Ovarian response to porcine FSH in association with ablation-induced or spontaneous follicular wave development during the estrous cycle in crossbred and Brazilian Warmblood mares

The primary objective of this study was to examine the follicular and ovulatory responses following treatment with pFSH in association with ablation-induced or spontaneous follicular wave emergence or follicle deviation during diestrus in crossbred (Mangalarga × Arabian) and Brazilian Warmblood mares with a propensity for spontaneous multiple ovulations; secondary considerations were given to the collection of embryos In Experiment 1, crossbred mares were administered (im) saline (control, n= 7) or pFSH (25 mg) when the largest follicle of the ablation-induced follicular wave reached ≥13 mm (n= 7) or ≥20 mm (n= 7) or, after pre-treatment ovulation (Day 0) on Day 6 (n= 7) In Experiment 2, crossbred mares were administered (im) saline (control, n= 10) or a larger dose of pFSH (50 mg, n= 7) when the largest follicle of the ablation-induced follicular wave reached ≥13 mm In Experiment 3, Brazilian Warmblood mares were administered (im) saline (control, n= 7), pFSH (25 mg, n= 7 or 50 mg, n= 5) or EPE (12.5 mg, n= 7) as a positive control on Day 6 Ultrasonic technology was used to ablate all follicles ≥8 mm and to monitor follicular development and detect ovulation Treatment with pFSH or EPE was done twice daily until the largest follicle reached ≥32 mm; thereafter, hCG (2500 IU) was administered (iv) when the largest follicle reached ≥35 mm Artificial insemination was done 12 h after hCG and embryo collections were done 8 d after post-treatment ovulations In Experiments 1 and 2, treatment of crossbred mares with pFSH post-ablation in association with the expected time of wave emergence or follicle deviation did not (P> 0.05) enhance the follicular or ovulatory responses or collection of embryos compared to controls In Experiment 3, although the enhanced ovulatory response of mares to EPE at the expected time of spontaneous wave emergence was not different (P> 0.05) from controls, it was greater (P< 0.05) than the response to pFSH In conclusion, the novelty of using follicle ablation prior to pFSH treatment at the time of wave emergence or follicle deviation did not enhance the follicular or ovulatory responses or collection of embryos to treatment in crossbred mares In addition, the hypothesis that Brazilian Warmblood mares with a greater propensity for spontaneous multiple ovulations are as responsive to pFSH compared to EPE was not supported Thus, the combined experimental results of the present study continue to support the general consensus that pFSH is relatively ineffective for follicular superstimulation/superovulation in mares © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Estimation of spontaneous blinking main sequence in normal subjects and patients with Graves' upper eyelid retraction

Purpose. We quantified the main sequence of spontaneous blinks in normal subjects and Graves' disease patients with upper eyelid retraction using a nonlinear and two linear models, and examined the variability of the main sequence estimated with standard linear regression for 10-minute periods of time. Methods. A total of 20 normal subjects and 12 patients had their spontaneous blinking measured with the magnetic search coil technique when watching a video during one hour. The main sequence was estimated with a power-law function, and with standard and trough the origin linear regressions. Repeated measurements ANOVA was used to test the mean sequence stability of 10-minute bins measured with standard linear regression. Results. In 95% of the sample the correlation coefficients of the main sequence ranged from 0.60 to 0.94. Homoscedasticity of the peak velocity was not verified in 20% of the subjects and 25% of the patients. The power-law function provided the best main sequence fitting for subjects and patients. The mean sequence of 10-minute bins measured with standard linear regression did not differ from the one-hour period value. For the entire period of observation and the slope obtained by standard linear regression, the main sequence of the patients was reduced significantly compared to the normal subjects. Conclusions. Standard linear regression is a valid and stable approximation for estimating the main sequence of spontaneous blinking. However, the basic assumptions of the linear regression model should be examined on an individual basis. The maximum velocity of large blinks is slower in Graves' disease patients than in normal subjects. © 2013 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.

Onset of sexual maturity and relative growth of the freshwater crab Trichodactylus fluviatilis (Trichodactyloidea) in south-eastern Brazil

The main purpose of this study was to provide an estimate for the onset of morphological sexual maturity in the freshwater crab Trichodactylus fluviatilis, from a population located in south-eastern Brazil, based on the relative growth relationships, as well as the characterization of ''handedness''. Monthly collections were carried out at night, from January 2006 to January 2007, in a small water body. In the laboratory, the crabs were sexed; the following body structures were measured and the estimate of onset of sexual maturity was given by the logistic function, as y a/(1\+becx), for 50% of the population to reach the adult phase (CW50carapace width). Right propodus length and abdomen width were the best-fit relationships to represent the onset of sexual maturity for males and females, respectively. Based on the logistic function, the onset of sexual maturity was estimated to occur at around 18mm CW for both sexes. The relative growth recorded for this species is consistent with the model for brachyuran crabs (Hartnoll RG. 1982, Growth. In: Bliss, DE, editor. The biology of Crustacea: embryology, morphology and genetics. New York: Academic Press. p. 111-196), except for the abdomen growth, which is likely to be an adaptive condition related to protection of the newly hatched young. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Comparison of body size, relative growth and size at onset sexual maturity of Uca uruguayensis (Crustacea: Decapoda: Ocypodidae) from different latitudes in the south-western Atlantic

Some crustaceans show variations of their reproductive biology within their geographical distribution, and knowledge about such variations is important for the comprehension of their reproductive adaptations. This study compared two populations of the fiddler crab Uca uruguayensis from two locations on the south-western Atlantic coast: Ubatuba Bay, São Paulo, Brazil and Samborombón Bay, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The population features analysed were the body size variation (carapace width = CW) and the size at the onset of sexual maturity (SOM) in order to test the hypothesis that the size at SOM, should be the same in relative terms (RSOM), independently of the latitudinal position. In the Brazilian population the CW ranged from 4.18 to 11.60 mm for males and 3.90 to 9.80 mm for females, and in the Argentinean population from 3.60 to 14.10 mm for males and 2.85 to 12.00 mm for females. In the Brazilian population the SOM was 7.1 (RSOM = 0.58) and 5.9 mm CW (RSOM = 0.57) for males and females, respectively, and in the Argentinean population it was 7.0 (RSOM = 0.42) and 6.75 mm CW (RSOM = 0.53) for males and females, respectively. This fact is probably related to a great plasticity in the life history features of Uca uruguayensis under different environmental conditions. © 2012 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

Behavioral and Antinociceptive Effects of Alfentanil, Butorphanol, and Flunixin in Horses

To determine the behavioral and antinociceptive effects of narcotic and non-narcotic analgesics administered by intravenous injection in horses, 10 thoroughbred mares weighing between 450 and 550 kg and ranging in age from 8 to 13 years old were analyzed. The effects of alfentanil, butorphanol, flunixin, and saline solution on the general activity of the horses were investigated by measuring spontaneous locomotor activity (SLA) and head height (HH) in two behavior stalls. The antinociceptive effects of alfentanil (0.02 mg kg-1), butorphanol (0.1 mg kg-1), flunixin meglumine (0.5 mg kg-1), and saline were determined by measuring skin twitch reflex latency (STRL) after thermal cutaneous nociceptive stimulation. A paired Student t-test was used to compare SLA and HH between the groups of horses receiving different doses of the same drug at various time points. The Tukey test was used to compare the antinociceptive effect of the treatments. Differences were considered significant when P value was <.05. Horses treated with opioid analgesics demonstrated excitation, as shown by a significant increase in SLA at all doses tested and by neighing and demonstrating attentive attitudes with movement of the ears, stereotypical walking, and ataxia in most of the animals. HH was elevated only in animals treated with alfentanil. Antinociception was observed at 5 and 30 minutes after administration of alfentanil and butorphanol, respectively. Increased SLA was observed at 30 and 90 minutes after administration of alfentanil and butorphanol, respectively. We observed no effect on antinociception in horses given flunixin. In conclusion, this study suggests that alfentanil has a faster onset and a shorter duration than butorphanol; however, both drugs are able to stimulate the central nervous system. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Symptom dimensions are associated with age of onset and clinical course of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Meta-analysis of the heterogeneous symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has found a four-factor structure of symptom dimensions consisting of cleaning, forbidden thoughts, symmetry, and hoarding. Research into age of onset of symptom dimensions has yielded inconsistent results, and it is unknown whether symptoms along these dimensions differ in their clinical course. We assessed age of onset and clinical course of different OCD symptom dimensions in a large cohort of adult patients. Nine-hundred fifty-five subjects were assessed using the Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. For age of onset analysis, we tested across three methods of classification: (1) primary (more severe) symptom dimension (2) clinically significant symptoms within a dimension or (3) any symptoms within a dimension. Age of onset was defined as the earliest age of onset reported for any individual item within a symptom dimension. For analysis of different types of clinical course, we used chi-square tests to assess for differences between primary symptom dimensions. OCD symptoms in the symmetry dimension had an earlier age of onset than other OCD symptom dimensions. These findings remained significant across all three methods of classification and controlling for gender and comorbid tics. No significant differences were found between the other dimensions. Subjects with primary OCD symptoms in the forbidden thoughts dimension were more likely to report a waxing-and-waning course, whereas symmetry symptoms were less likely to be associated with a waxing-and-waning course. © 2013.

SFlt-1/PlGF ratio as a prognostic marker of adverse outcomes in women with early-onset preeclampsia

Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) is an anti-angiogenic factor released in higher amounts by preeclamptic placentas and it has been implicated in the endothelial dysfunction observed in the disease. In this study we evaluated if circulating sFlt-1/PlGF ratio is useful to predict adverse outcomes in women with early-onset preeclampsia. This is a cohort study of 88 preeclamptic women with singleton pregnancies at ≤35 weeks of gestation. According to definitions used, adverse outcomes occurred in 46.5% (N = 43) of the patients. The median sFlt1/PlGF ratio (25th-75th centile) for all patients evaluated was of 42.26 (13.1-226.1). The median sFlt-1/PlGF ratio among women who had any adverse outcome (N = 43) versus no adverse outcomes (N = 45) was of 227.6 (80.3-346.1) versus 14.4 (3.35-30.0), (P < 0.0001). According to our analyses a sFlt-1/PlGF ratio cut-point of ≥85 gave a sensitivity of 74.0% and specificity of 97.0%. The positive predictive value and the negative predictive value were 96.0% and 80.0%, respectively. The median sFlt-1/PlGF ratio (25th-75th centile) for patients who delivered within <7 days was 260.0 (127.7-404.7) as compared to 14.4 (3.35-34.97) for those patients who delivered within two weeks or more (P < 0.0001). Our results suggest that sFlt-1/PlGF ratio is a promising marker for adverse outcomes in women with early-onset preeclampsia. © 2013 International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Yeast diversity isolated from grape musts during spontaneous fermentation from a brazilian winery

Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeast species from a winery located in Brazil were identified by ribosomal gene-sequencing analysis. A total of 130 yeast strains were isolated from grape surfaces and musts during alcoholic fermentation from Isabel, Bordeaux, and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties. Samples were submitted to PCR-RFLP analysis and genomic sequencing. Thirteen species were identified: Candida quercitrusa, Candida stellata, Cryptococcus flavescens, Cryptococcus laurentii, Hanseniaspora uvarum, Issatchenkia occidentalis, Issatchenkia orientalis, Issatchenkia terricola, Pichia kluyveri, Pichia guilliermondii, Pichia sp., Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Sporidiobolus pararoseus. A sequential substitution of species during the different stages of fermentation, with a dominance of non-Saccharomyces yeasts at the beginning, and a successive replacement of species by S. cerevisiae strains at the final steps were observed. This is the first report about the yeast distribution present throughout the alcoholic fermentation in a Brazilian winery, providing supportive information for future studies on their contribution to wine quality. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Crisis y desarrollo: presente y futuro de América Latina y el Caribe. Vol 2: Desencadenamiento de la crisis y la reacción de la política económica: resultados y alternativas = Crisis and development: the present situation and future prospects of Latin America and the Caribbean. Vol. 2: Onset of the crisis and the economic policy response: effects and options

Incluye Bibliografía

High levels of heat shock protein 70 are associated with pro-inflammatory cytokines and may differentiate early- from late-onset preeclampsia

Preeclampsia (PE), a specific syndrome of pregnancy, can be classified into early and late onset, depending on whether clinical manifestations occur before or after 34 weeks' gestation. We determined whether plasma concentrations of Hsp60 and Hsp70 were related to circulating cytokine levels, as well as kidney and liver functions, in early- and late-onset PE. Two hundred and thirty-seven preeclamptic women (95 with early- and 142 with late-onset PE) were evaluated. Plasma levels of Hsp60, Hsp70, and their specific antibodies, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1, IL-10, IL-12, and soluble TNF-α-receptor I (sTNFRI) concentrations, were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Concentrations of Hsp70, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-12, and sTNFRI were significantly elevated in patients with early-onset PE compared with women with late-onset PE; IL-10 levels were significantly lower in the early-onset PE group. Concentrations of urea, uric acid, proteinuria, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were also significantly higher in early-onset PE. The percentage of infants with intrauterine growth restriction was also significantly higher in women with early-onset PE. There were positive correlations between Hsp70 levels and TNF-α, TNFRI, IL-1β, IL-12, GOT, GPT, LDH, and uric acid concentrations in early-onset PE group. Thus, early-onset PE was associated with greater maternal and fetal impairment. There are differences in pathophysiology between early- and late-onset PE, highlighting by the difference in Hsp70 levels. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The onset of fertility decline in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Co-contração e onset muscular durante o desequilíbrio de idosas caidoras e não-caidoras

Pós-graduação em Desenvolvimento Humano e Tecnologias - IBRC

The stimulatory effect of male agouti (Dasyprocta prymnolopha) on the onset of female puberty

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi analisar a puberdade em fêmeas de cutias. Não foi observado o inicio da puberdade quando as fêmeas foram mantidas sem os machos. Se um macho adulto era mantido com as fêmeas adultas e não ciclantes, o inicio do ciclo estral era observado após um período de 10 a 60 dias. Quando as fêmeas jovens eram mantidas com o macho, a puberdade se estabelecia aos nove meses. Concluindo que o macho de cutia influencia o inicio da puberdade das fêmeas, e as fêmeas dominantes, aparentemente, inibem ou atrasam a puberdade de outras do grupo. Sugerem-se estudos futuros sobre o controle social na reprodução deste animal.

Ensino de discriminações de palavras com Onset/Rime e a emergência da leitura recombinativa em inglês da simbologia braille e do alfabeto romano em relevo em cegos

Estudos recentes têm documentado que o ensino explícito de discriminação de sílabas promove a emergência da leitura das sílabas de ensino e das sílabas com recombinação das letras das sílabas de ensino. Promove também prontamente a leitura de palavras, formadas pelas sílabas de ensino e recombinadas. Estudos têm demonstrado a leitura de palavras novas com recombinação de onset e rime como fator facilitador quando a língua inglesa é ensinada como língua materna. O aprendizado do inglês por cegos tem sido documentado como um fator de inclusão. O presente estudo investigou se o ensino de discriminação de palavras com segmentação onset/rime facilita a leitura de novas palavras em inglês, como língua estrangeira, usando o Braille e o alfabeto romano em relevo. Três cegas, leitoras fluentes em Braille, participaram. O estudo compreendeu três etapas. Etapa I: Etapa Ia (auditivo/Braille), Etapa Ib (Braille/alfabeto romano em relevo) e Etapa Ic (auditivo/alfabeto romano em relevo). A Etapa I (a e b) compreendeu um pré-teste, fases de ensino de discriminações condicionais de palavras simples e testes de leitura textual das palavras simples e recombinadas. Na Etapa Ic era aplicado um teste de discriminações condicionais. Nas Etapas II e III eram aplicados testes de leitura textual das palavras simples recombinadas (Etapa II) e compostas (Etapa III) e nomeação de objetos. Eram testadas as relações entre palavras ditadas e objetos (AB), palavras ditadas e palavras impressas (AC), objetos e palavras impressas (BC) e palavras impressas e objetos (CB) que documentam a leitura com compreensão das palavras impressas em Braille e no alfabeto romano em relevo, e ainda, a emergência de cópia e ditado. As três participantes atingiram o critério de acertos em todas as fases em todas as etapas. Os resultados mostraram que o ensino de discriminações de palavras com a segmentação onset/rime facilita a emergência da leitura recombinativa em inglês, como língua estrangeira, com cegos falantes do português, usando o Braille e o alfabeto romano em relevo, mostraram ainda a emergência da leitura com compreensão com os procedimentos de equivalência de estímulos. Estes resultados indicam que novas tecnologias de ensino, que permitam uma maior inclusão de pessoas cegas na comunidade, podem ser geradas.

Leitura recombinativa de palavras de inglês com onset e rime em braille e alfabeto romano em relevo por cegos

Estudos têm demonstrado que o ensino explícito de discriminações de sílaba promove a emergência da leitura das sílabas de ensino, das sílabas com recombinação das letras das sílabas de ensino e a leitura de palavras formadas pelas sílabas de ensino e recombinadas. As pesquisas sobre leitura recombinativa em inglês têm demonstrado a emergência de leitura de novas palavras formadas pela recombinação de onset e rime. A presente pesquisa investigou se o ensino de leitura de palavras monossilábicas com recombinação de onset e rime pode promover a leitura de novas palavras em inglês, impressas em braille e alfabeto romano impressas em relevo. Três adultas cegas participaram do estudo que compreendeu três etapas. A Etapa I compreendeu um préteste, três sequências de ensino gradual de discriminações condicionais de palavras simples, intercaladas com fases de teste de leitura textual das palavras de ensino e recombinadas. Na Etapa Ic era aplicado um teste de discriminações condicionais entre palavra impressa em braille e palavra do alfabeto romano impressa em relevo. Nas Etapas II e III eram aplicados testes de leitura textual das palavras recombinadas simples (Etapa II) e compostas (Etapa III) e nomeação dos objetos correspondentes. Após esse teste, eram testadas as relações entre palavras ditadas e objetos (AB), palavras ditadas e palavras impressas (AC, AD), objetos e palavras impressas (BC, BD) e palavras impressas e objetos (CB, DB), que documentam a leitura com compreensão. Caso as relações AB não ocorressem, eram ensinadas. Após o teste das relações de equivalência BC, CB, BD e DB eram verificados os desempenhos de cópia e ditado. Nas Etapas Ia, IIa e IIIa, as palavras eram impressas em Braille; nas Etapas Ib, IIb e IIIb, em alfabeto romano em relevo. Todas as participantes alcançaram prontamente os critérios em todas ou na maioria das fases de ensino e teste. Todas as participantes apresentaram a leitura textual e com compreensão de quase todas as palavras simples recombinadas e compostas, impressas em braille e do alfabeto romano em relevo. Os resultados mostram a emergência de leitura recombinativa após o ensino de discriminações condicionais de palavras monossílabas formadas por onset e rime.