Revisão do conhecimento sobre ocorrência e distribuição de mamíferos do Pantanal.

O Pantanal é reconhecido como um importante refúgio da fauna silvestre. Entretanto, apesar de alguns inventários já terem sido realizados no Pantanal, sua fauna de mamíferos ainda é mal conhecida. Apesar de em geral ainda estar bem conservado, o Pantanal já sofre impactos ambientais visíveis, como mudanças no pulso de enchentes, causadas por assoreamento e/ou represamento de rios, e remoção da vegetação arbórea. Estes impactos podem ameaçar a fauna silvestre, e pesquisadores e conservacionistas se preocupam em identificar organismos indicadores da "saúde" deste bioma. Os mamíferos carnívoros são considerados bons indicadores biológicos, pois são predadores de topo e com isso dependem de toda a estrutura de presas e seus ambientes, em bom estado de conservação. Além disso, os carnívoros podem funcionar como reguladores das populações de presas, com fortes implicações nas comunidades de plantas. Os mamíferos do grupo Xenarthra também funcionam como bons indicadores biológicos, já que neste grupo encontram-se animais ameaçados de extinção e altamente especializados, como o tamanduá-bandeira e o tatu-canastra. Apesar de o Pantanal possuir uma alta abundância de espécies de mamíferos, o mapeamento de ocorrência destas espécies é insatisfatório, sendo necessário o acesso a informações secundárias e a aquisição de dados primários, geo-referenciados, da ocorrência das espécies. O aumento e a disponibilização de conhecimento sobre a biologia e distribuição das espécies de mamíferos do Pantanal pode permitir a elaboração de estratégias gerais para a conservação destas espécies.bitstream/item/81202/1/DOC38.pd

Engineering Azobenzene Derivatives to Control the Photoisomerization Process

In this work, we show how the structural features of photoactive azobenzene derivatives can influence the photoexcited state behavior and the yield of the trans/cis photoisomerization process. By combining high-resolution transient absorption experiments in the vis-NIR region and quantum chemistry calculations (TDDFT and RASPT2), we address the origin of the transient signals of three poly-substituted push-pull azobenzenes with an increasing strength of the intramolecular interactions stabilizing the planar trans isomer (absence of intramolecular H-bonds, methyl, and traditional H-bond, respectively, for 4-diethyl-4′-nitroazobenzene, Disperse Blue 366, and Disperse Blue 165) and a commercial red dye showing keto-enol tautomerism involving the azo group (Sudan Red G). Our results indicate that the intramolecular H-bonds can act as a “molecular lock” stabilizing the trans isomer and increasing the energy barrier along the photoreactive CNNC torsion coordinate, thus preventing photoisomerization in the Disperse Blue dyes. In contrast, the involvement of the azo group in keto-enol tautomerism can be employed as a strategy to change the nature of the lower excited state and remove the nonproductive symmetric CNN/NNC bending pathway typical of the azo group, thus favoring the productive torsional motion. Taken together, our results can provide guidelines for the structural design of azobenzene-based photoswitches with a tunable excited state behavior

Ocorrência de tatu-de-rabo-mole, Cabassous unicinctus (Cingulata, Dasypodidae) no Pantanal, Brasil.

Há poucos registros na literatura científica sobre a ocorrência de tatu-de-rabo-mole (Cabassous unicinctus) na planície do Pantanal e nos planaltos adjacentes. Entretanto, dados relativamente recentes com base em espécimes coletados, registros fotográficos e observações de campo revelam que a espécie tem ampla distribuição na porção sul da planície, em regiões como Pantanal da Nhecolândia e Paiaguás, bem como no entorno do Pantanal (Diamantino, Taboco, Coxim, Terenos, Aquidauna, Bodoquena e Rochedo). A espécie apresenta ampla plasticidade ecológica em relação ao uso de habitat, sendo registrada tanto em campos com pastagens cultivadas (Brachiaria spp.), quanto campos inundáveis, capões, cerradão e cerrado. Com base em comparação dos exemplares fotografados no Pantanal e áreas do entorno com dados literários, verificou-se que os mesmos pertencem à subespécie Cabassous unicinctus squamicaudis.bitstream/CPAP-2010/57165/1/BP87.pd

Amelanotic/hypomelanotic lentigo maligna: Dermoscopic and confocal features predicting diagnosis

Background: Amelanotic/hypomelanotic lentigo maligna and lentigo maligna melanoma (AHLM/LMM) may be very difficult to diagnose at an early stage. Objectives: To quantify the predictive value of dermoscopic and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) features for AHLM/LMM. Methods: Dermoscopic and RCM images of histopathologically diagnosed AHLM/LMM, amelanotic/hypomelanotic benign lesions (AHBL), and amelanotic/hypomelanotic basal and squamous cell carcinomas (AHBCC/AHSCC) of the head and neck from consecutive patients were retrospectively collected and blindly evaluated by three observers to assess presence or absence of dermoscopic and RCM criteria. Results: Overall, 224 lesions in 216 patients including LM/LMM (n = 55, 24.6%), AHBL (n = 107, 47.8%) and AHBCC/AHSCC (n = 62, 27.7%) were analysed. Multivariable analysis showed that milky-red areas (OR = 5.46; 95% CI: 1.51–19.75), peripheral light brown structureless areas (OR = 19.10; 4.45–81.96), linear irregular vessels (OR = 5.44; 1.45–20.40), and asymmetric pigmented follicles (OR = 14.45; 2.77–75.44) at dermoscopy, and ≥3 atypical cells in five fields (OR = 10.12; 3.00–34.12) and focal follicular localization of atypical cells at dermo-epidermal junction (DEJ) (OR = 10.48; 1.10–99.81) at RCM were significantly independent diagnostic factors for AHLM/LMM vs. AHBL. In comparison with AHBCC/AHSCC, peripheral light brown structureless area (OR = 7.11; 1.53–32.96), pseudonetwork around hair follicles (OR = 16.69; 2.73–102.07), and annular granular structures (OR = 42.36; 3.51–511.16) at dermoscopy and large dendritic (OR = 6.86; 3.15–38.28) and round pagetoid cells (OR = 26.78; 3.15–227.98) at RCM led to a significantly increased risk of diagnosing AHLM/LMM. Conclusions: Amelanotic/hypomelanotic lentigo maligna and lentigo maligna melanoma may have the same dermoscopic features of AHM on other body sites, such as milky red areas, peripheral light brown structureless areas and linear irregular vessels. These features, asymmetric pigmented follicles and at RCM ≥ 3 atypical cells in five fields and focal follicular extension of atypical cells at DEJ may help in recognizing AHLM/LMM even when LM conventional features (e.g., obliteration of hair follicles under dermoscopy and large pagetoid cells under RCM) are absent or present only in very small areas of the lesion

Basic fibroblast growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor serum levels in breast cancer patients and healthy women: useful as diagnostic tools?

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in breast cancer cells and the corresponding serum levels in individual patients. The study also evaluated the potential of serum levels of the two growth factors as diagnostic markers in a case–control study. METHODS: VEGF expression and bFGF expression were determined in 62 and 63 tumor samples, respectively. Serum VEGF and bFGF levels were determined in 54 and 65 healthy women and in 69 and 73 breast cancer patients, respectively, using a quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay technique. RESULTS: A direct correlation was observed between VEGF expression and bFGF expression in individual tumors (P = 0.001) and between serum levels (P = 0.038) in individual patients, but not between tumor cell expression and the corresponding serum level for either growth factor. Median values of serum levels in healthy women and breast cancer patients were not different for VEGF (P = 0.055), but were significantly different for bFGF (P < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic curve identified a serum bFGF concentration of 1.0 pg/ml, with 84.9% sensitivity and 63.1% specificity, as the best cut-off value to discriminate between healthy women and breast cancer patients. An age-based subgroup analysis showed that serum values of patients older than 70 years of age mainly contributed to the high accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: Our data repropose bFGF as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for breast cancer