Comportamento de gramíneas perenes recentemente introduzidas no Brasil Central

Dry matter production of fourteen recently introduced perennial grasses was compared with that of pangolagrass (Digitaria decumbens) and of "Taiwan A-24" (Digitaria pentzii) in cutting trials at the Matão Training Center of the IRI Research Institute in the State of São Paulo. Each grass was evaluated at two soil fertility levels on a red latosol. Brachiaria decumbens (IRI 562) was the outstanding grass with respect to dry matter yield over a two year period. Its yield was significantly higher than that of any of the other grasses, at both high and low fertilizer levels. Another Brachiaria species, IRI 409, and various other Digitaria species were superior to pangolagrass and to "Taiwan A-24". Additional research on animal acceptability, nutritive value, and performance under grazing is necessary for a better evaluation of this new germsplasm as promising contributions to pasture improvement in South-Central Brazil.O propósito do estudo foi avaliar gramíneas recentemente introduzidas, em comparação com o capim pangola (Digitaria decumbens) e o pangola "Taiwan A-24" (Digitaria pentzii). Foram comparadas quatorze gramíneas perenes, em um ensaio de corte, no Centro de Treinamento de Matão, do Instituto de Pesquisas IRI, no Estado de São Paulo. Cada gramínea foi avaliada em dois níveis diferentes de fertilidade de solo, em um latossolo vermelho. Brachiaria decumbens (IRI 562) foi excelente com respeito ao rendimento de matéria sêca durante um período de dois anos. Seu rendimento foi significativamente mais alto do que o de qualquer das outras gramíneas, tanto em alta fertilidade como em baixa. Uma outra Brachiaria sp., IRI 409, e várias outras Digitaria foram também superiores ao capim pangola e ao pangola "Taiwan A-24". É necessário que sejam realizados outros estudos sôbre a aceitação pelos animais, valor nutritivo e comportamento sob pastoreio, para melhor avaliação desses novos germoplasmas como contribuições promissoras para o melhoramento de pastagens no Brasil Central

Physicochemical, Microbiological, and Toxicological Characterization of Pâté Prepared from the Meat and Liver of Bullfrog (Aquarana catesbeiana) Carcasses

The development of balanced, healthy, ready-to-consume, and easy-to-prepare products has led to the development of new food technologies. Despite their high commercial value, bullfrog (Aquarana catesbeiana) carcasses result in low yields, with the thighs being the most marketed in comparison to other carcass portions. In this sense, liver pâté is a traditional food consumed worldwide, mainly in European countries, and may be prepared by incorporating bullfrog meat by-products and certain viscera. In this context, the aim of the present study was to develop a pâté product based on a mixture comprising 50% grounded bullfrog torso meat and 50% liver paste, with each treatment incorporating 10% liver paste increments, totaling five final mixtures. The nutritional compositions and physicochemical, microbiological, and toxicological characteristics of each mixture were assessed. The dry matter percentage of the prepared product was determined to be 27.00%, while mineral content was 1.45%, lipid content was 4.00%, and total protein content was 20.00%. Finally, microbiological counts were in agreement with current food safety regulations. The developed pâté serves as a standard, recycling underused industrial materials, adding value to the production chain at low operational costs, creating a more accessible market, and promoting the popularization of this type of meat

Excision of Sleeping Beauty transposons: parameters and applications to gene therapy

A major problem in gene therapy is the determination of the rates at which gene transfer has occurred. Our work has focused on applications of the Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon system as a non-viral vector for gene therapy. Excision of a transposon from a donor molecule and its integration into a cellular chromosome are catalyzed by SB transposase. In this study, we used a plasmid-based excision assay to study the excision step of transposition. We used the excision assay to evaluate the importance of various sequences that border the sites of excision inside and outside the transposon in order to determine the most active sequences for transposition from a donor plasmid. These findings together with our previous results in transposase binding to the terminal repeats suggest that the sequences in the transposon-junction of SB are involved in steps subsequent to DNA binding but before excision, and that they may have a role in transposase-transposon interaction. We found that SB transposons leave characteristically different footprints at excision sites in different cell types, suggesting that alternative repair machineries operate in concert with transposition. Most importantly, we found that the rates of excision correlate with the rates of transposition. We used this finding to assess transposition in livers of mice that were injected with the SB transposon and transposase. The excision assay appears to be a relatively quick and easy method to optimize protocols for delivery of genes in SB transposons to mammalian chromosomes in living animals. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd

Minimally Invasive Approach for Diagnosing TMJ Osteoarthritis

This study’s objectives were to test correlations among groups of biomarkers that are associated with condylar morphology and to apply artificial intelligence to test shape analysis features in a neural network (NN) to stage condylar morphology in temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJOA). Seventeen TMJOA patients (39.9 ± 11.7 y) experiencing signs and symptoms of the disease for less than 10 y and 17 age- and sex-matched control subjects (39.4 ± 15.2 y) completed a questionnaire, had a temporomandibular joint clinical exam, had blood and saliva samples drawn, and had high-resolution cone beam computed tomography scans taken. Serum and salivary levels of 17 inflammatory biomarkers were quantified using protein microarrays. A NN was trained with 259 other condyles to detect and classify the stage of TMJOA and then compared to repeated clinical experts’ classifications. Levels of the salivary biomarkers MMP-3, VE-cadherin, 6Ckine, and PAI-1 were correlated to each other in TMJOA patients and were significantly correlated with condylar morphological variability on the posterior surface of the condyle. In serum, VE-cadherin and VEGF were correlated with one another and with significant morphological variability on the anterior surface of the condyle, while MMP-3 and CXCL16 presented statistically significant associations with variability on the anterior surface, lateral pole, and superior-posterior surface of the condyle. The range of mouth opening variables were the clinical markers with the most significant associations with morphological variability at the medial and lateral condylar poles. The repeated clinician consensus classification had 97.8% agreement on degree of degeneration within 1 group difference. Predictive analytics of the NN’s staging of TMJOA compared to the repeated clinicians’ consensus revealed 73.5% and 91.2% accuracy. This study demonstrated significant correlations among variations in protein expression levels, clinical symptoms, and condylar surface morphology. The results suggest that 3-dimensional variability in TMJOA condylar morphology can be comprehensively phenotyped by the NN

Recuperação de áreas degradadas do Estado do Rio de Janeiro.

bitstream/CNPAB-2010/27273/1/doc076.pd

Lipid droplet levels vary heterogeneously in response to simulated gastrointestinal stresses in different probiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains

AbstractTo exert their therapeutic action, probiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains must survive harsh digestive environments. Lipid droplets accumulate in cells which undergo stress-inducing situations, supposedly having a protective role. We assessed lipid droplet levels, either naturally accumulated or induced in response to digestive challenges, of probiotic strains S. boulardii, S. cerevisiae A-905, S. cerevisiae Sc47 and S. cerevisiae L11, and of non-probiotic strains S. cerevisiae BY4741 and S. cerevisiae BY4743. Strains 905 and Sc47 had lower and higher lipid droplet levels, respectively, when compared to the remaining strains, showing that higher accumulationof these neutral lipids is not a feature shared by all probiotic Saccharomyces strains. When submitted to simulated gastric or bile salts environments, lipid droplet levels increase in all tested probiotic strains, at least for one to the induced stresses, suggesting that lipid droplets participate in the protective mechanisms against gastrointestinal stresses in probiotic Saccharomyces yeasts

Asystolic Cardiac Arrest from Near Drowning Managed with Therapeutic Hypothermia

[West J Emerg Med. 2014;15(4):369–371.

Genotype-phenotype correspondence in Sanfilippo syndrome type B.

Sanfilippo syndrome type B, or mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIB, results from defects in the gene for alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAGLU); only a few mutations have been described. To rapidly identify most NAGLU mutations, an automated sequencing procedure was developed for analysis of the entire coding region, including exon-intron borders. By this method, eight affected families were studied, and the mutations in all 16 alleles were identified, more than doubling the number of published mutations for this gene. Eight mutations were described for the first time: five missense mutations (Y140C, Y455C, P521L, S612G, and R674C), two nonsense mutations (W675X and Q706X), and one 24-nucleotide insertion. Currently, 36% of all point mutations (8 of 22 alleles) involve R674, a codon having a CpG dinucleotide in the critical initial position. Other mutations were found in more than one family, raising the possibility that some may be relatively common and, possibly, ancient mutations. Six new nonpathological mutations were also identified and likely represent polymorphic variants of the NAGLU gene, two of which might alter enzyme level. Establishing genotype-phenotype relationships will be vital in the evaluation of experimental treatments such as gene therapy

Posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome presenting in a post-partum, 25-year-old-female with concomitant subarachnoid hemorrhage

Hinchey et al., first described that posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome has having a unique neuroradiographical finding of vasogenic edema and clinical symptoms including headache, altered mental status, seizure and visual disturbances in 1996. We present a rare case of posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome in a 2-week, post-partum G2P2A0 (normal spontaneous vaginal delivery at forty-weeks, without complications) 25-year-old-female with subarachnoid hemorrhage