ABSTRACT For many fish species, prolonged fasting is part of their life cycle, as there are seasonal fluctuations in the quantity and quality of food available in their natural habitat. These animals use endogenous reserves during periods of food scarcity and recover when resources become available again. We evaluated the effect of a prolonged fasting period on indicators of body reserve use, growth performance and intestinal integrity of the Amazonian serrasalmid Piaractus brachypomus. We distributed 66 juveniles (68.6 ± 2.2 g) in 11 tanks. The treatment consisted of 30 days fasting followed by 45 days refeeding and the control of 75 days normal feeding with 5 replicates (one tank with six fish). The six individuals in the 11th tank were used for baseline measurements. Blood parameters, muscle lipid concentration, hepatosomatic and mesenteric fat indices, somatic growth parameters and intestinal villi morphology were measured every 15 days. Glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, total protein, the mesenteric fat and hepatosomatic indices, weight gain, specific growth rate, condition factor and total biomass decreased significantly during fasting compared to the control, but all except body condition recovered during refeeding. The length and perimeter of the intestinal villi was significantly lower during fasting compared to the control. The feeding protocol allowed P. brachypomus to mobilize part of their body reserves during fasting, however, in general, refeeding was sufficient to restore their body needs and growth performance compatible with that of continuously fed animals.

RESUMO Muitas espécies de peixe suportam jejum prolongado como parte do seu ciclo de vida, devido a flutuações na quantidade e qualidade de alimentos disponíveis em seu habitat natural. Esses animais utilizam reservas endógenas durante períodos de escassez de alimentos e se recuperam quando voltam a estar disponíveis. Avaliamos o efeito de jejum prolongado sobre indicadores de uso de reservas corporais, desempenho e integridade intestinal no serrasalmídeo amazônico Piaractus brachypomus. Distribuímos 66 juvenis (68,6 ± 2,2 g) em 11 tanques. O tratamento consistiu em 30 dias de jejum seguidos de 45 dias de realimentação, e o controle de 75 dias de alimentação contínua, com 5 repetições (um tanque com seis peixes). Os seis indivíduos do 11º tanque foram usados para medidas basais. Parâmetros sanguíneos, concentração de lipídios musculares, índices de gordura hepatossomática e mesentérica, parâmetros de crescimento somático e morfologia das vilosidades intestinais foram medidos a cada 15 dias. Glicose, triglicerídeos, colesterol, proteína total, índices hepatossomático e de gordura mesentérica, ganho em peso, taxa de crescimento específico, fator de condição e biomassa total diminuíram significativamente durante o jejum em comparação com o controle, mas todos, exceto a condição corporal, recuperaram-se durante a realimentação. O comprimento e o perímetro das vilosidades intestinais foram significativamente menores durante o jejum em comparação com o controle. O protocolo de alimentação permitiu que P. brachypomus mobilizasse parte de suas reservas corporais durante o jejum, porém, em geral, a realimentação foi suficiente para repor suas necessidades corporais e o desempenho compatível com o de animais alimentados continuamente.

Abstract Nowadays, communication and networking technologies are essential for Oil & Gas industries in order to guarantee reliability, safety and low costs in the producing process. Information access and commands and set-points transmission from/to automation systems are challenging tasks mainly due to distributed production areas and hostile environments. This paper presents a field trial of broadband power line communication over an overhead medium voltage grid as a data transport employing 200 Mb/s BPL modems. Throughput, frequency response, physical speed and latency are some of the investigated network parameters. Experimental results obtained after propagation through 1.63 km of a multipath MV power grid reveal the viability of the BPL technology as an access network for video and automation data transport in onshore Oil & Gas industries.

Resumo O Mieloma Múltiplo é uma neoplasia de linfócitos B da medula óssea, caracterizada por inflamação com uma intensa secreção de fatores de crescimento que promovem o aumento do volume do tumor, sobrevivência celular, migração e invasão. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os efeitos da pravastatina, uma droga usada para reduzir o colesterol, em um linhagem de MM. O ciclo celular e viabilidade foram determinadas por Trypan Blue e iodeto de propídio. IL6, VEGF, bFGF e TGF foram quantificadas por ELISA e qRT-PCR, incluindo aqui de HMG CoA redutase. Observou-se a redução da viabilidade das células, aumento de células na fase G0/G1 do ciclo celular e redução no VEGF e bFGF, sem influência na expressão da enzima 3-Metil-Glutaril Coenzima A redutase. Os resultados demonstraram que a pravastatina induz parada no ciclo celular em G0/G1 e diminuição da produção de fatores de crescimento em várias linhas de células de Mieloma.

Abstract Multiple myeloma (MM) is a B cell bone marrow neoplasia characterized by inflammation with an intense secretion of growth factors that promote tumor growth, cell survival, migration and invasion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of pravastatin, a drug used to reduce cholesterol, in a MM cell line.Cell cycle and viability were determinate by Trypan Blue and Propidium Iodide. IL6, VEGF, bFGF and TGFβ were quantified by ELISA and qRT-PCR including here de HMG CoA reductase. It was observed reduction of cell viability, increase of cells in G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle and reducing the factors VEGF and bFGF without influence on 3-Methyl-Glutaryl Coenzyme A reductase expression.The results demonstrated that pravastatin induces cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 and decreased production of growth factors in Multiple Myeloma cell line.

Resumo Objetivo Validar o questionário de Avaliação Nutricional Subjetiva Global (ANSG) para a população de crianças e adolescentes brasileiros. Métodos Estudo transversal, feito com 242 pacientes, de 30 dias a 13 anos, atendidos em unidades pediátricas de um hospital terciário, com doenças agudas e tempo de permanência mínima de 24 horas hospitalizados. Após autorização dos autores do estudo original foram cumpridas as seguintes etapas para obtenção da validação dos instrumentos de ANSG: tradução (backtranslation), validade de critério concorrente e preditiva e confiabilidade interobservador. As variáveis em estudo foram: idade, sexo, peso e comprimento ao nascer, prematuridade e antropometria (peso, estatura, índice de massa corporal, circunferência braquial, dobra cutânea tricipital e dobra cutânea subescapular). O desfecho principal considerado foi necessidade de internação/reinternação até 30 dias após a alta hospitalar. Os testes estatísticos usados foram: Anova, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, qui-quadrado e coeficiente Kappa. Resultados De acordo com a classificação do ANSG, 80% dos pacientes foram classificados como bem nutridos, 14,5% moderadamente desnutridos e 5,4% gravemente desnutridos. A validade concorrente mostrou fraca a regular correlação do ANSG com as medidas antropométricas usadas (p < 0,001). Quanto ao poder preditivo, o desfecho principal associado ao ANSG foi tempo de internação/reinternação. Os desfechos secundários associados foram: tempo de permanência na unidade após ANSG, peso e comprimento ao nascer e prematuridade (p < 0,05). A confiabilidade interobservador mostrou boa concordância entre os avaliadores (Kappa = 0,74). Conclusão Este estudo validou o método de ANSG nessa amostra de pacientes pediátricos hospitalizados e possibilitou seu uso para fins de aplicação clínica e de pesquisa na população brasileira.

Abstract Objective To validate the Subjective Global Nutritional Assessment (SGNA) questionnaire for Brazilian children and adolescents. Methods A cross-sectional study with 242 patients, aged 30 days to 13 years, treated in pediatric units of a tertiary hospital with acute illness and minimum hospitalization of 24 h. After permission from the authors of the original study, the following criteria were observed to obtain the validation of SGNA instruments: translation and backtranslation, concurrent validity, predictive validity, and inter-observer reliability. The variables studied were age, sex, weight and length at birth, prematurity, and anthropometry (weight, height, body mass index, upper arm circumference, triceps skinfold, and subscapular skinfold). The primary outcome was considered as the need for admission/readmission within 30 days after hospital discharge. Statistical tests used included ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, chi-square, and Kappa coefficient. Results According to SGNA score, 80% of patients were considered as well nourished, 14.5% moderately malnourished, and 5.4% severely malnourished. Concurrent validity showed a weak correlation between the SGNA and anthropometric measurements (p < 0.001). Regarding predictive power, the main outcome associated with SGNA was length of admission/readmission. Secondary outcomes associated included the following: length of stay at the unit after SGNA, weight and length at birth, and prematurity (p < 0.05). The interobserver reliability showed good agreement among examiners (Kappa = 0.74). Conclusion This study validated the SGNA in this group of hospitalized pediatric patients, ensuring its use in the clinical setting and for research purposes in the Brazilian population.

Protein energy malnutrition (PEM) is a syndrome that often results in immunodeficiency coupled with pancytopenia. Hemopoietic tissue requires a high nutrient supply and the proliferation, differentiation and maturation of cells occur in a constant and balanced manner, sensitive to the demands of specific cell lineages and dependent on the stem cell population. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of PEM on some aspects of hemopoiesis, analyzing the cell cycle of bone marrow cells and the percentage of progenitor cells in the bone marrow. Two-month-old male Swiss mice (N = 7-9 per group) were submitted to PEM with a low-protein diet (4%) or were fed a control diet (20% protein) ad libitum. When the experimental group had lost about 20% of their original body weight after 14 days, we collected blood and bone marrow cells to determine the percentage of progenitor cells and the number of cells in each phase of the cell cycle. Animals of both groups were stimulated with 5-fluorouracil. Blood analysis, bone marrow cell composition and cell cycle evaluation was performed after 10 days. Malnourished animals presented anemia, reticulocytopenia and leukopenia. Their bone marrow was hypocellular and depleted of progenitor cells. Malnourished animals also presented more cells than normal in phases G0 and G1 of the cell cycle. Thus, we conclude that PEM leads to the depletion of progenitor hemopoietic populations and changes in cellular development. We suggest that these changes are some of the primary causes of pancytopenia in cases of PEM.

With a view to contribute to the understanding the surface effects on optical properties process, and its hole in the electronic properties of the nanoparticles, CdS based nanoparticles are characterised by different experimental techniques and the experimental results compared to density functional theory calculations. Our results indicate that cubic CdS nanoparticles present a strong structural deformation, hexagonal reconstructed structures preserve their lattice behaviour. Both cubic and hexagonal CdS nanoparticles are S-terminated after relaxation, even when mildly Cd-rich nanoparticles are considered. A broad peak observed in our PL measurements is interpreted as an experimental evidence of the surface related peak observed around 1.8 eV in our calculated DOS for the hexagonal relaxed structure.

Este trabalho foi conduzido com o objetivo de avaliar o potencial forrageiro de Paspalum dilatatum Poir. biótipo Virasoro e Festuca arundinacea Schreb., exótica e hibernal na região sul do Brasil. Foi colhida mensalmente a parte aérea de plantas individuais, cultivadas no campo durante 12 meses e avaliadas quanto à disponibilidade de massa seca (DMS), proteína bruta (PB), fibra detergente neutro (FDN) e fibra detergente ácido (FDA). O virasoro apresentou ciclo estacional, com a maior DMS na primavera/verão (98 g MS/planta), enquanto a festuca teve a maior DMS no inverno/primavera (100 g MS/planta). O virasoro mostrou teores mais elevados de PB nas folhas (19,09%) em relação à festuca (17,8%), mas essa apresentou menor conteúdo de FDA (29%) em relação ao virasoro (43%); para FDN nas folhas não houve diferença entre as espécies, com médias de 62%. No colmo, as diferenças foram apenas no outono (festuca=19,9%; virasoro=73,9%). O biótipo Virasoro não foi infectado por Claviceps paspali, que comumente ocorre em P. dilatatum, indicando resistência ao fungo. O biótipo Virasoro detém características desejáveis como planta forrageira, sendo uma boa opção para a estação quente.

This work had the objective to evaluate the forage potential of Paspalum dilatatum Poir. biotype Virasoro and Festuca arundinacea Schreb., an exotic species in the southern regions of Brazil. The individual plant shoots were harvested for twelve months, cultivated in the field, and evaluated as for the dry matter availability (DMA), crude protein (CP) and neutral and acid detergent fiber (NDF and ADF). The virasoro showed seasonal cicle, with the maximum DMA in the spring/summer period (98 g DM/plant), while tall fescue had the top DMD in the winter/spring period (100 g DM/plant). The virasoro showed higher CP in the leaves (19,09%) in relation to tall fescue (17.8%), but the latter had the smallest values of ADF (29%) in relation to the former (43%); the ADF in the leaves did not present any differences among the species with the average of 62%. In the culm, the differences were observed only during the fall period (fescue=19.9%; virasoro=73.9%). The Virasoro was not infected by Claviceps paspali, which commonly occurs in P. dilatatum, indicating the possible resistance. The Virasoro biotype own characteristics as forage plant being a good option for the warm season.