Nutritional composition and antioxidant and cancer chemopreventive activites of fruits of Psdium myrtoides (O. Berg)

Psidium myrtoides fruits food industries produce by-products such as liqueurs, ice cream, jellies, and juices. However, there needs to be more information about the nutritional composition of fruits, as well as the biological potential, mainly of seed flour. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the nutritional composition and antioxidant and cancer chemopreventive activities of pulp and seed of fruits ofPsidium myrtoides. Moisture content, total minerals and mineral profile, total lipids and fatty acids profile, total proteins, dietary fiber (soluble and insoluble) and total carbohydrates were analyzed. Vitamins C and complex B, organic acids and the profile of phenolic compounds were also determined. DPPH and ABTS methods evaluated the antioxidant activity, and cancer chemopreventive activity was evaluated by quinonereductase induction and NF-κB inhibitory activity. The fruits are a good source of thiamine, iron, phosphorus, potassium, fiber, and protein.Linoleic acid was the major fatty acid in both pulp and seed. Quercetin (1600 μg/100g) and pyrogallol (819 μg/100g) were the major phenolic compounds pulp and seed, respectively. The fruits showed strong antioxidant capacity, mainly the seeds, and the ability to induce quinone reductase activity, highlighting a cancer chemopreventive activity. Seed flour has a high potential to enrich food, in addition to valuing agroindustrial by-products, where we can highlight 25%, 13% and 37% of the recommended daily intake for iron (1.6 mg/100g), phosphorus (58 mg/100g) and vitamin B1 (450 μg/100g), respectively, in addition to antioxidant and cancer chemopreventive activities

Long-Term Immunocastration Protocols Successfully Reduce Testicles’ Size in Bísaro Pigs.

This study aimed to find a suitable immunocastration protocol for male Bísaro pigs (BP) due to the breed and production system particularities. Twenty-five male BP were treated with Improvac® according to three protocols: using two (GrpE2 and L2) or three vaccinations (GrpL3) and starting at 9 (GrpE2) or 13 weeks old (GrpL2 and L3). Eleven animals were kept as intact males (GrpC). Scrotal measurements and the morphometry of the testes and epididymides collected at slaughter were used to survey the effectiveness of the immunocastration compared with the age-matched intact controls. Animals in groups E2 and L3 were kept until 57 weeks, after a second vaccination cycle at 49 and 53 weeks of age. Scrotal dimensions decreased to almost initial values in treated animals until 17 (GrpE2) and 21 weeks (GrpL2 and L3), thereafter increasing to post-pubertal values until around 29 or 37 weeks of age for groups E2 and L2, respectively, but only at 41 weeks in group L3. Between 41 and 49 weeks, scrotal dimensions were similar in treated and control animals, decreasing to the predicted pre-puberty size after the second cycle of vaccination. This study suggests the most suited protocol for males slaughtered at older ages includes three administrations of Improvac® starting at 3 months of age, followed by a second vaccination cycle

Histological observations on Montenegro's reaction in man

The Montenegro skin test is widely used as a diagnostic method for American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) but little is known about the histological changes that occur in the skin after administration of the antigen. This report is based on histological studies of biopsied material obtained, from inoculation sites, 48 hours after individuals had been given intradermal injections with a standardized Montenegro antigen. The material examined was obtained from four distinctly different test groups: naturally infected patients with parasitologically proved ACL and with positive Montenegro's reaction; individuals without previous history of ACL and not previously tested with Montenegro antigen; participants in anti-ACL vaccine trials who developed positive reactions to Montenegro antigen after vaccination; other participants in vaccine trials who had negative Montenegro responses after vaccination or had served as controls in the trials. The histological pictures of each group are described and discussed. Histologically, the reactions of vaccinated individuals were indistinguishable from those with naturally acquired infections

Relativistic K shell decay rates and fluorescence yields for Zn, Cd and Hg

In this work we use the multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock method to calculate the transition probabilities for all possible decay channels, radiative and radiationless, of a K shell vacancy in Zn, Cd and Hg atoms. The obtained transition probabilities are then used to calculate the corresponding fluorescence yields which are compared to existing theoretical, semi-empirical and experimental results