Morphology and structure of acorn starches isolated by enzymatic and alkaline methods

Research articleMorphology and structure of starch from fruits of two acorns species, Quercus rotundifolia Lam. (QR) and Quercus suber Lam. (QS), isolated by enzymatic (ENZ) and alkaline (A3S) methods were studied. Acorn starches granules presented a round and oval shape, consisting of medium/small granules, with a mean granule size ranging between 9 and 13 μm. Isolated acorn starches appear as light grayish-brown in naked eye, with high values of L* for starches isolated by the ENZ method, and QR starches were duller than QS. No differences were observed for all the samples in FTIR spectra results. Acorn starches showed a C-type pattern, with a relative crystallinity between 43.1 and 46.6%. The 13C CP/MAS NMR spectra are different for the used isolation methods but are similar for both acorn species. However, acornisolated starches presented a predominant A-type allomorph packing type, and the A3S starches showed a higher degree of crystalline material. Those differences in the structure of acorn starches would be helpful to better understand the relationships among structure and functional properties for a possible potential industrial application of chestnut starchesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Study about attitudes, perceptions and knowledge regardind edible insects in Portugal

Os insetos têm sido apontados como uma fonte alternativa e mais sustentável de proteína animal, que pode ajudar a alimentar a crescente população mundial. Devido à menor pegada e impacto ambiental, a substituição parcial da proteína animal por insetos pode contribuir para a preservação do meio ambiente e dos ecossistemas naturais. No entanto, o consumo de insetos comestíveis, embora culturalmente aceite em algumas comunidades, não é prontamente aceite noutras. Assim, este trabalho investigou o conhecimento, atitudes, hábitos de consumo e grau de aceitabilidade de insetos ou produtos derivados entre consumidores portugueses. Este estudo foi baseado numa pesquisa por questionário, realizada numa amostra de 213 participantes. Os resultados mostraram que os portugueses tendem a ter perceções corretas sobre as questões de sustentabilidade relacionadas com a utilização de insetos como alternativa a carnes convencionais. No entanto, o grau de conhecimento sobre o valor nutritivo dos insetos e possíveis efeitos na saúde é baixo. Entre os indivíduos pesquisados, apenas uma pequena percentagem indicou já ter comido insetos, consumidos maioritariamente no estrangeiro, por iniciativa própria, seja em restaurantes ou em festas/eventos sociais. Não surpreendentemente, observou-se que há uma maior relutância em consumir insetos inteiros do que em ingeri-los como ingredientes utilizados em preparações alimentares. Assim, em conclusão, a investigação revelou que os portugueses ainda apresentam alguma resistência para aderir ao consumo de insetos como alternativa a outros produtos cárneos, mas não se descarta que o mercado de produtos à base de insetos possa ser uma forma de ultrapassar a neofobia associada a este tipo de alimentos num país tradicionalmente não comedor de insetos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Echovirus 13 Aseptic Meningitis, Brazil

Submitted by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2020-01-18T20:09:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 GinaSantos_EdsonSilva_etal_IOC_2006.pdf: 32987 bytes, checksum: b6c0677ec11f3eeff049ee0da3872d2d (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2020-01-18T20:16:41Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 GinaSantos_EdsonSilva_etal_IOC_2006.pdf: 32987 bytes, checksum: b6c0677ec11f3eeff049ee0da3872d2d (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2020-01-18T20:16:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GinaSantos_EdsonSilva_etal_IOC_2006.pdf: 32987 bytes, checksum: b6c0677ec11f3eeff049ee0da3872d2d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Secretaria Municipal de Saúde do Rio Grande do Sul. Rio Grande, RS, Brasil.Instituto de Pesquisas Biológicas. Rio Grande, RS, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil

Ricci-flat deformation of orbifolds and localized tachyonic modes

We study Ricci-flat deformations of orbifolds in type II theory. We obtain a simple formula for mass corrections to the twisted modes due to the deformations, and apply it to originally tachyonic and massless states in several examples. In the case of supersymmetric orbifolds, we find that tachyonic states appear when the deformation breaks all the supersymmetries. We also study nonsupersymmetric orbifolds C^2/Z_{2N(2N+1)}, which is T-dual to N type 0 NS5-branes. For N>=2, we compute mass corrections for states, which have string scale tachyonic masses. We find that the corrected masses coincide to ones obtained by solving the wave equation for the tachyon field in the smeared type 0 NS5-brane background geometry. For N=1, we show that the unstable mode representing the bubble creation is the unique tachyonic mode.Comment: 20 pages, minor collection

Subclinical thyroid dysfunction and the risk for fractures: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Data on the association between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and fractures conflict. PURPOSE: To assess the risk for hip and nonspine fractures associated with subclinical thyroid dysfunction among prospective cohorts. DATA SOURCES: Search of MEDLINE and EMBASE (1946 to 16 March 2014) and reference lists of retrieved articles without language restriction. STUDY SELECTION: Two physicians screened and identified prospective cohorts that measured thyroid function and followed participants to assess fracture outcomes. DATA EXTRACTION: One reviewer extracted data using a standardized protocol, and another verified data. Both reviewers independently assessed methodological quality of the studies. DATA SYNTHESIS: The 7 population-based cohorts of heterogeneous quality included 50,245 participants with 1966 hip and 3281 nonspine fractures. In random-effects models that included the 5 higher-quality studies, the pooled adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of participants with subclinical hyperthyroidism versus euthyrodism were 1.38 (95% CI, 0.92 to 2.07) for hip fractures and 1.20 (CI, 0.83 to 1.72) for nonspine fractures without statistical heterogeneity (P = 0.82 and 0.52, respectively; I2= 0%). Pooled estimates for the 7 cohorts were 1.26 (CI, 0.96 to 1.65) for hip fractures and 1.16 (CI, 0.95 to 1.42) for nonspine fractures. When thyroxine recipients were excluded, the HRs for participants with subclinical hyperthyroidism were 2.16 (CI, 0.87 to 5.37) for hip fractures and 1.43 (CI, 0.73 to 2.78) for nonspine fractures. For participants with subclinical hypothyroidism, HRs from higher-quality studies were 1.12 (CI, 0.83 to 1.51) for hip fractures and 1.04 (CI, 0.76 to 1.42) for nonspine fractures (P for heterogeneity = 0.69 and 0.88, respectively; I2 = 0%). LIMITATIONS: Selective reporting cannot be excluded. Adjustment for potential common confounders varied and was not adequately done across all studies. CONCLUSION: Subclinical hyperthyroidism might be associated with an increased risk for hip and nonspine fractures, but additional large, high-quality studies are needed. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: Swiss National Science Foundation

Patient and physician gender concordance in preventive care in university primary care settings.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of preventive care according to physician and patient gender in a country with universal health care coverage. METHODS: We assessed a retrospective cohort study of 1001 randomly selected patients aged 50-80years followed over 2years (2005-2006) in 4 Swiss university primary care settings (Basel, Geneva, Lausanne, Zürich). We used indicators derived from RAND's Quality Assessment Tools and examined percentages of recommended preventive care. Results were adjusted using hierarchical multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: 1001 patients (44% women) were followed by 189 physicians (52% women). Female patients received less preventive care than male patients (65.2% vs. 72.1%, p<0.001). Female physicians provided significantly more preventive care than male physicians (p=0.01) to both female (66.7% vs. 63.6%) and male patients (73.4% vs. 70.7%). After multivariate adjustment, differences according to physician (p=0.02) and patient gender (p<0.001) remained statistically significant. Female physicians provided more recommended cancer screening than male physicians (78.4 vs. 71.9%, p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In Swiss university primary care settings, female patients receive less preventive care than male patients, with female physicians providing more preventive care than male physicians. Greater attention should be paid to female patients in preventive care and to why female physicians tend to provide better preventive care

Estimación de caudales ecológicos basada en simulación del hábitat físico en un pequeño río del sudeste de Brasil

El método de simulación del hábitat físico, integrado en el marco de la metodología IFIM (Instream Flow Incremental Methodology) y en otros marcos metodológicos hoy día, utiliza variables hidráulicas e índices de idoneidad del hábitat (a escala de microhábitat) para predecir los cambios potenciales del hábitat al cambiar el caudal circulante. Este enfoque se ha utilizado para simular los cambios potenciales de idoneidad del hábitat para tres especies de peces tropicales de diferentes órdenes, Bryconamericus ornaticeps, Ancistrus multispinis y Geophagus brasiliensis. El estudio se realizó en dos tramos de un río en la zona de mata atlántica al sudeste de Brasil, durante el verano de 2013 e invierno de 2014. Se midieron las características topográficas e hidráulicas por transectos (calado, velocidad media, tipos de sustrato) y se estudió el uso del microhábitat por los peces mediante observación directa bajo el agua (snorkelling); esto permitió elaborar curvas de idoneidad de microhábitat para las tres especies. Mediante la simulación del hábitat físico se obtuvieron las curvas que relacionan dos indicadores, el HSI (indice medio de idoneidad en un tramo), y el HPU (Hábitat Potencial Útil) con el caudal del río. Sobre dichas curvas se observaron los caudales importantes para el mantenimiento de los hábitats de las tres especies. Los resultados indicaron un caudal mínimo-minimorum de 0.25 m3 s-1 en época seca para conservar el hábitat de los peces. También se determinó un rango óptimo de 0.65-0.85 m3 s-1 para el hábitat de las tres especies. Los resultados pueden apoyar la elaboración de una primera propuesta de régimen ecológico de caudales, en el marco de un proceso de gestión adaptativa de los recursos hídricos, para conservar la salud del río São Pedro y los diversos servicios ecosistémicos que aporta a la sociedad.Da Costa, M.; Moretti Mattos, T.; Muñoz Mas, R.; Martinez-Capel, F.; Fernandes, V.; Aráujo, F. (2015). Estimación de caudales ecológicos basada en simulación del hábitat físico en un pequeño río del sudeste de Brasil. Cuadernos de la Sociedad Española de Ciencias Forestales. (41):245-252. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/60209S2452524

Conservation units in the core area of the Cerrado domain: an overview on the small nonvolant mammals (Rodentia and Didelphimorphia)

A review of small non-volant mammal species of the APA Gama e Cabeça de Veado was carried out, including new surveys in the "Estação Ecológica do Jardim Botânico" (EEJBB) and "Reserva Ecológica do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatí­stica" (REIBGE). Thirty-one small mammal's species are registered for the APA Gama and Cabeça de Veado, including one exotic species. Didelphis albiventris, Hylaeamys megacephalus, and Oxymycterus delator were collected for the first time in EEJBB. The APA Gama-Cabeça de Veado has a central position in the Cerrado domain sharing six species with the Amazon domain, five with Atlantic Forest, and 13 with Caatinga. The APA Gama-Cabeça de Veado encompasses the home range of at least six non-volant small mammal species endemic of Cerrado domain, and it has an important role in the protection of these endemic species and species that occurs in those four South America morphoclimatic domains

Placental expression of eNOS, iNOS and the major protein components of caveolae in women with pre-eclampsia

Caveolae regulate many cardiovascular functions and thus could be of interest in relation to pre-eclampsia, a pregnancy specific disorder characterised by hypertension and proteinuria. We examined placental mRNA and protein expression/localisation of the caveolae components Caveolin 1-3, Cavin 1-4 as well as eNOS/ iNOS in normotensive control (n=24) and pre-eclamptic pregnancies (n=19). Placental mRNA expression of caveolin-1, cavin 1-3, was lower and eNOS expression was increased in pre-eclampsia (P<0.05 for all). Additionally Caveolin-1 protein expression was also reduced in pre-eclampsia (P=0.007); this could be an adaptive response in pre-eclampsia, possibly to attenuate the oxidative stress/inflammation