Avaliação agronômica de três híbridos de sorgo (BR 700, BR 701 e MASSA 03) colhidos em cinco diferentes estádios de maturação.

Foram avaliados tres hibridos de sorgo de duplo proposito (BR 700, BR 701 e MASSA 03) para producao de silagem. Os hibridos foram cortados em cinco estadios de maturacao diferentes. Foi utilizado delineamento estatistico em blocos ao acaso com tres repeticoes para cada tratamento. As medias foram comparadas pelo teste "SNK" (Student Newman Keuls), com nivel de significancia de 5%. os dados foram analisados pelo pacote estatistico SAEG (1997). Determinou-se a producao de materia seca/ha, altura das plantas e numero de plantas/ha. Nao foram observadas diferenças nas variaveis avaliadas entre os diferentes estadios de maturacao estudados, nem entre os hibridos avaliados dentro de uma mesma epoca

Translucency parameter of conventional restorative glass-ionomer cements.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the translucency parameter (TP) and contrast ratio (CR) of different conventional restorative glass-ionomer cements (GICs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen brands of GICs were evaluated. Five disks of each material were made following ISO 9917-1. The luminous reflectance and Central Bureau of the International Commission on Illumination parameters of disks were evaluated using a colorimeter, against backings of white and black, to obtain the translucent parameter and contrast ratio of different brands of glass-ionomer cements. The correlation between translucency parameter and contrast ratio was assessed with the Pearson correlation test. The translucent and contrast ratio parameters values were submitted to the one-way ANOVA and Tukey test for multiple comparisons (p < 0.05). RESULTS: There was a strong inverse relationship between CR and TP (r2 = 0.94, p < 0.001). The contrast ratio decreased as translucency increased. There were significant differences in TP and CR among brands (p < 0.001). CONLUSIONS: GICs exhibit different translucency and contrast ratio behavior. Some brands of GICs presented very low TP and this condition would be unacceptable for areas with esthetic demands. In addition, TP and CR showed a strong linear relationship. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The results found in this study demonstrated that the knowledge of the translucency and CR of different conventional restorative GICs is important in order to guide clinicians in the selection of restorative GICs for anterior teeth

Processes controlling the net carbon consumption of inorganic carbon in the North Sea

Data on dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) and nutrients have been collected during four cruises carried out in the whole North Sea, each cruise covering one month of each season between 2001 and 2002. The impact of biological activity, air-sea exchange and physical mixing processes on the monthly variations of DIC have been determined for each regions of the North Sea using the International Commission for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) boxes separation. For the February-July period, the biological activity was the main factor controlling the DIC variations in the upper layer of the whole North Sea and was responsible for a loss of 20 to 50 mmol m-3 month-1. The concomitant atmospheric input increased DIC by 8 to 12 mmol m-3, whereas the mixing term was low, except in the north-western North Sea, where it increased DIC concentrations by approximately 10 mmol m-3.We computed the Net Community Production based on Carbon (DIC) data (NCPC) for the North Sea. For the productive period, the NCPC was higher in the upper layer of the northern and central North Sea than in the coastal and southern areas. Maximum values of 1.0 to 1.5 mol C m-2 month-1 were observed inMay in the northern and central North Sea, whereas maximum of 0.5-0.7 mol C m-2 month-1 were observed in April in the southern and coastal areas of the North Sea.We compared the NCPC to the NCP calculated from nitrogen data from the same cruises and converted into moles of carbon using the Redfield ratios (NCPN). Results showed that in areas where nitrate was depleted by April, i.e. mainly in the central and northern North Sea, DIC consumption continues until July, leading to a large difference between NCPC and NCPN. On the other hand, in coastal areas where nitrate were available during the complete productive period, NCPC and NCPN were very similar. For the whole year in the upper layer of the North Sea, the NCPC of 2.3 mol C m-2 yr-1 was a factor two higher than NCPN and higher than previous calculation of the net carbon production in the North Sea based on nutrient data. We argue that NCP based on nutrient data converted to moles of carbon using the Redfield ratios, leads to underestimation of the net carbon production for the North Sea because of the preferential recycling of nutrients

Imaging of Repaired Rotator Cuff

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Persistence of anticancer activity in berry extracts after simulated gastrointestinal digestion and colonic fermentation

Fruit and vegetable consumption is associated at the population level with a protective effect against colorectal cancer. Phenolic compounds, especially abundant in berries, are of interest due to their putative anticancer activity. After consumption, however, phenolic compounds are subject to digestive conditions within the gastrointestinal tract that alter their structures and potentially their function. However, the majority of phenolic compounds are not efficiently absorbed in the small intestine and a substantial portion pass into the colon. We characterized berry extracts (raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants) produced by in vitro-simulated upper intestinal tract digestion and subsequent fecal fermentation. These extracts and selected individual colonic metabolites were then evaluated for their putative anticancer activities using in vitro models of colorectal cancer, representing the key stages of initiation, promotion and invasion. Over a physiologically-relevant dose range (0–50 µg/ml gallic acid equivalents), the digested and fermented extracts demonstrated significant anti-genotoxic, anti-mutagenic and anti-invasive activity on colonocytes. This work indicates that phenolic compounds from berries undergo considerable structural modifications during their passage through the gastrointestinal tract but their breakdown products and metabolites retain biological activity and can modulate cellular processes associated with colon cancer

The Function of Cortactin in the Clustering of Acetylcholine Receptors at the Vertebrate Neuromuscular Junction

Background: Postsynaptic enrichment of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) at the vertebrate neuromuscular junction (NMJ) depends on the activation of the muscle receptor tyrosine MuSK by neural agrin. Agrin-stimulation of MuSK is known to initiate an intracellular signaling cascade that leads to the clustering of AChRs in an actin polymerization-dependent manner, but the molecular steps which link MuSK activation to AChR aggregation remain incompletely defined. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study we used biochemical, cell biological and molecular assays to investigate a possible role in AChR clustering of cortactin, a protein which is a tyrosine kinase substrate and a regulator of F-actin assembly and which has also been previously localized at AChR clustering sites. We report that cortactin was co-enriched at AChR clusters in situ with its target the Arp2/3 complex, which is a key stimulator of actin polymerization in cells. Cortactin was further preferentially tyrosine phosphorylated at AChR clustering sites and treatment of myotubes with agrin significantly enhanced the tyrosine phosphorylation of cortactin. Importantly, forced expression in myotubes of a tyrosine phosphorylation-defective cortactin mutant (but not wild-type cortactin) suppressed agrin-dependent AChR clustering, as did the reduction of endogenous cortactin levels using RNA interference, and introduction of the mutant cortactin into muscle cells potently inhibited synaptic AChR aggregation in response to innervation. Conclusion: Our results suggest a novel function of phosphorylation-dependent cortactin signaling downstream fro