Thermal inactivation of Phytophthora nicotianae

Phytophthora nicotianae was added to pasteurized soil at the rate of 500 laboratory-produced chlamydospores per gram of soil and exposed to temperatures ranging from 35 to 53°C for 20 days. The time required to reduce soil populations to residual levels (0.2 propagule per gram of soil or less) decreased with increasing temperatures. Addition of cabbage residue to the soil reduced the time required to inactivate chlamydo spores. Temperature regimes were established to simulate daily temperature changes observed in the field, with a high temperature of 47°C for 3 h/day, and were good estimators of the efficacy of soil solarization for the control of P. nicotianae in soil. Cabbage amendment reduced the time required to inactivate chlamydospores of P. nicotianae and its effect was more pronounced at lower temperature regimes.

Determination of mercury in agroindustrial samples by flow-injection cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry using ion exchange and reductive elution

A flow-injection system with a Chelite-S® cationic resin packed minicolumn is proposed for the determination of trace levels of mercury in agroindustrial samples by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. Improved sensitivity and selectivity are attained since mercuric ions are on-line concentrated whereas other potential interferents are discarded. With on-line reductive elution procedure, concentrated hydrochloric acid could be replaced by 10% w/v SnCl2, in 6 M HCl as eluent. The reversed-intermittent stream either carries the atomic mercury, to the flow cell in the forward direction or removes the residue from reactor/gas liquid separator to a discarding flask in the opposite direction. Concentration and volume of reagent, acidity, flow rates, commutation times and potential interfering species were investigated. For 120 s preconcentration time, the proposed system handles about 25 samples h-1 (50.0 500 ng l-1), consuming about 10 ml sample and 5 mg SnCl2 per determination. The detection limit is 0.8 ng l-1 and the relative standard deviation (RSD) (n = 12) of a 76.7 ng l-1 sample is about 5%. Results are in agreement with certified value of standard materials at 95% confidence level and good recoveries (97-128%) of spiked samples were found. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.

Kinesiographic study of complete denture movement related to mucosa displacement in edentulous patients.

The mucosa that covers the residual ridges of edentulous patients may present some distortion or displacement when occlusal loading is applied in complete dentures. This distortion and movement of the denture can result in acceleration of residual ridge resorption and loss of retention and stability. The aim of this study was to analyze the pattern of upper complete denture movement related to underlying mucosa displacement. A sample of 10 complete denture wearers was randomly selected, which had acceptable upper and lower dentures and normal volume and resilience of residual ridges. The kinesiographic instrument K6-I Diagnostic System was used to measure denture movements, according to the method proposed by Maeda et al.7, 1984. Denture movements were measured under the following experimental conditions: (A) 3 maximum voluntary clenching cycles and (B) unilateral chewing for 20 seconds. The results showed that under physiological load, oral mucosa distortion has two distinct phases: a fast initial displacement as load is applied and a slower and incomplete recovery when load is removed. Intermittent loading such as chewing progressively reduces the magnitude of the denture displacement and the recovery of the mucosa is gradually more incomplete.

Exercício contínuo e intermitente: Efeitos do treinamento e do destreinamento sobre a gordura corporal de ratos obesos

Exercise training is often recommended in prevention and treatment of obesity. The present study was designed to compare the effects of intermittent and continuous exercise on weight loss and carcass composition in obese rats. Obese male Wistar rats (monosodium glutamate [MSG] administration, 4 mg/g of body weight every other day from birth to 14 days old) were used. After drug administration, the rats were separated into three groups: MSG-SED (sedentary), MSG-CONT (continuous, swimming, 45 min/day, 5 days/week, with and overload of 5% body weight for 12 weeks) and MSG-INT (intermittent, 15s swimming intermitted by 15s rest, during 45 min, 5 days/week, with and overload of 15% body weight for 12 weeks). Rats of the same age and strain, administered with saline were used as control (SAL), and subdivided into three groups: SAL-SED, SAL-CONT and SAL-INT. The animals were evaluated at the 10 weeks of training and 8 weeks of its interruption. MSG rats showed higher carcass fat as well as weight and cell size in epididymal adipose tissue than SAL rats, indicting the efficacy of the drug in producing obesity. Intermittent training protocol led to a reduction in blood lactate accumulation during acute exercise and both protocols reduced body weight gain during the experiment in MSG rats. After 8 weeks of training interruption no differences were observed among groups in the examined parameters. Only intermittent exercise training improved aerobic fitness but both protocols were similarly efficient in determining weight loss. However, the effects were transitory, since they disappeared after detraining.

Influência da posição diametral das tábuas e da vaporização nos defeitos de secagem de Eucalyptus grandis

This study evaluated the Eucalyptus grandis drying defects acting on boards diametrical position and on log steaming. Half of the logs, with diameter from 20 to <25, 25 to <30 and 30 to <35cm, were steamed during 20 hours at 90°C of temperature. Subsequently, the logs (control and steamed) were sawn. The boards were dried in the dry-kiln pilot and the resulting defects from the drying process were measured. The results indicate that: (1) the boards coming from control logs presented different magnitude defects in function of the diametrical position. The split and spring to increase in direction to pith, the bow to increase in direction to bark and cupping were bigger in intermediary boards; (2) the boards coming from steamed logs presented a reduction from drying defects in function of logs diameter and its more homogeneous index in the pith-bark direction.

Dynamics of a piecewise-linear oscillator with limited power supply

We discuss dynamics of a vibro-impact system consisting of a cart with an piecewise-linear restoring force, which vibrates under driving by a source with limited power supply. From the point of view of dynamical systems, vibro-impact systems exhibit a rich variety of phenomena, particularly chaotic motion. In our analyzes, we use bifurcation diagrams, basins of attractions, identifying several non-linear phenomena, such as chaotic regimes, crises, intermittent mechanisms, and coexistence of attractors with complex basins of attraction. © 2009 by ASME.

Relationship between psychological factors and symptoms of TMD in university undergraduate students.

Temporomandibular disorders is a collective term used to describe a number of related disorders involving the temporomandibular joints, masticatory muscles and occlusion with common symptoms such as pain, restricted movement, muscle tenderness and intermittent joint sounds. The multifactorial TMD etiology is related to emotional tension, occlusal interferences, tooth loss, postural deviation, masticatory muscular dysfunction, internal and external changes in TMJ structure and the various associations of these factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of the relationship between signs of psychological distress and temporomandibular disorder in university students. A total 150 volunteers participated in this study. They attended different courses in the field of human science at one public university and four private universities. TMD was assessed by the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) questionnaire. Anxiety was measured by means of a self-evaluative questionnaire, Spielberger's Trait-State anxiety inventory, to evaluate students'state and trait anxiety. The results of the two questionnaires were compared to determine the relationship between anxiety levels and severity degrees of chronic TMD pain by means of the chi-square test. The significance level was set at 5%. The statistical analysis showed that the TMD degree has a positive association with state-anxiety (p = 0.008; p < 0.05) and negative with trait-anxiety (p = 0.619; p < 0.05). Moreover a high TMD rate was observed among the students (40%). This study concluded that there is a positive association between TMD and anxiety.

Accountability and revenue metering in smart micro-grids

Smart micro-grids offer a new challenging domain for power theories and metering techniques, because they include a variety of intermittent power sources which positively impact on power flow and distribution losses, but may cause voltage asymmetry and frequency variation. Due to the limited power capability of smart micro-grids, the voltage distortion can also get worse (in case of supplying non-linear loads), affecting measurement accuracy and possibly causing tripping of protections. In such a context, a reconsideration of power theories is required, since they form the basis for supply and load characterization. A revision of revenue metering techniques is also needed, to ensure a correct penalization of the loads for their responsibility in generating reactive power, voltage unbalance and distortion. This paper shows that the Conservative Power Theory (CPT) provides a suitable background to cope with smart grids characterization and metering needs. Experimental results validate the proposed approach. © 2010 IEEE.

Entrenamiento continuo vs. interválico corriendo en piscina profunda: Efectos sobre la salud de las mujeres obesas

Objectives. To search intermittent and continous trainning (IT and CT, respectively) effects through deep water running for the control and prevention of excessive body fat accumulation and improvement of quality of life. Methods. Experimental study composed by 30 women, aged between 34 to 58 years old, during 12 weeks, three sessions per week, 47 minutes each. Body composition, cardiorespiratory condition and Quality of Life by WHOQOL-Brief were considered. Student's and Wilcoxon's non parametric tests were applied at 5% significance level. Results. With the only exception for social domain of quality of life, all investigated variables revealed improvement in both groups for IT in comparison to CT. Conclusion. Deep water running contributes to body fat reduction, physical fitness evolution and improvement of WHOQOL-Brief domains, regardless of the trainning type conducted. © 2012 Revista Andaluza de Medicina del Deporte.

Impulsive compulsivity in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A phenotypic marker of patients with poor clinical outcome

Although traditionally obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and impulse control disorders (ICD) have represented opposing ends of a continuum, recent research has demonstrated a frequent co-occurrence of impulsive and compulsive behaviours, which may contribute to a worse clinical picture of some psychiatric disorders. We hypothesize that individuals with 'impulsive' OCD as characterized by poor insight, low resistance, and reduced control towards their compulsions will have a deteriorative course, greater severity of hoarding and/or symmetry/ordering symptoms, and comorbid ICD and/or substance use disorders (SUD). The sample consisted of 869 individuals with a minimum score of 16 on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). Of these, 65 had poor insight, low resistance, and reduced control towards compulsions ('poor IRC') and 444 had preserved insight, greater resistance and better control over compulsions ('good IRC'). These two groups were compared on a number of clinical and demographic variables. Individuals with poor IRC were significantly more likely to have a deteriorative course (p < 0.001), longer duration of obsessions (p = 0.017), greater severity of symmetry/ordering (p < 0.001), contamination/cleaning (p < 0.001) and hoarding (p = 0.002) symptoms, and comorbid intermittent explosive disorder (p = 0.026), trichotillomania (p = 0.014) and compulsive buying (p = 0.040). Regression analysis revealed that duration of obsessions (p = 0.037) and hoarding severity (p = 0.005) were significant predictors of poor IRC. In the absence of specific measures for impulsivity in OCD, the study highlights the utility of simple measures such as insight, resistance and control over compulsions as a phenotypic marker of a subgroup of OCD with impulsive features demonstrating poor clinical outcome. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Fatigue and rapid hamstring/quadriceps force capacity in professional soccer players

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of fatigue induced by an exhaustive laboratory-based soccer-specific exercise on different hamstrings/quadriceps (H:Q) ratios of soccer players. Twenty-two male professional soccer players (23·1 ± 3·4 year) performed maximal eccentric (ecc) and concentric (con) contractions for knee extensors (KE) and flexors (KF) at 60° s-1 and 180° s-1 to assess conventional (Hcon:Qcon) and functional (Hecc:Qcon) ratios. Additionally, they performed maximal voluntary isometric contraction for KE and KF, from which the maximal muscle strength, rate of force development (RFD) and RFD H:Q strength ratio (RFDH:Q) were extracted. Thereafter, subjects were performed an exhaustive laboratory-based soccer-specific exercise and a posttest similar to the pretest. There was significant reduction in Hcon:Qcon (0·60 ± 0·06 versus 0·58 ± 0·06, P<0·05) and in Hecc:Qcon (1·29 ± 0·2 versus 1·16 ± 0·2, P<0·01) after the soccer-specific exercise. However, no significant difference between Pre and Post exercise conditions was found for RFDH:Q at 0-50 (0·53 ± 0·23 versus 0·57 ± 0·24, P>0·05) and 0-100 ms (0·53 ± 0·17 versus 0·55 ± 0·17, P>0·05). In conclusion, H:Q strength ratios based on peak force values are more affected by fatigue than RFDH:Q obtained during early contraction phase. Thus, fatigue induced by soccer-specific intermittent protocol seems not reduce the potential for knee joint stabilization during the initial phase of voluntary muscle contraction. copy; 2012 Scandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine.

Brucella ovis REO 198 natural and experimental infection in Santa Inês rams from Brazil

B. ovis pathogenicity was evaluated in experimentally inoculated and naturally infected rams. Ten animals were submitted to simultaneous conjunctival and intrapreputial inoculation with 2x109 CFU/ mL of B. ovis REO 198. After that, animals underwent physical examination and blood samples were collected for serology every week. Positive serology results started to be observed in the 3rd week, with fluctuations in titers. Clinical changes began in the 5th week after inoculation and were associated with positive serology in the acute phase of the disease. Presence of B. ovis in semen and urine culture was intermittent. Three non-inoculated animals showed natural infection. B. ovis was shed twice in semen of one serology-negative animal. The study underscored the pathogenic characteristics of B. ovis REO 198 in Santa Inês rams, as well as the importance of animals as potential sources of infection.

Local attractors, degeneracy and analyticity: Symmetry effects on the locally coupled Kuramoto model

In this work we study the local coupled Kuramoto model with periodic boundary conditions. Our main objective is to show how analytical solutions may be obtained from symmetry assumptions, and while we proceed on our endeavor we show apart from the existence of local attractors, some unexpected features resulting from the symmetry properties, such as intermittent and chaotic period phase slips, degeneracy of stable solutions and double bifurcation composition. As a result of our analysis, we show that stable fixed points in the synchronized region may be obtained with just a small amount of the existent solutions, and for a class of natural frequencies configuration we show analytical expressions for the critical synchronization coupling as a function of the number of oscillators, both exact and asymptotic. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Laparoscopic adhesiolysis in a mini pony

Background: Intraperitoneal adhesions are common in equines, especially following exploratory celiotomy. Adhesiolysis is the treatment of choice for patients presenting postsurgical adhesions. Laparoscopic approach for adhesiolysis presents several advantageous aspects in human patients. The aim of the current study was to report a case of successful laparoscopic adhesiolysis in a mini pony horse. Case: A male Shetland Pony, weighing 140 kg, was admitted under complaint of right hind limb trauma and treated surgically for metatarsal fracture reduction. The patient has also had intermittent episodes of colic and was always treated clinically without major complications. The pony had no history of previous abdominal surgery and no episodes of acute abdomen were seen during hospital stay. Three months following ostheosynthesis, an exploratory laparoscopic approach was carried out to assess the possible cause or consequences of the episodes of acute abdomen. The patient was submitted to general anesthesia, positioned in dorsal recumbency and the abdomen was clipped and aseptically prepared for surgery. During the laparoscopic inspection, there were adhesions involving the ventral abdominal wall and a ventral mesogastric segment of duodenum. Laparoscopic adhesiolysis was performed using a two-port approach, by gently breaking the adhesion bands using meticulous traction with a 10-mm laparoscopic atraumatic Babcock forceps. Afterwards, the intestinal loop was rinsed with heparin sodium solution diluted in normal saline. The pneumoperitoneum was completely drained and the trocars sequentially withdrawn from the abdominal wall. The synthesis of the muscular layer was carried out using an interrupted cross mattress pattern, followed by synthesis of the skin with an interrupted cushion pattern. Total surgical time was 58 min. the patient was able to recover without complications. In the early postoperative period, the surgical recovery was considered excellent. No apparent adhesion involving the previously affected intestinal loop was found during the ultrasound exam following 15 days of surgery. Furthermore, the surgical wounds had healed completely, with no complications. Discussion: In the current case report, the primary cause of the acute abdomen episodes was not determined since the patient had never undergone abdominal surgery. It was hypothesized that an acute inflammation of the duodenal loop that was involved by the adhesion bands may have triggered the adhesiogenesis. Laparoscopy was efficient and presented a short operative time, due to magnification of image and adequate observation of structures surrounded by adhesion bands. Although the use of Babcock forceps is not usually recommended for adhesiolysis in the current literature, it was both effective in manipulating the bowel and performing the adhesiolysis. The heparin solution diluted in normal saline was effective in preventing the recurrence of new adhesions, which was evidenced by ultrasonography following 15 days. The laparoscopic approach usually minimizes the new formation of adhesions as trauma to the peritoneal surfaces is minimized by the use of delicate instruments, as observed in the current study. In addition, laparoscopy reduces the possibility of contact among the peritoneal surfaces and foreign bodies, such as gauze, glove powder and room air particles. Moreover, it maintains the abdominal surfaces in adequate humidity environment.

Hesperidin associated with continuous and interval swimming improved biochemical and oxidative biomarkers in rats

Background: Citrus flavonoids, such as hesperidin, have shown therapeutic properties that improve hyperglycemia and insulin resistance, and decrease blood serum lipids and inflammation. The current investigation studied the effects of hesperidin supplementation associated with continuous and interval swimming on the biochemical parameters (glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides), and oxidative stress markers (TBARS and DPPH) in rats.Methods: The animals (n = 60) were randomly divided in six groups: negative (C) and positive control (CH) for hesperidin supplementation, and continuous or interval swimming without (CS and IS) or with hesperidin supplementation (CSH and ISH). Hesperidin was given by gavage for four weeks (100 mg/kg body mass) before the exercise. Continuous swimming was performed for 50 min with loads from 5% to 8 % of body weight from the first to fourth week, while interval swimming training was performed for 50 min in sessions of 1 min of swimming followed by 2 min of resting, carrying loads from 10% to 15, 20 and 25% from the first to fourth week. At the end of the experiment, blood serum samples were draw to perform analysis of glucose, total cholesterol, HDL-C and triglycerides. Oxidative biomarkers were evaluated by lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and antioxidant capacity assay (DPPH) of the blood serum.Results: There was a continuous decline of serum glucose from C (100%) > CH (97%) > CS (94%) > CSH (91%, p < .05), IS (87%, p < .05) > ISH (80%, p < .05), showing a combined beneficial effect of hesperidin and swimming. Also, continuous or intermittent swimming with hesperidin supplementation lowered total cholesterol (-16%, p < .05), LDL-C (-50%, p < 0.05) and triglycerides (-19%, p < 0.05), and increased HDL-C (48%, p < .05). Furthermore, hesperidin enhanced the antioxidant capacity on the continuous swimming group (183%, p < .05) and lowered the lipid peroxidation on the interval swimming group (-45%, p < .05).Conclusions: Hesperidin supplementation per se, or in combination with swimming exercise protocols, improved the biochemical profile and antioxidant biomarkers evidencing that the use of flavanones may enhance the health benefits promoted by exercise. © 2013 de Oliveira et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.