ANTIDIARRHEAL MECHANISM AND IONIC PROFILE OF CARPOLOBIA LUTEA ETHANOLIC STEM-BARK EXTRACT IN RATS

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

Demonstration of non-collocated vibration control of a flexible manipulator using electrical dynamic absorbers

This paper describes an experimental study into the vibration control of a servo system comprising a servo motor and a flexible manipulator. Two modes of the system are controlled by using the servo motor and an accelerometer attached to the tip of the flexible manipulator. The control system is thus non-collocated. It consists of two electrical dynamic absorbers, each of which consists of a modal filter and, in case of an out-of-phase mode, a phase inverter. The experimental results show that each absorber acts as a mechanical dynamic vibration absorber attached to each mode and significantly reduces the settling time for the system response to a step input.

Biometry by ultrasonography of the epaxial and pelvic musculature in equines trained with Pessoa's rein

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

Synthesis, characterization, thermal behavior, and DFT calculation of solid 1,4-bis(3-carboxy-3-oxo-prop-1-enyl) benzene of some trivalent lanthanides

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

Synthesis, thermal and spectroscopic study of light lanthanide nicotinate, in the solid state

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

Evaluation of tensile tetention of Y-TZP crowns after long-term aging: Effect of the core substrate and crown surface conditioning

This study evaluated the effect of the core substrate type (dentin and composite resin) on the retention of crowns made of yttrium oxide stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP), submitted to three inner surface conditionings. For this purpose, 72 freshly extracted molars were embedded in acrylic resin, perpendicular to the long axis, and prepared for full crowns: 36 specimens had crown preparations in dentin; the remaining 36 teeth had the crowns removed, and crown preparations were reconstructed with composite resin plus fiber posts with dimensions identical to the prepared dentin. The preparations were impressed using addition silicone, and 72 Y-TZP copings for the tensile test were produced. Cementation was performed with a dual-cured cement containing phosphate monomers. For cementation, the crown preparation (dentin or resin) was conditioned with the adhesive system, and the ceramic was subjected to one of three surface treatments: isopropyl alcohol, tribochemical silica coating, or thin low-fusing glassy porcelain layer application plus silanization. After 24 hours, all specimens were submitted to thermocycling (6000 cycles) and placed in a special tensile testing device in a universal testing machine to determine failure loads. The failure modes of all samples were analyzed under a stereomicroscope. Two-way analysis of variance showed that the surface treatment and substrate type (alpha=0.05) affected the tensile retention results. The dentin substrate presented the highest tensile retention values, regardless of the surface treatment. When the substrate was resin, the tribochemical silica coating and low-fusing glaze application plus silanization groups showed the higher retention values.

Bond strenght of dental adhesive systems irradiated with ionizing irradiation

The aim of the present paper was to determine the effect of different types of ionizing radiation on the bond strength of three different dentin adhesive systems. Materials and Methods: One hundred twenty specimens of 60 human teeth (protocol number: 032/2007) sectioned mesiodistally were divided into 3 groups according to the adhesives systems used: SB (Adper Single Bond Plus), CB (Clearfil SE Bond) and AP (Adper Prompt Self-Etch). The adhesives were applied on dentin and photo-activated using LED (Lec 1000, MMoptics, 1000 mW/cm2). Customized elastomer molds (0.5 mm thickness) with three orifices of 1.2 mm diameter were placed onto the bonding areas and filled with composite resin (Filtek Z-250), which was photoactivated for 20 s. Each group was subdivided into 4 subgroups for application of the different types of ionizing radiation: ultraviolet radiation (UV), diagnostic x-ray radiation (DX), therapeutic x-ray radiation (TX) and without irradiation (control group, CG). Microshear tests were carried out (Instron, model 4411), and afterwards the modes of failure were evaluated by optical and scanning electron microscope and classified using 5 scores: adhesive failure, mixed failures with 3 significance levels, and cohesive failure. The results of the shear bond strength test were submitted to ANOVA with Tukey's test and Dunnett's test, and the data from the failure pattern evaluation were analyzed with the Mann Whitney test (p = 0.05). Results: No change in bond strength of CB and AP was observed after application of the different radiation types, only SB showed increase in bond strength after UV (p = 0.0267) irradiation. The UV also changed the failure patterns of SB (p = 0.0001). Conclusion: The radio-induced changes did not cause degradation of the restorations, which means that they can be exposed to these types of ionizing radiation without weakening the bond strength.

Antibacterial activity of alkyl gallates is a combination of direct targeting of FtsZ and permeabilization of bacterial membranes

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

Evolution of the Metazoan Mitochondrial Replicase

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

Measurement of the Z gamma production cross section in pp collisions at 8 TeV and search for anomalous triple gauge boson couplings

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Mutagenic and antimutagenic effects of aqueous extract of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) on meristematic cells of Allium cepa

Polyphenolic compounds present in rosemary were found to have antioxidant properties, anticarcinogenic activity, and to increase the detoxification of pro-carcinogens. The aim of the study was to determine the effect the aqueous extract of rosemary (AER) on mutagenicity induced by methylmethane sulfonate in meristematic cells of Allium cepa, as well as to describe its mode of action. Anti-mutagenicity experiments were carried out with 3 different concentrations of AER, which alone showed no mutagenic effects. In antimutagenicity experiments, AER showed chemopreventive activity in cultured meristematic cells of A. cepa against exposure to methylmethane sulfonate. Additionally, post-treatment and simultaneous treatment using pre-incubation protocols were the most effective. Evaluation of different protocols and the percent reduction in DNA indicated bioantimutagenic as well desmutagenic modes of action for AER. AER may be chemopreventive and antimutagenic.

Porosity and sealing ability of root fillings with gutta-percha and BioRoot RCS or AH Plus sealers. Evaluation by three ex vivo methods

To investigate the ability of BioRoot RCS, a tricalcium silicate-based root canal sealer and AH Plus to effectively fill the root canals of contralateral teeth using three evaluation methods, and to investigate also the correlation between the methods. The prepared root canals of ten pairs of contralateral mandibular premolar teeth were filled with gutta-percha and sealer using lateral compaction. The percentage of voids within the root canal was assessed by micro-computed tomography, whilst sealing ability was investigated by fluid transport and leakage of fluorescent microspheres. The interaction of sealer with dentine, and sealer penetration were assessed by confocal microscopy. The void volume, fluid flow, microsphere leakage and sealer interaction with dentine for both materials were compared. Nonparametric (Mann-Whitney) tests were used to compare the % void and fluid transport of the two sealers. Spearman correlation was used to assess the pairwise relationships between the techniques. The level of significance was set to 0.05. BioRoot RCS exhibited significantly more percentage of voids than AH Plus. There was no difference in fluid flow and microsphere penetration. BioRoot RCS exhibited a different pattern of sealer penetration and interaction with the dentine walls compared to AH Plus. For both materials, the pairwise correlations between the three techniques were close to zero, indicating weak relationships. MicroCT analysis revealed a higher void volume for BioRoot RCS. The other techniques did not show a difference between the sealing ability of the sealers. The correlation between the three ex vivo methods of assessment was weak demonstrating their complementarity rather than their concordance.

Development of an interview version of the Native American Cultural Involvement and Detachment Anxiety Questionnaire

The present study sought to develop and validate an interview version of the Native American Cultural Involvement and Detachment Anxiety Questionnaire (CIDAQ; McNeil, Porter, Zvolensky, Chaney, & Kee, 2000) in an effort to construct a more culturally appropriate means of obtaining anxiety-related information from a tribally homogenous sample of Native Americans. Five pilot subjects (60% women; M age = 35.8 years) and 50 Native American participants (46% women; M age = 40.32 years) residing on a Northern Plains reservation were administered the CIDAQ - Interview, designed specifically for this study, the Worry Domains Questionnaire (WDQ; Tallis, Eysenck, & Mathews, 1992), a measure of non-pathological worry, the CIDAQ (McNeil et al., 2000), a self-report measure of culturally-related anxiety, and a demographics form. Using a mixed design method of analysis, interviews were audio taped and data was both qualitatively and quantitatively compared for convergence and discrepancies across measures. As hypothesized, CIDAQ-Interview subscales corresponded with subscales from the CIDAQ self-report and included worries and anxiety in three content areas: (1) social involvement with Native Americans and cultural knowledge, (2) economic issues, and (3) social involvement with the majority culture. Results further revealed similarities between CIDAQ-Interview items and those on the CIDAQ self-report, indicating reliability for the Interview. Findings also confirmed the Interview's validity (r 's range = .349-.754), as well as a high level of internal consistency for the CIDAQ self-report (Cronbach alpha = .931). Data suggest the CIDAQ-Interview is a more culturally appropriate method of assessment and may be capable of assessing anxiety at a higher level of specificity then the self-report version. Results of the study are discussed in relation to the assessment of anxiety for homogenous reservation Native Americans, study limitations and directions for future research with the CIDAQ-Interview are also discussed.

THE INFLUENCE OF CHILDHOOD ABUSE ON LONGITUDINAL COURSE OF RECOVERY IN PSYCHIATRIC REHABILITATION

Background: Empirical outcome studies have identified specific symptomatic, cognitive, emotional and functional sequelae of childhood abuse in people with severe mental illness (SMI). These findings illuminate the need for an integrated understanding of biological, psychological, environmental, and developmental aspects of SMI. Purpose: The purpose of the present study includes the following: 1) to examine reliability and validity of the comprehensive child abuse rating system in a sample of individuals with SMI, 2) to examine the influence of childhood abuse severity on recovery of psychotic symptoms, neurocognition and social-cognition, and social functioning in people with SMI during 12 months of inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation, and 3) to examine moderating effects of social cognition on the relationship between severity of different types of child abuse history and social functioning. Results: In Study I (N=171), the child abuse rating system produced reliable ratings and some subtypes of child abuse history were related to poorer premorbid functioning and cognition, higher overall psychiatric symptoms, and lower social functioning. In Study II (N=161), the longitudinal factor pattern invariance of the measures of social functioning, externality, and psychiatric symptoms were confirmed across 3 time points (e.g., at admission, at 6 months, and at 12 months). In addition, significant but varied linear relationships between subtypes of child abuse and each level of assessment of functioning were identified. In Study III (N=143), the results showed that higher baseline social inference, independent of history of child physical abuse (CPA), played a protective role in improvements in social functioning. High externality appeared to be counter-therapeutic for individuals with no history of CPA but protective for individuals with a more severe history of CPA. Conclusion: The child abuse rating system appears to provide reliable and valid assessment of subtypes of child abuse history of individuals with SMI. Considering the extreme heterogeneity in both SMI and child maltreatment, the current finding sheds light on providing individualized treatment and assessment planning for individuals with SMI and a history of childhood abuse.

Planning “Discrete” Movements Using a Continuous System: Insights from a Dynamic Field Theory of Movement Preparation

The timed-initiation paradigm developed by Ghez and colleagues (1997) has revealed two modes of motor planning: continuous and discrete. Continuous responding occurs when targets are separated by less than 60° of spatial angle, and discrete responding occurs when targets are separated by greater than 60°. Although these two modes are thought to reflect the operation of separable strategic planning systems, a new theory of movement preparation, the Dynamic Field Theory, suggests that two modes emerge flexibly from the same system. Experiment 1 replicated continuous and discrete performance using a task modified to allow for a critical test of the single system view. In Experiment 2, participants were allowed to correct their movements following movement initiation (the standard task does not allow corrections). Results showed continuous planning performance at large and small target separations. These results are consistent with the proposal that the two modes reflect the time-dependent “preshaping” of a single planning system.