Effect of chronic ethanol consumption in female rats subjected to experimental sepsis

The objective of this research was to evaluate the interference of ethanol consumption by female rats with cytokines involved in the sepsis process and its correlation with mortality, the main outcome of sepsis. Female Wistar rats in estrus phase were evaluated in three experiments. Experiment 1 (n=40) was performed to determine survival rates. Experiment 2 (n=69) was designed for biochemical analysis, measurement of cytokine and estrogen levels before and after sepsis, and experiment 3 (n=10) was performed to evaluate bacterial growth by colony counts of peritoneal fluid. In all experiments, treated animals were exposed to a 10% ethanol/water solution (v/v) as the single drinking source, while untreated animals were given tap water. After 4 weeks, sepsis was induced in the rats by ip injection of feces. In experiment 1, mortality in ethanol-exposed animals was delayed compared with those that drank water (48 h; P=0.0001). Experiment 2 showed increased tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and decreased interleukin-6 (IL-6) and macrophage migration inhibitory factor in septic animals exposed to ethanol compared to septic animals not exposed. Sepsis also increased TNF-α and IL-6 levels in both ethanol- and water-exposed groups. Biochemical analysis showed higher creatinine, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase and decreased glucose levels in septic animals that were exposed to ethanol. In experiment 3, septic animals exposed to ethanol showed decreased numbers of colony-forming units than septic animals exposed to water. These results suggest that ethanol consumption delays the mortality of female rats in estrus phase after sepsis induction. Female characteristics, most probably sex hormones, may be involved in cytokine expression

Conteúdo polifenólico e atividade antioxidante dos frutos da palmeira Juçara (Euterpe edulis Martius) Polyphenolic content and antioxidant capacity of fruits of Juçara (Euterpe edulis Martius) palm tree

O conteúdo polifenólico e a atividade antioxidante do extrato do fruto de Euterpe edulis Martius foram avaliados. Esta espécie é uma palmeira conhecida como Juçara, nativa da Mata Atlântica e utilizada para a extração de palmito. O processo de extração do palmito acarreta a morte da planta, uma vez que esta apresenta estipe único. A elevada demanda ocasionou a escassez deste recurso natural. Muitas espécies da Mata Atlântica podem ser utilizadas pelo manejo sustentável para a preservação e exploração econômica pelas comunidades locais. O fruto da palmeira Juçara pode ser uma das alternativas de manejo sustentável dos recursos naturais da Mata Atlântica. A capacidade antioxidante do fruto pode ser utilizada como justificativa para a aplicação como alimento nutricional. O conteúdo polifenólico do fruto foi determinado pelo método de Folin-Ciocalteau e os resultados obtidos foram: 10,31 ± 0,25%, 12,42 ± 0,89%, 12,75 ± 0,94%, para o extrato bruto, fração acetato de etila e fração remanescente, respectivamente. A atividade antioxidante foi determinada pelos métodos de redução do complexo fosfomolibdênico e DPPH. O extrato bruto e as frações acetato de etila e remanescente apresentaram atividade antioxidante, sendo que as duas últimas demonstraram maior atividade indicando que o conteúdo polifenólico pode ser responsável por esta atividade.<br>The polyphenolic content and the antioxidant activity of Euterpe edulis Martius fruit extract were assessed. This species is a Palm tree known as Juçara, native to Atlantic Forest and used for palm heart extraction. The process of palm heart extraction leads to the death of the plant since the latter has one single stem. The high demand has resulted in the depletion of this natural resource. Many species from Atlantic Forest can be used by means of sustainable management for the preservation and economic exploration by local communities. The fruit of Juçara palm can be one of the sustainable management alternatives for the Atlantic Forest natural resources. The antioxidant capacity of this fruit can justify its application as nutritional food. The fruit polyphenolic content was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteau method and the obtained results were: 10.31 ± 0.25%, 12.42 ± 0.89%, 12.75 ± 0.94% for crude extract, acetyl acetate and remaining fractions, respectively. The antioxidant capacity was determined through the phosphomolybdenium complex and DPPH methods. The crude extract and the acetyl acetate and remaining fractions showed antioxidant activity, and the latter two showed higher activity, indicating that polyphenolic content may be responsible for this activity

RD53 analog front-end processors for the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the High-Luminosity LHC

International audienceThis work discusses the design and the main results relevant to the characterization of analogfront-end processors in view of their operation in the pixel detector readout chips of ATLAS andCMS at the High-Luminosity LHC. The front-end channels presented in this paper are part ofRD53A, a large scale demonstrator designed in a 65 nm CMOS technology by the RD53 collaboration. The collaboration is now developing the full-sized readout chips for the actual experiments. Some details on the improvements implemented in the analog front-ends are provided inthe paper