Evaluation of Glycemic and Lipid Profile of Offspring of Diabetic Wistar Rats Treated with Malpighia emarginata Juice

Knowing that maternal diabetes is related to hyperglycemia and fetal hyperinsulinemia, which affect the lipid metabolism, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Malpighia emarginata (acerola) juice on the glycemic and lipid profile of offspring of diabetic and nondiabetic Wistar rats. The adult offspring of non-diabetic dams and of dams with severe streptozotocin-induced diabetes were divided into groups: G1, offspring (of control dams) treated with water, G2, offspring (of diabetic dams) treated with water, G3, male offspring (of control dams) treated with acerola juice, and G4, male offspring (of diabetic dams) treated with acerola juice. The offspring of diabetic dams treated with acerola juice showed significantly decreased levels of glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, and increased HDL-c. The use of acerola juice is a potential strategy to aid in the prevention of DM and dyslipidemia and its complications or to act as an auxiliary in the treatment of these diseases.

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.

Ultrasonographic evaluation of the conceptus from days 10 to 60 of pregnancy in jennies

Daily ultrasound examinations were conducted from Days 10 to 60 (ovulation = Day 0) of pregnancy to monitor the conceptus in jennies (n = 12). The embryonic vesicle was first detected on Day 11.5 +/- 0.9 (mean +/- SD; range 10 to 13d) and was mobile until movement ceased (fixation) on Day 15.5 +/- 1.4 (range, 13 to 18d). The vesicle was spherical from Days 10 to 18 (mean growth rate, 3.2 mm/d), non spherical (irregular) with a reduced growth rate (0.5 mm/d) from Days 19 to 29, and then grew at a moderate rate (1.6 mm/d) up to Day 46. on average, detection of the embryo proper (consistently located on the ventral aspect of the yolk sac) and embryonic heartbeat were Days 20.7 +/- 1.2 and 23.5 +/- 1.3, respectively. Formation of the allantoic sac was first detected on Day 24.4 +/- 1.7 and was complete on Day 36.8 +/- 1.6. Descent of the fetus (and formation of the umbilical cord) began on Day 37.9 +/- 1.7 and was complete on Day 44.1 +/- 2.1. Crown-ramp length averaged 3.7, 15.4, 22.7, 37.5 and 59.6 mm on Days 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60, respectively. In general, morphologic features and dates of occurrence were similar to those reported previously in the mare. (C) 1998 by Elsevier B.V.

In vivo effect of photodynamic therapy on periodontal bone loss in dental furcations

Background: The purpose of this study was to histometrically evaluate the influence of photodynamic therapy on bone loss in furcation areas in rats with experimentally induced periodontal disease.Methods: Ligatures were placed on the first mandibular molar in rats. Then the animals were divided into four groups: control group = no treatment; methylene blue group (MB) = treated topically with methylene blue (100 mu g/ml); laser group (LLLT) = treated with low-level laser therapy; and photodynamic therapy group (PDT) = treated topically with MB followed by LLLT (4.5 J/cm(2)). Rats from all groups were sacrificed at 7, 15, or 30 days postoperatively. The area of bone loss in the furcation region of the first molar was histometrically analyzed. Data were analyzed statistically (analysis of variance and Bonferroni tests; P<0.05).Results: The PDT group demonstrated less bone loss compared to the other groups at 7 days (1.986 +/- 0.417 mm(2)); at 15 days, the PDT (1.641 +/- 0.115 mm(2)) and MB groups (1.991 +/- 0.294 mm(2)) demonstrated less bone loss compared to the control (4.062 +/- 0.416 mm(2)) and LLLT (2.641 +/- 0.849 mm(2)) groups.Conclusion: Within the parameters used in this study, PDT may be an effective alternative for control of bone loss in furcation areas in periodontitis.

Occurrence of yeasts, pseudomonads and enteric bacteria in the oral cavity of patients undergoing head and neck radiotherapy

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

Microbiota associated with chronic osteomyelitis of the jaws

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

Identification of continuous interaction sites in PLA(2)-based protein complexes by peptide arrays

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Identification of human chromosome 22 transcribed sequences with ORF expressed sequence tags

Transcribed sequences in the human genome can be identified with confidence only by alignment with sequences derived from cDNAs synthesized from naturally occurring mRNAs. We constructed a set of 250,000 cDNAs that represent partial expressed gene sequences and that are biased toward the central coding regions of the resulting transcripts. They are termed ORF expressed sequence tags (ORESTES). The 250,000 ORESTEs were assembled into 81,429 contigs. of these, 1,181 (1.45%) were found to match sequences in chromosome 22 with at least one ORESTES contig for 162 (65.6%) of the 247 known genes, for 67 (44.6%) of the 150 related genes, and for 45 of the 148 (30.4%) EST-predicted genes on this chromosome. Using a set of stringent criteria to validate our sequences, we identified a further 219 previously unannotated transcribed sequences on chromosome 22. of these, 171 were in fact also defined by EST or full length cDNA sequences available in GenBank but not utilized in the initial annotation of the first human chromosome sequence. Thus despite representing less than 15% of all expressed human sequences in the public databases at the time of the present analysis, ORESTEs sequences defined 48 transcribed sequences on chromosome 22 not defined by other sequences. All of the transcribed sequences defined by ORESTEs coincided with DNA regions predicted as encoding exons by GENSCAN.

Analysis of plant LTR-retrotransposons at the fine-scale family level reveals individual molecular patterns

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

Studies on the electrochemical disinfection of water containing Escherichia coli using a Dimensionally Stable Anode

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

The influence of landscape characteristics and home-range size on the quantification of landscape-genetics relationships

A common approach used to estimate landscape resistance involves comparing correlations of ecological and genetic distances calculated among individuals of a species. However, the location of sampled individuals may contain some degree of spatial uncertainty due to the natural variation of animals moving through their home range or measurement error in plant or animal locations. In this study, we evaluate the ways that spatial uncertainty, landscape characteristics, and genetic stochasticity interact to influence the strength and variability of conclusions about landscape-genetics relationships. We used a neutral landscape model to generate 45 landscapes composed of habitat and non-habitat, varying in percent habitat, aggregation, and structural connectivity (patch cohesion). We created true and alternate locations for 500 individuals, calculated ecological distances (least-cost paths), and simulated genetic distances among individuals. We compared correlations between ecological distances for true and alternate locations. We then simulated genotypes at 15 neutral loci and investigated whether the same influences could be detected in simple Mantel tests and while controlling for the effects of isolation-by distance using the partial Mantel test. Spatial uncertainty interacted with the percentage of habitat in the landscape, but led to only small reductions in correlations. Furthermore, the strongest correlations occurred with low percent habitat, high aggregation, and low to intermediate levels of cohesion. Overall genetic stochasticity was relatively low and was influenced by landscape characteristics.

The first electronic polytomous key to the world species of the subgenus Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) de Leon (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

This paper describes the first polytomous computerised identification key within the family Phytoseiidae. It applies to the females of the world species of the subgenus Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) de Leon. This group is one of the largest within the family Phytoseiidae and the sub-family Typhlodrominae, with nearly 350 species currently recognised worldwide. No identification tool of these species exists at the world level, which makes their identification very difficult and unsecure. Thirty five characters were used to characterise each of the 343 species. Among these characters, 14 are discrete and 21 are continuous. The polytomous key was constructed using the free software DELTA 1.04 (DEscription Language for TAxonomy) and is freely available at the web site: http://www1.montpellier.inra.fr/CBGP/phytoseiidae/anthoseiuskeypresentation.html. We hope that this work will open new perspectives for the identification of species of other genera (especially the largest ones, e.g. Neoseiulus, Euseius, Amblyseius) which contains more than 150 species and for which no key presently exists. We also expect that the present work will make the identification of the world species of Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) easier and more secure. Finally, we expect a contribution from the whole Phytoseiidae scientist community to improve subsequent versions of the key.

Emerging infectious diseases in cetaceans worldwide and the possible role of environmental stressors

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

Copia Retrotransposon in the Zaprionus Genus: Another Case of Transposable Element Sharing with the Drosophila melanogaster Subgroup

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Multiple invasions of Gypsy and Micropia retroelements in genus Zaprionus and melanogaster subgroup of the genus Drosophila

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)