Composições de susbstratos e ambientes de enraizamento na estaquia de Ilex paraguariensis A. St.-Hil.

Devido à carência de informações a respeito da propagação vegetativa de erva-mate, conduziu-se um experimento com o objetivo de avaliar o ambiente de enraizamento e composições de substrato na sobrevivência, enraizamento e vigor de estacas de Ilex paraguariensis de plantas de 12 anos de idade. Testou-se o efeito de três clones (A32, A34 e A36), seis substratos (S1 - substrato para enraizamento à base de casca de pinus; S2 - substrato para enraizamento à base de casca de pinus e vermiculita; S3 - casca de arroz carbonizada + vermiculita fina + substrato para enraizamento à base de casca de pinus e vermiculita (1:1:1 v/v); S4 - casca de arroz carbonizada + substrato para enraizamento à base de casca de pinus e vermiculita (1:1 v/v); S5 - casca de arroz carbonizada + vermiculita fina (1:1 v/v); S6 - fibra de coco) e dois ambientes de enraizamento (casa de vegetação automatizada e simples). Embora não tenham ocorrido grandes variações entre os ambientes testados, o enraizamento das estacas mostrou-se baixo. O uso da mistura de casca de arroz carbonizada + substrato para enraizamento à base de casca de pinus e vermiculita na proporção 1:1 (v/v) é aconselhado para estaquia de erva-mate

Anthropometric indices of sarcopenia in patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

The Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a kidney dysfunction for which the estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) result

Aerobic 3-month physical activity program in breast cancer survivors: effects on sleep behavior, anthropometric indices of adiposity and fasting glucose metabolism

Background: Evidences exist that sleep disorders are associated with an increased risk of cancer, including breast cancer (BC) (Verkasalo et al., 2005). Also adiposity and hypersinsulinemia have been acknowledged as factors involved in cancer mortality including BC (Pisani, 2008). Physical activity (PA) has the potential to counterbalance all of these risk factors. In fact, PA has been shown to produces beneficial effects on sleep quality and BC prognosis, as well as on adiposity and glucose metabolism (Mann et al., 2014). We thus designed a randomized controlled trial to test the effect of an aerobic PA program on sleep behavior, anthropometric indices of adiposity and fasting glucose metabolism in BC women included in a dietary intervention trial for prevention of BC recurrences. Subjects and Methods: 42 BC women, aged 35-70 years, wererandomized into an intervention (IG=19) and control group (CG=23). The IG had to participate in a 3-month active PA program that included two sessions of one-hour brisk walking per week. At baseline and after 3-month, all women were requested to undergo an anthropometric visit, to collect a blood sample for detemination of fasting insulin and glucose levels, to wear the Actigraph Actiwatch for one week for sleep parameters evaluation (Actual Sleep Time (AST), Actual Wake Time (AWT), Sleep Efficiency (SE); Sleep Latency (SL); Mean Activity Score (MAS); Movement and Fragmentation Index (MFI) and Immobility time (IT)). Results: At the end of the 3-month PA program, CG showed an overall worsening of sleep behaviour. In fact, SE, IT and AST decreased (p<0.01), while AWT, MAS and MFI increased (p<0.01). In contrast, IG did not show any sign of sleep deterioration. As for the indices of adiposity, a significant reduction in waist circumference (p<0.05) and % fat mass (p<0.01) was observed in IG, but not in CG. Although fasting glucose and insulin levels did not show any significant change in either group, it was nevertheless encouraging that the two groups displayed an opposite trend as far as the changes in fasting insulin were concerned: fasting insulin showed a mean reduction (-0.9 \u3bcU//ml) in the IG group and a mean increment in the CG (+0.7 \u3bcU/ml). Conclusion: Our results suggest that a standardized PA program in BC survivors prevents sleep deterioration, reduces anthropometric indices of adiposity and may prove useful in preventing the development of hyperinsulinemic levels. REFERENCES 1. Mann et al. (2014). Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 30: 257-268 2. Pisani P. (2008). Arch Physiol Biochem 114: 63\u201370. 3. Verkasalo PK et al. (2005). Cancer Res 65(20): 9595\u2013600

Anthropometric indices of adiposity and fasting glucose metabolism in breast cancer survivors: effects of aerobic physical activity

Adiposity and hypersinsulinemia are factors involved in cancer mortality including BC (1). Physical activity (PA) has the potential to counterbalance these risk factors. In fact, PA has been shown to produce beneficial effects on adiposity and glucose metabolism (2). We thus designed a randomized controlled trial to test the effect of an aerobic PA program on anthropometric indices of adiposity and fasting glucose metabolism in BC women included in a dietary intervention trial for prevention of BC recurrences. 42 BC women, aged 35-70 years, were randomized into an intervention (IG=19) and control group (CG=23). The IG had to participate in a 3-month active PA program that included two sessions of one-hour brisk walking per week. At baseline and after 3-month, all women were requested to undergo an anthropometric visit and to collect a blood sample for determination of fasting insulin and glucose levels. At the end of the 3-month PA a significant reduction in waist circumference (p<0.05) and percentage fat mass (p<0.01) were observed in IG, but not in CG. In addition, only IG increased significantly their Metabolic Equivalent of Task (METs) (p<0.05). Although fasting glucose and insulin levels don\u2019t show any significant change in either group, it is nevertheless encouraging that the two groups displayed an opposite trend as far as the changes in fasting insulin were concerned: fasting insulin shows a mean reduction (-0.9 \uf06dU//ml) in the IG group and a mean increment in the CG (+0.7 \uf06dU/ml). The results suggest that a standardized PA program in BC survivors reduces anthropometric indices of adiposity and may prove useful in preventing the development of hyperinsulinemic levels. References 1. Mann et al. (2014) Changes in insulin sensitivity in response to different modalities of exercise: a review of the evidence. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 30(4): 257-268. 2. Pisani (2008) Hyper-insulinaemia and cancer, meta-analyses of epidemiological studies. Arch Physiol Biochem 114(1): 63\u201370

Physical performance in high school students: effect of chronotype

Morningness-Eveningness (M-E) is an individual characteristic, defined as chronotype. People are typically categorized in 3 different chronotypes: Morning, Evening and Neither types (M, E and N-types), which differ in the circadian rhythm of many physiological variables. M-types use to wake up and go to bed early and to have their best performances in the first part of the day, otherwise E-types go to bed and wake up late and they have the peak performances in the evening. The chronotype is influenced by both individual and environmental factors and gradually changes during human development. Many studies have demonstrated a trend beginning with a tendency toward morningness in children that gradually evolves into a shift toward eveningness. Approximately at the age of 20 years, this shift reaches its maximum and starts to decline, leading to a growing tendency toward morningness from midadulthood on. This more pronounced eveningness has been found to negatively affect adolescents’ sleep and daytime functioning; even physical performance of adolescents can vary throughout the day because sleep pressure increases, the input from the circadian timing system is optimal or non-optimal to perform the task or both of them. In this study participated 216 students, 124 males and 92 females, attending the first two high school classes (mean age 14-15 years). For the assessment of chronotype, all students compiled the Morningness-Eveningness Questionaire (MEQ), validated by Horne and Ostberg in 1976. For all subjects we collected anthropometric data (weight, height, BMI). All the subjects were categorized as M (n=22), N (n=165), and E-types (n=29). To assess the relationship between chronotype and physical performance, from the sample we recruited 51 subjects, 22 M-type (14 males and 8 females) and 29 E-types (18 males and 11 females), who carried out three Eurofit tests (SHR, Shuttle Run; SBJ, Standing Broad Jump; Cooper endurance test). Preliminary results, although showing some differences in physical performance between E and M chronotype, have not detected statistically significant differences between the two groups

Actigraphy-based activity levels and anthropometric measurements in breast cancer survivors: effects of aerobic physical activity

The research investments for the identification of modifiable factors associated with BC recurrences is increasing. Adiposity and other anthropometric indices have been acknowledged as factors involved in BC recurrences and mortality (1). Physical activity (PA) has the potential to counterbalance all of these risk factors (2). We designed a randomized controlled trial to test the effect of an aerobic PA program on anthropometric indices of adiposity and circadian rhythm activity level, evaluated by actigraphy, in BC women included in a dietary intervention trial for prevention of BC recurrences. 40 BC women, aged 35-70 years, were randomized into an intervention (IG=19) and a control group (CG=21). The IG participated in a 3-month active PA program that included two sessions of one-hour brisk walking per week. At baseline and after 3 months, both IG and CG were evaluated for the following parameters: height, weight, BMI, waist circumferences, % fat mass, % lean mass; energy expenditure and motion level (Total Energy Expenditure-TEE, number of steps, PA level, Metabolic Equivalents-METs) using a SenseWear Pro 3 Armband; and activity level circadian rhythm using the Actigraph Actiwatch. At the end of the 3-month PA program, IG showed a significant reduction in fat mass % while CG improved weight and BMI. The population mean cosinor applied to IG and CG at PRE and POST revealed the presence of a significant circadian rhythm in two groups (

Phenotypic characterization of cassava ethno-varieties in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Brazil is the fourth largest producer of cassava in the world. In the state of Mato Grosso more than 90% of family farmers grow cassava; therefore, studies that evaluate the genetic resources of this species present in the fields of these farmers can be considered essential. The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic variability among ethnovarieties of cassava grown in five regions of the state of Mato Grosso, at a phenotypic level using morphoagronomic and molecular characteristics. Forty-five ethnovarieties of cassava were evaluated using 45 morphoagronomic descriptors, 36 qualitative descriptors and nine quantitative descriptors, in addition to 15 microsatellite loci. The data were analyzed with the help of the Past and Genes programs. The descriptors of qualitative nature revealed the existence of morphological divergence, with 97.35% polymorphism and the formation of five genetic groups using the UPGMA method. Forty-four ethno-varieties had more than one desirable root characteristic from an agronomic point of view. Among all the varieties, the Amarela I ethno-variety had the most of these characteristics. With the quantitative variables obtained using the UPGMA method, it was possible to form seven distinct groups, which revealed the Branca Comum and Paraguaia ethno-varieties to be the most dissimilar. The characteristic that most contributed to the distinction of the groups was that of root length (30%). The 15 microsatellite loci amplified 109 alleles, and mean heterozygosity observed was higher than the expected heterozygosity. The UPGMA grouping revealed the formation of four distinct groups, and it was possible to verify duplicity of the Mandioca Batatinha and Pramuquem ethnovarities. By using joint analysis of the data, five genetic groups were observed, without duplicity of material; groups III, IV and V were isolated individuals. Between qualitative and quantitative variables, there was a significant correlation of 31% and between qualitative and molecular data the correlation was 12.4%. The collection of ethnovarieties grown in the fields of family farmers in the state of Mato Grosso present genetic divergence at the phenotypic level, based on morphoagronomic and molecular characteristics, and these ethno-varieties have characteristics of interest for genetic improvement and improved marketability

Anthropometric and performance differences among playing positions between Italian and American high school football players

Height, body weight and body composition are different among American football players and this is due to the different movement demands for each playing position (1). The results of the National Football League (NFL) Combines are different for playing position and they are used by coaches and scouts to assess players’ physical abilities as a determinant of their success in the professional level (2). The purpose of this study was to examine anthropometric and performance differences among young football players of a top Italian team (Rhinos Milan) and to compare these values with the American high school football players. Participants (N=62) were categorized by position in 3 groups based on playing position: Skill players (SP) included wide receivers, cornerbacks, safeties, and running backs; Big skill players (BSP) consisted of fullbacks, linebackers, tight ends, and defensive ends; Lineman (LM) included centers, offensive guards, offensive and defensive tackles. Body weight and percentage of body fat were determined using the TANITA Body Composition Monitor BC-418 and we obtained performance results of the following Nike SPARQ Combine drills: 40-yard dash, vertical jump, 20-yard shuttle and the kneeling power ball toss (KPBT). The one-way ANOVA followed by the Tukey-Kramer post-hoc test showed significant differences for all the variables among the 3 playing categories: LM had higher anthropometric and body composition values than SP (