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Effects of protected sodium butyrate (PSB) in broiler diets with reduced metabolizable energy (ME) content on production performance, intestinal histomorphometry and nutrient metabolizability were evaluated in two experiments. In one experiment, 384 one-day-old male chicks with an average weight of 44 ± 0.2 g were distributed into four treatment groups in a completely randomized design with six replications of 16 birds. The treatments consisted of i) a basal diet without reduced ME or PSB (BD); ii) BD with a 100 kcal/kg reduction in ME, without PSB; iii) BD with a 100 kcal/kg reduction in ME + 105 g/t PSB; and iv) BD with a 100 kcal/kg reduction in ME + 225 g/t PSB. Performance and carcass yield were evaluated. In the second experiment, 280 one-day-old male chicks were also distributed into four treatment groups in a completely randomized design with seven replications of 10 birds to evaluate metabolizability coefficients and intestinal development. The birds that received diet 3 had the best feed conversion ratio (FCR), final weight (FW) and weight gain (WG). Inclusion of PSB (105 and 225 g/t) in reduced-ME diets increased the metabolizability of crude protein coefficient at 35 days old. Birds that received diet 3 also had greater jejunal villus height at 21 and 35 days old. It is recommended to feed 105 g/t of PSB with a 100 kcal/kg reduction in ME until broilers were 35 days old.

Sphingosine kinases (SPHK) generate the sphingolipid sphingosine-1-phosphate, which, among other functions, is a potent regulator of inflammation. While SPHK1 produces S1P to promote inflammatory signaling, the role of SPHK2 is unclear due to divergent findings in studies utilizing gene depletion versus inhibition of catalytic activity. We sought to clarify how SPHK2 affects inflammatory signaling in human macrophages, which are main regulators of inflammation. SPHK2 expression and activity were rapidly decreased within 6 h upon stimulating primary human macrophages with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), but was upregulated after 24 h. At 24 h following LPS stimulation, targeting SPHK2 with the inhibitor ABC294640, a specific siRNA or by using Sphk2−/− mouse peritoneal macrophages increased inflammatory cytokine production. Downregulation of SPHK2 in primary human macrophages within 6 h of LPS treatment was blocked by inhibiting autophagy. SPHK2 overexpression or inhibiting autophagy 6 h after human macrophage activation with LPS suppressed inflammatory cytokine release. Mechanistically, SPHK2 suppressed LPS-triggered NF-kB activation independent of its catalytic activity and prevented increased mitochondrial ROS formation downstream of LPS. In conclusion, SPHK2 is an anti-inflammatory protein in human macrophages that is inversely coupled to inflammatory cytokine production. This needs consideration when targeting SPHK2 with specific inhibitors.

Mound fields (MF), which consist of numerous isolated mounds, are characteristic of the Cerrado wetlands of Brazil. While there are numerous studies on soil redistribution by termites and by differential particulate erosion, a new hypothesis, supported by metal accumulation in these areas, needs to be tested. This study aimed to investigate the extent to which soil saturation by water, and the associated chemical erosion, might be a key driver of the geomorphological development of the Cerrado wetlands. The study was performed in a typical wetland of Minas Gerais that shows a typical succession from well drained Ferralsols on the plateau to Gleysols on the lowland and the presence of MF at the transition. Soil morphological description was used together with optical microscopy, X-ray fluorescence and physical analyses (grain size and bulk density) to discriminate between the biological (bioturbation) and geochemical origins. Additionally, geochemical mass balance was calculated to estimate the total amount of chemical erosion that had occurred in the area. The morphological observations and the results on soil texture did not point to material redistribution in the MF. In contrast, the results showed that iron-depleted aggregates in depressed zones were sensitive to collapse. Soil saturation by water as the main cause of geochemical erosion and geomorphologic development was confirmed by mass balance calculation. The results fill an important information gap on the formation and evolution of cerrado soil landscapes, which have important consequences for biodiversity and water conservation.

The Fundação Ricardo Espírito Santo Silva (FRESS) has the mission of defend, train, study, develop and implement Portuguese Fine Arts in Portugal. This paper reflects the process of Conservation-Restoration training, where students apply the most recent analytical techniques to the characterization of artwork towards enabling and supporting conservation intervention. In this study, the materials used to produce a 19th century sedan chair were characterised by optical microscopy, spectroscopic (SEM-EDS, μ-Raman and FTIR-imaging) and chromatographic (HPLC-DAD/MS) techniques. The use of natural and synthetic dyes was identified in textiles found inside the chair, including cochineal, brazilwood and fuchsine. Several paint layers with different colours and compounds, such as barite, calcium carbonate, lead white, hematite and Prussian blue, were identified in the external painted wood surface of the chair. The variety of identified materials, interspersed between layers of animal glue, reflects the different interventions that took place on the chair over time, supporting the intervention strategies reported/prescribed for the conservation-restoration procedure. 25-34pp The authors would like to acknowledge Professor António Candeias, HERCULES Laboratory and other researchers involved in this work, namely Ana Manhita, Alexandra Ferreira, Margarida Nunes and Luís Dias. Catarina Miguel thanks the FCT for financial support under grant SFRH/BPD/92865/2013. 23 DM/NMM Conservar Património

This thesis explores Mozambican women and couple’s processes of coping with infertility and their national and transnational therapeutic itineraries in the quest for a child. Based on the idea of therapeutic navigation, this work accounts for the manifold social and individual aspects and strategies involved in processes of infertility treatment seeking and uptake departing from Maputo's fluid urban context. Through chapters devoted to various socio-cultural aspects of these therapeutic navigations and to the interaction between biomedicine and local ideas about reproduction, parenthood, family and healing, the study explores how people from different socio-economic backgrounds seek solutions to impaired reproduction. Zooming in from a contextual approach towards specific case studies, this thesis provides an agency-focused analysis of the intersections between: local ideas about marriage and family; aspects of coping with, and seeking treatment for, infertility both in Mozambique and South Africa; lay people interaction with worlds of expertise such as biomedicine and biomedical technologies, namely assisted reproduction technologies, and local aspects of healthcare provision and access. Besides accounting for inequalities in access to health care and different kinds of strategic maneuvering, it also demonstrates how people's agency in the quest for infertility care often represents small everyday life changes. In this sense, adding to Mozambican women's and couples’ national and transnational therapeutic pathways per se, this thesis explores the ways through which processes of therapeutic navigation may contribute to the motion of an already fluid and transforming social environment.

Submitted by Haia Cristina Rebouças de Almeida (haia.almeida@uniceub.br) on 2016-01-20T12:02:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 21237532.pdf: 1746886 bytes, checksum: 2933a8c85a19b46af4cf2954ac40022a (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-20T12:02:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 21237532.pdf: 1746886 bytes, checksum: 2933a8c85a19b46af4cf2954ac40022a (MD5) Introdução: O presente artigo refere-se à temática dos valores das lutas como recurso pedagógico nas aulas de educação física. Objetivo: O objetivo foi mostrar como as lutas estão sendo utilizadas nas aulas de educação física pelos professores como conteúdo escolar, e mostrar os benefícios que podem ser alcançados, como exemplo a mediação de conflitos e também no desenvolvimento motor, cognitivo e sócio - afetivo dos jovens. Material e Métodos: Esse estudo tratou-se de uma revisão literatura de natureza exploratória com intuito de abordar a utilização das lutas dentro das aulas de educação física escolar. Revisão da Literatura: As lutas são disputas em que os oponentes devem ser subjugados, mediante técnicas e estratégias de desequilíbrio, contusão, imobilização ou exclusão de um determinado espaço na combinação de ações de ataque de defesa. Caracterizam – se por uma regulamentação específica, a fim de punir atitudes de violência e de deslealdade. Podem ser citados como exemplo de lutas desde as brincadeiras de braço-de-ferro e cabo-de-guerra até as práticas mais complexas da capoeira, caratê e judô. Considerações Finais: As lutas podem ser inseridas na educação física escolar promovendo pleno desenvolvimento aos alunos, pois é notada a evolução em aspectos motores, cognitivos e sócio – afetivos dos jovens praticantes, além de também ser utilizada como forma de conhecimento histórico, cultural e filosófico intrínsecas às lutas.

Purpose: To measure central corneal thickness (CCT) within the participants of the European Glaucoma Prevention Study (EGPS). This study was designed to test if lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) by means of dorzolamide is able to prevent or delay conversion from ocular hypertension to glaucoma. Design: Randomized, double-masked, controlled, observational clinical trial. Participants: Eight hundred fifty-four of 1077 ocular hypertensive participants within the EGPS were investigated. Four hundred twenty-nine patients were treated with dorzolamide and 425 patients received placebo. Intervention: Treatment with dorzolamide or placebo (the vehicle of dorzolamide) in 1 or both eyes. Main Outcome Measures: Central corneal thickness as measured by ultrasound pachymetry (DGH-500 Pachette; DGH Technologies, Exton, PA). The CCT measurements were obtained in the morning before measuring IOP. Five measurements were taken from each eye of each patient within 5 minutes of application of anesthetic eye drops. Results: Mean CCT was 572.6±37.4 μm (range, 458.5-695.6 μm). The CCT was higher in younger patients, male patients, and diabetic patients. Mean CCTs for the 429 patients receiving dorzolamide were 574.2±38.48 μm (range, 458.5-695.6 μm) and 571.0±36.21 μm (469.7-690.1 μm) for the 425 patients receiving placebo (P = 0.205). Central corneal thickness did not correlate with refraction, baseline IOP, or systemic hypertension. Conclusion: Central corneal thickness measurements within the EGPS were greater than those reported in other studies of normal eyes without ocular hypertension. Larger CCT measurements correlated with male gender, younger age, and diabetes. © 2007 American Academy of Ophthalmology.

PURPOSE To determine the reproducibility of the assessment for glaucomatous change in serial optic disc stereo-slides. DESIGN Masked interobserver variability study. PARTICIPANTS Serial optic disc stereo-slides from 40 patients. METHODS Three independent ophthalmologists evaluated for change a set of two serial 20 degrees optic disc color stereo-slides of 40 patients. This test set was not from European Glaucoma Prevention Study (EGPS) patients. Each observer performed two evaluations at least 30 days apart and was masked from the temporal sequence of the slides and his or her previous evaluation. Each patient was graded as changed or stable by two-out-of-three agreement. A kappa statistic was used to calculate the intra- and interobserver reproducibility as well as the assignment reproducibility (first consensus versus second consensus). The same procedure was followed to test the reproducibility when another experienced ophthalmologist was added to one of the three reading centers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Reproducibility in evaluating glaucomatous optic disc change. RESULTS The intraobserver reproducibility (95% confidence interval [CI]) in the evaluation of change ranged between 0.79 (0.45-1.14) and 1.00 (0.69-1.31). The interobserver reproducibility (95% CI) in the evaluation of change ranged between 0.45 (0.15-0.75) and 0.75 (0.44-1.06). The assignment reproducibility (first consensus versus second consensus in the evaluation of change) between the senior EGPS readers was 0.94 (0.63-1.25). The assignment reproducibility when another experienced ophthalmologist replaced one of the readers was 0.94 (0.63-1.25). CONCLUSIONS The assignment reproducibility of three expert readers looking for glaucomatous change in serial optic disc stereo-slides was excellent. It remained so when one of the three experts was replaced by another experienced reader.

Objectives The European Glaucoma Prevention Study seeks to evaluate the efficacy of reducing intraocular pressure (IOP), with dorzolamide to prevent or delay patients affected by ocular hypertension from developing primary open-angle glaucoma. Design Randomized, double-blinded, controlled clinical trial. Participants Patients (age > or =30 years) were enrolled from 18 European centers. The patients fulfilled a series of inclusion criteria including the measurements of IOP (22-29 mmHg), two normal and reliable visual fields (VFs) (on the basis of mean defect and corrected pattern standard deviation/corrected loss of variance of standard 30/II Humphrey or Octopus perimetry), and normal optic disc as determined by the Optic Disc Reading Center (vertical and horizontal cup-to-disc ratios; asymmetry between the two eyes Intervention Patients were randomized to the treatment with dorzolamide or a placebo. Main outcome measures End points are VF and/or optic disc changes. A VF change during the follow-up must be confirmed by two further positive tests. Optic disc change is defined by the agreement of two out of three independent observers evaluating optic disc stereo-slides. Results One thousand seventy-seven subjects were randomized between January 1, 1997 and May 31, 1999. The mean age was 57.03 +/- 10.3 years; 54.41% were women and 99.9% were Caucasian. Mean IOP was 23.6 +/- 1.6 mmHg in both eyes. Mean visual acuity was 0.97 +/- 0.11 in both eyes; mean refraction was 0.23 +/- 1.76 diopters in the right eye and 0.18 +/- 1.79 diopters in the left eye. Previous use of medication for ocular hypertension was reported by 38.4% of the patients, systemic hypertension by 28.1%, cardiovascular diseases by 12.9%, and diabetes mellitus by 4.7%. The qualifying VFs were normal and reliable according to protocol criteria. Conclusions The mean IOP of the patients enrolled in the European Glaucoma Prevention Study is consistent with the estimated mean IOP (within the range of 22-29 mmHg) found in a large sample of the European population. The European Glaucoma Prevention Study should be able to better address the clinical question of whether pharmacological reduction of IOP (by means of dorzolamide) in ocular hypertension patients at moderate risk for developing primary open-angle glaucoma effectively lowers the incidence of primary open-angle glaucoma.