Antioxidant activity by DPPH assay of potential solutions to be applied on bleached teeth

The aim of this study was to assess, using the DPPH assay, the antioxidant activity of several substances that could be proposed to immediately revert the problems caused by bleaching procedures. The percentage of antioxidant activity (AA%) of 10% ascorbic acid solution (AAcidS), 10% ascorbic acid gel (AAcidG), 10% sodium ascorbate solution (SodAsS), 10% sodium ascorbate gel (SodAsG), 10% sodium bicarbonate (Bicarb), Neutralize® (NE), Desensibilize® (DES), catalase C-40 at 10 mg/mL (CAT), 10% alcohol solution of alpha-tocopherol (VitE), Listerine® (LIS), 0.12% chlorhexidine (CHX), Croton Lechleri (CL), 10 % aqueous solution of Uncaria Tomentosa (UT), artificial saliva (ArtS) and 0.05% sodium fluoride (NaF) was assessed in triplicate by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) free radical assay. All substances exhibited antioxidant activity, except for CL. AAcidS, AAcidG and VitE exhibited the highest AA% (p<0.05). On the contrary, CHX, NE, LIS and NaF showed the lowest AA% (p<0.05). In conclusion, AAcidS, AAcidG, SodAsS, SodAsG and VitE presented the highest antioxidant activity among substances tested in this study. The DPPH assay provides an easy and rapid way to evaluate potential antioxidants

Estimativa da evapotranspiração real diária para o município de São Gabriel do Oeste-MS utilizando imagens orbitais.

Resumo: Estimativas de evapotranspiração real são informações importantes, pois podem fornecer aporte aos gestores agrícolas no manejo de culturas e na previsão da produtividade. Este trabalho teve como objetivo estimar a evapotranspiração real diária (ETr) para o município de São Gabriel do Oeste, que é um grande produtor agrícola do estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. Foram utilizadas imagens do satélite Landsat-8, OLI/TIRS e o algoritmo SEBAL, alimentado com dados de estações meteorológicas. O algoritmo SEBAL calcula a ETr a partir do fluxo de calor latente (LE), o qual é estimado a partir do balanço de energia da superfície. Por meio deste algoritmo foram gerados os mapas dos parâmetros estatísticos, calculados para as diferentes classes de uso e cobertura da terra em São Gabriel do Oeste. As maiores médias de valores de ETr foram encontradas em áreas de vegetação nativa, seguidos de valores próximos para água e agricultura, enquanto que as menores médias de valores foram encontradas em áreas urbanas e solo exposto. A ETr teve comportamento semelhante ao encontrado para a LE. O algoritmo SEBAL utilizando dados de superfície e imagens do Landsat-8, OLI/TIRS, apresentou-se como uma ferramenta eficiente e de baixo custo para o monitoramento da ETr

Effect of carnauba wax nanoemulsion coating on postharvest papaya quality.

ABSTRACT: Papaya is a fruit of great economic importance worldwide, but still presents a high rate of postharvest losses. Among the different reasons explaining this phenomenom, intensive labor and inappropriate storage conditions are the main ones. Carnauba wax nanoemulsion (CWN) coating may be an alternative to this problem, preserving postharvest fruit quality. Therefore, an experimental CWN was developed and a set of three trials were conducted to evaluate its performance on storage of papaya fruits solo type. On the first trial, this coating was applied to the fruits at concentrations of 4.5, 9.0, 13.5 and 18.0% compared to control group (fruits coated with water). In a second trial, the best concentrations determined in the first one was used (13.5 and 18.0% respectively). On the last trial, CWN on a high concentration 18% was compared to commercially treated and untreated fruits. Fruits were stored for 12 to 20 days at 16 to 18°C and Relative Humidity upper to 70%. Physicochemical analyzes carried were soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, weight loss, firmness, color and ethylene production, while postharvest disease incidence and severity was only performed on the last trial. Significant difference was observed on treatments with high CWN concentration (13.5 and 18.0%) in relation to reducing weight loss, delay ripening and decreasing ethylene production compared to untreated, commercial coating and even to low CWN concentrations. For disease severity it was observed a reduction on coated fruits with high CWN concentration when compared to control and commercial coating. CWN has a potential use for extending papaya postharvest shelf life.V International Symposium on Postharvest Pathology: From Consumer to Laboratory-Sustainable Approaches to Managing Postharvest Pathogens

Improving Darwin Core for research and management of alien species

To improve the suitability of the Darwin Core standard for the research and management of alien species, the standard needs to express the native status of organisms, how well established they are and how they came to occupy a location. To facilitate this, we propose: 1. To adopt a controlled vocabulary for the existing Darwin Core term dwc:establishmentMeans 2. To elevate the pathway term from the Invasive Species Pathways extension to become a new Darwin Core term dwc:pathway maintained as part of the Darwin Core standard 3. To adopt a new Darwin Core term dwc:degreeOfEstablishment with an associated controlled vocabulary These changes to the standard will allow users to clearly state whether an occurrence of a species is native to a location or not, how it got there (pathway), and to what extent the species has become a permanent feature of the location. By improving Darwin Core for capturing and sharing these data, we aim to improve the quality of occurrence and checklist data in general and to increase the number of potential uses of these data

Prospective Evaluation of Clinico-Pathological Predictors of Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation

Background: Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) occurs in 30% to 50% of patients undergoing cardiac surgery and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Prospective identification of structural/molecular changes in atrial myocardium that correlate with myocardial injury and precede and predict risk of POAF may identify new molecular pathways and targets for prevention of this common morbid complication. Methods: Right atrial appendage samples were prospectively collected during cardiac surgery from 239 patients enrolled in the OPERA trial (Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Prevention of Post-Operative Atrial Fibrillation), fixed in 10% buffered formalin, and embedded in paraffin for histology. We assessed general tissue morphology, cardiomyocyte diameters, myocytolysis (perinuclear myofibril loss), accumulation of perinuclear glycogen, interstitial fibrosis, and myocardial gap junction distribution. We also assayed NT-proBNP (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide), hs-cTnT, CRP (C-reactive protein), and circulating oxidative stress biomarkers (F2-isoprostanes, F3-isoprostanes, isofurans) in plasma collected before, during, and 48 hours after surgery. POAF was defined as occurrence of postcardiac surgery atrial fibrillation or flutter of at least 30 seconds duration confirmed by rhythm strip or 12-lead ECG. The follow-up period for all arrhythmias was from surgery until hospital discharge or postoperative day 10. Results: Thirty-five percent of patients experienced POAF. Compared with the non-POAF group, they were slightly older and more likely to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or heart failure. They also had a higher European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation and more often underwent valve surgery. No differences in left atrial size were observed between patients with POAF and patients without POAF. The extent of atrial interstitial fibrosis, cardiomyocyte myocytolysis, cardiomyocyte diameter, glycogen score or Cx43 distribution at the time of surgery was not significantly associated with incidence of POAF. None of these histopathologic abnormalities were correlated with levels of NT-proBNP, hs-cTnT, CRP, or oxidative stress biomarkers. Conclusions: In sinus rhythm patients undergoing cardiac surgery, histopathologic changes in the right atrial appendage do not predict POAF. They also do not correlate with biomarkers of cardiac function, inflammation, and oxidative stress

Complete and Partial LCAT Deficiency are Differentially Associated with Atherosclerosis

Background\u2014Lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) is the sole enzyme that esterifies cholesterol in plasma. Its role in the supposed protection from atherogenesis remains unclear since mutations in LCAT causing Fish-Eye Disease (FED) or Familial LCAT Deficiency (FLD) have been reported to be associated with more or instead less carotid atherosclerosis, respectively. This discrepancy may be associated with the loss of cholesterol esterification on only apolipoprotein (apo) A-I (FED) or on both apoA-I and apoB-containing lipoproteins (FLD), an aspect that has thus far not been investigated. Methods\u2014Seventy-four heterozygotes for LCAT mutations recruited from Italy and the Netherlands were assigned to FLD (n=33) or FED (n=41) groups and compared to 280 controls. Subclinical atherosclerosis was assessed using carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). Results\u2014Compared to controls, total cholesterol was lower by 16% (-32.9 mg/dL) and 7% (-14.9 mg/dL), and HDL cholesterol was lower by 29% (-16.7 mg/dL) and 36% (-20.7 mg/dL) in the FLD and FED groups, respectively. FLD subjects displayed a significant 18% lower LDL cholesterol compared with FED (101.9\ub135.0 vs 123.6\ub147.4 mg/dL, P=0.047) and controls (122.6\ub135.0 mg/dL, P=0.003). Remarkably, all three IMT parameters were lower in FLD compared to FED and controls (accounting for age, sex, BMI, smoking, hypertension, family history of cardiovascular disease and plasma lipids). After additional correction for nationality and ultrasonographic methods, average and maximum IMT remained significantly lower when comparing FLD to FED (0.59mm vs 0.73mm, P=0.003, and 0.87mm vs 1.24mm, P&lt;0.001, respectively). By contrast, the common carotid IMT (corrected for age, sex, BMI, smoking, hypertension, family history of cardiovascular disease, and plasma lipids) was higher in FED compared to controls (0.69mm versus 0.65mm, P=0.05), but this significance was lost after adjustment for nationality and ultrasonographic machine. Conclusions\u2014In this head-to-head comparison, FLD and FED mutations were shown to be associated with decreased and increased atherosclerosis, respectively. We propose that this discrepancy is related to the capacity of LCAT to generate cholesterol esters on apoB-containing lipoproteins. While this capacity is lost in FLD, it is unaffected in FED. These results are important when considering LCAT as a target to decrease atherosclerosis

Camtrap DP: an open standard for the FAIR exchange and archiving of camera trap data

Camera trapping has revolutionized wildlife ecology and conservation by providing automated data acquisition, leading to the accumulation of massive amounts of camera trap data worldwide. Although management and processing of camera trap-derived Big Data are becoming increasingly solvable with the help of scalable cyber-infrastructures, harmonization and exchange of the data remain limited, hindering its full potential. There is currently no widely accepted standard for exchanging camera trap data. The only existing proposal, “Camera Trap Metadata Standard” (CTMS), has several technical shortcomings and limited adoption. We present a new data exchange format, the Camera Trap Data Package (Camtrap DP), designed to allow users to easily exchange, harmonize and archive camera trap data at local to global scales. Camtrap DP structures camera trap data in a simple yet flexible data model consisting of three tables (Deployments, Media and Observations) that supports a wide range of camera deployment designs, classification techniques (e.g., human and AI, media-based and event-based) and analytical use cases, from compiling species occurrence data through distribution, occupancy and activity modeling to density estimation. The format further achieves interoperability by building upon existing standards, Frictionless Data Package in particular, which is supported by a suite of open software tools to read and validate data. Camtrap DP is the consensus of a long, in-depth, consultation and outreach process with standard and software developers, the main existing camera trap data management platforms, major players in the field of camera trapping and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Under the umbrella of the Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG), Camtrap DP has been developed openly, collaboratively and with version control from the start. We encourage camera trapping users and developers to join the discussion and contribute to the further development and adoption of this standard. Biodiversity data, camera traps, data exchange, data sharing, information standardspublishedVersio