Porosity measurement of solid pharmaceutical dosage forms by gamma-ray transmission

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

Effect of caloric restriction on myenteric neuroplasticity in the rat duodenum during aging

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of caloric restriction (CR) on myenteric neurons in the duodenum of Wistar rats during aging. Thirty rats were divided into three groups: the C group (six-month-old animals that were fed a normal diet from weaning until six months of age), the SR group (18-month-old animals that were fed a normal diet from weaning until 18 months of age) and the CR group (18-month-old animals that were fed a 30% CR diet after six months of age). After 12 months, the animals were euthanized. Whole-mount preparations of the duodenums were either stained with Giemsa or underwent NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry to determine the general myenteric neuron population and the nitrergic neuron subpopulation (NADPH-d +), respectively. The NADPH-d-negative (NADPH-d -) neuron population was estimated based on the difference between the Giemsa-stained and NADPH-d + neurons. The neurons were counted, and the cell body areas were measured. Aging was associated with neuronal loss in the SR group, which was minimized by caloric restriction in the CR group. The density (mm(2)) of the Giemsa-stained neurons was higher in the SR group (79.09 +/- 6.25) than in the CR (92.37 +/- 11.6) and C (111.68 +/- 15.26) groups. The density of the NADPH-d + neurons was higher in the SR group (44.90 +/- 5.88) than in the C (35.75 +/- 1.6) and RC (39.14 +/- 7.02) groups. The density of NADPH-d - neurons was higher in the CR (49.73 +/- 12.08) and C (75.64 +/- 17.05) groups than in the SR group (33.82 +/- 4.5). In the C group, 32% and 68% of the Giemsa-stained myenteric neurons were NADPH-d + or NADPH-d -, respectively. With aging (SR group), the percentage of nitrergic neurons (56.77%) increased, whereas the percentage of NADPH-d - neurons (43.22%) decreased. In the CR group, the change in the percentage of nitrergic (42.37%) and NADPH-d - (57.62%) neurons was lower. As NADPH-d - neurons will be mostly cholinergic neurons, CR appears to reduce the loss of cholinergic neurons during aging. The cell body dimensions (mu m(2)) were not altered by aging or CR. Thus. CR had a protective effect on myenteric neurons during aging. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Implication of the RDRio Mycobacterium tuberculosis sublineage in multidrug resistant tuberculosis in Portugal

Multidrug and extensively drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis are a threat to tuberculosis control programs. Genotyping methods, such as spoligotyping and MIRU-VNTR typing (Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Units), are useful in monitoring potentially epidemic strains and estimating strain phylogenetic lineages and/or genotypic families. M. tuberculosis Latin American Mediterranean (LAM) family is a major worldwide contributor to tuberculosis (TB). LAM specific molecular markers, Ag85C(103) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and RDRio long-sequence polymorphism (LSP), were used to characterize spoligotype signatures from 859 patient isolates from Portugal. LAM strains were found responsible for 57.7% of all tuberculosis cases. Strains with the RDRio deletion (referred to as RDRio) were estimated to represent 1/3 of all the strains and over 60% of the multidrug resistant (MDR) strains. The major spoligotype signature SIT20 belonging to the LAM1 RDRio sublineage, represented close to 1/5th of all the strains, over 20% of which were MDR. Analysis of published datasets according to stipulated 12 loci MIRU-VNTR RDRio signatures revealed that 96.3% (129/134) of MDR and extensively drug resistant (XDR) clusters were RDRio. This is the first report associating the LAM RDRio sublineage with MDR. These results are an important contribution to the monitoring of these strains with heightened transmission for future endeavors to arrest MDR-TB and XDR-TB. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical Behavior of Cu-9% Al-5% Ni-2% Mn Alloy in Chloride Media

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Utilização do colágeno cromatado como indicador em estudos de digestão com caprinos

The objective of this research was to study the feasibility of utilizing chromated collagen as an external indicator of digestibility by comparing it to acid insoluble ash (AIA) and indigestible acid detergent fiber (IADF) as internal markers, and to the total collection method. Six castrated Alpine breed kid goats with an average weight of 33,4 kg were used. They were housed in metabolism cages. Feeding was based on 60 g/kg PV 0,75 of a pelleted ration per animal, supplied daily in two meals (7 am and 4 pm). The experimental design was completely randomized with four treatments and six replications. The results permitted the conclusion that the chromated collagen was the best of the indicators studied, and therefore, is one more indicator which can be used. The AIA and IADF were less efficient and underestimated the digestibility of the feed.

The complete genome sequence of Chromobacterium violaceum reveals remarkable and exploitable bacterial adaptability

Chromobacterium violaceum is one of millions of species of free-living microorganisms that populate the soil and water in the extant areas of tropical biodiversity around the world. Its complete genome sequence reveals (i) extensive alternative pathways for energy generation, (ii) ≈500 ORFs for transport-related proteins, (iii) complex and extensive systems for stress adaptation and motility, and (iv) wide-spread utilization of quorum sensing for control of inducible systems, all of which underpin the versatility and adaptability of the organism. The genome also contains extensive but incomplete arrays of ORFs coding for proteins associated with mammalian pathogenicity, possibly involved in the occasional but often fatal cases of human C. violaceum infection. There is, in addition, a series of previously unknown but important enzymes and secondary metabolites including paraquat-inducible proteins, drug and heavy-metal-resistance proteins, multiple chitinases, and proteins for the detoxification of xenobiotics that may have biotechnological applications.

Características anátomo-estruturais da pelé de ovinos (ovis áries L.) lanados e deslanados, relacionadas com o aspecto físico-mecânico do couro

The objective of the study was establishing the anatomical-structural differences between the skin of non-wool sheep of the Morada Nova breed and wool-on sheep of the Polwarth or Ideal breeds and their relations to the physical-mechanical characteristics of their leather after tanning. Ten animals of both breeds were used, with five animals of approximately one and four years of age of each breed. The animals were slaughtered, and immediately after skinning, samples were taken viewing the microtomy of the skin in the dorsal, lateral, ventral, hind and palette regions, parallel and perpendicular to the head-tail axle, and perpendicular to the grain of the skin. The skins were depilated, chromium-tanned and re-tanned. From the leather, three samples were taken from the two directions considered from the regions studied for physical-mechanical analysis, for tension and tear resistance and distension on the lastometer. The average of the results of the physical-mechanical analysis were compared by Tukey test at the levels of 1 and 5% probability. The breed, the age, the region and the position exerted a positive effect on the values of the resistance of the leather to tension for the Morada Nova four year old sheep, reaching a minimum of 200 kg/cm . The region and the position exerted a positive effect on the values of tear-resistence of the leather for both breeds studied, reaching a minimum of 40 kg/cm. The resistance of the leather on distension was superior to 8 mm, for all the animals studied, not influenced by breed, age, region or position. The skin of the Ideal sheep presented a thermostatic skin layer greater than the reticular layer with great folicular and glandular density, contrary to the skin of the Morada Nova sheep where the thermostatic and reticular layers are of approximately the same thickness, with less folicular and glandular density.

Use of the paired samples (cerebrospinal fluid and serum) in immunodiagnostic of active and inactive human neurocysticercosis

Paired samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum of 30 patients - 10 with active, 10 with inactive neurocysticercosis (NCC), and 10 control subjects - were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using two Taenia crassiceps metacestode extracts as antigen in order to detect IgG antibodies. In active NCC, high levels of IgG were detected (p < 0.05). The CSF samples showed 80% (CI 72-88) of reactivity in the saline extract (S) and 90% (CI 84-95) in sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and the serum samples were reactive in 90% (CI 84-95) and 100% (CI 98-100) in the S and SDS antigenic extracts, respectively. The use of the paired samples of CSF and serum in active NCC showed equivalent results suggesting that the serum samples could be used as a screening in those patients whose CSF puncture is counter-indicated.

A framework for learning in humanoid simulated robots

One of the most important characteristics of intelligent activity is the ability to change behaviour according to many forms of feedback. Through learning an agent can interact with its environment to improve its performance over time. However, most of the techniques known that involves learning are time expensive, i.e., once the agent is supposed to learn over time by experimentation, the task has to be executed many times. Hence, high fidelity simulators can save a lot of time. In this context, this paper describes the framework designed to allow a team of real RoboNova-I humanoids robots to be simulated under USARSim environment. Details about the complete process of modeling and programming the robot are given, as well as the learning methodology proposed to improve robot's performance. Due to the use of a high fidelity model, the learning algorithms can be widely explored in simulation before adapted to real robots. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Una agenda actual para el desarrollo empresarial en América Latina

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Estrategias corporativas y de internacionalización de grandes empresas industriales privadas latinoamericanas

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Gobernanza corporativa y desarrollo de mercados de capitales en América Latina

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Gobernanza corporativa, políticas públicas, mercado de capitales e inversiones extranjeras

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Gobernanza corporativa y mercado de capitales en Brasil

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