Insights into the properties of the Local (Orion) spiral arm. NGC 2302: First results and description of the program

Context. The spiral structure of the Milky Way (MW) is highly uncertain and is the subject of much discussion nowadays. Even the spiral structure close to the Sun and the real nature of the so-called Local or Orion arm are poorly known. Aims. We present the first result from a program that determines the properties of the Local (Orion) spiral arm (LOA), together with a full description of the program. In this context we have made a comprehensive study of the young LOA open cluster NGC 2302, which includes a UBVRI photometric analysis and determination of its kinematic properties - proper motion (PM) and radial velocity (RV) - and of its orbital parameters. Methods. Making a geometric registration of our ad-hoc first- and second-epoch CCD frames (12-year timeframe), we determined the mean PM of NGC 2302 relative to the local field of disk stars, and, through a comparison with the UCAC4 catalog, we transformed this relative PM into an absolute one. Using medium-resolution spectroscopy of 26 stars in the field of NGC 2302, we derived its mean RV.We determined the cluster's structure, center, and radius by means of a density analysis of star counts. Photometric diagrams for several color combinations were built using our data, which allowed us to identify the stellar populations present in the field of NGC 2302 and to carry out our photometric membership analysis. Isochrone fits to the photometric diagrams allowed us to determine the fundamental parameters of NGC 2302, including reddening, distance, and age. The kinematic data and derived distance allowed us to determine the space motion of NGC 2302. This was done by adopting a time-independent, axisymmetric, and fully analytic gravitational potential for the MW. Results. We obtained an absolute PM for NGC 2302 of (μα cos δ μδ) = (-2.09; -2.11) mas yr-1, with standard errors of 0.410 and 0.400 mas yr-1. The mean RV of NGC 2302 turned out to be 31.2 km s-1 with a standard error of 0.7 km s-1. The density analysis revealed a remarkably spherical concentration of stars centered at α2000 = 06:51:51:820, δ2000 = -07:05:10:68 with a radius of 2:50′ Although densely contaminated by field stars, all our photometric diagrams show a recognizable cluster sequence of bright stars (V ≤ 18). The color-color diagrams show the existence of more than one population, each a ected by distinct reddening with the cluster sequence at E(B - V) = 0.23. Isochrone fits displaced for this reddening and for a distance modulus of (m - M)0 = 10.69 (distance, d = 1:40 kpc) indicate an age of log(t) = 7:90-8.00 with a slight tendency toward the younger age. Inspection of the shape of the orbit of NGC 2302 and the resulting orbital parameters indicate that it is a typical population I object.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y GeofísicasInstituto de Astrofísica de La Plat

DETECÇÃO DE FUNGOS PATOGÊNICOS EM SEMENTES DE ACÁCIA-NEGRA (Acacia mearnsii De Wild)

A presença de fungos pode reduzir a capacidade germinativa de um lote de sementes, causar a morte de plântulas ou transmitir doenças para plantas adultas. É necessário conhecer os agentes, as causas e as conseqüências decorrentes da contaminação por fungos patogênicos. Desse modo, o presente estudo teve como objetivo identificar os fungos associados às sementes de Acacia mearnsii De Wild, armazenadas a 5°C, por um período de 12 meses. Foram utilizadas sementes de acácia-negra oriundas de plantio comercial, aos 4 anos de idade cuja procedência é África do Sul. As sementes foram colhidas em três épocas distintas: (i) quando com frutos verdes e/ou pigmentados; (ii) quando com frutos negros e início de abertura das vagens; (iii) quando com sementes coletadas no solo, após a dispersão natural, sendo empregadas como testemunha. Os fungos associados às sementes foram: Botryodiplodia sp., Botrytis sp. (família Moniliaceae), Cladosporium sp.(família Dematiaceae), Cylindrocladium sp., Fusarium sp., Penicillium sp., Pestalotia sp., Rhizoctonia sp., Trichoderma sp. e outros fungos não identificados. De maneira geral, a autoclavagem das sementes promoveu maiores taxas de germinação e a eliminação de fungos associados. As sementes, que apresentaram maior contaminação por fungos, foram aquelas oriundas da coleta no solo. Os fungos de solo observados, que poderiam ocasionar danos em plântulas no viveiro e, simultaneamente, estarem associados à gomose em acácia-negra, foram: Botrytis sp., Cylindrocladium sp

EUCALYPTUS ‘GG 100’ RESPONSE TO SIMULATED DRIFT OF ORTHOSULFAMURON

Plant growth regulators and low doses of herbicides are used in some crops in order to achieve satisfactory yields. They can cause morphological or physiological changes in plants qualitatively or quantitatively, such as in the inhibition and delay of vegetative development, in the early maturation or in sugar accumulation. The application of these products through spraying aims to reach the target crop. However, some neighboring crops may be contaminated through drift. The present study aims to evaluate the effects of simulated drift of orthosulfamuron on the initial growth of Eucalyptus urophylla seedlings, clone GG 100. The experiment was installed in pots of 5 L capacity in a completely randomized design, with nine treatments and four replicates. The treatments consisted of the following nine increasing doses of orthosulfamuron ripener: 0; 1.19; 2.39; 4.78; 9.56; 19.12; 38.25; 76.5; and 127.5 g a.i. ha-1. The height of the eucalyptus plants were evaluated at 0, 14, 28, 42, and 63 days after application (DAA). At 63 DAA, in the end of the experiment, the stem diameter, leaf area, and the dry matter of leaves, stems, and roots were evaluated. In conclusion, there were no deleterious effects of the drift of orthosulfamuron up to the dose of 127.5 g a.i. ha-1 on the development and growth of E.urophylla seedlings, clone GG 100, up to 63 days after application

Oligosaccharides and diet-related dilated cardiomyopathy in beagles

IntroductionIn 2018 the US Food and Drug Administration reported a potential link between grain-free, legume-containing dog foods and the development of canine dilated cardiomyopathy in atypical breeds. One hypothesis was that high oligosaccharide content in legumes reduced bioavailability of taurine, an amino acid with some previous links to canine dilated cardiomyopathy.MethodsTo address this hypothesis, in the present study, 8 Beagle dogs consumed four diets: a husbandry commercial dental diet, and three test diets formulated with either 30% rice (control), 30% pea (grain-free) or 30% rice with the addition of 1% raffinose (the predominant oligosaccharide found in peas). The study was conducted in a randomized, crossover design with 5 week feeding periods. Measurement of basic health parameters (weight, body condition score, complete blood cell count, chemistry panel), plasma amino acids, cardiac biomarkers (plasma N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and cardiac-specific troponin I), fecal bile acids and echocardiographic exams were completed pre-study after feeding the husbandry diet as well as after each test feeding period.ResultsEchocardiography showed 9–11% reduction in ejection fraction and 17– 20% greater left ventricular end systolic volume with the husbandry diet compared to both grain-containing test diets. Concentrations of plasma NT-proBNP were 1.3–2 times greater after the husbandry diet compared to the grain-based diet, with the oligosaccharide and pea-based diets showing intermediate levels. Plasma taurine levels were unchanged across diets, while plasma methionine levels were highest and cysteine/cystine levels were lowest after dogs ate the husbandry diet.DiscussionResults indicate that raffinose in the diet is sufficient, but not required to see an increase NT-proBNP, but did not induce any changes in cardiac function after 5 weeks of feeding. Whether this could progress to reduction in cardiac function with longer term feeding is uncertain. A reduced cardiac function along with the greatest increase in NT-proBNP was observed after feeding the husbandry diet that contained the highest amount of insoluble fiber but did not contain legumes or oligosaccharide. Further research into the impact of insoluble fiber in the dental diet is needed to support these novel observations

Hepatic steatosis progresses faster in HIV mono-infected than HIV/HCV co-infected patients and is associated with liver fibrosis

Background & Aims Hepatic steatosis (HS) seems common in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, the relative effect of HIV, as well as hepatitis C virus (HCV) in those co-infected, and the influence of HS on liver fibrosis progression are unclear. Methods The LIVEr disease in HIV (LIVEHIV) is a Canadian prospective Cohort using transient elastography and associated controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) to screen for HS and liver fibrosis in unselected HIV-infected adults. HS progression was defined as development of any grade HS (CAP ≥248 dB/m), or transition to severe HS (CAP ≥292 dB/m) for those with any grade HS at baseline. Fibrosis progression was defined as development of significant liver fibrosis (liver stiffness measurement [LSM] ≥7.1kPa), or transition to cirrhosis (LSM ≥12.5kPa) for those with significant liver fibrosis at baseline. Cox regression analysis was used to assess predictors of HS and fibrosis progression. Results A prospective cohort study was conducted, which included 726 HIV-infected patients (22.7% HCV co-infected). Prevalence of any grade HS did not differ between HIV mono-infected and HIV/HCV co-infected patients (36.1% vs 38.6%, respectively). 313 patients were followed for a median of 15.4 (interquartile range 8.5-23.0) months. The rate of HS progression was 37.8 (95% confidence interval [CI] 29.2-49.0) and 21.9 (95% CI 15.6-30.7) per 100 person-years in HIV mono-infection and HIV/HCV co-infection, respectively. HCV co-infection was an independent negative predictor of HS progression (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.50, 95% CI 0.28-0.89). HS predicted liver fibrosis progression in HIV mono-infection (aHR 4.18, 95% CI 1.21-14.5), but not in HIV/HCV co-infection. Conclusion HS progresses faster and is associated with liver fibrosis progression in HIV mono-infection but not in HIV/HCV co-infection

Insights into the properties of the Local (Orion) spiral arm. NGC 2302: First results and description of the program

Context. The spiral structure of the Milky Way (MW) is highly uncertain and is the subject of much discussion nowadays. Even the spiral structure close to the Sun and the real nature of the so-called Local or Orion arm are poorly known. Aims. We present the first result from a program that determines the properties of the Local (Orion) spiral arm (LOA), together with a full description of the program. In this context we have made a comprehensive study of the young LOA open cluster NGC 2302, which includes a UBVRI photometric analysis and determination of its kinematic properties - proper motion (PM) and radial velocity (RV) - and of its orbital parameters. Methods. Making a geometric registration of our ad-hoc first- and second-epoch CCD frames (12-year timeframe), we determined the mean PM of NGC 2302 relative to the local field of disk stars, and, through a comparison with the UCAC4 catalog, we transformed this relative PM into an absolute one. Using medium-resolution spectroscopy of 26 stars in the field of NGC 2302, we derived its mean RV.We determined the cluster's structure, center, and radius by means of a density analysis of star counts. Photometric diagrams for several color combinations were built using our data, which allowed us to identify the stellar populations present in the field of NGC 2302 and to carry out our photometric membership analysis. Isochrone fits to the photometric diagrams allowed us to determine the fundamental parameters of NGC 2302, including reddening, distance, and age. The kinematic data and derived distance allowed us to determine the space motion of NGC 2302. This was done by adopting a time-independent, axisymmetric, and fully analytic gravitational potential for the MW. Results. We obtained an absolute PM for NGC 2302 of (μα cos δ μδ) = (-2.09; -2.11) mas yr-1, with standard errors of 0.410 and 0.400 mas yr-1. The mean RV of NGC 2302 turned out to be 31.2 km s-1 with a standard error of 0.7 km s-1. The density analysis revealed a remarkably spherical concentration of stars centered at α2000 = 06:51:51:820, δ2000 = -07:05:10:68 with a radius of 2:50′ Although densely contaminated by field stars, all our photometric diagrams show a recognizable cluster sequence of bright stars (V ≤ 18). The color-color diagrams show the existence of more than one population, each a ected by distinct reddening with the cluster sequence at E(B - V) = 0.23. Isochrone fits displaced for this reddening and for a distance modulus of (m - M)0 = 10.69 (distance, d = 1:40 kpc) indicate an age of log(t) = 7:90-8.00 with a slight tendency toward the younger age. Inspection of the shape of the orbit of NGC 2302 and the resulting orbital parameters indicate that it is a typical population I object.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y GeofísicasInstituto de Astrofísica de La Plat

RELAÇÃO DOS TRAÇOS DE PERSONALIDADE E DO DESEMPENHO ACADÊMICO NA PERSPECTIVA DA LITERATURA NACIONAL E INTERNACIONAL

Um dos grandes desafios de uma pesquisa científica é a de desenvolver um conhecimento sólido que possa fundamentar e nortear a elaboração de um estudo mais robusto. Assim, buscou-se realizar uma Revisão de Literatura (RL) nacional e internacional sobre os estudos já realizados que contemplassem a relação dos traços de personalidade e o desempenho acadêmico dos estudantes na graduação. A pesquisa define-se como qualitativa, descritiva e exploratória sendo destacado o caráter bidirecional da investigação: i. por meio de buscas no banco digital da Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações (BDTD) do Instituto Brasileiro de Informação em Ciência e Tecnologia; e, ii. na biblioteca virtual do portal de periódicos da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), na Comunidade Acadêmica Federada (CAFe). Na análise nacional, observou-se que a temática “Traços de Personalidade” não se encontrava no escopo geral de nenhuma das teses e, na busca internacional, observou-se apenas estudos iniciais de personalidade relacionados ao desempenho em nível superior. Isto posto, a literatura não é conclusiva sobre a influência dos traços de personalidade no desempenho acadêmico a nível superior, embora tenha-se ampliada a percepção da influência que possuem os traços de personalidade nos resultados acadêmicos dos estudantes

Genotoxicity and Gene Expression in the Rat Lung Tissue following Instillation and Inhalation of Different Variants of Amorphous Silica Nanomaterials (aSiO2 NM)

This article belongs to the Special Issue Cytotoxicity and Genotoxicity of Nanomaterials.Several reports on amorphous silica nanomaterial (aSiO2 NM) toxicity have been questioning their safety. Herein, we investigated the in vivo pulmonary toxicity of four variants of aSiO2 NM: SiO2_15_Unmod, SiO2_15_Amino, SiO2_7 and SiO2_40. We focused on alterations in lung DNA and protein integrity, and gene expression following single intratracheal instillation in rats. Additionally, a short-term inhalation study (STIS) was carried out for SiO2_7, using TiO2_NM105 as a benchmark NM. In the instillation study, a significant but slight increase in oxidative DNA damage in rats exposed to the highest instilled dose (0.36 mg/rat) of SiO2_15_Amino was observed in the recovery (R) group. Exposure to SiO2_7 or SiO2_40 markedly increased oxidative DNA lesions in rat lung cells of the exposure (E) group at every tested dose. This damage seems to be repaired, since no changes compared to controls were observed in the R groups. In STIS, a significant increase in DNA strand breaks of the lung cells exposed to 0.5 mg/m3 of SiO2_7 or 50 mg/m3 of TiO2_NM105 was observed in both groups. The detected gene expression changes suggest that oxidative stress and/or inflammation pathways are likely implicated in the induction of (oxidative) DNA damage. Overall, all tested aSiO2 NM were not associated with marked in vivo toxicity following instillation or STIS. The genotoxicity findings for SiO2_7 from instillation and STIS are concordant; however, changes in STIS animals were more permanent/difficult to revert.This work was funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through ERA-NET SIINN project NanoToxClass (SIINN/0001/2013). FB and MJB are recipients of FCT PhD scholarships (SFRH/BD/101060/2014 and SFRH/BD/12046/2016). Thanks are due to FCT/MCTES for the financial support through national funds to EPIUnit (UIDB/04750/2020). J. Laloy performed STIS at the University of Namur with funding provided by BfR (grant agreement number 1329-561). F. Debacq-Chainiaux is a research associate at FRS-FNRS (National Funds for Scientific Research, Belgium).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Benefícios tardios do uso de marcapasso no tratamento da miocardiopatia hipertrófica obstrutiva

OBJETIVO: Avaliar os resultados tardios do uso de marcapasso (MP) em pacientes portadores de miocardiopatia hipertrófica obstrutiva (MHO), sintomáticos e refratários ao tratamento medicamentoso. MÉTODO: Foram avaliados 10 pacientes portadores de MHO, refratários ao tratamento com betabloqueador e/ou verapamil, submetidos a implante de MP de dupla-câmara (DDD). Os pacientes foram acompanhados por um período médio de 4,5 anos após o implante. Foram comparados os dados clínicos (classe funcional, presença de síncope ou tontura e dor precordial) e os gradientes de pressao máximos na via de saída do VE pelo ecocardiograma, no pré-implante, na consulta entre três e seis meses e na consulta atual. Os dados clínicos foram confirmados por teste ergométrico realizado na última avaliaçao clínica. RESULTADOS: Nao houve mortalidade e sim melhora significativa (p=0,0233) da classe funcional após o implante, que persistiu até a última avaliaçao, bem como desaparecimento de dor precordial e tontura, estatisticamente significativo para tontura (p=0,0412). O gradiente máximo na via de saída do VE foi 90,6 mmHg no pré-implante, 19 com três e seis meses e 13 no exame atual (p=0,00001). Houve correlaçao entre a classe funcional avaliada clinicamente e pelo teste ergométrico. CONCLUSAO: Ocorreu melhora significativa da classe funcional e desaparecimento dos sintomas de dor precordial e tontura, bem como reduçao significativa do gradiente na via de saída do VE, que persistiu no seguimento tardio, mostrando que o uso de MP DDD foi uma opçao terapêutica segura e resolutiva em longo prazo na amostra estudada

Benefícios tardios do uso de marcapasso no tratamento da miocardiopatia hipertrófica obstrutiva

OBJETIVO: Avaliar os resultados tardios do uso de marcapasso (MP) em pacientes portadores de miocardiopatia hipertrófica obstrutiva (MHO), sintomáticos e refratários ao tratamento medicamentoso. MÉTODO: Foram avaliados 10 pacientes portadores de MHO, refratários ao tratamento com betabloqueador e/ou verapamil, submetidos a implante de MP de dupla-câmara (DDD). Os pacientes foram acompanhados por um período médio de 4,5 anos após o implante. Foram comparados os dados clínicos (classe funcional, presença de síncope ou tontura e dor precordial) e os gradientes de pressao máximos na via de saída do VE pelo ecocardiograma, no pré-implante, na consulta entre três e seis meses e na consulta atual. Os dados clínicos foram confirmados por teste ergométrico realizado na última avaliaçao clínica. RESULTADOS: Nao houve mortalidade e sim melhora significativa (p=0,0233) da classe funcional após o implante, que persistiu até a última avaliaçao, bem como desaparecimento de dor precordial e tontura, estatisticamente significativo para tontura (p=0,0412). O gradiente máximo na via de saída do VE foi 90,6 mmHg no pré-implante, 19 com três e seis meses e 13 no exame atual (p=0,00001). Houve correlaçao entre a classe funcional avaliada clinicamente e pelo teste ergométrico. CONCLUSAO: Ocorreu melhora significativa da classe funcional e desaparecimento dos sintomas de dor precordial e tontura, bem como reduçao significativa do gradiente na via de saída do VE, que persistiu no seguimento tardio, mostrando que o uso de MP DDD foi uma opçao terapêutica segura e resolutiva em longo prazo na amostra estudada