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.

Antioxidant Activity and Total Phenolic Content of Some Brazilian Species

Abstract: The antioxidant activity of extracts and fractions of six vegetal species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest were determined. The total antioxidant activity was assessed based on the scavenging activity of the stable DPPH free radical. Eight extracts or fractions of plants showed significant DPPH scavenging activity (IC50 � 10.0mg=mL) compared with the values obtained for ascorbic acid (IC50 ¼ 8.4mg=mL) and gallic acid (IC50 ¼ 2.6mg=mL). The extracts or fractions were as follows: ethanol extracts of leaves, flowers, and stems of Baccharis illinita DC., ethanol extracts of leaves and stems of B. platypoda DC., hydroalcoholic extract and ethyl acetate fraction of leaves of Cyathea phalerata Mart. and hydroalcoholic extract of bark of Trichilia catigua A. Juss. Seven flavonoids present in the plant extracts were also investigated. The most active compounds were taxifolin, quercetin, and luteolin, which possess the catechol group 3 0 ,4 0 diOH. In addition, the total phenolic or flavonoid contents of these extracts and fractions were evaluated. The phenolic content of the sample was determined using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and varied from 489.07 to 11.29 mg=g dry weight expressed as gallic acid equivalents (GAE). The total flavonoid concentrations, detected using 2% aluminum chloride, varied from 61.82 to 5.6 mg quercetin equivalents (QE)=g dry weight. These results suggest that the level of antioxidant activity in these plants varies by a great extent. They also suggest that the phenolic content in these plants provides substantial antioxidant activity. The flora of Brazil appears to be a rich and interesting source for supplementary ethnomedical and phytochemical studies.

A modified algorithm for invertibility in nonlinear systems

Abstract: The algorithm of Hirschorn [1] for the construction of inverses of nonlinear systems is modified, and new sufficient conditions for invertibility and inverse system for a larger class of systems are obtained. For the systems which do not satisfy the invertibility, conditions, a characterization of input space on which the input-output map is injective is derived.

CALIFA : a diameter-selected sample for an integral field spectroscopy galaxy survey

Abstract: We describe and discuss the selection procedure and statistical properties of the galaxy sample used by the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area (CALIFA) survey, a public legacy survey of 600 galaxies using integral field spectroscopy. The CALIFA "mother sample" was selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR7 photometric catalogue to include all galaxies with an r-band isophotal major axis between 45 '' and 79 : 2 '' and with a redshift 0 : 005 M-r > -23 : 1 and over a stellar mass range between 10(9.7) and 10(11.4) M-circle dot. In particular, within these ranges, the diameter selection does not lead to any significant bias against - or in favour of - intrinsically large or small galaxies. Only below luminosities of M-r = -19 (or stellar masses < 10(9.7) M-circle dot) is there a prevalence of galaxies with larger isophotal sizes, especially of nearly edge-on late-type galaxies, but such galaxies form < 10% of the full sample. We estimate volume-corrected distribution functions in luminosities and sizes and show that these are statistically fully compatible with estimates from the full SDSS when accounting for large-scale structure. For full characterization of the sample, we also present a number of value-added quantities determined for the galaxies in the CALIFA sample. These include consistent multi-band photometry based on growth curve analyses; stellar masses; distances and quantities derived from these; morphological classifications; and an overview of available multi-wavelength photometric measurements. We also explore different ways of characterizing the environments of CALIFA galaxies, finding that the sample covers environmental conditions from the field to genuine clusters. We finally consider the expected incidence of active galactic nuclei among CALIFA galaxies given the existing pre-CALIFA data, finding that the final observed CALIFA sample will contain approximately 30 Sey2 galaxies.

Identification and analysis of reverse logistics barriers using fuzzy Delphi method and AHP

Abstract: The environmental consciousness of customers and the emergence of stricter environmental regulations has pushed industries to think about environmental management by means of reverse logistics (RL) implementation. In order to implement RL systems, a careful analysis of barriers that hinder the reverse flow must be taken. However, most existing research on the barriers for RL implementation is focused on developed countries. Among the most important emerging economies, Brazil, the largest Latin America economy, faces challenges such as a deficient logistics infrastructure and the recently enacted National Policy on solid waste. To bridge this gap, this paper identifies and evaluates the barriers for RL in the Brazilian context. An eleven-step research methodology is proposed. First, literature was thoroughly reviewed. fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) was used to obtain the critical list of barriers by experts and industrial managers’ opinions. Then, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) questionnaires were answered by electrical–electronic equipment (EEE) industry sector experts in order to obtain the priority ranking of barriers. This paper contributes with a compilation of the RL barriers from a systematic literature review process, a list of most common RL barriers accepted by Brazilian organizations, and a priority ranking of RL barriers for the electrical-electronic industry sector in Brazil. The “Economic related issues” category of barriers seems to be the first priority. The financial burden of tax and the uncertainty related to economic issues appear to be major obstacles for RL implementation.

NLRP3 inflammasome-driven pathways in depression: Clinical and preclinical findings.

Abstract: Over the past three decades, an intricate interaction between immune activation, release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and changes in brain circuits related to mood and behavior has been described. Despite extensive efforts, questions regarding when inflammation becomes detrimental or how we can target the immune system to develop new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of psychiatric disorders remain unresolved. In this context, novel aspects of the neuroinflammatory process activated in response to stressful challenges have recently been documented in major depressive disorder (MDD). The Nod-like receptor pyrin containing 3 inflammasome (NLRP3) is an intracellular multiprotein complex responsible for a number of innate immune processes associated with infection, inflammation and autoimmunity. Recent data have demonstrated that NLRP3 activation appears to bridge the gap between immune activation and metabolic danger signals or stress exposure, which are key factors in the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders. In this review, we discuss both preclinical and clinical evidence that links the assembly of the NLRP3 complex and the subsequent proteolysis and release of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-18 (IL-18) in chronic stress models and patients with MDD. Importantly, we also focus on the therapeutic potential of targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome complex to improve stress resilience and depressive symptoms.