Preliminary Analysis of the Use of Construction Waste to Replace Conventional Aggregates in Concrete

This work aims to study the influence of using construction and demolition waste in the replacement of coarse and fine aggregate to produce recycled aggregate concrete (RAC). A moderate compressive strength concrete made with usual fine and coarse aggregate was used as a benchmark material. Compressive and split tensile tests were performed using 120 cylindrical concrete specimens with 150 mm diameter and 300 mm length. Four-point flexural tests in reinforced beams made with conventional concrete and RAC were performed. The results obtained showed that the use of recycled fine aggregates, in both percentages of substitution investigated-50% and 100%-did not generate any deleterious influence on the values of compressive strength and split tensile strength of the RACs produced. Tin fact, the mechanical strengths of RACs produced with recycled fine aggregate were equal or higher than those from the reference concrete. The same behavior was not observed, however, when the recycled coarse aggregate was used. For this case, decreases in concrete mechanical strengths were observed, especially in compressive strength, with values around 35% lower when compared to the reference concrete. Tensile mechanical tests results confirmed the excellent behavior of all RACs made with replacement of usual fine aggregates by recycled. Bending tests performed in reinforced RAC beams had as objective to evaluate the deformation profile of the beams. The obtained results showed that RAC beams with full replacement of usual fine aggregate by the recycled aggregates have presented little changes in the global behavior, an aspect that encourages its use

From Fundamental Strings to Small Black Holes

We give evidence in favour of a string/black hole transition in the case of BPS fundamental string states of the Heterotic string. Our analysis goes beyond the counting of degrees of freedom and considers the evolution of dynamical quantities in the process. As the coupling increases, the string states decrease their size up to the string scale when a small black hole is formed. We compute the absorption cross section for several fields in both the black hole and the perturbative string phases. At zero frequency, these cross sections can be seen as order parameters for the transition. In particular, for the scalars fixed at the horizon the cross section evolves to zero when the black hole is formed.Comment: 36 pages, 4 figures, argument about minimally coupled scalar absorption cross section clarifie

Molecular Genetic Variability Of Commercial And Wild Accessions Of Passion Fruit (passiflora Spp.) Targeting Ex Situ Conservation And Breeding.

Passiflora species are distributed throughout Latin America, and Brazil and Colombia serve as the centers of diversity for this genus. We performed cross-species amplification to evaluate 109 microsatellite loci in 14 Passiflora species and estimated the diversity and genetic structure of Passiflora cincinnata, Passiflora setaceae and Passiflora edulis. A total of 127 accessions, including 85 accessions of P. edulis, a commercial species, and 42 accessions of 13 wild species, were examined. The cross-species amplification was effective for obtaining microsatellite loci (average cross-amplification of 70%). The average number of alleles per locus (five) was relatively low, and the average diversity ranged from 0.52 in P. cincinnata to 0.32 in P. setacea. The Bayesian analyses indicated that the P. cincinnata and P. setacea accessions were distributed into two groups, and the P. edulis accessions were distributed into five groups. Private alleles were identified, and suggestions for core collections are presented. Further collections are necessary, and the information generated may be useful for breeding and conservation.1522933-5

Atividade tripanocida de flavonoides e limonoides isolados de extratos ativos de plantas de Myrsinaceae e Meliaceae

The activity of crude extracts of three Rapanea species (Myrsinaceae) and Cipadessa fruticosa (Meliaceae) was evaluated in vitro against the trypomastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi. Thirty-three extracts from different organs of these species were assayed and eleven of them showed significant activity (lysis % >50). The fractionation of an active extract from branches of R. lancifolia (99.5%) led to the isolation of two flavonoids: quercetin and taxifolin, which have weak trypanocidal activity. Additionally, one active extract from fruits of C. fruticosa (97.7%) afforded mexicanolide limonoids: cipadesin, mexicanolide, febrifugin and cipadesin A, that were slightly active on T. cruzi. Moreover, other two flavonoids (flavone and 7-methoxyflavone), previously assayed against T. cruzi, were isolated from the hexane extract from branches of C. fruticosa (100%). The results presented here suggest that the plants evaluated could be a source of new active compounds against T. cruzi.A atividade de extratos brutos de três espécies de Rapanea (Myrsinaceae) e de Cipadessa fruticosa (Meliaceae) foi avaliada in vitro contra formas tripomastigotas de Trypanosoma cruzi. Foram obtidos 33 extratos de diferentes órgãos das espécies estudadas, sendo que onze deles apresentaram atividades significantes (% de lise > 50) nos ensaios realizados. O fracionamento de um extrato ativo dos galhos de R. lancifolia (99,5%) resultou no isolamento de dois flavonoides (quercetina e taxifolina), que apresentaram baixa atividade tripanocida. De um extrato ativo dos frutos de C. fruticosa (97,7%) foram isolados os limonoides mexicanolídeos cipadesina, mexicanolídeo, febrifugina e cipadesina A, que foram moderadamente ativos sobre T. cruzi. Além disso, outros dois flavonoides (flavona e 7-metoxiflavona), previamente ensaiados contra T. cruzi, foram isolados do extrato hexânico dos galhos de C. fruticosa (100%). Os resultados obtidos aqui sugerem que as plantas avaliadas podem constituir fontes de novas substâncias ativas sobre o T. cruzi.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Ensino Superior (CAPES)FINEP - Financiadora de Estudos e Projeto

Busca de inibidores da enzima glicossomal gliceraldeído 3-fosfato desidrogenase de Trypanosoma cruzi

The inhibitory activity of crude extracts of Meliaceae and Rutaceae plants on glycosomal glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gGAPDH) enzyme from Trypanosoma cruzi was evaluated at 100 μg/mL. Forty-six extracts were tested and fifteen of them showed significant inhibitory activity (IA % > 50). The majority of the assayed extracts of Meliaceae plants (Cedrela fissilis, Cipadessa fruticosa and Trichilia ramalhoi) showed high ability to inhibit the enzymatic activity. The fractionation of the hexane extract from branches of C. fruticosa led to the isolation of three flavonoids: flavone, 7-methoxyflavone and 3',4',5',5,7-pentamethoxyflavone. The two last compounds showed high ability to inhibit the gGAPDH activity. Therefore, the assayed Meliaceae species could be considered as a promising source of lead compounds against Chagas' disease.Nesse trabalho foi avaliada a atividade inibitória sobre a enzima glicossomal gliceraldeído-3-fosfato desidrogenase de T. cruzi (gGAPDH) de extratos vegetais oriundos de plantas das famílias Meliaceae e Rutaceae, na concentração de 100 μg/mL. Foram testados 46 extratos, dos quais 15 apresentaram atividade inibitória significativa (% AI > 50). A maioria dos extratos de plantas da família Meliaceae (Cedrela fissilis, Cipadessa fruticosa e Trichilia ramalhoi) apresentou grande potencial em inibir a atividade enzimática. O fracionamento do extrato hexânico dos galhos de C. fruticosa permitiu o isolamento de três flavonóides: flavona, 7-metoxiflavona e 3',4',5',5,7-pentametoxiflavona. Os dois últimos foram ativos na inibição da atividade de gGAPDH. Desta forma, as três espécies de Meliaceae testadas podem ser consideradas promissoras na busca de compostos protótipos para o controle da doença de Chagas.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Ensino Superior (CAPES)FINEP - Financiadora de Estudos e Projeto

Identification of a cytokine network sustaining neutrophil and Th17 activation in untreated early rheumatoid arthritis

© 2010 Cascão et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by sustained synovitis. Recently, several studies have proposed neutrophils and Th17 cells as key players in the onset and perpetuation of this disease. The main goal of this work was to determine whether cytokines driving neutrophil and Th17 activation are dysregulated in very early rheumatoid arthritis patients with less than 6 weeks of disease duration and before treatment (VERA). Methods: Cytokines related to neutrophil and Th17 activation were quantified in the serum of VERA and established RA patients and compared with other very early arthritis (VEA) and healthy controls. Synovial fluid (SF) from RA and osteoarthritis (OA) patients was also analyzed. Results: VERA patients had increased serum levels of cytokines promoting Th17 polarization (IL-1b and IL-6), as well as IL-8 and Th17-derived cytokines (IL-17A and IL-22) known to induce neutrophil-mediated inflammation. In established RA this pattern is more evident within the SF. Early treatment with methotrexate or corticosteroids led to clinical improvement but without an impact on the cytokine pattern. Conclusions: VERA patients already display increased levels of cytokines related with Th17 polarization and neutrophil recruitment and activation, a dysregulation also found in SF of established RA. 0 Thus, our data suggest that a cytokine-milieu favoring Th17 and neutrophil activity is an early event in RA pathogenesis.This work was supported by a grant from Sociedade Portuguesa de Reumatologia/Schering-Plough 2005. RAM and RC were funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) SFRH/BD/30247/2006 and SFRH/BD/40513/2007, respectively. MMS-C was funded by Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship PERG-2008-239422 and a EULAR Young Investigator Award

Diversity of eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbiota revealed by metabarcoding in Neotropical floodplain lakes

Abstract The diversity of eukaryotic and prokaryotic communities has been assessed by morphological and genetic approaches, which are used to characterize the microbiota in different environments. Here, planktonic prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities of the Araguaia River, located in the Central region of Brazil, were analyzed based on metabarcoding analysis of rRNA genes to evaluate the diversity of these groups in tropical floodplain lakes. Also, we tested their spatial concordance throughout the Araguaia river. Water samples were collected from 8 floodplain lakes in Araguaia River. The 16S and 18S rRNA genes were amplified and sequenced using Illumina MiSeq. For eukaryotes, 34,242 merged reads were obtained and 225 distinct OTUs were delineated, of which 106 OTUs were taxonomically classified. For prokaryotes, 26,426 sequences were obtained and 351 OTUs were detected. Of them, 231 were classified in at least one taxonomic category. The most representative eukaryotes belonged to Ciliophora, Chlorophyta and Charophyta. The prokaryotic phylum with the most OTUs classified were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes. The lakes did not show spatial concordance when comparing the similarity between their microbiota. The knowledge of freshwater biodiversity using DNA sequencing for important rivers, such as Araguaia River, can improve microbiota inventories of tropical biodiversity hotspots

Annona coriacea Mart. fractions promote cell cycle arrest and inhibit autophagic flux in human cervical cancer cell lines

Plant-based compounds are an option to explore and perhaps overcome the limitations of current antitumor treatments. Annona coriacea Mart. is a plant with a broad spectrum of biological activities, but its antitumor activity is still unclear. The purpose of our study was to determine the effects of A. coriacea fractions on a panel of cervical cancer cell lines and a normal keratinocyte cell line. The antitumor effect was investigated in vitro by viability assays, cell cycle, apoptosis, migration, and invasion assays. Intracellular signaling was assessed by Western blot, and major compounds were identified by mass spectrometry. All fractions exhibited a cytotoxic effect on cisplatin-resistant cell lines, SiHa and HeLa. C3 and C5 were significantly more cytotoxic and selective than cisplatin in SiHa and Hela cells. However, in CaSki, a cisplatin-sensitive cell line, the compounds did not demonstrate higher cytotoxicity when compared with cisplatin. Alkaloids and acetogenins were the main compounds identified in the fractions. These fractions also markedly decreased cell proliferation with p21 increase and cell cycle arrest in G2/M. These effects were accompanied by an increase of H2AX phosphorylation levels and DNA damage index. In addition, fractions C3 and C5 promoted p62 accumulation and decrease of LC3II, as well as acid vesicle levels, indicating the inhibition of autophagic flow. These findings suggest that A. coriacea fractions may become effective antineoplastic drugs and highlight the autophagy inhibition properties of these fractions in sensitizing cervical cancer cells to treatment.e FINEP (MCTI/FINEP/MS/SCTIE/DECIT-01/ 2013—FP XII-BIOPLAT), Barretos Cancer Hospital, CAPES, CNPq, FAPEMIG, UFSJ. RMR is a recipient of CNPq Productivity Gran