Warmingiins A And B, Two New Dimeric Naphthoquinone Derivatives From Sinningia Warmingii (gesneriaceae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Chemical investigation of Sinningia warmingii (Gesneriaceae) tubers lead to the isolation of two new dimeric naphthoquinone derivatives, named warmingiins A and B, besides six known compounds, aggregatin E, aggregatin F, tectoquinone, halleridone, cleroindicin B, and cornoside. All compounds were identified by spectroscopic analysis, mainly nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS), and comparison with the literature. The structure of the warmingiin A, which is an artifact of warmingiin B, was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Antimicrobial activity of the ethanolic extract and fractions of S. warmingii was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, C. dubliniensis, C. glabrata and C. parapsilosis. All samples were inactive.284598602CAPESFAEPEX- UNICAMPFAPESPCNPqCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Increased risk of heart disease and stroke among foreign-born females residing in the United States

Background: Although the number of foreign-born people residing in the United States is at its highest point in 80 years, a mortality analysis of the foreign born has not been conducted since 1989. This article provides an update of mortality rates among the foreign born in the United States and, in particular, examines mortality rates from heart disease among foreign-born females. Methods: We calculated mortality rates for U.S.-born and foreign-born people for all causes—ischemic heart disease, stroke, neoplastic disease, hypertensive diseases, diabetes, accidents, infectious disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—for 1997. Death data were obtained from the 1997 Multiple Cause of Death data file, and population data were obtained from the 1997 Current Population Survey. Results: While all-cause, age-adjusted mortality rates for foreign-born people are significantly lower than for native-born people, deaths due to ischemic heart disease and stroke are significantly higher among foreign-born females than native-born females (161.63 and 58.24 deaths, respectively, per 100,000 foreign-born females vs 122.01 and 49.39 deaths per 100,000 native-born females). Conclusions: Foreign-born females appear to be at greater risk of death from ischemic heart disease and stroke than native-born females. Future research efforts are needed to determine which foreign-born groups are most at risk for heart disease and stroke so that targeted prevention efforts can be initiated

Intelligent copolymers based on poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) PNIPAm with potential use in biomedical applications. Part i: PNIPAm functionalization with 3-butenoic acid and piperazine

The synthesis and characterization of the thermosensitive copolymers based on Poly (N-Isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) and 3-butenoic acid and functionalized with piperazine was carried out. The free radical polymerization of the PNIPA copolymer with 3-butenoic acid was performed under microwave radiation. After obtaining this copolymer, the carboxyl groups present in the copolymer chain were activated with 1-ethyl- (3-3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide in the presence of N-hydroxysuccinimide, improving its reactivity to incorporate the piperazine through its amino group. The characterization consisted: differential scanning calorimetric and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry to determine the LCST phase transition temperature, ranging from (30-35)°C. Structurally it was analyzed by infrared spectroscopy. A morphological analysis was performed using scanning electron microscopy, after simulating an injectable process, with the objective to observe internally the porosity and interconnectivity. The biocompatibility was evaluated through hemocompatibility tests and it was observed that the copolymers obtained were not cytotoxic. In base of the results, the chemical structure of these new copolymers confers a functionality that allows them to serve as nuclei to graft other molecules, such as polysaccharides. Then, the results obtained on the LCST temperature, porosity, interconnected pore network morphology, the ability to be injectable and the biocompatible nature of these copolymers are indicative that these new synthetic biomaterials have the potential to be used in biomedical, pharmacological and for tissue engineering. Also, once their biocompatibility was demonstrate, they may serve to generate interesting compounds having chemical anchor points for the possible addition of polysaccharides using insertion reactions, thereby generating graft copolymers with potential use in biomedical applications

Regulatory Framework for Renewable Energy Sources in Ecuador Case Study Province of Manabi

The purpose of the research is to expose the nature that, in matters of law and social policy, justifies promoting the elaboration and adoption of a regulatory framework that favors the use of renewable energy sources, for the generation of electricity through case analysis in the Province of Manabí. For the accomplishment of the research study has taken into account a brief theoretical analysis on the fundamentals of the regulatory doctrine, where it exposes the conceptual framework of the law and its necessity for the good development of the social relations that derive from the use of the Renewable sources of energy. A study was carried out of the specific regulatory work carried out at the International level, in order to promote the adequate use of renewable energies, as well as a national study presenting an initial vision for the study and establishment of a specific regulatory framework for the case study of the province of Manabí, as well as a group of policies and support measures that could be adopted to promote the integrated use of renewable energy sources and their contribution to the national energy matrix

SOCIAL MEDIA, ANXIETY, AND READING ACHIEVEMENT IN ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between perceived social media usage, academic achievement in reading, and anxiety. This study looked at a second grade classroom in ASFM consisting of 21 bilingual Mexican students, 11 boys and 10 girls. Perceived social media usage was measured using a survey, academic reading achievement was measured using Fountas and Pinell reading levels and anxiety was measured using the Children’s Test Anxiety Scale (CTAS) by Wren and Benson (2004). Each variable was then analyzed on its own through the use of descriptive statistics and bar graphs; then, each dependent variable was compared against the independent variable using a t-test and scatter-plot. This study found that there is a positive moderate correlation between perceived social media usage and academic achievement in reading; as perceived social media usage increases so does the likelihood of higher reading scores. Additionally this study found a weak positive correlation between perceived social media usage and test anxiety scores; as perceived social media usage increases the likelihood of higher test anxiety scores increases as well

An evolutionary approach for the motion planning of redundant and hyper-redundant manipulators

The trajectory planning of redundant robots is an important area of research and efficient optimization algorithms are needed. The pseudoinverse control is not repeatable, causing drift in joint space which is undesirable for physical control. This paper presents a new technique that combines the closed-loop pseudoinverse method with genetic algorithms, leading to an optimization criterion for repeatable control of redundant manipulators, and avoiding the joint angle drift problem. Computer simulations performed based on redundant and hyper-redundant planar manipulators show that, when the end-effector traces a closed path in the workspace, the robot returns to its initial configuration. The solution is repeatable for a workspace with and without obstacles in the sense that, after executing several cycles, the initial and final states of the manipulator are very close

Morphometric differences in the grasshopper Cornops aquaticum (Bruner, 1906) from South America and South Africa

The semi-aquatic grasshopper Cornops aquaticum is native to South America and inhabits lowlands from southern Mexico to Central Argentina and Uruguay. It is host-specific to aquatic plants in the genera Eichhornia and Pontederia. A quarantine population has existed in South Africa for 10 y, and it is planned to release it there as a biological control agent of water hyacinth, E. crassipes. Various studies of C. aquaticum are coordinated under HICWA (www.mpil-ploen.mpg.de). This paper compares the morphometry of the release population and 11 native populations in South America. We tested four hypotheses: 1) South African and South American populations of C. aquaticum differ in morphology; 2) the South African laboratory population is more similar to other isolated populations in South America than to nonisolated populations; 3) morphology differs across sites; 4) morphology differs with host plant. South African populations differed from continental nonisolated populations, but not from continental isolated ones. Isolated populations presented smaller individuals than nonisolated, but there was also a change in male morphology: while in nonisolated populations male wing length was similar to their body length, in isolated populations, male wings were smaller than body length. Females were larger when on Eicchornia azurea than on E. crassipes, while males presented larger wings than their body on E. azurea, and similar lengths on E. crassipes. These morphological changes may have resulted from phenotypic plasticity, selection for small size, or because of a loss of genetic diversity in quantitative traits.Fil: Adis, Joachim. Institute for Limnology; AlemaniaFil: Sperber, Carlos F. Universidade Federal de Viçosa; BrasilFil: Brede, Edward G. Institute for Limnology; AlemaniaFil: Capello, Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto Nacional de Limnología. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto Nacional de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Franceschini, Maria Celeste. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Hill, Martin. Rhodes University; SudáfricaFil: Lhano, Marcos G. Universidade Federal de Viçosa; BrasilFil: Marques, Marinê. A;z M.. Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso; BrasilFil: Nunes, Ana L.. Muséu Paraense Emílio Goeldi; BrasilFil: Polar, Perry. CAB International; Trinidad y Tobag