Análise sedimentológica da Formação Furnas na faixa de afloramentos do flanco norte do arco estrutural de Ponta Grossa, Bacia do Paraná, Brasil

Resum

CARACTERIZAÇÃO FACIOLÓGICA E PALEOAMBIENTAL DE DEPÓSITOS SEDIMENTARES DABACIA DO MACACU NA REGIÃO DE ITAMBÍ, ITABORAÍ-RJ.

A Formação Macacu, situada na porção centro-sul da bacia de mesmo nome constitui em quatro sistemas deposicionais distintos. Neste trabalho, procedeu-se a caracterização faciológica em afloramentos através da descrição de perfis sedimentológicos e interpretação das principais fácies identificadas em campo. Em laboratório empregou-se a pipetagem, análise granulométrica, microscopia óptica de varredura e a difração de raios X em sedimentos argilosos da Formação Macacu, objetivando a caracterização dos argilominerais desta unidade e seu contexto deposicional discutindo tanto a origem destes depósitos como sua componente paleoambiental A fração argila apresentou predomínio de caulinita e smectita. As fácies identificadas permitiram distinguir estes depósitos sedimentares em 4 (quatro) ambientes: A) Lacustre; B) Leque Aluvial; C) Canal Fluvial; D) Sistema Fluvial Entrelaçado Cascalhento

Autonomic and Renal Alterations in the Offspring of Sleep-Restricted Mothers During Late Pregnancy

OBJECTIVES: Considering that changes in the maternal environment may result in changes in progeny, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of sleep restriction during the last week of pregnancy on renal function and autonomic responses in male descendants at an adult age. METHODS: After confirmation of pregnancy, female Wistar rats were randomly assigned to either a control or a sleep restriction group. The sleep-restricted rats were subjected to sleep restriction using the multiple platforms method for over 20 hours per day between the 14th and 20th day of pregnancy. After delivery, the litters were limited to 6 offspring that were designated as offspring from control and offspring from sleep-restricted mothers. Indirect measurements of systolic blood pressure (BPi), renal plasma flow, glomerular filtration rate, glomerular area and number of glomeruli per field were evaluated at three months of age. Direct measurements of cardiovascular function (heart rate and mean arterial pressure), cardiac sympathetic tone, cardiac parasympathetic tone, and baroreflex sensitivity were evaluated at four months of age. RESULTS: The sleep-restricted offspring presented increases in BPi, glomerular filtration rate and glomerular area compared with the control offspring. The sleep-restricted offspring also showed higher basal heart rate, increased mean arterial pressure, increased sympathetic cardiac tone, decreased parasympathetic cardiac tone and reduced baroreflex sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that reductions in sleep during the last week of pregnancy lead to alterations in cardiovascular autonomic regulation and renal morpho-functional changes in offspring, triggering increases in blood pressure

More than hormones: Sex differences in cardiovascular parameters after sleep loss in rats

Although the influence of sex on sleep pattern and cardiovascular parameters is well known, knowledge regarding the effects of sleep loss on heart responses in both sexes is scarce. the present study investigated the effects of paradoxical sleep deprivation (PSD) and chronic sleep restriction (SR) on cardiovascular parameters and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels in male and female rats. Both groups were randomly assigned to PSD for 96 h, SR for 21 days or home-cage control. Mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), baroreflex sensitivity (bradycardia and tachycardia responses) and ACTH levels were evaluated. the results showed that PSD induced a significant increase in HR and ACTH levels in both sexes, although male rats presented higher levels of ACTH hormone compared to females. in addition to sex-specific responses, PSD decreased the tachycardia only in male rats. SR, induced a significant increase in MAP and decrease in bradycardia in both sexes. Male rats were more affected by sleep deprivation protocols than females for MAP, bradycardia response, and ACTH levels. the results showed that the effects of sleep loss on cardiovascular parameters are associated with the protocol of sleep deprivation and that sex can modulate these effects. We suggested this experimental model as a suitable tool for further investigations of the relationship between cardiovascular parameters and sleep. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Associacao Fundo de Incentivo a PesquisaConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psicobiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Fisiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psicobiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Fisiol, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 10/15110-8FAPESP: 12/05396-7Web of Scienc

A SUSTENTABILIDADE COMO UM VALOR

O avanço depredatório do homem sobre o meio ambiente e as consequências nocivas que isso tem causado tem levantado a discussão a respeito de quais valores devem permanecer e quais devem ser alijados. Partindo da premissa de que os indivíduos têm o seu bem-estar intimamente ligado à plena harmonia do espaço em que vivem, o estudo se utiliza do método dedutivo para enfatizar que a sustentabilidade deve ser encarada como um valor constitucional detentor de natureza multidimensional, que justifica a atuação do Poder Judiciário no amparo de interesses que sejam compatíveis com a promoção do pleno desenvolvimento da sociedade, que vai muito além do crescimento econômico expresso em valores numéricos

Protein fingerprints of cultured CA3-CA1 hippocampal neurons: comparative analysis of the distribution of synaptosomal and cytosolic proteins

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>All studies aimed at understanding complex molecular changes occurring at synapses face the problem of how a complete view of the synaptic proteome and of its changes can be efficiently met. This is highly desirable when synaptic plasticity processes are analyzed since the structure and the biochemistry of neurons and synapses get completely reshaped. Because most molecular studies of synapses are nowadays mainly or at least in part based on protein extracts from neuronal cultures, this is not a feasible option: these simplified versions of the brain tissue on one hand provide an homogeneous pure population of neurons but on the other yield only tiny amounts of proteins, many orders of magnitude smaller than conventional brain tissue. As a way to overcome this limitation and to find a simple way to screen for protein changes at cultured synapses, we have produced and characterized two dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) maps of the synaptic proteome of CA3-CA1 hippocampal neurons in culture.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To obtain 2D maps, hippocampal cultures were mass produced and after synaptic maturation, proteins were extracted following subfractionation procedures and separated by 2D gel electrophoresis. Similar maps were obtained for the crude cytosol of cultured neurons and for synaptosomes purified from CA3-CA1 hippocampal tissue. To efficiently compare these different maps some clearly identifiable reference points were molecularly identified by mass spectrometry and immunolabeling methods. This information was used to run a differential analysis and establish homologies and dissimilarities in these 2D protein profiles.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Because reproducible fingerprints of cultured synapses were clearly obtained, we believe that our mapping effort could represent a simple tool to screen for protein expression and/or protein localization changes in CA3-CA1 hippocampal neurons following plasticity.</p

Chronic Sleep Restriction during Pregnancy - Repercussion on Cardiovascular and Renal Functioning of Male Offspring

Changes in the maternal environment can induce fetal adaptations that result in the progression of chronic diseases in the offspring. the objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of maternal chronic sleep restriction on blood pressure, renal function and cardiac baroreflex response on male offspring at adult age. Female 3-month-old Wistar rats were divided in two experimental groups: control (C) and chronic sleep restricted (CSR). Pregnancy was confirmed by vaginal smear. Chronic sleep restricted females were subjected to sleep restriction by the multiple platform technique for 20 h daily, between the 1st and 20th day of pregnancy. After birth, the litters were reduced to 6 rats per mother, and were designated as offspring from control (OC) and offspring from chronic sleep restricted (OCSR). Indirect blood pressure (BPi tail cuff) was measured by plethysmography in male offspring at 3 months old. Following, the renal function and cardiac baroreflex response were analyzed. Values of BPi in OCSR were significantly higher compared to OC [OC: 127 +/- 2.6 (19); OCSR: 144 +/- 2.5 (17) mmHg]. the baroreflex sensitivity to the increase of blood pressure was reduced in OCSR [Slope: OC: -2.6 +/- 0.15 (9); OCRS: -1.6 +/- 0.13 (9)]. Hypothalamic activity of ACE2 was significantly reduced in OCSR compared to OC [OC: 97.4 +/- 15 (18); OSR: 60.2 +/- 3.6 (16) UAF/min/protein mg]. Renal function alteration was noticed by the increase in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) observed in OCSR [OC: 6.4 +/- 0.2 (10); OCSR: 7.4 +/- 0.3 (7)]. Chronic sleep restriction during pregnancy caused in the offspring hypertension, altered cardiac baroreflex response, reduced ACE-2 activity in the hypothalamus and renal alterations. Our data suggest that the reduction of sleeping time along the pregnancy is able to modify maternal homeostasis leading to functional alterations in offspring.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Associacao Fundo de Incentivo a Pesquisa (AFIP)Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Fisiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psicobiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biociencias, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Fisiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psicobiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biociencias, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: FAPESP-10/51665-4Web of Scienc

Facies relationships of Devonian alluvial and coastal deposits of the Furnas Formation, Paraná Basin, Brazil

The depositional environment of Upper Silurian-Lower Devonian strata along the eastern margen of the Paraná Basin, Brazil, is reconstructed. Sedimentological analyses are based on a detailed study of two basal sections of the Furnas Formation in Paraná State. Sedimentation was initiated as an alluvial braided system, as evindenced mainly by ridge and bar facies. This evolved into a deltaic complex including mounth bar facies. The alluvial facies grades also laterally into a coastal marine deposits along a sinous shorelin