Serum protein concentrations, including acute phase proteins, in calves with hepatogenous photosensitization

Foram examinados 100 bezerros da raça Nelore com 6 a 12 meses de idade, distribuídos em: grupo controle (G1; 50 bezerros sadios) e grupo fotossensibilização (G2; n= 50). As amostras de sangue foram coletadas 12 a 24 horas após o início da dermatite (M1) e 15 a 30 dias após (M2), época da cura das lesões cutâneas. O proteinograma sérico foi obtido por eletroforese em gel de acrilamida. em todos os bezerros foram identificadas 18 proteínas com pesos moleculares (PM) entre 16.000 a 189.000 dáltons (Da). em M1 e M2, as concentrações séricas das proteínas de PM 115.000Da (ceruloplasmina), 61.000Da (1-antitripsina), 45.000Da (haptoglobina) e 40.000Da (glicoproteína ácida) foram significativamente maiores em bezerros com fotossensibilização hepatógena em comparação com aquelas dos animais do grupo-controle. A determinação dos teores séricos de proteínas de fase aguda pode ser útil no monitoramento da progressão da fotossensibilização hepatógena em bovinos, inclusive orientando possíveis alterações em procedimentos terapêuticos.

Yeast extract and prebiotic in pre-initial phase diet for broiler chickens raised under different temperatures

Objetivou-se nesta pesquisa avaliar o desempenho, o rendimento de carcaça e a morfometria intestinal de frangos de corte criados em diferentes temperaturas e que receberam na fase pré-inicial ração contendo ou não extrato de leveduras e prebiótico. Foram utilizados 1.440 pintos machos de 1 dia de idade, criados em diferentes câmaras climáticas. As rações, acrescidas ou não de extrato de leveduras e prebiótico, foram oferecidas somente na fase pré-inicial (1 a 7 dias). A partir do oitavo dia, todas as aves receberam a mesma ração, reajustada de acordo com as recomendações usuais. Adotou-se o delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado em arranjo fatorial 3 × 2 × 2, composto de três temperaturas de criação (calor, conforto e frio) e dois níveis de extrato de leveduras (com ou sem) e prebiótico (com ou sem). O desempenho das aves foi avaliado considerando o ganho de peso, o consumo de ração, a conversão alimentar e a viabilidade aos 42 dias de idade. Também foram avaliados o rendimento de carcaça e a morfometria intestinal. O calor ambiente prejudicou o desempenho e o rendimento de carcaça. A inclusão de prebiótico na ração pré-inicial aumentou o ganho de peso e melhorou a conversão alimentar das aves criadas no calor. A inclusão dos produtos na ração de frangos de corte criados em ambiente de calor e no frio tem efeito benéfico sobre as vilosidades das aves.

Validação de conteúdo do instrumento para consulta de enfermagem na visita domiciliar às pessoas com lesão medular: um enfoque no autocuidado

This study aimed to validate the contents of an Instrument for Nursing Consultation in the Home Visit of people with Spinal Cord Injury (INCEVDOP-LM), based on the Self-Care Deficit Theory. The methodological development study was conducted with spinal cord injured (SCI) people ascribed in the Family Health Units the city of Natal/RN/Brazil, and with the nurses of these institutions. The study was conducted from Januray 2012 to January 2013 in two phases: the first aimed to identify the need for self-care of persons with SCI, and the second to develop and validate the INCEVDOP-LM. The first phase consisted of a census study of people with SCI living in Natal/RN. In the second phase, a non-probabilistic convencience sample of subjects was selected to form two groups: First stage - Group 1 of the first stage was comprised by 73 adults with SCI diagnosed with paraplegia or tetraplegia, with cognitive function preserved and that were registered to some family health unit; Group 2 of the Second phase was composed of six experts that were nurses with doctoral formation, scientific experience in the area of technology development or assistance to persons with SCI, and with publications in periodicals Qualis A2. Data collection of the first phase was conducted through home visits of people with SCI that responded three instruments: Questionnaire I (comprised of demographic and socioeconomic variables), The Competency Rating Scale for Self-care (ASA) and the Barthel Index (an instrument for evaluation of functional capacity). The research for the second phase was conducted in two stages: I-construction of the INCEVDOP LM; II-validation of the INCEVDOP-LM. The instrument and an evaluation form were forwarded to the experts for the validation. The correlations between the responses were analyzed by the Kappa test, with accepting values of>0.75. The evaluation criteria were: organization, clarity, simplicity, readability, appropriateness of vocabulary, objectivity, accuracy, reliability and suitability and the positive responses with frequency values of≥90% were considered excellent. The chi-square test was used to investigate the differences between proportions. The study attended to the principles of Human Rights CNS Resolution 196/96. Results were reported by means of four articles derived from the study. The findings indicate that the items that showed disagreement among experts (k=0.02) were diagnoses, interventions and evaluation of the nursing features pertaining to the domains of Nutrition, Hygiene, Elimination, Physical, Social and Psychological, and of the Ability to perform work activities feature. Agreement among the experts were reported for the other items, with kappa ranging from 0.72 to 1. After removing items with disagreement, all criteria achieved excellent rates and no significant differences were observed between the proportions of responses of evaluation of experts (p>0.05). We conclude that the instrument shows validity to serve as a guide for nurses to conduct a systematic consultation during the home visit to people with spinal cord injury, with emphasis on self-care. The instrument must go through other levels of validation when applied in the clinical setting

Comparison of three protocols for superovulation of brown brocket deer (Mazama gouazoubira)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Digging effort in leaf-cutting ant queens (Atta sexdens rubropilosa) and its effects on survival and colony growth during the claustral phase

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

Avaliação do potencial das imagens quickbird ortorretificadas para o mapeamento das propriedades localizadas na área de expansão e vazios urbanos

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

Analysis of Factor VIII polymorphic markers as a means for carrier detection in Brazilian families with haemophilia A

Haemophilia A is an X-linked, recessively inherited bleeding disorder of varying severity, which results from the deficiency of procoagulant factor VIII f(8). Linkage diagnosis using polymorphic markers in the f8 gene is widely used to detect carriers. The objective of this study was to verify the informativeness of three polymorphic markers in the Brazilian population, to evaluate the usefulness of such markers in carrier detection procedures. Sixty-three unrelated healthy volunteers and 10 haemophilic families were studied. Two microsatellite repeats and one HindIII RFLP markers were used. Carrier and non-carrier status could be determined in 80% of females investigated. Intron 13 markers presented the highest heterozygosity rate (79%) followed by intron 22 (68%) and intron 19 (57%). When all three markers were used together, linkage analysis informativeness increased significantly. We conclude that these markers are suitable for carrier detection in the Brazilian population and we recommend their use in combination to maximize diagnostic efficiency.

Detection and classification of voltage disturbances using a Fuzzy-ARTMAP-wavelet network

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

Mathematical modeling of the ester oil-refrigerant R134A mixture two-phase flow with foam formation through a small diameter tube

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Monoclinic-tetragonal phase transition in Pb(Zr1-xTix)O-3 studied by infrared spectroscopy

The discovery of a new monoclinic phase in the PbZr1-xTixO3 (PZT) system in the vicinity of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB), previously considered as a region where the rhombohedral and tetragonal phases of PZT coexist, was recently reported. Investigations of this new phase were reported using different techniques such as high-resolution synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The main objective has been to define a new phase diagram of PZT. In this context, infrared spectroscopic studies were performed in the vicinity of the MPB and studies were initially centred on a PZT sample with x = 0.49 mol% Ti content. Results suggested that the monoclinic --> tetragonal phase transition occurs at 237 K, confirming the use of IR as a useful technique to investigate this phase transition.

Infrared studies of the monoclinic-tetragonal phase transition in Pb(Zr, Ti)O-3 ceramics

Recently, the observation of a new monoclinic phase in the PbZr1-xTixO3 (PZT) system in the vicinity of the morphotropic phase boundary was reported. Investigations of this new phase were reported using different techniques such as high-resolution synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. In this work, the monoclinic --> tetragonal phase transition in PbZr0.50Ti0.50O3 ceramics was studied using infrared spectroscopy between 1000 and 400 cm(-1). The four possible nu(1)-stretching modes (Ti-O and Zr-O stretch) in the BO6 octahedron in the ABO(3) structure of PZT in this region were monitored as a function of temperature. The lower-frequency mode nu(1)-(Zr-O) remains practically unaltered, while both intermediate nu(1)-(Ti-O) modes decrease linearly as temperature increases from 89 to 263 K. In contrast, the higher-frequency nu(1)-(Ti-O) and nu(1)-(Zr-O) modes present anomalous behaviour around 178 K. The singularity observed at this mode was associated with the monoclinic --> tetragonal phase transition in PbZr0.50Ti0.50O3 ceramics.

Morphological evolution of tin oxide nanobelts after phase transition

This article reports a study of the thermal stability and morphological changes in tin oxide nanobelts grown in the orthorhombic SnO phase. The nanobelts were heat-treated in a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) furnace at 800 degrees C for I It in argon, oxygen, or synthetic air atmospheres. The samples were then characterized by DSC, X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and high resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The results confirmed that the orthorhombic SnO phase is thermodynamically unstable, causing the belts to transform into the SnO2 phase when heat-treated. During the phase transition, if oxygen is available in the furnace atmosphere, nanofibers grow at the edge of nanobelts at about 50 degrees of the belts' growth direction, while particles grow on the belt surface in the absence of oxygen. Although the decomposition process reduces the nanobelt cell volume by 22%, most belts remain monocrystalline after the heat treatment. The results confirm that phase transition is a decomposition process, which explains the morphological changes in the belts based on metallic tin generated in the process.

Processamento e interpretação de dados 2D e 3D de GPR :aplicações no imageamento de feições kársticas e estruturas de dissolução no campo de petróleo de Fazenda Belém-CE

In Fazenda Belém oil field (Potiguar Basin, Ceará State, Brazil) occur frequently sinkholes and sudden terrain collapses associated to an unconsolidated sedimentary cap covering the Jandaíra karst. This research was carried out in order to understand the mechanisms of generation of these collapses. The main tool used was Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). This work is developed twofold: one aspect concerns methodology improvements in GPR data processing whilst another aspect concerns the geological study of the Jandaíra karst. This second aspect was strongly supported both by the analysis of outcropping karst structures (in another regions of Potiguar Basin) and by the interpretation of radargrams from the subsurface karst in Fazenda Belém. It was designed and tested an adequate flux to process GPR data which was adapted from an usual flux to process seismic data. The changes were introduced to take into account important differences between GPR and Reflection Seismic methods, in particular: poor coupling between source and ground, mixed phase of the wavelet, low signal-to-noise ratio, monochannel acquisition, and high influence of wave propagation effects, notably dispersion. High frequency components of the GPR pulse suffer more pronounced effects of attenuation than low frequency components resulting in resolution losses in radargrams. In Fazenda Belém, there is a stronger need of an suitable flux to process GPR data because both the presence of a very high level of aerial events and the complexity of the imaged subsurface karst structures. The key point of the processing flux was an improvement in the correction of the attenuation effects on the GPR pulse based on their influence on the amplitude and phase spectra of GPR signals. In low and moderate losses dielectric media the propagated signal suffers significant changes only in its amplitude spectrum; that is, the phase spectrum of the propagated signal remains practically unaltered for the usual travel time ranges. Based on this fact, it is shown using real data that the judicious application of the well known tools of time gain and spectral balancing can efficiently correct the attenuation effects. The proposed approach can be applied in heterogeneous media and it does not require the precise knowledge of the attenuation parameters of the media. As an additional benefit, the judicious application of spectral balancing promotes a partial deconvolution of the data without changing its phase. In other words, the spectral balancing acts in a similar way to a zero phase deconvolution. In GPR data the resolution increase obtained with spectral balancing is greater than those obtained with spike and predictive deconvolutions. The evolution of the Jandaíra karst in Potiguar Basin is associated to at least three events of subaerial exposition of the carbonatic plataform during the Turonian, Santonian, and Campanian. In Fazenda Belém region, during the mid Miocene, the Jandaíra karst was covered by continental siliciclastic sediments. These sediments partially filled the void space associated to the dissolution structures and fractures. Therefore, the development of the karst in this region was attenuated in comparison to other places in Potiguar Basin where this karst is exposed. In Fazenda Belém, the generation of sinkholes and terrain collapses are controlled mainly by: (i) the presence of an unconsolidated sedimentary cap which is thick enough to cover completely the karst but with sediment volume lower than the available space associated to the dissolution structures in the karst; (ii) the existence of important structural of SW-NE and NW-SE alignments which promote a localized increase in the hydraulic connectivity allowing the channeling of underground water, thus facilitating the carbonatic dissolution; and (iii) the existence of a hydraulic barrier to the groundwater flow, associated to the Açu-4 Unity. The terrain collapse mechanisms in Fazenda Belém occur according to the following temporal evolution. The meteoric water infiltrates through the unconsolidated sedimentary cap and promotes its remobilization to the void space associated with the dissolution structures in Jandaíra Formation. This remobilization is initiated at the base of the sedimentary cap where the flow increases its abrasion due to a change from laminar to turbulent flow regime when the underground water flow reaches the open karst structures. The remobilized sediments progressively fill from bottom to top the void karst space. So, the void space is continuously migrated upwards ultimately reaching the surface and causing the sudden observed terrain collapses. This phenomenon is particularly active during the raining season, when the water table that normally is located in the karst may be temporarily located in the unconsolidated sedimentary cap

Cytokines and acute-phase serum proteins as markers of inflammatory regression during pulmonary tuberculosis treatment

Tuberculosis is still increasing and was declared a worldwide sanitary emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1995. Its control is difficult due to long treatment duration and lack of markers of treatment success or failure. Cytokines such as IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha, a central factor in immune response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, are responsible for the interaction between T lymphocytes and the infected macrophage and are also produced during this interaction. As proinflammatory cytokines have a close relationship with mycobacteria clearance, in fact even preceding it, they could be used as markers for inflammatory activity and response to treatment. Proinflammatory cytokines act in the liver and stimulate a strong local and systemic acute-phase response as a result of homeostatic and physiological responses also induced by them. Acute-phase proteins produced by cytokine activity are useful diagnostic markers that could also be used to monitor treatment response as they can be serially quantified. The objective of this study was to evaluate IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-10 and TGF-beta production in supernatant of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) and monocyte (MO) cultures, as well as serum acute-phase response through total protein, albumin, globulin, C-reactive protein (CRP), alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) as regression markers of inflammatory response during pulmonary tuberculosis treatment. Twenty blood donors (G1) from the Blood Bank at Botucatu School of Medicine's University Hospital (BSM-UH) were evaluated once and 28 pulmonary tuberculosis patients (G2): 13 from BSM-UH and 15 from the Bauru State Health Secretariat. Patients were evaluated at three moments of treatment: before (M1), at three months (M2), and at the end (M3). Cytokines were determined in 20ml of peripheral blood (ELISA), with or without activation: lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for MO culture and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) for PBMC culture. Acute-phase protein behavior in G2 throughout treatment was: Globulins: M1> M2, M1> M3 (rho < 0.001); CRP: M1> M2> M3 (.< 0.001); AGP for men: M1> M2, M1> M3 (rho < 0.001); ESR for men: M1> M2, M1> M3 (rho < 0.0016) and for women: M1> M2 (.< 0.025). Comparison between cytokine levels found in supernatant of MO and PBMC cultures, with and without stimulus, in G1 and G2 during treatment showed: TNF-alpha (with/ without LPS) at M1: G2> G1; at M2: G2> G1 (rho < 0.001); (without LPS) at M3: G2> G1 (rho < 0.001), (with LPS) at M3: G2> G1 (rho < 0.028); IFN-. (with and without PHA) at M1: G2> G1; at M2: G2> G1 (rho < 0.001); IL-10 (with and without LPS) at M1: G2> G1; at M2: G2> G1; at M3: G2> G1 (rho < 0.001); TGF-beta (with and without LPS) at M1: G2> G1; at M2: G2> G1 (rho < 0.001), (without LPS) at M3: G2> G1 (rho < 0.001). In G2, all cytokines in supernatant of MO and PBMC cultures, with and without stimulus, showed: M1> M2> M3 (rho < 0.01). Levels of globulins, CRP, AGP, and ESR in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis before treatment (M1) were significantly higher than reference values, suggesting their use as diagnostic markers and indicators of treatment. The CRP decreasing values along treatment could be taken as a marker of the regression of inflammatory process and of response to treatment in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.Regarding cytokines, there was significant increase in TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-10, and TGF-alpha levels before and at three months treatment, with and without stimulus; in TNF-a and IL-10 lvels, with and without stimulus, as well as in TGF-alpha levels without stimulus at six months. Patients had higher levels of all studied cytokines than controls before treatment, and these values decreased along treatment. In this study, pulmonary tuberculosis patients showed a Th0 cytokine profile before treatment, with the production of both Th1 (IFN-gamma) and Th2 (IL-10) cytokines, in addition to TNF-alpha inflammatory and TGF-alpha regulatory and fibrosis-inducer cytokines. At the end of treatment, all had evolved to Th2 profile, probably in an attempt to reduce the harmful effects of the proinflammatory activity of the Th1 cytokine profile and of the still above-normal levels of TNF-alpha. The high levels of TGF-alpha, also found in these patients, are related to its important role in the extracellular matrix deposition and fibrosis induction that characterize tuberculosis healing process. IFN-gamma was the only cytokine reaching normal levels at the end of treatment, which suggests its use as a marker of response to treatment.

Proposta metodológica para o imageamento digital e modelagem virtual 3d de um bloco de rochas travertinas

In this paper we present the methodological procedures involved in the digital imaging in mesoscale of a block of travertines rock of quaternary age, originating from the city of Acquasanta, located in the Apennines, Italy. This rocky block, called T-Block, was stored in the courtyard of the Laboratório Experimental Petróleo "Kelsen Valente" (LabPetro), of Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), so that from it were performed Scientific studies, mainly for research groups universities and research centers working in brazilian areas of reservoir characterization and 3D digital imaging. The purpose of this work is the development of a Model Solid Digital, from the use of non-invasive techniques of digital 3D imaging of internal and external surfaces of the T-Block. For the imaging of the external surfaces technology has been used LIDAR (Light Detection and Range) and the imaging surface Interior was done using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), moreover, profiles were obtained with a Gamma Ray Gamae-spectômetro laptop. The goal of 3D digital imaging involved the identification and parameterization of surface geological and sedimentary facies that could represent heterogeneities depositional mesoscale, based on study of a block rocky with dimensions of approximately 1.60 m x 1.60 m x 2.70 m. The data acquired by means of terrestrial laser scanner made available georeferenced spatial information of the surface of the block (X, Y, Z), and varying the intensity values of the return laser beam and high resolution RGB data (3 mm x 3 mm), total points acquired 28,505,106. This information was used as an aid in the interpretation of radargrams and are ready to be displayed in rooms virtual reality. With the GPR was obtained 15 profiles of 2.3 m and 2 3D grids, each with 24 sections horizontal of 1.3 and 14 m vertical sections of 2.3 m, both the Antenna 900 MHz to about 2600 MHz antenna. Finally, the use of GPR associated with Laser Scanner enabled the identification and 3D mapping of 3 different radarfácies which were correlated with three sedimentary facies as had been defined at the outset. The 6 profiles showed gamma a low amplitude variation in the values of radioactivity. This is likely due to the fact of the sedimentary layers profiled have the same mineralogical composition, being composed by carbonate sediments, with no clay in siliciclastic pellitic layers or other mineral carrier elements radioactive