Evidence that the degree of band 3 phosphorylation modulates human erythrocytes nitric oxide efflux – in vitro model of hyperfibrinogenemia

© 2011 – IOS Press and the authors. All rights reservedRecent evidence has shown that plasma fibrinogen, a major cardiovascular risk factor, interacts with the erythrocyte membrane and acts to influence blood flow via erythrocyte nitric oxide (NO) modulation. In the present pioneer in-vitro study, whole blood samples were harvested from healthy subjects and aliquots were incubated in the absence (control aliquots) and presence of fibrinogen at different degrees of band 3 phosphorylation, and the levels of NO, nitrite, nitrate and S-nitroglutathione (GSNO) were determined. Hyperfibrinogenemia interferes with erythrocyte NO mobilization without changing its efflux in a way that seems to be dependent of the degree of band 3 phosphorylation. In presence of higher fibrinogen concentrations the NO efflux is reinforced when band 3 is phosphorylated (p < 0.001). Higher levels of nitrite, nitrate and GSNO were documented (p < 0.05). However, the mechanisms by which fibrinogen signalling modulates erythrocyte function remain to be clarified and are currently under study. These conditions may be considered an approach to be followed in blood storage for transfusions.This study was supported by grants from the FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (project reference PTDC/SAU-OSM/73449/2006

Structured products in the current low interest rate environment

Directed Research InternshipThis study presents an analysis on the Portuguese market of structured products and the features used to mitigate the problem of the current low interest rates. Given the possible combinations, it proposes a specific product that enables an annualized yield of 4.5% to the investor if his expectations materialize during the next 2 years, while providing the issuer with a 2% upfront commercial margin. It also addresses some of the risks for the issuer of such product and the magnitude of their impact in the hedging process.UNL - NSB

Ozone against mycotoxins and pesticide residues in food: Current applications and perspectives

Food safety may be compromised by the presence of chemical contaminants, such as mycotoxins and pesticide residues. Mycotoxins are natural contaminants produced by certain species of filamentous fungi and can cause toxic effects on human health. Pesticide residues are any specified substance in food resulting from the use of a pesticide with toxicological significance. To protect consumers from these toxic substances, different food regulatory agencies have set maximum levels permitted in different raw materials and processed foods. However, recent research has demonstrated a high incidence of both mycotoxins and pesticide residues (not simultaneously) in foods marketed all around the world, sometimes with levels above the regulated limits. One way to reduce such contaminants is to use ozone (O3) in food processing. Due to its high potential as an oxidant, O3 or the radicals generated in the ozonation process react with mycotoxins and pesticide residues that lose their toxicity due to molecular degradation. In this review paper the recent research into using O3 for gaseous ozonation and ozonized water to decontaminate food by eliminating and/or reducing mycotoxins and pesticide residues are discussed. Also the changes promoted in food quality attributes, the possible formation of degradation products of toxic relevance, as well as some perspectives for the future use of this technology in food processing are explored.National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development, BrazilCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, BrazilRio de Janeiro State Foundation to Support ResearchAuthors are grateful for the financial support provided by CNPq (National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development, Brazil), CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brazil) and FAPERJ (Rio de Janeiro State Foundation to Support Research)

Abertura de capital e manutenção de S.A.

Orientadora: Mayla Cristina CostaTrabalho (especialização) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, Curso de Especialização em ControladoriaInclui referênciasResumo : A presente monografia teve como objetivo pesquisar os processos iniciais para a abertura de capital de empresas, conhecida pela sigla em inglês IPO. O objetivo é evidenciar os principais pontos para entrar no mercado de capitais e conceituar as etapas e documentos necessários para que isso ocorra. São apresentadas, também, as vantagens, desvantagens, os custos que norteiam o processo de abertura do capital e a motivação principal, que é a captação de recursos no mercado financeiro. Através da emissão de ações a empresa dota de recursos financeiros que podem auxiliar na expansão das atividades, alavancando a competitividade e garantindo a continuidade da atividade empresarial. O processo de abertura de capital até a manutenção da atividade de companhia aberta demanda de diversos compromissos com entidades fiscalizadoras e investidores. A simples decisão de abrir o capital não é suficiente para tornar-se uma companhia aberta, são necessárias análises criteriosas de todo o processo envolvido para aderir ao mercado acionário

Gestão organizacional em empresas familiares no Vale do Rio dos Sinos

In the context of business changes, family businesses have often been observed and studied because of their potential for development. Furthermore, these are organizations that have contributed much, and will continue to contribute, to development of the region and the communities, while occupying a prominent position in the business scenario. The organizational practices of management by these businesses in the region of the Vale do Rio dos Sinos were identified and described to provide considerations and potential actions for improving the organizational models adopted. The methodology of exploratory and field research was applied to develop this study. For analysis, the qualitative approach was used to interpret data collected. Results suggest that the family businesses studied implement changes and improvements in their management practices so that organizational models adopted are flexible and adjusted to the globalized world today thereby contributing to growth of the business and also to local, regional and national development as well.En el contexto de las mudanzas empresariales, las empresas familiares han sido objeto frecuente de observación y estudio en consecuencia del potencial de desarrollo que poseen, además del hecho de que esas organizaciones han contribuido y todavía contribuyen para el desarrollo regional y de las comunidades, ocupando una posición de destaque en el escenario de los negocios. Este trabajo tiene como objetivo identificar y caracterizar prácticas organizacionales de gestión en empresas familiares en la región del Vale do Rio dos Sinos, en el sentido de propiciar reflexiones y posibles acciones que visen el perfeccionamiento de los modelos organizacionales adoptados. Para desarrollar este estudio se aplicó la metodología de investigación exploratoria y de campo. El análisis se realizó mediante el abordaje cualitativo, para la interpretación de los datos averiguados en la investigación. Los resultados sugieren que las empresas familiares investigadas pongan en práctica mudanzas y perfeccionamientos en sus prácticas de gestión, para que modelos organizacionales adoptados sean flexibles y ajustados a la realidad del mundo globalizado, contribuyendo de esta forma con el propio crecimiento de la empresa y también con el desarrollo local, regional y nacional.No contexto das mudanças empresariais, as empresas familiares têm sido objeto frequente de observação e estudo em razão do potencial de desenvolvimento que possuem, além do fato de essas organizações terem contribuído muito e ainda contribuírem para o desenvolvimento regional e das comunidades, ocupando uma posição de destaque no cenário dos negócios. Este trabalho tem como objetivo identificar e caracterizar práticas organizacionais de gestão em empresas familiares na região do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, a fim de propiciar reflexões e possíveis ações que visem o aprimoramento dos modelos organizacionais adotados. Aplicou-se a metodologia da pesquisa exploratória e de campo para desenvolver este estudo. A análise deu-se por meio da abordagem qualitativa, para interpretação dos dados apurados na pesquisa. Os resultados do estudo sugerem que as empresas familiares pesquisadas implementem mudanças e aprimoramentos em suas práticas de gestão, para que modelos organizacionais adotados sejam flexíveis e ajustados à realidade do mundo globalizado, contribuindo assim com o próprio crescimento da empresa e também com o desenvolvimento local, regional e nacional

Fibrinogen effects of erythrocyte nitric oxide metabolism in presence of timolol

©2018 Saldanha C. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are creditedTimolol inhibits erythrocyte membrane acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme activity originates less active enzyme complex forms unable to change the normal values of the nitric oxide (NO) efflux from erythrocytes. The active complex resulting from acetylcholine (ACh) binding to AChE induces higher values of NO efflux. Increased values of NO efflux were also observed in presence of high fibrinogen (Fib) concentration with return to normal levels of NO efflux when ACh is added. Association between NO efflux and erythrocyte deformability values has been evidenced. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of high fibrinogen concentration on the erythrocyte NO metabolism and deformability in presence of timolol without and plus adenylyl cyclase or plus guanylyl cyclase inhibitors. Blood samples from healthy donors were divided in aliquots without (control) or with Fib or Fib plus timolol in absence or presence of adenylyl cyclase inhibitor (MDL) or guanylyl cyclase inhibitor (Ly). Erythrocyte deformability (ED), NO efflux, S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), nitrite and nitrate values were evaluated by referenced methods. Fib increased the values of NO efflux under the influence of timolol or MDL. Increased values of NO efflux, GSNO, nitrites and nitrates where obtained in presence of Fib plus timolol plus MDL in relation to control to Fib or Fib plus MDL aliquots. Increased nitrites and nitrates values where obtained in presence of Fib plus timolol plus Ly in relation to control, to Fib and Fib plus Ly. Only at high shear stress increased ED values was observed in Fib plus timolol in absence and presence of MDL. In conclusion fibrinogen plus timolol increased ED at high shear stress without or with MDL. Fibrinogen increased NO efflux from erythrocytes and GSNO, nitrite and nitrate levels in presence of timolol plus guanylyl cyclase inhibitor.This work was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia: LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-007391, project cofunded by FEDER,through POR Lisboa 2020 - Programa Operacional Regional de Lisboa, PORTUGAL 2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Training load, stress tolerance and upper respiratory tract infection in basketball players

O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar o efeito da manipulação das cargas externas\ud sobre a dinâmica da carga interna de treinamento (CIT), a tolerância ao estresse (TE) e\ud a severidade de episódios de infecção do trato respiratório superior (ITRS) em atletas de\ud basquetebol, durante um macrociclo de 19 semanas, dividido em uma etapa preparatória\ud (E1) e duas etapas de competição (E2 e E3). Os instrumentos Wisconsin Upper Respiratory\ud Symptom Survey (WURSS-21) para o monitoramento das ITRS e o Daily Analysis\ud of Life Demands for Athletes’ (DALDA; TE) foram preenchidos semanalmente. A CIT foi\ud aferida a partir da percepção subjetiva de esforço da sessão (PSE da sessão). Foi detectada\ud queda da CIT na E3, quando comparadas às etapas E1 e E2 (p < 0,05), e decréscimo no\ud número de respostas “melhor que o normal” na parte A (fontes de estresse) e na parte\ud B (sintomas de estresse) do DALDA, em E2 e E3, comparado com E1 (p < 0,05). Na\ud última etapa (E3), houve incremento da severidade de ITRS (p < 0,05). Adicionalmente,\ud correlações significantes entre TE e ITRS foram verificadas, sugerindo que a tolerância\ud ao estresse pode modular a severidade de ITRS. Em conclusão, a manipulação da CET\ud provocou alterações na CIT. Entretanto, ao contrário da hipótese inicial, a redução da\ud CIT no período competitivo foi acompanhada por redução da tolerância ao estresse e\ud aumento da severidade da ITRS. Além disso, a magnitude do estresse parece induzir o\ud aumento da severidade de ITRSThe present study aimed to investigate the effect of external training load manipulation\ud on internal training load (ITL), stress tolerance (ST) and upper respiratory tract\ud infection (URTI) severity in basketball players during a 19-week macrocycle. The macrocycle\ud was divided into three distinct phases: preparatory phase (P1) and two competitive phases\ud (P2 and P3). The Daily Analysis of Life Demands for Athletes questionnaire (DALDA), for\ud assessment of sources and symptoms of stress, and the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom\ud Survey (WURSS-21), for evaluation of URTI severity, were used on a weekly basis. The ITL\ud was assessed by Rating of Perceived Exertion (session RPE). There was a decrease in ITL at\ud P3 when compared to P1 and P2 (p < 0.05). A decrease in “better than normal” responses in\ud DALDA for both sources and symptoms of stress was observed at P2 and P3 when compared\ud to P1 (p < 0.05). There was also a significant increase in URTI severity. In addition, significant\ud relationships between ST and URTI were shown at P3, suggesting that stress tolerance may\ud modulate URTI severity. In summary, ETL manipulation induced changes in ITL. However,\ud unlike the initial hypothesis, a decrease in ITL during the competitive period was followed by\ud a decrease in stress tolerance and an increase in URTI severity. Furthermore, the magnitude\ud of stress seems to provoke an increase in URTI severit

Abnormalities of erythrocyte filtrability in diabetic microangiopathy

In 30 ambulatory patients (14 men and 16 women), with diabetes mellitus (7 of type I and 23 of type II) of variable duration and with ages averaging 52.2 years, the degree of retinal microangiopathy was assessed along with the erythrocyte filtration rate (FR) and the percentage of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA,). The FR was significantly (p < 0.001) lower among the diabetics (12.09 ± 2.71 JAI sec-I) than in the controls (15.80 ± 1.75). On the other hand, the level of HbA1 was significantly (p < 0.001) higher in the diabetics (12.26 ± 3.83) than in the control group (7.97 ± 1.47). The severity of the diabetic retinopathy was estimated as follows: degree Tin 10 patients, degree II in 10 patients also, degree III in 4 patients and no abnormalities in 6 individuals. Among the patients the retinal lesions were significantly correlated (r = -0.46, p < 0.01) with the value of FR but were not affected by the level of HbA,. No significant correlation was detected between FR and HbA1. Our results suggest that, as a consequence of the metabolic abnormalities present in the diabetics, the non-enzymatic glycosylation of hemoglobin A is increased. The rise of erythrocyte rigidity, while hampering blood-flow through already injured microvessels, could contribute to the development of retinal abnormalities irrespective of the HbA, level. Consequently, the abnormalities in the retinal microcirculation could, directly or indirectly, influence red cell filtrability, worsening the rheologic behaviour in the local microvessels.This study was supported by a grant from INIC (MbL2)

Antioxidant and Antinociceptive Effects of Citrus limon Essential Oil in Mice

The antioxidant and antinociceptive activities of Citrus limon essential oil (EO) were assessed in mice or in vitro tests. EO possesses a strong antioxidant potential according to the scavenging assays. Moreover, it presented scavenger activity against all in vitro tests. Orally, EO (50, 100, and 150 mg/kg) significantly reduced the number of writhes, and, at highest doses, it reduced the number of paw licks. Whereas naloxone antagonized the antinociceptive action of EO (highest doses), this suggested, at least, the participation of the opioid system. Further studies currently in progress will enable us to understand the action mechanisms of EO