Methods used to determine the constituents of the fibrous fraction, a review

The estimation of the chemical and bromatological composition of foods involves a series of studies that evaluate mainly the fiber fraction, since it presents great variability when compared to the other components. The growing number of publications on the analytical techniques available for determining the nutritional value of foods end up generalizing the use of ill-defined terms. There are several techniques for evaluating forage components, the detergent system being the most widely used, although there are more modern methods. However, the accessibility and cost of these modern methods are factors that limit their use in many laboratories. Furthermore, some of these methods are not recognized as official methods of analysis. In this context, the objectives of this review were: to highlight the most important concepts in the determination of the nutritional value of foods; to improve the use and the difficulties of interpretation of the analytical results. It was concluded that the use of analytical methods allows the estimation of the composition and the availability of the different fractions of the cell wall. But variability of the cell wall constituents requires knowledge of the different analytical methodologies available. The analytical methods, traditional or alternative, are still empirical since they present different results for the same analysis. These variations are generated most of the time by the differences between the steps of the analytical procedures. It is clear that the improvement of analytical methods is of paramount importance to estimate the nutritional value of foods

Avaliação do stress parental em mães de crianças com perturbação de hiperatividade com défice de atenção

Introdução: Pretendeu-se identificar os níveis de stress nas mães de crianças e adolescentes com perturbação de hiperatividadecom défice de atenção e verificar se existe uma associação entre o stress percecionado por estas mães e o funcionamento familiar.Métodos: Foram utilizados o índice de stress parental, versão reduzida, que caracteriza o stress parental total de acordo comtrês dimensões (dificuldade parental, interação pais / criança e criança difícil), e a escala de avaliação da adaptabilidade e coesãofamiliar, que classifica as famílias em equilibradas, meio-termo ou extremas.Resultados: Participaram neste estudo 89 mães. Obtiveram-se valores médios no questionário índice de stress parental acimado percentil 85 (valor de cutoff) nas subescalas interação disfuncional criança-pais, criança difícil e no valor de stress total.Verificou-se ainda que havia uma forte correlação entre stress total e as três subescalas, isto é, mães com níveis mais elevadosde stress tendem a ter uma maior perceção de dificuldade parental, de interação disfuncional com a criança e de criança difícil.Não se verificaram diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre o tipo de família (equilibrada versus meio-termo ou extrema,ou monoparental versus nuclear) e o stress parental.Discussão: Concluiu-se que as mães das crianças com perturbação de hiperatividade com défice de atenção apresentam elevadosníveis de stress, o qual parece advir fundamentalmente das características da criança, que é percecionada como sendouma criança difícil, e de uma interação disfuncional entre os pais e a criança. Não parece haver relação entre o nível de stressexperienciado por estas mães e a funcionalidade ou organização da famíli

Stream Fish Fauna From The Tributaries Of The Upper Itapetininga River, Upper Paranapanema River Basin, State Of São Paulo, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)The study area, which is located in urban and rural areas within the upper Paranapanema River basin, is undergoing several types of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic impacts, such as chemical alterations, habitat disruption, and biological invasions. The aim of this study is to describe the fish faunal composition from tributaries of the Itapetininga River, upper Paranapanema River basin, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Herein, we include a list of 49 fish species, belonging to seven orders, 19 families and 35 genera, captured from September 2009 to November 2013. Thus, the present study fills part of the knowledge gap about the fish fauna from tributaries of the Paranapanema basin by adding data from small tributaries not studied so far. Moreover, our findings can help inform future conservational and/or management strategies within the upper Paranapanema basin. © 2016 Check List and Authors.12207/50981-7, FAPESP, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo07/50982-3, FAPESP, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo2012/09346-4, FAPESP, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São PauloFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MICROORGANISMS Β-GALACTOSIDASE PRODUCERS WITH POTENTIAL BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATION

Lactose is the main carbohydrate in milk, its degradation is due to the action of β-galactosidase on glucose and galactose. The objective of this work was to isolate new β-galactosidase-producing microorganisms and optimize their production. The isolates tested were obtained from dairy residues using X-gal as indicator for the production of the enzyme. An isolate obtained had the optimum culture conditions through fractional factorial design, analyzing the effect of temperature, concentrations of whey powder, yeast extract and lactose on the production of the enzyme. The enzyme was partially purified and characterized. The results showed the presence of β-galactosidase only in the cell precipitate and among the studied factors the temperature and the concentration of yeast extract had an effect on the production of the enzyme in 14 hours of culture. Cell enzyme solubilization tests demonstrated that sonication of these in phosphate buffer pH 7.0 for 20 minutes with 0.5% TritonX or 0.2% SDS were more efficient for release of the enzyme into the supernatant. The optimum activity of the enzyme obtained was at 45 °C and pH 7.0. Therefore, the V1 microorganism, based on the parameters evaluated to date, has potential for the production of β-galactosidase with interesting characteristics, as well as the potential use of alternative means for production using whey powder. Keywords - lactase. zero lactose food. lactose intolerance. optimization

Cognitive approaches and optical multispectral data for semi-automated classification of landforms in a rugged mountainous area

This paper introduces a new open source, knowledge-based framework for automatic interpretation of remote sensing images, called InterIMAGE. This framework owns a flexible modular architecture, in which image processing operators can be associated to both root and leaf nodes of the semantic network, which constitutes a differential strategy in comparison to other object-based image analysis platforms currently available. The architecture, main features as well as an overview on the interpretation strategy implemented in InterIMAGE is presented. The paper also reports an experiment on the classification of landforms. Different geomorphometric and textural attributes obtained from ASTER/Terra images were combined with fuzzy logic and drove the interpretation semantic network. Object-based statistical agreement indices, estimated from a comparison between the classified scene and a reference map, were used to assess the classification accuracy. The InterIMAGE interpretation strategy yielded a classification result with strong agreement and proved to be effective for the extraction of landforms

Cyclic AMP and calcium interplay as second messengers in melatonin-dependent regulation of Plasmodium falciparum cell cycle

The host hormone melatonin increases cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration and synchronizes Plasmodium cell cycle (Hotta, C.T., M.L. Gazarini, F.H. Beraldo, F.P. Varotti, C. Lopes, R.P. Markus, T. Pozzan, and C.R. Garcia. 2000. Nat. Cell Biol. 2:466–468). Here we show that in Plasmodium falciparum melatonin induces an increase in cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) activity (40 and 50%, respectively)

Termografia de infravermelhos para análise de humidade em paredes – ensaios preliminares e perspetivas futuras

Defects related to moisture problems represent 70% of reported building defects, hindering the long-term durability of building solutions and components and, in the medium term, users’ comfort. Infrared thermography (IRT) is a technique that has great potential for mapping moisture in buildings but lacks criteria for quantitative analysis that correlate surface temperature differences with moisture content. Although the recent advances in the use of computational methods and testing techniques to automate the detection of defects in buildings, their use for moisture assessment is not consolidated. This work presents the results of preliminary tests carried out with the IRT and the gravimetric method to evaluate the correlation between the temperature gradient and the moisture content of masonry and to analyse the thermal gradient of moist areas in different environmental conditions. Statistical analysis showed that the order of magnitude of the temperature gradient that indicates high moisture content is substantially different in the analysed scenarios. Limitations in the use of IRT and indications for future research that can be conducted to automate the identification of defects related to moisture in buildings, reducing the degree of subjectivity in the diagnosis of defects, are also pointed out.Defeitos relacionados à humidade representam 70% das patologias reportadas em edificações, comprometendo a durabilidade de soluções e componentes e a médio prazo o conforto dos utilizadores. A termografia de infravermelhos (TIV) é uma técnica que possui grande potencial para mapear a humidade em edificações, mas carece de critérios para análises quantitativas que correlacionem diferenças de temperatura superficial com o teor de humidade. Apesar dos recentes avanços na utilização de métodos computacionais e técnicas de ensaio para automatizar a deteção de defeitos em edificações, o uso destes para análise de problemas associados à presença de humidade não está consolidado. Este trabalho apresenta os resultados de ensaios preliminares realizados com a TIV e o método gravimétrico para avaliar a correlação entre o gradiente de temperatura e o teor de humidade de alvenarias e analisar o gradiente térmico de regiões húmidas em diferentes condições ambientais. Análises estatísticas mostraram que a ordem de magnitude do gradiente de temperatura que indica altos teores de humidade é substancialmente diferente nos cenários analisados. Também são apontadas as limitações do uso da técnica e as indicações de pesquisas futuras que podem ser conduzidas para automatizar a identificação de defeitos relacionados à humidade em edificações, reduzindo o grau de subjetividade no diagnóstico de defeitos

Vírus respiratório sincicial bovino: detecção por imunoistoquímica em tecidos de camundongos e bovinos usando AcM contra o vírus respiratório sincicial humano

An immunoistochemical (IHC) test was developed to detect bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) in cell cultures and tissues of experimentally infected mice and calves, using a commercial monoclonal antibody (Mab) against human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV), as a less expensive alternative, instead of producing specific monoclonal antibodies to BRSV. Clinical samples from calves suffering respiratory disease were also submitted to this test. IHC detected BRSV antigens in mouse tracheas (3, 5 and 7 days post-infection) and lungs (5 and 7 days post-infection), and in one of three lungs from experimentally infected calves. Lungs samples from two naturally infected calves were tested and resulted positive for BRSV by the IHC test. These results suggest that this test may be used in the future for diagnosis as well as a useful tool to assess the distribution of BRSV infections in Brazilian herds.Desenvolveu-se um teste de imunohistoquímica (IHQ) para detecção do vírus respiratório sincicial bovino (BRSV) multiplicado em cultivo celular e em tecidos de camundongos e bezerros infectados experimentalmente, utilizando um anticorpo monoclonal comercial contra o vírus respiratório sincicial humano (HRSV), como uma alternativa para eliminar os custos de produção de anticorpos monoclonais específicos para o BRSV. Amostras clínicas de bezerros com sintomatologia respiratória foram analisadas. A técnica mostrou-se eficiente na detecção de antígenos do BRSV em traquéias (3, 5 e 7 dias pós-infecção) e pulmões (5 e 7 dias pós-infecção) dos camundongos infectados e em uma das três amostras de pulmões dos bezerros infectados experimentalmente. Amostras de pulmões de dois animais com infecção natural foram positivas para BRSV. Conclui-se que o teste de IHQ pode ser usado no diagnóstico das infecções por BRSV e na avaliação da distribuição dessas infecções nos rebanhos bovinos brasileiros.97398

Comparative Evaluation Of Conventional Rt-pcr And Real-time Rt-pcr (rrt-pcr) For Detection Of Avian Metapneumovirus Subtype A [comparação Entre As Técnicas De Rt-pcr Convencional E Rt-pcr Em Tempo Real Para A Detecção Do Metapneumovírus Aviários Subtipo A]

Avian metapneumovirus (AMPV) belongs to Metapneumovirus genus of Paramyxoviridae family. Virus isolation, serology, and detection of genomic RNA are used as diagnostic methods for AMPV. The aim of the present study was to compare the detection of six subgroup A AMPV isolates (AMPV/A) viral RNA by using different conventional and real time RT-PCR methods. Two new RT-PCR tests and two real time RT-PCR tests, both detecting fusion (F) gene and nucleocapsid (N) gene were compared with an established test for the attachment (G) gene. All the RT-PCR tested assays were able to detect the AMPV/A. The lower detection limits were observed using the N-, F- based RRT-PCR and F-based conventional RT-PCR (10 0.3 to 10 1 TCID 50 mL -1). The present study suggests that the conventional F-based RT-PCR presented similar detection limit when compared to N- and F-based RRT-PCR and they can be successfully used for AMPV/A detection.39514451451Arns, C.W., Hafez, M.H., (1992) Swollen Head Syndrome in Poultry Flocks in Brazil, pp. 81-84. , In: WESTERN POULTRY DISEASE CONFERENCE, 41., 1992, Sacramento, USA. Proceedings... 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Phytoestrogen agathisflavone ameliorates neuroinflammation-induced by LPS and IL-1β and protects neurons in cocultures of glia/neurons

Inflammation and oxidative stress are common aspects of most neurodegenerative diseases in the central nervous system. In this context, microglia and astrocytes are central to mediating the balance between neuroprotective and neurodestructive mechanisms. Flavonoids have potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Here, we have examined the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective potential of the flavonoid agathisflavone (FAB), which is derived from the Brazilian plant Poincianella pyramidalis, in in vitro models of neuroinflammation. Cocultures of neurons/glial cells were exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 1 µg/mL) or interleukin (IL)-1β (10 ng/mL) for 24 h and treated with FAB (0.1 and 1 µM, 24 h). FAB displayed a significant neuroprotective effect, as measured by nitric oxide (NO) production, Fluoro-Jade B (FJ-B) staining, and immunocytochemistry (ICC) for the neuronal marker β-tubulin and the cell death marker caspase-3, preserving neuronal soma and increasing neurite outgrowth. FAB significantly decreased the LPS-induced microglial proliferation, identified by ICC for Iba-1/bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and CD68 (microglia M1 profile marker). In contrast, FAB had no apparent effect on astrocytes, as determined by ICC for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Furthermore, FAB protected against the cytodestructive and proinflammatory effects of IL-1β, a key cytokine that is released by activated microglia and astrocytes, and ICC showed that combined treatment of FAB with α and β estrogen receptor antagonists did not affect NF-κB expression. In addition, qPCR analysis demonstrated that FAB decreased the expression of proinflammatory molecules TNF-α, IL-1β, and connexins CCL5 and CCL2, as well as increased the expression of the regulatory molecule IL-10. Together, these findings indicate that FAB has a significant neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effect in vitro, which may be considered as an adjuvant for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases