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Introduction Through the production of prostacyclin, cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 protects the cardiorenal system. Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), is a biomarker of cardiovascular and renal disease. Here we determined the relationship between COX-2/prostacyclin, ADMA, and renal function in mouse and human models. Methods We used plasma from COX-2 or prostacyclin synthase knockout mice and from a unique individual lacking COX-derived prostaglandins (PGs) because of a loss of function mutation in cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2), before and after receiving a cPLA2-replete transplanted donor kidney. ADMA, arginine, and citrulline were measured using UHPLC-MS/MS. ADMA and arginine were also measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Renal function was assessed by measuring cystatin C by immunoassay. ADMA and prostacyclin release from organotypic kidney slices were also measured by ELISA. Results Loss of COX-2 or prostacyclin synthase in mice increased plasma levels of ADMA, citrulline, arginine, and cystatin C. ADMA, citrulline, and arginine positively correlated with cystatin C. Plasma ADMA, citrulline, and cystatin C, but not arginine, were elevated in samples from the patient lacking COX/prostacyclin capacity compared to levels in healthy volunteers. Renal function, ADMA, and citrulline were returned toward normal range when the patient received a genetically normal kidney, capable of COX/prostacyclin activity; and cystatin C positively correlated with ADMA and citrulline. Levels of ADMA and prostacyclin in conditioned media of kidney slices were not altered in tissue from COX-2 knockout mice compared to wildtype controls. Conclusion In human and mouse models, where renal function is compromised because of loss of COX-2/PGI2 signaling, ADMA levels are increased.

O presente artigo aborda o tema da mineração em Unidades de Conservação sob a perspectiva do ordenamento jurídico brasileiro. Este está na ordem do dia de tribunais por conta de litígios e decisões judiciais do parlamento, através de debates e proposições legislativas e, por consequência, em noticiários jornalísticos diversos. Isso porque a atividade minerária é responsável por alto grau de degradação ambiental, que, em tese, seria incompatível com as características e objetivos das Unidades de Conservação, na medida em que configuram áreas de especial proteção ao meio ambiente. Ocorre, contudo, que a legislação divide as Unidades de Conservação em tipos diferentes (UCs de Proteção integral e UCs de Usos Sustentável), os quais devem ser analisados em separado para verificar a compatibilização com a mineração. Nessa medida, o trabalho avalia tais questões através de pesquisa bibliográfica e interpretação da legislação brasileira vigente sobre preservação ambiental e observou que as UCs de Proteção Integral e parte das UCs de Uso Sustentável (Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável, Reserva Extrativista, Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural e Floresta Nacional) não se coadunam com atividades minerárias.

Een grootschalig opgezet onderzoek, waaraan Nederland deelneemt, laat zien dat de ecosystemen onder drijvende objecten nauwelijks worden benadeeld door bijvoorbeeld beperkte lichttoetreding. Vervolgonderzoek richt zich op het leggen van verbanden tussen de ecoscans en waterkwaliteitsmetingen en de dimensies en bouwmaterialen van de constructies.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-01T23:45:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_10052_MARIANA RODRIGUES PIRES.pdf: 6269519 bytes, checksum: 329aa24daea64b39c411e184f00e2b2a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-05 Busca entender quais as lógicas e mecanismos de apropriação dos lugares pelo Estado e pelo capital para um fazer e um consumo turístico, bem como as contradições do turismo no município de Guarapari (ES) inerentes ao uso e ocupação desse espaço. Isto se coloca pertinente à elucidação das contradições do turismo em Guarapari, bem como dos conflitos socioespaciais existentes nos lugares onde a atividade se realiza, pois o litoral é destacadamente polarizador de investimentos públicos e privados, tendo o lazer e o turismo como atividades de atração e polarização de diversas mercadorias (empreendimentos, equipamentos e serviços). Assim, a excepcionalidade espacial consumida pelo turismo não ocorre em qualquer lugar, mas está associada à orla marítima tanto no plano simbólico como material. Atreve-se a dizer que o estudo tem por base as perspectivas fecundas do materialismo histórico para as análises do turismo e, para tal, como instrumentos que deram suporte ao estudo, utilizou-se a metodologia exploratória e a pesquisa empírica no município. Como observado, não são por causa as amenidades naturais, nem mesmo por serem estes palcos do viver e do trabalhar próximos às praias que os lugares litorâneos em Guarapari foram apropriados pelo turismo, mas porque esses lugares são propícios à extração de lucros pelo capital, para a reprodução das relações sociais. São lugares favoráveis para o consumo pautado sobre alguns fatos de cultura e de identidade cultural capixaba que foram alçados à categoria de mercadorias mais para garantir rendas monopolistas que quaisquer indícios de valorização cultural dos lugares. Na sociedade do consumo só há lugar para os negócios, produtos e serviços. Cria-se uma cultura e uma identidade cultural passíveis de serem postas à venda, reduzidas a algumas características facilmente perceptíveis que se tornam atrativos, produtos e serviços turísticos atrelados a porções do espaço selecionadas para serem de uso e consumo pelo turismo. Desse modo, espaço de complexidade entre trabalho e turismo (lazer), formalidade e informalidade, produção e consumo, cotidiano e efemeridade, reprodução do capital e manutenção da vida, o espaço litorâneo de Guarapari apresenta uma dada realidade de acordo com as conveniências e problemáticas que lhe são impostas. No jogo de interesses dos que só querem lucros, vender sua força de trabalho, morar no lugar e dos que vão à busca de lazer, há várias formas de conflitos, forças socioculturais e imposições que precisam ser desvelados e analisados.

Er zijn diverse voor- en nadelen gevonden bij de waterkwaliteit beoordeling onder drijvende gebouwen. Voor ontwerpers, bouwers en beheerders is een tool in de maak die helpt meer kennis op te bouwen.

In this paper we explore the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of chromium-doped elpasolite Cs$_2$NaAl$_{1-x}$Cr$_x$F$_6$ (x = 0.01 and 0.62) single crystals. Our magnetization and heat capacity data show the magnetocaloric potentials to be comparable to those of garnets, perovskites and other fluorides, producing magnetic entropy changes of 0.5 J/kg$\cdot$K (x = 0.01) and 11 J/kg$\cdot$K (x = 0.62), and corresponding adiabatic temperature changes of 4 K and 8 K, respectively. These values are for a magnetic field change of 5 T at a temperature around 3 K. A clear Schottky anomaly below 10 K, which becomes more apparent when an external magnetic field is applied, was observed and related to the splitting of the Cr$^{3+}$ energy levels. These results hint at a new family of materials with potential wide use in cryorefrigeration.

Destruxins (DTXs) are cyclic depsipeptides produced by many Metarhizium isolates that have long been assumed to contribute to virulence of these entomopathogenic fungi. We evaluated the virulence of 20 Metarhizium isolates against insect larvae and measured the concentration of DTXs A, B, and E produced by these same isolates in submerged (shaken) cultures. Eight of the isolates (ARSEF 324, 724, 760, 1448, 1882, 1883, 3479, and 3918) did not produce DTXs A, B, or E during the five days of submerged culture. DTXs were first detected in culture medium at 2–3 days in submerged culture. Galleria mellonella and Tenebrio molitor showed considerable variation in their susceptibility to the Metarhizium isolates. The concentration of DTXs produced in vitro did not correlate with percent or speed of insect kill. We established endophytic associations of M. robertsii and M. acridum isolates in Vigna unguiculata (cowpeas) and Cucumis sativus (cucumber) plants. DTXs were detected in cowpeas colonized by M. robertsii ARSEF 2575 12 days after fungal inoculation, but DTXs were not detected in cucumber. This is the first instance of DTXs detected in plants endophytically colonized by M. robertsii. This finding has implications for new approaches to fungus-based biological control of pest arthropods.

In Gaudin (1960), Michel Gaudin showed the Wick's theorem at finite temperature using a diagonal Hamiltonian. We extend the Gaudin's prove for a statistical density operator which depend on a quadratic Hamiltonian. To illustrate the utility of the theorem, we evaluate the ratio $\sqrt{[-^2]/}$ of a homogeneous weakly interacting Bose gas at temperature below the Bose-Einstein condensation temperature. At this condition, the quadratic Hamiltonian approximation is valued and, in this evaluation, we show the sub-Poissonian behaviour of the fundamental state distribution at zero temperature.

Collaboration networks are social networks in which relationships represent some kind of professional collaboration. The study of collaboration networks can help identify members that are important or influential within a given community. This work is divided into two parts. The first part is a study of the topological properties of two collaboration networks: the global collaboration network and the Brazilian collaboration network of authors of scientific papers within the area of Computer Science. The second part presents a ranking metric for vertices based on the intensities of their relationships. Using the proposed metric and other more classical metrics, we rank the researchers in Brazil in Computer Science. The proposed metric was compared with subjective evaluation of researchers made by CNPq. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed metric in identifying influential researchers when compared to another metrics in the literature.

Chagas disease remains a public health concern in Brazil and other Latin American countries, mainly due to the potential domiciliation of native triatomine species. We analyzed the genetic variability of Triatoma pseudomaculata in sylvatic and peridomestic ecotopes throughout three localities in the northeastern state of Bahia, Brazil. We studied polymorphisms generated by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and isoenzyme electrophoresis analyses. Based on RAPD analysis, each specimen was assigned to one of three genetic clusters. Although all sylvatic specimens from one locality were grouped into the same cluster, sylvatic and peridomestic specimens from the other two localities were broadly distributed between the remaining two clusters, suggesting that geographic population structuring was not occurring. Furthermore, isoenzyme analysis suggested that distinct populations were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Low statistical values for Wright's Fst index also supported the absence of population structuring and suggested the occurrence of panmixia. We conclude that genetic flow occurs between sylvatic and peridomestic T. pseudomaculata populations, probably as a consequence of passive and active dispersion of the insects, associated with deforestation and anthropic transformations.

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Animal models offer a system that enables a better understanding of basic biological questions. Urinary bladder catheterization is a common procedure in models of female urothelial tumours and yet the technique does still need to be described further. The methods described in the existing literature do not outline how the procedure should be adapted for different research goals. In this report, we describe systematically catheterization of female mice and rats as well as analysing several anaesthetic protocols, which can be used to carry out this technical procedure., Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Vol 36, No 1 (2009)

Objective: The high prevalence of chronic kidney disease underscores the failure to provide therapies to effectively halt, prevent, and/or reverse renal fibrosis. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of chronic treatment with chaethomellic acid A (CA) on renal fibrosis associated to 5/6 nephrectomy. Methods: Male Wistar rats were subjected to 5/6 nephrectomy (RMR) or sham-operated (SO). One week after surgery, rats were placed in four experimental groups: RMR: rats without treatment (n=13); RMR+CA: rats treated with CA (n=13); SO: rats without treatment (n=13); SO+CA: rats treated with CA (n=13). CA was intraperitoneally administered in a dose of 0.23 µg/Kg three times a week for six months. Renal samples were scored for the following lesions: glomerulosclerosis, interstitial fibrosis, arteriolosclerosis and interstitial inflammation. Results: Animals from the SO and SO+CA groups presented no kidney histological changes. Glomerulosclerosis, interstitial fibrosis and arteriolosclerosis scores were significantly lower (p< 0.001) in RMR+CA group when compared with RMR group. There were no significantly differences in interstitial inflammation score between RMR+CA and RMR groups. Conclusions: This preliminary data suggests that pharmacological inhibition of Ras (small GTPase proteins) activation may be a future strategy in the prevention of renal fibrosis.

FCT (Project PEst-OE/AGR/UI0772/2011 and PII/CECAV/2012/04)

Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF) has been identified in the uterus of several species, and altered TNF expression is reported in some pathological conditions. This study sought to evaluate TNF expression in canine cystic endometrial hyperplasia (CEH; n=20) and compare it with expression in postpartum samples (PP; n=5). This work was supported by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, Center for Studies in Education, Technologies and by Health and by strategic project PEst-OE/CED/UI4016/2011

Nineteen cases are described, including 12 cases from three different families and 7 nonfamilial cases, in which multisystem neurological disease was associated with acanthocytosis in peripheral blood and normal plasma lipoproteins. Mild acanthocytosis can easily be overlooked, and scanning electron microscopy may be helpful. Some neurologically asymptomatic relatives with significant acanthocytosis were identified during family screening, including some who were clinically affected. The mean age of onset was 32 (range 8-62) yrs and the clinical course was usually progressive but there was marked phenotypic variation. Cognitive impairment, psychiatric features and organic personality change occurred in over half the cases, and more than one-third had seizures. Orofaciolingual involuntary movements and pseudobulbar disturbance commonly caused dysphagia and dysarthria that was sometimes severe, but biting of the lips or tongue was rarely seen. Chorea was seen in almost all symptomatic cases but dystonia, tics, involuntary vocalizations and akinetic-rigid features also occurred. Two cases had no movement disorder at all. Computerized tomography often demonstrated cerebral atrophy. Caudate atrophy was seen less commonly, and nonspecific focal and symmetric signal abnormalities from the caudate or lentiform nuclei were seen by magnetic resonance imaging in 3 out of 4 cases. Depression or absence of tendon reflexes was noted in 13 cases and neurophysiological abnormalities often indicated an axonal neuropathy. Sural nerve biopsies from 3 cases showed evidence of a chronic axonal neuropathy with prominent regenerative activity, predominantly affecting the large diameter myelinated fibres. Serum creatine kinase activity was increased in 11 cases but without clinical evidence of a myopathy. Postmortem neuropathological examination in 1 case revealed extensive neuronal loss and gliosis affecting the corpus striatum, pallidum, and the substantia nigra, especially the pars reticulata. The cerebral cortex appeared spared and the spinal cord showed no evidence of anterior horn cell loss. Two examples of the McLeod phenotype, an X-linked abnormality of expression of Kell blood group antigens, were identified in a single family and included 1 female. The genetics of neuroacanthocytosis are unclear and probably heterogeneous, but the available pedigree data and the association with the McLeod phenotype suggest that there may be a locus for this disorder on the short arm of the X chromosome.

Canine pyometra, one of the most important pathologic conditions of the canine uterus, is frequently accompanied by endometrial glandular hyperplasia and cystic transformation of the endometrial gland (cystic endometrial hyperplasia – CEH). TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor), a pleiotropic inflammatory cytokine, has been identifiedin the uterus os several species ans its expression was shown to change in some pathological conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate TNF immunoexpression in canine endometrium with CEH/pyometra,and to compare it with late postpartum and control samples from ddifferent stages of the canine oestrus cycle.