The body as place of learning: reflections from the experiences of a drama group formed by mature adults

Partindo de reflexões sobre o lugar do corpo na sociedade, neste artigo é apresentado um estudo investigativo e descritivo sobre a relação entre a educação do corpo e a experiência teatral de 15 adultos na maturidade, entre setembro e dezembro de 2010. Avaliamos a influência de atividades que evidenciam o corpo em diferentes aspectos da vida desses indivíduos, utilizando-se o método etnográfico da observação participante e a técnica qualitativa grupo focal. Foram entrevistadas 13 mulheres e 2 homens, cujas idades variaram entre 60 e 85 anos. A maioria concluiu o ensino superior (65%); os demais se dividiram entre ensino médio e primário. Para analisar os depoimentos, optamos pela construção do discurso do sujeito coletivo e verificamos que essas atividades, que valorizam a expressão corporal, contribuem para o exercício da criatividade, estimulam o trabalho cooperativo, permitem a ampliação da rede de suporte social e favorecem a aprendizagem no seu sentido amplo.Based on the discussion about the position of the body within society, this work presents an exploratory study concerning the relationship between the education of the body and the experiences of a drama group formed by 15 mature adults, during the period from September to December, 2010. We investigated the influence of activities which highlight the body on different aspects of these individuals' life by using the ethnographic method for participative observation and the focus group qualitative technique. 13 women and 2 men, whose ages ranged between 60 and 85 years, were interviewed. Most of them had completed Higher Education (65%), having the others completed high school and elementary school. The recorded statements were analyzed through the construction of the collective subject discourse and we could conclude that the activities which put the body in evidence contribute to creativity, encourage cooperative work, allow for the expansion of social network and favour the learning process in its broader sense

Protease inhibitors extracted from caesalpinia echinata lam. Affect kinin release during lung inflammation

Inflammation is an essential process in many pulmonary diseases in which kinins are generated by protease action on kininogen, a phenomenon that is blocked by protease inhibitors. We evaluated kinin release in an in vivo lung inflammation model in rats, in the presence or absence of CeKI (C. echinata kallikrein inhibitor), a plasma kallikrein, cathepsin G, and proteinase-3 inhibitor, and rCeEI (recombinant C. echinata elastase inhibitor), which inhibits these proteases and also neutrophil elastase. Wistar rats were intravenously treated with buffer (negative control) or inhibitors and, subsequently, lipopolysaccharide was injected into their lungs. Blood, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and lung tissue were collected. In plasma, kinin release was higher in the LPS-treated animals in comparison to CeKI or rCeEI groups. rCeEI-treated animals presented less kinin than CeKI-treated group. Our data suggest that kinins play a pivotal role in lung inflammation and may be generated by different enzymeshowever, neutrophil elastase seems to be the most important in the lung tissue context. These results open perspectives for a better understanding of biological process where neutrophil enzymes participate and indicate these plant inhibitors and their recombinant correlates for therapeutic trials involving pulmonary diseases.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo [04/11015-0, 07/55496-0, 01/02457-0]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico [304923/2006-0, 304719/2009-9]Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior/Ministerio da Educacao Superior de Cuba (CAPES/MES), Brazil [011/06, 077/09]Department of Biochemistry, Universidade Federal de S˜ao Paulo, Rua Trˆes de Maio, No. 100, 04044-020 S˜ao Paulo, SP, BrazilSchool of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Arlindo Bettio, No. 1000, 03828-000 São Paulo, SP, BrazilDepartment of Marine Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Doutor Carvalho de Mendonça, No. 144, 11070-100 Santos, SP, BrazilJapan Health Care College, Sinei 434-1, Kiyota-ku, Sapporo, JapanDepartment of Marine Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Doutor Carvalho de Mendonça, No. 144, 11070-100 Santos, SP, BrazilFAPESP: 04/11015-0FAPESP: 07/55496-0FAPESP: 01/02457-0CNPq: 304923/2006-0CNPq: 304719/2009-9CAPES/MES: 011/06 and 077/09Web of Scienc

Biochemical Aspects of a Serine Protease from Caesalpinia echinata Lam. (Brazilwood) Seeds: A Potential Tool to Access the Mobilization of Seed Storage Proteins

Several proteins have been isolated from seeds of leguminous, but this is the first report that a protease was obtained from seeds of Caesalpinia echinata Lam., a tree belonging to the Fabaceae family. This enzyme was purified to homogeneity by hydrophobic interaction and anion exchange chromatographies and gel filtration. This 61-kDa serine protease (CeSP) hydrolyses H-D-prolyl-L-phenylalanyl-L-arginine-p-nitroanilide (Km 55.7 μM) in an optimum pH of 7.1, and this activity is effectively retained until 50°C. CeSP remained stable in the presence of kosmotropic anions (PO4 3−, SO4 2−, and CH3COO−) or chaotropic cations (K+ and Na+). It is strongly inhibited by TLCK, a serine protease inhibitor, but not by E-64, EDTA or pepstatin A. The characteristics of the purified enzyme allowed us to classify it as a serine protease. The role of CeSP in the seeds cannot be assigned yet but is possible to infer that it is involved in the mobilization of seed storage proteins

Densidade parasitária e potencial ornitocórico de aves silvestres: resultados preliminares de um projeto de pesquisa e extensão realizado em área de reflorestamento no Campus IFRJ, Pinheiral, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

This publication aims to disseminate to the scientific community and society in general, the project of the same title of this publication that is under development by the collaboration of the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ) and the Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de aneiro (UFRRJ). Briefly, this project aims to quantify and identify parasites of the body surface (ectoparasites) and intestinal parasites (enteroparasites) of wild birds, which should be related to their biological and ecological conditions, and to evaluate the dispersal seed process performed by birds (ornithocoria), the viability and development of these seeds and thus establish the degree of importance of ornithocoria in reforestation at the IFRJ campus of Pinheiral, RJ. The project includes the integration of five doctoral professors, a laboratory technician doctor, as well as a postdoctoral student, four doctoral students, one master student, two undergraduate students and four technical high school students. To date, six expeditions have been made in the reforestation area of the Espaço Ecológico Educativo (EEcoE) of the IFRJ campus in Pinheiral, RJ, where a total of 196 wild birds have been captured, evaluated, ringed and recorded at the Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Aves Silvestres (CEMAVE), of which 29 were recaptured for revaluations. Four articles were published on the themes of parasitology and ornithochory in wild birds. Two practical short courses in the area of study were taught in September 2018 and February 2019 to IFRJ students, but open to the scientific community and society at large. Currently the project is not expected to end, since there are plenty of unpublished and relevant results in both the area of parasitology and ornithochory of wild birds.A presente publicação tem por objetivo divulgar, à comunidade científica e à sociedade em geral, o projeto de mesmo título desta publicação que está em desenvolvimento em colaboração dos Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ) e Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ). Resumidamente, este projeto objetiva quantificar e identificar parasitas da superfície corporal (ectoparasitas) e parasitas intestinais (enteroparasitas) de aves silvestres, os quais devem estar relacionados às suas condições biológicas e ecológicas, além de avaliar o processo de dispersão de sementes desempenhado pelas aves (ornitocoria), a viabilidade e desenvolvimento destas sementes e, desta forma, estabelecer o grau de importância da ornitocoria no reflorestamento no campus IFRJ de Pinheiral, RJ. O projeto conta com a integração de cinco professores doutores, uma doutora técnica de laboratório, além de um pós-doutorando, quatro doutorandos, um mestrando, dois estudantes de iniciação científica e quatro estudantes de ensino médio-técnico. Até o presente momento, foram realizadas seis expedições na área em reflorestamento do Espaço Ecológico Educativo (EEcoE) do campus IFRJ em Pinheiral, RJ, onde o total de 196 aves silvestres foram capturadas, avaliadas, anilhadas e registradas no Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Aves Silvestres (CEMAVE), das quais 29 foram recapturadas para reavaliações. Quatro artigos foram publicados nos temas de parasitologia e ornitocoria em aves silvestres. Dois minicursos práticos, na área de estudo, foram ministrados em setembro de 2018 e fevereiro de 2019 para alunos do IFRJ, porém aberto para a comunidade científica e sociedade em geral. Atualmente o projeto não tem previsão para término, desde que há abundância de resultados inéditos e relevantes tanto na área de parasitologia, quanto ornitocoria em aves silvestres

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost