8.1 times (from 0.043 to 0.35 U.mL U.mL-1) and 7.6 times (from 0.08 U.mL-1 to 0.61 U.mL-1) in the enzymatic activity of chitosanase produced by P. chitinolyticus and P. ehimensis respectively. Enzyme complexes showed high stability in temperature ranges between 30º and 55º C and pH between 5.0 and 9.0. Has seen the share of organic solvents, divalent ions and other chemical agents on the activity of these enzymes, demonstrating high stability of these crude complexes and dependence of Mn2+. The COS generated showed the ability of DPPH radical scavenging activity, reaching a maximum rate of scavenging of 61% and 39% when they were produced with enzymes of P. ehimensis and P. chitinolyticus respectively. The use of these enzymes in raw form might facilitate its use for industrial applications

Desenvolvimento de nanosistemas farmacêuticos para terapia gênica

Gene therapy is one of the major challenges of the post-genomic research and it is based on the transfer of genetic material into a cell, tissue or organ in order to cure or improve the patient s clinical status. In general, gene therapy consists in the insertion of functional genes aiming substitute, complement or inhibit defective genes. The achievement of a foreigner DNA expression into a population of cells requires its transfer to the target. Therefore, a key issue is to create systems, vectors, able to transfer and protect the DNA until it reaches the target. The disadvantages related to the use of viral vectors have encouraged efforts to develop emulsions as non-viral vectors. In fact, they are easy to produce, present suitable stability and enable transfection. The aim of this work was to evaluate two different non-viral vectors, cationic liposomes and nanoemulsions, and the possibility of their use in gene therapy. For the two systems, cationic lipids and helper lipids were used. Nanoemulsions were prepared using sonication method and were composed of Captex® 355; Tween® 80; Spam® 80; cationic lipid, Stearylamine (SA) or 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammoniumpropane (DOTAP) and water (Milli-Q®). These systems were characterized by average droplet size, Polidispersion Index (PI) and Zeta Potential. The stability of the systems; as well as the DNA compaction capacity; their cytotoxicity and the cytotoxicity of the isolated components; and their transfection capacity; were also evaluated. Liposomes were made by hydration film method and were composed of DOTAP; 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (DOPE), containing or not Rhodaminephosphatidylethanolamine (PE- Rhodamine) and the conjugate Hyaluronic Acid DOPE (HA-DOPE). These systems were also characterized as nanoemulsions. Stability of the systems and the influence of time, size of plasmid and presence or absence of endotoxin in the formation of lipoplexes were also analyzed. Besides, the ophthalmic biodistribution of PE-Rhodamine containing liposomes was studied after intravitreal injection. The obtained results show that these systems are promising non-viral vector for further utilization in gene therapy and that this field seems to be very important in the clinical practice in this century. However, from the possibility to the practice, there is still a long way

Preparação e caracterização de catalisadores à base de titânio suportado em MCM-41 para produção de compostos oxigenados através da pirólise catalítica do capim elefante

In recent years, the area of advanced materials has been considerably, especially when it comes to materials for industrial use, such as is the case with structured porosity of catalysts suitable for catalytic processes. The use of catalysts combined with the fast pyrolysis process is an alternative to the oxygenate production of high added value, because, in addition to increasing the yield and quality of products, allows you to manipulate the selectivity to a product of interest, and therefore allows greater control over the characteristics of the final product. Based on these arguments, in this work were prepared titanium catalysts supported on MCM-41 for use in catalytic pyrolysis of biomass, called elephant grass. The reactions of pyrolysis of biomass were performed in a micro pyrolyzer, Py-5200, coupled to GC / MS, the company CDS Corporation, headquartered in the United States. The catalysts Ti-MCM-41 in different molar ratios were characterized by XRD, TG / DTG, FT-IR, SEM, XRF, UV-visible adsorption of nitrogen and the distribution of particle diameter and specific surface area measurement by the BET method. From the catalytic tests it was observed that the catalysts synthesized showed good results for the pyrolysis reaction.The main products were obtained a higher yield of aldehydes, ketones and furan. It was observed that the best reactivity is a direct function of the ratio Si/Ti, nature and concentration of the active species on mesoporous supports. Among the catalysts Ti-MCM-41 (molar ratio Si / Ti = 25 and 50), the ratio Si / Ti = 25 (400 ° C and 600 ° C) favored the cracking of oxygenates such as acids , aldehydes, ketones, furans and esters. Already the sample ratio Si / Ti = 50 had the highest yield of aromatic oxygenates

Desenvolvimento de pastas cimentantes utilizando cimentos portland compostos para cimentação de poços petrolíferos

The Compound Portland cements are commonly used in construction, among them stand out the CPII-Z, CPII-F and CPIV. These types of cement have limited application on oil well cementing, having its compositional characteristics focused specifically to construction, as cement for use in oil wells has greater complexity and properties covering the specific needs for each well to be coated. For operations of oil wells cementing are used Portland cements designed specifically for this purpose. The American Petroleum Institute (API) classifies cements into classes designated by letters A to J. In the petroleum industry, often it is used Class G cement, which is cement that meets all requirements needed for cement from classes A to E. According to the scenario described above, this paper aims to present a credible alternative to apply the compound cements in the oil industry due to the large availability of this cement in relation to oil well cements. The cements were micro structurally characterized by XRF, XRD and SEM tests, both in its anhydrous and hydrated state. Later technological tests were conducted to determine the limits set by the NBR 9831. Among the compound cements studied, the CPII-Z showed satisfactory properties for use in primary and secondary operations of oil wells up to 1200 meters cementing

Design gráfico da pluma de contaminação por compostos orgânicos voláteiss utilizando software CAD na investigação de passivo ambiental em um posto revendedor de combustíveis em Natal/RN

Among the potentially polluting economic activities that compromise the quality of groundwater are the gas stations. The city of Natal has about 120 gas stations, of which only has an environmental license for operation. Discontinuities in the offices were notified by the Public Ministry of Rio Grande do Norte to carry out the environmental adaptations, among which is the investigation of environmental liabilities. The preliminary and confirmatory stages of this investigation consisted in the evaluation of soil gas surveys with two confirmatory chemical analysis of BTEX, PAH and TPH. To get a good evaluation and interpretation of results obtained in the field, it became necessary three-dimensional representation of them. We used a CAD software to graph the equipment installed in a retail service station fuel in Natal, as well as the plumes of contamination by volatile organic compounds. The tool was concluded that contamination is not located in the current system of underground storage of fuel development, but reflects the historical past in which tanks were removed not tight gasoline and diesel

Síntese e caracterização do líquido iônico tetrafluoroborato de 1-metil-3-(2,6-(S)-dimetiloct-2-eno)-imidazol como eletrólito para produção de hidrogênio via eletrólise da água

Ionic liquids (ILs) are organic compounds liquid at room temperature, good electrical conductors, with the potential to form as a means for electrolyte on electrolysis of water, in which the electrodes would not be subjected to such extreme conditions demanding chemistry [1]. This paper describes the synthesis, characterization and study of the feasibility of ionic liquid ionic liquid 1-methyl-3(2,6-(S)-dimethyloct-2-ene)-imidazole tetrafluoroborate (MDI-BF4) as electrolyte to produce hydrogen through electrolysis of water. The MDI-BF4 synthesized was characterized by thermal methods of analysis (Thermogravimetric Analysis - TG and Differential Scanning Calorimetry - DSC), mid-infrared spectroscopy with Fourier transform by method of attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of hydrogen (NMR 1H) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Where thermal methods were used to calculate the yield of the synthesis of MDI-BF4 which was 88.84%, characterized infrared spectroscopy functional groups of the compound and the binding B-F 1053 cm-1; the NMR 1H analyzed and compared with literature data defines the structure of MDI-BF4 and the current density achieved by MDI-BF4 in the voltammogram shows that the LI can conduct electrical current indicating that the MDI-BF4 is a good electrolyte, and that their behavior does not change with the increasing concentration of water

Distribuição regional da ventilação pulmonar em indivíduos com insuficiência cardíaca crônica após serem submetidos a um programa de treinamento da musculatura inspiratória e sua correlação com dados funcionais

Introduction: Chagas Disease is a serious public health problem, with 5 million infected individuals in Brazil. Of these, approximately 30% develop chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC), where the main symptoms are fatigue and dyspnea. Objective: To correlate maximal exercise capacity with pulmonary function, inspiratory muscle strength and quality of life in patients with CCC. Methodology: Twelve individuals suffering from CCC were evaluated (7 men), with a mean age of 54.91± 8.60 years and the following inclusion criteria: functional class II and III according to the New York Heart Association (NYHA); left ventricle ejection fraction below 45%; clinical stability (> 3 months); symptom duration > 1 year, body mass index (BMI) < 35Kg/m2 and non-smokers or ex-smokers with a history of smoking <10 packs/day. All subjects were submitted to spirometry, manometer testing, maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) and a quality of life questionnaire (Minnesota). Results: A negative correlation was observed between VO2máx and MLHFQ scores (r=-0.626; p=0.03) and a positive association with MIP (r=0.713; p=0.009). Positive correlations were also recorded between MIP and spirometric variables [FEV1(r=0.825;p=0.001 ), FVC(r=0.66;p=0.01 and FEF25-75%(r=0.639;p=0.02)]. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that in patients with CCC: VO2MAX is directly related to inspiratory muscle strength and quality of life, while deteriorating lung function is directly associated with respiratory muscle weakness

Avaliação da atividade antioxidante e antiproliferativa do extrato aquoso de frutas tropicais

The antioxidant activity of aqueous extracts of five edible tropical fruits (Spondias lutea, Hancornia speciosa, Spondias purpurea, Manilkara zapota and Averrhoa carambola) was investigated using different methods. The amount of phenolic compounds was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. The M. zapota had Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) higher than the other fruits. Extracts showed neither reducing power nor iron chelation (between 0.01 and 2.0 mg/mL). H. speciosa exhibited the highest superoxide scavenging activity (80%, 0.5 mg/mL). However, at high concentrations (8.0 mg/mL) only A. carambola, S. purpurea and S. lutea scavenging 100% of radicals formed. M. zapota and S. purpurea had higher phenolic compound levels and greater OH radical scavenging activity (92 %, 2.0 mg/mL). Antiproliferative activity was assessed with 3T3 fibroblasts and cervical tumor cells (HeLa). The most potent extract was S. purpurea (0.5 mg/mL), which inhibited HeLa cell proliferation by 52%. The most fruits showed antioxidant and antiproliferative properties, characterizing them as functional foods.

Medidas de parâmetros morfológicos e funcionais do Coração em brasileiros: um subestudo do primeiro registro multicêntricos latino-americano em ressonância magnética cardiáca

There is no data about cardiac measurements em Brazilians obtained by CMR. This a muldisciplinary study with the objective of obtaining measurements of the left ventricle (LV) and right ventricle (RV) diastolic diameter (Dd), systolic diameter (Ds), diastolic volume (Dv), systolic volume (Sv), ejection fraction (EF) and myocardial mass in Brazilians. One hundred and seven (54 men and 53 women, mean age of 43.4 ± 13.1 years) asymptomatic individuals without heart disease were submitted to cardiac magnetic resonance (cMR) studies using steady state free precession technique. The means and standard deviations of the parameters of the LV and RV were respectively: LVDD = 4,8 ± 0,5 cm; LVSD = 3,0±0,6 cm; LVDV = 128,4±29,6 ml; LVSV = 45,2±16,6 ml; LVEF = 65,5±6,3%; LV mass = 95,2±30,8.1 g; RVDD = 3,9±1,3 cm; RVSD = 2,5±0,5 cm; RVDV = 126,5±30,7 ml; RVSV = 53.6±18,4 ml; RVEF = 58.3±8,0.0% and RV mass = 26,1±6,1 g. The masses and volumes were significantly higher in men, except for the LVSV. The RV EF was significantly higher in women. There was inverse correlation between RV systolic volume and with age, being more significant in men. This study describes for the first time benchmarks for cardiac measurements obtained by CMR among asymptomatic Brazilians individuals without heart disease and demonstrated differences according to sex and age

Produção de snacks funcionais à base de farinha de soja e polvilho azedo

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

Compostos orgânicos como substratos na formação de mudas de ipê-amarelo (Tabebuia Chrysotricha (Mart. Ex. Dc.) Standl) irrigadas com água residuária

A necessidade de estudar a utilização dos resíduos de podas de árvores é de grande importância ambiental para solucionar os problemas de resíduos sólidos existentes nas áreas urbanas junto com os resíduos de lixos domésticos. O estudo destes materiais foi avaliado com o desenvolvimento de mudas de ipê-amarelo (Tabebuia Chrysotricha (Mart. Ex. Dc.) sandl) em diferentes misturas de substratos e tipos de água para irrigação. O experimento foi instalado no Departamento de Engenharia Rural da Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias - UNESP, Câmpus de Jaboticabal. Foram realizados dois experimentos, avaliados juntamente com delineamento experimental em blocos casualizados, de oito substratos, duas qualidades de águas e quatro repetições, totalizando 64 parcelas. Cada parcela foi composta por 30 plantas (cinco linhas de seis plantas), sendo consideradas como úteis as três linhas de quatro plantas centrais da parcela. Foram testados oito substratos, resultantes da combinação de substrato comercial, composto de lixo e composto de poda de árvores com dois tipos de água de irrigação (água potável e residuária) e quatro repetições. Para acompanhar o desenvolvimento das mudas de ipê-amarelo, foram avaliados a altura da parte aérea das plantas (H) e o diâmetro do colmo (D). As características foram avaliadas aos 21; 42; 63 e 84 dias após a emergência. da análise dos resultados, possibilitou-se concluir que os substratos estudados promoveram diferenças significativas para a altura média das plantas e o diâmetro de colmo, em todos os períodos de avaliação. Os substratos 4 e 5 e a água residuária apresentaram os melhores resultados no desenvolvimento das mudas de ipê-amarelo.

Respostas funcionais de diferentes tamanhos de Tilápia do Nilo; Oreochromis niloticus; predando zooplâncton

The Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, is an important omnivorous fish in the reservoirs of the semi-arid region of Brazil. Throughout its growth tilapia s feeding behavior changes from a visual predator of zooplankton to a filter-feeder, collecting suspended particulate matter, including planktonic organisms, through pumping. This feature results in different impacts of tilapia on plankton community as the fish grows. Aiming to quantify the functional response of different sizes of Nile tilapia on zooplankton experiments in microcosms scale in the laboratory and in mesocosm scale in the field were carried out. The data were fitted to four different models of functional response. The best fits were obtained for nonlinear models in laboratory experiments. While the experiments in mesocosms were the best settings for responses of type I (juvenile and adult tilapia) and type III (fry). The Manly's alpha index was used to evaluate the feeding selectivity of tilapia on the three main groups of the zooplankton in the experiments in mesocosms. The results show that: (i) rotifers were the preferred prey of fingerlings,(ii) copepods were rejected by fry and juvenile tilapia and (iii) adult fish fed non-selectively on copepods, cladocerans and rotifers. The functional response models obtained in this research can be applied to population models and help in modeling the dynamics of interactions between Nile tilapia and the planktonic communities in the reservoirs of the semi-arid

A perda de grupos funcionais em comunidades virtuais: efeito das interações entre espécies e grupos funcionais

High levels of local, regional, and global extinctions has progressively simplified communities in terms of both species and ecosystem functioning. Theoretical models demonstrated that the degree of functional redundancy determines the rates of functional group loss in response to species extinctions. Here, we improve the theoretical predictions by incorporating in the model interactions between species and between functional groups. In this study, we tested the effect of different scenarios of interspecific interactions and effects between functional groups on the resistance to loss of community functional groups. Virtual communities have been built with different distribution patterns of species in functional groups, both with high and low evenness. A matrix A was created to represent the net effect of interspecific interactions among all species, representing nesting patterns, modularity, sensitive species, and dominant species. Moreover, a second matrix B was created to represent the interactions between functional groups, also exhibiting different patterns. The extinction probability of each species was calculated based on community species richness and by the intensity of the interspecific interactions that act upon it and group to which it belongs. In the model, successive extinctions decrease the community species richness, the degree of functional redundancy and, consequently, the number of functional groups that remain in the system. For each scenario of functional redundancy, A, and B, we ran 1000 simulations to generate an average functional extinction curve. Different model assumptions were able to generate remarkable variation on functional extinction curves. More extreme variations occurred when the matrix A and B caused a higher heterogeneity in the species extinction probability. Scenarios with sensitive species, positive or negative, showed a greater variation than the scenarios with dominant species. Nested interactions showed greater variation than scenarios where the interactions were in modules. Communities with maximal functional evenness can only be destabilized by the interactions between species and functional groups. In contrast, communities with low functional evenness can have its resistance either increased or decreased by the interactions. The concentration of positive interactions in low redundancy groups or negative interactions in high redundancy groups was able to decrease the functional extinction rates. In contrast, the concentration of negative interactions in low redundancy groups or positive interactions in high redundancy groups was able to increase the functional extinction rates. This model shows results that are relevant for species priorization in ecosystem conservation and restoration

Influência das mudanças climáticas na estrutura funcional da comunidade fitoplanctônica em um reservatório da região do semiárido

The Brazilian Northeast is the most vulnerable region to climatic variability risks. For the Brazilian semi-arid is expected a reduction in the overall rates of precipitation and an increase in the number of dry days. These changes predicted by the IPCC (2007) will intensify the rainfall and droughts period that could promote the dominance of cyanobacteria, thus affecting the water quality of reservoirs, that are most used for water supply, in the semi-arid. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of increasing temperature combined with nutrient enrichment on the functional structure of the phytoplankton community of a mesotrophic reservoir in the semi-arid, in the worst case scenario of climate change predicted by the IPCC (2007). Two experiments were performed, one in a rainy season and another in the dry season. In the water sampled, nutrients (nitrate and orthophosphate) were added in different concentrations. The microcosms were submitted to two different temperatures, five-year average of air temperature in the reservoir (control) and 4°C above the control temperature (warming). The results of this study showed that warming and nutrient enrichment benefited mainly the functional groups of cyanobacteria. During the rainy season it was verified the increasing biomass of small functional groups of unicellular and opportunists algae such as F (colonial green algae with mucilage) and X1 (nanoplanktonic algae of eutrophic lake systems). It was also observed an increasing in total biomass, in the richness and diversity of the community. In the dry season experiment there was a greater contribution in the relative biomass of filamentous algae, with a replacement of the group S1 (non-filamentous cyanobacteria with heterocytes) for H1 (filamentous cyanobacteria with heterocytes) in nutrient- enriched treatments. Moreover, there was also loss in total biomass, species richness and diversity of the community. The effects of temperature and nutrients manipulation on phytoplankton community of reservoir Ministro João Alves provoked changes in species richness, the diversity of the community and its functional composition, being the dry period which showed the highest susceptibility to the increase in the contribution of potentially toxic cyanobacteria with heterocytes