99 research outputs found
Total substitution of dietary fish oil by vegetable oils stimulates muscle hypertrophic growth in Senegalese sole and the upregulation of fgf6
No full textThe long term effects of fish oil (FO) substitution by increasing the levels of vegetable oils (VO), 0% (CTR), 50% (VO50) and 100% (VO100), in diets for Senegalese sole were evaluated in terms of skeletal muscle cellularity and expression of related genes. After 140 days of feeding, all fish had similar body weight and length. The inclusion of 50% VO did not result in differences in muscle cellularity, but dorsal muscle cross-sectional area and fast-twitch fibre diameter increased in fish fed total FO substitution, whilst fibre density was reduced (P < 0.05) in relation to CTR. The total number of fibres was similar in all treatments. FO substitution did not affect the transcript levels of myogenic genes (myf5, mrf4, myog, myod1, myod2), but resulted in a two-fold increase of fgf6 transcript levels compared to CTR (P < 0.05). The relative expression of igf-I was higher in VO100 than in VO50, but was similar to CTR. FO substitution resulted in cellularity changes related to the stimulation of muscle hypertrophic growth, but not hyperplastic growth, and associated with a nutritional modulation of fgf6 by dietary VO. This study indicates that 50% VO does not affect the muscle phenotype, but total FO substitution stimulates muscle hypertrophy. © 2017 The Royal Society of Chemistry.This work was partially supported by NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000038, in the context of the North Region Operational Programme (ON.2-O Novo Norte), under the project Sustainable Aquaculture and Animal Welfare (AQUAIMPROV) and the FCT research strategic funding UID/Multi/04423/2013
Acyl-coenzyme A oxidases 1 and 3 in brown trout (Salmo trutta f. fario): Can peroxisomal fatty acid β-oxidation be regulated by estrogen signaling?
No full textAcyl-coenzyme A oxidases 1 (Acox1) and 3 (Acox3) are key enzymes in the regulation of lipid homeostasis. Endogenous and exogenous factors can disrupt their normal expression/activity. This study presents for the first time the isolation and characterization of Acox1 and Acox3 in brown trout (Salmo trutta f. fario). Additionally, as previous data point to the existence of a cross-talk between two nuclear receptors, namely peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors and estrogen receptors, it was here evaluated after in vitro exposures of trout hepatocytes the interference caused by ethynylestradiol in the mRNA levels of an inducible (by peroxisome proliferators) and a non-inducible oxidase. The isolated Acox1 and Acox3 show high levels of sequence conservation compared to those of other teleosts. Additionally, it was found that Acox1 has two alternative splicing isoforms, corresponding to 3I and 3II isoforms of exon 3 splicing variants. Both isoforms display tissue specificity, with Acox1–3II presenting a more ubiquitous expression in comparison with Acox1–3I. Acox3 was expressed in almost all brown trout tissues. According to real-time PCR data, the highest estrogenic stimulus was able to cause a down-regulation of Acox1 and an up-regulation of Acox3. So, for Acox1 we found a negative association between an estrogenic input and a directly activated PPARα target gene. In conclusion, changes in hormonal estrogenic stimulus may impact the mobilization of hepatic lipids to the gonads, with ultimate consequences in reproduction. Further studies using in vivo assays will be fundamental to clarify these issues. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.Study supported by the ERDF—European Regional Development Fund, through the COMPETE—Operational Competitiveness Programme, and by National Public Funds through FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology, primarily under Project “PTDC/CVT/115618/2009,” post-doc Grant [SFRH/BPD/97139/2013 to T.V.M.] and additionally by Project “UID/Multi/04423/2013.
Obesogens in the aquatic environment: an evolutionary and toxicological perspective
No full textThe rise of obesity in humans is a major health concern of our times, affecting an increasing proportion of the population worldwide. It is now evident that this phenomenon is not only associated with the lack of exercise and a balanced diet, but also due to environmental factors, such as exposure to environmental chemicals that interfere with lipid homeostasis. These chemicals, also known as obesogens, are present in a wide range of products of our daily life, such as cosmetics, paints, plastics, food cans and pesticide-treated food, among others. A growing body of evidences indicates that their action is not limited to mammals. Obesogens also end up in the aquatic environment, potentially affecting its ecosystems. In fact, reports show that some environmental chemicals are able to alter lipid homeostasis, impacting weight, lipid profile, signaling pathways and/or protein activity, of several taxa of aquatic animals. Such perturbations may give rise to physiological disorders and disease. Although largely unexplored from a comparative perspective, the key molecular components implicated in lipid homeostasis have likely appeared early in animal evolution. Therefore, it is not surprising that the obesogen effects are found in other animal groups beyond mammals. Collectively, data indicates that suspected obesogens impact lipid metabolism across phyla that have diverged over 600 million years ago. Thus, a consistent link between environmental chemical exposure and the obesity epidemic has emerged. This review aims to summarize the available information on the effects of putative obesogens in aquatic organisms, considering the similarities and differences of lipid homeostasis pathways among metazoans, thus contributing to a better understanding of the etiology of obesity in human populations. Finally, we identify the knowledge gaps in this field and we set future research priorities. © 2017 ElsevierThis work was supported by Norte2020 and FEDER (Coral?Sustainable Ocean Exploitation?Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000036). Ana Capit?o was supported by the Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia [SFRH/BD/90664/2012]
Determination of the pKa values of sparingly soluble substances in water revisited: application to some benzodiazepines
No full textIdentifying the gaps: Resources and perspectives on the use of nuclear receptor based-assays to improve hazard assessment of emerging contaminants
No full textAn important resource for understanding bio-adhesion mechanisms: Cement gland transcriptomes of two goose barnacles, Pollicipes pollicipes and Lepas anatifera (Cirripedia, Thoracica)
No full textBarnacles are sessile organisms globally distributed in marine and estuarine environments. The production of protein-based adhesives by cement glands is crucial for these organisms and plays a vital role in substrate attachment, thus inspiring biotechnological applications. Moreover, barnacles belong to bio-fouling communities, whose fixation onto man-made surfaces is of interest in terms of control and imposes an enormous economic cost on maritime industries. Here, we generated the first de novo assembly of cement gland transcriptomes of Pollicipes pollicipes (rocky-shore goose barnacle) and Lepas anatifera (pelagic goose barnacle) (Cirripedia, Thoracica), to generate molecular resources for understanding the bio-adhesion process in Cirripedia and to provide data for biotechnology. Via the Illumina next-generation sequencing technology, a total of 43.7 and 40.2 million (M) paired-end (PE) clean reads were obtained for P. pollicipes (PP) and L. anatifera (LA), respectively. De novo assemblies resulted in 116,377 transcripts for PP and 94,143 for LA, with N50 s of 1181 and 1028 bp, respectively. The Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCO) showed 78.7% (PP) and 91.7% (LA) of transcriptome completeness, in terms of expected gene content, for the Arthropoda phylum in each species. These results represent a substantial resource for expanding the knowledge on Cirripedia adhesion mechanisms and for contributions to the gene annotation of Crustacea where molecular resources are presently insufficient. © 2018 ElsevierThis work was supported by the CY-Sensors project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032359 ) through Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal and the INNOVMAR project: Innovation and Sustainability in the Management and Exploitation of Marine Resources ( NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000035 ), Research Line NOVELMAR. The Transnational Access program of the European Marine Biology Resource Infrastructure Cluster (EMBRIC), European Union project (ID: 654008 ) funded under H2020 - EU.1.4.1.1 “Developing new world-class research infrastructures” provided support for transcriptome analysis at the HCMR Biocluster in Crete (Project No. 2757 ) and the mission costs of I·C. to Crete. I.C was supported by and FCT , Portugal fellowship ( SFRH/BPD/110020/2015 ). The research of A.M.M. and L.F.C.C. was supported by the MarInfo – Integrated Platform for Marine Data Acquisition and Analysis ( NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000031 ), a project supported by the North Portugal Regional Operational Program ( NORTE 2020 ), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European-Union. We would also like to acknowledge C. Frangoulis and E. Pettas from the Institute of Oceanography at HCMR for the sampling of L. anatifera in Gournes, Crete, and T. Neuparth for helping with RNA extraction. Appendix
Diagnóstico para gestão do Imposto Predial e Territorial Urbano
No full textTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil, Florianópolis, 2009Em relação aos sistemas de gestão do Imposto Predial Territorial Urbano (IPTU), boa parte dos municípios brasileiros convive com inúmeros problemas, tais como a falta de metodologias adequadas para determinação do valor venal dos imóveis, falhas na legislação tributária e cadastros fiscais desatualizados. O presente trabalho evidencia a importância da identificação prévia dos problemas existentes na gestão do IPTU e propõe também uma metodologia de diagnóstico para identificar os principais erros. Além disso, o presente estudo pretende demonstrar os procedimentos a serem adotados no diagnóstico para a verificação da atualidade dos dados e de sua qualidade, de modo a servir de parâmetro para um prognóstico das ações a serem desenvolvidas em projetos de atualização cadastral, modernização da gestão do IPTU ou, eventualmente, de reestruturação da gestão. Contudo, todos os procedimentos devem ter por base mecanismos capazes de evitar erros conceituais e que possam permitir a utilização de um sistema de gestão eficaz e eficiente.Regarding the systems of urban real estate property tax management, a large number of Brazilian municipalities are faced with several problems, such as the lack of adequate methodologies to determine the real estate properties venal values, flaws related to the tributary legislation, and outdated fiscal cadastres as well. This study evidences the importance of a previous identification in relation to the existing inconsistencies in the urban real estate property tax management in Brazil and it proposes a methodology for the diagnosis in order to identify the main errors. Additionally, this study is aimed at showing the procedures to be adopted to verify the data and their quality so that they may be used as parameter for a forecast of actions to be developed in cadastre update projects, modernization of the tax management or the management restructuration. Nonetheless, all of the procedures should be based on devices that may minimize conceptual errors and allow for the use of an efficient and effective tax management system
Two alternative pathways for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) biosynthesis are widespread among teleost fish
No full textDocosahexaenoic acid (DHA) plays important physiological roles in vertebrates. Studies in rats and rainbow trout confirmed that DHA biosynthesis proceeds through the so-called "Sprecher pathway", a biosynthetic process requiring a Δ6 desaturation of 24:5n-3 to 24:6n-3. Alternatively, some teleosts possess fatty acyl desaturases 2 (Fads2) that enable them to biosynthesis DHA through a more direct route termed the "Δ4 pathway". In order to elucidate the prevalence of both pathways among teleosts, we investigated the Δ6 ability towards C24 substrates of Fads2 from fish with different evolutionary and ecological backgrounds. Subsequently, we retrieved public databases to identify Fads2 containing the YXXN domain responsible for the Δ4 desaturase function, and consequently enabling these species to operate the Δ4 pathway. We demonstrated that, with the exception of Δ4 desaturases, fish Fads2 have the ability to operate as Δ6 desaturases towards C24 PUFA enabling them to synthesise DHA through the Sprecher pathway. Nevertheless, the Δ4 pathway represents an alternative route in some teleosts and we identified the presence of putative Δ4 Fads2 in a further 11 species and confirmed the function as Δ4 desaturases of Fads2 from medaka and Nile tilapia. Our results demonstrated that two alternative pathways for DHA biosynthesis exist in teleosts. © 2017 The Author(s).A.O. is a Commonwealth scholar funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (NGCS-2014-438) in the UK. N.K. was funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science through Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Research Fellow. DRT and OM were partly supported by the Major International Joint Research Project from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (No. 31110103913)
Um estudo do comportamento de alunos de graduação no processo decisório frente a custos perdidos
No full textTCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro Sócio-Econômico. Economia.Quando ao tomar uma decisão o individuo considerar o quanto já investiu financeiramente em um projeto, diz-se que ele está cometendo o erro de sunk costs, ou seja, está levando em consideração investimentos anteriores que não podem mais ser modificados na hora de tomar as decisões. O objetivo da presente pesquisa foi analisar o comportamento de alunos de graduação na tomada de decisão frente a custos perdidos. Para tanto elaborou-se um questionário com quatro questões, sendo que estes foram divididos em A, B e C, pois em cada um dos tipos a ultima questão era adaptada, sendo denominadas respectivamente de 4.1, 4.2 e 4.3 onde continham dados diferentes a cerca do valor já gasto num determinado projeto. Nos resultados obtidos nos três primeiros cenários apresentados não houve a incidência de custos perdidos na maioria dos respondentes que aparentemente não se importaram com os custos que já incorreram e que não podem mais ser evitados, independendo da decisão a ser tomada. Mas como pode ser visto, não se pode deixar de destacar que uma parte dos respondentes foi afetada pelos custos incorridos, como no cenário de férias onde 30% dos alunos foram afetados, no cenário dos filmes 41,67%, já no cenário da apresentação de dança X cinema apenas 21,67% e, no quarto cenário, o do projeto de um novo produto, pode-se perceber que dependendo do valor já gasto no projeto, afetava ou não a decisão dos respondentes em continuar a investir ou não. Quanto maior o valor gasto, maior a propensão a continuar com o investimento, considerando-se assim que o comportamento dos indivíduos na tomada de decisão deve, sim, ser levado em consideração. Pode-se observar que o objetivo proposto, de analisar o comportamento de alunos de graduação na tomada de decisão frente a custos perdidos, foi alcançado. Pois com a realização deste trabalho e com os estudos existentes, não há dúvidas de que os custos perdidos afetam o comportamento dos indivíduos, e é muito importante entender a forma de como as pessoas tomam suas decisões em diversas situações, pois cada decisão tomada pode ter conseqüências futuras
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