Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

About: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina is a education organization based out in Florianópolis, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 28408 authors who have published 55433 publications receiving 714461 citations.

Evaluation of anti-HSV-2 activity of gallic acid and pentyl gallate.

Abstract: The synthetic n-alkyl esters of gallic acid, also known as gallates, are widely employed as antioxidants by food and pharmaceutical industries. Besides the antioxidant activity, other biological activities have been described for this group of molecules, mainly anticancer, antibacterial and antifungal properties. In the present study, the anti-herpes simplex virus (HSV)-2 activity of gallic acid and pentyl gallate was evaluated followed by the determination of the site of antiviral activity of these compounds. Our results demonstrated that both compounds reduced HSV-2 replication in a concentration-dependent manner when either incubated with the virus prior to the addition of the mixture to cells, or added to and incubated with cells after their infection. In summary, the anti-HSV-2 activity of gallic acid and pentyl gallate was ascribed to their virucidal effect on virus particles, a change that was likely accompanied by partial inhibition of the virus attachment to cells and its subsequent cell-to-cell spread activity. This suggests that these compounds can be regarded as promising candidates for development as topical anti-HSV-2 agents.

Management and Conservation of Natural Populations in Atlantic Rain Forest: The Case Study of Palm Heart (Euterpe edulis Martius)1

Abstract: Euterpe edulis (Martius) is a single-stemmed, abundant Neotropical palm of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica). The species produces the heart of palm, locally called palmito, which is an important source of income for forest owners. Because of its high market value, its short-term demands of the forest environment, and its important interactions with animal species, this palm is suitable for sustainable management and conservation purposes. In this paper, we present the results from a 15-year investigation of this species, synthesizing results on its demography, seed dispersion, reproductive biology, genetics, and economics. We have linked these results in a proposal for the species' sustainable management and conservation.

Use of encapsulated natural compounds as antimicrobial additives in food packaging: A brief review

Abstract: Background Synthetic chemical preservatives in food can be harmful to human health. These problems have increasingly attracted concern and interest from researchers, which has led to the study and application of non-toxic essential oils with preservative ability in food products and food packaging. A great challenge in this sense is their facile degradation during processing of the food and manufacturing processes during food packing. Scope and approach Encapsulation is an interesting technique to improve the physical-chemical and microbiological stability of these essential oils, as well as to achieve controlled release. This review provides a detailed overview of encapsulation in the food industry, focusing on the application of procedures to encapsulate antimicrobial essential oils. Key findings and conclusions This review focuses on recent studies related to nanotechnology and the nano and microencapsulation of essential oils. This study provides valuable insight that may be useful for identifying trends in the commercialization of nanotechnological products or for identifying new research areas. The results published to date confirm that the encapsulation promotes the protection of active compounds, enabling industrial applications of active packaging.

An improved family of ZVS-PWM active-clamping DC-to-DC converters

Abstract: A new family of DC-to-DC converters featuring clamping action, PWM modulation and soft-switching (ZVS) in both active and passive switches, is proposed to overcome the limitations of clamped mode DC-to-DC converters. The new family of converters is generated and the new circuits are presented. As the resonant circuits absorb all parasitic reactances, including transistor output capacitance and diode junction capacitance, these converters are suitable for high-frequency operation. Principle of operation of the boost converter, theoretical analysis, simulation and experimental results are presented, taken from a laboratory prototype rated at 1600 W, input voltage of 300 V, output voltage of 400 V, and operating at 100 kHz. The measured efficiency at full load was 98%.