The influence of ripening stage and cultivation system on the total antioxidant activity and total phenolic compounds of yellow passion fruit pulp

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

Continuous ethanol production in a nonconventional five-stage system operating with yeast cell recycling at elevated temperatures

Three ranges of increasing temperatures (35-43, 37-45, 39-47degreesC) were sequentially applied to a five-stage system continuously operated with cell recycling so that differences of 2degreesC (between one reactor to the next) and 8degreesC (between the first reactor at the highest temperature and the fifth at the lowest temperature) were kept among the reactors for each temperature range. The entire system was fed through the first reactor. The lowest values of biomass and viability were obtained for reactor R-3 located in the middle of the system. The highest yield of biomass was obtained in the effluent when the system was operated at 35-43degreesC. This nonconventional system was set up to simulate the local fluctuations in temperature and nutrient concentrations that occur in different regions of the medium in an industrial bioreactor for fuel ethanol production mainly in tropical climates. Minimized cell death and continuous sugar utilization were observed at temperatures normally considered too high for Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentations.

Ativação local da rota da quinurenina por moduladores inflamatórios durante a meningite bacteriana.

Activation of the kynurenine (KYN) pathway (KP) by modulators of immune system has been observed during several neurological diseases. Here we assessed the association of chemo-/cytokine levels with the concentration of KP metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma samples from patients with bacterial meningitis (BM). All samples were collected from 42 patients diagnosed with acute bacterial meningitis (ABM), aseptic meningitis, tuberculous meningitis and patients without infection neurological disorders. CSF and plasma concentration of metabolites from the KP was assessed by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and cytokines and chemokines by Bio-plex 200 suspension array system. Concentrations of the KP metabolites KYN and kynurenic acid (KYNA) were significantly higher in CSF of patients with ABM compared to other groups. Tryptophan (TRP), anthranilic acid (AA), 3-hydroxykynurenine (3HK) and 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid (3HAA) did not show statistical significance, although some of them presented a good accumulation during ABM. The expression of TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-1beta, IFN-gamma, IL-10, IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta, MCP-1 and G-CSF was about 100-fold higher in CSF from ABM patients than other infected groups. In all CSF and plasma samples, the concentration of IL-2, IL-12(p70), IL-4, IL-8 and GM-CSF was not significant. ABM still showed significant concentrations of IL-6, IL-10, IL-1Ra and MCP-1 in plasma samples. Based on the comparison of KP metabolites concentrations between plasma and CSF samples we conclude that the activation of the tryptophan pathway upon BM occurs within the brain. This increase in KP metabolites is most due to activation of the KP by molecules as IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha in response to infection.

Efeitos de vocalizações de co-específicos e do escuro sobre o ritmo circadiano da atividade motora em sagüis (Callithrix jacchus)

The principal zeitgeber for most of species is the light-dark photocycle (LD), though other environment factors as food availability, temperature and social cues may act. Daily adjustment of the circadian pacemaker may result from integration of environmental photic and non-photic cues with homeostatic cues. Characterization of non-photic effects on circadian timing system in diurnal mammals is scarce in relation to nocturnal, especially for ecologically significant cues. Thus, we analyzed the effect of conspecific vocalizations and darkness on circadian activity rhythm (CAR) in the diurnal primate Callithirx jacchus. With this objective 7 male adults were isolated in a room with controlled illumination, temperature (26,8 ± 0,2°C) and humidity (81,6 ± 3,6%), and partial acoustic isolation. Initially they were under LD 12:12 (~300:2 lux), and subsequently under constant illumination (~2 lux). Two pulses of conspecific vocalizations were applied in total darkness, separated by 22 days, at 7:30 h (external time) during 1 h. They induced phase delays at circadian times (CTs) 1 and 10 and predominantly phase advances at CTs 9 and 15. After that, two dark pulses were applied, separated by 14 days, during 1 h at 7:30 h (external time). These pulses induced phase delays at CTs 2, 3 and 18, predominantly phase advances at CTs 8, 10 and 19, and no change at CT 14. However, marmosets CAR showed oscillations in endogenous period and active phase duration influenced by vocalizations from animals outside the experimental room, which interfered on the phase responses to pulses. Furthermore, social masking and relative coordination with colony were observed. Therefore, phase responses obtained in this work cannot be attributed only to pulses. Afterwards, pulses of conspecific vocalizations were applied in total darkness at 19:00 h (external time), during 1 h for 5 consecutive days, and after 21 days, for 30 consecutive days, on attempt to synchronize the CAR. No animal was synchronized by these daily pulses, although oscillations in endogenous period were observed for all. This result may be due to habituation. Other possibility is the absence of social significance of the vocalizations for the animals due to random reproduction, since each vocalization has a function that could be lost by a mixture of sounds. In conclusion, conspecific vocalizations induce social masking and relative coordination in marmosets CAR, acting as weak zeitgeber

Comportamento social e territorialidade alimentar na garça-azul, Egretta caerulea (L) = Feeding territoriality in the little blue heron, Egretta caerulea (L)

The use of habitat is an important part of a species biology. One resource of great importance for the survivor and reproduction of an individual is the food resource. Thus, the social interactions an animal has during the feeding activities are of extremely importance within its behavioral aspects, which represents the part of an organism trough which it interacts with the environment, adapting to changes and variations. Herons are known to form feeding aggregations of even more than thousands of individuals, in which social components of foraging have been identified and studied for several species. More profound studies of these aspects are yet to poor for the Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the social behavior (display postures, vocalizations and co-specific interactions) and the territoriality of the specie during the feeding period in an area of mud bank in the estuarine system of Cananéia, south coast of São Paulo state, Brazil. The defense of a fixed and exclusive area, closest to the mangrove, trough expulsion was observed; some thing that have not yet been registered with concrete data for the specie. Higher capture and success rates, and lower investment rates (steps/min and stabs/min) were registered for individuals foraging in areas corresponding to the defended territory. This could be one of possible reasons for the establishment of territories in the area. Four display postures were registered for the specie, two of then new in the literature, which are used in the interactions between individuals; one vocalization, that apparently is important in the social context of foraging for the specie and, possibly, has a function of advertising and proclaiming the dominance position of the territorial individual within the group. A territorial individual uses three behaviors, of the ones described: expulsion, vocalization and encounter (agonistic encounter between individuals, without physical aggression). Of these, the expulsion is apparently used in the actual defense, actively; while the other two behaviors are used in a more passive way, in the maintenance of the dominance position of the individual, helping it in the defense of its territory in a less direct manner. Therefore, with the results presented in here, new components of the social utilization of the feeding resource for the Little Blue Heron were identified, incorporating aspects of the territorial behavior for a future understanding of its possible adaptive significance. And it also reinforces the importance of the social interactions of herons foraging in great aggregations, in areas ecologically important

Transferência de alimento aos infantes de Callithrix jacchus em uma situação de escassez de recurso alimentar

The genus Callithrix, like other marmosets, presents a cooperative breeding system, characterized by the contribution of parents and non-breeding individuals of the social group in the care of infants. This care is provided through lactation, transport, supervision of infants and food transfers. In this study, we investigated the care of offspring in Callithrix jacchus through the food transfers in family groups under conditions of abundance and scarcity of food resources. We also attempted to verify the relationship between the participation of individuals in the transport of infants and in the food sharing. We observed four families at the Núcleo de Primatologia of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, in a total of seven infants, six twins and a single infant. Each infant was observed twice a week, from 1st to 20th week of life using the methods focal continuous and focal instantaneous sampling with one minute intervals. The observations were carried by 10 minutes and beginning with the supply of food for each family. Two families were tested under conditions of scarcity of food resources (experimental condition) and two others were subjected to conditions of abundant food, both conditions with restricted access to food supply. The condition of food scarcity did not influence the rate of food sharing with the infants that, in general, was considered low. All shares observed were passive sharings. Only one family showed higher levels of food begging, probably due to the loss of the mother during the period of lactation of her offspring. In this family, the dominant and subadult males were primarily responsible for the food sharing. The experimental condition influenced the distance of infants in relation to food source, so the infants in families that received abundant food remained closer to the source. However, it is believed that the place of food consumption was not influenced by experimental condition. There was no relationship between the participation of individuals in the transport and food sharing with their young. Therefore, it is suggested that, in general, the transfer of food in C. jacchus is characterized by tolerance to the demands of caregivers, represented by the passive sharing. Rates of sharing with infants were low, probably due to intra-group competition for food generated by the experiment.

Pole placement by coordinated tuning of Power System Stabilizers and FACTS-POD stabilizers

This work presents the application of the Decentralized Modal Control method for pole placement in multimachine power systems utilizing FACTS (Flexible AC Transmission Systems), STATCOM (Static Synchronous Compensator) and UPFC (Unified Power Flow Controller) devices. For this, these devices are equipped with supplementary damping controllers, denominated POD ( Power Oscillation Damping), achieving a coordinated project with local controllers (Power System Stabilizers - PSS). Comparative analysis on the function of damping of the FACTS, STATCOM and UPFC is performed using the New England System that has 10 generators, 39 buses and 46 transmission lines. (c) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Constructive Heuristic Algorithm for Distribution System Planning

A constructive heuristic algorithm (CHA) to solve distribution system planning (DSP) problem is presented. The DSP is a very complex mixed binary nonlinear programming problem. A CHA is aimed at obtaining an excellent quality solution for the DSP problem. However, a local improvement phase and a branching technique were implemented in the CHA to improve its solution. In each step of the CHA, a sensitivity index is used to add a circuit or a substation to the distribution system. This sensitivity index is obtained by solving the DSP problem considering the numbers of circuits and substations to be added as continuous variables (relaxed problem). The relaxed problem is a large and complex nonlinear programming and was solved through an efficient nonlinear optimization solver. Results of two tests systems and one real distribution system are presented in this paper in order to show the ability of the proposed algorithm.

Screening of Formulation Variables for the Preparation of Poly(epsilon-caprolactone) Nanocapsules Containing the Local Anesthetic Benzocaine

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

Política de transferência de renda e desenvolvimento local: o programa Bolsa família no município de Pedra Grande/RN

The Family Scolarship Program while public politics of intersectorial form developed by Social Development Department and Famine Combat having with partner the Education Department and Health Department inaugurate in the country a new integrity way of the public politics, reinforcing a precept of 2004 Social Protection National Politics (PNAS 2004) that places the social protection while allied to the social and human development. The research INCOME TRANSFER AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT: the family scolarship program in Pedra Grande-RN municipally had as aim to avaluate the permanent Family Scolarship Program as a possible element in local development of Pedra Grande-RN municipally understood as capacity expansion and improvement of life quality from its users. For this means we elaborate specifically the families` socio-economical profile; we avaluate the program repercussion in these families` lives; we analyse in which proportion occurred the capacity expansion and improvement of life quality of the users. The methodologic process was constituted by: literarture review about Income Transfer, Social Vulnerability, Development and Public Politics Avaluation to the criation of a theoric picture analysis. The documental research joined to the Social Development Department and Famine Combat of Pedra Grande Municipally Hall to obtain of the aims, program goals, and the profile of users. And finally, carrying out the interviews with the managers and experts of the Municipally Program and focal groups with the users to avaluate the permanent of the Program starting by the points of view of those ones. It was verified that the program expand the capacity (food, consumer goods and services, bank services access and wages) and improvement in life quality of the users. Nevertheless, there are deficiencies in coming with conditionality and from the use of resources the by families users

Em direção a uma representação para equações algébricas :uma lógica equacional local

The intervalar arithmetic well-known as arithmetic of Moore, doesn't possess the same properties of the real numbers, and for this reason, it is confronted with a problem of operative nature, when we want to solve intervalar equations as extension of real equations by the usual equality and of the intervalar arithmetic, for this not to possess the inverse addictive, as well as, the property of the distributivity of the multiplication for the sum doesn t be valid for any triplet of intervals. The lack of those properties disables the use of equacional logic, so much for the resolution of an intervalar equation using the same, as for a representation of a real equation, and still, for the algebraic verification of properties of a computational system, whose data are real numbers represented by intervals. However, with the notion of order of information and of approach on intervals, introduced by Acióly[6] in 1991, the idea of an intervalar equation appears to represent a real equation satisfactorily, since the terms of the intervalar equation carry the information about the solution of the real equation. In 1999, Santiago proposed the notion of simple equality and, later on, local equality for intervals [8] and [33]. Based on that idea, this dissertation extends Santiago's local groups for local algebras, following the idea of Σ-algebras according to (Hennessy[31], 1988) and (Santiago[7], 1995). One of the contributions of this dissertation, is the theorem 5.1.3.2 that it guarantees that, when deducing a local Σ-equation E t t in the proposed system SDedLoc(E), the interpretations of t and t' will be locally the same in any local Σ-algebra that satisfies the group of fixed equations local E, whenever t and t have meaning in A. This assures to a kind of safety between the local equacional logic and the local algebras

A reprodução do espaço da pequena produção rural familiar em Canguaretama/RN

This study aimed to explore the process of reproduction of space from the small family farm production in the municipality of Canguaretama, specifically focused on foodstuffs of plant origin, seeking to understand the changes in agrarian space canguaretamense and its impact on small family farms the last 35 years. Since colonization, during the seventeenth century, the production of space agrarian Canguaretama was founded under a structure based on large ownership and cultivation of cane sugar. Secondly, it was being built a small space reserved for food production to meet both the consumption of property, but also for local marketing. In the centuries following the changes in the capitalist system imposed a new dynamic for small food production, mostly in the early twentieth century, with processing plants and mills in the area extending toward the cultivation of sugarcane. In the second half of that century, mainly in the 1980s, the cultivation of cane sugar was encouraged to produce alcohol, which led to a further expansion of sugar cane toward the areas targeted for the production of foodstuffs. Currently, the framework of small food production differs little from the period of colonization in relation to the difficulties faced by this segment of agriculture. Thus, we have a reality based on socio-spatial inequality, and the near absence of the Government, which requires urgent implementation of public policies for the production and organization of small producers into associations or cooperatives to improve the productivity and hence in their standards of living and their families

Microbiological Evaluation of Chicken Carcasses in an Immersion Chilling System with Water Renewal at 8 and 16 Hours

Since 2004, Brazil has been the leading exporter of chicken. Because of the importance of this sector in the Brazilian economy, food safety must be ensured by control and monitoring of the production stages susceptible to contamination, such as the chilling process. The goal of this study was to evaluate changes in microbial levels on chicken carcasses and in chilling water after immersion in a chilling system for 8 and 16 h during commercial processing. An objective of the study was to encourage discussion regarding the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Food Supply regulation that requires chicken processors to completely empty, clean, and disinfect each tank of the chilling system after every 8-h shift. Before and after immersion carcasses were collected and analyzed for mesophilic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, conforms, and Escherichia coli. Samples of water from the chilling system were also analyzed for residual free chlorine. The results do not support required emptying of the chiller tank after 8 h; these tanks could be emptied after 16 h. The results for all carcasses tested at the 8- and 16-h time points indicated no significant differences in the microbiological indicators evaluated. These data provide both technical and scientific support for discussing changes in federal law regarding the management of immersion chilling water systems used as part of the poultry processing line.

Effect of genotype, finishing system, and sex on physiochemical characteristics of goat meat

Foram utilizados 78 cabritos de ambos os sexos e de cinco genótipos: raça Alpina, ½ Boer + ½ Alpina, ¾ Boer + ¼ Alpina, ½ Anglo-nubiana + ½ Alpina e tricross (½ Anglo-nubiana + ¼ Boer + ¼ Alpina), com peso médio inicial de 14,1 ± 2,5 kg. Objetivou-se avaliar os efeitos do genótipo, do sistema de terminação e do sexo sobre as características físico-químicas da carne. Os sistemas de terminação foram constituídos: ST1 - cabrito + mãe em pasto e ST2 - cabrito desmamado confinado. Os cabritos do ST1 foram mantidos em piquetes formados com Panicum maximum cv. Tanzânia e os do ST2 receberam dieta completa com 16% PB e 73% NDT. Os valores de pH, a* (teor de vermelho), Perda de Peso ao Cozimento (PPC) e porcentagem de Extrato Etéreo (EE) foram influenciados pelo genótipo. Os teores de vermelho (a*) e L* (luminosidade), PPC e porcentagens de umidade, proteína, EE e cinzas foram influenciados pelo sistema de terminação. O músculo longissimus dorsidos animais ½ BA apresentou as melhores características físico-químicas. Se a preferência do consumidor for por uma carne mais macia e com maior teor de gordura, as fêmeas são mais indicadas.

How well will Brazil's system of atlantic forest reserves maintain viable bird populations?

It is crucial for biodiversity conservation that protected areas are large and effective enough to support viable populations of their original species. We used a point count distance sampling method to estimate population sizes of a range of bird species in three Atlantic forest protected areas of size 5600, 22,500, and 46,050 ha. Population sizes were generally related to reserve area, although in the mid-sized reserve, there were many rare species reflecting a high degree of habitat heterogeneity. The proportions of forest species having estimated populations > 500 ranged from 55% of 210 species in the largest reserve to just 25% of 140 species in the smallest reserve. All forest species in the largest reserves had expected populations > 100, but in the small reserve, 28% (38 species) had populations < 100 individuals. Atlantic forest endemics were no more or less likely to have small populations than widespread species. There are 79 reserves (> 1000 ha) in the Atlantic forest lowlands. However, all but three reserves in the north of the region (Espirito Santo and states north) are smaller than 10,000 ha, and we predict serious levels of local extinction from these reserves. Habitat heterogeneity within reserves may promote species richness within them, but it may also be important in determining species loss over time by suppressing populations of individual species. We suggest that most reserves in the region are so small that homogeneity in the habitat/altitude within them is beneficial for maintenance of their (comparatively small) original species compliment. A lack of protection in the north, continued detrimental human activity inside reserves, and our poor knowledge of how well the reserve system protects individual taxa, are crucial considerations in biodiversity management in the region.