Synthetic Evaluation Project - Nematodes

The project tests synthetic hexaploid wheats for resistance to root-lesion nematodes.

Avaliação sazonal do grau de trofia em reservatórios do complexo hidrelétrico de Ribeirão das Lajes (Rio de Janeiro)

Com a demanda por energia elétrica nos dias atuais e a grande quantidade de bacias hidrográficas presentes no Brasil, a geração de energia hidrelétrica se tornou a principal forma de suprimento. Dentre as diversas mudanças ocorridas em represamento de rios, a redução na vazão da água influencia no acúmulo de nutrientes afetando diretamente na qualidade da água, podendo acarretar em um processo denominado eutrofização, caracterizado pelo aumento na quantidade de nutrientes em um sistema e contribuindo para o desenvolvimento de produtores primários (fitoplâncton e macrófitas aquáticas) em níveis acima do crescimento natural. Para identificar o estado de trofia dos reservatórios pertencentes ao Complexo Hidrelétrico de Ribeirão das Lajes (RJ) foi utilizada a metodologia de Lu e Lo (2002) de avaliação trófica fuzzy (ou difusa) sintética e não sintética, além da avaliação trófica através do índice de estado trófico de Carlson (1977). As classes de estado trófico utilizadas na metodologia é da OECD (1982) e utiliza transparência, concentrações de fósforo total e de clorofila-a como variáveis. Outras variáveis limnológicas como temperatura, oxigênio dissolvido, condutividade elétrica, turbidez, pH e sólidos dissolvidos totais foram utilizadas para caracterização dos reservatórios. As coletas foram realizadas em três momentos, no período seco de 2011, no período chuvoso de 2012 e no período seco de 2012. As análises fuzzy não sintéticas apontaram os reservatórios de Santana, Vigário e Ponte Coberta como oligotrófico/eutrófico durante o período de estudo. O reservatório de Ribeirão das Lajes foi classificado como oligotrófico nos períodos secos no ano de 2011 e 2012, e como mesotrófico no período chuvoso de 2012, assim como o reservatório de Tocos. Foram observadas diferenças significativas entre o período seco e o chuvoso em relação às concentrações de clorofila-a, transparência e turbidez, demonstrando influência sazonal no grau de trofia dos reservatórios, uma vez que clorofila-a e transparência são variáveis utilizadas em índices de estado trófico

岷江干旱河谷典型阳坡土壤质量动态与评估

横断山区干旱河谷地区的土壤是制约植被恢复的一个关键要素，但干旱条件下土壤质量与动态演变状况并不清楚，本研究以岷江干旱河谷核心地段的土壤为对象，研究了阳坡褐土土壤的物理、化学以及生物学特征在海拔梯度（1800m、2000m、2200m）格局及其时间动态（2005-2007）变化，应用主成分分析综合评价了土壤质量及其时空差异性，明确了土壤质量的变化趋势。主要研究结论如下： 1) 海拔梯度上土壤物理性状的变化，2005 年和2007 年土壤物理性状综合质量随着海拔的升高均得到了优化，即海拔2200 m＞海拔2000 m＞海拔1800 m。 2) 海拔梯度上土壤化学性质的变化，土壤化学综合性质2005 年随海拔升高而趋于变得更优，而2007 年海拔2000 m 最优，海拔1800 m 则最差。 3) 海拔梯度上土壤生物学性质的变化，2005 年土壤生物学性质随海拔升高表现出趋于更好，2007 年海拔2000 m 最优而海拔1800 m 地段最差。 4) 从土壤物理、化学、生物学三方面出发，应用主成分分析，分别分析得出2005 年和2007 年不同海拔高度的土壤质量综合得分。根据综合得分得出土壤质量综合评价的排列顺序为：2005 海拔2200 m＞2007 年海拔2000 m＞2005 年海拔2000 m＞2007 年海拔1800 m＞2007 海拔2200 m＞2005 年海拔1800 m。2005年土壤综合质量随海拔升高而趋好，2007 年则以海拔2000 m 最优，海拔1800 m和2200 m 差异不大。 5）排除人为干扰后，干旱河谷土壤物理性状在海拔1800 m 略有恢复，海拔2000 m 变化不明显，而海拔2200 m 仍有退化趋势；土壤化学性质在海拔1800 m和2000 m 地段得到恢复，而海拔2200 m 处仍有退化；土壤生物学性质在海拔2000 m 地段呈恢复趋势，而1800 m 和2200 m 仍处于退化状态。综合质量分析表明，与2005 年相比，2007 年海拔1800 m 和2000 m 地段土壤质量趋于变优而海拔2200 m 地段仍有退化迹象。 Soil is a key factor that affect the restoration of vegetation in the Hengduan Mountains dry valley area. But the dynamics and quality of soil is not knowed in dry area. In this study, soil physiochemical and biological characteristics ranging from 1800~2200m above sea level from a typical south-facing slope at the Minjiang River dry valley area had been studied, and characteristics of changes in soil quality along altitudinal gradients and time scales were also discussed. The principal component analysis was used to assess the soil quality. The main results were as follows: 1) Changes in soil physical properties along altitudes. Soil physical properties obtained the optimization along with the elevation in 2005 and 2007. 2) Changes in soil chemical properties. It was summarized that soil chemical properties increased with elevation in 2005, but the soil of 2000 m was the best in 2007. 3) Changes in soil biological characteristics. Soil biological properties increased with elevation in 2005, but the soil of 2000 m was the best and 1800 m was the worst in 2007. 4) Change tendency of soil quality. With the soil physics, chemistry and biology characteristics, we analysised the change tendency of soil quality in altitudes. The result indicated that soil quality increased with altituded in 2005, and soil quality of 2000 m was the best in 2007. 5) In brief, the soil quality is by physics, chemistry as well as the biology synthesizes the influence the final outcome. And the soil quality's change was manifested by soil physics, chemistry and the biology characteristics. All the results indicated soil quality still degenerated at 2200 m in in the dry valley of Minjiang River. And soil quality of 1800 m and 2000 m resumed slight.

电视广告作品评价的消费行为学研究

The quality of advertising copy is an important component of advertising service. An advertising system with only copy design and production but without evaluation is imperfect. Establishing an evaluation system of television advertising copy is the principal purpose of the present work. In terms of consumer behavior, the work focused on consumers' evaluation-in-general of T commercials. The research consisted of three subprograms. The first subprogrom was associated with the basic factors in the evaluation of television advertising copy. The second one was related to the relative importance of those basic factors. The last one was related to the way in which the consumers' synthetic evaluation of copy under multidimensions. These subprogram composed the evaluation system of television advertising copy. In the study of the first subprogram, by the use of a variaty of "multistage evaluation scale", a survey into consumers' evaluation-in-general of television ads was made, which obtained five factors, namely, credibility, attractiveness, suitability, cognition and affect impact, through factor analysis (Cum.Pct. = 56.2%, α = 0.84). The study of second subprogram acquired their relative weights by a popular method of weight in the area of decision analysis, the result was as followings: credibility-0.27, attractiveness-0.24, suitability-0.18, affect impact-0.16, cognition-0.15; and fanally, under the condition of quasi-experiment, the third studyestablished a mathematical model of the synthetic evaluation of television ad copy, which was expressed as O = ΣF * W, through a "synthetical" method of multidimensional decision making.

CIMMYT-selected derived synthetic bread wheats for rainfed environments: Yield evaluation in Mexico and Australia.

Synthetic backcrossed-derived bread wheats (SBWs) from CIMMYT were grown in the Northwest of Mexico at Centro de Investigaciones Agrícolas del Noroeste (CIANO) and sites across Australia during three seasons. During three consecutive years Australia received “shipments” of different SBWs from CIMMYT for evaluation. A different set of lines was evaluated each season, as new materials became available from the CIMMYT crop enhancement program. These consisted of approximately 100 advanced lines (F7) per year. SBWs had been top and backcrossed to CIMMYT cultivars in the first two shipments and to Australian wheat cultivars in the third one. At CIANO, the SBWs were trialled under receding soil moisture conditions. We evaluated both the performance of each line across all environments and the genotype-by-environment interaction using an analysis that fits a multiplicative mixed model, adjusted for spatial field trends. Data were organised in three groups of multienvironment trials (MET) containing germplasm from shipment 1 (METShip1), 2 (METShip2), and 3 (METShip3), respectively. Large components of variance for the genotype × environment interaction were found for each MET analysis, due to the diversity of environments included and the limited replication over years (only in METShip2, lines were tested over 2 years). The average percentage of genetic variance explained by the factor analytic models with two factors was 50.3% for METShip1, 46.7% for METShip2, and 48.7% for METShip3. Yield comparison focused only on lines that were present in all locations within a METShip, or “core” SBWs. A number of core SBWs, crossed to both Australian and CIMMYT backgrounds, outperformed the local benchmark checks at sites from the northern end of the Australian wheat belt, with reduced success at more southern locations. In general, lines that succeeded in the north were different from those in the south. The moderate positive genetic correlation between CIANO and locations in the northern wheat growing region likely reflects similarities in average temperature during flowering, high evaporative demand, and a short flowering interval. We are currently studying attributes of this germplasm that may contribute to adaptation, with the aim of improving the selection process in both Mexico and Australia.

Synthesis and evaluation of a thiourea-modified chitosan derivative applied for adsorption of Hg(II) from synthetic wastewater

In this work, a thiourea-modified chitosan derivative (TMCD) was synthesized through two steps, O-carboxymethylated first and then modified by a polymeric Schiff's base of thiourea/glutaraldehyde. The adsorption behavior of mercury (II) ions onto TMCD was investigated through batch method. The maximum adsorption capacity for Hg(II) was found to be 6.29 mmol/g at pH 5.0 and both kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of the adsorption process were obtained. The results indicated that adsorption process was spontaneous exothermic reaction and kinetically followed pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption experiments also demonstrated TMCD had high adsorption selectivity towards Hg(II) ions when coexisted with Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II) and Ca(II) in solution and it could be easily regenerated and efficiently reused. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Are light traps baited with kairomones effective in the capture of Lutzomyia longipalpis and Lutzomyia intermedia? An evaluation of synthetic human odor as an attractant for phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Dispersed hydroxyapatite bioglass 45S5 composites: Comparative evaluation of the use of bovine bone and synthetic hydroxyapatite

The bovine bone and sintetic hydroxyapatite (HA) bioceramics are reference materials to employment as a bone substitute, however, their slow rate of degradation and its low rate of bioactivity index (Ib) are presented as limiting factors for application as bone graft. In contrast, the bioglass is a resorbable and osteoinductive material. the present work objective the development of composites of dispersed bovine bone or sintetic HA in silicate-phosphate bioglass, seeking to obtain a biomaterial with properties suitable for application as bone grafts. The composites were prepared by mixing between the powder components followed by sintering for 1h. Were used HA and bioglass (45S5) with particle size <240μm. The tested proportions of HA/45S5 were 20/80, 30/70 and 40/60 (wt%). The composites characterization was made employing scanning electron microscopy, Infra-Red Spectrometry and hydrolytic resistance test. The test results indicate the potential use of the materials developed for applications such as bone graft. © (2012) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.

Performance evaluation of multi-stage filtration with use of granular activated carbon and synthetic non-woven fabrics

The multi stage filtration (MSF) is an alternative that permits to enlarge the spectrum of application of the slow sand filtration as for the effluent quality and run duration. In this research the use of MSF technology associated to a granular activated carbon (GAC) column as polishing mechanism of the final effluent was evaluated; in the slow sand filters GAC was used as an intermediate layer and non-woven synthetic fabrics were utilized as a first layer of the filter media. Five different tests were conducted, where the systems subjected to the treatment were: water from the Ipe Lake (Ilha Solteira, Sao Paulo, Brazil); water from the lake with water from a recreational fish pond; water from the lake with a phytoplankton and cyanobacteria overload simulation, with and without the use of the pre-filters as a stage of the treatment. The synthetic fabrics and GAC use resulted in the best turbidity removal and an efficient apparent and true color removal; in spite that the polishing columns reported similar results for those parameters. The utilization of GAC as an intermediate layer contributed to a better organic matter removal and the fabrics improved chlorophyll-a removal. The pre-filtration columns made an efficient algae and cyanobacteria removal, a function that was completed by the filters and reached >98% efficiency. The synthetic non-woven fabrics and GAC inclusion in MSF operation improved performance of this technology with ease of application and operation.

New Synthetic Polyamines as Multi-Target-Directed Ligands for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease and Cancer: Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cancer represent two of the main causes of death worldwide. They are complex multifactorial diseases and several biochemical targets have been recognized to play a fundamental role in their development. Basing on their complex nature, a promising therapeutical approach could be represented by the so-called "Multi-Target-Directed Ligand" approach. This new strategy is based on the assumption that a single molecule could hit several targets responsible for the onset and/or progression of the pathology. In particular in AD, most currently prescribed drugs aim to increase the level of acetylcholine in the brain by inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). However, clinical experience shows that AChE inhibition is a palliative treatment, and the simple modulation of a single target does not address AD aetiology. Research into newer and more potent anti-AD agents is thus focused on compounds whose properties go beyond AChE inhibition (such as inhibition of the enzyme β-secretase and inhibition of the aggregation of beta-amyloid). Therefore, the MTDL strategy seems a more appropriate approach for addressing the complexity of AD and may provide new drugs for tackling its multifactorial nature. In this thesis, it is described the design of new MTDLs able to tackle the multifactorial nature of AD. Such new MTDLs designed are less flexible analogues of Caproctamine, one of the first MTDL owing biological properties useful for the AD treatment. These new compounds are able to inhibit the enzymes AChE, beta-secretase and to inhibit both AChE-induced and self-induced beta-amyloid aggregation. In particular, the most potent compound of the series is able to inhibit AChE in subnanomolar range, to inhibit β-secretase in micromolar concentration and to inhibit both AChE-induced and self-induced beta-amyloid aggregation in micromolar concentration. Cancer, as AD, is a very complex pathology and many different therapeutical approaches are currently use for the treatment of such pathology. However, due to its multifactorial nature the MTDL approach could be, in principle, apply also to this pathology. Aim of this thesis has been the development of new molecules owing different structural motifs able to simultaneously interact with some of the multitude of targets responsible for the pathology. The designed compounds displayed cytotoxic activity in different cancer cell lines. In particular, the most potent compounds of the series have been further evaluated and they were able to bind DNA resulting 100-fold more potent than the reference compound Mitonafide. Furthermore, these compounds were able to trigger apoptosis through caspases activation and to inhibit PIN1 (preliminary result). This last protein is a very promising target because it is overexpressed in many human cancers, it functions as critical catalyst for multiple oncogenic pathways and in several cancer cell lines depletion of PIN1 determines arrest of mitosis followed by apoptosis induction. In conclusion, this study may represent a promising starting pint for the development of new MTDLs hopefully useful for cancer and AD treatment.

A DERMATOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF SYNTHETIC PYRETHROID INSECTICIDES (PARESTHESIA, FENVALERATE, PERMETHRIN)

In this investigation, differences in parasthesia were detected by human participants between synthetic pyrethroids with a cyano group in the (S)-configuration of the 3-phenoxybenzyl alcohol of their molecular structure (fenvalerate) and those that do not (permethrin). A strong relationship was noted between insecticidal potency and degree of induced cutaneous sensation for the alpha-cyano and non-cyano pyrethroids, with a prominent difference between the two. A linear correlation between concentration and degree of induced dysesthesia was observed for both pyrethroids. Regressing the cutaneous sensation on the common logarithm of concentration resulted in a regression equation of Y = 84.0 + 31.0X(,1) for fenvalerate and Y = 27.5 + 15.8X(,1) for permethrin. An evaluation for dermal cytotoxicity in albino rabbits yielded a slight increase in cutaneous perfusion as indicated both visually and by laser Doppler velocimetry. However, no significant difference was detected in edema or thermal variation. Histopathological alterations were minimal after repeated daily applications with the majority of changes involving acanthosis. A highly efficacious therapeutic agent for pyrethroid exposure was noted to be dl-alpha tocopherol acetate. An impressive degree of inhibition of parasthesia resulted from the topical application of vitamin E acetate, with a therapeutic index of almost 100%. ^

The design, computer modeling, solution structure, and biological evaluation of synthetic analogs of bryostatin 1

The bryostatins are a unique family of emerging cancer chemotherapeutic candidates isolated from marine bryozoa. Although the biochemical basis for their therapeutic activity is not known, these macrolactones exhibit high affinities for protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes, compete for the phorbol ester binding site on PKC, and stimulate kinase activity in vitro and in vivo. Unlike the phorbol esters, they are not first-stage tumor promoters. The design, computer modeling, NMR solution structure, PKC binding, and functional assays of a unique class of synthetic bryostatin analogs are described. These analogs (7b, 7c, and 8) retain the putative recognition domain of the bryostatins but are simplified through deletions and modifications in the C4-C14 spacer domain. Computer modeling of an analog prototype (7a) indicates that it exists preferentially in two distinct conformational classes, one in close agreement with the crystal structure of bryostatin 1. The solution structure of synthetic analog 7c was determined by NMR spectroscopy and found to be very similar to the previously reported structures of bryostatins 1 and 10. Analogs 7b, 7c, and 8 bound strongly to PKC isozymes with Ki = 297, 3.4, and 8.3 nM, respectively. Control 7d, like the corresponding bryostatin derivative, exhibited weak PKC affinity, as did the derivative, 9, lacking the spacer domain. Like bryostatin, acetal 7c exhibited significant levels of in vitro growth inhibitory activity (1.8–170 ng/ml) against several human cancer cell lines, providing an important step toward the development of simplified, synthetically accessible analogs of the bryostatins.