BIOKEMIJSKA ISTRAŽIVANJA TUNISKIH AUTOHTONIH EKOTIPOVA BISRNOG PROSA (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br)

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br) is a staple food in many developing countries and constitutes the major source of essential nutrients in semi-arid and arid regions of Africa and India. The knowledge about the nutrient content of autochthonous pearl millet ecotypes is scarce. In this study, biochemical analysis of six Tunisian pearl millet ecotypes has been investigated. Results provide evidence of differences in polyphenols content, antioxidant potential and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity among the studied ecotypes. These three parameters were found significantly correlated. Moreover, some ecotypes were shown to be potentially quite important sources of health promoting antioxidants. The studied biochemical properties could be used as criteria of selection for a specific food application especially the integration of this cereal in diverse industrial nutritional products.Biserno proso (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br) osnovna je hrana u mnogim zemljama u razvoju i predstavlja najveći izvor osnovnih hranidbenih sastojaka u polupustinjskim i pustinjskim regijama Afrike i Indije. Znanje o nutricionističkom sastavu autohtonih ekotipova bisernog prosa je površno. U ovoj studiji obrađena je biokemijska analiza šest tuniskih ekotipova bisernog prosa. Rezultati dokazuju razlike u količinama polifenola, antioksidans potencijala i polifenol oksidacijske (PPO) aktivnosti unutar proučavanih ekotipova. Utvrđeno je da su ova tri parametra međusobno povezana. Štoviše, neki ekotipovi mogli bi se iskoristiti kao kriterij selekcije za određenu primjenu u prehrani, pogotovo pri korištenju ove žitarice u raznim prehrambenim proizvodima

Aortic valve stenosis: Treatments options in elderly high-risk patients

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New Technique for Aortic Valve Functional Annulus Reshaping Using a Handmade Prosthetic Ring

Background. Despite a wide development in aortic leaflets repair techniques, aortic valve annuloplastic procedures are still poorly investigated. We present our aortic valve annuloplastic system consisting of a handmade prosthetic ring with 2 components for reshaping the aortic annulus and sinotubular junction (STJ) and illustrates our surgical approach and clinical results. Methods. Since February 2003, 45 patients with aortic valve regurgitation underwent aortic annuloplasty using the new ring. Mean patient age was 58 16 years (range, 46 to 76 years). The ring has 2 components: a circular ring used to undersize the circumference of the aortoventricular junction and 3-crown-like shape ring used for STJ remodeling. The circular ring was sutured into the left ventricular outflow tract in the aortic subvalvular position and the STJ ring was sutured from the outside of the aortic root just at the level of the STJ. The 3 vertical bands of the STJ ring were fixed to the underlying circular ring to stabilize the continuity between the STJ and nadir of the aortic valve. Results. No in-hospital death occurred. Two patients had residual trivial aortic valve regurgitation postoperatively, and 3 patients required treatment for residual aortic regurgitation (more than mild). Mean length of the coaptation surface was 10 2 mm. The mean clinical follow-up (100% complete) was 22 16 months. All patients were free from cardiac and valve-related events, and no complications due to ring implantation occurred. Conclusions. This ring reshapes the functional aortic annulus and stabilizes all components of the native aortic valve stent to improve long-term results of valve repair

Immunopurification and characterization of a rape (Brassica napus L.) seedling lipase

Lipase or triacylglycerol acylhydrolase (E.C.3.1.1.3) was purified to homogeneity from rapeseed-germinated cotyledons (Brassica napus L.). The purification scheme involved homogenization, centrifugation, ultracentrifugation and affinity chromatography using polyclonal antibodies raised against porcine pancreatic lipase. The purified rapeseed lipase was homogenous and did not contain contaminating proteins detectable by SDS-PAGE and HPLC analysis. The specific activity of the purified preparation was increased about 1950 times, with an overall yield of 35%. The rapeseed lipase was found to be a cytosoluble, glycosylated and heat-labile serine-hydrolase. It was monomeric with a molecular mass of 38 kDa and a pH of 6.6. The purification method used in the present work is rapid, simple, and yields highly purified lipase. It may therefore be applicable in the purification of other uncharacterized plant lipases.Keywords: Brassica napus L., immuno-affinity, lipase, purification, triacylglycerol acyl hydrolaseAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(21), pp. 3224-323

Metodologia para alteração do arranjo fisico do setor produtivo de pequenas e medias empresas

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro TecnologicoO presente trabalho tem por objetivo apresentar uma metodologia que foi desenvolvida visando guiar os passos a serem seguidos pelos administradores das pequenas e médias empresas, quando desejarem alterar o arranjo físico do setor produtivo. Serão apresentadas e descritas as diversas atividades a serem realizadas para que seja obtido um arranjo físico adequado às condições vivenciadas pela empresa. A fim de melhor esclarecer o que está apresentado na metodologia, é feita uma aplicação em uma empresa de médio porte, onde o objetivo é identificar suas principais limitações e dificuldades operacionais, o que irá atestar ou não, a validade do emprego da metodologia. Concluindo, são apresentadas as conclusões e recomendações levantadas a partir do desenvolvimento e aplicação da metodologia

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation in 2015

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Association between asymptomatic carotid atherosclerosis and degenerative aortic stenosis.

OBJECTIVE: Degenerative aortic stenosis shows similarities with atherosclerosis. To confirm the hypothesis that aortic stenosis is an "atherosclerosis-like" disease, we investigated the association between degenerative aortic stenosis and atherosclerosis of carotid arteries. METHODS: We studied 270 consecutive patients, 135 with degenerative aortic stenosis (trans-aortic peak velocity ≥ 2 m/sec) and other 135 subjects without aortic valve disease. All patients underwent echocardiography and ultrasound scan of the supra-aortic trunks to assess the presence of plaque and/or intima-media thickening (IMT). RESULTS: Atherosclerosis of carotid arteries (IMT and plaque) was significantly more frequent in patients with aortic stenosis than in controls (95.5% vs. 66.6%, p < 0.0001). The same result was confirmed as concerns carotid plaques (69.6% vs. 42.2%, p < 0.0001). In addition, there was a significant association between aortic stenosis and degenerative carotid plaque (OR = 3.13; 95% C.I. = 1.90-5.17). Thus the presence of a linear correlation between the trans-aortic peak velocity of the cases and the thickness of the plaques and IMT was evaluated by calculating the coefficient of correlation (R = 0.15 for plaque and R = 0.53 for IMT). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of carotid atherosclerosis is associated with degenerative aortic stenosis and the severity of aortic stenosis corresponds to an increase of the thickness of plaque and IMT. This relationship is quite new. Our result strengthens the pathogenetic hypothesis "atherosclerosis-like" of degenerative aortic stenosis and suggest the ultrasound scan as a non invasive method for risk stratification in patient with aortic stenosis, with therapeutic implications especially for higher risk subgroups