Ecological phytochemistry of Cerrado (Brazilian savanna) plants

The Cerrado (the Brazilian savanna) is one of the vegetation formations of great biodiversity in Brazil and it has experienced strong deforestation and fragmentation. The Cerrado must contain at least 12,000 higher plant species.We discuss the ecological relevance of phytochemical studies carried out on plants from the Cerrado, including examples of phytotoxicity, antifungal, insecticidal and antibacterial activities. The results have been classified according to activity and plant family. The most active compounds have been highlighted and other activities are discussed. A large number of complex biochemical interactions occur in this system. However, only a small fraction of the species has been studied from the phytochemical viewpoint to identify the metabolites responsible for these interactions

The Gene Ontology resource: enriching a GOld mine

The Gene Ontology Consortium (GOC) provides the most comprehensive resource currently available for computable knowledge regarding the functions of genes and gene products. Here, we report the advances of the consortium over the past two years. The new GO-CAM annotation framework was notably improved, and we formalized the model with a computational schema to check and validate the rapidly increasing repository of 2838 GO-CAMs. In addition, we describe the impacts of several collaborations to refine GO and report a 10% increase in the number of GO annotations, a 25% increase in annotated gene products, and over 9,400 new scientific articles annotated. As the project matures, we continue our efforts to review older annotations in light of newer findings, and, to maintain consistency with other ontologies. As a result, 20 000 annotations derived from experimental data were reviewed, corresponding to 2.5% of experimental GO annotations. The website (http://geneontology.org) was redesigned for quick access to documentation, downloads and tools. To maintain an accurate resource and support traceability and reproducibility, we have made available a historical archive covering the past 15 years of GO data with a consistent format and file structure for both the ontology and annotations

Avaliação da ingestão de nutrientes de crianças de uma creche filantrópica: aplicação do Consumo Dietético de Referência Assessment of nutrients intake of children in a charity daycare center: application of Dietary Reference Intake

OBJETIVOS: comparar a adequação aparente da ingestão dos nutrientes utilizando os valores de referência "Consumo Dietético de Referência" (Dietary Reference Intake-DRIs) de 35 crianças de uma creche filantrópica, em dois momentos, no ato da matrícula (momento 1) e após seis meses de freqüência na creche (momento 2). MÉTODOS: A avaliação sócio-demográfica foi realizada através de questionário abordando renda, escolaridade, condições de moradia e saneamento básico. Para avaliação do consumo alimentar, no ato da matrícula, a história dietética foi determinada em entrevista com o responsável, com o propósito de obter informações sobre consumo habitual da criança na sua residência. Após o período de seis meses foi utilizado o método de pesagem direta de alimentos (na creche) complementando com o consumo alimentar da criança na residência. A análise dos nutrientes como proteínas, ferro, cálcio e vitamina C, além das fibras alimentares, foi realizada através um programa computacional. Para comparar a adequação dos nutrientes nos dois momentos do estudo utilizou-se o teste t de Student para dados pareados (p < 0,05). RESULTADOS: observou-se que ocorreu uma melhora significativa no consumo médio de nutrientes e de fibras alimentares das crianças, após seis meses de frequência na creche. Chama atenção que nenhuma criança atingiu o nível de adequação de fibras alimentares nos dois momentos do estudo, apesar da diferença significativa. CONCLUSÕES: os resultados sugerem que as creches podem ter um importante papel na melhora do estado nutricional de crianças de estratos sociais menos favorecidos.<br>OBJECTIVES: to compare nutrients intake apparent adequacy through reference values of Dietary Reference Intake (DRIs) of 35 children of a charity daycare center in two instances, when they enrolled (instance 1) and six months after (instance 2). METHODS: socio-demographic assessment was performed through a questionnaire collecting information pertaining to income, school level, living conditions and basic sanitation. To assess food consumption at enrollment, dietary history was informed through an interview with the parent, family member or guardian on the usual intake of the child at home. Following a six month period the weighed food record method (in the daycare center) was performed complemented by the food intake of the child at home. Nutrient analysis such as proteins, iron, calcium and vitamin C in addition to food fibers was performed by specific software. To compare nutrients' adequacy in the two instances of the study the paired Student test (t) (p < 0.05) was used. RESULTS: a significant improvement in the median intake for all nutrients and fiber six moths after child's attendance to the daycare center was determined. No child reached the level of fiber apparent adequacy of the ingestion at the two moments of the study, despite the significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: results suggest that daycare centers can have an important role in the improvement of lower income children nutritional status