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Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) is among the most common neoplasias in dogs and humans. Owing to remarkable similarities with its human counterpart, the canine lymphoma (cNHL) model has been proposed as a powerful framework for rapid and clinically relevant translation of novel immunotherapies. However, the establishment of cNHL as a predictive preclinical model has been hampered by the limited characterization of the canine immune system. Cytokines are key players of the interaction between tumor and its microenvironment. In human NHL, multiple cytokines have been linked to the development of lymphoma and are relevant biomarkers for treatment response and prognosis. In contrast, few studies have investigated cytokines in cNHL. Within this context, this study aimed to investigate cytokine regulation in cNHL. A multicentric cNHL biobank was successfully constructed. Cytokine mRNA profiles in tumor tissue and circulating PBMC were analyzed by qRT-PCR and compared to a healthy control group. Specific primers were used to evaluate Th1, Th2 and Th17 responses. Systemic cytokine concentrations were measured using a commercial canine multiplex assay which included IL-2, IL6, IL-10 and TNF-α, and compared to a healthy control group. Our results demonstrated a dysregulation of cytokine mRNA expression, representative of the tumor microenvironment and systemic response in cNHL. Intratumoral cytokine response revealed a significant downregulation of humoral and Th1 responses. The systemic response demonstrated a distinct mRNA pattern, however immunosuppression also prevailed. Cytokine serum quantification showed a significant increase of IL-10 concentration in cNHL. Significant differences in hematological parameters were described and a correlation between IL-6 protein serum levels and neutrophil count was shown. Finally, data analysis demonstrated that baseline pretreatment IFN-γ tissue mRNA levels were correlated to survival outcome, predicting a favorable response to chemotherapy. Altogether, these results revealed that cNHL presents a local and systemic dysregulation in cytokine response. By confirming and extending previous research, our work contributed for the evaluation of potential cytokine candidates for diagnostic, prognostic purposes and therapeutic intervention, therefore adding value to comparative oncology.

Social behavior in lizards contributes to understanding biological standards and provides models for structuring research about neural mechanisms. Studies have confirmed the effectiveness of comparative models and evidence has contributed to clarifying adult brain plasticity phenomenon when exposed to different stimuli. The expression of c-Fos has been widely used to identify brain areas involved in different behavioral stimuli. The purpose of the present study was to map the expression of c-Fos protein in different telencephalic areas of the lizard Tropidurus hygomi after they were exposed to visual stimuli with another individual of the same species in different social contexts. Lizards were allocated to one of four groups: 1) control group (CTL) – males not exposed to any other animal; 2) exposure to juvenile (EJU) – males exposed to a juvenile; 3) exposure to male (EMA) – males exposed to another adult male; and 4) exposure to females (EFE) –males exposed to female. The EFE group exhibited a greater number of c-Fos + cells in cortical areas (medial cortex – MC and dorsomedial cortex – DMC) and in amygdala (AMY), showing a possible relationship between these structures and behavioral components. Studies like this can contribute significantly to a better understanding of neurophysiological, behavioral, and evolutive aspects.

Insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) is a zinc metalloprotease responsible for degrading and inactivating several bioactive peptides, including insulin. Individuals without this enzyme or with a loss-of-function mutation in the gene that codifies it, present hyperinsulinemia. In addition, impairment of IDE-mediated insulin clearance is associated with the development of metabolic diseases, namely prediabetes. Although insulin regulates male fertility, the role of IDE on male reproductive function remains unknown. We proposed to study the influence of IDE in the reproductive potential of males. As insulin mediates key events for the normal occurrence of spermatogenesis, we hypothesized that IDE functioning might be linked with sperm quality. We used C57BL/6N mice that were divided in three groups according to its genotype: wild type (WT), heterozygous and knockout (KO) male mice for Ide. Spermatozoa were collected from the cauda of epididymis and sperm parameters were evaluated. Testicular tissue morphology was assessed through hematoxylin and eosin stain. Mitochondrial complex protein levels and lipid peroxidation were also evaluated in the testicular tissue. Our results show that KO mice present a 50% decrease in testes weight compared to WT mice as well as a decrease in seminiferous tubules diameter. Moreover, KO mice present impaired sperm quality, namely a decrease in both sperm viability and morphology. These results provide evidence that IDE plays an important role in determining the reproductive potential of males. published

The Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA) instrumentation platform for fusion control and diagnostics developed at IST, is being extended with a Micro Telecommunications Computing Architecture (MTCA) control and data acquisition platform, still able to maintain performance characteristics in speed, channel density and availability of ATCA, at a cost suitable for smaller systems. Software and firmware have been ported to MTCA using mostly in-house developed hardware, preserving many of ATCA's benefits in performance in a smaller form-factor. The first instance of the proposed platform comprises a MTCA 1U shelf with 6 Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) slots, MTCA Carrier Hub (MCH) module, AMC to Field-programmable Gate Array (FPGA) Mezzanine Card (FMC) carrier modules, 500 MSPS to 2 GSPS ADC FMC modules, timing and synchronization input/output (IO) module, or other Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) modules. Data is handled by the MCH, featuring PCIe Gen 3 switching to a host computer, as well as performing clock distribution and Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) based hardware management for high availability. This compact, flexible and autonomous or scalable platform may either integrate a large-experiment system infrastructure, as well as being configured as a lower-cost, self-contained platform for smaller experiments or development and testbench purposes. The focus of this paper is the development of the MCH MTCA.0 module, which is key to introduce the platform architecture.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are clusters of silver atoms with diameters that range from 1 to 100 nm. Due to the various shapes and large surface areas, AgNPs have been employed in the food and textile industries and medical fields. Therefore, because of the widespread use of these compounds, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of AgNP exposure on the gene and protein expression levels of Neuroglobin (Ngb) and Cytoglobin (Cygb), in the rat cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum. Post-natal day (PND) 21 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups. One group received 15 μg/kg body weight of AgNP by gavage another group received 30 μg/kg and the control group that received saline, from PND23 to PND58. On PND102 the animals were euthanized and the cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum were isolated and evaluated for gene and protein expression levels of Nbg and Cygb. The results demonstrated that the 30 μg/kg AgNP group displayed increased gene and protein expression of Cygb in the cortex. In the Hippocampus, AgNP exposure did not modulate gene or protein expression levels of Ngb and Cygb. In cerebellum the Ngb gene and protein expression was increased with both doses of AgNP. AgNP exposure during prepubescence can modulate the gene and protein expression levels of Ngb and Cygb in adulthood. Furthermore, the observed modulation was specific to the cerebellum, and cortex, and was dose dependent.

Clinical summary: A tissue engineering approach was used to aid the surgical repair of a chronic oronasal fistula (ONF) in a 13-year-old cat. A three-dimensional (3D) printed mesh, tailored to the size and shape of the ONF, was created to support a soft tissue flap used to close the defect; and also to provide a matrix for mesenchymal stromal cells present in bone marrow aspirate and bioactive cytokines and growth factors present in platelet-rich fibrin harvested from the patient. A CT scan at day 75 after surgery revealed the formation of new tissue in the defect and the healing process was complete at follow-up 6 months after surgery. Relevance and novel information:Â Complications are frequently reported following surgical repair of ONFs and include dehiscence of the palatal suture line, flap necrosis due to damage to the greater palatine artery and maxillary osteomyelitis, mainly due to chronic infection and bone lysis. The case described here demonstrates how input from a multidisciplinary team and the use of a biomaterial, processed by sophisticated technologies, can create a precision regenerative medicine strategy adapted to the patientâ s clinical needs; this provided a novel therapeutic solution for an otherwise hard to treat clinical problem., FCT SFRH/BD/118871/2016 PhD grant, Norte-08-5369-FSE-000044 and FCT grant IF/00593/2015. This article is a result of the project 'Accelerating tissue engineering and personalized medicine discoveries by the integration of key enabling nanotechnologies, marine-derived biomaterials and stem cells', supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Norte 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund. The authors acknowledge the financial support from the European Union Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020, under the TEAMING Grant agreement 739572 - The Discoveries CTR .

Multilayer systems capable of simultaneous dual tissue formation are crucial for regeneration of the osteochondral (OC) unit. Despite the tremendous effort in the field there is still no widely accepted system that stands out in terms of superior OC regeneration. Herein, we developed bilayered hydrogel composites (BHC) combining two structurally stratified layers fabricated from naturally derived and synthetic polymers, gellan-gum (GG) and hydroxyapatite (HAp), respectively. Two formulations were made from either low acyl GG (LAGG) alone or in combination with high acyl GG (HAGG) for the cartilage-like layer. Four bone-like layers were made of LAGG incorporating different ratios of hydroxyapatite (HAp). BHC were assembled in one single construct resulting in eight distinct bilayered constructs. Architectural observations by stereomicroscope and micro-CT (μ-CT) demonstrated a connected stratified structure with good ceramic dispersion within the bone-like layer. Swelling and degradation tests as well mechanical analyse showed a stable viscoelastic construct under dynamic forces. In-vitro studies by encapsulating rabbit's chondrocytes and osteoblasts in the respective layers showed the cytocompatibility of the BHC. Further studies comprising subcutaneous implantation in mice displayed a weak immune response after four weeks. OC orthotopic defects in the rabbit's knee were created and injected with the acellular BHC. OC tissue was regenerated four weeks after implantation as confirmed by cartilaginous and bony tissue formation assessed by histologic staining and μ-CT analysis. The successful fabrication of injectable BHC and their in-vitro and in-vivo performance may be seen as advanced engineered platforms to treat the challenging OC defects., This material is based on works supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the OsteoCart project (PTDC/CTM-BPC/115977/2009) and for the M-ERA-NET/0001/2014 project. The authors are grateful to Teresa Oliveira for the assistance with histological studies. DR Pereira acknowledges the FCT for the individual grant (SFRH/BD/81356/2011) and JM Oliveira also thanks the FCT for the funds provided under the program Investigator FTC 2012 and 2015 (IF/00423/2012 and IF/01285/2015)., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Namely, in the last two decades, large animal models - small ruminants (sheep and goats), pigs, dogs and horses - have been used to study the physiopathology and to develop new therapeutic procedures to treat human clinical osteoarthritis. For that purpose, cartilage and/or osteochondral defects are generally performed in the stifle joint of selected large animal models at the condylar and trochlear femoral areas where spontaneous regeneration should be excluded. Experimental animal care and protection legislation and guideline documents of the US Food and Drug Administration, the American Society for Testing and Materials and the International Cartilage Repair Society should be followed, and also the specificities of the animal species used for these studies must be taken into account, such as the cartilage thickness of the selected defect localization, the defined cartilage critical size defect and the joint anatomy in view of the post-operative techniques to be performed to evaluate the chondral/osteochondral repair. In particular, in the articular cartilage regeneration and repair studies with animal models, the subchondral bone plate should always be taken into consideration. Pilot studies for chondral and osteochondral bone tissue engineering could apply short observational periods for evaluation of the cartilage regeneration up to 12 weeks post-operatively, but generally a 6- to 12-month follow-up period is used for these types of studies.

To reduce postharvest losses, substandard fruit and agricultural surpluses can productively be used as raw material for vinegar production. The present study aimed to prepare vinegars from surpluses of physalis (Physalis pubescens L.) and red pitahaya (Hylocereus monacanthus) and then evaluate their sensorial characteristics, antimicrobial activities, total phenolic content (TPC) and total antioxidant capacity by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzo thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) methods.Two vinegars were produced by submerged fermentation using physalis and red pitahaya fruits surpluses. Physalis and red pitahaya vinegars had 47 and 45 g LIn the present study, vinegars with sensorial characteristics approved by consumers were developed using fruit surpluses, adding value through a new product making use of a simple methodology that is both inexpensive and demonstrates a good yield. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

The clouds passing over the photovoltaic generators may cause quick variations on active power generation and grid voltage. In this context, the present paper aims to analyse the effectiveness of battery systems applied to solve the mentioned impacts. In order to do that, the IEEE 13 bus was the simulated distribution system. Real measurement data referring to irradiation on a tipical clear and cloudy day was used, jointly with an artificial neural network based control method. The control quick response along with the battery system were able to substantially reduce the explained problem.

Background The ‘omics’ approach for a noninvasive diagnosis of male reproductive system disorders has gained momentum during the last decade, particularly from a screening and prognosis point of view. Due to the rapid development in assisted reproductive technologies (ART) over the years, the major focus of proteomic studies has been around the ejaculated spermatozoa. Although seminal plasma is not a requirement for ART, the question arose whether the role of seminal plasma is merely to transport spermatozoa. Main body Seminal plasma (SP) contains a large diversity of proteins that are essential not only for sperm transport, but also for sperm protection and maturation. Most of the proteins bind to sperm surface through exosomes (epididymosomes and prostasomes), modulating sperm function, interaction with the female reproductive tract and finally fertilization. This review focuses on the state-of-art discoveries regarding SP proteome and its role in fertilization. Conclusion Tissue-specific proteins in the SP have emerged as fundamental contributors for protein biomarker discovery. This is important for a noninvasive diagnosis of male infertility and development of new therapeutic approaches. Moreover, ART success rates may be improved by taking into account the critical role of seminal proteome in fertilization.

The production and publication of scientific works have increased significantly in the last years, being the Internet the main factor of access and distribution of these works. Faced with this, there is a growing interest in understanding how scientific research has evolved, in order to explore this knowledge to encourage research groups to become more productive. Therefore, the objective of this work is to explore repositories containing data from scientific publications and to characterize keyword networks of these publications, in order to identify the most relevant keywords, and to highlight those that have the greatest impact on the network. To do this, each article in the study repository has its keywords extracted and in this way the network is characterized, after which several metrics for social network analysis are applied for the identification of the highlighted keywords., {"references":["Ding, Y. Scientific collaboration and endorsement: Network analysis of coauthorship and citation networks. J. Informetrics, v. 5, n. 1, p. 187-203, 2011. In: < http://dblp.uni-trier.de/db/journals/joi/joi5.html#Ding11 >.","Alves, A. D.; Yanasse, H. H.; Soma, N. Y. Perfil dos bolsistas pq das áreas de engenharia de produçao e de transportes do cnpq: enfoque na subárea de pesquisa operacional. XLIII Simpósio Brasileiro de Pesquisa Operacional, 2011a, Ubatuba, SP, Brasil.","Brandão, M. A.; Moro, M. M. Recomendação de Colaboração em Redes Sociais Acadêmicas Baseada na Afiliação dos Pesquisadores. SBBD - Simpósio Brasileiro de Bancos de Dados, 2012, São Paulo, Brasil.","Lopes, G. R. et al. Ranking Strategy for Graduate Programs Evaluation. ICITA 2011 Journal of Information Technology and Applications, 2011, Sydney, Australia.","Júnior, P. S. P.; Laender, A. H. F.; Moro, M. M. Analysis of Network Co-authoring the Brazilian Symposium on Databases. SBBD - Simpósio Brasileiro de Banco de Dados, 2011, Florianópolis, Brasil.","Cañibano, C.; Bozeman, B. Curriculum vitae method in science policy and research evaluation: the state-of-the-art. Research Evaluation, v. 18, n. 2, p. 86-94, 2009. ISSN 0958-2029.","Petersen, A. M. et al. Persistence and uncertainty in the academic career. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, v. 109, n. 14, p. 5213-5218, 2012. ISSN 0027-8424.","Cataldi, M.; Caro, L. D.; Schifanella, C. Emerging topic detection on Twitter based on temporal and social terms evaluation. Proceedings of the Tenth International Workshop on Multimedia Data Mining. Washington, D.C.: ACM: 1-10 p. 2010.","Zhu, D. et al. Small-world phenomenon of keywords network based on complex network. Scientometrics, v. 97, n. 2, p. 435-442, 2013/11/01 2013. ISSN 0138-9130. In: < http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11192-013-1019-3 >.\n[10]\tDias, T. M. R. et al. Modeling and Characterization of Scientific Networks: A Study of the Lattes Platform. Brazilian Workshop on Social Network Analysis and Mining (BraSNAM), 2013, Maceió, Brasil."]}

Purpose of the Review: This review summarizes research on the use of sheep and goats as large animal models of human osteoporosis for preclinical and translational studies. Recent Findings: The most frequent osteoporotic sheep model used is the ovariectomized sheep with 12 months post-operatively or more and the combined treatment of ovariectomized sheep associated to calcium/vitamin D-deficient diet and glucocorticoid applications for 6 months, but other methods are also described, like pinealectomy or hypothalamic-pituitary disconnection in ovariectomized sheep. The goat model for osteoporosis research has been used in a very limited number of studies in osteoporosis research relative to sheep. These osteoporotic small ruminant models are applied for biomaterial research, bone augmentation, efficacy of implant fixation, fragility fracture-healing process improvement, or bone-defect repair studies in the osteopenic or osteoporotic bone. Summary: Sheep are a recognized large animal model for preclinical and translational studies in osteoporosis research and the goat to a lesser extent. Recently, the pathophysiological mechanism underlying induction of osteoporosis in glucocorticoid-treated ovariectomized aged sheep was clarified, being similar to what occurs in postmenopausal women with glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis. It was also concluded that the receptor activator of NF-κB ligand was stimulated in the late progressive phase of the osteoporosis induced by steroids in sheep. The knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms at the cellular and molecular levels of the induction of osteoporosis in small ruminants, if identical to humans, will allow in the future, the use of these animal models with greater confidence in the preclinical and translational studies for osteoporosis research., José A. Camassa reports and acknowledges the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq-Brazil) for his PhD scholarship 202248/2015-1., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This study had the support of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2013 granted to MARE, and was partially supported by the projects CENTRO-07-0402-FEDER-23496 from the National Strategic Reference Framework (QREN), POCI-01- 0247-FEDER-006392 through the COMPETE-Operational Competitiveness Programme and the project EASME/EMFF/2016/1.2.1.4/03/SI2.750419 by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, Action 1.2.1.4–Blue Labs: innovative solutions for maritime challenge. Ana Augusto wish to acknowledge the financial support given by FCT (SFRH/BD/131465/2017). The growing search for natural alternatives to synthetic food packaging materials and additives has increased, and seaweed extracts’ bioactivity has made them suitable candidates for incorporation in novel edible films. This study aims to investigate the effect of Codium tomentosum seaweed extract (SE) incorporation in alginate and chitosan edible films. Alginate- and chitosan-based films with and without the incorporation of 0.5% SE were characterized according to their physical, optical, mechanical, and thermal properties. Seaweed extract incorporation in chitosan films resulted in an increase of film solubility (50%), elasticity (18%), and decrease of puncture strength (27%) and energy at break (39%). In alginate films, the extract incorporation significantly decreased film solubility (6%), water vapour permeability (46%), and elasticity (24%), and had no effect on thermal properties. Depending on the type of application, the addition of SE in edible films can bring advantages for food conservation. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related death in the United States and Europe. Although the outcome of NHL patients has improved over the last years with current therapies, the rate of mortality is still high. A plethora of new drugs is entering clinical development for NHL treatment; however, the approval of new treatments remains low due in part to the paucity of clinically relevant models for validation. Canine lymphoma shares remarkable similarities with its human counterpart, making the dog an excellent animal model to explore novel therapeutic molecules and approaches. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) have emerged as a powerful new class of anti-cancer drugs for human therapy. To investigate HDACi antitumor properties on canine diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, a panel of seven HDACi compounds (CI-994, panobinostat, SBHA, SAHA, scriptaid, trichostatin A and tubacin) was screened on CLBL-1 canine B-cell lymphoma cell line. Our results demonstrated that all HDACis tested exhibited dose-dependent inhibitory effects on proliferation of CLBL-1 cells, while promoting increased H3 histone acetylation. Amongst all HDACis studied, panobinostat proved to be the most promising compound and was selected for further in vitro and in vivo evaluation. Panobinostat cytotoxicity was linked to H3 histone and α-tubulin acetylation, and to apoptosis induction. Importantly, panobinostat efficiently inhibited CLBL-1 xenograft tumor growth, and strongly induced acetylation of H3 histone and apoptosis in vivo. In conclusion, these results provide new data validating HDACis and, especially, panobinostat as a novel anti-cancer therapy for veterinary applications, while contributing to comparative oncology.

Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) represent an innovative class of biopharmaceuticals, which aim at achieving a site-specific delivery of cytotoxic agents to the target cell. The use of ADCs represents a promising strategy to overcome the disadvantages of conventional pharmacotherapy of cancer or neurological diseases, based on cytotoxic or immunomodulatory agents. ADCs consist of monoclonal antibodies attached to biologically active drugs by means of cleavable chemical linkers. Advances in technologies for the coupling of antibodies to cytotoxic drugs promise to deliver greater control of drug pharmacokinetic properties and to significantly improve pharmacodelivery applications, minimizing exposure of healthy tissue. The clinical success of brentuximab vedotin and trastuzumab emtansine has led to an extensive expansion of the clinical ADC pipeline. Although the concept of an ADC seems simple, designing a successful ADC is complex and requires careful selection of the receptor antigen, antibody, linker, and payload. In this review, we explore insights in the antibody and antigen requirements needed for optimal payload delivery and support the development of novel and improved ADCs for the treatment of cancer and neurological diseases.

Canine diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is one of the most common cancers in dogs which shares remarkable similarities with its human counterpart, making the dog an excellent model for the investigation of novel therapeutic agents. However, the integration of canine lymphoma in comparative studies has been limited due in part to the lack of suitable xenograft mouse models for preclinical studies. To overcome these limitations, we established and characterized a localized subcutaneous bioluminescent canine DLBCL xenograft mouse model. The canine CLBL-1 cell line stably expressing the luciferase and green fluorescent protein reporters was generated and used to establish the xenograft tumor model. A pilot study was first conducted with three different cell densities (0.1×10(6), 0.5×10(6) and 1×10(6) cells) in SCID mice. All mice presented homogeneous tumor induction within eight days after subcutaneous injection, with a 100% engraftment efficiency and no significant differences were observed among groups. The tumors were highly aggressive and localized at the site of inoculation and reproduced histological features and immunophenotype consistent with canine DLBCL. Importantly, xenograft tumors were detected and quantified by bioluminescent imaging. To assess response to therapy, a therapeutic study with a histone deacetylase inhibitor, panobinostat, was performed. The results demonstrated that panobinostat (20 mg/kg) efficiently inhibited tumor growth and that bioluminescent imaging allowed the monitorization and quantification of tumor response to therapy. In summary, this study provides a bioluminescence canine DLBCL model that offers high engraftment efficiency, preservation of tumor features, and noninvasive monitoring of tumor progression, validating the model as a promising preclinical tool for both veterinary and human medicine.

Alterations in nutrition and lifestyle patterns along the years have been associated with a decline in sperm quality and pregnancy rates. One of the main factors for this situation is the increasing prevalence of many diet-related health conditions and diseases with a negative impact on male reproductive potential, especially due to the generation of oxidative stress. In this chapter, we will discuss the impact of several nutritional factors in male reproduction and the possible use of antioxidant therapies to counteract the oxidative-induced damages.

The Gamma-Ray Camera Upgrade (GCU) project aims at installing a new set of 19 scintillators with multi-pixel photon counter (MPPC) embedded, capable to meet the high fluxes expected during deuterium-tritium plasmas while improving the diagnostic spectroscopic capabilities. GCU will benefit from the Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA)-based Data Acquisition System (DAQ), successfully installed and commissioned during the JET-EP2 enhancement. However, to cope with the new GCU detector signals, the DAQ Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) codes need to be rebuilt. This work presents the FPGA code upgrade for Gamma Camera (GC) DAQ, capable to sustain the expected fast response of new detectors, while exploiting the full capabilities of the DAQ. Dedicated codes were designed, capable to acquire the new signals at full rate, and simultaneously processing them in real-time through suitable algorithms, fitted to the new signals shape. First results of real-time processing codes applied to data from detector prototypes are presented.

Namely, in the last two decades, large animal models – small ruminants (sheep and goats), pigs, dogs and horses – have been used to study the physiopathology and to develop new therapeutic procedures to treat human clinical osteoarthritis. For that purpose, cartilage and/or osteochondral defects are generally performed in the stifle joint of selected large animal models at the condylar and trochlear femoral areas where spontaneous regeneration should be excluded. Experimental animal care and protection legislation and guideline documents of the US Food and Drug Administration, the American Society for Testing and Materials and the International Cartilage Repair Society should be followed, and also the specificities of the animal species used for these studies must be taken into account, such as the cartilage thickness of the selected defect localization, the defined cartilage critical size defect and the joint anatomy in view of the post-operative techniques to be performed to evaluate the chondral/osteochondral repair. In particular, in the articular cartilage regeneration and repair studies with animal models, the subchondral bone plate should always be taken into consideration. Pilot studies for chondral and osteochondral bone tissue engineering could apply short observational periods for evaluation of the cartilage regeneration up to 12 weeks post-operatively, but generally a 6- to 12-month follow-up period is used for these types of studies.

In flow analysis, solid particles (sorbents, reagents or catalysts) have been used for e.g. analyte separation/concentration, sample clean-up, speciation analysis, enzymatic assays, analysis relying on slight soluble reagents, and kinetics studies related to adsorption/release of species. The particles are usually accommodated inside packed-bed mini-columns, cartridges or disks, but this geometry may led to limited analyte/particle interaction, poor renewal of the particle surface, swelling effects, establishment of preferential pathways, and increased backpressure. These hindrances are circumvented by fluidizing the solid particles. Fluidization is a worldwide-accepted industrial process, which can be successfully implemented in flow analysis. This review emphasizes historical and conceptual aspects, as well as advantages, limitations, applications, and perspectives for future development of flow analysis relying on fluidized particles.

Summary Fish parasite communities have strong interactions with the environment, the host fish, and the aquatic invertebrate communities. Thus, factors directly involving their different life cycles, such as different host populations and environments, as well as seasonal fluctuations in water levels can cause different responses. The main factors structuring parasite communities may be the hydrodynamic variations, together with seasonal variations in the availability of infectious stages of parasites in the environment. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the influence of the rainy and dry seasons on parasite infracommunities in fish species in the Amazon River System of Brazil. Between October 2009 and April 2011, specimens of Colossoma macropomum and Colossoma macropomum × Piaractus brachypomus hybrids (tambatinga) were examined for the presence of parasites. The parasite communities were similar in these two species that both showed aggregate dispersion, although the hybrid specimens were less parasitized. For both hosts, the Brillouin diversity, species richness, evenness and Berger-Parker dominance indices were similar in the rainy season and dry season, except that the Berger-Parker dominance index for the C. macropomum × P. brachypomus hybrid was higher during the dry season. Ichthyophthirius multifiliis was the dominant parasite, followed by Piscinoodinium pillulare, in both hosts. However, C. macropomum had a higher prevalence and abundance in the dry season, while in the C. macropomum × P. brachypomus hybrid, only the I. multifiliis prevalence increased. The abundance of monogenean species (Anacanthorus spathulatus, Linguadactyloides brinkmanni, Mymarothecium and Notozothecium janauachensis) was higher during the dry season in the gills of C. macropomum. Despite overdispersion of the lernaeid Perulernaea gamitanae, a seasonal pattern was seen only in the C. macropomum × P. brachypomus hybrid, with higher prevalence in the rainy season. The low prevalence and abundance of the ectoparasites Tetrahymena sp., Trichodina sp. and Braga patagonica, as well as of the endoparasites Procamallalus (Spirocamallanus) inopinatus and Neoechinorhynchus buttnerae, were not affected by seasonality. This information is applicable in farming practice for these economically important fish, as it indicates the best time for prophylactic management and treatment against parasites, in order to prevent economic losses in fish farms.

This paper is concerned with the study of the uniform decay rates of the energy associated with the wave equation subject to a locally distributed viscoelastic dissipation and a nonlinear frictional damping $$u_{tt}- \Delta u+ \int_0^t g(t-s){\rm div}[a(x)\nabla u(s)]\,{\rm d}s + b(x) f(u_t)=0\,\quad {\rm on} \quad \Omega\times]0,\infty[,$$ where $${\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^n, n\geq 2}$$ is an unbounded open set with finite measure and unbounded smooth boundary $${\partial\Omega = \Gamma}$$ . Supposing that the localization functions satisfy the “competitive” assumption $${a(x)+b(x)\geq\delta>0}$$ for all $${x\in \Omega}$$ and the relaxation function g satisfies certain nonlinear differential inequalities introduced by Lasiecka et al. (J Math Phys 54(3):031504, 2013), we extend to our considered domain the prior results of Cavalcanti and Oquendo (SIAM J Control Optim 42(4):1310–1324, 2003). In addition, while in Cavalcanti and Oquendo (2003) the authors just consider exponential and polynomial decay rate estimates, in the present article general decay rate estimates are obtained.

Population growth in the last century has raised important social and economic questions. Thus, current methods of fertility control have been under debate for a long period. Birth rates are essentially dependent on several environmental and social factors but women, who are great users of contraceptives, play a major role. Regulation of male fertility has been widely studied in recent years with the aim of developing a new male contraceptive for further inclusion of men's choice in family planning. Based on the ancient people techniques to control the birth rates, natural products appeared as a promising source for the development of a male contraceptive. Over the years, many plants and their main constituents have been studied in the search for their antifertility properties. Interestingly, some antispermatogenic effects have been reported. Herein, we will discuss the antispermatogenic properties of some natural products. We propose to discuss specific targets and sites of action of the selected natural products. Despite the advances in this field in the last years, the molecular mechanisms by which natural products can control fertility, need to be disclosed to develop an effective, reversible and safe male contraceptive and avoid undesired toxicity in other organs. To date, no natural-based male contraceptive is available in the commercial market, mostly due to the difficulty in reversing the effects of these products in male fertility.

Caffeine is a widely consumed substance present in several beverages. There is an increasing consumption of energetic drinks, rich in caffeine, among young individuals in reproductive age. Caffeine has been described as a modulator of cellular metabolism. Hence, we hypothesized that it alters human Sertoli cells (hSCs) metabolism and oxidative profile, which are essential for spermatogenesis. For that purpose, hSCs were cultured with increasing doses of caffeine (5, 50, 500 μM). Caffeine at the lowest concentrations (5 and 50 μM) stimulated lactate production, but only hSCs exposed to 50 μM showed increased expression of glucose transporters (GLUTs). At the highest concentration (500 μM), caffeine stimulated LDH activity to sustain lactate production. Notably, the antioxidant capacity of hSCs decreased in a dose-dependent manner and SCs exposed to 500 μM caffeine presented a pro-oxidant potential, with a concurrent increase of protein oxidative damage. Hence, moderate consumption of caffeine appears to be safe to male reproductive health since it stimulates lactate production by SCs, which can promote germ cells survival. Nevertheless, caution should be taken by heavy consumers of energetic beverages and food supplemented with caffeine to avoid deleterious effects in hSCs functioning and thus, abnormal spermatogenesis.

Introduction: Thyroid morphogenesis is a complex process. Inwardly rectifying potassium (Kir) genes play a role in hormone release, cell excitability, pH and K+ homeostasis in many tissues. Objectives: To investigate the thyroid developmental expression of three members, Kir4.1, Kir4.2 and Kir5.1, in mice. To postulate the K+ channel role in thyroid hormone secretion. Material and Methods: Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of Kir4.1, Kir4.2 and Kir5.1 in mice of different stages (E13.5-E18.5). Results: mRNA for Kir4.1, Kir4.2 and Kir5.1 were identified and increased with age in mice. Both Kir4.1 and Kir4.2 genes are better expressed after E16.5. Kir4.2 greatly increases from E13.5 to E16.5 (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: Quantitative PCR shows that the mouse thyroid presents increased expression for Kir channels during development. The role of Kir in thyroid morphogenesis and differentiation might be understood in future studies. We speculate that thyroglobulin trafficking might be modulated by Kir4.1/5.1.

Objective Staging systems applied to medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) rely on initial clinical and pathological features and do not consider the response to treatment. To determine whether MTC staging can be improved by incorporating the first postoperative calcitonin measurement. Patients and measurements Eighty-five patients being monitored for MTC (median follow-up 5 years) were retrospectively classified according to both the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) and the proposed combined risk stratification system (low, intermediate and high risk), which incorporates the first postoperative calcitonin measurement, using the outcomes no evidence of disease (NED), biochemical evidence of disease, structurally identifiable disease and death. Results Ninety per cent of AJCC I patients were classified as NED at final follow-up. When we added a postoperative calcitonin measurement, 95% low-risk patients were classified as NED at final follow-up. AJCC stages I and IV were associated, respectively, with no occurrence and a high rate (63%) of structurally identifiable disease. Stages II and III yielded similar predictions of structurally identifiable disease, 13% and 14%, respectively. When we included the postoperative calcitonin level, the patients with structural evidence of disease included none from the low-risk group, 10% from the intermediate group and 63% from the high-risk group. The proportion of variance explained analysis (PVE) was better for the combined risk stratification system (54%) than for the AJCC system alone (32%). Conclusion Including the first postoperative calcitonin measurement with the anatomical staging system can better predict the clinical outcome of patients with MTC and refine the follow-up of these patients.

The production and publication of scientific works have increased significantly in the last years, being the Internet the main factor of access and diffusion of these. In view of this, researchers from several areas of knowledge have carried out several studies on scientific production data in order to analyze phenomena and trends about science. The understanding of how research has evolved can, for example, serve as a basis for building scientific policies for further advances in science and stimulating research groups to become more productive. In this context, the objective of this work is to analyze the main research topics investigated along the trajectory of the Brazilian science of researchers working in the areas of engineering, in order to map scientific knowledge and identify topics in highlights. To this end, studies are carried out on the frequency and relationship of the keywords of the set of scientific articles registered in the existing curricula in the Lattes Platform of each one of the selected researchers, counting with the aid of bibliometric analysis features., {"references":["M. Castells, \"A sociedade em rede,\" S˜ao Paulo: Paz e Terra, vol. 8,\n1999.","T. M. R. Dias, \"Um estudo da produc¸ ˜ao cient´ıfica brasileira a partir de\ndados da plataforma lattes,\" Ph.D. dissertation, CEFET-MG, 2016.","D. Carneiro. (2003) C&T em prol da cidadania. (Online). Available:\nhttp://memoria.ebc.com.br/agenciabrasil/noticia/2003-10-03/ct-em-prol\n-da-cidadania","S. G. SAES, \"Aplicac¸ ˜ao de m´etodos bibliom´etricos e da \"co-word\nanalysis\" na avaliac¸ ˜ao da literatura cient´ıfica brasileira em ciˆencias da\nsa´ude de 1990 a 2002.\" Ph.D. dissertation, Universidade de S˜ao Paulo,\n2005.","S. Yi and J. Choi, \"The organization of scientific knowledge: the\nstructural characteristics of keyword networks,\" Scientometrics, vol. 90,\nno. 3, pp. 1015–1026, 2011.","A. G. C. de Brito, L. Quoniam, and J. P. Mena-Chalco,\n\"Explorac¸ ˜ao da plataforma lattes por assunto: proposta de metodologia,\"\nTransinformac¸ ˜ao-ISSN 2318-0889, vol. 28, no. 1, 2016.","L. Digiampietri, \"An´alise da rede social brasileira,\" Ph.D. dissertation,\nSchool of Arts, Sciences and Humanity, University of S˜ao Paulo (USP),\n2015.","J. P. Mena-Chalco, L. A. Digiampietri, F. M. Lopes, and R. M.\nCesar, \"Brazilian bibliometric coauthorship networks,\" Journal of the\nAssociation for Information Science and Technology, vol. 65, no. 7, pp.\n1424–1445, 2014.","T. M. R. Dias, G. F. Moita, P. M. Dias, and T. H. J.\nMoreira, \"Identificac¸ ˜ao e caracterizac¸ ˜ao de redes cient´ıficas de dados\ncurriculares,\" iSys-Revista Brasileira de Sistemas de Informac¸ ˜ao, vol. 7,\nno. 3, pp. 5–18, 2014.\n[10] D. Zhu, D. Wang, S.-U. Hassan, and P. Haddawy, \"Small-world\nphenomenon of keywords network based on complex network,\"\nScientometrics, vol. 97, no. 2, pp. 435–442, 2013.\n[11] A. Pritchard, \"Statistical bibliography or bibliometrics,\" Journal of\ndocumentation, vol. 25, p. 348, 1969.\n[12] J. Choi, S. Yi, and K. C. Lee, \"Analysis of keyword networks in\nmis research and implications for predicting knowledge evolution,\"\nInformation & Management, vol. 48, no. 8, pp. 371–381, 2011.\n[13] C. Trucolo and L. Digiampietri, \"An´alise de tendˆencias da produc¸ ˜ao\ncient´ıfica nacional da ´area de ciˆencia da computac¸ ˜ao,\" Revista de\nSistemas de Informac¸ ˜ao da FSMA, vol. 14, pp. 2–9, 2014.\n[14] C. B. Medeiros and J. Mena-Chalco, \"The dynamics of multidisciplinary\nresearch networks-mining a public repository of scientists cvs,\" in World\nSocial Science Forum, 2013, pp. 1–17.\n[15] M. Cataldi, L. Di Caro, and C. Schifanella, \"Emerging topic detection on\ntwitter based on temporal and social terms evaluation,\" in Proceedings of\nthe Tenth International Workshop on Multimedia Data Mining. ACM,\n2010, p. 4.\n[16] J. Souza, D. Lyra, J. Cavalcanti, R. Sim˜ao, Z. C´ezar, A. N. Duarte, and\nA. V. Brito, \"An´alise de redes de palavras baseada em t´ıtulos extra´ıdos\nde um sistema de atendimento.\" [17] G. F. Khan and J. Wood, \"Information technology management domain:\nEmerging themes and keyword analysis,\" Scientometrics, vol. 105, no. 2,\npp. 959–972, 2015.\n[18] R. R. N. Ferraz, L. M. Quoniam, and E. A. Maccari, \"The use of\nscriptlattes tool for extraction and on line availability of academic\nproduction from a department of stricto sensu in management,\" in\n11th International Conference on Information Systems and Technology\nManagement–CONTECSI, vol. 17, 2014."]}

The adviser-advised relationship, in addition to the evident propagation of knowledge, can provide an increase in the scientific production of the advisors. Specifically, in post-graduate programs, in which the advised submit diverse papers in different means of publication, these end up boosting the production of their advisor, since in general the advisors appear as co-authors, responsible for instructing and assisting in the development of the work. Therefore, to visualize the orientation process and the scientific production resulting from this relation is another important way of analyzing the scientific collaboration in the different areas of knowledge. In this work, are used the data of orientations and postgraduate supervisions from the Lattes curricula, from the main advisors who work in the Engineering area, to obtain an overview of the process of orientation of this group, and even, to produce Academic genealogical trees, where it is possible to verify how knowledge has spread in the diverse areas of engineering., {"references":["L. M. Ferreira, F. Furtado, and T. S. Silveira, \"Relação Orientador-Orientando. O Conhecimento Multiplicador,\" Acta Cirúrgica Bras., vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 170–172, 2009.","C. R. Sugimoto, \"Academic genealogy,\" in Beyond bibliometrics. Harnessing multidimensional indicators of scholarly impact, MIT Press, 2014, pp. 365–382.","T. H. J. Moreira, T. M. R. Dias, L. R. F. Santos, and G. F. Moita, \"Genealogia Científica: Uma Análise Hierárquica De Pesquisadores Orientadores,\" in Proceedings of the XI SIMMEC (Simpósio de Mecânica Computacional), Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil, 2014, p. 9.","E. F. Tuesta, K. V Delgado, L. a Digiampietri, J. J. Pérez-Alcázar, R. Mugnaini, and J. P. Mena-Chalco, \"Análise temporal da relação orientador-orientado: um estudo de caso sobre a produtividade dos pesquisadores doutores da área de Ciência da Computação,\" in Proceedings of the Brazilian Workshop on Social Network Analysis and Mining (BraSNAM), 2012, p. 11.","G. A. Leite Filho and G. D. A. Martins, \"Relação orientador-orientando e suas influências na elaboração de teses e dissertações,\" Rev. Adm. Empres., vol. 46, no. spe, pp. 99–109, 2006.","E. K. Miyahara, J. P. Mena-Chalco, and R. M. Cesar-Jr, \"Genealogia Acadêmica Lattes,\" Instituto de Matemática e Estatística. Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 2011.","K. V Delgado, E. F. Tuesta, L. a Digiampietri, R. Mugnaini, J. P. Mena-Chalco, and J. J. Pérez-Alcázar, \"Análise Comparativa da Produtividade dos Pares Orientador-Orientado em Ciência da Computação,\" Rev. Eletrônica Sist. Informação ISSN 1677-3071 doi 10.5329/RESI, vol. 14, no. 1, 2015.","CNPq, \"Sobre a plataforma Lattes,\" Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, 2016. (Online). Available: http://lattes.cnpq.br/. (Accessed: 13-Jun-2016).","A. D. Alves, H. H. Yanasse, and N. Y. Soma, \"SUCUPIRA: um Sistema de Extração de Informações da Plataforma Lattes para Identificação de Redes Sociais Acadêmicas,\" in Actas da 6a Conferência Ibérica de Sistemas e Tecnologias de Informação - CISTI, 2011, pp. 371–376.\n[10]\tL. a Digiampietri et al., \"Minerando e Caracterizando Dados de Currículos Lattes,\" in I Brazilian Workshop on Social Network Analysis and Mining (BrasNAM), 2012, vol. d, p. 12.\n[11]\tT. M. R. Dias and G. F. Moita, \"Extração e Modelagem de Redes de Colaboração Científica,\" in Conferência IADIS Ibero-Americana WWW/Internet, 2013, vol. 1.\n[12]\tT. M. R. Dias, G. F. Moita, P. M. Dias, T. H. J. Moreira, and L. R. F. Santos, \"Modelagem e Caracterização de Redes Científicas: Um Estudo Sobre a Plataforma Lattes,\" in BRASNAM - II Brazilian Workshop on Social Network Analysis and Mining, 2013, pp. 10–20."]}

BACKGROUND: Peer support is an established component of recovery from bipolar disorder, and online support groups may offer opportunities to expand the use of peer support at the patient's convenience. Prior research in bipolar disorder has reported value from online support groups.AIMS: To understand the use of online support groups by patients with bipolar disorder as part of a larger project about information seeking.METHODS: The results are based on a one-time, paper-based anonymous survey about information seeking by patients with bipolar disorder, which was translated into 12 languages. The survey was completed between March 2014 and January 2016 and included questions on the use of online support groups. All patients were diagnosed by a psychiatrist. Analysis included descriptive statistics and general estimating equations to account for correlated data.RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The survey was completed by 1222 patients in 17 countries. The patients used the Internet at a percentage similar to the general public. Of the Internet users who looked online for information about bipolar disorder, only 21.0% read or participated in support groups, chats, or forums for bipolar disorder (12.8% of the total sample). Given the benefits reported in prior research, clarification of the role of online support groups in bipolar disorder is needed. With only a minority of patients using online support groups, there are analytical challenges for future studies.

RESUMO A atividade elétrica cardíaca pode ser registrada por meio do eletrocardiograma (ECG), registro capaz de captar as alterações do percurso elétrico. Na literatura científica, não existe descrição de padrões eletrocardiográficos de ratos Wistar desde a fase de recém-nascidos até serem considerados envelhecidos. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar o padrão eletrocardiográfico de ratos Wistar desde a fase de recém-nascidos até serem considerados envelhecidos, no intuito de que os resultados possam contribuir como referencial dos padrões da espécie. Foram utilizados ratos Rattus novergicus albinus, da linhagem Wistar. Os ratos foram divididos em cinco grupos experimentais, sendo definidos de acordo com a idade e assim denominados: grupo 21 dias (21D), dois meses (2M), três meses (3M), sete meses (7M) e 18 meses (18M), sendo n=20 por grupo. Para a realização do ECG, eletrodos conectados aos canais do eletrocardiógrafo foram posicionados nos animais e captaram o sinal elétrico do coração em seis derivações. Os dados foram agrupados e submetidos a comparação por meio de ANOVA e teste de Tukey-Kramer, P≤0,05. Os resultados mostraram que, de forma geral, as modulações ao longo do processo de envelhecimento diante dos parâmetros relacionados ao ECG se iniciam a partir do período 2M, com aparente estabilidade até 3M e/ou 7M, seguindo por exacerbação das modulações em 7M e/ou 18M, a depender da variável eletrocardiográfica em questão. Em relação à frequência cardíaca (FC), concomitantemente, nota-se um padrão similar, ou seja, diminuição dela a partir do período 2M, com estabilidade até 7M, seguindo por diminuição mais pronunciada em 18M. Os resultados sugerem que, devido ao processo de envelhecimento, o coração de ratos Wistar apresenta modificações na condução do estímulo elétrico, bem como redução na FC, fatores que merecem atenção enquanto indicadores de inclusão/exclusão de animais em grupos experimentais por parte de pesquisadores que utilizam a referida espécie como modelo de estudo. ABSTRACT The cardiac electrical activity can be recorded through the electrocardiogram (ECG), this recording is able to capture the changes in the electric route. In the scientific literature, there is no description of electrocardiographic patterns of Wistar rats at the stage of newborn to be considered aged. The aim of this study was to evaluate the electrocardiographic pattern of Wistar rats at various stages of growth, in order for the results to contribute as a standard reference. Rattus norvegicus albinus rats of the Wistar lineage were used. The rats were divided into 5 experimental groups being defined according to age and named as follows: group 21 days (21D), 2 months (2M), 3 months (3M), 7 months (7M) and 18 months (18M), where n = 20 per group. For the realization of ECG, electrodes connected to the electrocardiograph channels were positioned in animals to capture the electrical signal of the heart in 6-lead. The data were grouped and subjected to comparison by ANOVA and Tukey-Kramer test, P=0.05. The results showed that, overall, the modulations along the front aging process, related to the ECG, are initiated from 2M period, apparent stability by 3M and/or 7M, followed by exacerbation of modulations in 7M and/or 18M, depending on the electrocardiographic variable in question. Front of heart rate (HR), concomitantly, there is a similar pattern, that is, decreasing from 2M period with stability until 7M, followed by more pronounced decrease in 18M. The results suggest that due to the aging process, the heart of Wistar rats shows changes in the conduction of electrical stimulation and reduction in heart rate, factors that deserve attention as indicators of inclusion / exclusion of animals in experimental groups by researchers using that species as a model.

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Measuring thyroid hormones is an important aspect for the study of metabolism and for monitoring diseases in both human and animal models. The traditional method for hormone measurement in rats is the radioimmunoassay (RIA). However, the RIA is associated with some practical disadvantages, including the use of radioactive material, the need for specialized equipment and expert staff, the short shelf-life of kits according to the half-life of the radioisotope and high costs. The objective of this study was to develop a new cost-effective method for measuring TSH levels in rats that avoids the use of radioactive material. We developed an in-house competitive immunoassay using a reference standard, polyclonal antibody produced in rabbits and biotinylated antigen. This method was tested in 64 Wistar rats that were divided into a control group (n = 41) and a group with hypothyroidism (n = 23). Our assay demonstrated an analytical sensitivity of 0.24 ng/mL (n = 12) and an intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV) of 8.9% for sera with TSH levels of 1.5 ng/mL and 13.2% for sera with TSH levels of 17.5 ng/mL (n = 14). The inter-assay CV was 13.5% for sera with TSH levels of 1.4 ng/mL and 14.5% for TSH levels of 18.2 ng/mL (n = 5). The analysis of mean TSH levels in control rats (5.06 +/- 0.5701) and hypothyroid rats (51.09 +/- 5.136) revealed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) between the groups. This method showed good sensitivity, can be automated and is low-cost compared with RIA. Our method offers a viable alternative for TSH measurement in rats. Univ Fed São Paulo Unifesp, Lab Endocrinol Mol & Translac, Div Endocrinol, Dept Med, São Paulo, SP, Brazil Univ Fed São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Bioquim, Div Biol Mol, São Paulo, SP, Brazil Grp Fleury, São Paulo, SP, Brazil Unifesp, Dept Ciencias Biol, Diadema, SP, Brazil Univ Fed São Paulo Unifesp, Lab Endocrinol Mol & Translac, Div Endocrinol, Dept Med, São Paulo, SP, Brazil Univ Fed São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Bioquim, Div Biol Mol, São Paulo, SP, Brazil Unifesp, Dept Ciencias Biol, Diadema, SP, Brazil FAPESP: 2013/26851-7 Web of Science

Information seeking is an important coping mechanism for dealing with chronic illness. Despite a growing number of mental health websites, there is little understanding of how patients with bipolar disorder use the Internet to seek information.A 39 question, paper-based, anonymous survey, translated into 12 languages, was completed by 1222 patients in 17 countries as a convenience sample between March 2014 and January 2016. All patients had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder from a psychiatrist. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and generalized estimating equations to account for correlated data.976 (81 % of 1212 valid responses) of the patients used the Internet, and of these 750 (77 %) looked for information on bipolar disorder. When looking online for information, 89 % used a computer rather than a smartphone, and 79 % started with a general search engine. The primary reasons for searching were drug side effects (51 %), to learn anonymously (43 %), and for help coping (39 %). About 1/3 rated their search skills as expert, and 2/3 as basic or intermediate. 59 % preferred a website on mental illness and 33 % preferred Wikipedia. Only 20 % read or participated in online support groups. Most patients (62 %) searched a couple times a year. Online information seeking helped about 2/3 to cope (41 % of the entire sample). About 2/3 did not discuss Internet findings with their doctor.Online information seeking helps many patients to cope although alternative information sources remain important. Most patients do not discuss Internet findings with their doctor, and concern remains about the quality of online information especially related to prescription drugs. Patients may not rate search skills accurately, and may not understand limitations of online privacy. More patient education about online information searching is needed and physicians should recommend a few high quality websites.

High-grade metamorphic rocks associated with S-type granites are recorded in the Central Iberian Zone, Iberian Variscides. Though most of these occur as inferred metamorphic core complexes affiliated with detachment faults, others, such as the Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo–Lumbrales Anatectic Complex, crop out between low-grade metamorphic rocks separated by steeply-dipping strike-slip shear zones, such as the Juzbado–Penalva do Castelo Shear Zone. Our structural analysis has been able to constrain two major deformation stages during the Variscan D 3 : (a) D 3a ductile deformation event, with clear sinistral kinematic criteria; and (b) D 3b thrusting ductile–brittle deformation event. The petrological investigation confirmed the jump in metamorphic grade between the host rocks and the anatectic complex. P–T estimates on calc-silicate rocks interlayered with the metapelites of the anatectic complex provided minimum metamorphic peak conditions of T = 761 ± 50°C and P = 5.0 ± 1.0 kbar. However, petrological modelling results show that P–T conditions must have exceeded T > 800°C. Both structural and geothermobarometric data support a two-step model for the exhumation of the Anatectic Complex, including a 5 – 8 km vertical exhumation along a 65 – 100 km horizontal displacement due to a simple shear-dominated transpression mechanism during the Variscan D 3 events. Supplementary material: The petrology data, mineral chemistry analyses of the calc-silicate units and EPMA analytical conditions, and the P–T modelling methodology can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3785648

Sertoli cells are crucial for the success of spermatogenesis, which is the biological process that ensures male fertility. These cells present high metabolic rates, being often subjected to high oxidative stress levels that, if uncontrolled, may compromise male fertility. Since the most abundant tea catechin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), has demonstrated a potent preventive activity against oxidative stress, we have evaluated its effect at concentrations of 5 and 50μM, on the metabolism, mitochondrial functionality and oxidative profile of human Sertoli cells (hSCs). While, the highest concentration of EGCG (50μM) increased glucose and pyruvate consumption, it decreased the conversion of pyruvate to alanine to sustain a regular lactate production. However, despite maintaining Krebs cycle functionality, EGCG (50μM) decreased mitochondrial membrane potential of hSCs, which could compromise the normal rates of ATP production. Interestingly, oxidative damages to proteins and lipids decreased in this experimental group, which may be valuable for the nutritional support of spermatogenesis.