Beneficial Effects of Long-Term Administration of an Oral Formulation of Angiotensin-(1–7) in Infarcted Rats

In this study was evaluated the chronic cardiac effects of a formulation developed by including angiotensin(Ang)-(1–7) in hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD), in infarcted rats. Myocardial infarction (MI) was induced by left coronary artery occlusion. HPβCD/Ang-(1–7) was administered for 60 days (76 μg/Kg/once a day/gavage) starting immediately before infarction. Echocardiography was utilized to evaluate usual cardiac parameters, and radial strain method was used to analyze the velocity and displacement of myocardial fibers at initial time and 15, 30, and 50 days after surgery. Real-time PCR was utilized to evaluate the fibrotic signaling involved in the remodeling process. Once-a-day oral HPβCD/Ang-(1–7) administration improved the cardiac function and reduced the deleterious effects induced by MI on TGF-β and collagen type I expression, as well as on the velocity and displacement of myocardial fibers. These findings confirm cardioprotective effects of Ang-(1–7) and indicate HPβCD/Ang-(1–7) as a feasible formulation for long-term oral administration of this heptapeptide

QUANTIFICATION OF RESIDUAL CLOVE OIL, BENZOCAINE AND TRICAINE IN FISH FILLETS USING SPE AND UPLC-DAD

Residual quantification of the anesthetics clove oil (CO) – isoeugenol (ISO), eugenol (EUG) and methyleugenol (MET) –,benzocaine (BZN) and tricaine (MS-222) was made in fillets of two fish species: Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and acatfish hybrid, cachadia (Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum x Leiarius marmoratus). Samples (n=4) of each fish wereevaluated after submitted to anesthesia in five dosages defined based on the induction time of each species afterdepuration times (0h, 12h, 24h and 48h). Different methodologies of sample preparation were tested and selectedaccording to the better recovery. The quantification of anesthetics was performed by UPLC-DAD. The variance of residualmeans among anesthetics, dosages and fish species was compared. After anesthesia (0h) both species, tilapia andcachadia, presented residual anesthetics. Fishes depurated during 12h, 24h and 48h did not present detectable values, itmeans, values were below the limits of detection. BZN presented the highest mean residual concentration for tilapia andcachadia (p=0.01), while MS-222 presented the lowest residual amounts in tilapias and EUG in cachadias, what may berelated to the metabolism and carcass composition of each fish species. There were no significant differences among thefive dosages, except the lowest MS-222 concentration in tilapias that resulted in higher residual concentrations becauselow dosages increase the induction time and consequently the permanence of the fish in anesthesia. Ultimately, meanvalues of residues in cachadia were higher than in tilapia, and MS-222 and EUG presented the lowest residual values fortilapia and cachadia, respectively

Validity and Reliability of the Frontotemporal Dementia Rating Scale (FTD-FRS) for the Progression and Staging of Dementia in Brazilian Patients

Introduction: Few studies on instruments for staging frontotemporal dementia (FTD) have been conducted.  Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the factor structure, internal consistency, reliability, and convergent validity of the Brazilian version of the Frontotemporal Dementia Rating Scale (FTD-FRS).  Methods: A total of 97 individuals aged 40 years and above with >2 years’ education took part in the study, 31 patients diagnosed with behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD), 8 patients with primary progressive aphasia, 28 with Alzheimer disease, 8 with mild cognitive impairment, and a control group of 22 healthy subjects. The FTD-FRS was completed by family members or caregivers, and Neurologists completed the 8-item Clinical Dementia Rating for Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (CDR-FTLD) scale (6 original domains plus Language and Behavior). The Alzheimer disease and FTD patients had equivalent disease severity level.  Results: The internal consistency of the FTD-FRS, estimated by Cronbach α, was 0.975 whereas test-retest reliability was 0.977. Scree plot and exploratory factor (Varimax rotation) analyses revealed the existence of 4 factors, with eigenvalues >1, which together explained 77.13% of the total variance with values of 1.28 to 17.52. The domains of the Brazilian version of the FTD-FRS scale correlated with the domains of the CDR-FTLD.  Conclusions: The present study is the first to document the factorial structure of the FTD-FRS and its convergent validity with the CDR-FTLD. These tools are key to determine dementia severity in FTD. The Brazilian FTD-FRS demonstrated adequate psychometric properties for use in Brazil. This instrument may contribute to disease staging in FTD and may help to document intervention-related changes

Rainforest-to-pasture conversion stimulates soil methanogenesis across the Brazilian Amazon

The Amazon rainforest is a biodiversity hotspot and large terrestrial carbon sink threatened by agricultural conversion. Rainforest-to-pasture conversion stimulates the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The biotic methane cycle is driven by microorganisms; therefore, this study focused on active methane-cycling microorganisms and their functions across land-use types. We collected intact soil cores from three land use types (primary rainforest, pasture, and secondary rainforest) of two geographically distinct areas of the Brazilian Amazon (Santarém, Pará and Ariquemes, Rondônia) and performed DNA stable-isotope probing coupled with metagenomics to identify the active methanotrophs and methanogens. At both locations, we observed a significant change in the composition of the isotope-labeled methane-cycling microbial community across land use types, specifically an increase in the abundance and diversity of active methanogens in pastures. We conclude that a significant increase in the abundance and activity of methanogens in pasture soils could drive increased soil methane emissions. Furthermore, we found that secondary rainforests had decreased methanogenic activity similar to primary rainforests, and thus a potential to recover as methane sinks, making it conceivable for forest restoration to offset greenhouse gas emissions in the tropics. These findings are critical for informing land management practices and global tropical rainforest conservation

AVALIAÇÃO DAS CARACTERÍSTICAS PRÉ E PÓS-COLHEITA DE SELEÇÕES DE NESPEREIRAS

A nespereira (Eriobotrya japonica) é uma frutífera amplamente cultivada nas regiõessubtropicais de vários continentes. No Brasil a safra da nêspera é bastante curta, durandoapenas poucos meses, que vai desde meados de junho a meados de agosto. Isto se dá pelobaixo número de cultivares disponíveis para cultivo o que limita a safra desta fruta a um curtoperíodo. No entanto, existem espalhadas pelo país, na zona rural ou urbana de municípios, empátios de residências, em praças, no campo, uma infinidade de plantas propagadas porsementes produzindo frutos em um período mais longo que o das cultivares comerciais.Muitas destas plantas apresentam características interessantes que se estudadas ou submetidasao cruzamento permitiriam, talvez, a obtenção de novas cultivares adaptadas as diferentesregiões do país. No Instituto Federal Catarinense Campus Santa Rosa do Sul, existe um pomarcom aproximadamente 130 nespereiras propagadas por sementes, que apresentam grandevariabilidade genética, que desde a safra 2019/20 vem sendo avaliadas. No pomar existemplantas com diferentes tamanhos e formato de copas, épocas de floração, formato de folhas,características de frutos (formato, coloração, acidez, doçura, pilosidade), época de maturação,suscetibilidade a doenças. Este trabalho objetiva avaliar a qualidade de nêsperas de um pomarpropagado por sementes visando a seleção de plantas para melhoramento. Foram avaliadas asplantas quanto a sua fenologia, a susceptibilidade a doenças, e características organolépticascomo comprimento e diâmetro de frutos, diâmetro de polpa, firmeza, acidez, sólidos solúveis,número de sementes, relação polpa/sementes. Das 130 plantas, 24 plantas mostraramcaracterísticas interessantes para seleção. Estas 24 plantas selecionadas foram submetidas aum raleio de frutos na safra 2020 deixando 1-4 frutos por cacho sendo seus frutos colhidos eavaliados. A avaliação destas 24 plantas submetidas ao raleio permitiu cinco plantas (4, 5, 8,10, 24) com boa resposta ao raleio que produziram frutos com média de 50-60 gramas depeso. Da mesma forma foi possível identificar nestas plantas a diferença de época deprodução, de formato de frutos e de suscetibilidade a doenças como a antracnose. Na plantade número 10 os frutos colhidos apresentaram comprimento médio de 5,9 cm e diâmetroequatorial médio de 4,0 cm na planta. A planta 8 apresentou produção entre a segundaquinzena de julho e a primeira quinzena de agosto. Como passo futuro estas 5 plantasselecionadas serão propagadas e plantadas em uma nova área para avaliar melhor estasqualidades. Espera-se que estas 5 plantas possam representar no futuro a possibilidade denovas cultivares adaptadas as condições da região Sul de Santa Catarina

Pulsating hydrogen-deficient white dwarfs and pre-white dwarfs observed with TESS : III. Asteroseismology of the DBV star GD 358

Context. The collection of high-quality photometric data by space telescopes, such as the completed Kepler mission and the ongoing TESS program, is revolutionizing the area of white-dwarf asteroseismology. Among the different kinds of pulsating white dwarfs, there are those that have He-rich atmospheres, and they are called DBVs or V777 Her variable stars. The archetype of these pulsating white dwarfs, GD 358, is the focus of the present paper. Aims. We report a thorough asteroseismological analysis of the DBV star GD 358 (TIC 219074038) based on new high-precision photometric data gathered by the TESS space mission combined with data taken from the Earth. Methods. We reduced TESS observations of the DBV star GD 358 and performed a detailed asteroseismological analysis using fully evolutionary DB white-dwarf models computed accounting for the complete prior evolution of their progenitors. We assessed the mass of this star by comparing the measured mean period separation with the theoretical averaged period spacings of the models, and we used the observed individual periods to look for a seismological stellar model. We detected potential frequency multiplets for GD 358, which we used to identify the harmonic degree (`) of the pulsation modes and rotation period. Results. In total, we detected 26 periodicities from the TESS light curve of this DBV star using standard pre-whitening. The oscillation frequencies are associated with nonradial g(gravity)-mode pulsations with periods from ∼422 s to ∼1087 s. Moreover, we detected eight combination frequencies between ∼543 s and ∼295 s. We combined these data with a huge amount of observations from the ground. We found a constant period spacing of 39.25 ± 0.17 s, which helped us to infer its mass (M? = 0.588 ± 0.024 M ) and constrain the harmonic degree ` of the modes. We carried out a period-fit analysis on GD 358, and we were successful in finding an asteroseismological model with a stellar mass (M? = 0.584+0.025 −0.019 M ), compatible with the stellar mass derived from the period spacing, and in line with the spectroscopic mass (M? = 0.560 ± 0.028M ). In agreement with previous works, we found that the frequency splittings vary according to the radial order of the modes, suggesting differential rotation. Obtaining a seismological model made it possible to estimate the seismological distance (dseis = 42.85 ± 0.73 pc) of GD 358, which is in very good accordance with the precise astrometric distance measured by Gaia EDR3 (π = 23.244 ± 0.024, dGaia = 43.02 ± 0.04 pc). Conclusions. The high-quality data measured with the TESS space telescope, used in combination with data taken from ground-based observatories, provides invaluable information for conducting asteroseismological studies of DBV stars, analogously to what happens with other types of pulsating white-dwarf stars. The currently operating TESS mission, together with the advent of other similar space missions and new stellar surveys, will give an unprecedented boost to white dwarf asteroseismology

Ages and metallicities of stellar clusters using S-PLUS narrow-band integrated photometry: the Small Magellanic Cloud

The Magellanic Clouds are the most massive and closest satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, with stars covering ages from a few Myr up to 13 Gyr. This makes them important for validating integrated light methods to study stellar populations and star-formation processes, which can be applied to more distant galaxies. We characterized a set of stellar clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), using the $\textit{Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey}$. This is the first age (metallicity) determination for 11 (65) clusters of this sample. Through its 7 narrow bands, centered on important spectral features, and 5 broad bands, we can retrieve detailed information about stellar populations. We obtained ages and metallicities for all stellar clusters using the Bayesian spectral energy distribution fitting code $\texttt{BAGPIPES}$. With a sample of clusters in the color range $-0.20 < r-z < +0.35$, for which our determined parameters are most reliable, we modeled the age-metallicity relation of SMC. At any given age, the metallicities of SMC clusters are lower than those of both the Gaia Sausage-Enceladus disrupted dwarf galaxy and the Milky Way. In comparison with literature values, differences are $\Delta$log(age)$\approx0.31$ and $\Delta$[Fe/H]$\approx0.41$, which is comparable to low-resolution spectroscopy of individual stars. Finally, we confirm a previously known gradient, with younger clusters in the center and older ones preferentially located in the outermost regions. On the other hand, we found no evidence of a significant metallicity gradient.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figure

Teores de metais tóxicos nas folhas de plantas de milho fertilizadas com lodo de curtume.

Nesta pesquisa foram avaliados os teores dos metais tóxicos Cr, Cd, Ni e Pb, nos tecidos foliares, e a produção de fitomassa verde da parte aérea em milho. As plantas foram cultivadas em vasos com substrato de solo (Latossolo Vermelho), fertilizadas com lodo de curtume nas doses: zero (testemunha), 113,1 mL (36 m3.ha-1), 226,2 mL (72 m3.ha-1), 452,4 mL (144 m3.ha-1) e 904,8 mL (288 m3.ha-1) por vaso, apenas com adubo químico, e com o adubo associado ao lodo de curtume