Mentol como anestésico natural para guppy

The objective of this study was to evaluate different menthol concentrations for the anesthesia of adult females, adult males, and juvenile guppy (Poecilia reticulata). To this end, 30 adult females (0.379 ± 0.108 g), 30 adult males (0.220 ± 0.049 g), and 30 juveniles (0.033 ± 0.016 g) were used. The animals were individually exposed to five concentrations of menthol (50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 mg L-1), six fish per concentration. The induction times, anesthetic recovery, and mortality up to 96 h after the experiment were evaluated. The concentration of 50 mg L-1 did not induce anesthesia in any of the studied groups. The concentrations of 100 and 250 mg L-1 resulted in 100% mortality in the adults (male and female) and juveniles, respectively. The concentrations from 150 to 250 mg L-1 and from 150 to 200 mg L-1 of menthol were efficient and safe for use as anesthesia for guppy adults (male and female) and juveniles, respectively.O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar diferentes concentrações de mentol para anestesia de fêmeas adultas, machos adultos e juvenis de guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Para isto, foram utilizadas 30 fêmeas adultas (0,379 ± 0,108 g), 30 machos adultos (0,220 ± 0,049 g) e 30 juvenis (0,033 ± 0,016 g). Os animais foram expostos, individualmente, a cinco concentrações de mentol (50, 100, 150, 200 e 250 mg L-1), seis peixes por concentração, sendo avaliados os tempos de indução e recuperação anestésica e a mortalidade até 96 h após a realização do experimento. A concentração de 50 mg L-1 não induziu a anestesia em nenhum dos grupos avaliados. As concentrações de 100 e 250 mg L-1 ocasionaram a mortalidade de 100% dos adultos (machos e fêmeas) e juvenis, respectivamente. As concentrações de 150 a 250 mg L-1 e 150 a 200 mg L-1 de mentol demonstram eficácia e segurança para anestesia de adultos (machos e fêmeas) e juvenis de guppy, respectivamente

Curcumin reduces cisplatin-induced neurotoxicity in NGF-differentiated PC12 cells

AbstractThe potential neuroprotective benefits of curcumin against cisplatin neurotoxicity were investigated. Curcumin is a polyphenol derived from the rhizome of Curcuma longa whose pharmacological effects include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. Cisplatin is a potent chemotherapeutic drug with activity against a wide variety of tumors, although it has notorious side effects. Cisplatin neurotoxicity is clinically evident in patients that have undergone a full course of chemotherapy and develop a peripheral neuropathy that may affect the treatment regimen and the patient's qualify of life. In this study, we examined whether curcumin can protect against cisplatin neurite outgrowth inhibition in PC12 cells, which is an indicator of the protective potential against neuropathy. We also investigated whether curcumin affects cisplatin effectiveness by analyzing the modulation of p53 gene expression and its effect on cisplatin cytotoxicity in HepG2 tumor cells. Non-cytotoxic concentrations of curcumin reduced in vitro neurotoxicity of cisplatin in PC12 cells. The treatment of PC12 cells with cisplatin (10μg/mL) significantly reduced neurite outgrowth. The tested concentration of curcumin (1.0 and 10μg/mL) did not result in neurite toxicity but nevertheless diminished cisplatin-induced inhibition of neurite outgrowth by up to 50% (p<0.05). Our results indicate that curcumin does not compromise cisplatin's anticancer activity. Curcumin neither suppressed p53 mRNA transcription nor protected tumor cells against cisplatin cytotoxicity. These results indicate that curcumin may reduce cisplatin-induced neurotoxicity, and clinical studies should potentially be considered

Tendências temporais na literatura científica sobre a comunidade zooplanctônica

Zooplankton plays a key role in aquatic food chains. In the present study we aimed to evaluate the trends of zooplankton studies in the scientific literature published between 1991 and 2015 and also to answer the following questions: (i) Has the number of studies increased? (ii) Which are the main countries and journals that publish papers about zooplankton? (iii) Is it possible to identify temporal trends? We used the ISI Web of Science database to find articles that had the word “zooplankton” or its groups (“copepods”, “cladocerans”, “rotifers”, “testate amoebae”) in their title, abstract or keywords. The number of zooplankton publications increased over the years, but, when we removed the effect of total publications, the number of publications on copepods decreased, while publications on testate amoebae increased. The country with the most published studies was the USA and the journal was the Hydrobiologia. The keywords formed four groups, evidencing a temporal change in the main interest of the studies on zooplankton community. The oldest articles showed the interest of researches in zooplankton species description. In subsequent years, the main concern was still species description, but also ecology and other aspects. Recently, studies concerned to environmental issues, preservation and sustainability became more frequent.Keywords: systematic review, scientific interest, limnology, water, food chain.O zooplâncton desempenha um papel chave nas cadeias alimentares aquáticas. No presente estudo, nosso objetivo foi avaliar tendências dos estudos com zooplâncton na literatura científica entre 1991 e 2015 e também responder às seguintes questões: (i) O número de estudos aumentou? (ii) Quais são os principais países e revistas que publicam trabalhos científicos sobre zooplâncton? (iii) É possível identificar tendências temporais? Utilizamos a base de dados ISI Web of Science para encontrar artigos que tinham em seu título, resumo ou palavras-chave a expressão “zooplankton” ou seus grupos (“copepods”, “cladocerans”, “rotifers”, “testate amoebae”). O número de publicações com zooplâncton aumentou ao longo dos anos, mas, quando removemos o efeito do total de publicações, o número de publicações com copépodes diminuiu, enquanto as publicações sobre amebas testáceas aumentaram. O país que mais publicou trabalhos foi os EUA e a revista, Hydrobiologia. As palavras-chave formaram quatro grupos, evidenciando mudanças temporais no principal interesse dos estudos com comunidades zooplanctônicas. Os artigos mais antigos mostraram o interesse dos pesquisadores na descrição de espécies. Nos anos subsequentes, a principal preocupação foi também a análise descritiva, mas também a ecologia e outros aspectos. Recentemente, estudos relacionados com questões ambientais, preservação e sustentabilidade tornaram-se mais frequentes. Palavras-chave: revisão sistemática, interesse científico, limnologia, água, cadeia alimentar

Challenges in the diagnosis of dementia: Insights from the United Kingdom-Brazil Dementia Workshop

In July 2019, a group of multidisciplinary dementia researchers from Brazil and the United Kingdom (UK) met in the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, to discuss and propose solutions to current challenges faced in the diagnosis, public perception and care of dementia. Here we summarize the outcomes from the workshop addressing challenges in diagnosis. Brazil faces a major problem in dementia underdiagnosis, particularly involving the population in an adverse socioeconomic context. There is poor availability of resources and specialists, and the knowledge of general practitioners and other healthcare professionals is far from satisfactory. Low education level is a further obstacle in diagnosing dementia, as the most commonly used screening tests are not designed to evaluate this population. Patients and their families must overcome the stigma of a diagnosis of dementia, which is still prevalent in Brazil and increases the burden of this condition. Whilst the UK has greater resources, dedicated memory services and a National Dementia Strategy plan, the National Health Service (NHS) has limited funding. Therefore, some challenges regarding diagnosis are common across both countries. The authors suggest possible solutions to confront these, with the goal of improving assessment and recognition of dementia and reducing misdiagnosis

Elemental composition and bioaccessibility of farmed oysters (Crassostrea gigas) fed different ratios of dietary seaweed and microalgae during broodstock conditioning

Free PMC article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/31428337/[Correction added on 8 July 2019, after first online publication: New affiliation was added for Jorge Machado, José Fernando Gonçalves, and Paulo Vaz‐Pires.]The Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) culture has been expanding, thereby leading to a greater importance of hatcheries. Broodstock conditioning is very important in the hatchery process, in which diet composition may have a strong influence on the offspring production and quality. Therefore, the current study evaluated elemental composition and bioaccessibility of oysters fed different ratios of dietary seaweed (SW) and microalgae. The dietary conditioning consisted of direct replacement of microalgae by SW at four substitution levels (0%, 25%, 50%, and 100% diet). It was observed that oysters fed 100% SW had the highest levels of Be, Cu, Zn, Sr, and Cd. The most important trend was a concentration decline of most elements with progressively lower levels of SW substitution for microalgae in the feeds. No Cd or Pb hazard (contents below 1.0 mg/kg for Cd and 1.5 mg/kg for Pb) was found in oyster meat. Regarding elemental bioaccessibility, values were similar, near 100% in the cases of Cu, Br, and I. Only for Mn and Pb, bioaccessibility percentages deviated more from 100%. Indeed, the value for Pb was 50% ± 7% (initial group), and for Mn, all values were equal or lower than 29% ± 2% (final group of oysters fed microalgae). It was observed that Mn, Cd, and Pb bioaccessibility increased with a growing share of microalgal biomass in the feed. Therefore, this study showed that SW incorporation into the feed influences elemental composition and bioaccessibility of the oysters.The current study was supported by Project INNOVMAR— Innovation and Sustainability in the Management and Exploitation of Marine Resources (NORTE‐01‐0145‐FEDER‐000035) within the line “INSEAFOOD, Innovation and valorization of seafood products,” funded by the Northern Regional Operational Programme (NORTE2020) through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Moreover, the study was funded by the project AQUAMAX (Ref. 16‐02‐01‐FMP‐0047). This work was also supported by the following Postdoctoral Grants: Ref.: SFRH/BPD/102689/2014 (“Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia,” FCT) for the author Carlos Cardoso, Ref.: SFRH/BD/129795/2017 (“Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia,” FCT) for the author Joana Matos, and DIVERSIAQUA (MAR2020) for the author Cláudia Afonso.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Beekeeping in Brazil: A Bibliographic Review

Brazil presents favorable conditions for beekeeping, having a suitable climate; native flowering plants with great potential for the production of honey, pollen, propolis, and royal jelly; and bees adapted to our conditions, tolerant to the main apicultural diseases and highly productive. Through the meliponiculture, the conservation of mainly native forest areas is allowed; therefore, they are the best environments for the creation of native bees and production of by-products of the beehive with quality. The stingless bees are very sensitive to any disturbance due to anthropogenic action. A systematic bibliographical review was carried out in different electronic databases, through descriptors referring to beekeeping in Brazil. The identification of articles and their inclusion occurred between January 2018 and April 2018. The bibliographic research was conducted in the following electronic databases: (1) Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), (2) Public Library of Science (PLOS) Biology, and (3) ScienceDirect. In order to help in the process of standardization of bee products and traceability of the production chain, it was possible to draw a profile of the main bioactive substances of the beehive products of Brazil. It was also possible to relate the benefits of an adequate management of beekeeping and meliponiculture in Brazil

Projeto Citros: extensão da universidade para a sociedade / Project Citros: university extension to society

Jovens universitários podem desempenhar um papel crucial na medida em que aplicam estudos e tecnologias acadêmicas na sociedade. O projeto Citros, desenvolvido pela Enactus UFRJ, é trazido aqui como um exemplo da associação entre pesquisa e necessidades da comunidade. Além da estruturação de um negócio sustentável, pautado na fabricação e venda de produtos caseiros à base de citronela, o projeto objetiva a realização de atividades com a comunidade disseminando informações sobre o ciclo de vida do mosquito vetor de doenças, como a dengue, zica e chicungunha, já que o Parque Conquista, local onde o Citros Citros é desenvolvido, sofre com altos índices de contágio das mesmas. A ideia central é que os próprios moradores da comunidade dominem a técnica de produção e se responsabilizem pela venda, a fim de incrementar suas rendas

Empreendimento social: como fazê-lo - canoas de pano / Social enterprise: how to do it - canoas de pano

Canoas de Pano é um projeto desenvolvido pela Enactus UFRJ em conjunto a comunidade de Vila Canoas, em São Conrado - RJ. Trata-se, basicamente, da origem de um empreendimento onde uma cooperativa de mulheres que, a partir de um curso de costura, produz bolsas com tecidos reutilizáveis e gere a marca, para posterior venda, possibilitando complemento de suas rendas. Este projeto possui um significado especial para o time por ser o projeto-piloto idealizado pela Enactus UFRJ e por ser o primeiro a conseguir alcançar seu objetivo de gerar um empreendimento. A seguir, serão mostrados fatos que foram diretamente responsáveis pelo desenvolvimento do projeto até a situação atual onde tem-se a marca consolidada.