O Centro de Documentação e Memória da Mogiana: Extensão Universitária e Gestão de Documentos Históricos do Período Cafeeiro

The coffee historical documentation, belonging to the production coffee cycle in the Ribeirão Preto region, even in the basements of dispersed farms or centralized in public institutes, can add value to the national cultural heritage. However, access to such documents is limited mainly by the poor state of preservation, storage, often incorrect, and inappropriate means to access the information. We propose the establishment of a documentation center with the functions: to clean, to conserve and to scan documents that aproach the regional History of Coffee. The work had character of extension and university research involving students of the University of São Paulo, of Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras, of the respective courses: Medical Physics, Psychology and Information Sciences.A documentação histórica do café, pertencente ao ciclo de produção cafeeira na região de Ribeirão Preto, ainda dispersa nos porões de fazendas ou centralizada em órgãos públicos, poderá agregar valores ao patrimônio cultural nacional. No entanto, o acesso a tais documentos é limitado principalmente pelo estado precário de conservação, armazenamento muitas vezes incorreto e, não raro, pelos meios de veiculação inadequados ao acesso informacional. Propusemos a implantação de um centro de documentação com funções determinadas, como: higienizar, conservar e digitalizar documentos que abordam a história regional do café. O projeto teve caráter de extensão e pesquisa universitária com envolvimento de alunos da Universidade de São Paulo, da Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, dos respectivos cursos: Física Médica, Psicologia e Ciência da Informação

Quantification of iron deposition in the brain using magnetic resonance: a study in patients with Parkinsons disease.

A capacidade do ferro, presente no corpo humano, em aceitar e doar elétrons o torna essencial para homeostase celular e várias reações biológicas. Contudo, o excesso deste metal no cérebro pode gerar efeitos deletérios através da produção de espécies reativas de oxigênio que causam o estresse oxidativo. Este estresse aparece como possível causa de doenças neurodegenerativas, caracterizadas por um aumento significativo da concentração de ferro em certas regiões do cérebro. Detectar e quantificar a deposição de ferro in vivo no cérebro torna-se de extrema relevância para entender diversas doenças neurodegenerativas. Neste estudo avaliamos a sensibilidade e a especificidade das principais técnicas de Ressonância Magnética in vivo para estimar o conteúdo de ferro depositado no cérebro. Foram estudados um grupo de 16 sujeitos saudáveis e outro de 14 pacientes com doença de Parkinson. Mapas de relaxometria (R2 e R2*) e susceptibilidade (QSM) foram estimados a partir de imagens adquiridas numa maquina de RM de 3.0T. Embora todos os mapas tenham apresentado correlação linear (r2 = 0; 7) com o acumulo de ferro reportado in vitro nas regiões do núcleo da base, apenas os mapas R2 e QSM apresentaram estatisticamente aumento significativo (p<0,05) para certas regiões do cérebro parkinsoniano (substância negra, núcleo rubro e globo pálido). O mapa QSM apresentou maior sensibilidade e especificidade para diferenciar pacientes com a doença quando comparados a sujeitos saudáveis por meio da análise da curva ROC. Concluímos que os mapas de relaxometria e susceptibilidade magnética podem estimar de forma indireta o conteúdo de ferro no cérebro, apesar de apresentarem dependências diferentes com a concentração deste metal. Observamos também que os valores de sususceptibilidade magnética obtidos com imagens de baixa resolução (1,0x1,0x2,0mm) não apresentaram mudanças significativas em relação aos obtidos com imagens de alta resolução (0,5x0,5x2,0mm). Logo, sugerimos a aquisição de imagens com baixa resolução para o processamento do mapa QSM. A analise de múltiplos valores de tempo de relaxação T2 determinou apenas um valor para cada região do núcleo da base para ambos os grupos, este resultado foi aparentemente afetado pela relação sinal ruído.The capacity of the iron present in the human body to accept and donate electrons makes it essential for cellular homeostasis and various biological reactions. However, an excess of the metal in the brain can produce deleterious effects through the production of reactive oxygen species that cause oxidative stress. This stress can be the possible cause of neurodegenerative diseases which present a significant increase in iron concentration in certain brain regions. To detect and quantify iron deposition in the brain in vivo has high potential for understanding neurodegenerative diseases. In this study we evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of the main Magnetic Resonance technique in vivo to estimate the content of iron deposited in the brain. Were studied a group of 16 controls and 14 patient with Parkinson disease. Relaxometry map (R2 and R2*) and magnetic susceptibility map QSM were estimated by images obtained of scanner of Magnetic Resonance of 3T. Although all maps have presented linear correlation (r2=0.7) with the accumulation of iron reported in vitro regions of basal ganglia, only the R2 and QSM maps showed significant increase (p < 0.05) for certain regions of the parkinsonian brain (substantia nigra, red nucleus, and globus pallidus). The QSM map showed higher sensitivity and especificity for differentiate patients with the disease when compared with controls by the analysis of curve ROC. We conclude that magnetic susceptibility and relaxometry maps may estimate indirect the content of brain iron, although having different dependencies with the concentration of this metal. We also observed that the values of magnetic sususceptibility obtained with low resolution images (1,0 x1, 0x2, 0mm) showed no significant change compared to those obtained with high-resolution images (0,5 x0, 5x2,0mm). So, we suggest the acquisition of images with low resolution to process QSM map. The analysis of multiple relaxation time T2 determined just one value for basal ganglia in both groups, these results were apparently affected by rate noise signal

Paramagnetic ion content in the brain and its correlation with Magnetic Resonance quantitative maps.

Mapas quantitativos de ressonância magnética (RM) têm sido propostos para quantificar a concentração in vivo de ferro no cérebro. Contudo, a especificidade destes mapas para outros metais e seus respectivos íons metálicos é pouco conhecida, limitando o diagnóstico radiológico e o estudo de doenças relacionadas com acúmulo de metais no cérebro. Propomos nesta tese avaliar a sensibilidade e a especificidade dos mapas de relaxometria (R2, R2*) e de susceptibilidade (QSM, sigla em inglês de Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping) para diferentes metais e respectivos íons paramagnéticos de encéfalos postmortem sem doença neurológica em duas condições (in situ e ex situ). Adicionalmente procuramos identificar as metaloproteinas associadas aos íons paramagnéticos detectados nos tecidos cerebrais. Por último, avaliamos a sensibilidade destes mapas quantitativos em estudos de biodistribuição de nano partículas superparamagnéticas de oxido de ferro em tecido animal e em objeto simulador. Treze sujeitos postmortem sem doença neurológica, 1 paciente postmortem com doença de Parkinson e 6 camundongos brancos swiss (2 controles e 4 injetados) foram estudados. Um idoso saudável também foi examinado para comparações in vivo e postmortem. Mapas de ressonância magnética de encéfalo de humanos e de corpo inteiro de animais foram adquiridos em um equipamento de 3T e 7T, respectivamente. Amostras de tecido cerebral dos núcleos da base e do lobo parietal de ambos hemisférios foram extraídas dos encéfalos humanos após, em média, 148 dias de fixação em solução de formaldeído 4%. A quantificação de íons paramagnéticos e de metais totais foi realizada por ressonância paramagnética eletrônica (RPE) e espectrometria de massa por plasma indutivamente acoplado (ICP-MS, sigla em inglês de Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry), respectivamente. Os espectros de RPE de todas as regiões cerebrais estudadas apresentaram 4 conjunto de picos principais de ressonância de diferentes amplitudes. A simulação para os espectros obtidos de RPE permitiu identificar íons de Fe+3 nucleados e isolados em ferritina (g = 2,0 e g = 4,28, respectivamente) e Cu+2 (g = 2,259 e g = 2,062) em ceruloplasmina desnaturada. Mapas de QSM, R2* e R2 de cérebro controle de postmortem in situ e ex situ foram sensíveis e específicos apenas para a concentração de ferro total e de íons paramagnéticos Fe+3, como nanopartículas nucleadas na forma de ferrihidrita na ferritina. Embora cobre presente em ceruloplasmina tenha sido detectado por RPE e ICP-MS, não foi observada correlação com os mapas quantitativos de ressonância magnética. Nossos resultados postmortem confirmam a hipótese teórica de que os valores dos mapas QSM, R2* e R2, nessa ordem, estão mais fortemente correlacionados com o Fe+3 depositado na proteína ferritina. Os mapas de RM in situ foram mais sensíveis para quantificar metais do que os mapas ex situ, possivelmente pelo efeito do processo de fixação, permitindo uma melhor extrapolação dos resultados in situ para a condição in vivo. Nossos achados sugerem uma heterogeneidade nestas variações de sensibilidade, indicando que as técnicas de RM são dependentes da composição do tecido e devem ser levadas em conta para futuras conclusões. Por último, o mapa de susceptibilidade magnética mostrou ser mais independente da biodistribuição de nano partículas superparamagnéticas de oxido de ferro do que o mapa R2* para tecido animal e objeto simulador.Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging maps have been proposed to quantify the in vivo concentration of iron in the brain. However, the specificity of these maps for other metals and their respective metal ions is little known, limiting the radiological diagnosis and the study of diseases related to accumulation of metals in the brain. In this work, we propose to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the relaxometry (R2 and R2*) and susceptibility maps for different metals and respective paramagnetic ions of postmortem controls in two conditions (in situ and ex situ). In addition, we sought to identify the metalloproteins associated with paramagnetic ions detected in brain tissues. Finally, we evaluated the sensitivity of these quantitative maps in studies of biodistribution of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in mice. Thirteen postmortem controls, 1 postmortem patient with Parkinson\'s disease and 6 white swiss mice (2 controls and 4 injected) were studied. One healthy elderly man was also examined for in vivo and postmortem comparisons. Magnetic resonance maps of human brain and whole body animals were acquired in a 3T and 7T scanners, respectively. Brain human tissues samples were extracted from the basal nucleus and parietal lobe of both hemispheres after, in averaging, 148 days of fixation in 4% formaldehyde solution. Paramagnetic ion and total metal quantification were performed by electron paramagnetic resonance and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, respectively. The electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of all brain regions studied showed 4 set of major resonance peaks with different amplitudes. Simulations of the spectra obtained from electron paramagnetic resonance allowed the identification of nucleated Fe3+ ions isolated in ferritin (g = 2.0 and = 4.28, respectively) and Cu2+ (g = 2,259 and g = 2,062) in denatured ceruloplasmin. QSM, R2* and R2 maps of postmortem controls in situ and ex situ were sensitivity and specific only for the concentration of total iron and Fe3+ as nanoparticles nucleated in the form of ferrite inside of ferritin. Although copper present in ceruloplasmin was detected by electron paramagnetic resonance and mass spectrometry, no correlation was observed with the quantitative magnetic resonance maps. Our postmortem results confirm the theoretical hypothesis that the values of the QSM, R2* and R2 maps, in that order, are more strongly correlated with the Fe3+ deposited in the ferritin protein. The in situ magnetic resonance maps were more sensitive to quantify metals than the ex situ maps, allowing a better extrapolation of the in situ results to the in vivo condition. Our findings suggest heterogeneity in these sensitivity variations, indicating that magnetic resonance techniques are dependent on tissue composition and should be taken into account for future conclusions. Finally, the magnetic susceptibility map showed to be more independent of the biodistribution of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in animal tissue and in the simulator than the R2* map

Correlation between antioxidant activity and coffee beverage quality by Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopic

Brazil is the largest producer of coffee in the world and coffee prices are directly linked to grain quality. In this work, the antioxidant activity of coffee was related to its quality through Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy (ESR), as an attempt to establish a non-subjective method to classify the grain quality. For that purpose, the IC50 and temporal monitoring of its non-oxidized fraction were determined for three bean qualities: Soft (High), Hard (Medium) and Rio (Low). Methanolic solution of 2,2-difenil-1-picril-hidrazila (DPPH), that has a stable radical and a JEOL FA-200 (X-Band) spectrometer were used for these tests. The temporal monitoring of reaction between radical and coffee was performed. The rate of reduced or of antioxidated radicals was determined on time and for each coffee beverage quality were found different slopes of curve: Soft (0.32±0.02), Hard (0.47±0.02) and Rio (0.60±0.02). The IC50 result of Rio quality (2.7 ± 0.9) was different from the Soft (7.8 ± 1.9) and Hard (6.5 ± 1.5) values, but there was no difference between the High and Medium results due to the uncertainty associated. Therefore the results found, mainly for monitoring temporal, establish a new quantitative methodology for classifying the coffee beverage quality

Neuro-degeneration profile of Alzheimer's patients: A brain morphometry study

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a primary and progressive neurodegenerative disorder, which is marked by cognitive deterioration and memory impairment. Atrophy of hippocampus and other basal brain regions is one of the most predominant structural imaging findings related to AD. Most studies have evaluated the pre-clinical and initial stages of AD through clinical trials using Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Structural biomarkers for advanced AD stages have not been evaluated yet, being considered only hypothetically. Objective: To evaluate the brain morphometry of AD patients at all disease stages, identifying the structural neuro-degeneration profile associated with AD severity. Material and methods: AD patients aged 60 years or over at different AD stages were recruited and grouped into three groups following the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score: CDR1 (n=16), CDR2 (n=15), CDR3 (n=13). Age paired healthy volunteers (n=16) were also recruited (control group). Brain images were acquired on a 3T magnetic resonance scanner using a conventional Gradient eco 3D T1-w sequence without contrast injection. Volumetric quantitative data and cortical thickness were obtained by automatic segmentation using the Freesurfer software. Volume of each brain region was normalized by the whole brain volume in order to minimize age and body size effects. Volume and cortical thickness variations among groups were compared. Results: Atrophy was observed in the hippocampus, amygdala, entorhinal cortex, parahippocampal region, temporal pole and temporal lobe of patients suffering from AD at any stage. Cortical thickness was reduced only in the parahippocampal gyrus at all disease stages. Volume and cortical thickness were correlated with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score in all studied regions, as well as with CDR and disease duration. Discussion and conclusion: As previously reported, brain regions affected by AD during its initial stages, such as hippocampus, amygdala, entorhinal cortex, and parahippocampal region, were found to be altered even in individuals with severe AD. In addition, individuals, specifically, with CDR 3, have multiple regions with lower volumes than individuals with a CDR 2. These results indicate that rates of atrophy have not plateaued out at CDR 2–3, and in severe patients there are yet neuronal loss and gliosis. These findings can add important information to the more accepted model in the literature that focuses mainly on early stages. Our findings allow a better understanding on the AD pathophysiologic process and follow-up process of drug treatment even at advanced disease stages. Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, Aging, Brain atrophy, Cortical thicknes