Rice and rice bran from different cultivars: physicochemical, spectroscopic, and thermal analysis characterization.

Várias cultivares de arroz tem sido desenvolvida no intuito de obter grãos com características de cultivo e composição apropriadas, que são responsáveis pela indicação de uso/consumo dos grãos. Assim, justifica-se a necessidade de caracterização das diferentes cultivares de arroz. No presente estudo, o arroz branco e o farelo de arroz das cultivares BRS AG, BRS Pampa, e BRS 358, cedidas pela EMBRAPA, foram caracterizadas a partir de análises físico-químicas, espectroscopia no infravermelho (FTIR-ATR) e análises térmicas. Nas amostras de arroz branco, o conteúdo de umidade, lipídios e cinzas não diferiu entre as cultivares. A BRS Pampa teve o maior teor de proteínas e o menor teor de carboidratos. A BRS Pampa e BRS 358 tiveram maior teor de ácido fítico. O maior conteúdo de carboidratos observado no arroz branco da cultivar BRS AG confirma sua indicação de uso na produção de bioetanol. Nas amostras de farelo de arroz, a BRS teve maior teor de lipídios, proteínas e ácido fítico, e o menor de carboidratos totais. A análise por FTIR-ATR e análise térmica permitiram correlacionar as propriedades físico-químicas do farelo de arroz e arroz branco com a composição química dentro de cada cultivar estudada. O arroz branco e o farelo de arroz exibiram degradação térmica a 300 °C. O conteúdo de lipídios, proteínas, cinzas e ácido fítico foram superiores no farelo em comparação ao arroz branco para todas as cultivares, o que demonstra a importância do uso desse subproduto.Título em português: Arroz e farelo de arroz de diferentes cultivares: caracterização físico-química, por espectroscopia e análise térmica

The effective opening of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors with single agonist binding sites

We have identified a means by which agonist-evoked responses of nicotinic receptors can be conditionally eliminated. Modification of α7L119C mutants by the sulfhydryl reagent 2-aminoethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTSEA) reduces responses to acetylcholine (ACh) by more than 97%, whereas corresponding mutations in muscle-type receptors produce effects that depend on the specific subunits mutated and ACh concentration. We coexpressed α7L119C subunits with pseudo wild-type α7C116S subunits, as well as ACh-insensitive α7Y188F subunits with wild-type α7 subunits in Xenopus laevis oocytes using varying ratios of cRNA. When mutant α7 cRNA was coinjected at a 5:1 ratio with wild-type cRNA, net charge responses to 300 µM ACh were retained by α7L119C-containing mutants after MTSEA modification and by the ACh-insensitive Y188F-containing mutants, even though the expected number of ACh-sensitive wild-type binding sites would on average be fewer than two per receptor. Responses of muscle-type receptors with one MTSEA-sensitive subunit were reduced at low ACh concentrations, but much less of an effect was observed when ACh concentrations were high (1 mM), indicating that saturation of a single binding site with agonist can evoke strong activation of nicotinic ACh receptors. Single-channel patch clamp analysis revealed that the burst durations of fetal wild-type and α1β1γδL121C receptors were equivalent until the α1β1γδL121C mutants were exposed to MTSEA, after which the majority (81%) of bursts were brief (≤2 ms). The longest duration events of the receptors modified at only one binding site were similar to the long bursts of native receptors traditionally associated with the activation of receptors with two sites containing bound agonists

Sustainability Agenda for the Pantanal Wetland: Perspectives on a Collaborative Interface for Science, Policy, and Decision-Making.

Building bridges between environmental and political agendas is essential nowadays in face of the increasing human pressure on natural environments, including wetlands. Wetlands provide critical ecosystem services for humanity and can generate a considerable direct or indirect income to the local communities. To meet many of the sustainable development goals, we need to move our trajectory from the current environmental destructive development to a wiser wetland use. The current article contain a proposed agenda for the Pantanal aiming the improvement of public policy for conservation in the Pantanal, one of the largest, most diverse, and continuous inland wetland in the world. We suggest and discuss a list of 11 essential interfaces between science, policy, and development in region linked to the proposed agenda. We believe that a functional science network can booster the collaborative capability to generate creative ideas and solutions to address the big challenges faced by the Pantanal wetland