Anthropogenic Matrices Favor Homogenization Of Tree Reproductive Functions In A Highly Fragmented Landscape

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Species homogenization or floristic differentiation are two possible consequences of the fragmentation process in plant communities. Despite the few studies, it seems clear that fragments with low forest cover inserted in anthropogenic matrices are more likely to experience floristic homogenization. However, the homogenization process has two other components, genetic and functional, which have not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to verify whether there was homogenization of tree reproductive functions in a fragmented landscape and, if found, to determine how the process was influenced by landscape composition. The study was conducted in eight fragments in southwest Brazil. The study was conducted in eight fragments in southwestern Brazil. In each fragment, all individual trees were sampled that had a diameter at breast height ≥3 cm, in ten plots (0.2 ha) and, classified within 26 reproductive functional types (RFTs). The process of functional homogenization was evaluated using additive partitioning of diversity. Additionally, the effect of landscape composition on functional diversity and on the number of individuals within each RFT was evaluated using a generalized linear mixed model. appeared to be in a process of functional homogenization (dominance of RFTs, alpha diversity lower than expected by chance and and low beta diversity). More than 50% of the RFTs and the functional diversity were affected by the landscape parameters. In general, the percentage of forest cover has a positive effect on RFTs while the percentage of coffee matrix has a negative one. The process of functional homogenization has serious consequences for biodiversity conservation because some functions may disappear that, in the long term, would threaten the fragments. This study contributes to a better understanding of how landscape changes affect the functional diversity, abundance of individuals in RFTs and the process of functional homogenization, as well as how to manage fragmented landscapes. © 2016 Carneiro et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.1110CAPES, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível SuperiorCCFC, Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of CanadaCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Identification of insulin in the tear film and insulin receptor and IGF-I receptor on the human ocular surface

FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ – CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOInsulin produces pleiotropic effects on sensitive tissues. including the ocular surface, through the tyrosine kinase insulin receptor. Cerebrospinal fluid and secreted fluids, such as milk and saliva, have been reported to contain insulin. In the present study, the presence of insulin was examined in tear film, and the expression of insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 receptor was examined in the human cornea and conjunctiva. METHODS. Stimulated tear samples collected from 33 volunteers (17 men, 16 women), aged 23 to 51 years, who were fed or fasted for 12 hours, were assayed for total protein and insulin content by the biuret dye test and a radioimmunoassay, respectively. Frozen sections of human cornea (n = 4) and conjunctiva (n = 3) were incubated with anti-insulin receptor and anti-IGF-1 receptor antibodies and developed with a secondary antibody-peroxidase conjugate. RESULTS. Insulin was detected in all tear samples analyzed, the mean concentration being 0.404 +/- 0.129 ng/mL. There were no gender-related differences. In fed subjects, tears tended toward a higher insulin content than those in fasted individuals. There was no linear correlation between insulin and total protein content (mean, 4.61 +/- 0.79 mg/mL) in the tear film. Insulin and IGF-1 receptors were detected in the plasma membrane and cytoplasm of corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells. CONCLUSIONS. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this Study represents the first demonstration of insulin in human tear film and the presence of insulin and IGF-1 receptor on the human ocular surface. These results suggest that the pancreatic hormone may play a metabolic and/or mitogenic role on the ocular surfaceO TEXTO COMPLETO DESTE ARTIGO, ESTARÁ DISPONÍVEL À PARTIR DE FEVEREIRO DE 2015.434963967FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ – CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ – CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOsem informaçãosem informaçãosem informaçã

Prolactin-signal transduction in neonatal rat pancreatic islets and interaction with the insulin-signaling pathway

FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ – CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICODuring pregnancy, pancreatic islets undergo structural and functional changes in response to an increased demand for insulin. Different hormones, especially placental lactogens, mediate these adaptive changes. Prolactin (PRL) mainly exerts its biological effects by activation of the JAK2/STAT5 pathway. PRL also stimulates some biological effects via activation of IRS-1, IRS-2, PI 3-kinase, and MAPK in different cell lines. Since IRS-2 is important for the maintenance of pancreatic islet cell mass, we investigated whether PRL affects insulin-signaling pathways in neonatal rat islets. PRL significantly potentiated glucose-induced insulin secretion in islets cultured for 7 days. This effect was blocked by the specific PI 3-kinase inhibitor wortmannin. To determine possible effects of PRL on insulin-signaling pathways, fresh islets were incubated with or without the hormone for 5 or 15 min. Immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting with specific antibodies showed that PRL induced a dose-dependent IRS-1 and IRS-2 phosphorylation compared to control islets. PRL-induced increase in IRS-1/-2 phosphorylation was accompanied by an increase in the association with and activation of PI 3-kinase. PRL-induced IRS-2 phosphorylation and its association with PI 3-kinase did not add to the effect of insulin. PRL also induced JAK2, SHC, ERK1 and ERK2 phosphorylation in neonatal islets, demonstrating that PRL can activate MAPK. These data indicate that PRL can stimulate the IRSs/PI 3-kinase and SHC/ERK pathways in islets from neonatal rats355282289FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ – CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORCNPQ – CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOsem informaçãosem informaçãosem informaçã

Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, the association with socioeconomic variables in adolescents from Low-Income region

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of obesity, overweight, abdominal obesity and high blood pressure in a sample of adolescents from a low-income city in Brazil and to estimate the relationship with the socioeconomic status of the family, the education level of the family provider and the type of school. Methods: This cross-sectional study randomly sampled 1,014 adolescents (54.8% girls), between 14-19 years of age, attending high school from Imperatriz (MA). The outcomes of this study were: obesity and overweight, abdominal obesity and high blood pressure (systolic and/ or diastolic). The independent variables were: socioeconomic status (SES) of the family, education level of the family provider (ELFP) and type of school. The confounding variables were: gender, age and physical activity level. Prevalence was estimated, and the association between the endpoints and the independent variables was analyzed using a prevalence ratio (PR), with a 95% confidence interval, estimated by Poisson regression. Results: The overall prevalence of obesity was 3.8%, overweight, 13.1%, abdominal obesity, 22.7% and high blood pressure, 21.3%. The adjusted analysis indicated that girls with high SES showed an increased likelihood to be overweight (PR=1.71 [95% IC: 1.13-2.87]), while private school boys had an increased likelihood of obesity (PR=1.79 [95% CI: 1.04-3.08]) and abdominal obesity (PR =1.64 [95% CI: 1.06-2.54]). Conclusion: The prevalence of CVDR is high in adolescents from this low-income region. Boys from private schools are more likely to have obesity and abdominal obesity, and girls with high SES are more likely to be overweight

Studies on the mineral nutrition of the rice plant: XII. effects of the deficiencies of macronutrients on the varieties IAC-25 and IAC-47

Plantas de arroz, variedades IAC-25 e IAC-47, foram cultivadas em solução nutritiva completa e com deficiência de macronutrientes. Foram obtidos dados sobre a influência dos tratamentos na área foliar, produção de matéria seca e na composição mineral e observados os sintomas de carência. O estado nutricional das plantas deficientes em N foi também avaliado pela determinação da atividade da redútase de nitrato na folha.Rice plants, varieties IAC-25 and IAC-47 were grown in nutrient solution both in the presence and in the absence of macronutrients. Symptons of deficiency were observed in general agreement with description found in the literature. The deficiency of N affected most dry matter yield among the three major macronutrients. although the effect on grain production was greater when K was omitted. The following levels could be taken as indication of adequate nutrition when leaf samples are analysed at the boot stage (respectively) for var. IAC-25 and IAC-47): N - 4.18% and 3.54%; P - 0.36 and 0.27; K - 2.30 and 2.09; Ca - 1.22 and 1.00; Mg - 0.80 and 0.77; S - 0.24 and 0.18. Leaf nitrate reductase activity at the same physiological period correlated well both with N supply and dry matter production

Estudos sobre a nutrição mineral do arroz: XI. Marcha de absorção de micronutrientes pela variedade IAC-47

Dry matter yield and uptake of B, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn by the rice variety IAC-47 were studied under controlled conditions, namely, by growing plants in nutrient solution and by falcing samples for analyses in set physiological periods. It was observed that only the curves describing dry matter production and accumulation of B and Fe was verified.A produção de matéria seca e a absorção de micronutrientes (B, Cu, Fe, Mn e Zn) pelo arroz var. IAC-47 foram estudadas usando-se plantas cultivadas em solução nutritiva. Verificou-se que: enquanto as curvas que descrevem o crescimento e a acumulação de B e Fe mostram tendência sigmóide, as demais não o fazem, evidência de redistribuição foi observada somente nos casos do B (diminuição no conteúdo foliar) e no do Fe (diminuição no conteúdo da raiz)

The Complete Nucleotide Sequence of the Coffee (Coffea Arabica L.) Chloroplast Genome: Organization and Implications for Biotechnology and Phylogenetic Relationships Amongst Angiosperms

The chloroplast genome sequence of Coffea arabica L., the first sequenced member of the fourth largest family of angiosperms, Rubiaceae, is reported. The genome is 155 189 bp in length, including a pair of inverted repeats of 25 943 bp. Of the 130 genes present, 112 are distinct and 18 are duplicated in the inverted repeat. The coding region comprises 79 protein genes, 29 transfer RNA genes, four ribosomal RNA genes and 18 genes containing introns (three with three exons). Repeat analysis revealed five direct and three inverted repeats of 30 bp or longer with a sequence identity of 90% or more. Comparisons of the coffee chloroplast genome with sequenced genomes of the closely related family Solanaceae indicated that coffee has a portion of rps19 duplicated in the inverted repeat and an intact copy of infA. Furthermore, whole-genome comparisons identified large indels (\u3e 500 bp) in several intergenic spacer regions and introns in the Solanaceae, including trnE (UUC)–trnT (GGU) spacer, ycf4–cemA spacer, trnI (GAU) intron and rrn5–trnR (ACG) spacer. Phylogenetic analyses based on the DNA sequences of 61 protein-coding genes for 35 taxa, performed using both maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood methods, strongly supported the monophyly of several major clades of angiosperms, including monocots, eudicots, rosids, asterids, eurosids II, and euasterids I and II. Coffea (Rubiaceae, Gentianales) is only the second order sampled from the euasterid I clade. The availability of the complete chloroplast genome of coffee provides regulatory and intergenic spacer sequences for utilization in chloroplast genetic engineering to improve this important crop