Citrus aurantium L. essential oil exhibits anxiolytic-like activity mediated by 5-HT1A-receptors and reduces cholesterol after repeated oral treatment

Abstract Background The current treatments for anxiety disorders and depression have multiple adverse effects in addition to a delayed onset of action, which has prompted efforts to find new substances with potential activity in these disorders. Citrus aurantium was chosen based on ethnopharmacological data because traditional medicine refers to the Citrus genus as useful in diminishing the symptoms of anxiety or insomnia, and C. aurantium has more recently been proposed as an adjuvant for antidepressants. In the present work, we investigated the biological activity underlying the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of C. aurantium essential oil (EO), the putative mechanism of the anxiolytic-like effect, and the neurochemical changes in specific brain structures of mice after acute treatment. We also monitored the mice for possible signs of toxicity after a 14-day treatment. Methods The anxiolytic-like activity of the EO was investigated in a light/dark box, and the antidepressant activity was investigated in a forced swim test. Flumazenil, a competitive antagonist of benzodiazepine binding, and the selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY100635 were used in the experimental procedures to determine the mechanism of action of the EO. To exclude false positive results due to motor impairment, the mice were submitted to the rotarod test. Results The data suggest that the anxiolytic-like activity observed in the light/dark box procedure after acute (5 mg/kg) or 14-day repeated (1 mg/kg/day) dosing was mediated by the serotonergic system (5-HT1A receptors). Acute treatment with the EO showed no activity in the forced swim test, which is sensitive to antidepressants. A neurochemical evaluation showed no alterations in neurotransmitter levels in the cortex, the striatum, the pons, and the hypothalamus. Furthermore, no locomotor impairment or signs of toxicity or biochemical changes, except a reduction in cholesterol levels, were observed after treatment with the EO. Conclusion This work contributes to a better understanding of the biological activity of C. aurantium EO by characterizing the mechanism of action underlying its anxiolytic-like activity.

Relations between soil surface roughness, tortuosity, tillage treatments, rainfall intensity and soil and water losses from a red yellow latosol

The soil surface roughness increases water retention and infiltration, reduces the runoff volume and speed and influences soil losses by water erosion. Similarly to other parameters, soil roughness is affected by the tillage system and rainfall volume. Based on these assumptions, the main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of tillage treatments on soil surface roughness (RR) and tortuosity (T) and to investigate the relationship with soil and water losses in a series of simulated rainfall events. The field study was carried out at the experimental station of EMBRAPA Southeastern Cattle Research Center in São Carlos (Fazenda Canchim), in São Paulo State, Brazil. Experimental plots of 33 m² were treated with two tillage practices in three replications, consisting of: untilled (no-tillage) soil (NTS) and conventionally tilled (plowing plus double disking) soil (CTS). Three successive simulated rain tests were applied in 24 h intervals. The three tests consisted of a first rain of 30 mm/h, a second of 30 mm/h and a third rain of 70 mm/h. Immediately after tilling and each rain simulation test, the surface roughness was measured, using a laser profile meter. The tillage treatments induced significant changes in soil surface roughness and tortuosity, demonstrating the importance of the tillage system for the physical surface conditions, favoring water retention and infiltration in the soil. The increase in surface roughness by the tillage treatments was considerably greater than its reduction by rain action. The surface roughness and tortuosity had more influence on the soil volume lost by surface runoff than in the conventional treatment. Possibly, other variables influenced soil and water losses from the no-tillage treatments, e.g., soil type, declivity, slope length, among others not analyzed in this study.

Computerized imaging analysis of seedlings for assessment of physiological potential of wheat seeds

Nowadays, image analysis is one of the most modern tools in evaluating physiological potential of seeds. This study aimed at verifying the efficiency of the seedling imaging analysis to assess physiological potential of wheat seeds. The seeds of wheat, cultivars IAC 370 and IAC 380, each of which represented by five different lots, were stored during four months under natural environmental conditions of temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH), in municipality of Piracicaba, Stated of São Paulo, Brazil. For this, bimonthly assessments were performed to quantify moisture content and physiological potential of seeds by means of tests of: germination, first count, accelerated aging, electrical conductivity, seedling emergence, and computerized analysis of seedlings, using the Seed Vigor Imaging System (SVIS®). It has been concluded that the computerized analyses of seedling through growth indexes and vigor, using the SVIS®, is efficient to assess physiological potential of wheat seeds.

Diallel cross among fresh market tomato inbreeding lines

The general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA), and heterosis were studied in a complete diallel cross among fresh market tomato breeding lines with reciprocal excluded. Fifteen genotypes (five parents and ten hybrids) were tested using a randomized complete block design, with three replications, and the experiments were conducted in Itatiba, São Paulo state, Brazil, in 2005/06. The yield components evaluated were fruit yield per plant (FP), fruit number per plant (FN), average fruit weight (FW); cluster number per plant (CN); fruit number per cluster (FC), fruit wall thickness (FT) and number of locules per fruit (NL). Fruit quality components evaluated were total soluble solids (SS); total titratable acidity (TA); SS/TA ratio, fruit length (FL); fruit width (WI); length to width ratio (FL/WI). The data for each trait was first subjected to analysis of variance. Griffing's method 2, model 1 was employed to estimate the general (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining abilities. Parental and hybrid data for each trait were used to estimate of mid-parent heterosis. For plant fruit yield, IAC-2 was the best parental line with the highest GCA followed by IAC-4 and IAC-1 lines. The hybrids IAC-1 x IAC-2, IAC-1 x IAC-4 and IAC-2 x IAC-4 showed the highest effects of SCA. High heterotic responses were found for fruit yield and plant fruit number with values up to 49.72% and 47.19%, respectively. The best hybrids for fruit yield and plant fruit number were IAC-1 x IAC-2, IAC-1 x IAC-4 and IAC-2 x IAC-5, for fruit yield and plant fruit number, the main yield components.

Correlations between yield and fruit quality characteristics of fresh market tomatoes

Genotypic, phenotypic and environmental correlations were estimated for all possible pairs among eleven characters of tomatoes. Fifteen treatments including five parents and ten hybrids of Instituto Agronômico (IAC) tomato breeding program were evaluated using a randomized complete block experimental design, with tree replications in Itatiba, São Paulo state, Brazil, during 2005/2006. The following traits were evaluated: fruit yield per plant (FP), fruit number per plant (FN), average fruit weight (FW), cluster number per plant (CN), fruit number per cluster (FC), number of locules per fruit (NL), fruit length (FL), fruit width (WI), fruit wall thickness (FT), total soluble solids (SS), and total titratable acidity (TA). The genotypic (rG), phenotypic (rF) and environmental correlations (rA) for two pairs of plant traits were estimated using the Genes© program. High similarity was found among the estimates of genotypic and phenotypic correlations. Positive and high phenotypic and genotypic correlations were observed between FP and the traits FN, FW and FT, and these associations contributed for yield increasing. FW and FT contributed to yield increase and should be considered together as primary yield components in tomato. Positive values of the genotypic and phenotypic correlations revealed that FP influenced FN with high direct effect and significant positive correlation. These traits may be included as the main selection criteria for tomato yield improvement.

Bromatological characteristics and in vitro digestibility of four sugarcane varieties subjected or not to the application of quicklime

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the bromatological characteristics and the in vitro digestibility of four sugarcane varieties, subjected or not to hydrolysis, with quicklime. A completely randomized design was employed with three replications arranged in a 4 × 2 factorial scheme, with four sugarcane varieties (SP 52454, RB 867515, RB 855536 and IAC 862480), hydrolyzed or not. There was significant effect on brix (p < 0.05) and industrial fiber (p < 0.05), and IAC 862480 variety had the lowest levels of industrial fiber. There were no significant difference (p > 0.05) in neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and lignin levels among the sugarcane varieties under analysis and for the sugarcanes, hydrolyzed or not. The use of sugarcane hydrolysis with 1% quicklime improves the in vitro digestibility of NDF and ADF, regardless of the variety studied. Hydrolysis with 1% quicklime did not alter the sugarcane chemical composition.

Mycobiota, aflatoxins and cyclopiazonic acid in stored peanut cultivars

This study evaluated the presence of fungi and mycotoxins [aflatoxins (AFs), cyclopiazonic acid (CPA), and aspergillic acid] in stored samples of peanut cultivar Runner IAC Caiapó and cultivar Runner IAC 886 during 6 months. A total of 70 pod and 70 kernel samples were directly seeded onto Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus agar for fungi isolation and aspergillic acid detection, and AFs and CPA were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The results showed the predominance of Aspergillus section Flavi strains, Aspergillus section Nigri strains, Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp. and Rhizopus spp. from both peanut cultivars. AFs were detected in 11.4% of kernel samples of the two cultivars and in 5.7% and 8.6% of pod samples of the Caiapó and 886 cultivars, respectively. CPA was detected in 60.0% and 74.3% of kernel samples of the Caiapó and 886 cultivars, respectively. Co-occurrence of both mycotoxins was observed in 11.4% of kernel samples of the two cultivars. These results indicate a potential risk of aflatoxin production if good storage practices are not applied. In addition, the large number of samples contaminated with CPA and the simultaneous detection of AFs and CPA highlight the need to investigate factors related to the control and co-occurrence of these toxins in peanuts.

Bioremediation of PAHs - Limitations and soultions

Introduction 1.1 Occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the environment Worldwide industrial and agricultural developments have released a large number of natural and synthetic hazardous compounds into the environment due to careless waste disposal, illegal waste dumping and accidental spills. As a result, there are numerous sites in the world that require cleanup of soils and groundwater. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one of the major groups of these contaminants (Da Silva et al., 2003). PAHs constitute a diverse class of organic compounds consisting of two or more aromatic rings with various structural configurations (Prabhu and Phale, 2003). Being a derivative of benzene, PAHs are thermodynamically stable. In addition, these chemicals tend to adhere to particle surfaces, such as soils, because of their low water solubility and strong hydrophobicity, and this results in greater persistence under natural conditions. This persistence coupled with their potential carcinogenicity makes PAHs problematic environmental contaminants (Cerniglia, 1992; Sutherland, 1992). PAHs are widely found in high concentrations at many industrial sites, particularly those associated with petroleum, gas production and wood preserving industries (Wilson and Jones, 1993). 1.2 Remediation technologies Conventional techniques used for the remediation of soil polluted with organic contaminants include excavation of the contaminated soil and disposal to a landfill or capping - containment - of the contaminated areas of a site. These methods have some drawbacks. The first method simply moves the contamination elsewhere and may create significant risks in the excavation, handling and transport of hazardous material. Additionally, it is very difficult and increasingly expensive to find new landfill sites for the final disposal of the material. The cap and containment method is only an interim solution since the contamination remains on site, requiring monitoring and maintenance of the isolation barriers long into the future, with all the associated costs and potential liability. A better approach than these traditional methods is to completely destroy the pollutants, if possible, or transform them into harmless substances. Some technologies that have been used are high-temperature incineration and various types of chemical decomposition (for example, base-catalyzed dechlorination, UV oxidation). However, these methods have significant disadvantages, principally their technological complexity, high cost , and the lack of public acceptance. Bioremediation, on the contrast, is a promising option for the complete removal and destruction of contaminants. 1.3 Bioremediation of PAH contaminated soil & groundwater Bioremediation is the use of living organisms, primarily microorganisms, to degrade or detoxify hazardous wastes into harmless substances such as carbon dioxide, water and cell biomass Most PAHs are biodegradable unter natural conditions (Da Silva et al., 2003; Meysami and Baheri, 2003) and bioremediation for cleanup of PAH wastes has been extensively studied at both laboratory and commercial levels- It has been implemented at a number of contaminated sites, including the cleanup of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska in 1989, the Mega Borg spill off the Texas coast in 1990 and the Burgan Oil Field, Kuwait in 1994 (Purwaningsih, 2002). Different strategies for PAH bioremediation, such as in situ , ex situ or on site bioremediation were developed in recent years. In situ bioremediation is a technique that is applied to soil and groundwater at the site without removing the contaminated soil or groundwater, based on the provision of optimum conditions for microbiological contaminant breakdown.. Ex situ bioremediation of PAHs, on the other hand, is a technique applied to soil and groundwater which has been removed from the site via excavation (soil) or pumping (water). Hazardous contaminants are converted in controlled bioreactors into harmless compounds in an efficient manner. 1.4 Bioavailability of PAH in the subsurface Frequently, PAH contamination in the environment is occurs as contaminants that are sorbed onto soilparticles rather than in phase (NAPL, non aqueous phase liquids). It is known that the biodegradation rate of most PAHs sorbed onto soil is far lower than rates measured in solution cultures of microorganisms with pure solid pollutants (Alexander and Scow, 1989; Hamaker, 1972). It is generally believed that only that fraction of PAHs dissolved in the solution can be metabolized by microorganisms in soil. The amount of contaminant that can be readily taken up and degraded by microorganisms is defined as bioavailability (Bosma et al., 1997; Maier, 2000). Two phenomena have been suggested to cause the low bioavailability of PAHs in soil (Danielsson, 2000). The first one is strong adsorption of the contaminants to the soil constituents which then leads to very slow release rates of contaminants to the aqueous phase. Sorption is often well correlated with soil organic matter content (Means, 1980) and significantly reduces biodegradation (Manilal and Alexander, 1991). The second phenomenon is slow mass transfer of pollutants, such as pore diffusion in the soil aggregates or diffusion in the organic matter in the soil. The complex set of these physical, chemical and biological processes is schematically illustrated in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, biodegradation processes are taking place in the soil solution while diffusion processes occur in the narrow pores in and between soil aggregates (Danielsson, 2000). Seemingly contradictory studies can be found in the literature that indicate the rate and final extent of metabolism may be either lower or higher for sorbed PAHs by soil than those for pure PAHs (Van Loosdrecht et al., 1990). These contrasting results demonstrate that the bioavailability of organic contaminants sorbed onto soil is far from being well understood. Besides bioavailability, there are several other factors influencing the rate and extent of biodegradation of PAHs in soil including microbial population characteristics, physical and chemical properties of PAHs and environmental factors (temperature, moisture, pH, degree of contamination). Figure 1: Schematic diagram showing possible rate-limiting processes during bioremediation of hydrophobic organic contaminants in a contaminated soil-water system (not to scale) (Danielsson, 2000). 1.5 Increasing the bioavailability of PAH in soil Attempts to improve the biodegradation of PAHs in soil by increasing their bioavailability include the use of surfactants , solvents or solubility enhancers.. However, introduction of synthetic surfactant may result in the addition of one more pollutant. (Wang and Brusseau, 1993).A study conducted by Mulder et al. showed that the introduction of hydropropyl-ß-cyclodextrin (HPCD), a well-known PAH solubility enhancer, significantly increased the solubilization of PAHs although it did not improve the biodegradation rate of PAHs (Mulder et al., 1998), indicating that further research is required in order to develop a feasible and efficient remediation method. Enhancing the extent of PAHs mass transfer from the soil phase to the liquid might prove an efficient and environmentally low-risk alternative way of addressing the problem of slow PAH biodegradation in soil.

Reconstructing Quantum Field Theory from an Educational Perspective

The research work concerns the analysis of the foundations of Quantum Field Theory carried out from an educational perspective. The whole research has been driven by two questions: • How the concept of object changes when moving from classical to contemporary physics? • How are the concepts of field and interaction shaped and conceptualized within contemporary physics? What makes quantum field and interaction similar to and what makes them different from the classical ones? The whole work has been developed through several studies: 1. A study aimed to analyze the formal and conceptual structures characterizing the description of the continuous systems that remain invariant in the transition from classical to contemporary physics. 2. A study aimed to analyze the changes in the meanings of the concepts of field and interaction in the transition to quantum field theory. 3. A detailed study of the Klein-Gordon equation aimed at analyzing, in a case considered emblematic, some interpretative (conceptual and didactical) problems in the concept of field that the university textbooks do not address explicitly. 4. A study concerning the application of the “Discipline-Culture” Model elaborated by I. Galili to the analysis of the Klein-Gordon equation, in order to reconstruct the meanings of the equation from a cultural perspective. 5. A critical analysis, in the light of the results of the studies mentioned above, of the existing proposals for teaching basic concepts of Quantum Field Theory and particle physics at the secondary school level or in introductory physics university courses.

Charakterisierung des Rezeptors, des Aufnahmeweges und der Neutralisation humanpathogener Papillomviren

Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurden Pseudovirionen mit gfp als Reportergen generiert und zur Charakterisierung verschiedener Aspekte der HPV-Infektion verwendet. Es konnte gezeigt werden, daß Heparansulfatproteoglykane für die Infektion mit HPV16- und HPV33-Pseudovirionen essentiell sind, da: (i) Heparin, nicht aber Chondroitin- oder Dermatansulfat die Infektion inhibiert, (ii) Heparinase I oder chloratbehandelte Zellen vollständig bzw. teilweise resistent gegen eine Infektion sind, (iii) monoklonale Antikörper Pseudovirionen neutralisieren, indem sie die Bindung an Heparin verhindern. Ein intakter C-Terminus des L1-Proteins ist für die Heparinbindung nicht notwendig. Alpha-6 Integrin ist kein obligater HPV-Rezeptor. Die Neutralisation gebundener Pseudovirionen durch ein neutralisierendes Antiserum einerseits und durch Heparin andererseits demonstriert, daß die Aufnahme von Pseudovirionen sehr langsam verläuft und daß die Bindung von einem heparinsensitiven zu einem heparinresistenten Zustand übergeht, möglicherweise unter Beteiligung weiterer Rezeptoren. Die Wirkung von verschiedenen Inhibitoren auf die Pseudoinfektion lassen schließen, daß Pseudovirionen über eine mikrofilamentabhängige und energieabhängige Endozytose mit anschließender Penetration durch saure Vesikel aufgenommen werden. Caveolen sind an der Aufnahme nicht beteiligt. Untersuchungen zur Neutralisation von HPV16-, HPV18- und HPV33-Pseudovirionen durch Antiseren gegen HPV16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39 und 45 zeigen eine Kreuzneutralisation zwischen HPV31 und HPV33 einerseits und zwischen HPV18 und HPV45 andererseits.

Messa a punto di un modello analitico generale ed efficiente per la verifica strutturale dell'anello rotante di macchine cellofanatrici

Partendo da un precedente studio, realizzato su di una macchina cellofanatrice ad asse verticale, si è arrivati ad ottenere un modello analitico per la verifica strutturale dell’anello rotante di tali macchine. Si è cercato cioè, di fornire un valido strumento per il dimensionamento di anelli rotanti nelle moderne macchine cellofanatrici, aventi geometria coerente con quella presentata nelle ipotesi iniziali. Per fare ciò, si sono determinate, ove possibile, equazioni normalizzate e adimensionalizzate, che godono quindi di una più ampia validità di impiego; a partire dalle equazioni del precedente studio, che erano appunto finalizzate alla risoluzione del caso specifico preso in considerazione. Vengono presentate in questo elaborato le equazioni che descrivono la struttura precedentemente studiata ed il procedimento che si è effettuato per rendere il nuovo lavoro indipendente dalle caratteristiche delle sollecitazioni esterne e della geometria dell’anello stesso. Sono mostrate le equazioni ottenute per le varie incognite iperstatiche, per i momenti flettenti e sforzo normale normalizzati e assoluti, ed i relativi grafici. Grazie appunto ad alcuni di questi, si ottengono rapidamente, tramite l’applicazione di semplici formule, informazioni sullo stato di sollecitazione dell’anello. Sono infine presentati alcuni esempi per sottolineare la validità dei risultati ottenuti e la semplicità di utilizzo dei grafici ricavati.

Algebraische Zyklen auf abelschen Varietäten der Dimension 4 mit Polarisierung von Typ (1,2,2,2)

Diese Arbeit besch"aftigt sich mit algebraischen Zyklen auf komplexen abelschen Variet"aten der Dimension 4. Ziel der Arbeit ist ein nicht-triviales Element in $Griff^{3,2}(A^4)$ zu konstruieren. Hier bezeichnet $A^4$ die emph{generische} abelsche Variet"at der Dimension 4 mit Polarisierung von Typ $(1,2,2,2)$. Die ersten drei Kapitel sind eine Wiederholung von elementaren Definitionen und Begriffen und daher eine Festlegung der Notation. In diesen erinnern wir an elementare Eigenschaften der von Saito definierten Filtrierungen $F_S$ und $Z$ auf den Chowgruppen (vgl. cite{Sa0} und cite{Sa}). Wir wiederholen auch eine Beziehung zwischen der $F_S$-Filtrierung und der Zerlegung von Beauville der Chowgruppen (vgl. cite{Be2} und cite{DeMu}), welche aus cite{Mu} stammt. Die wichtigsten Begriffe in diesem Teil sind die emph{h"ohere Griffiths' Gruppen} und die emph{infinitesimalen Invarianten h"oherer Ordnung}. Dann besch"aftigen wir uns mit emph{verallgemeinerten Prym-Variet"aten} bez"uglich $(2:1)$ "Uberlagerungen von Kurven. Wir geben ihre Konstruktion und wichtige geometrische Eigenschaften und berechnen den Typ ihrer Polarisierung. Kapitel ref{p-moduli} enth"alt ein Resultat aus cite{BCV} "uber die Dominanz der Abbildung $p(3,2):mathcal R(3,2)longrightarrow mathcal A_4(1,2,2,2)$. Dieses Resultat ist von Relevanz f"ur uns, weil es besagt, dass die generische abelsche Variet"at der Dimension 4 mit Polarisierung von Typ $(1,2,2,2)$ eine verallgemeinerte Prym-Variet"at bez"uglich eine $(2:1)$ "Uberlagerung einer Kurve vom Geschlecht $7$ "uber eine Kurve vom Geschlecht $3$ ist. Der zweite Teil der Dissertation ist die eigentliche Arbeit und ist auf folgende Weise strukturiert: Kapitel ref{Deg} enth"alt die Konstruktion der Degeneration von $A^4$. Das bedeutet, dass wir in diesem Kapitel eine Familie $Xlongrightarrow S$ von verallgemeinerten Prym-Variet"aten konstruieren, sodass die klassifizierende Abbildung $Slongrightarrow mathcal A_4(1,2,2,2)$ dominant ist. Desweiteren wird ein relativer Zykel $Y/S$ auf $X/S$ konstruiert zusammen mit einer Untervariet"at $Tsubset S$, sodass wir eine explizite Beschreibung der Einbettung $Yvert _Thookrightarrow Xvert _T$ angeben k"onnen. Das letzte und wichtigste Kapitel enth"ahlt Folgendes: Wir beweisen dass, die emph{ infinitesimale Invariante zweiter Ordnung} $delta _2(alpha)$ von $alpha$ nicht trivial ist. Hier bezeichnet $alpha$ die Komponente von $Y$ in $Ch^3_{(2)}(X/S)$ unter der Beauville-Zerlegung. Damit und mit Hilfe der Ergebnissen aus Kapitel ref{Cohm} k"onnen wir zeigen, dass [ 0neq [alpha ] in Griff ^{3,2}(X/S) . ] Wir k"onnen diese Aussage verfeinern und zeigen (vgl. Theorem ref{a4}) begin{theorem}label{maintheorem} F"ur $sin S$ generisch gilt [ 0neq [alpha _s ]in Griff ^{3,2}(A^4) , ] wobei $A^4$ die generische abelsche Variet"at der Dimension $4$ mit Polarisierung vom Typ $(1,2,2,2)$ ist. end{theorem}