Anesthesia of Epinephelus marginatus with essential oil of Aloysia polystachya: an approach on blood parameters

This study investigated the anesthetic potential of the essential oil (EO) of Aloysia polystachya in juveniles of dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus). Fish were exposed to different concentrations of EO of A. polystachya to evaluate time of induction and recovery from anesthesia. In the second experiment, fish were divided into four groups: control, ethanol and 50 or 300 mu L L-1 EO of A. polystachya, and each group was submitted to induction for 3.5 min and recovery for 5 or 10 min. The blood gases and glucose levels showed alterations as a function of the recovery times, but Na+ and K+ levels did not show any alteration. In conclusion, the EO from leaves of A. polystachya is an effective anesthetic for dusky grouper, because anesthesia was reached within the recommended time at EO concentrations of 300 and 400 mu L L-1. However, most evaluated blood parameters showed compensatory responses due to EO exposure.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul/Programa de Apoio a Nucleos de Excelencia (FAPERGS/PRONEX) [10/0016-8]; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq) [470964/2009-0]; Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior, Brazil (CAPES)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Asteroseismology and Interferometry

Asteroseismology provides us with a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of stellar structure and evolution. Recent developments, including the first systematic studies of solar-like pulsators, have boosted the impact of this field of research within Astrophysics and have led to a significant increase in the size of the research community. In the present paper we start by reviewing the basic observational and theoretical properties of classical and solar-like pulsators and present results from some of the most recent and outstanding studies of these stars. We centre our review on those classes of pulsators for which interferometric studies are expected to provide a significant input. We discuss current limitations to asteroseismic studies, including difficulties in mode identification and in the accurate determination of global parameters of pulsating stars, and, after a brief review of those aspects of interferometry that are most relevant in this context, anticipate how interferometric observations may contribute to overcome these limitations. Moreover, we present results of recent pilot studies of pulsating stars involving both asteroseismic and interferometric constraints and look into the future, summarizing ongoing efforts concerning the development of future instruments and satellite missions which are expected to have an impact in this field of research.Comment: Version as published in The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review, Volume 14, Issue 3-4, pp. 217-36

A quantum chemical and statistical study of flavonoid compounds (flavones) with anti-HIV activity

The molecular orbital semi-empirical method AM1 was employed to calculate a set of molecular properties (variables) of 22 flavonoid compounds (flavones) with anti-HIV-1 activity and nine new compounds were proposed for anti-HIV-1 activity prediction. Pattern recognition techniques, principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), stepwise discriminant analysis (SDA) and K-nearest neighbor (KNN), were employed in order to reduce dimensionality and investigate which subset of variables could be more effective for classifying the flavones according to their degree of anti-HIV-1 activity. The PCA, HCA, SDA and KNN studies showed that the variables log P (partition coefficient), molecular volume (VOL) and electron affinity (EA) are responsible for the separation between anti-HIV-1 active and inactive compounds. The prediction study was done with a new set of nine analog compounds by using the PCA, HCA, SDA and KNN methods and only one of them was predicted as active against HIV-1. (C) 2003 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.384198492993

Rheumatic heart disease in pregnancy

This chapter summarizes the current knowledge of rheumatic heart disease in pregnancy. In particular, the latest guidelines from the European Society of Cardiology on the management of cardiovascular diseases in pregnancy are discussed in the context of rheumatic heart disease and resource-limited settings. The epidemiology of rheumatic heart disease in pregnancy, maternal cardiac physiology, preconception evaluation, clinical evaluation during normal pregnancy, management of rheumatic heart disease in pregnancy (including anticoagulation issues), and contraceptive choices in women with rheumatic heart disease are each discussed in detail