Preferências alimentares de insetos por espécies de Piperaceae, observadas na cidade de São Paulo, Brasil

Piperaceae species have been placed among the basal angiosperm and are adapted to a variety of habitats including moist forests, secondary vegetation and dry high lands. The major anatomical/morphology features are of small trees, vines, and shrubs for Piper species, while the epiphytic and succulent characteristics are predominant forms among Peperomia species. Their secondary chemistry can be mostly represented by amides, phenylpropanoids/lignoids, and chromenes in addition to a phletoria of biosynthetically mixed-origin secondary compounds. Although several amides and lignans are known as insecticides, several phytophagous insects, among which some considered pests of economic importance, have been observed feeding vigorously on Piperaceae species. Herein we describe the feeding preferences of fourteen phytophagous species of Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Hemiptera over approximately fifty Piperaceae species observed in São Paulo, SP, Brazil, in a long-term basis.As espécies de Piperaceae têm sido posicionadas entre as angiospermas basais e são frequentemente encontradas em habitats diversificados que incluem matas ciliares, vegetação secundária e campos rupestres. As espécies de Piper possuem hábitos de plantas herbáceas, arboretos e trepadeiras enquanto que, no caso de Peperomia, é freqüente o hábito de epífitas e suculentas. As classes de metabólitos secundários que caracterizam espécies de Piperaceae são amidas, fenilpropanóides/lignóides e cromenos, além de diversos outros de origem biossintética mista de menor representatividade. Apesar de muitos desses possuírem atividades inseticidas, diversos insetos fitófagos, alguns considerados pragas de importância econômica, foram observados alimentando-se de espécies de Piperaceae. Neste trabalho são relatadas as preferências alimentares de quatorze espécies fitófagas de Coleoptera, Lepidoptera e Hemiptera sobre aproximadamente cinqüenta espécies de Piperaceae observadas em São Paulo, SP, Brasil, durante um período de quatro anos

TACE treatment in hepatocellular carcinoma: What should we do now?

n/

Effects of Monacolin K in Nondiabetic Patients with NAFLD: A Pilot Study

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver condition with significant risk of progression to steatohepatitis and cirrhosis. Therapeutic strategies in NAFLD include lifestyle changes mainly related to dietary interventions and use of drugs or nutritional components that could improve plasma lipid profiles and insulin sensitivity and decrease the local inflammatory response. In this study, we tested the effects of monacolin K, an inhibitor of HMCoA reductase. In a prospective, uncontrolled, open study, we treated 24 patients with NAFLD and mild hypercholesterolemia with 10 mg/day of monacolin K. At baseline and after 26 weeks, we measured in plasma liver tests, lipids, malondialdehyde, and oxidized glutathione, and assessed biochemical steatosis scores, liver elastography, and body composition with bioimpedance analysis. Monacolin K significantly reduced plasma alanine aminotransferase, cholesterol, triglycerides and the homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) index that indicated improved insulin sensitivity. No significant changes were found in body fat mass and visceral fat, nor in liver elastography, while the fatty liver index (FLI) was significantly decreased. Plasma levels of both malondialdehyde and oxidized glutathione were markedly reduced by monacolin K treatment, suggesting a reduction in oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. In summary, this pilot study suggests possible benefits of monacolin K use in NAFLD patients that could be linked to a reduction in oxidative stress. This hypothesis should be further investigated in future studies

A setup for integral measurements of multiple scattering angular distributions by 10- to 100-keV electrons

A dedicated setup has been developed to study the angular distributions of electrons traversing thin films employing the low-energy beam available from the gun of the São Paulo Microtron. In this first stage, only integral measurements are possible using the fraction of the electron beam current collected in a Faraday cup and in a ring surrounding the entrance of the former. The overall normalisation is provided by measuring the beam current collected by the scattering chamber as well, thus covering the full solid angle. In this work, important construction specifications are presented. The experience gained by operating this system is also discussed regarding its critical aspects like: avoiding cross talk between the cup and the ring both at the physical and electronic levels, measurements of small charges deposited on large objects (the chamber in particular), and conditioning of the various surfaces involved. Finally, some selected results are compared to the well-known theory by Goudsmit and Saunderson with good agreement

Global Demethylation of Rat Chondrosarcoma Cells after Treatment with 5-Aza-2′-Deoxycytidine Results in Increased Tumorigenicity

Abnormal patterns of DNA methylation are observed in several types of human cancer. While localized DNA methylation of CpG islands has been associated with gene silencing, the effect that genome-wide loss of methylation has on tumorigenesis is not completely known. To examine its effect on tumorigenesis, we induced DNA demethylation in a rat model of human chondrosarcoma using 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine. Rat specific pyrosequencing assays were utilized to assess the methylation levels in both LINEs and satellite DNA sequences following 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine treatment. Loss of DNA methylation was accompanied by an increase in invasiveness of the rat chondrosarcoma cells, in vitro, as well as by an increase in tumor growth in vivo. Subsequent microarray analysis provided insight into the gene expression changes that result from 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine induced DNA demethylation. In particular, two genes that may function in tumorigenesis, sox-2 and midkine, were expressed at low levels in control cells but upon 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine treatment these genes became overexpressed. Promoter region DNA analysis revealed that these genes were methylated in control cells but became demethylated following 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine treatment. Following withdrawal of 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine, the rat chondrosarcoma cells reestablished global DNA methylation levels that were comparable to that of control cells. Concurrently, invasiveness of the rat chondrosarcoma cells, in vitro, decreased to a level indistinguishable to that of control cells. Taken together these experiments demonstrate that global DNA hypomethylation induced by 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine may promote specific aspects of tumorigenesis in rat chondrosarcoma cells

Influência da época de semeio e da população de plantas na produtividade de cultivares de sorgo granifero no sudoeste goiano.

Os experimentos foram instalados em Rio Verde-GO (Sudoeste Goiano), durante duas safras consecutivas (2013 e 2014), em condições de safrinha após a colheita da soja. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em blocos casualizados em parcelas sub-subdivididas, sendo as parcelas 3 épocas de semeadura (primeira quinzena de fevereiro; segunda quinzena de fevereiro; primeira quinzena de março), as subparcelas 2 cultivares50A70 e A9735R) e as sub-subparcelas 4 populações de plantas (98.000, 131.000, 154.000, 175.000 plantas por hectare), com 4 repetições. As características avaliadas no dia da colheita foram: altura da planta e rendimentos de grãos. Foi possível observar que: a cultivar A9735R apresentou maiores alturas de plantas; para o semeio na primeira quinzena de fevereiro, a cultivar 50A70 foi a mais produtiva em 2013, em condição climática de maior pluviometria, já a cultivar A9735R foi mais a produtiva em 2014, em condição climática de menor pluviometria; as maiores produtividades de sorgo granífero são obtidas no semeio realizado na primeira quinzena de fevereiro; para os maiores rendimentos de grãos, na primeira quinzena de fevereiro, as cultivares 50A70 e A9735R devem ser semeadas utilizando a população de plantas de 131.000 e 154.000 plantas por hectare, respectivamente, e os semeios realizados tardios podem ser realizados com populações de plantas de 98.000 plantas por hectare, sem perdas significativas na produtividade de grãos.bitstream/item/139348/1/bol-121.pd