Universidade Federal de Santa Maria

About: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria is a education organization based out in Santa Maria, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 21178 authors who have published 35632 publications receiving 371665 citations.

Altered structural brain asymmetry in autism spectrum disorder in a study of 54 datasets

Abstract: Altered structural brain asymmetry in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been reported. However, findings have been inconsistent, likely due to limited sample sizes. Here we investigated 1,774 individuals with ASD and 1,809 controls, from 54 independent data sets of the ENIGMA consortium. ASD was significantly associated with alterations of cortical thickness asymmetry in mostly medial frontal, orbitofrontal, cingulate and inferior temporal areas, and also with asymmetry of orbitofrontal surface area. These differences generally involved reduced asymmetry in individuals with ASD compared to controls. Furthermore, putamen volume asymmetry was significantly increased in ASD. The largest case-control effect size was Cohen’s d = −0.13, for asymmetry of superior frontal cortical thickness. Most effects did not depend on age, sex, IQ, severity or medication use. Altered lateralized neurodevelopment may therefore be a feature of ASD, affecting widespread brain regions with diverse functions. Large-scale analysis was necessary to quantify subtle alterations of brain structural asymmetry in ASD.

Effect of Perinatal Lead Exposure on Rat Behaviour in Open-Field and Two-Wky Avoidance Tasks

Abstract: In view of conflicting results in literature concerning lead exposure associated with behavioural alterations, this study investigated behaviour in the open-field and shuttle avoidance, for as well as tissue lead burdens of pre- and postnatally lead-exposed rats. Rats were exposed to the metal from conception to weaning by giving the dams 0.5, 2.0 or 4.0 mM lead acetate in drinking water. This regimen did not affect body weight gain of dams or offspring development and had no effect on cerebral weights nor on haematological parameters of 23-day-old rats. In 1-day-old rats, lead accumulated in the blood but not in the brain, whereas both in 23-day-old rats and in dams lead accumulated in blood, kidney and cerebral cortex. In the open-field, lead-exposed groups showed higher locomotor activity in the test session as compared to controls and did not show any decrease in rearing responses in the test, indicating less habituation. Lead-treated rats subjected to a shuttle avoidance task showed no significant increase in avoidance responses between sessions as compared to control, indicating less retention. Moreover, only the control group presented a significant reduction of the footshock escape latency along testing session, suggesting a lead effect on footshock escape acquisition. In the shuttle box, intertrial crossing responses were not affected by lead treatment. The behavioural alterations occurred in animals with blood lead levels in the range 11-50.6 micrograms/dl.

Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of rice

Abstract: The aim of this work was to study the phenolic compounds identified in rice, their antioxidant activity and their potential beneficial effects on health. In vitro and in vivo studies evaluating the rice grains with different pericarp colour (light brown, red and black) showed potential beneficial effects on health related to the polyphenol content of the grain, such as reduction of oxidative stress, aid in the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and complications of diabetes, among others. Key words : rice, red rice, black rice, polyphenols, antioxidant, biological effect * Author for correspondence: melmelissaw@hotmail.com INTRODUCTION Several studies have demonstrated the importance of diet in the control of chronic diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular problems (Birt et al., 2001; Kris-Etherton et al., 2002; Stanner et al., 2003; Houston, 2005). The consumption of fruits, legumes, vegetables and whole grains results a reduced risk of developing these diseases. This could be attributed to the presence of natural antioxidants in these foods, such as ascorbic acid, tocopherols, carotenoids and phenolic compounds (polyphenols) (Melendez-Martinez et al., 2004; Choi et al., 2007), besides other bioactive compounds. Among the compounds with antioxidant activity, polyphenols are important. These are found in a great variety of foods, such as apples, mulberries, cherries, grapes, raspberries, citric fruits, onions, spinach, peppers, oat, wheat, black tea, wine and chocolate, among others (Holden et al., 2005; Dimitrios, 2006). These compounds have demonstrated higher in vitro antioxidant capacity than other antioxidants, such as ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol (Pulido et al., 2000), emphasising the importance of polyphenols as antioxidants in the diet. Although polyphenols are found in several foods, variation is observed in the concentration and type of these compounds due to genetic and environmental factors and processing conditions (Kris-Etherton et al., 2002). Hence, the concentration of phenolic compounds varies greatly among the diets, depending on the type and quantity of food consumed. Rice, being one of the most produced and consumed cereals in the world, has an important role in the relation between the diet and health. Several compounds with antioxidant activity have been identified in rice, including phenolic compounds, tocopherols, tocotrienols and γ-oryzanol (Iqbal et al., 2005). The phenolic