Occurrence of doliolids and salps during 1958, 1959, and 1960 off the São Paulo coast

Plankton samples were collected fortnightly off São Paulo coast during 1958, 1959 and 1960. The following Thaliacians were recorded Doliolum nationalis, Dolioletta gegenbauri and Thalia democrática. Morphological and ecological aspects of each species were studied. Doliolids seemed to be endemic in the region, occurring throughout the whole period of survey. The salps occurred only occasionally in dense swarms suggesting that this species is carried into the region by offshore waters.O presente trabalho apresenta um estudo dos Thaliacea coletados ao largo de Santos e Cananéia em 1958, 1959, e 1960. Foram estudados aspectos morfológicos e ecológicos das espécies coletadas: Doliolum nutionalis, Dolioletta gegenbauri e Thalia democratica. Os doliolidos parecem ser endêmicos nesta área, ocorrendo durante todo o período de coletas. As salpas ocorrem só ocasionalmente em densos "cardumes", sugerindo que esta espécie introduzida nesta área por águas oceânicas

Carrier relaxation due to electron-electron interaction in coupled double quantum well structures

We calculate the electron-electron interaction induced energy-dependent inelastic carrier relaxation rate in doped semiconductor coupled double quantum well nanostructures within the two subband approximation at zero temperature. In particular, we calculate, using many-body theory, the imaginary part of the full self-energy matrix by expanding in the dynamically RPA screened Coulomb interaction, obtaining the intrasubband and intersubband electron relaxation rates in the ground and excited subbands as a function of electron energy. We separate out the single particle and the collective excitation contributions, and comment on the effects of structural asymmetry in the quantum well on the relaxation rate. Effects of dynamical screening and Fermi statistics are automatically included in our many body formalism rather than being incorporated in an ad-hoc manner as one must do in the Boltzman theory.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figure

Parasites of native Cichlidae populations and invasive Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) in tributary of Amazonas River (Brazil).

This study provides the first investigation on acquisition of parasites in invasive O. niloticus by parasite species of native Cichlidae from the Igarapé Fortaleza basin, Northern Brazil. There were examined 576 specimens of 16 species of native cichlids and invasive O. niloticus collected in the main channel and the floodplain area of this tributary of Amazon River. The invasive O. niloticus was poorly parasitized having only Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, Trichodina centrostrigeata, Paratrichodina africana, Trichodina nobilis (Protozoa) and Cichlidogyrus tilapiae (Monogenoidea), and this host has not acquired any parasite species common to the native ichthyofauna region. In contrast, species of native cichlids showed rich fauna of parasites with predominance of Monogenoidea species, larvae and adults of Nematoda, Digenea, Cestoidea and Acanthocephala, besides four species of Protozoa and four Crustacea. However, only T. nobilis was acquired by native fish, the Aequidens tetramerus, which is a new host for this exotic Trichodinidae. In O. niloticus, well established in the region, the small number of helminth species may be associated with its rusticity, good adaptation in the new environment and also the presence of native parasites with relative specificity, but without ability to complete its life cycle in this invasive host of this ecosystem

A High-fructose Diet Induces Changes In Pp185 Phosphorylation In Muscle And Liver Of Rats.

Insulin stimulates the tyrosine kinase activity of its receptor resulting in the tyrosine phosphorylation of pp185, which contains insulin receptor substrates IRS-1 and IRS-2. These early steps in insulin action are essential for the metabolic effects of insulin. Feeding animals a high-fructose diet results in insulin resistance. However, the exact molecular mechanism underlying this effect is unknown. In the present study, we determined the levels and phosphorylation status of the insulin receptor and pp185 (IRS-(1/2)) in liver and muscle of rats submitted to a high-fructose diet evaluated by immunoblotting with specific antibodies. Feeding fructose (28 days) induced a discrete insulin resistance, as demonstrated by the insulin tolerance test. Plasma glucose and serum insulin and cholesterol levels of the two groups of rats, fructose-fed and control, were similar, whereas plasma triacylglycerol concentration was significantly increased in the rats submitted to the fructose diet (P<0.05). There were no changes in insulin receptor concentration in the liver or muscle of either group. However, insulin-stimulated receptor autophosphorylation was reduced to 72 +/- 4% (P<0.05) in the liver of high-fructose rats. The IRS-1 protein levels were similar in both liver and muscle of the two groups of rats. In contrast, there was a significant decrease in insulin-induced pp185 (IRS-(1/2)) phosphorylation, to 83 +/- 5% (P<0.05) in liver and to 77 +/- 4% (P<0.05) in muscle of the high-fructose rats. These data suggest that changes in the early steps of insulin signal transduction may have an important role in the insulin resistance induced by high-fructose feeding.331421-

Endohelmintos parasitos de 16 espécies de Cichlidae da Bacia do Igarapé Fortaleza, Macapá, Estado do Amapá, Brasil.

ENBRAPOA

A High-fructose Diet Induces Insulin Resistance But Not Blood Pressure Changes In Normotensive Rats.

Rats fed a high-fructose diet represent an animal model for insulin resistance and hypertension. We recently showed that a high-fructose diet containing vegetable oil but a normal sodium/potassium ratio induced mild insulin resistance with decreased insulin receptor substrate-1 tyrosine phosphorylation in the liver and muscle of normal rats. In the present study, we examined the mean blood pressure, serum lipid levels and insulin sensitivity by estimating in vivo insulin activity using the 15-min intravenous insulin tolerance test (ITT, 0.5 ml of 6 microg insulin, iv) followed by calculation of the rate constant for plasma glucose disappearance (Kitt) in male Wistar-Hannover rats (110-130 g) randomly divided into four diet groups: control, 1:3 sodium/potassium ratio (R Na:K) diet (C 1:3 R Na:K); control, 1:1 sodium/potassium ratio diet (CNa 1:1 R Na:K); high-fructose, 1:3 sodium/potassium ratio diet (F 1:3 R Na:K), and high-fructose, 1:1 sodium/potassium ratio diet (FNa 1:1 R Na:K) for 28 days. The change in R Na:K for the control and high-fructose diets had no effect on insulin sensitivity measured by ITT. In contrast, the 1:1 R Na:K increased blood pressure in rats receiving the control and high-fructose diets from 117 +/- 3 and 118 +/- 3 mmHg to 141 +/- 4 and 132 +/- 4 mmHg (P < 0.05), respectively. Triacylglycerol levels were higher in both groups treated with a high-fructose diet when compared to controls (C 1:3 R Na:K: 1.2 +/- 0.1 mmol/l vs F 1:3 R Na:K: 2.3 +/- 0.4 mmol/l and CNa 1:1 R Na:K: 1.2 +/- 0.2 mmol/l vs FNa 1:1 R Na:K: 2.6 +/- 0.4 mmol/l, P < 0.05). These data suggest that fructose alone does not induce hyperinsulinemia or hypertension in rats fed a normal R Na:K diet, whereas an elevation of sodium in the diet may contribute to the elevated blood pressure in this animal model.341155-6

Inelastic Coulomb scattering rates due to acoustic and optical plasmon modes in coupled quantum wires

We report a theoretical study on the inelastic Coulomb scattering rate of an injected electron in two coupled quantum wires in quasi-one-dimensional doped semiconductors. Two peaks appear in the scattering spectrum due to the optical and the acoustic plasmon scattering in the system. We find that the scattering rate due to the optical plasmon mode is similar to that in a single wire but the acoustic plasmon scattering depends crucially on its dispersion relation at small $q$. Furthermore, the effects of tunneling between the two wires are studied on the inelastic Coulomb scattering rate. We show that a weak tunneling can strongly affect the acoustic plasmon scattering.Comment: 6 Postscript figure

Neutrophil recruitment inhibitory factor: a possible candidate for a novel cytokine

Inhibitory effect upon neutrophil migration to the inflammatory focus was previously detected in the cell-free incubation fluid of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophage monolayers. In the present study we showed that the neutrophil recruitment inhibitory activity from this supernatant was mainly detected in a fraction (P2) obtained by gel filtration chromatography on Sephacryl S-300. P2 fraction was able to inhibit ‘in vivo’ neutrophil emigration induced by different inflammatory stimuli, but it did not affect ‘in vitro’ neutrophil chemotaxis induced by FMLP. When injected intravenously, P2 inhibited oedema induced by carrageenin or immunological stimulus but not the oedema induced by dextran, thus affecting cell-dependent inflammatory responses. It was observed that P2 also induced neutrophil migration when injected locally in peritoneal cavities. This activity was significantly reduced by pretreatment of the animals with dexamethasone. Cytokines, such as IL-8 and TNF-α that are known to exhibit inhibitory effect upon neutrophil migration, were not detected in P2 fraction by highly sensitive assays. Overall the results suggest the existence of a novel cytokine exhibiting ‘in vivo’ neutrophil inhibitory activity, referred as NRIF

Hibridação interespecífica entre espécies silvestres de Manihot (Euphorbiaceae - Magnoliophyta) e cultivares de mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz).

A hibridação interespecífica é um dos métodos utilizados na cultura da mandioca para ampliar variabilidade ou transferir características de interesse econômico. Hibridações controladas e naturais ocorrem dentro do gênero Manihot, indicando que as barreiras que isolam as espécies são fracas devido à recente evolução do grupo. Muitas espécies silvestres cruzam facilmente com M. esculenta e são fontes de alelos úteis para a espécie cultivada. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o desenvolvimento e a cruzabilidade de híbridos interespecíficos entre espécies silvestres de Manihot e cultivares comerciais de M. esculenta. Foram realizadas polinizações manuais aleatórias entre 16 acessos de espécies silvestres e 31 cultivares de mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz), no período de 2007 a 2012. Os dados de avaliações dos números de flores polinizadas e fertilizadas, frutos desenvolvidos, sementes produzidas e deiscência dos frutos foram avaliados. Foi possível desenvolver híbridos interespecíficos entre cultivares de mandioca e espécies silvestres de Manihot. Observou-se que as espécies silvestres de Manihot são mais eficientes quando se comportam como doadores de grãos de pólen. As espécies Manihot esculenta subsp. peruviana e Manihot esculenta subsp. flabelifolia foram as que apresentaram os maiores números de flores polinizadas, produzindo uma relação aproximada de 8 sementes híbridas obtidas para cada 100 cruzamentos realizados.bitstream/item/126759/1/boletim-de-pesquisa-65.pd

Self-assembly mechanism in colloids: perspectives from Statistical Physics

Motivated by recent experimental findings in chemical synthesis of colloidal particles, we draw an analogy between self-assembly processes occurring in biological systems (e.g. protein folding) and a new exciting possibility in the field of material science. We consider a self-assembly process whose elementary building blocks are decorated patchy colloids of various types, that spontaneously drive the system toward a unique and predetermined targeted macroscopic structure. To this aim, we discuss a simple theoretical model -- the Kern-Frenkel model -- describing a fluid of colloidal spherical particles with a pre-defined number and distribution of solvophobic and solvophilic regions on their surface. The solvophobic and solvophilic regions are described via a short-range square-well and a hard-sphere potentials, respectively. Integral equation and perturbation theories are presented to discuss structural and thermodynamical properties, with particular emphasis on the computation of the fluid-fluid (or gas-liquid) transition in the temperature-density plane. The model allows the description of both one and two attractive caps, as a function of the fraction of covered attractive surface, thus interpolating between a square-well and a hard-sphere fluid, upon changing the coverage. By comparison with Monte Carlo simulations, we assess the pros and the cons of both integral equation and perturbation theories in the present context of patchy colloids, where the computational effort for numerical simulations is rather demanding.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, Special issue for the SigmaPhi2011 conferenc