A trapaça é rara, mas é bem lembrada: o efeito da cor da pele e do gênero na memória de faces

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Delimitação dos grupamentos serotoninérgicos/núcleos da rafe do mocó (kerodon rupestris): citoarquitetura e imunoistoquímica para serotonina

Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a substance found in many tissues of the body, including as a neurotransmitter in the nervous system, in which may exert varied post-synaptic actions. Inside the neuro-axis, the location of 5-HT neurons is almost restricted to the raphe nuclei of the brainstem, such that 5-HT-immunoreactivity can be considered a marker of the raphe nuclei. The raphe nuclei are located in the brainstem, at or near the midline. The serotonergic groups were originally alphanumerically classified as B1 to B9 towards caudorrostral in rats and can be divided into upper and lower groups. In this study the distribution of serotonergic neurons was studied using immunohistochemistry in the brain of the rock cavy (Kerodon rupestris), a species of rodent endemic to Northeastern Brazil. The cytoarchitectonic location of serotonergic neurons was established in series of adjacent coronal and sagittal sections stained by the Nissl method and immunohistochemistry for 5-HT. Thus, we defined the raphe rostral linear, caudal linear, dorsal, median, and paramedian pontine raphe nuclei, and B9 cluster, constituting the rostral group, and the interpositus, magnus, obscure and palidus, constituting the caudal part of the group, comparable to which has been described for other mammalian species

Influência do ciclo estral no efeito do diazepam na ansiedade e memória de ratas

Memory and anxiety are related phenomena. Several evidences suggest that anxiety is fundamental for learnining and may facilitate or impair the memory formation process depending of the context. The majority of animal studies of anxiety and fear use only males as experimental subjects, while studies with females are rare in the literature. However, the prevalence in phobic and anxiety disorders is greater in women than in men. Moreover, it is known that gender maybe influence benzodiazepine effects, the classic drugs used for anxiety disorders treatment. In this respect, to further investigate if fear/anxiety aspects related to learning in female subjects would contribute to the study of phobic and anxiety disorders and their relationship with learning/memory processes, the present work investigates (a) the effects of benzodiazepine diazepam on female rats performance in a aversive memory task that assess concomitantly anxiety/emotionality, as the interaction between both; (b) the influence of estrous cycle phases of female rats on diazepam effects at aversive memory and anxiety/emotionality, and the interaction between both and (c) the role of hormonal fluctuations during estrous cycle phases in absence of diazepam effects in proestrus, because female rats in this phase received or not mifepristone, the antagonist of progesterone receptor, previously to the diazepam treatment. For this purpose, the plus maze discriminative avoidance task, previously validated for studies of anxiety concomitantly to learning/memory, was used. The apparatus employed is an adaptation of a conventional plus maze, with two opens arms and two closed arms, one of which presenting aversive stimulation (noise and light). The parameters used were: time in non-aversive arm compared to time in aversive and percentage of time in aversive arm on several temporal divisions, in order to evaluate memory; percentage of time in open arms, risk assessment, head dipping and end exploring to evaluate anxiety ; and distance traveled for locomotion. In experiment I, we found anxiolytic effect of diazepam only for 4 mg/kg dose, however the amnestic effect appear at a dose of 2 mg/kg. In second experiment, rats were divided in groups according estrous cycle phase (metaestrus/diestrus, proestrus e estrus). In this experiment, when we considered estrous cycle phase or diazepam treatment, the results did not demonstrate any differences in anxiety/emotionality parameters. The amnestic effects of diazepam occur in female rats in metestrus/diestrus and estrus and is absent in proestrous rats. Proestrous female rats that received mifepristone exhibited the amnestic effect of diazepam and also anxiolytic effects, that it was not previously observed in this dose. The results have demonstrated dissociation of anxiolytic and amnestic diazepam effects, not previously observed in males; the absence of amnestic effect of diazepam in proestrous phase; and the possible role of progesterone in aversive memory over diazepam effect, because the mifepristone, associated with diazepam, caused amnestic effect in proestrus

O papel das relações sociais e da atenção social durante tarefas cooperativas em Callithrix jacchus

Several studies on nonhuman primates show that the relationships between individuals strongly influence the expression of cooperative behavior, both in natural environment and in captivity settings. Recent studies suggest that cooperative breeders present outstanding performance in tasks involving social cognition, such as cooperative tasks with experimental apparatuses. In experimental research on this subject it is crucial to differentiate between real cooperation (or communicative cooperation, mediated by social attention) and by-product cooperation that results from simultaneous actions of individuals. The present study assessed, in Callithrix jacchus, a cooperative breeder species, if social relationships and social attention between subjects are important factors during performance in cooperative tasks. During the experimental procedure the animals participated in three different cooperative tasks: cooperation task, prosocial task and control task. Diverging from the literature, matrix correlation tests revealed no significant relationship between grooming or proximity and the execution of the tasks, suggesting that other factors such as age or hierarchy may have an effect on the performance in cooperative tasks in this species. There was also no relationship between the execution of the cooperative tasks and social glances, suggesting that there was no social attention during the tasks. Moreover, there were lower rates of social glances in the cooperative tasks as opposed to the control tasks. However, the small number of pulls in prosocial tasks suggests that the animals distinguished between tasks that benefited only a partner and tasks that generated benefits to themselves, choosing the latter. We conclude that, for the tasks presented in this study, we could neither detect the role of social relationships on the cooperative tasks nor assert that there were true cooperation and prosocial behavior

A percepção das características da face infantil por adultos e crianças sob uma perspectiva evolucionista

Child facial cues evoke attention, parental care behaviors and modulate for infant- caretaker interactions. Lorenz described the baby schema ( Kindchenschema ) as a set of infantile physical features such as the large head, round face, high and protruding forehead, big eyes, chubby cheeks, small nose and mouth. Previous work on this fundamental concept was restricted to positive perception to infant face, and did not show consistent results about the development individuals perceptions, regarding the physical attributes that worked as markers of cuteness. Here, we experimentally tested the effects of baby schema on the perception of cuteness of infant faces by children and adults. We used 60 none graphically manipulated photos of different stimulus children faces from 4 to 9 years old. In the first task for the adults experimental subjects, ten stimulus photos were shown, whereas for children experimental subjects, four stimulus photos were shown at a time, with a total of six rounds. The second task involved only adults, who indicated the motivation of affective behaviors and care directed to children through a Likert scale. Our results suggest that both participants judged similarly the cuteness of children's faces, and the physical features markers of this perception were observed only for younger stimulus children. Adults have attributed more motivations of positive behaviors to cuter stimulus children. The recognition of the baby schema by individuals of different ages and genders confers the universality and power of children's physical attributes. From the evolutionary perspective the responsiveness to baby schema is significant to ensure aloparental and parental investment, and the consequent children survival

Álcool e comportamento: efeitos na aprendizagem e memória

Excessive alcohol consumption is responsible for many harmful effects on individuals and society. Despite years of research, the mechanisms by which alcohol affects neurological functions and the exact causes of cognitive impairment related to long-term use are unknown. In this sense, this master study proposed to observe how different doses of alcohol affect the addiction response and the learning ability of two fish species: Betta splendens and Danio rerio, the latter a commonly model due to organizational and functional characteristics shared with mammals. For this, different concentrations of ethanol (0%, 0.1%, 0.25%, 1% and 1.5%) were used in acute, chronic and withdrawal treatments. We tested the fish in three experimental protocols: 1) alcohol addiction potential using conditioned place preference, 2) associative conditioning using light as unconditioned stimulus and food as conditioned stimulus and 3) spatial learning using a maze without cues. For the alcohol addiction potential, preference between two different places in a shuttle box was tested before and after alcohol exposure (chronic and acute). In this test, the animals intoxicated by 0.1% did not change behavior, while animals receiving 1% and 1.5% alcohol changed the initial preference to the side where they received alcohol For the associative conditioning, the results show that the groups undergoing low dose (0.1%), both in chronic and withdrawal treatment, learned the task faster than control; groups under 0.25 and 1% alcohol withdrawal learned the task after control; groups chronically intoxicated with these doses did not learn the task. For the spatial learning test, fish submitted to acute and chronic treatments decreased the time to exit the maze; there were significant differences in the animal s performance in a dose-dependent pattern. This difference was not observed for the withdrawal treatment. Given these results, we conclude that the effects of alcohol on learning are dependent on the dosage. Furthermore, low doses of alcohol seem to maximize animal performance on learning tasks and do not alter their seeking behavior, while higher doses induced addition and hinder learning

Mudanças endógenas e suprafisiológicas nos níveis de estrógeno: efeitos sobre a amnésia induzida pela escopolamina em ratas intactas

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Criar o próprio jogo didático ou apenas jogar? Efeitos de diferentes estratégias de ensino na motivação e aprendizado de ciências

The use of games as educational tools is common, however the effectiveness of games with educational purposes is still poorly known. In this study we evaluated three different low-cost teaching strategies make and play your own board game, just play an educational science game and make a poster to be exposed in the school regarding: (1) science learning; (2) use of deep learning strategies (DLS); and (3) intrinsic motivation. We tested the hypothesis that, in these three parameters evaluated, scores would be higher in the group that made and play their own game, followed respectively by the group that just played a game and the group that made a poster. The research involved 214 fifth-grade students from six elementary schools in Natal/RN. A group of students made and played their own science board game (N = 68), a second group played a science game (N = 75), and a third group made a poster to be exposed at school (N = 71). Our hypothesis was partly empirically supported, since there was no significant difference in science learning and in the use of DLS between the group that made their own game and the group that just played the game; however, both groups had significantly higher scores in science learning and in use of DLS than the group that made the poster. There was no significant difference in the scores of intrinsic motivation among the three experimental groups. Our results indicate that activities related to non-digital games can provide a favorable context for learning in the school environment. We conclude that the use of games for educational purposes (both making a game and just playing a game) is an efficient and viable alternative to teach science in Brazilian public school

Indicadores da resposta ao estresse agudo associados com a familiaridade ao ambiente e aos procedimentos de banho e tosa em cães (Canis familiaris) da raça poodle

The stress responses can be parameters used in order to identify the welfare of animals. Behavior parameters can also be regarded as means to identify their relation to stressing situations. In this study, adult male and female poodle dogs, accustomed (group 1) or not (group 2) to the environment of a bath and grooming salon were analyzed through the plasmatic concentration of cortisol, cell counting of the immune system (total leukocytes and percentage of neutrophils and lymphocytes) and through observation of changes in behavior before and after the bath and grooming service. After arriving at the kennel, the dogs were taken to the bath and grooming facility, where they had their blood samples taken and were observed for ten minutes. The subsequent procedures consisted of the bath and grooming services and the collection of another blood samples. The research results were analyzed through non-parametric statistic tests and p < 0.05. Accustomed and non-accustomed dogs presented different hormonal and behavior responses: accustomed dogs presented an increasing of the cortisol level at the second blood samples collection, thus indicating stress towards the aforementioned procedures and presenting behavior responses which can be described as moderated stress. Non-accustomed dogs presented the same cortisol levels in both first and second samples suggesting that they were already reacting to the new environment. Dogs also shown behavioral responses which can be described as acute stress. Both male and female dogs showed similar immunological changes as well as different endocrine and behavioral profiles. Concerning aggression, this study demonstrates that biting the owner can be a predicting behavior of aggression during the bath and grooming service, male dogs were more aggressive than the female, and that males were more reactive to unknown caretaker. The results of this research propose that the familiarization of the animal with the bath and grooming environment and caretaker is important to the welfare of poodle dogs, especially to that of male dogs

Estudos de validade da escala de dependência alcoólica do millon clinical multiaxial inventory iii para o Brasil

This study has as main objectives to translate and to adapt the MCMI-III to brazilian Portuguese, as well as investigate and analyze the involved modifications in the Alcohol Dependence Scale concerning to the results obtained on the validity and on the process of adaptation to Brazil. The inventory was translated and, posteriorly, applied on people with different reading levels to certify that the items are understandable to public in general, from diverse places of the country, divided into clinical and non-clinical groups. Were evaluated 2855 subjects between the ages of 18 and 85 years old, male and female, resident and dwellers of Brazilian cities. The application methods were face-to-face and computerized. Results showed that the clinical group presented significant differences between the means in comparison to the non-clinical group. Through the application of the General Health Questionnaire were developed studies related to the achievement of convergent validity and its results pointed to the relation between the instrument scores and the MCMI-III. The Alcohol Dependence Scale analysis indicated that people who reported abusive use of alcohol had highest scores, indicating adequacy of the instrument on identifying manifestation of disorders and syndromes. Nevertheless, further studies are necessary to the establishment of normative patterns to the Brazilian sample

Membranas de quitosana micro e macroporosas : preparo, caracterização e estudos de permeabilidade

Two methodologies were proposed to obtain micro and macroporous chitosan membranes, using two different porogenic agents. The methodologies proved to be effective in control the porosity as well as the pore size. Thus, microporous membranes were obtained through the physical blend of chitosan and polyethylene oxide (PEO) on an 80:20 (m/m) ratio, respectively, followed by the partial PEO solubilization in water at 80 ◦C. Macroporous chitosan membranes with asymmetric morphology were obtained using SiO2 as the porogenic agent. In this case, chiotsan-silica ratios used were 1:1, 1:3 and 1:5 (m/m). Membranes characterization were carried out by SEM (scanning electronic microscopy), X-ray diffraction, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermal analysis (TG, DTG , DSC and DMTA). Permeability studies were performed using two model drugs: sodium sulfamerazine and sulfametoxipyridazine. By transmission FTIR it was possible to confirm the complete removal of SiO2. The SEM images confirmed the porous formation for both micro and macroporous membranes and also determined their respective sizes. By thermal analysis it was possible to show differences related with water sorption capacity as well as thermal stability for both membranes. DTG and DSC allowed evidencing the PEO presence on microporous membranes. The absorbance x time curves obtained on permeability tests for micro and macroporous membranes showed a linear behavior for both drugs in all range of concentration used. It was also observed, through P versus C curves, an increase in permeability of macroporous membranes according to the increase in porosity and also a decrease on P with increase in drug concentration. The influences of the drug molecular structure, as well as test temperatures were also evaluated

Estudo da eficácia do tensoativo sorbitano tween 80 veiculado em nanoemulsão contendo óleo de soja, como inibidor de corrosão

Nowadays, the use of chemicals that satisfactorily meet the needs of different sectors of the chemical industry is linked to the consumption of biodegradable materials. In this context, this work contemplated biotechnological aspects with the objective of developing a more environmentally-friendly corrosion inhibitor. In order to achieve this goal, nanoemulsion-type systems (NE) were obtained by varying the amount of Tween 80 (9 to 85 ppm) a sortitan surfactant named polyoxyethylene (20) monooleate. This NE-system was analyzed using phase diagrams in which the percentage of the oil phase (commercial soybean oil, codenamed as OS) was kept constant. By changing the amount of Tween 80, several polar NE-OS derived systems (O/W-type nanoemulsion) were obtained and characterized through light scattering, conductivity and pH, and further subjected to electrochemical studies. The interfacial behavior of these NE-OS derived systems (codenamed NE-OS1, S2, S3, S4 and S5) as corrosion inhibitors on carbon steel AISI 1020 in saline media (NaCl 3.5%) were evaluated by measurement of Open Circuit Potential (OCP), Polarization Curves (Tafel extrapolation method) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). The analyzed NE-OS1 and NE-OS2 systems were found to be mixed inhibitors with quantitative efficacy (98.6% - 99.7%) for concentrations of Tween 80 ranging between 9 and 85 ppm. According to the EIS technique, maximum corrosion efficiency was observed for some tested NE-OS samples. Additionaly to the electrochemical studies, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used, characterization of the nanoemulsion tested systems and adsorption studies, respectively, which confirmed the results observed in the experimental analyses using diluted NE-OS samples in lower concentrations of Tween 80 (0.5 1.75 ppm)

Análise das dificuldades de aprendizagem numa disciplina de química orgânica do curso de química na modalidade à distância da UFRN

In today`s society the use of so-called information technology and communication (ICT), is promoting a revolution in the forms of teaching and learning through the methods of distance learning courses, especially in higher education. Studies show that students in this way have great difficulties in the learning process, especially when dealing with experimental subjects that require high power of abstraction as chemistry. The goal of this work is to promote improvement in the teaching and learning in the discipline Chemistry of Life offered for the Bachelor`s Degree in Chemistry in distance UFRN. For this we analyzed evidence of the semester 2011.2, in order to identify what are the main difficulties of the students on the assessments. That`s why video lessons related to matters that create the majority of difficulties for students were developed, the final product this work. Being obtained the improvements by video classes in the learning process of the students, from a questionnaire answered by the students in the virtual learning environment, and from their success rate at the end of the course

A energia e suas implicações no ensino-aprendizagem da química

The area of Education in Chemistry in Brazil has appeared over 30 years and its growth has been accelerated by the need of comprehension of the processes of teaching and learning in chemistry. Many researches, in this area, has among its investigation objects the teaching tools like teaching materials and the learning processes of students in high school and basic education, but when dealing with higher levels of education, they are seldom portrayed. This study aimed to investigate the General Chemistry textbooks with respect to approach the concept of energy; know the main ideas of graduate students in Chemistry on the relation of the concept of energy and chemical transformations; finally, developing a cicle of studies with the proposition of an approach wich inter-relate the concept of energy and its implications in the teaching-learning process of a chemical transformation. To do so, we used as instruments a questionnaire, press conference, conceptual map and experimental activities. All activities of the study cicle were videotaped and recorded, transcribed and the results organized in tables. For the activities of the study cicle texts that have been developed and inter-relating concepts of chemistry and energy, which in turn gave theoretical support to the activities in the cycle. In the analysis it was used as a theoretical content the analysis of Laurence Bardin. The results revealed that the analysis of the book might be perceived that not always the concept of energy is used in order to generate the abstract thought of chemical transformations, but that the main macroscopic thermodynamic variables are present in the explanation of these transformations. During the study cicle, were studied two chemical reactions: the first one, made possible to approach the macroscopic dimension to quantify the concept of energy and the second one, made possible to demonstrate the macro and microscopic dimension of the concept of energy during a chemical transformation. In all reactions proposed, students used, in most of the times, as explanations, only macroscopic observations of the reactions under study and failed to realize that the concept of energy can be used to explain macro and microscopic chemical transformation. As a final action of the study cicle, students requested further discussion, to clarify the link between the concept of energy and the meanings constructed in the process of studying the reactions. This is done through an oral explanation, during the cycle, and registered in this thesis and attempts to show the interrelationship existing conceptual

Avaliação da poatencialidade da perlita natural e expandida na adsorção de metais

The contamination by metal ions has been occurring for decades through the introduction of liquid effluent not treated, mainly from industrial activities, rivers and lakes, affecting water quality. For that the effluent can be disposed in water bodies, environmental standards require that they be adequately addressed, so that the concentration of metals does not exceed the limits of standard conditions of release in the receptor. Several methods for wastewater treatment have been reported in the literature, but many of them are high cost and low efficiency. The adsorption process has been used as effective for removal of metal ions. This paper presents studies to evaluate the potential of perlite as an adsorbent for removing metals in model solution. Perlite, in its natural form (NP) and expanded (EP), was characterized by X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, surface area analysis using nitrogen adsorption (BET method), scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The physical characteristic and chemical composition of the material presented were appropriate for the study of adsorption. Adsorption experiments by the method of finite bath for model solutions of metal ions Cr3+, Cu2+, Mn2+ and Ni2+ were carried out in order to study the effect of pH, mass of the adsorbent and the contact time on removal of ions in solution. The results showed that perlite has good adsorption capacity. The NP has higher adsorption capacity (mg g-1) than the EP. According to the values of the constant of Langmuir qm (mg g-1), the maximum capacity of the monolayer was obtained and in terms of proportion of mass, we found the following order experimental adsorption: Cr3+ (2.194 mg g- 1) > Ni2+ (0.585 mg g-1) > Mn2+ (0.515 mg g-1) > Cu2+ (0.513 mg g-1) and Cr3+ (1.934 mg g-1)> Ni2+ (0.514 mg g-1) > Cu2+ (0.421 mg g-1) > Mn2+ (0.364 mg g-1) on the NP and EP, respectively. The experimental data were best fitted the Langmuir model compared to Freundlich for Cu2+, Mn2+ and Ni2+. However, for the Cr3+, both models fit the experimental data