Universidade de Pernambuco

About: Universidade de Pernambuco is a education organization based out in Recife, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 6147 authors who have published 6948 publications receiving 73648 citations.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and vermicompost to maximize the production of foliar biomolecules in Passiflora alata Curtis seedlings.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are soil organisms that associate with plant roots and promote plant growth, increasing the concentration of secondary metabolites, which are molecules of interest to the pharmaceutical industry. Passiflora alata is a Brazilian medicinal plant that is used as a raw material for anxiolytic phytotherapeutic agents. The anxiolytic properties are related to the presence of biomolecules in the plant material, principally flavonoids. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of inoculation with AMF and organic fertilization on the production of soluble carbohydrates and total foliar proteins, phenols and flavonoids in P. alata seedlings. RESULTS There was an effect of the tested treatments on the analyzed variables. Seedlings inoculated and cultivated in soil to which 0.15 kg vermicompost kg−1 had been added showed increased growth and production of primary and secondary metabolites compared with treatments with lower levels of manure, which did not differ from those cultivated in soil with 0.2 kg vermicompost kg−1. CONCLUSION The inoculation of P. alata seedlings with Gigaspora albida is an alternative to maximize the production of pharmacologically important foliar biomolecules, especially flavonoids, with benefits that vary in accordance with the fertility of the soil. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry

PCA feature extraction for protein structure prediction

Abstract: The PCA linear transformation method is used for feature extraction to the secondary structure prediction problem. The method of dimensionality reduction is applied on PSI-Blast profiles built on NCBI's Nonredundant Protein database. Different numbers of components extracted are used as input to three artificial neural networks with 30, 35 or 40 nodes in the hidden layer. Those classifiers are trained with the RPROP algorithm. To estimate the accuracy of the predictor the sevenfold cross-validation method is applied to CB396, a database used previously to evaluate the performance of several predictors. Aiming to increase the efficiency of the predictor presented here, the outputs of the classifiers are combined through five simple rules: product, average, voting, minimum and maximum. This original application for the PCA method derives relevant results. Even with a drastic reduction from 260 to 80 components, the accuracy obtained is at least 1% superior to the best one published for another predictor, the CONSENSUS, a combination of four other predictors. With a reduction from 260 to 180 components the performance is even better, achieving an Q/sub 3/ accuracy of 74.5%. The results flag the PCA as a promising method for feature extraction in the secondary structure prediction problem.

Functional diversity and composition of Caatinga woody flora are negatively impacted by chronic anthropogenic disturbance

Abstract: Tropical plant assemblages can be taxonomically and phylogenetically impoverished by chronic anthropogenic disturbance (CAD), such as firewood collection and extensive grazing. However, to what extent the functional dimension responds to CAD is still unclear. Such knowledge is urgently required for predicting, preventing or even reversing the impacts of CAD. Chronic anthropogenic disturbance may operate as an ecological filter by selecting functional trait values (e.g. low wood density), thereby altering the functional composition and diversity of plant assemblages. We tested this hypothesis using 29 woody plant assemblages across three ontogenetic stages (seedlings, saplings and adults) in a 220-km 2 landscape of the Caatinga, northeast Brazil. We adopted a CAD index consisting of four indicators (proximity to urban centre and houses and the density of both people and livestock) and tested how well it explained the functional diversity and effect sizes (richness, evenness and dispersion) and composition (community-weighted mean). Chronic anthropogenic disturbance affected several functional metrics across the three ontogenetic stages. However, CAD effects were stronger in adult communities by negatively affecting functional richness, dispersion and their effect sizes. CAD also altered the functional composition of leaf mass per area, woody density and leaf area of adult assemblages. Sapling communities were affected in terms of functional composition (leaf area, leaf dry matter and wood density), with positive and negative effects, while seedling assemblages responded positively to CAD only in terms of functional evenness and its effect size. Some changes in functional metrics were influenced by dominant Euphorbiaceae species across ontogenetic stages, especially in terms of leaf area and woody density. Synthesis. Chronic anthropogenic disturbance is an important driver of plant-community functional organization across ontogenetic stages in the Caatinga. Adult assemblages are particularly sensitive and tend to lose functional niche space and support more acquisitive rather than conservative strategies as chronic anthropogenic disturbance increases. The proliferation of Euphorbiaceae disturbance-adapted species can explain part of the community responses to chronic anthropogenic disturbance. Our findings highlight the ecological effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance and show that it is a key influence on tropical biotas. Changes in plant functional traits associated with plant resource use are likely to affect ecosystem functioning and services provided by Caatinga.

Maternal Mortality in Brazil: Proposals and Strategies for its Reduction.

Abstract: 1Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil 2 Instituto Nacional de Saúde da Mulher, da Criança e do Adolescente Fernandes Figueira, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil 3School of Nursing, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil 4Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil 5 Instituto de Medicina Integral Professor Fernando Figueira, Recife, PE, Brazil 6Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil 7 Faculdade de Medicina São Leopoldo Mandic, Campinas, SP, Brazil 8Universidade de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil

Calcific Aortic Valve Stenosis and Atherosclerotic Calcification.

Abstract: This review summarizes the pathophysiology of calcific aortic valve stenosis (CAVS) and surveys relevant clinical data and basic research that explain how CAVS arises. Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), oxidized phospholipids (OxPL), autotaxin, and genetic driving forces such as mutations in LPA gene and NOTCH gene seem to play a major role in the development of CAVS. These factors might well become targets of medical therapy in the coming years. CVAS seems to be a multifactorial disease that has much in common with coronary artery disease, mainly regarding lipidic accumulation and calcium deposition. No clinical trials conducted to date have managed to answer the key question of whether Lp(a) lowering and anti-calcific therapies confer a benefit in terms of reducing incidence or progression of CAVS, although additional outcome trials are ongoing.