Anti-Inflammatory and Cicatrizing Activities of a Carbohydrate Fraction Isolated from Sugary Kefir

M.E.C. Moreira,M.H. Dos Santos,G.P.P. Zolini,A.T.B. Wouters,J.C.T. Carvalho,J.M. Schneedorf 한국식품영양과학회 2008 Journal of medicinal food Vol.11 No.2

Kefir is an association of microrganisms generally grown in milk, with known probiotic activities identifiedfrom its soured suspensions. Aqueous media are also able to grow kefir, but little is known about the probiotic properties ofits fermented products. This work aimed to evaluate some probiotic properties of a carbohydrate fraction isolated from sug-ary kefir (sugary kefir carbohydrate [SKC]). Anti-inflammatory activity of the isolated fraction of carbohydrate was testedboth in vitro(cellular respirometry and macrophage culture) and in vivo (50% effective dose, rat paw edema, vascular per-meability, and cicatrizing test). The results indicated no significant difference for oxygen uptake or macrophage culture be-tween control and test groups. Rat paw edema, however, showed a significant inhibitory activity by 30. 4% and 54 . 8%(P. .001) for carrageenan and dextran, respectively. In the cicatrizing test, animals treated with SKC cream also presentedless trauma after treatments as compared to the negative control group (P. .05). The overall data suggested the SKC as anatural product that could be used as a constituent of an anti-inflammatory compound.

Development of a Microbial Consortium for Dairy Wastewater Treatment

C. A. Mazzucotelli,I. Durruty,C. E. Kotlar,M. R. Moreira,A. G. Ponce,S. I. Roura 한국생물공학회 2014 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.19 No.2

The wastewater from the dairy industries usuallycontains high concentrations of contaminants and, since thevolume generated is also high, the total contaminant load isvery significant. Among the available options for treatment,biological degradation looks like the most promising one. Furthermore, the supplementation of the native microbialpopulations with external microorganisms with high specificdegradation rates (bio-augmentation) has demonstrated toimprove the performance of treatment. The main objectiveof this research was to select a combination of bacteria toimprove the aerobic treatment of dairy processingwastewater. For this purpose, eleven fat/protein-degradingmicroorganisms belonging to the genera Bacillus, Serratia,Lactococcus, Enterococcus, Stenotrophomonas, Klebsiellaand Escherichia, were evaluated as potential degradingbacteria using a Plackett-Burman design. Assays werecarried out to select the strains that most significantlyinfluenced the degradation of wastewater and biomassyield, in terms of COD removal. A simulated dairyindustry effluent was used as culture medium. Four strainswere selected as potential members of the microbialconsortium: Lactococcus garvieae, Bacillus thuringiensis,Escherichia coli and Stenotrophomonas sp. The optimaloperation temperature and pH range of the selectedconsortium were 32°C and 6 ~ 8, respectively. Thedegradation percentages reached with the selected consortiumwere 80.67 and 83.44% at 24 and 48 h, respectively. Theselected consortium significantly improved the degradationof the dairy wastewater, and the degradation degreeachieved by this consortium was higher than by using thestrains individually.

Reverse Shape Selectivityin the Liquid-PhaseAdsorption of Xylene Isomers in Zirconium Terephthalate MOF UiO-66

Moreira, MarianaA.,Santos, Joã,o C.,Ferreira, Alexandre F. P.,Loureiro, José,M.,Ragon, Florence,Horcajada, Patricia,Shim, Kyu-E.,Hwang, Young-K.,Lee, U.-Hwang,Chang, Jong-S.,Serre, Christi American ChemicalSociety 2012 Langmuir Vol.28 No.13

<P>Powder, agglomerates, and tablets of the microporous zirconium(IV)terephthalate metal–organic framework UiO-66 were evaluatedfor the selective adsorption and separation of xylene isomers in theliquid phase using <I>n</I>-heptane as the eluent. Pulseexperiments, performed at 313 K in the presence of <I>n</I>-heptane, revealed the <I>o</I>-xylene preference of thismaterial, which was further confirmed by binary and multicomponentbreakthrough experiments in the presence of <I>m</I>- and <I>p</I>-xylene, resulting in selectivities at 313 K of 1.8 and2.4 with regards to <I>m</I>-xylene and <I>p</I>-xylene, respectively. Additionally, because <I>p</I>-xyleneis the less retained isomer, UiO-66 presents a selectivity patternthat is reverse of that of the xylenes' molecular dimension with respectto shape selectivity. The shaping of the material as tablets did notsignificantly change its selectivity toward the <I>o</I>-xylene isomer or toward <I>p</I>-xylene, which was theless retained isomer, despite a loss in capacity. Finally, the selectivitybehavior of UiO-66 in the liquid <I>n</I>-heptane phasemakes it a suitable material for <I>o</I>-xylene separationin the extract (heavy product) or <I>p</I>-xylene separationin the raffinate (light product) by simulated moving bed technology.</P><P><B>Graphic Abstract</B> <IMG SRC='http://pubs.acs.org/appl/literatum/publisher/achs/journals/content/langd5/2012/langd5.2012.28.issue-13/la3004118/production/images/medium/la-2012-004118_0011.gif'></P><P><A href='http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/la3004118'>ACS Electronic Supporting Info</A></P>

High-performance circular sawing of AISI 1045 steel with cermet and tungsten carbide inserts

A. M. Abrão,M. C. Moreira,P. E. Faria,J. C. Campos Rubio 대한기계학회 2014 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.28 No.10

This work investigated the influence of cutting speed and feed rate on cutting forces, surface roughness, and slot width circular sawingof AISI 1045 steel. The effects of tool material (cermet and tungsten carbide) and geometry (chip breaker flute and pre-cutting/postcuttingteeth) were also investigated. Thrust and radial forces generally tended to decrease as the cutting speed increased and tended toincrease with the feed rate. The lowest values of thrust and radial forces were obtained using a tungsten carbide saw ground with precuttingand post-cutting teeth. With regard to the quality of the machined wall, the lowest surface roughness was obtained by applying thehighest cutting speed and lowest feed rate and employing a cermet brazed saw. Under this condition, roughness values comparable toface turning and parting off operations were obtained. The cermet brazed saw was responsible for producing the narrowest slot widths.

Forced swimming stress increases natatory activity of lead-exposed mice

Araujo Ulisses C.,Krahe Thomas E.,Ribeiro-Carvalho Anderson,Gomes Regina A. A.,Lotufo Bruna M.,Moreira Maria de Fátima R.,de Abreu-Villaça Yael,Manhães Alex C.,Filgueiras Cláudio C. 한국독성학회 2021 Toxicological Research Vol.37 No.1

Recent evidence points to the relationship between lead toxicity and the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which suggests that lead exposure could influence how an individual cope with stress. Here we test this hypothesis by investigating the behavioral effects of lead exposure in mice during the forced swimming test (FST), a parading in which animals are exposed to a stressful situation and environment. Swiss mice received either 180 ppm or 540 ppm of lead acetate (Pb) in their ad-lib water supply for 60–90 days, starting at postnatal day 30. Control (Ctrl) mice drank tap water. At the end of the exposure period, mice were submitted to a 5-min session of FST or to an open-field session of the same duration. Data from naïve animals showed that corticosterone levels were higher for animals tested in the FST compared to animals tested in the open-field. Blood-lead levels (BLL) in Pb-exposed mice ranged from 14.3 to 106.9 μg/dL. No differences were observed in spontaneous locomotion between Ctrl and Pb-exposed groups in the open-field. However, in the FST, Pb-treated mice displayed higher swimming activity than Ctrl ones and this effect was observed even for animals with BLL higher than 20 μg/ dL. Furthermore, significant differences in brain glutathione levels, used as an indicator of led toxicity, were only observed for BLL higher than 40 μg/dL. Overall, these findings suggest that swimming activity in the FST is a good indicator of lead toxicity and confirm our prediction that lead toxicity influences behavioral responses associated to stress.