Seasonability of protein and others milk components related with quality payment program

Avaliou-se o efeito da variação da qualidade do leite mediante acompanhamento de amostras provenientes de tanques refrigeradores. As 2.970 amostras foram obtidas de outubro/2005 a setembro/2006. Foram realizadas análises de composição, contagem de células somáticas (CCS) e contagem bacteriana total. As condições climáticas foram avaliadas pela temperatura e umidade do ar coletadas em estações meteorológicas distribuídas em todo o estado de São Paulo. No outono, ocorreram os maiores valores para gordura e proteína do leite, 3,65 e 3,21%, respectivamente. Para contagem de células somáticas, foi observado aumento no verão e contagem bacteriana na época da primavera. Foi identificada a influência da época do ano sobre o preço do leite pago dentro de um programa, com valor de bonificação máxima de 7,9% para o outono. Um dos mais importantes itens relacionados com a penalização foi a CCS, a qual pode interferir na qualidade dos produtos finais por meio de alteração da proporção de caseína/proteínas do soro. O efeito da CCS e o da época do ano devem ser considerados na formulação das tabelas de programas de pagamento.This study evaluated the variation of quality of bulk tank milk using 2,970 samples, collected from October 2005 to September 2006. Milk composition analyses, somatic cell count (SCC), and total bacterial count were performed. Climate conditions were evaluated by temperature and relative air humidity collected at meteorological stations throughout São Paulo state. Autumn season was related to the highest values for protein and fat, 3.65 and 3.21%, respectively. For somatic cell count, it was observed an increase in the count in the summer and for bacterial count in the spring. The influence of season on milk price was observed for dairy producers in a program, with maximum bonus of 7.9% in the autumn. One of the most important parameters related to penalty for lower quality of milk was SCC, since it can affect the quality of some dairies by the alteration of casein/whey protein proportion. Therefore, the effects of SCC and season should be considered into the process of formulation of tables for milk payment program.FAPES

Loss of mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 4 (SMAD4) expression and its correlation with clinicopathological parameters in pancreatic carcinoma

Abstract: Pancreatic cancer (PC) has an important role in the clinical and research area representing one of the lowest five-year rates as well as a global mortality rate of 4.8% due to its late and poor diagnosis. Therapeutic strategies have also an unsatisfactory response. Even after surgery, the recurrence or appearance of metastasis are frequent, leading to a poor overall survival. The PC has been related with several mutations, including K-RAS; P16; TP53; HER2. Besides, it is also associated with the deleted in pancreatic cancer locus 4 (DPC4), also known as the suppressor mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 4 (SMAD4) which is present in nearly 50% of the diagnosed patients with PC. Preceding studies proved that SMAD4 loss expression plays an important role in tumorigenesis and in the promotion of pancreatic carcinoma´s growth. Therefore, it is highly relevant in late stages suggesting that SMAD4 may be a molecular biomarker in prognostic results. The main goal of this review is to highlight the foregoing findings focused on SMAD4 deletion and its influence in clinicopathological parameters in pancreatic carcinoma by referring some of the investigations and clinical trials made in this field. Furthermore, it is also required to contemplate some of the therapeutical strategies and the influence of SMAD4 in future therapiesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Automating the processing steps for obtaining bone tissue engineered substitutes : from imaging tools to bioreactors.

Bone diseases and injuries are highly incapacitating and result in a high demand for tissue substitutes with specific biomechanical and structural features. Tissue engineering has already proven to be effective in regenerating bone tissue but has not yet been able to become an economically viable solution due to the complexity of the tissue which is very difficult to be replicated, eventually requiring the utilization of highly labour-intensive processes. Process automation is seen as the solution for mass production of cellularized bone tissue substitutes at an affordable cost by being able to reduce human intervention as well as reducing product variability. The combination of tools such as medical imaging, computer-aided fabrication and bioreactor technologies, which are currently used in tissue engineering, shows potential to generate automated production ecosystems which will in turn enable the generation of commercially available products with widespread clinical application.The authors would like to acknowledge the partial support by the European Network of Excellence EXPERTISSUES (NMP3-CT-2004-500283). Pedro Costa would also like to acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology for his PhD grant (SFRH/BD/62452/2009)

Active antenna array for study the interaction between broadband electromagnetic oscillations and plasma

The active broadband antenna array is described. It consists of oscillators with the working frequencies that are close enough to the plasma frequencies. The construction of described array permits to use it as a phased array with a fast control of excited wave parameters (frequency, shape, phase velocity, amplitude). The oscillations spectrum measurements were provided and corresponding results are given in this work. The possibility of transfer into stochastic regime was also studiedОписано активну широкосмужну фазовану антенну решітку, що складається з осциляторів, робочі частоти яких є близькими до плазмових. Конструкція решітки дозволяє використовувати її в якості фазованої решітки з можливістю швидкої зміни параметрів збуджуваних хвиль (форми, частоти, фазової швидкості, амплітуди). Представлено результати вимірювань спектру збуджуваних решіткою частот під час подачі на керуючий вхід сигналів різної форми. Вивчалася також можливість переходу у стохастичний режим.Описывается активная широкополосная фазированная антенная решетка, состоящая из осцилляторов с рабочими частотами, близкими к плазменным. Конструкция описываемой решетки позволяет использовать ее в качестве фазированной решетки с возможностью быстрого изменения параметров возбуждаемых волн (формы, частоты, фазовой скорости, амплитуды). Представлены результаты измерений спектра возбуждаемых решеткой колебаний при подаче сигналов разного вида на управляющий вход. Также изучалась возможность перехода в стохастический режим

Metabolic dynamics of human Sertoli cells are differentially modulated by physiological and pharmacological concentrations of GLP-1

Obesity incidence has pandemic proportions and is expected to increase even further. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) based therapies are well-established pharmacological resources for obesity treatment. GLP-1 regulates energy and glucose homeostasis, which are also crucial for spermatogenesis. Herein, we studied the GLP-1 effects in human Sertoli cells (hSCs) metabolism and mitochondrial function. hSCs were cultured in absence or exposed to increasing doses of GLP-1 mimicking physiological post-prandial (0.01 nM) levels or equivalent to pharmacological levels (1 and 100 nM) used for obesity treatment. We identified GLP-1 receptor in hSCs. Consumption/production of extracellular metabolites were assessed, as well as protein levels or activities of glycolysis-related enzymes and transporters. Mitochondrial membrane potential and oxidative damage were evaluated. Glucose consumption decreased, while lactate production increased in hSCs exposed to 0.01 and 1 nM GLP-1. Though lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) protein decreased after exposure to 100 nM GLP-1 its activity increased in hSCs exposed to the same concentration of GLP-1. Mitochondrial membrane potential decreased in hSCs exposed to 100 nM of GLP-1, while formation of carbonyl groups was decreased in those cells. Those effects were followed by an increase in p-mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) Ser(2448). Overall, the lowest concentrations of GLP-1 increased the efficiency of glucose conversion to lactate, while GLP-1 concentration of 100 nM induces mTOR phosphorylation, decreases mitochondrial membrane potential and oxidative damage. GLP-1 regulates testicular energy homeostasis and pharmacological use of GLP-1 analogues could be valuable to counteract the negative impact of obesity in male reproductive function.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Drum vortons in high density QCD

Recently it was shown that high density QCD supports of number of topological defects. In particular, there are U(1)_Y strings that arise due to K^0 condensation that occurs when the strange quark mass is relatively large. The unique feature of these strings is that they possess a nonzero K^+ condensate that is trapped on the core. In the following we will show that these strings (with nontrivial core structure) can form closed loops with conserved charge and currents trapped on the string worldsheet. The presence of conserved charges allows these topological defects, called vortons, to carry angular momentum, which makes them classically stable objects. We also give arguments demonstrating that vortons carry angular momentum very efficiently (in terms of energy per unit angular momentum) such that they might be the important degrees of freedom in the cores of neutron stars.Comment: 11 pages, accepted for publication in Physical Review

CORRELAÇÃO GENÉTICA, FENOTÍPICA E AMBIENTAL EM CARACTERÍSTICAS DE CRESCIMENTO DE BOVINOS DA RAÇA NELORE VARIEDADE MOCHA

The objective of this work was estimate the genetic correlations, environmental and phenotypic on the birth weight (WB) and on the 205 (W205), 365 (W365) and 550 (W550) days of age, in animals of the polled nellore breed from Bahia state. The analyses were carried out by software MTDFREML. The genetic correlations were 0.08 (WB and W205), 0.00 (WB and W365), - 0.14 (WB and W550), 0.90 (W205 and W365), 0.81 (W205 and W550) and 0.97 (W205 and W550). The environmental correlations were 0.12 (WB and W205), 0.11 (WB and W365) and 0.16 (WB and W550), 0.35 (W205 and W365), 0.13 (W205 and W550) and 0.54 (W365 and W550). The phenotypic correlations were 0.09 (WB and W205), 0.05 (WB and W365), 0.00 (WB and W550), 0.75 (W205 and W365), 0.65 (W205 and W550) and 0.87 (W365 and W550). The birth weight presented weak genetic, environmental, and phenotypic associations with the others weighting. On the other hand, the values gotten for the genetic correlations between the other weighting, indicates that the selection for weight in young ages will promote changes on the future weights of the animal.O objetivo deste trabalho foi estimar as correlações genéticas, fenotípicas e ambientais sobre os pesos ao nascimento (PN) e aos 205 (P205), 365 (P365) e 550 (P550) dias de idade, em animais da raça Nelore Mocha, criados no estado da Bahia. As análises bi-características foram realizadas através do programa MTDFREML. As correlações genéticas foram iguais a 0,08 (PN e P205), 0,00 (PN e P365), - 0,14 (PN e P550), 0,90 (P205 e P365), 0,81, (P205 e P550) e 0,97 (P365 e P550). As correlações ambientais foram 0,12 (PN e P205), 0,11 (PN e P365), 0,16 (PN e P550), 0,35 (P205 e P365), 0,13 (P205 e P550) e 0,54 (P365 e P550). Os valores obtidos para as correlações fenotípicas foram 0,09 (PN e P205), 0,05 (PN e P365), 0,00 (PN e P550), 0,75 (P205 e P365) 0,65 (P205 e P550) e 0,87 (P365 e P550). O peso ao nascimento apresentou ausência de associações genéticas, ambientais e fenotípicas com as demais pesagens. Por outro lado, os valores obtidos para as correlações genéticas entre as outras pesagens, indicam que a seleção para peso em idades jovens deverá promover mudanças nos pesos posteriores dos animais

Phase Diagram of the Heisenberg Spin Ladder with Ring Exchange

We investigate the phase diagram of a generalized spin-1/2 quantum antiferromagnet on a ladder with rung, leg, diagonal, and ring-exchange interactions. We consider the exactly soluble models associated with the problem, obtain the exact ground states which exist for certain parameter regimes, and apply a variety of perturbative techniques in the regime of strong ring-exchange coupling. By combining these approaches with considerations related to the discrete Z_4 symmetry of the model, we present the complete phase diagram.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figure