Açaí (Euterpe oleracea Martius) supplementation in the diet during gestation and lactation attenuates liver steatosis in dams and protects offspring.

Purpose: Maternal high-fat diet affects offspring and can induce metabolic disorders such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). New therapeutic strategies are being investigated as way to prevent or attenuate this condition. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of açaí supplementation in the maternal high-fat diet on dams and offspring lipid metabolism. Methods: Female Fisher rats were divided in four groups and fed a control diet (C), a high-fat diet (HF), an açaí supplemented diet (CA) and a high-fat diet supplemented with açaí (HFA) 2 weeks before mating, during gestation and lactation. The effects of açaí were evaluated in the male offspring after birth (P1) and weaning (P21). Results: HFA reduced relative liver weight, fat and cholesterol liver content in dams and improved liver steatosis as confirmed by histological analyses. HFA increased serum cholesterol and expression of Srebpf1 and Fasn genes. In offspring, HFA decreased relative liver weight, and serum cholesterol only in P21. An increase in the Sirt1, Srebpf1 and Fasn genes expression was observed in P21. Conclusions: These results suggest that açaí supplementation may attenuate NAFLD in dams and protect offspring from the detrimental effects of lipid excess from a maternal high-fat diet

LOCALIZAÇÃO DO QUADRO DE DISTRIBUIÇÃO DE CARGA EM INSTALAÇÕES ELÉTRICAS ATRAVÉS DO CÁLCULO DO CENTRO DE MASSA

O conjunto de informações conceituais importantes, como por exemplo, circuitos elétricos, instalações elétricas, quadro de distribuição, centro de massa e centro de carga foram relatados, de maneiro sucinta, a partir da fundamentação teórica. Aplicações físicas e matemáticas foram introduzidas dentro de um assunto técnico específico da engenharia elétrico de modo que fosse possível alcançar o objetivo desse trabalho, o qual é demonstrar uma aplicação de um determinado assunto abordado na disciplina de cálculo III na engenharia elétrica. A localização do centro de massa foi o assunto escolhido para ser aplicado, todavia fazendo com que a relação matemática utilizada para determinar o cálculo do centro de massa fosse usada para calcular o centro de carga. É nesse contexto de centro de carga que se insere a aplicação do ramo matemático do cálculo III na engenharia elétrica, a qual faz uma utilização dessa ferramenta numérica para localizar um determinado local de uma instalação elétrica. Esse local pode ser de escala residencial por meio da localização do quadro de distribuição, passando pela escala industrial e chegando até em escalas maiores, como por exemplo um local de uma subestação

Estimativas mensais da formação bruta de capital fixo pública no Brasil (2002-2010)

This article presents new monthly estimates of the gross fixed capital formation of the Brazilian general government for the 2002-2010 years. A significant research effort was made to carry out the estimations. First, the many differences between the concepts of "public investment" (as used in the Brazilian public accounting manuals) and "gross fixed capital formation of the general government" (as used in the United Nations System of National Accounts) were carefully identified, and so were the peculiarities of the Brazilian budget process that distort official estimates of the annual gross fixed capital formation of the Brazilian general government and affect the precision of naive estimates of the same variable in higher frequencies. Second, several procedures were developed to correct or mitigate these problems. Finally, additional information was obtained from 20 out of 26 Brazilian states, the federal district, and tens of (large) municipalities in order to allow us to circumvent the relative scarcity of information on the finances of Brazilian state and local governments.Este artigo apresenta estimativas inéditas de séries mensais da formação bruta de capital fixo (FBCF) das administrações públicas no Brasil de 2002 a 2010. A estimação exigiu um esforço significativo de pesquisa. Em primeiro lugar, realizou-se uma análise criteriosa dos conceitos da contabilidade pública e da contabilidade nacional, enfatizando-se as peculiaridades do processo orçamentário brasileiro que enviesam as estimativas anuais dos investimentos públicos divulgadas nas estatísticas oficiais e que afetam a precisão das informações de alta frequência. Em segundo lugar, desenvolveram-se procedimentos para mitigar estes problemas. Por fim, buscou-se contornar a escassez de informações dos governos subnacionais solicitando-se informações adicionais de centenas de contadores públicos, técnicos ou secretários de Fazenda/Planejamento de todos os estados da Federação, do Distrito Federal (DF) e dos maiores municípios

Genome of the Avirulent Human-Infective Trypanosome—Trypanosoma rangeli

Background: Trypanosoma rangeli is a hemoflagellate protozoan parasite infecting humans and other wild and domestic mammals across Central and South America. It does not cause human disease, but it can be mistaken for the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. We have sequenced the T. rangeli genome to provide new tools for elucidating the distinct and intriguing biology of this species and the key pathways related to interaction with its arthropod and mammalian hosts.  Methodology/Principal Findings: The T. rangeli haploid genome is ,24 Mb in length, and is the smallest and least repetitive trypanosomatid genome sequenced thus far. This parasite genome has shorter subtelomeric sequences compared to those of T. cruzi and T. brucei; displays intraspecific karyotype variability and lacks minichromosomes. Of the predicted 7,613 protein coding sequences, functional annotations could be determined for 2,415, while 5,043 are hypothetical proteins, some with evidence of protein expression. 7,101 genes (93%) are shared with other trypanosomatids that infect humans. An ortholog of the dcl2 gene involved in the T. brucei RNAi pathway was found in T. rangeli, but the RNAi machinery is non-functional since the other genes in this pathway are pseudogenized. T. rangeli is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, a phenotype that may be explained by a smaller number of anti-oxidant defense enzymes and heatshock proteins.  Conclusions/Significance: Phylogenetic comparison of nuclear and mitochondrial genes indicates that T. rangeli and T. cruzi are equidistant from T. brucei. In addition to revealing new aspects of trypanosome co-evolution within the vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, comparative genomic analysis with pathogenic trypanosomatids provides valuable new information that can be further explored with the aim of developing better diagnostic tools and/or therapeutic targets

Voltammetry in Two-Electrode Mode for Rapid Electrochemical Screening Using a Fully Printed and Flexible Multiplexer Sensor

A multiplexed electrochemical platform has been designed for electrochemical screening applications, such as bacteria detection. It includes 16x16 electrochemical cell array in a two-electrode mode fabricated by a combination of screen printing, inkjet printing, and flash-light sintering techniques wherein each cell is addressed sequentially by a portable multiplexer potentiostat. This multiplexer unit is capable of making a total of 256 independent voltametric measurements that were validated by performing cyclic voltammetry in two-electrode mode using four different redox mediators: [Fe(CN)(6)](3-)/(4-), FcMeOH, Ru[(NH3)(6)]Cl-3 and K-2[IrCl6]. The smart design and the use of mass production techniques makes the multiplexer device applicable for numerous electrochemical applications including health, food, and environmental monitoring.LEP

Visible-Light-Driven Water Oxidation on Self-Assembled Metal-Free Organic@Carbon Junctions at Neutral pH

Sustainable water oxidation requires low-cost, stable, and efficient redox couples, photosensitizers, and catalysts. Here, we introduce the in situ self-assembly of metal-atom-free organic-based semiconductive structures on the surface of carbon supports. The resulting TTF/TTF•+@carbon junction (TTF = tetrathiafulvalene) acts as an all-in-one highly stable redox-shuttle/photosensitizer/molecular-catalyst triad for the visible-light-driven water oxidation reaction (WOR) at neutral pH, eliminating the need for metallic or organometallic catalysts and sacrificial electron acceptors. A water/butyronitrile emulsion was used to physically separate the photoproducts of the WOR, H+ and TTF, allowing the extraction and subsequent reduction of protons in water, and the in situ electrochemical oxidation of TTF to TTF•+ on carbon in butyronitrile by constant anode potential electrolysis. During 100 h, no decomposition of TTF was observed and O2 was generated from the emulsion while H2 was constantly produced in the aqueous phase. This work opens new perspectives for a new generation of metal-atom-free, low-cost, redox-driven water-splitting strategies.Fil: Olaya, Astrid Johana. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; SuizaFil: Riva, Jullieta Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía y Física; Argentina. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; SuizaFil: Baster, Dominika. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; SuizaFil: Silva, Wanderson O.. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; SuizaFil: Pichard, François. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; SuizaFil: Girault, Hubert. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Suiz