Automatic Counting of Aedes aegypti Eggs in Images of Ovitraps

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Glycerol electrooxidation on Pd modified Au surfaces in alkaline media: Effect of the deposition method

The catalytic effect of Pd on gold electrodes for glycerol oxidation is evaluated for Pd-Au surfaces prepared using three different methods: irreversible adsorption of palladium by a simple immersion of a gold electrode in palladium solution, the deposition of palladium on the gold substrate by a step potential from 1 to 0.75 V, and the forced deposition of palladium on the gold electrode with the help of a reducing hydrogen atmosphere. Voltammetry has been used for the electrochemical characterization of the Pd-Au deposits and to determine its reactivity towards glycerol oxidation, whereas FTIR experiments have allowed detecting adsorbed species and products formed during the oxidation reaction. Pd-Au surfaces prepared by irreversible adsorption are the electrodes that show the highest activity for the glycerol complete oxidation to carbonate, whereas Pd-Au surfaces made by the step potential are the catalyst that exhibits the highest rate for the formation and adsorption CO before carbonate production, poisoning the surface and diminishing their electrocatalytic properties. In addition to carbonate, glycerate, glycolate, and formate are detected as oxidation products. The integrated bands of the spectra are used to give quantitative information for comparing the product distribution of the different Pd-Au deposits prepared.This work has been financially supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and Generalitat Valenciana by Project Nos. CTQ2016-76221-P and PROMETEOII/2014/013, respectively. G.A.B.M. also thanks her post-doctorate fellowship from CNPq (Grant No. PDE 233268/2014-6)

Glucose-induced insulin secretion is impaired and insulin-induced phosphorylation of the insulin receptor and insulin receptor substrate-1 are increased in protein-deficient rats

Malnutrition is related to diabetes in tropical countries. In experimental animals, protein deficiency may affect insulin secretion. However, the effect of malnutrition on insulin receptor phosphorylation and further intracellular signaling events is not known. Therefore, we decided to evaluate the rate of insulin secretion and the early molecular steps of insulin action in insulin-sensitive tissues of an animal model of protein deficiency. Pancreatic islets isolated from rats fed a standard (17%) or a low (6%) protein diet were studied for their secretory response to increasing concentrations of glucose in the culture medium. Basal as well as maximal rates of insulin secretion were significantly lower in the islets isolated from rats fed a low protein diet. Moreover, the dose-response curve to glucose was significantly shifted to the right in the islets from malnourished rats compared with islets from control rats. During an oral glucose tolerance test, there were significantly lower circulating concentrations of insulin in the serum of rats fed a low protein diet in spite of no difference in serum glucose concentration between the groups, suggesting an increased peripheral insulin sensitivity. Immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation were used to study the phosphorylation of the insulin receptor and the insulin receptor substrate-1 as well as the insulin receptor substrate-1-p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase association in response to insulin. Values were greater in hind-limb muscle from rats fed a low protein diet compared with controls. No differences were detected in the total amount of protein corresponding to the insulin receptor or insulin receptor substrate-1 between muscle from rats fed the two diets. Therefore, we conclude that a decreased glucose-induced insulin secretion in pancreatic islets from protein-malnourished rats is responsible, at least in part, for an increased phosphorylation of the insulin receptor, insulin receptor substrate-1 and its association with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. These might represent some of the factors influencing the equilibrium in glucose concentrations observed in animal models of malnutrition and undernourished subjects

Estrutura de estádios ontogenéticos em população nativa da palmeira Syagrus romanzoffiana (Cham.) Glassman (Arecaceae) Structure of ontogenetic stages in a native population of the palm Syagrus romanzoffiana (Cham.) Glassman (Arecaceae)

O jerivá tem importância ecológica e econômica, inclusive palmito de qualidade. Para conhecer características básicas do ciclo de vida desta espécie, estudou-se a população na floresta paludícola da Reserva Santa Genebra (Campinas, SP). Observações e medições foram feitas em 100 parcelas (5×5 m) e sub-parcelas (2×2 m) aleatórias, dentro de uma área de 1 ha, realizadas novamente após 400 &plusmn; 3 dias. Foram reconhecidos seis estádios ontogenéticos, distinguíveis no campo: plântula (folha inteira estreita), juvenil fase 1 (folha inteira, largura > 2 cm), juvenil fase 2 (folha segmentada), imaturo (folha segmentada e estipe aéreo), virgem (estipe aéreo e raízes caulígenas) e reprodutor (raízes caulígenas e presença periódica de estruturas reprodutivas). Para o reconhecimento das plântulas usaram-se características foliares, pois o momento da independência trófica não pôde ser determinado no campo, tendo, o estádio, longa existência sob a baixa luminosidade do sub-bosque. Ocorreu sobreposição de tamanhos e na produção de folhas, embora houvesse diferenças significativas, pelo menos entre alguns estádios. As estruturas e propriedades adquiridas ou perdidas em cada estádio representariam vantagens adaptativas sob circunstâncias diferentes durante a ontogenia do jerivá, como a germinação remota, que pode ajudar a explicar a ampla ocorrência da espécie, incluindo áreas mais secas, e raízes caulígenas, por melhorar a fixação e nutrição previamente à reprodução, na floresta paludícola.<br>Syagrus romanzoffiana is ecologically and economically important, including the production of good-quality hearts of palm. Aiming to describe this plant's basic life cycle, we studied a natural population in the swamp forest at the Santa Genebra Reserve, Campinas municipality, São Paulo state. Observations and measurements were made, and repeated after 400 &plusmn; 3 days, in 100 randomly located plots (5×5 m) and sub-plots (2×2 m), in an area of 1 ha. Six ontogenetic stages were recognized: seedling (narrow entire leaf), juvenile phase 1 (entire leaf, width > 2 cm), juvenile phase 2 (segmented leaf), immature (segmented leaf, aerial stem), virgin (aerial stem, cauligenous roots), and reproductive (cauligenous roots and periodic presence of reproductive structures). Since the moment of trophic independence could not be determined in the field, leaf characteristics were used to identify seedlings. Seedlings live for a long time in the low light of the understory. Even though significant differences could be observed, size and leaf production overlapped among different stages. Remote germination, used to explain the widespread occurrence of the species even in dry regions, and cauligenous roots that improve fixation and nutrition previous to reproduction in swamp forests, are morphological structures and properties acquired or lost in each stage that may represent adaptive advantages under different circumstances during ontogeny of S. romanzoffiana