RCAAP Repository

Current two-dimensional (2D) ultrasonic marker measurements are inherent with intra- and inter-observer variability limitations. The objective of this paper is to investigate the performance of conventional 2D ultrasonic marker measurements and proposed programmable interactive three-dimensional (3D) marker evaluation. This is essentially important to analyze that the measurement on 3D volumetric measurement possesses higher impact and reproducibility vis-à-vis 2D measurement. Twenty three cases of prenatal ultrasound examination were obtained from collaborating hospital after Ethical Committee's approval. The measured 2D ultrasonic marker is Nuchal Translucency or commonly abbreviated as NT. Descriptive analysis of both 2D and 3D ultrasound measurement were calculated. Three trial measurements were taken for each method. Both data were tested with One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test and results indicate that markers measurements were distributed normally with significant parametric values at 0.621 and 0.596 respectively. Computed mean and standard deviation for both measurement methods are 1.4495 ± 0.46490 (2D) and 1.3561 ± 0.50994 (3D). ANOVA test shows that computerized 3D measurements were found to be insignificantly different from the mean of conventional 2D at the significance level of 0.05. With Pearson's correlation coefficient value or R = 0.861, the result proves strong positive linear correlation between 2D and 3D ultrasonic measurements. Reproducibility and accuracy of 3D ultrasound in NT measurement was significantly increased compared with 2D B-mode ultrasound prenatal assessment. 3D reconstructed imaging has higher clinical values compare to 2D ultrasound images with less diagnostics information.

OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study is to examine the effects of a backrest: using a prototype of a lumbar support presented in author's earlier study on the discomfort rating of the body parts of motorcyclist. METHODS: One hundred motorcyclists participated in this study, all in good physical condition and with no immediate complaint of musculoskeletal disorders. Each participant was asked to sit for 2 hours on a motorcycle in two different sessions (with and without the lumbar support) in a controlled room environment. At every 15 minutes interval the participants were required to rate their discomfort level on the Borg's CR-10 questionnaire. RESULTS: The rate of discomfort level (in all body parts) decreased over time during the testing period with the prototype. In terms of the discomfort 'break point', participants identified low back and upper back as the most affected body parts prior to comfort changes during the testing period with the use of the prototype. CONCLUSIONS: The use of this prototype provides a protective mechanism for the motorcyclist's musculoskeletal system, particularly the spinal column. Therefore, this prototype is capable of providing ideal posture while simultaneously enhancing the comfortability of the motorcyclist during the riding process (by reducing discomfort).

The record of Gondwanan Mesozoic lizards is very poor. Among the few species described for this region there is Tijubina pontei, an Early Cretaceous lizard from the Crato Formation (late Aptian) of northeast Brazil. Its description is very brief and lacks most of its diagnostic characters and clear delimitation from other lizard species. Here, a full redescription of the holotype is provided. T. pontei is demonstrated to be a valid species and a new diagnosis is provided with reference to Olindalacerta brasiliensis, a contemporary species of the Crato Formation. It lacks the posteroventral and posterodorsal processes of the dentary; the tibial/fibular length equals the femoral length and its posterior dentary teeth are robust, cylindrically based, unsculptured and bear no cuspids. The systematic position of T. pontei still needs further clarification, but preliminary analyses indicate that it lies in a rather basal position among the Squamata, similarly to O. brasiliensis.

Mercury concentrations in carapace fragments of the green turtle Chelonia mydas from the Ceará coast in NE Brazil are reported. Concentrations varied from <0.34 to 856.6 ng.g -1 d.w., and were highest (average of 154.8 ng.g -1 d.w.) in juveniles (n = 22), whereas lowest concentrations (average of 2.5 ng.g -1 d.w.) were observed in adult/sub-adult animals (n = 3). There was a significant negative correlation between animal size and Hg concentration probably due to different diets between juveniles and sub-adults/adults. Carapace fragments, which are non-invasive, non-lethal substrates, may be of importance for monitoring purposes of these generally endangered species.

A novel biodegradable scaffold based on mimetic a natural bone tissue morphology with a porosity gradient structure was prepared in this paper. The result of surface morphology indicated that a graded porous structure was formed in the fabricated scaffold, where the dense layer (0%) was connected with the most porous layer (60%) by a middling porous layer (30%). To evaluate the degradability, graded porous scaffolds compared with homogeneous scaffolds were placed into a Tris-HCl buffer solution (pH = 7.4) for 28 days. It was found that both scaffolds presented the same degradation trend, and the graded porous structure did not change the original degradability of the scaffold. Moreover, the compressive strength of the graded porous scaffold was better than that of conventional homogeneous scaffold with the increase of degradation time, and the graded porous structure can enhanced the mechanical property of the scaffold. These findings suggest that this biodegradable and porosity-graded scaffold may be a new promising scaffold for loaded bone implant.

Let j be a positive integer. For each integer n &gt; j we consider the connectedness locus Mn of the family of polynomials Pc(z) = z n - cz n-j, where c is a complex parameter. We prove that lim n→&#8734; Mn = D in the Hausdorff topology, where D is the unitary closed disk {c;|c|<1}.

Chagasin may be considered a potential plant-incorporated protectant (PIP) protein due to its deleterious effects on insect pests. However, extensive safety studies with PIP's are necessary before introducing them into the target plant. Thus, a short-term feeding trial in rats with high doses of r-chagasin was conducted to provide evidences about its safety. Three test diets containing casein + r-chagasin (0.25, 0.5 and 1% of total protein) were offered to rats (10 days). The test diets did not show adverse effects upon the development, organ weight, hematological parameters and serum protein profiles of rats, providing preliminary information on the safety of r-chagasin.

The influence of tidal and diel changes on the exchange of Petrolisthes armatus planktonic larvae was studied at the Catuama inlet, which represents an intermediate system of marine and estuarine environments in the Northeast Brazil. To characterize the larval abundance and vertical distribution, samplings were carried out in August 2001 at neap tide and 3 stations, with 3 hours interval over 24 hours. Samples were taken at three or two depths at each station, with a plankton pump coupled to a 300 µm mesh size net. Petrolisthes armatus zoea I and II showed a mean of 26.3 ± 83.6 and 12 ± 38.8 ind m-3, respectively. During flood tides, the larvae were more concentrated in the midwater and surface, which avoided the transport to internal regions. In contrast, during ebb tides when the larvae were distributed in the three layers, the higher concentrations were found in the bottom, which avoided a major exportation. The diel dynamic of the larval fluxes was characterized by vertical migration behavior associated to the tidal regime, which suggested that the development of this decapod apparently occurs in the inner shelf (instead of the outer shelf) off this peculiar ecosystem.

Duguetia furfuracea (St. Hil.) Benth &amp; Hook f. (1862), popularly known as "sofre-do-rim-quem-quer" and "araticum-seco", is a shrub of the Annonaceae family that occurs in several regions of Brazil. In folk medicine the infusion of its leaves and twigs is used to treat rheumatism and renal colic, whereas the seed powder is mixed with water to treat pediculosis. Previous studies have described biological activities of this plant with cytotoxic, antitumoral, trypanocidal, leishmanicidal, antiplasmodial and antiprotozoal effects. In the present work, genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of Duguetia furfuracea lyophilized leaf extract were evaluated using the prophage λ induction test (SOS-Inductest) and mouse bone marrow micronucleus test. Our results showed that Duguetia furfuracea lyophilized leaf extract did not present an increase either in the induction of prophage λ (P&gt;0.05) using the SOS-inductest or in the micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (P&gt;0.05) using the micronucleus test, suggesting absence of genotoxicity in both tests. On the other hand, a significant decrease in the number of bacteria, (P<0.05), as well as a significant decrease in the polychromatic erythrocytes and normochromatic erythrocytes ratio, (P<0.05), were observed, showing the cytotoxic action of Duguetia furfuracea lyophilized leaf extract. Thus, Duguetia furfuracea did not present the genotoxic action, but showed a cytotoxic effect in both assays utilized in the present work.

The aim of this study was to describe the total density, densities of developmental stages and the reproduction period of Parasagitta friderici. Weekly samples were collected at one station in the channel of Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, during one year. Three vertical hauls were made for each sample, and P. friderici was separated, the developmental stages were identified, and body length (BL), ovary length (OL) and seminal vesicle width (SVW) were measured. Throughout the year P. friderici was the most abundant chaetognath species occurring in all four developmental stages, the densities of which varied from week to week. Higher densities of adults occurred in the spring, followed by peaks of juveniles in the summer. Although P. friderici seems to reproduce continuously in Guanabara Bay, a reproductive peak was apparent during the spring. The intensification of reproduction during the spring, with juveniles occurring in the summer, seems to be related to the period of higher food supply during the rainy season and intrusions of the South Atlantic Central Water.

This work describes an efficient micropropagation protocol for Verbena litoralis and the study of the antinociceptive and antioxidant activities in extracts of this species. For the establishment in vitro, surface-sterilization procedures and PVPP showed high efficiency in fungal-bacterial contamination and phenol oxidation controls. Nodal segments cultivation in MS medium supplemented with 6-benzyladenine (7.5 µM)/α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA; 0.005 µM) induced multiple shoots. Elongated shoots were rooted with IAA (0.2 µM). Acclimatization rates were elevated and the plants showed the typical features of this species. The hexanic fraction (HF) of powdered leaves presented a radical scavenging activity with IC50 = 169.3 µg mL-1. HF showed a non-dose dependent analgesic activity in the writhing test; its antinociceptive activity in the hot plate test was restricted to 500 mg kg-1, which is the highest dose. The results of this study showed the potential of tissue culture on conservation and large scale multiplication and confirmed the traditional folk medicine use of V. litoralis.

Multiple stress mechanisms have caused a worldwide decrease in seagrasses, which are vulnerable to environmental and/or anthropogenic pressure. The loss of seagrass meadows of Halodule wrightii is reported for the littoral of Itamaracá Island (Northeastern Brazil). The present study identified the main anthropogenic factors that negatively influenced over the abundance and distribution of seagrass meadows between July and September 2007 at the Jaguaribe and Pilar Beaches, Eastern littoral of Itamaracá. Anthropogenic impact included the discharge of untreated sewage through fluvial channels, urban and commercial development along the coast, the anchoring of motorized and non-motorized boats, diverse fishing techniques and the dumping of solid waste. The data indicates that the Pilar is an environment with a higher impact index (71.43%) when compared with the Jaguaribe (57.14%), standing out the number of boats with a central motor, the total number of boats, the presence of shellfish gatherers and coastal urban development. The present study reinforces the need for defining management and conservation measures for this ecosystem, which has high ecological and economic value.

Byrsonima sericea leaves are extensively used in folk medicine in Brazil against gastric disorders. This study investigated the chemical constituents of B. sericea leaf ethanolic extract (BSLE) and its potential gastroprotective activity, with its possible mechanism of the action using ethanol to induce gastric mucosal damage in mice. The phytochemical analysis was carried out to identify the active constituents present in the extract, and the HPLC analysis was performed for the identification of flavonoids. BSLE at oral doses of 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg markedly attenuated the ethanol-evoked gastric lesions by 53.2, 84.9 and 87.6 %, respectively. The BSLE (250 mg/kg) prevented the depletion of gastric mucus and gastric mucosal nonproteic-sulfhydryl groups, SOD and CAT, as well as the increase in the MDA content promoted by absolute ethanol. Moreover, the effect of BSLE against ethanol damage was found to be significantly reduced in mice pretreated with Capsazepine (i.p.), L-NAME (i.p.) or glibenclamide (i.p.), the respective blockers/inhibitors of TRPV1, NO synthase and K+ATP channel. The phytochemical investigation on BSLE revealed the presence of flavonoids rutin, isoquercitrin, kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside and quercetin, which are compounds well known for their antioxidant and gastroprotective properties. These results suggest that BSLE affords gastroprotection through multiple mechanisms, which may be helpful in the treatment of pathologies associated with gastric dysfunctions.

This study was designed to evaluate prey selection (type and size) by the octocoral Carijoa riisei at Porto de Galinhas beach, Northeast Brazil, relating prey availability in plankton with the content inside polyps. Diatoms and cyanophytes were the predominant items found in both polyp gastric cavity and plankton. A correlation between prey abundance in the plankton and in the gastric cavity of C. riisei polyps was observed. Mastogloia sp. showed the highest positive electivity index (0.99). Benthonic items were found, with 0.51% of total consumed preys. The size amplitude of prey items in the plankton was similar to those found inside the polyps, although the mean prey size in the polyps (112.7 µm) was significantly lower than the value found in the plankton (240.5 µm). Thus, the study indicates some size selectivity in this species or at least size limitation. From the results, we concluded that the octocoral C. riisei is an opportunistic polyphagous species in the Brazilian northeast coast, showing suspensivorous passive filtering feeding habit with a preference for small prey items and evidencing its important ecological role in the reefal ecosystem as responsible for bidirectional energy transference between pelagic zones and the benthos.

Selecting the best mining method among many alternatives is a multicriteria decision making problem. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the implementation of an integrated approach that employs AHP and PROMETHEE together for selecting the most suitable mining method for the "Coka Marin" underground mine in Serbia. The related problem includes five possible mining methods and eleven criteria to evaluate them. Criteria are accurately chosen in order to cover the most important parameters that impact on the mining method selection, such as geological and geotechnical properties, economic parameters and geographical factors. The AHP is used to analyze the structure of the mining method selection problem and to determine weights of the criteria, and PROMETHEE method is used to obtain the final ranking and to make a sensitivity analysis by changing the weights. The results have shown that the proposed integrated method can be successfully used in solving mining engineering problems.

This paper compares two medicinal species of Kalanchoe, which are often used interchangeably by the population, regarding the distribution of anthocyanins under the influence of four luminosity levels for 6 months. For the morphoanatomical analysis, the 6th stem node of each plant was sectioned. Usual histochemical tests revealed the presence of anthocyanins by cross sections of the stems, petioles and leaf blades. The petioles and leaf blades were submitted to the extraction with acidified methanol, and the anthocyanins were quantified by spectrophotometric readings. At the macroscopic level, it was noticed for both species a higher presence of anthocyanins in stems and petioles of plants under full sunlight. The microscopy of K. brasiliensis stems evidenced the deposition of anthocyanins in the subjacent tissue to the epidermis and cortex, which increased with light intensity. In K. pinnata a subepidermal collenchyma was observed, which interfered in the visualization of anthocyanins. In petioles and leaf blades of K. brasiliensis the deposition of anthocyanins was peripheral, and in K. pinnata it was also throughout the cortex. The quantification of anthocyanins in petioles showed in 70% of light higher averages than in 25%, but in leaf blades there were no significant results. This study contributes to the pharmacognosy of Kalanchoe and it is sustained by the description of flavonoids as biological markers of the genus.

The objective of this work was to study the density of trichomes and hydrocarbons associated with the resistance by antixenosis of 42 subsamples of tomato plants from the Horticultural Germplasm Bank of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (HGB-UFV) to Liriomyza trifolii. These subsamples were studied in addition to 'Santa Clara' cultivar, which was used as a standard of susceptibility to leafminers. The evaluated characteristics were the number of mined leaflets per plant, mines per plant, trichome density and chemical compounds in the leaves. Differences were detected among the subsamples in the variables studied. We identified 20 peaks in the chromatograms of leaf hexane extract the subsamples tested. The subsamples HGBs - 216, 813, 985, 987, 991, 992, 993, 1532, 1989, 1991, 2048, 2055, 2064, 2068, 2073, 2075, 2089, 2096 and 2097 were selected as sources of resistance to L. trifolii. The resistance mechanism associated to these subsamples was antixenosis. In addition, the low density of trichomes and the chemical compounds in the subsamples can be possible causes of pest resistance.

This paper aims at describing the population ecology of the swimming crab Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 in one of the most productive estuaries of Brazil, the Santa Cruz Channel. These crabs were monthly collected from January to December/2009 at four stations along the channel, two in the upper and two in the lower estuary. A total of 2373 specimens of C. danae were collected during the study. Males had a larger average carapace width than non-ovigerous females (60.0 ± 15.6 mm and 52.9 ± 12.4 mm, respectively), an adaptation that gives greater protection for females during the copulation. Overall sex ratio did not differ significantly from 1:1. However, evaluating sex-ratio by sampling area, males and juveniles of both sexes occurred preferentially in the upper estuary (p < 0.05), while adult females, including ovigerous, inhabited the lower estuary, an area of major marine influence (p < 0.05). While juveniles look for estuarine waters due to the benefit from the shelter and abundance of food, ovigerous females migrate to areas of greater depth and higher salinity in order to provide a more favorable environment for embryonic and larval development and to enhance larval dispersal. Recruitment of juveniles was continuous along the year, but intensified from March to June and, with less intensity, from October to December

Neste artigo examina-se a influência da variável secundária como função da correlação com a variável primária na cokrigagem colocalizada. Para este estudo cinco bases de dados completas foram geradas no computador a partir das quais amostras com 60 e 104 pontos de dados foram retirados através do método de amostragem aleatória estratificada. Estas bases de dados completas foram geradas partindo-se de um par de variáveis, primária e secundária, que apresentam boa correlação. Então sucessivos conjuntos foram gerados adicionando-se uma quantidade de ruído branco de modo que a correlação se tornasse menor. Utilizando-se estas amostras foi possível encontrar o quanto as informações primária e secundária são utilizadas na estimativa de um ponto não amostrado conforme o nível de correlação.

Directional effects introduce a variability in reflectance and vegetation index determination, especially when large field-of-view sensors are used (e.g., Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer - MODIS). In this study, we evaluated directional effects on MODIS reflectance and four vegetation indices (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index - NDVI; Enhanced Vegetation Index - EVI; Normalized Difference Water Index - NDWI1640 and NDWI2120) with the soybean development in two growing seasons (2004-2005 and 2005-2006). To keep the reproductive stage for a given cultivar as a constant factor while varying viewing geometry, pairs of images obtained in close dates and opposite view angles were analyzed. By using a non-parametric statistics with bootstrapping and by normalizing these indices for angular differences among viewing directions, their sensitivities to directional effects were studied. Results showed that the variation in MODIS reflectance between consecutive phenological stages was generally smaller than that resultant from viewing geometry for closed canopies. The contrary was observed for incomplete canopies. The reflectance of the first seven MODIS bands was higher in the backscattering. Except for the EVI, the other vegetation indices had larger values in the forward scattering direction. Directional effects decreased with canopy closure. The NDVI was lesser affected by directional effects than the other indices, presenting the smallest differences between viewing directions for fixed phenological stages.