Mechanisms mediating the impact of maternal obesity on offspring hypothalamic development and later function

As obesity rates have risen around the world, so to have pregnancies complicated by maternal obesity. Obesity during pregnancy is not only associated with negative health outcomes for the mother and the baby during pregnancy and birth, there is also strong evidence that exposure to maternal obesity causes an increased risk to develop obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life. Animal models have demonstrated that increased weight gain in offspring exposed to maternal obesity is usually preceded by increased food intake, implicating altered neuronal control of food intake as a likely area of change. The hypothalamus is the primary site in the brain for maintaining energy homeostasis, which it coordinates by sensing whole body nutrient status and appropriately adjusting parameters including food intake. The development of the hypothalamus is plastic and regulated by metabolic hormones such as leptin, ghrelin and insulin, making it vulnerable to disruption in an obese in utero environment. This review will summarise how the hypothalamus develops, how maternal obesity impacts on structure and function of the hypothalamus in the offspring, and the factors that are altered in an obese in utero environment that may mediate the permanent changes to hypothalamic function in exposed individuals

Proizvodnja inokoluma ektomikoriza gljiva uzgojem na krutoj podlozi i submerznom fermentacijom

Ectomycorrhizal fungi are very important for forestry practices. In order to develop controlled mycorrhization practices it is necessary to isolate and select ectomycorrhizal fungi that are able to colonize the intended plant species and that are efficient in promoting its growth under the environmental conditions prevailing in the plantation site. To be suitable for the inoculation of nursery seedlings, these fungi must be able to grow rapidly during large-scale cultivation and maintain high infectivity rates during storage. Even though several decades have passed since the first field-scale mycorrhizal experiments, the routine use of these fungi to inoculate plants is still not very common. The lack of suitable ectomycorrhizal inoculants in the market is one of the main factors contributing to this situation. This review presents and discusses techniques for the production and application of ectomycorrhizal inoculants, as well as the more recent studies aimed at developing reliable industrial production processes.Ektomikorize gljiva su vrlo važne u šumarstvu. Za razvoj kontroliranih mikoriza potrebno je izolirati i odabrati gljive što mogu kolonizirati ciljanu vrstu biljaka i koje uspješno rastu u plantažnim uvjetima. Da bi se mogle koristiti za inokulaciju biljaka u rasadniku, gljive moraju brzo rasti i u velikim količinama tijekom uzgoja te zadržavati veliku infektivnost pri skladištenju. Iako je prošlo više desetljeća od prvog mikoriznog pokusa na polju, još uvijek nije raširena upotreba tih gljiva za inokulaciju biljaka. Glavni uzrok tomu je nedostatak prikladnog ektomikoriznog inokulanta na tržištu. U ovom je revijalnom prikazu dan pregled i rasprava o tehnikama proizvodnje i primjeni ektomikoriznih inokulanata, te o najnovijim istraživanjima kako bi se u industriji razvili pouzdani proizvodni procesi

D-gluconic acid and its relation with the mycobiota of grapes produced in Santa Catarina

D-gluconic acid concentration in musts and wines is natural of acid sources, being produced by filamentous fungi and/or bacteria. Aspergillus, Botrytis, and Penicillium sp., oxidize to glucose to produce D-gluconic acid, that is not used by yeasts or bacteria and can be used as a fruit deterioration indicator. Since the detection of ochratoxin A (OTA) in juices and wines related studies to mycobiota of the grapes, under the ochratoxigenic potential point of view has been being evaluated. The present study had the goal of evaluating the grapes sanity degree produced in Santa Catarina in the crops 2005/2006, using the D-gluconic acid concentration as indicator. D-gluconic acid correlation between OTA, mycobiota and population of Aggregate A. niger went 0,017; 0,004 and 0,008, respectively, reflecting the low correlation presented with OTA. For the population of Botrytis the decisive factor was 0751, or only 24.9% of the variation can not be explained, since the mycobiota with the relationship was very low, reinforcing the hypothesis of association with other factors such as the presence of bitter rot

Proizvodnja inokoluma ektomikoriza gljiva uzgojem na krutoj podlozi i submerznom fermentacijom

Ectomycorrhizal fungi are very important for forestry practices. In order to develop controlled mycorrhization practices it is necessary to isolate and select ectomycorrhizal fungi that are able to colonize the intended plant species and that are efficient in promoting its growth under the environmental conditions prevailing in the plantation site. To be suitable for the inoculation of nursery seedlings, these fungi must be able to grow rapidly during large-scale cultivation and maintain high infectivity rates during storage. Even though several decades have passed since the first field-scale mycorrhizal experiments, the routine use of these fungi to inoculate plants is still not very common. The lack of suitable ectomycorrhizal inoculants in the market is one of the main factors contributing to this situation. This review presents and discusses techniques for the production and application of ectomycorrhizal inoculants, as well as the more recent studies aimed at developing reliable industrial production processes.Ektomikorize gljiva su vrlo važne u šumarstvu. Za razvoj kontroliranih mikoriza potrebno je izolirati i odabrati gljive što mogu kolonizirati ciljanu vrstu biljaka i koje uspješno rastu u plantažnim uvjetima. Da bi se mogle koristiti za inokulaciju biljaka u rasadniku, gljive moraju brzo rasti i u velikim količinama tijekom uzgoja te zadržavati veliku infektivnost pri skladištenju. Iako je prošlo više desetljeća od prvog mikoriznog pokusa na polju, još uvijek nije raširena upotreba tih gljiva za inokulaciju biljaka. Glavni uzrok tomu je nedostatak prikladnog ektomikoriznog inokulanta na tržištu. U ovom je revijalnom prikazu dan pregled i rasprava o tehnikama proizvodnje i primjeni ektomikoriznih inokulanata, te o najnovijim istraživanjima kako bi se u industriji razvili pouzdani proizvodni procesi

Caracteristicas hidrodinamicas de transferencia de massa em contatores "air-lift"

Orientador: João A. F. R. PereiraDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de CampinasResumo: Contatores "air-lift" vêm se tornando uma alternativa viável para processos fermentação aeróbicos devido às altas taxas de transferência aeróbicos devido às altas taxas de tranferência de massa e energia obtivos nesse tipo de fermentador ¿Observação: O resumo, na íntegra poderá ser visualizado no texto completo da tese digital.Abstract: Not informed.MestradoMestre em Engenharia Químic

Aspectos morfossedimentares da praia das Rendeiras, Laguna da Conceição (Ilha de Santa Catarina - SC)

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geografia.A Praia das Rendeiras se localiza na porção central da laguna da conceição, ilha de Santa Catarina, estendendo-se no sentido leste-oeste ao longo de aproximadamente 2km da margem. A praia é moldada pela ação de ondas, resultantes da atuação de ventos de norte/nordeste sobre o corpo lagunar, e sofre forte influência de estruturas antrópicas. O objetivo desse trabalho consistiu em identificar as características morfossedimentares da praia, dando uma maior ênfase à morfológica do banco marginal submerso associado à praia. A caracterização teve como base a coleta e processamento de dados batimétricos, sedimentológicos e de fotos de campo, além do cálculo da pista efetiva de vento (fetch) ao longo da praia. Os resultados mostraram uma forte heterogeneidade nas características morfológicas, tanto nas áreas emersas quanto nas áreas submersas. Os sedimentos se comportaram de forma mais homogênea, com tamanho de grão na classe areia fina, bem selecionada, para toda a praia. Os teores de carbonato biodetrítico se apresentaram maiores na porção central, e os teores de matéria orgânica total, nas extremidades. Os maiores valores de fetch encontrados coincidem com o setor de maior declividade e menor volume sedimentar. O setor com o maior desenvolvimento do pós-praia apresenta menor grau de exposição e mais de 50% dos aportes pluviais existentes. Com base nos resultados foi possível identificar três setores morfologicamente distintos: oeste, central e leste. O grau de exposição e o fetch aumentam do extremo leste para o extremo oeste. A heterogeneidade ao longo da praia é controlada pelos seguintes fatores: orientação da linha de costa, morfologia lagunar, grau de exposição e influência de estruturas antrópicas. The Rendeiras beach is located in the central portion of Conceição Lagoon, Santa Catarina island, extending with a east-west orientation along approximately 2km of the margin. The beach is molded by the action of incident waves, resulting from the performance of north/northeast winds on the water, indeed suffers strong influence of antrophogenic structures. The objective of this work consisted of identifying the morfosedimentary characteristics of the beach, with emphasis on the morphology of the marginal submerged bank associated with the beach. The characterization had as base the collection and geoprocessing of bathymetric, sedimentological and field pictures data, besides the calculation of the effective wind fetch along the beach. The results showed a strong heterogeneity in the morphologic characteristics, not only in the emerged but also in the submerged areas. The submerged area presents morphologic features such as transverse bars and mega ripples, with different morphologies depending on the place of occurence. The sediments behaved in a more homogeneous way, with grain size in the fine sand class, well sorted, for the whole beach. The major concentrations of biodetritical carbonate were found in the central portion, and the total organic matter, in the beach extremities. The largest values of fetch coincide with the largest steepness section and the smallest sedimentary volume. The most developed backshore presents a smaller exposure degree to the waves and wind and more than 50% of the existent pluvial contributions. According to the results was possible to identify three sections with different morphological types: west, central and east. The exposure degree and fetch increase from the central part of the beach toward the extremities. The transverse bars orientation and steepness values suggest the existence of currents generated by waves in opposite directions, starting from the central section. The heterogeneity along the beach is controlled by the following factors: coast line orientation, lagoon morphology, exposure degree and antrophogenic structures influence

Desenvolvimento de personagem para jogos eletrônicos 3D: criação e construção adaptadas ao contexto nacional de produção

PCC(graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Comunicação e Expressão. Design.A área de jogos eletrônicos está entre os maiores mercados de entretenimento do mundo, movimentando muitos empregos e tecnologias diferentes, além de ser parte das atividades sociais de uma grande parcela da população mundial. Tendo em vista a importância deste mercado e seu pouco desenvolvimento no Brasil, buscou-se criar um personagem para jogos 3D voltado para os consoles de mesa atuais (2017), levando em conta as limitações existentes nessas plataformas. Para isso, utilizou-se uma metodologia já aplicada em grandes empresas, passando pelas fases de conceituação e pré-produção de jogos. O personagem foi modelado e preparado para a animação no programa 3DS Max, utilizando escaneamento facial como ferramenta para a modelagem de sua face. Suas texturas foram construídas no programa Adobe Photoshop e suas animações foram feitas por captura de movimento, sendo refinadas posteriormente no software Motion Builder. Com as animações prontas, o personagem foi colocado na engine de jogos Unreal Engine onde verificou-se que ele se encontrava dentro das especificações para um personagem de jogos para consoles, mostrando a viabilidade da produção deste tipo de personagem com as limitações e ferramentas apresentadas.Video games are among the largest entertainment industries in the world, generating many jobs, helping in the development of many different technologies while also being part of the social activities of a great portion of the world’s population. Considering the importance of this market and its subpar development in Brazil, the main goal was to create a 3D character for current video game consoles (2017), taking into account the limitations of these platforms. To achieve this, a methodology already used in the industry was utilized, going through the Concept and Pre-Production phases of a regular video game development. The character model and animation skeleton were created using the software 3DS Max, utilizing 3D scanning as a tool for modeling its face. Its textures were done with the program Adobe Photoshop and its animations were created through motion capture, being refined later in the software Motion Builder. In the end, the character was imported to the Unreal Engine game engine, where it was confirmed that it could perform within the specifications of a modern game, showing that the production of this kind of character is viable with the limitations and tools presented

Study of the feasibility on manufacturing polymeric optical fiber (POF) by vertical extrusion

Orientador: Julio Roberto BartoliDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia QuímicaResumo: As fibras ópticas poliméricas (FOP) apresentam vantagens em relação às fibras ópticas de sílica (FOS) devido à flexibilidade, maior abertura numérica (AN), maiores diâmetros, que facilitam as conexões, menor custo de fabricação e instalação. Entretanto, as FOP possuem alta atenuação do sinal transmitido quando comparadas às FOS. Por isso, suas principais aplicações estão limitadas a curtas distâncias, tais como: redes locais, eletrônica de veículos, automação industrial, sensores, guias de luz e displays. O PMMA - poli (metacrilato de metila) é o material mais comum usado no núcleo de dispositivos ópticos, pois apresenta melhores propriedades ópticas dentre os outros polímeros ópticos, como o: PS (poliestireno) e PC (policarbonato). Neste trabalho, foi estudado um novo método para fabricação das FOP pelo processo de extrusão vertical do tipo pistão, utilizando para o núcleo o PMMA e para a casca o PVDF - poli (fluoreto de vinilideno), ambos na forma granulada. Os polímeros são extrusados simultaneamente, por única matriz para formar o núcleo e casca da FOP, com a vantagem de existir compatibilidade entre eles e similaridade nos parâmetros do processamento. As FOP produzidas foram caracterizadas quanto à morfologia e composição da secção transversal; núcleo e casca, por análises de Microscopia Óptica, Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (MEV) com Detector de Energia Dispersiva de Raios-X (EDX ou EDS), e quanto às suas propriedades ópticas através de medidas de atenuação óptica em função do comprimento de onda. A menor atenuação medida dentre as FOP produzidas foi de 10,70 dB/m em 840 nm. As atenuações medidas tiveram uma significativa contribuição da clivagem e das perdas por acoplamento da fibra. Além do que, nas FOP produzidas verificou-se que a espessura da camada fluorada da casca não é uniforme. O método de extrusão simultânea dos polímeros de PMMA e PVDF para fabricação do núcleo e casca da FOP se mostra viável e promissor, ainda que melhorias devam ser realizadas para obtenção de FOP com diâmetros de núcleo e casca constantes que proporcionem potencial aplicação em comprimentos reduzidos, como por exemplo, em sensores ópticos e sinaisAbstract: Polymeric optical fibers (POF) presents some advantages compared to the glass optical fibers as flexibility, higher numerical aperture (NA), ease in handling and connecting due to their larger diameter and lower cost manufacturing and installation. However, due to their larger transmission losses compared to the main applications of glass fibers, POF are limited to short distances, such as local area networks (LAN), vehicle electronics, industrial automation, sensors, guides lighting and displays. PMMA - poly (methyl methacrylate) is the most common material used in the core of optical devices, since it has better optical properties in comparison with other optical polymers such as PS (polysterene) and PC (polycarbonate). In this study, it is proposed a new method to manufacture POF by vertical extrusion using PMMA and PVDF - poly (vinylidene fluoride) as core and cladding materials, respectively. The polymers are simultaneously extruded using the same die, taking advantage of their compatibility and similar processing parameters. The POF produced were characterized for core and cladding morphology and composition, by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX or EDS) and optical properties measurements of loss attenuation as a function of wavelength. The lowest spectral attenuation measured of the produced POF was 10,70 dB/m at 840 nm. Likely, lower losses could be expected if a more appropriated cleaving method for POF would be used and improvements on fiber coupling for loss attenuation measurements. In addition, the losses measured are also due to the irregular thickness of the fluorinated layer (cladding) around the core of the POF produced. Although, improvements are needed to get a FOP with regular diameters of cores and cladding, the one-step process developed for POF manufacturing by simultaneous extrusion of PMMA (core) and PVDF (cladding) showed to be feasible and could be a potential process for ease production of POF for short length applicationsMestradoCiencia e Tecnologia de MateriaisMestre em Engenharia Químic

Ochratoxin A and filamentous fungi in red wine grapes from Santa Catarina, Brazil

The quality of wines has been evaluated traditionally according to sensorial properties. Recently, safety issues have been raised, such as pesticide residues and mycotoxins, with the introduction of new agricultural practices and the development of analytical methods with higher sensitivity. Ochratoxin A (OTA) is such a mycotoxin, produced by some Aspergillus and Penicillium species and is one of the most recent safety issues for wine. The mycobiota of, and the occurrence of OTA in Southern Brazilian grapes are not known. The presence of these contaminants was assessed by collecting 30 samples of grapes, from 16 vineyards, from the two most important wine subregions in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The mycobiota was evaluated by plating 10 grapes from each sample in Dichloran Rose Bengal Chloramphenicol Agar and Sabouraud Dextrose Agar, supplemented with chloramphenicol. Production of OTA by black Aspergillus strains was estimated after growing in Czapeck Yeast Agar. OTA was analysed in 9 grape samples by chromatography with immunoaffinity clean-up, as stipulated by the European regulation. Three hundred and eighty seven strains were isolated. The dominant genera were Cladosporium (found in 86.7% of plated berries), Alternaria (80.0%), Botrytis (70.0%), Aspergillus (66.7%), and Penicillium (63.3%). Sixteen A. niger aggregate strains (26 % of total Aspergillus strains) were isolated, and OTA was not detected from any of these strains. No A. carbonarius was isolated. OTA was found in 6 grape samples, with a range of values from 0.16 μg/Kg to 0.77 μg/Kg. In conclusion, no OTA producing black Aspergillus strains were found in grapes, although some grape samples contain the mycotoxin. The fungal source of OTA requires further investigation