15 research outputs found
Bubble Size Effect on the Gas-lift Technique
No full textThe gas-lift technique uses gas injection in vertical oil wells to decrease the gravitational pressure drop. The decreased pressure in the production pipe results in an increase of the pressure drop from the reservoir to the oil well and enhances the oil production. In this thesis we investigated the influence of the bubble size and initial concentration distribution on the gas-lift technique efficiency. A vertical upward bubbly pipe flow of air and water is used, with a height of 18m and a diameter of 72mm. The flow velocity conditions investigated in the experiments were representative of practical gas-lift circumstances. Different bubble injectors were tested in order to vary the size and initial concentration distribution of the bubbles. The influence of the initial concentration distribution was limited. The effect of bubble size, on the contrary, was significant. It was due to three contributions: the effect of the bubble size on the flow pattern changes, on the radial distribution (of void fraction and of gas and liquid velocity) and on the relative velocity between the gas and the liquid. To study separately these different contributions associated with bubble size changes we developed and used local measurement techniques. We investigated the possibility of Laser-Doppler Anemometry (LDA) measurements in bubbly flows. These tests were conducted in two different experimental configurations, corresponding to a stirred vessel and a pipe flow. To determine the size and the velocity of the bubbles a four-point optical fibre probe was validated and used. We also developed a method for estimating the bubble shape and orientation based on the time series provided by the four-point optical fibre probe. This method was first validated and then applied to our multiple bubbles pipe flow conditions. We then studied the effects of bubble size and concentration distribution on the gas-lift technique. In general it can be concluded that a decreasing bubble size increases the efficiency of the gas-lift technique. This is, among others, caused by the fact that the initial bubble size significantly affected the flow pattern transition from bubbly flow to slug flow. This effect could be described by using a bubble size dependent critical void fraction relation for the transition from bubbly flow to slug flow. With decreasing bubble size the transition shifts to larger values of the void fraction. Measurements were conducted to measure the influence of the bubble size on the velocity profile of gas and liquid and on the bubble concentration profile. For this purpose the four-point probe optical fibre probe and the LDA measurement technique were used. The velocity and concentration profiles were strongly influenced by the bubble size. Also the parameters C0 and Udrift of the drift-flux model are therefore bubble-size dependent. Based on the measurements, mathematical relations have been developed to describe these bubble size effects on the drift-flux parameters. We also developed a numerical model based on the Euler-Euler modelling approach for predicting the radial profiles of the void fraction and velocity as a function of the relevant parameters, such as bubble size. The predictions were in reasonable agreement with experimental data.Applied Science
Use Of Nafion® Membranes For The Construction Of Optical Sensors For Ph Measurements [uso De Membranas De Nafion Para A Construção De Sensores ópticos Para Medidas De Ph]
No full textThe behaviour of Nafion® polymeric membranes containing acid-base dyes, bromothymol blue (BB) and methyl violet (MV), were studied aiming at constructing an optical sensor for pH measurement. BB revealed to be inadequate for developing sensing phases due to the electrostatic repulsion between negative groups of their molecules and the negative charge of the sulfonate group of the Nafion®, which causes leaching of the dye from the membrane. On the other hand, MV showed to be suitable due to the presence of positive groups in its structure. The membrane prepared from a methanolic solution whose Nafion®/dye molar ratio was 20 presented the best analytical properties, changing its color from green to violet in the pH range from 0.6 to 3.0. The membrane can be prepared with good reproducibility, presenting durability of ca. 6 months and response time of 22 s, making possible its use for pH determination in flow analysis systems.285932936Newcombe, D.T., Cardwell, T.J., Cattral, R.W., Kolev, S.D., (1999) Anal. Chim. Acta, 401, p. 137Mohr, J.G., Wolfbeis, O.S., (1994) Anal. Chim. Acta, 292, p. 41Madden, J.E., Cardwell, T.J., Cattral, R.W., Deady, L.W., (1996) Anal. Chim. Acta, 319, p. 129Borman, S.A., (1981) Anal. Chem., 53, pp. 1616ASotomayor, M.P.T., (1996), Dissertação de Mestrado, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, BrasilWolfbeis, O.S., (1991) Fiber Optic Chemical Sensors and Biosensors, 1. , CRC Press: Boca Raton, cap. 8Sotomayor, M.P.T., (2000), Dissertação de Doutorado, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, BrasilShulman, S.G., Chen, S., Bai, F., Leiner, L.W., Wolfbeis, O.S., (1995) Anal. Chim. Acta, 304, p. 165Weighl, B.H., Holobar, A., (1993) Anal. Chim. Acta, 282, p. 335Posch, H.E., Leiner, M.J.P., Wolfbeis, O.S., (1989) Anal. Chim. Acta, 334, p. 162Holobar, A., Weighl, B.M., Trettnak, T., Benes, R., Lehmann, H., Rodriguez, N.V., Wollschalager, A., Wolfbeis, O.S., (1993) Sens. Actuators, B, 11, p. 425Werner, T., Wolfbeis, O.S., (1993) Anal. Chim. Acta, 346, p. 564Zhujun, Z., Seitz, W.R., (1984) Anal. Chim. Acta, 160, p. 47Taib, M.N., Narayanaswamy, R., (1995) Analyst, 120, p. 1617Moreno, M.C., Jiménez, M., Conde, C.P., Cámara, C., (1990) Anal. Chim. Acta, 230, p. 35Lin, J., (2000) Trends Anal. Chem., 19, p. 541Oliveira, W.A., (1996) Quim. Nova, 19, p. 77Skoog, D.A., Holler, F.J., Nieman, T.A., (2002) Princípios Da Análise Instrumental, 5 a Ed., , Bookman: Porto AlegreGuthrie, A.J., Narayanaswamy, R., Welti, N.A., (1988) Talanta, 35, p. 157Lin, J., Liu, D., (2000) Anal. Chim. Acta, 408, p. 49Motellier, S., Toulhoat, P., (1993) Anal. Chim. Acta, 271, p. 323Walt, D.R., Gabor, G., (1993) Anal. Chim. Acta, 274, p. 47Taib, M.N., Andres, R., Narayanaswamy, R., (1996) Anal. Chim. Acta, 330, p. 31Chan, C.M., Fung, C.S., Wong, K.Y., Lo, W., (1998) Analyst, 123, p. 1843Sun, L.X., Okada, T., (2000) Anal. Chim. Acta, 421, p. 84Krause, C., Werner, T., Wolfbeis, O.S., (1998) Anal. Sci., 14, p. 163Bright, F.V., Poirier, G.E., Hiefje, G.M., (1988) Talanta, 35, p. 113Ertas, N., Akkaya, E.U., Ataman, O.Y., (2000) Talanta, 51, p. 693Mohan, H., Iyer, R.M., (1993) Analyst, 118, p. 929Allain, L.R., Xue, Z., (2000) Anal. Chem., 72, p. 1078Brook, T.E., Taib, M.N., Narayanaswamy, R., (1997) Sens. Actuators, B, 38-39, p. 272Sadaoka, Y., Matsugushi, M., Sakai, Y., Murata, Y., (1992) Sens. Actuators, B, 7, p. 443Sadaoka, Y., Matsugushi, M., Sakai, Y., Murata, Y., (1992) J. Mater. Sci., 27, p. 5095Sadaoka, Y., Matsugushi, M., Sakai, Y., Murata, Y., (1991) Sens. Actuators, A, 25-27, p. 489Sadaoka, Y., Matsugushi, M., Sakai, Y., Murata, Y., (1991) Chem. Lett., 4, p. 717Sadaoka, Y., Matsugushi, M., Sakai, Y., Murata, Y., (1991) J. Electrochem. Soc., 138, p. 614Sadaoka, Y., Matsugushi, M., Sakai, Y., Murata, Y., (1993) J. Mater. Sci., 3, p. 247Raimundo, I.M., Narayanaswamy, R., (1999) Analyst, 124, p. 1623Raimundo, I.M., Narayanaswamy, R., (2000) Quim. Anal., 19, p. 127Huber, C., Klimant, I., Krause, C., Werner, T., Mayr, T., Wolfbeis, O.S., (2000) Fresenius J. Anal. Chem., 368, p. 196Ballantine, D.S., Callahan, D., (1992) Talanta, 39, p. 1658Perrin, D.D., Dempsey, D., (1956) Buffers for pH and Metal Ion Control, , Chapman & Hall: Boston, cap.10Otsuki, S., Adachi, K., (1995) J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 56, p. 697Bishop, E., (1972) Indicators, , Pergamon Press: Oxford, cap. 4Sotomayor, P.T., Raimundo, I.M., Zarbin, A.J.G., Rohwedder, J.J.R., Oliveira, G., Alves, O.L., (2001) Sens. Actuators, B, 74, p. 157Baker, M.E.J., Naraynaswamy, R., (1995) Sens. Actuators, B, 29, p. 369Guan, J.Q., Dai, Z.F., Tung, C.H., Peng, B.X., (1998) J. Photochem. Photobiol., A, 114, p. 45John, S.A., Ramaraj, R., (1997) J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 65, p. 786Baldini, F., Falai, A., Gaudio, A.R., Landi, D., Lueger, A., Mencaglia, A., Scherr, D., Trettnak, W., (2003) Sens. Actuators, B, 90, p. 13
Personalized Training in Romanian SME’s ERP Implementation Projects
No full textMany practitioners and IS researchers have stated that the overwhelming majority of Enter-prise Resource Planning (ERP) systems implementations exceed their training budget and their time allocations. In consequence many Romanian SMEs that implement an ERP system are looking to new approaches of knowledge transfer and performance support that are better aligned with business goals, deliver measurable results and are cost effective. Thus, we have begun to analyze the training methods used in ERP implementation in order to provide a so-lution that could help us maximize the efficiency of an ERP training program. We proposed a framework of an ERPTraining module that can be integrated with a Romanian ERP system and which provides a training management that is more personalized, effective and less ex-pensive.ERP Systems, Training Methods, Blended Learning
Elesclomol restores mitochondrial function in genetic models of copper deficiency
No full text© The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 115 (2018): 8161-8166, doi:10.1073/pnas.1806296115.Copper is an essential cofactor of cytochrome c oxidase (CcO), the terminal enzyme of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Inherited loss-of-function mutations in several genes encoding proteins required for copper delivery to CcO result in diminished CcO activity and severe pathologic conditions in affected infants. Copper supplementation restores CcO function in patient cells with mutations in two of these genes, COA6 and SCO2, suggesting a potential therapeutic approach. However, direct copper supplementation has not been therapeutically effective in human patients, underscoring the need to identify highly efficient copper transporting pharmacological agents. By using a candidate-based approach, we identified an investigational anticancer drug, elesclomol (ES), that rescues respiratory defects of COA6-deficient yeast cells by increasing mitochondrial copper content and restoring CcO activity. ES also rescues respiratory defects in other yeast mutants of copper metabolism, suggesting a broader applicability. Low nanomolar concentrations of ES reinstate copper-containing subunits of CcO in a zebrafish model of copper deficiency and in a series of copper-deficient mammalian cells, including those derived from a patient with SCO2 mutations. These findings reveal that ES can restore intracellular copper homeostasis by mimicking the function of missing transporters and chaperones of copper, and may have potential in treating human disorders of copper metabolism.This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Awards R01GM111672 (to V.M.G.), R01 DK110195 (to B.-E.K.), and DK 44464 (to J.D.G.); Welch Foundation Grant A-1810 (to V.M.G.); and Canadian Institutes of Health Research Operating Grant MOP 133562 (to S.C.L.)
O processo de trabalho do NASF e sua articulação com a ESF: potencialidades para a integralidade
No full textTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Enfermagem, Florianópolis, 2014A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar o processo de trabalho dos profissionais do Núcleo de Apoio à Saúde da Família (NASF) e sua articulação com as equipes de Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF), no município de Florianópolis, sob a ótica da integralidade. Como referencial teórico utilizou-se as Diretrizes do Núcleo de Apoio à Saúde da Família e a Integralidade. Trata-se de uma pesquisa com proposta metodológica de estudo de caso, contemplando duas abordagens: quantitativa e qualitativa. O cenário da pesquisa foram os Centros de Saúde do Município de Florianópolis, distribuídos em cinco Distritos Sanitários. Os dados quantitativos foram coletados por um questionário autoaplicado e submetidos à análise estatística descritiva. Participou dessa abordagem quantitativa 243 profissionais da Atenção Primária em Saúde (APS), sendo 198 integrantes das equipes de ESF e 45 das equipes do NASF. Os dados qualitativos foram coletados por meio de entrevista semiestruturada, observação e pesquisa documental contando com a participação de 36 profissionais, sendo 10 da ESF, 20 do NASF e 06 representantes dos Distritos Sanitários. Esses dados foram analisados e interpretados de acordo com a análise textual discursiva, com o apoio do software de análise qualitativa ATLAS.TI. Os resultados quantitativos e qualitativos foram paralelos e complementares.Demonstraram que o NASF vem crescendo e se fortalecendo ao longo dos anos no âmbito da APS, e o impacto que vem provocando é inegável, como uma ferramenta tecnológica inovadora que potencializa a assistência das equipes de ESF. Evidenciou-se um conhecimento acerca do processo de trabalho do NASF, e em menor proporção, acerca da instrução normativa das Diretrizes do NASF. O acesso ao NASF acontece preferencialmente através dos profissionais da ESF; o apoio oferecido aponta para uma dimensão técnico-pedagógica e assistencial, destacando-se as ações clínicas compartilhadas, com a discussão de casos clínicos, existindo um fator positivo em relação ao planejamento do processo de trabalho quando são garantidos espaços para que este aconteça. O processo de trabalho do NASF e sua articulação com as equipes de ESF estão em construção, e evidenciam-se algumas potencialidades e limites. Ampliar a assistência da APS é um dos avanços em potencial, corroborado pela inserção dos novos núcleos de conhecimento, troca de saberes, interdisciplinaridade, qualidade da assistência, entre outros. Os limites que desafiam a articulação entre o NASF e ESF circulam tanto na dimensão assistencial como na técnicopedagógica, expressando fragilidades na organização, conhecimento do processo de trabalho e território, infraestrutura, recursos humanos e materiais. Existe um descompasso entre a percepção e a ação do trabalho em equipe, indicando certa dificuldade em realizá-lo. É revelada a lógica de um trabalho fragmentado, que demanda por espaços de discussão do processo de trabalho pelos atores envolvidos. As relações estabelecidas no processo de trabalho do NASF e da ESF estão diretamente associadas ao perfil dos profissionais, das equipes e aos recursos materiais e humanos disponibilizados e organizados pela gestão e demais sujeitos envolvidos. O trabalho interdisciplinar é percebido como uma ferramenta importante na articulação do processo de trabalho do NASF e da ESF, sendo reconhecido o desafio da construção de uma prática interdisciplinar. Do processo de trabalho, identifica-se a característica que potencializa a integralidade do cuidado, que possibilita um crescimento do conhecimento, amplia as ações na APS e aumenta a resolutividade. A construção da integralidade é considerada um desafio, que se fortalece nas práticas cotidianas e nos diálogos entre os profissionais de saúde. Por fim, confirma-se a tese de que a articulação entre profissionais do NASF e equipes da Estratégia Saúde da Família sofre limitações, inclusive da própria organização do processo de trabalho, ao mesmo tempo em que representa um importante potencializador da integralidade na atenção básica à saúde.Abstract: The study aimed to analyze the working process at the Supporting Nucleus for Family Health (NASF) and its articulation with teams of the Family Health Strategy (ESF) under the integrality perspective, in the municipality of Florianopolis. As a theoretical framework, it was possible to use the Supporting Nucleus for Family Health and Integrality. It is a survey with a methodological proposal focusing on the case study considering two approaches: quantitative and qualitative. Health centers distributed in five health districts were the research scenarios, in Florianópolis. Quantitative data were collected by a selfadministered questionnaire and subjected to descriptive statistical analysis. There was a participation of 243 professionals in that quantitative approach of the Primary Health Care (APS), with 198 members of ESF groups and 45 others from NASF teams. Qualitative data collection was through semi-structured interviews, observation and documentary research with the participation of 36 professionals, 10 from ESF, 20 from NASF and 6 representatives of the Sanitary Districts. Data were analyzed and interpreted according to discursive textual analysis, with the support of qualitative analysis software ATLAS.TI. Quantitative and qualitative results were parallel and complementary. They demonstrated that the NASF is growing and getting stronger over the years within the APS, and the impact as an innovative technological tool that enhances the ESF assistance teams is undeniable. It became evident some knowledge about the working process of NASF, and to alesser extent, on the normative instruction from NASF Guidelines. NASF access occurs preferentially through ESF professionals. The support offered points to care and technical-pedagogical dimension, highlighting clinical actions shared with the discussion of clinical cases, and there is a positive factor in relation to the working process planning when spaces are guaranteed to do that. The working process of the NASF and its articulation with the FHS teams are under construction and show up some possibilities and limitations. Expand the assistance of APS is one of the advances in potential, corroborated by the insertion of new knowledge hubs, exchange of knowledge, interdisciplinarity, quality of care, among others. The boundaries defying articulation between NASF and ESF circulate intechnical-pedagogical and care dimension expressing the organization's weaknesses, working process knowledge and territory, infrastructure, human resources and materials. There is a gap between perception and teamwork action indicating some difficulty in performing it. It appeared the logic of a fragmented work that demand discussion spaces of the work process by the actors involved. The relations established in the working process of NASF and ESF are directly associated to the professionals' profile, teams, human and material resources available and organized by the management and other subjects involved. The interdisciplinary work is a valuable tool in the working process articulation of NASF and ESF, and it is possible to recognize the challenge of building an interdisciplinary practice. The labor process identifies the feature that potentiates care integrality, enables knowledge growth, expands actions in the APS and increases resolvability. The integrality construction is considered a challenge that gets stronger in daily practices and dialogues between health professionals. Finally, it is possible to confirm the thesis that articulation between NASF professionals and Family Health Strategy teams suffers concrete limitations, including the very organization of working process. At the same time, it represents a significant integrality potentiator in the primary health care
Life cycle assessment and environmental profile evaluation of lead-free piezoelectrics in comparison with lead zirconate titanate
No full text© 2018 The Author(s) The prohibition of lead in many electronic components and devices due to its toxicity has reinvigorated the race to develop substitutes for lead zirconate titanate (PZT) based mainly on the potassium sodium niobate (KNN) and sodium bismuth titanate (NBT). However, before successful transition from laboratory to market, critical environmental assessment of all aspects of their fabrication and development must be carried out in comparison with PZT. Given the recent findings that KNN is not intrinsically ‘greener' than PZT, there is a tendency to see NBT as the solution to achieving environmentally lead-free piezoelectrics competitive with PZT. The lower energy consumed by NBT during synthesis results in a lower overall environmental profile compared to both PZT and KNN. However, bismuth and its oxide are mainly the by-product of lead smelting and comparison between NBT and PZT indicates that the environmental profile of bismuth oxide surpasses that of lead oxide across several key indicators, especially climate change, due to additional processing and refining steps which pose extra challenges in metallurgical recovery. Furthermore, bismuth compares unfavourably with lead due to its higher energy cost of recycling. The fact that roughly 90–95% of bismuth is derived as a by-product of lead smelting also constitutes a major concern for future upscaling. As such, NBT and KNN do not offer absolute competitive edge from an environmental perspective in comparison to PZT. The findings in this work have global practical implications for future Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) legislation for piezoelectric materials and demonstrate the need for a holistic approach to the development of sustainable functional materials
Seven newly identified loci for autoimmune thyroid disease
No full textAutoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), including Graves' disease (GD) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), is one of the most common of the immune-mediated diseases. To further investigate the genetic determinants of AITD, we conducted an association study using a custom-made single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array, the ImmunoChip. The SNP array contains all known and genotype-able SNPs across 186 distinct susceptibility loci associated with one or more immune-mediated diseases. After stringent quality control, we analysed 103 875 common SNPs (minor allele frequency >0.05) in 2285 GD and 462 HT patients and 9364 controls. We found evidence for seven new AITD risk loci (P < 1.12 � 10-6; a permutation test derived significance threshold), five at locations previously associated and two at locations awaiting confirmation, with other immune-mediated diseases. © The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press.</p
Seven newly identified loci for autoimmune thyroid disease
No full textAutoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), including Graves' disease (GD) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), is one of the most common of the immune-mediated diseases. To further investigate the genetic determinants of AITD, we conducted an association study using a custom-made single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array, the ImmunoChip. The SNP array contains all known and genotype-able SNPs across 186 distinct susceptibility loci associated with one or more immune-mediated diseases. After stringent quality control, we analysed 103 875 common SNPs (minor allele frequency >0.05) in 2285 GD and 462 HT patients and 9364 controls. We found evidence for seven new AITD risk loci (P < 1.12 � 10-6; a permutation test derived significance threshold), five at locations previously associated and two at locations awaiting confirmation, with other immune-mediated diseases. © The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press.</p
Cuidado à saúde bucal das pessoas idosas: melhores práticas em sistemas locais de saúde
No full textTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências da Saúde. Programa de Pós-graduação em OdontologiaObjetivou-se neste estudo empregar "melhores práticas" no cuidado à saúde bucal de pessoas idosas, por meio do referencial teórico-metodológico do Modelo de Domínios Interativos de Melhores Práticas em Promoção da Saúde. Este referencial consubstancia uma tecnologia de gestão em saúde que considera a interação de domínios (fundamentos, compreensão do ambiente e práticas) e sub-domínios (valores, objetivos e preceitos éticos; fundamentos teóricos/conceitos e crenças; evidência; visão e análise da organização e da situação de saúde e práticas organizacionais, de saúde e de pesquisa/avaliação) como fatores de decisão-ação. Utilizando a abordagem da pesquisa-ação efetivou-se uma intervenção sob o referencial das melhores práticas em um sistema municipal de saúde. Simultaneamente, procedeu-se a uma reflexão sistemática e crítica entre atores envolvidos com a governança local, examinando seu potencial para transformar as práticas correntes segundo os princípios da Promoção da Saúde. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de grupos focais, compostos por gestores, profissionais da saúde e idosos do município de Antônio Carlos, Santa Catarina, totalizando 20 pessoas. A partir das deliberações dos grupos e análise dos dados coletados foram propostas melhores práticas de cuidado à saúde bucal para a população idosa, fundamentadas nos princípios do Sistema Único de Saúde, da Estratégia Saúde da Família e da Promoção da Saúde. O conjunto da intervenção envolveu: a) avaliação da autopercepção em saúde bucal e utilização de serviços odontológicos por parte dos idosos investigados; b) mapeamento dos idosos do município, segundo doenças crônicas; c) caracterização da assistência odontológica oferecida aos idosos; d) estudo da governança em saúde e assistência social no município; e) participação em eventos comunitários envolvendo idosos; f) screening para lesões de mucosa em idosos; g) capacitação de agentes comunitários e profissionais de saúde bucal em melhores práticas; h) avaliação da cidade e da unidade de saúde enquanto espaços amigáveis aos idosos. O processo de desenvolvimento de melhores práticas em Antônio Carlos sustenta-se na expectativa de que um melhor padrão de saúde bucal dos idosos poderá ser alcançado mediante mudança de práticas organizacionais, do processo de trabalho em saúde, de pesquisa e de avaliação. A mudança possível decorre da disposição dos atores envolvidos em refletir e analisar criticamente os comportamentos, procedimentos e situações correntes. O vetor de impulsão para a melhoria contínua das práticas é o compromisso da governança local com os princípios da Promoção da Saúde. Mesmo num pequeno município, com insuficiência de recursos e de pessoal, demonstrou-se ser possível construir um conjunto de práticas de cuidado à saúde bucal das pessoas idosas e gerar conhecimento útil que aproxima os modelos teóricos com a realidade cotidiana, com vista a sua transformação
Behavioral and neurochemical studies in mice pretreated with garcinielliptone FC in pilocarpine-induced seizures
No full textAbstractGarcinielliptone FC (GFC) isolated from hexanic fraction seed extract of species Platonia insignis Mart. It is widely used in folk medicine to treat skin diseases in both humans and animals as well as the seed decoction has been used to treat diarrheas and inflammatory diseases. However, there is no research on GFC effects in the central nervous system of rodents. The present study aimed to evaluate the GFC effects at doses of 25, 50 or 75mg/kg on seizure parameters to determine their anticonvulsant activity and its effects on amino acid (γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamine, aspartate and glutathione) levels as well as on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in mice hippocampus after seizures. GFC produced an increased latency to first seizure, at doses 25mg/kg (20.12±2.20min), 50mg/kg (20.95±2.21min) or 75mg/kg (23.43±1.99min) when compared with seized mice. In addition, GABA content of mice hippocampus treated with GFC75 plus P400 showed an increase of 46.90% when compared with seized mice. In aspartate, glutamine and glutamate levels detected a decrease of 5.21%, 13.55% and 21.80%, respectively in mice hippocampus treated with GFC75 plus P400 when compared with seized mice. Hippocampus mice treated with GFC75 plus P400 showed an increase in AChE activity (63.30%) when compared with seized mice. The results indicate that GFC can exert anticonvulsant activity and reduce the frequency of installation of pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus, as demonstrated by increase in latency to first seizure and decrease in mortality rate of animals. In conclusion, our data suggest that GFC may influence in epileptogenesis and promote anticonvulsant actions in pilocarpine model by modulating the GABA and glutamate contents and of AChE activity in seized mice hippocampus. This compound may be useful to produce neuronal protection and it can be considered as an anticonvulsant agent
