A diet enriched in linoleic acid compromises the cryotolerance of embryos from superovulated beef heifers

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

Genomic regions harboring insecticide resistance-associated Cyp genes are enriched by transposable element fragments carrying putative transcription factor binding sites in two sibling Drosophila species

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Histopathological Condition of the Remaining Tissues after Endodontic Infection of Rat Immature Teeth

Introduction: Recently, case reports have shown that immature teeth diagnosed with necrotic pulp and periapical periodontitis can be repaired through a regenerative endodontic procedure. True regeneration depends on the presence of stem cells in the remaining vital tissues. The aim of this study was to evaluate the histologic condition of the pulp tissue, root apical papilla, and periapical tissues after inducing endodontic infection in immature rat teeth for different periods. Methods: This study evaluated 18 first upper rat molars (36 roots). Periapical lesions were induced and were confirmed radiographically, and the animals were divided into 3 groups according to the days of pulp exposure for endodontic infection induction: 30, 60, and 90 days. Histologic analysis was performed in 5 different areas (ie, cervical, middle, and apical root canal thirds; the apical papilla; and the periapex surrounding the apical papilla). Results: At 30 days, one third of the specimens still showed vital but intensely inflamed pulp tissue in the apical third and vital apical papilla with varying degrees of inflammation. After 60 days, the results were similar with respect to the apical pulp tissue and apical papilla. Completely necrotic pulp tissue in the space canal and vital apical papilla were observed in about 67% of the cases after 90 days. Conclusions: Vital pulp tissue was observed in the apical third until 60 days and in the vital apical papilla until 90 days of infection in a rat model.

Protective effect of gamma-tocopherol-enriched diet on N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced epithelial dysplasia in rat ventral prostate

Despite recent advances in understanding the biological basis ofprostate cancer (PCa), the management of this disease remains a challenge. Chemoprotective agents have been usedto protect against or eradicateprostatemalignancies. Here, we investigated the protective effect of -tocopherol on N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU)-induced epithelial dysplasia in the rat ventral prostate (VP). Thirty-two male Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n=8): control (CT): healthy control animals fed a standard diet; control+-tocopherol (CT+T): healthy control animals without intervention fed a -tocopherol-enriched diet (20mg/kg); N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU): rats that received a single dose of MNU (30mg/kg) plus testosterone propionate (100mg/kg) and were fed a standard diet; and MNU+-tocopherol (MNU+T): rats that received the same treatment of MNU plus testosterone and were fed with a -tocopherol-enriched diet (20mg/kg). After 4months, the VPs were excised to evaluate morphology, cell proliferation and apoptosis, as well as cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2), glutathione-S-transferase-pi (GST-pi) and androgen receptor (AR) protein expression, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) activity. An increase in the incidence of epithelial dysplasias, such as stratified epithelial hyperplasia and squamous metaplasia, in the MNU group was accompanied by augmented cell proliferation, GST-pi and Cox-2 immunoexpression and pro-MMP-9 activity. Stromal thickening and inflammatory foci were also observed. The administration of a -tocopherol-enriched diet significantly attenuated the adverse effects of MNU in the VP. The incidence of epithelial dysplasia decreased, along with the cell proliferation index, GST-pi and Cox-2 immunoexpression. The gelatinolytic activity of pro-MMP-9 returned to the levels observed for the CT group. These results suggest that -tocopherol acts as a protective agent against MNU-induced prostatic disorders in the rat ventral prostate.

Defining a fish bio-assessment tool to monitoring the biological condition of a cascade reservoirs system in tropical area

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

Type 2 Diabetes Elicits Lower Nitric Oxide, Bradykinin Concentration and Kallikrein Activity Together with Higher DesArg(9)-BK and Reduced Post-Exercise Hypotension Compared to Non-Diabetic Condition

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Tool Condition Monitoring of Single-Point Dresser Using Acoustic Emission and Neural Networks Models

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

Evaluation of Fe uptake and translocation in transgenic and non-transgenic soybean plants using enriched stable Fe-57 as a tracer

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

Feeding, body condition and reproductive investment of Astyanax intermedius (Characiformes, Characidae) in relation to rainfall and temperature in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest stream

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

The relationships between parasite intensity, locomotor performance, and body condition in adult toads (Rhinella icterica) from the wild

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

Improved pretreatments applied to the sugarcane bagasse and release of lignin and hemicellulose from the cellulose-enriched fractions by sulfuric acid hydrolysis

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

Peat humic substances enriched with nutrients for agricultural applications: competion between nutrients and non-essential metals present in tropical soils

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The stigma and prejudice of leprosy: influence on the human condition

Introduction: To analyze the knowledge, feelings and perceptions involving patients affected by leprosy, as a better understanding of these factors may be useful to decrease the stigma and prejudice associated with the condition. Methods: The study cohort consisted of 94 patients who underwent treatment for leprosy at the Health Units in the City of Cuiaba, Mato Grosso (MT), Brazil. The study questionnaire included items to collect information on socio-demographic data, knowledge about the disease, stigma, prejudice, self-esteem and quality of life of leprosy patients. Bivariate analyses were used to assess the data based on the chi-square test with a 5% significance threshold. Results: The results revealed that the study population consisted predominantly of males (55.3%) with an income between 1 and 3 times the minimum wage (67%). The survey respondents reported that the most significant difficulties related to the treatment were the side effects (44.7%) and the duration of the treatment (28.7%). A total of 72.3% of the subjects were knowledgeable about the disease, of whom 26.6% had the leprosy reaction. Stigma and prejudice were cited by 93.6% of the participants. Based on the responses, 40.4% of patients reported being depressed and sad, and 69.1% of the subjects encountered problems at work after being diagnosed. A total of 45.7% of the patients rated their quality of life between bad and very bad. Conclusions: Our results suggest that leprosy causes suffering in patients beyond pain and discomfort and greatly influences social participation.

Neural tool condition estimation in the grinding of advanced ceramics

Ceramic parts are increasingly replacing metal parts due to their excellent physical, chemical and mechanical properties, however they also make them difficult to manufacture by traditional machining methods. The developments carried out in this work are used to estimate tool wear during the grinding of advanced ceramics. The learning process was fed with data collected from a surface grinding machine with tangential diamond wheel and alumina ceramic test specimens, in three cutting configurations: with depths of cut of 120 mu m, 70 mu m and 20 mu m. The grinding wheel speed was 35m/s and the table speed 2.3m/s. Four neural models were evaluated, namely: Multilayer Perceptron, Radial Basis Function, Generalized Regression Neural Networks and the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System. The models'performance evaluation routines were executed automatically, testing all the possible combinations of inputs, number of neurons, number of layers, and spreading. The computational results reveal that the neural models were highly successful in estimating tool wear, since the errors were lower than 4%.