One of the main goals in flux-cored arc welding processes is the optimization of bead geometry, in which multiple geometric characteristics of the welding bead are important; therefore, ...multiobjective optimization programming is often applied. However, several optimization problems that use stochastic programming do not consider the impact of the correlation between the output variables on their probabilistic constraints. In this context, this paper aims to present a multiobjective optimization method based on multivariate stochastic programming. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposal, we conducted a design of experiments to optimize a flux-cored arc welding process for stainless-steel claddings. The weighting-sums method was applied to formulate the multiobjective optimization problem. It was possible to formulate a multivariate probability distribution for the penetration and dilution. In addition, a 95% probability to meet the predefined specification limits of the geometric characteristics was achieved.
This study aimed to assess diagnosis of Unique Health System (SUS) users profile with regard to herbal medicine. This is a cross-sectional study with observational data collection conducted in the ...city of Marechal Deodoro, through a semi-structured questionnaire with questions related to socioeconomic data, use, and knowledge of medicinal plants and herbal medicines and satisfaction with the use of medicinal herbs (MH) and interactions of phytotherapeutic drugs (PD). Among the topics, 86.89% of users used herbal medicines often, especially lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.). It was also observed that the plants are generally used as a sedative (21.74%) and as tea (87.84%). 82.32% of respondents claim to have acquired the knowledge of herbal medicine through a family member and 85.36% make use of medicinal plants without having received any information on the use of MH and PD. 61% of the plants described that coincided with the form of use and therapeutic properties found in the literature. With regard to satisfaction by treatment with MH and PD, it was found that 56.67% are satisfied. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to this aspect of usage, in order to avoid possible drug interactions or adverse reactions resulting from the incorrect use.
The incorporation of the use of phytotherapy in the primary health care is an important gain for the Unified Health System, besides reducing the cost in the treatment of the patient, rescues the ...popular knowledge and promotes the rational use of the medicinal plants. To determine the situational diagnostic profile of professionals of family health units on phytotherapy. A quantitative observational study was carried out, in which forms were applied to the team of the family health units of the municipality of Marechal Deodoro da Fonseca/Alagoas. Only 23% of the interviewed professionals reported having had contact with scientific information on phytotherapy during professional training. All of them approve the implantation of the official practice of phytotherapy and routinely prescribe phytotherapics and medicinal plants, but they do not know the possible risks of drug interaction with the use of medicinal plants. Health professionals Health professionals support the official practice of phytotherapy in public health and show interest in participating in courses / training on the subject to better serve the population.
Neuromuscular preparations exposed to B. marajoensis venom show increases in the frequency of miniature end-plate potentials and twitch tension facilitation followed by presynaptic neuromuscular ...paralysis, without evidences of muscle damage. Considering that presynaptic toxins interfere into the machinery involved in neurotransmitter release (synaptophysin, synaptobrevin, and SNAP25 proteins), the main objective of this communication is to analyze, by immunofluorescence and western blotting, the expression of the synaptic proteins, synaptophysin, synaptobrevin, and SNAP25 and by myography, light, and transmission electron microscopy the pathology of motor nerve terminals and skeletal muscle fibres of chick biventer cervicis preparations (CBC) exposed in vitro to BmjeTX-I and BmjeTX-II toxins from B. marajoensis venom. CBC incubated with toxins showed irreversible twitch tension blockade and unaffected KCl- and ACh-evoked contractures, and the positive colabelling of acetylcholine receptors confirmed that their action was primarily at the motor nerve terminal. Hypercontraction and loose myofilaments and synaptic vesicle depletion and motor nerve damage indicated that the toxins displayed both myotoxic and neurotoxic effect. The blockade resulted from interference on synaptophysin, synaptobrevin, and SNAP25 proteins leading to the conclusion that BmjeTX-I and BmjeTX-II affected neurotransmitter release machinery by preventing the docking of synaptic vesicles to the axolemma of the nerve terminal.
Abstract
The Roosevelt–Rondon Expedition marmoset
Mico marcai
was first collected in 1914 and all information on this primate previously came from three skins brought back by this expedition. As a ...result,
M. marcai
is categorized as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List. As the presumed range of
M. marcai
lies on the path of the advancing arc of deforestation in Brazil, the collection of relevant data to assess the conservation status of this Amazonian species is of some urgency. Here we present the first field data on the distribution and population size of, and threats to,
M. marcai
, to reassess the species’ conservation status. During 2012–2015 we surveyed the species in the Marmelos–Aripuanã interfluve, and estimated its density using distance sampling. We also used spatial predictive modelling to estimate forest loss within the species range under two deforestation scenarios. We found the marmoset in 13 localities and estimated its extent of occurrence to be 31,073 km
2
. We estimated the species’ density to be 8.31 individuals/km
2
and extrapolated this to estimate a total population of 258,218 individuals (CI 150,705–441,860). Under a business-as-usual deforestation scenario, c. 10,000 km
2
of forest, comprising 33% of the species’ range, would be lost in three marmoset generations (c. 18 years), and we, therefore, recommend that
M. marcai
be categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List based on criterion A3c. Other Amazonian marmosets require similar reassessment as their ranges also fall in the path of the arc of deforestation.
Abstract The incorporation of the use of phytotherapy in the primary health care is an important gain for the Unified Health System, besides reducing the cost in the treatment of the patient, rescues ...the popular knowledge and promotes the rational use of the medicinal plants. To determine the situational diagnostic profile of professionals of family health units on phytotherapy. A quantitative observational study was carried out, in which forms were applied to the team of the family health units of the municipality of Marechal Deodoro da Fonseca/Alagoas. Only 23% of the interviewed professionals reported having had contact with scientific information on phytotherapy during professional training. All of them approve the implantation of the official practice of phytotherapy and routinely prescribe phytotherapics and medicinal plants, but they do not know the possible risks of drug interaction with the use of medicinal plants. Health professionals Health professionals support the official practice of phytotherapy in public health and show interest in participating in courses / training on the subject to better serve the population.
Abstract This study aimed to assess diagnosis of Unique Health System (SUS) users profile with regard to herbal medicine. This is a cross-sectional study with observational data collection conducted ...in the city of Marechal Deodoro, through a semi-structured questionnaire with questions related to socioeconomic data, use, and knowledge of medicinal plants and herbal medicines and satisfaction with the use of medicinal herbs (MH) and interactions of phytotherapeutic drugs (PD). Among the topics, 86.89% of users used herbal medicines often, especially lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.). It was also observed that the plants are generally used as a sedative (21.74%) and as tea (87.84%). 82.32% of respondents claim to have acquired the knowledge of herbal medicine through a family member and 85.36% make use of medicinal plants without having received any information on the use of MH and PD. 61% of the plants described that coincided with the form of use and therapeutic properties found in the literature. With regard to satisfaction by treatment with MH and PD, it was found that 56.67% are satisfied. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to this aspect of usage, in order to avoid possible drug interactions or adverse reactions resulting from the incorrect use.
Succinate is an intermediate of the citric acid cycle as well as an extracellular circulating molecule, whose receptor, G protein-coupled receptor-91 (GPR91), was recently identified and ...characterized in several tissues, including heart. Because some pathological conditions such as ischemia increase succinate blood levels, we investigated the role of this metabolite during a heart ischemic event, using human and rodent models.
We found that succinate causes cardiac hypertrophy in a GPR91 dependent manner. GPR91 activation triggers the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), the expression of calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase IIδ (CaMKIIδ) and the translocation of histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) into the cytoplasm, which are hypertrophic-signaling events. Furthermore, we found that serum levels of succinate are increased in patients with cardiac hypertrophy associated with acute and chronic ischemic diseases.
These results show for the first time that succinate plays an important role in cardiomyocyte hypertrophy through GPR91 activation, and extend our understanding of how ischemia can induce hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
During the perinatal period, the central nervous system (CNS) is extremely sensitive to metals, including methylmercury (MeHg). Although the mechanism(s) associated with MeHg-induced developmental ...neurotoxicity remains obscure, several studies point to the glutathione (GSH) antioxidant system as an important molecular target for this toxicant. To extend our recent findings of MeHg-induced GSH dyshomeostasis, the present study was designed to assess the developmental profile of the GSH antioxidant system in the mouse brain during the early postnatal period after
in utero exposure to MeHg. Pregnant mice were exposed to different doses of MeHg (1, 3 and 10 mg/l, diluted in drinking water,
ad libitum) during the gestational period. After delivery, pups were killed at different time points – postnatal days (PND) 1, 11 and 21 – and the whole brain was used for determining biochemical parameters related to the antioxidant GSH system, as well as mercury content and the levels of F
2-isoprostane. In control animals, cerebral GSH levels significantly increased over time during the early postnatal period; gestational exposure to MeHg caused a dose-dependent inhibition of this developmental event. Cerebral glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities significantly increased over time during the early postnatal period in control animals; gestational MeHg exposure induced a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on both developmental phenomena. These adverse effects of prenatal MeHg exposure were corroborated by marked increases in cerebral F
2-isoprostanes levels at all time points. Significant negative correlations were found between F
2-isoprostanes and GSH, as well as between F
2-isoprostanes and GPx activity, suggesting that MeHg-induced disruption of the GSH system maturation is related to MeHg-induced increased lipid peroxidation in the pup brain.
In utero MeHg exposure also caused a dose-dependent increase in the cerebral levels of mercury at birth. Even though the cerebral mercury concentration decreased to nearly basal levels at postnatal day 21, GSH levels, GPx and GR activities remained decreased in MeHg-exposed mice, indicating that prenatal exposure to MeHg affects the cerebral GSH antioxidant systems by inducing biochemical alterations that endure even when mercury tissue levels decrease and become indistinguishable from those noted in pups born to control dams. This study is the first to show that prenatal exposure to MeHg disrupts the postnatal development of the glutathione antioxidant system in the mouse brain, pointing to an additional molecular mechanism by which MeHg induces pro-oxidative damage in the developing CNS. Moreover, our experimental observation corroborates previous reports on the permanent functional deficits observed after prenatal MeHg exposure.
PDF
