ENVELHECIMENTO ACELERADO TRADICIONAL E ALTERNATIVO EM SEMENTES DE MELANCIA

Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar a qualidade inicial das sementes de melancia submetidas aos testes de envelhecimento acelerado tradicional e alternativo. Foram empregados dois procedimentos para o envelhecimento acelerado: tradicional (40 ml de água destilada) e método alternativo [solução saturada de NaCl (40 g do sal/100 mL de água)], sob temperatura de 42 ºC durante 24, 48, 72, e 96 horas. O delineamento utilizado foi inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial (2x4) com quatro repetições. Ao término de cada período, as sementes foram submetidas ao teste de germinação e a avaliação da porcentagem de plântulas normais foi realizada aos cinco dias após a semeadura. Os dados da contagem de germinação foram submetidos à análise de variância e as médias foram comparadas pelo teste de Tukey (P<0,05). O teste de envelhecimento acelerado tradicional no período de 24 horas obteve maiores médias de germinação (80%); não houve diferença significativa na porcentagem de sementes germinadas no tratamento alternativo, independente do período de envelhecimento. Observa-se que o uso da solução tradicional é mais eficiente para avaliar o vigor em sementes de melancia

Nanocapsules With Naringin And Naringenin Affect Hepatic and Renal Energy Metabolism Without Altering Serum Markers of Toxicity in Rats

Naringin and naringenin are flavonoids found in citrus fruits and have several health benefits, however these compounds are susceptible to degradation, limiting their therapeutic application. To solve this problem, an alternative is to incorporate them into nanocapsules. The aim of this work was to evaluate the toxicity of these nanocapsules against renal and hepatic serum markers and also on the activities of pyruvate kinase, Mg2+-ATPase, and creatine kinase. Nanocapsules containing naringin and naringenin, nanocapsules without the active compounds and the compounds in their free form were administered orally, once a day, for 28 days. After treatment, the serum levels of hepatic and renal markers were not altered, nor the activities of pyruvate kinase tissue, however, the treatment of nanocapsules with flavonoids increased the activities of mitochondrial creatine kinase in the kidney and hepatic Mg2+-ATPase. Thus, renal and hepatic serum markers, which are normally used as indicators of toxicity, did not change after the period of administration of the nanoparticles. However, the activities of important enzymes of the energy metabolism in these organs were affected. Our findings reinforce that nanomaterial testing for toxicity needs to go beyond traditional methods to ensure the safe use of nanoparticles for therapeutic purposes

Rapid antidepressant effects of the psychedelic ayahuasca in treatment-resistant depression: a randomized placebo-controlled trial

Background Recent open-label trials show that psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, hold promise as fast-onset antidepressants in treatment-resistant depression. Methods To test the antidepressant effects of ayahuasca, we conducted a parallel-arm, double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial in 29 patients with treatment-resistant depression. Patients received a single dose of either ayahuasca or placebo. We assessed changes in depression severity with the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Hamilton Depression Rating scale at baseline, and at 1 (D1), 2 (D2), and 7 (D7) days after dosing. Results We observed significant antidepressant effects of ayahuasca when compared with placebo at all-time points. MADRS scores were significantly lower in the ayahuasca group compared with placebo at D1 and D2 (p = 0.04), and at D7 (p < 0.0001). Between-group effect sizes increased from D1 to D7 (D1: Cohen's d = 0.84; D2: Cohen's d = 0.84; D7: Cohen's d = 1.49). Response rates were high for both groups at D1 and D2, and significantly higher in the ayahuasca group at D7 (64% v. 27%; p = 0.04). Remission rate showed a trend toward significance at D7 (36% v. 7%, p = 0.054). Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first controlled trial to test a psychedelic substance in treatment-resistant depression. Overall, this study brings new evidence supporting the safety and therapeutic value of ayahuasca, dosed within an appropriate setting, to help treat depression. This study is registered at http://clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02914769)

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 un derstanding 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,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 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 underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities 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 or ganism 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 ne glected 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 lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

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

ENVELHECIMENTO ACELERADO TRADICIONAL E ALTERNATIVO EM SEMENTES DE MELANCIA

Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar a qualidade inicial das sementes de melancia submetidas aos testes de envelhecimento acelerado tradicional e alternativo. Foram empregados dois procedimentos para o envelhecimento acelerado: tradicional (40 ml de água destilada) e método alternativo [solução saturada de NaCl (40 g do sal/100 mL de água)], sob temperatura de 42 ºC durante 24, 48, 72, e 96 horas. O delineamento utilizado foi inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial (2x4) com quatro repetições. Ao término de cada período, as sementes foram submetidas ao teste de germinação e a avaliação da porcentagem de plântulas normais foi realizada aos cinco dias após a semeadura. Os dados da contagem de germinação foram submetidos à análise de variância e as médias foram comparadas pelo teste de Tukey (P&lt;0,05). O teste de envelhecimento acelerado tradicional no período de 24 horas obteve maiores médias de germinação (80%); não houve diferença significativa na porcentagem de sementes germinadas no tratamento alternativo, independente do período de envelhecimento. Observa-se que o uso da solução tradicional é mais eficiente para avaliar o vigor em sementes de melancia

Rapid antidepressant effects of the psychedelic ayahuasca in treatment-resistant depression : a randomized placebo-controlled trial

Recent open-label trials show that psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, hold promise as fast-onset antidepressants in treatment-resistant depression. To test the antidepressant effects of ayahuasca, we conducted a parallel-arm, double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial in 29 patients with treatment-resistant depression. Patients received a single dose of either ayahuasca or placebo. We assessed changes in depression severity with the Montgomery-angstrom sberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Hamilton Depression Rating scale at baseline, and at 1 (D1), 2 (D2), and 7 (D7) days after dosing. We observed significant antidepressant effects of ayahuasca when compared with placebo at all-time points. MADRS scores were significantly lower in the ayahuasca group compared with placebo at D1 and D2 (p = 0.04), and at D7 (p < 0.0001). Between-group effect sizes increased from D1 to D7 (D1: Cohen's d = 0.84; D2: Cohen's d = 0.84; D7: Cohen's d = 1.49). Response rates were high for both groups at D1 and D2, and significantly higher in the ayahuasca group at D7 (64% v. 27%; p = 0.04). Remission rate showed a trend toward significance at D7 (36% v. 7%, p = 0.054). Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first controlled trial to test a psychedelic substance in treatment-resistant depression. Overall, this study brings new evidence supporting the safety and therapeutic value of ayahuasca, dosed within an appropriate setting, to help treat depression494655663CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPES466760/2014; 479466/2011677/2012; 1577/201