Reduced etiological role for enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in cases of diarrhea in Brazilian infants

Previously common in Brazil, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) strains of serogroups O55, O111, and O119 are now rare, while enteroadherent strains other than EPEC, belonging to serogroups such as O125, were prevalent among 126 diarrheic infants less than 1 year old who were surveyed. None of these strains had the EPEC bundle-forming pilus (bkA) gene.

Beneficial effects of dietary copper supplementation on serum lipids and antioxidant defenses in rats

Background: A nutrition experiment was utilized to investigate the effects of two levels of dietary copper (Cu) supplementation on lipid profile and antioxidant defenses in serum of rats. Methods: Male Wistar rats (180-200 g; n = 10) were divided into three groups: control group (A), fed a basal diet with 6 mu g Cu/g, and rats fed a basal diet with Cu (CuSO4) supplementation from aqueous solutions, for 4 weeks at the final concentrations of 2 mg Cu/rat (B) and 3 mg Cu/rat (C). Results: No significant changes were observed in final body weight, body weight gain, food consumption, total serum protein and high-density lipoprotein. Cu supplementation reduced the triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C). The LDL-C/TG ratio and total antioxidant substances (TAS) were higher in (B) and (C) groups than in (A) group. There was a positive correlation between Cu supplementation and ceruloplasmin levels. The markers of oxidative stress, lipid hydroperoxide and lipoperoxide were decreased with Cu supplementation. No alterations were observed in superoxide dismutase, indicating saturation of Cu enzyme site. The glutathione peroxidase activities (GSH-Px) were increased in both Cu-supplemented groups. Considering that a copper-selenium interaction can affect mineral availability of both elements, the effects of Cu on TAS and GSH-Px activities were associated with increased selenium disposal. Conclusions: Dietary Cu supplementation had beneficial effects on lipid profile by improving endogenous antioxidant defenses and decreasing the oxidative stress in vivo. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.

N-Acetylcysteine an Allium Plant Compound Improves High-Sucrose Diet-Induced Obesity and Related Effects

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Fructose-rich diet leads to reduced aerobic capacity and to liver injury in rats

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

Reduced allergic lung inflammation in rats following formaldehyde exposure: Long-term effects on multiple effector systems

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

Salinity influences glutathione S-transferase activity and lipid peroxidation responses in the Crassostrea gigas oyster exposed to diesel oil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Relationship between oxidative stress, glutathione S-transferase polymorphisms and hydroxyurea treatment in sickle cell anemia

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Numerical and variational solutions of the dipolar Gross-Pitaevskii equation in reduced dimensions

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

Oxidative stress during rehabilitation from protein malnutrition associated with aerobic exercise in rats

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

Germination response of Hylocereus setaceus (Salm-Dyck ex DC: ) Ralf Bauer (Cactaceae) seeds to temperature and reduced water potentials

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

Thermal comfort in reduced models of broilers' houses, under different types of roofing materials

Esta pesquisa foi conduzida com o objetivo de avaliar diferentes tipos de coberturas em instalações para aves, por meio do Índice de Temperatura de Globo Negro e Umidade (ITGU), Carga Térmica de Radiação (CTR) e Entalpia (H). O experimento foi conduzido na Universidade Estadual de Goiás, entre os meses de abril e maio de 2011, sendo composto por cinco tratamentos (coberturas): CA -Telha de cimento-amianto; BA -Telha de bambu; BAP -Telha de bambu pintada de branco; FB -Telha de fibra vegetal e betume; FBP -Telha de fibra vegetal e betume pintada de branco, com 15 repetições, sendo as repetições os dias de medição. Dentre os horários estudados, o considerado menos confortável foi às 14h, sendo que a cobertura de fibra vegetal e betume foi a que apresentou maior valor de ITGU (84,1) quando comparada às demais coberturas, caracterizando uma situação de menor conforto térmico, não sendo observada diferença para CTR e H entre os tratamentos na região estudada.

Lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzymes and glutathione levels in human erythrocytes exposed to colloidal iron hydroxide in vitro

The free form of the iron ion is one of the strongest oxidizing agents in the cellular environment. The effect of iron at different concentrations (0, 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 µM Fe3+) on the normal human red blood cell (RBC) antioxidant system was evaluated in vitro by measuring total (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione levels, and superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and reductase (GSH-Rd) activities. Membrane lipid peroxidation was assessed by measuring thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS). The RBC were incubated with colloidal iron hydroxide and phosphate-buffered saline, pH 7.45, at 37oC, for 60 min. For each assay, the results for the control group were: a) GSH = 3.52 ± 0.27 µM/g Hb; b) GSSG = 0.17 ± 0.03 µM/g Hb; c) GSH-Px = 19.60 ± 1.96 IU/g Hb; d) GSH-Rd = 3.13 ± 0.17 IU/g Hb; e) catalase = 394.9 ± 22.8 IU/g Hb; f) SOD = 5981 ± 375 IU/g Hb. The addition of 1 to 100 µM Fe3+ had no effect on the parameters analyzed. No change in TBARS levels was detected at any of the iron concentrations studied. Oxidative stress, measured by GSH kinetics over time, occurs when the RBC are incubated with colloidal iron hydroxide at concentrations higher than 10 µM of Fe3+. Overall, these results show that the intact human RBC is prone to oxidative stress when exposed to Fe3+ and that the RBC has a potent antioxidant system that can minimize the potential damage caused by acute exposure to a colloidal iron hydroxide in vitro.