Content and label diagnosis of commercialized herbal drug of Uncaria tomentosa (Willd.) DC. in Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.

Uncaria tomentosa, known as cat's claw, is a medicinal plant used as antiinflammatory in folk medicine and in SUS fitotherapy. To ensure safety and effectiveness in its use, it's necessary to certify the authenticity of the drug. This work aims to know if the herb drugs of U. tomentosa offered in Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais markets are authentic, and if their labels are according to RDC10/2010

Parasites of native Cichlidae populations and invasive Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) in tributary of Amazonas River (Brazil).

This study provides the first investigation on acquisition of parasites in invasive O. niloticus by parasite species of native Cichlidae from the Igarapé Fortaleza basin, Northern Brazil. There were examined 576 specimens of 16 species of native cichlids and invasive O. niloticus collected in the main channel and the floodplain area of this tributary of Amazon River. The invasive O. niloticus was poorly parasitized having only Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, Trichodina centrostrigeata, Paratrichodina africana, Trichodina nobilis (Protozoa) and Cichlidogyrus tilapiae (Monogenoidea), and this host has not acquired any parasite species common to the native ichthyofauna region. In contrast, species of native cichlids showed rich fauna of parasites with predominance of Monogenoidea species, larvae and adults of Nematoda, Digenea, Cestoidea and Acanthocephala, besides four species of Protozoa and four Crustacea. However, only T. nobilis was acquired by native fish, the Aequidens tetramerus, which is a new host for this exotic Trichodinidae. In O. niloticus, well established in the region, the small number of helminth species may be associated with its rusticity, good adaptation in the new environment and also the presence of native parasites with relative specificity, but without ability to complete its life cycle in this invasive host of this ecosystem

Caracterização e avaliação de compostos e resíduos para adubação de bananeira.

A utilização de compostos orgânicos tem sido uma boa opção para reduzir os gastos com fertilizantes minerais, e obter aumento de produtividade de fruteiras tropicais. Entretanto, dada a grande diversidade de matérias primas utilizadas na preparação de compostos orgânicos, são necessários estudos para avaliar seus efeitos tanto sobre a liberação de nutrientes essenciais às plantas, quanto sobre a liberação de substâncias contaminantes, como os metais pesados. É importante garantir não só a melhoria da produção vegetal nos sistemas agrícolas, através das melhorias nas características do solo, mas também a proteção do meio ambiente, evitando-se a contaminação dos solos e recursos hídricos. Nesse sentido, o objetivo do presente trabalho foi realizar a caracterização química de compostos e de resíduos orgânicos visando conhecer a faixa de variação nos teores de nutrientes e metais pesados desses materiais. A partir desses referenciais, propõe-se disponibilizar tecnologias básicas para o aproveitamento de resíduos gerados na propriedade agrícola, assim como na agroindústria, para adubação no sistema de produção orgânica, melhorando a nutrição das plantas, a renda do produtor e também mitigar os impactos ambientais gerados na disposição inadequada de resíduos.PDF. 046

Fully automated convolutional neural network-based affine algorithm improves liver registration and lesion co-localization on hepatobiliary phase T1-weighted MR images.

BackgroundLiver alignment between series/exams is challenged by dynamic morphology or variability in patient positioning or motion. Image registration can improve image interpretation and lesion co-localization. We assessed the performance of a convolutional neural network algorithm to register cross-sectional liver imaging series and compared its performance to manual image registration.MethodsThree hundred fourteen patients, including internal and external datasets, who underwent gadoxetate disodium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for clinical care from 2011 to 2018, were retrospectively selected. Automated registration was applied to all 2,663 within-patient series pairs derived from these datasets. Additionally, 100 within-patient series pairs from the internal dataset were independently manually registered by expert readers. Liver overlap, image correlation, and intra-observation distances for manual versus automated registrations were compared using paired t tests. Influence of patient demographics, imaging characteristics, and liver uptake function was evaluated using univariate and multivariate mixed models.ResultsCompared to the manual, automated registration produced significantly lower intra-observation distance (p < 0.001) and higher liver overlap and image correlation (p < 0.001). Intra-exam automated registration achieved 0.88 mean liver overlap and 0.44 mean image correlation for the internal dataset and 0.91 and 0.41, respectively, for the external dataset. For inter-exam registration, mean overlap was 0.81 and image correlation 0.41. Older age, female sex, greater inter-series time interval, differing uptake, and greater voxel size differences independently reduced automated registration performance (p ≤ 0.020).ConclusionA fully automated algorithm accurately registered the liver within and between examinations, yielding better liver and focal observation co-localization compared to manual registration

Determinación de compuestos funcionales en aceite de hígado de tiburón azul (Prionace glauca) obtenido mediante tecnología verde

The objectives of this research were to obtain blue shark liver oil using supercritical CO2 and to characterize the physicochemical parameters of the oil, and the contents of squalene and vitamin A. Supercritical extractions were performed at 50 and 60 °C and pressures from 100 to 300 bar. The oil yield obtained was up to 60% and presented a profile equivalent to that of refined oils for density (0.920 – 0.922 g/mL); viscosity (52.55 – 56.47 Pas.s); refractive index (1.4760 – 1.4785); acid value (1.13 – 2.22% oleic acid); peroxides (10.47 – 24.04 meq of active O2 /kg of oil); saponification value (171.37 – 556.03 mg KOH/g oil), and iodine value (120.05 – 149.21g I2 /100g oil). The fatty acid profile indicated a majority of unsaturated fatty acids. High levels of squalene and vitamin A corroborate the high nutritional quality of this oil from an underexploited by-product with great processing potential.Los objetivos de esta investigación fueron obtener aceite de hígado de tibu­rón azul utilizando CO2 supercrítico y determinar los parámetros fisicoquímicos del aceite, el contenido de escualeno y vitamina A. Las extracciones supercríticas se realizaron a 50 °C y 60 °C y presiones de 100 a 300 bar. Los aceites obtenidos con hasta 60% de rendimiento presentaron un perfil equivalente al de los aceites refina­dos para los parámetros: densidad (0,920 – 0,922 g/mL); viscosidad (52,55 – 56,47 Pas.s); índice de refracción (1.4760 - 1.4785); acidez (1.13 - 2.22% de ácido oleico); peróxidos (10,47 - 24,04 meq de O2 activo / kg de aceite); índice de saponificación (171.37 - 556.03 mg KOH/g de aceite) e índice de yodo (120,05 – 149,21g I2 / 100g de aceite). El perfil de ácidos grasos indica una mayoría de ácidos grasos insaturados. Los altos niveles de escualeno y vitamina A corroboran la alta calidad nutricional de este aceite obtenido de un subproducto subexplotado con un gran potencial de procesamiento

Molecular markers applied to evaluation of environmental services in the araucaria forest in Southern Brazil.

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