Una nueva especie trifoliolada de Arachis (Fabaceae) y comentarios adicionales sobre la sección taxonómica Trierectoides

Se describe una nueva especie de Arachis, con hojas trifolioladas, A. sesquijuga. Esta se diferencia de las otras especies trifolioladas, ambas con folíolos ternados, por la presencia de un raquis evidente, lo que caracteriza a la hoja como pinnada. Datos históricos sobre la acumulación de conocimiento referente a las raras especies trifolioladas son comentados en secuencia cronológica

Interplay between the salience and the default mode network in a social-cognitive task toward a close other

Social cognition relies on two main subsystems to construct the understanding of others, which are sustained by different social brain networks. One of these social networks is the default mode network (DMN) associated with the socio-cognitive subsystem (i.e., mentalizing), and the other is the salience network (SN) associated with the socio-affective route (i.e., empathy). The DMN and the SN are well-known resting state networks that seem to constitute a baseline for the performance of social tasks. We aimed to investigate both networks' functional connectivity (FC) pattern in the transition from resting state to social task performance. A sample of 38 participants involved in a monogamous romantic relationship completed a questionnaire of dyadic empathy and underwent an fMRI protocol that included a resting state acquisition followed by a task in which subjects watched emotional videos of their romantic partner and elaborated on their partner's (Other condition) or on their own experience (Self condition). Independent component and ROI-to-ROI correlation analysis were used to assess alterations in task-independent (Rest condition) and task-dependent (Self and Other conditions) FC. We found that the spatial FC maps of the DMN and SN evidenced the traditional regions associated with these networks in the three conditions. Anterior and posterior DMN regions exhibited increased FC during the social task performance compared to resting state. The Other condition revealed a more limited SN's connectivity in comparison to the Self and Rest conditions. The results revealed an interplay between the main nodes of the DMN and the core regions of the SN, particularly evident in the Self and Other conditions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Coffee consumption has no acute effects on glucose metabolism in healthy men : a randomized crossover clinical trial

We investigate the effect of coffee (caffeinated and decaffeinated) on glucose effectiveness and insulin sensitivity using the stable isotope minimal model protocol with oral glucose administration in healthy men

Extração radicular de água e Kc em cultura de café

Basic information for a rational soil-water management of the coffee crop is still insufficient, particularly under irrigated conditions. Of great importance for the estimation of water requirements of coffee crops are their root distribuition and evapotranspiration crop coefficients. This study compares soil water extraction by roots of coffee plants of the variety Catuaí Vermelho (IAC-44), grown in Piracicaba, SP, Brazil, 3 to 5 years old, with direct measurements of root dry matter, showing a good agreement between both approaches, and confirming that most of the root system is distributed in the top soil layer (0-0.3 m) and that less than 10% of the root system reaches depths greater than 1.0 m. Calculated evapotranspiration crop coefficients are in agreement with those found in the literature, with an average of 1.1, independent of shoot dry matter, plant height and leaf area index.A informação básica para o manejo racional de água e solo na cultura de café ainda é insuficiente, sobretudo em condições de cultura irrigada. A distribuição radicular e os coeficientes de cultura para evapotranspiração são de grande importância para a estimativa da necessidade de água na cultura café. Este estudo compara a extração radicular de água de plantas de café, variedade Catuaí Vermelho (IAC-44), cultivado em Piracicaba, SP, Brasil, de 3 a 5 anos de idade, com medidas diretas de material seca de raiz, mostrando boa relação entre as metodologias e confirmando que a maioria do sistema radicular está distribuída na camada superficial de solo (0-0,3 m) e que menos de 10% do sistema radicular atingem profundidades maiores que 1,0 m. Os coeficientes de cultura medidos estão de acordo com aqueles encontrados na literatura, com média de 1,1, independentemente da matéria seca, altura de planta e índice de área foliar

Polar lipids of commercial Ulva spp. of different origins: profiling and relevance for seaweed valorization

Macroalgae of the genus Ulva have long been used as human food. Local environmental conditions, among other factors, can have an impact on their nutrient and phytochemical composition, as well as on the value of the seaweed for food and non-food applications. This study is the first to initiate a comparison between commercial Ulva spp. from different European origins, France (FR, wild-harvested Ulva spp.), and Portugal (PT, farm-raised Ulva rigida), in terms of proximate composition, esterified fatty acids (FA), and polar lipids. The ash content was higher in PT samples, while FR samples had higher levels of proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates and other compounds. The profile of esterified FA, as well as FA-containing polar lipids at the class and species levels were also significantly different. The FR samples showed about three-fold higher amount of n-3 polyunsaturated FA, while PT samples showed two-fold higher content of monounsaturated FA. Quantification of glycolipids and phospholipids revealed, respectively, two-fold and three-fold higher levels in PT samples. Despite the differences found, the polar lipids identified in both batches included some lipid species with recognized bioactivity, valuing Ulva biomass with functional properties, increasing their added value, and promoting new applications, namely in nutraceutical and food markets.UIDB/50011/2020+UIDP/50011/2020, UID/QUI/00062/2019, UIDB/50006/2020, UIDB/50017/2020+UIDP/50017/2020, LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-402-022125, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030962, BPD/UI51/5041/2017, BPD/UI51/5042/2018; EC/H2020/727892/EUinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluation of cystamine-modified hyaluronic acid/chitosan polyplex as retinal gene vector

A successful gene therapy approach can prevent or treat congenital and acquired diseases. However, there is still no ideal non-viral vector for gene delivery in a safe and timely manner. In this report the anionic polymer hyaluronic acid (HA) was investigated as a potential vector for gene therapy. Due to its intrinsic characteristics it constitutes an excellent candidate to deliver therapeutic genes, pending the modification of its surface charge

The Role of Inflammatory, Anti-Inflammatory, and Regulatory Cytokines in Patients Infected with Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Amazonas State, Brazil

The authors discuss in this paper the role of inflammatory, anti-inflammatory, and regulatory cytokines in patients infected with different species of Leishmania in Amazonas State, Brazil. A comparative analysis was made of serum concentrations of these cytokines in the peripheral blood of 33 patients infected with cutaneous leishmaniasis. The isolates were identified as Leishmania guyanensis, L. naiffi, and L. amazonensis. Most (64%) of the patients were male ranging in age from 18 to 58 years. Protein expression profiles of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-17 cytokines were shown to vary significantly between infected and noninfected (control group) individuals and according to the Leishmania species. Infection caused by L. guyanensis accounted for 73% of the cases and patients with this parasite also showed higher concentrations of IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-17 when compared to infection by L. amazonensis. Patients with infection caused by L. naiffi showed higher concentration of the cytokines analyzed when compared to uninfected patients; however, there was no statistically significant difference with the other species analyzed. © 2014 Thaís Tibery Espir et al

Cuidados na gestação, pós-parto e com bebês pelas mulheres do povoado de Pedra Branca, Santa Terezinha, Bahia

This present article records how women who live in a village from the interior of Bahia State, northeastern Brazil, perceive and deal with the care they are supposed to receive during their pregnancy, in the post-delivery period, and with new-born babies. Fieldwork was carried out by students in the Ethnobiology program of Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana. They performed open-ended interviews with seven female inhabitants of the village of Pedra Branca in May 2004. The interviewees’ ages ranged from 18 to 60 years. Local obstetric knowledge and practices, as well as those concerning the care for babies were contrasted with information from the academic literature. It was observed that, although traditional practices have been transmitted from generation to generation, younger women of this community do not give the same importance to these folk knowledge as the more experienced women do.O presente artigo registra como as mulheres que vivem em um povoado do interior do estado da Bahia, nordeste do Brasil, percebem e lidam com os cuidados que devem ter durante a gravidez, no período pós-parto e com os recém-nascidos. O trabalho de campo foi conduzido por alunos da disciplina Etnobiologia da Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, que realizaram entrevistas semi-estruturadas com sete moradoras do povoado de Pedra Branca, em maio de 2004. As mulheres entrevistadas tinham idades entre 18 e 60 anos. Os conhecimentos e práticas obstétricas locais e com relação aos cuidados com os bebês foram contrastados com informações da literatura acadêmica pertinente. Foi observado que as mulheres mais jovens da comunidade cada vez mais dão menos importância às práticas tradicionais transmitidas pelas mulheres mais experientes

Middle Holocene plant cultivation on the Atlantic Forest coast of Brazil?

This work provides robust oral pathology and stable isotope evidence on Bayesian mixing model for an unexpectedly high consumption of carbohydrates by a Middle Holocene coastal population of the Atlantic Forest of South America, an area traditionally viewed as peripheral to early centres of food production on the continent. A diversified economy with substantial consumption of plant resources was in place at the shellmound (or sambaqui) of Morro do Ouro, in Babitonga Bay, and supported a dense population at ca 4500 cal BP. This dietary composition is unique when compared with that of other contemporary and later groups in the region, including peoples who used ceramics and domesticated crops. The results corroborate independent dietary evidence, such as stone tool artefacts for plant processing and plant microremains in dental calculus of the same individuals, and suggest plant cultivation possibly took place in this region at the same time as the development of early agriculture in Amazonia and the La Plata Basin. Our study situates the Atlantic Forest coast of Brazil on the map of early plant management in the Neotropics