The Hippo pathway is involved in the proliferation of intrafollicular cells and in early embryonic development, mainly because effectors of this pathway are key transcription regulators of genes such as CTGF and CYR61, which are involved in cell proliferation. Recent studies by our group found that fibroblast growth factor 18 (FGF18) is present in the fallopian tube during early embryonic development, leading to the hypothesis that FGF18 may have a role during embryonic development. Therefore, the aim of the following study was to determine whether FGF18 modulates the expression of Hippo pathway target genes, CTGF and CYR61, during oocyte maturation and early embryonic development. Three experiments were carried out, with in vitro maturation (IVM) of cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) and embryo culture. In experiment one, FGF18 (100 ng/ml) induced an increase (P < 0.05) in CTGF gene expression at 12 h post-exposure. In experiment two, FGF18 (100 ng/ml) induced a reduction (P < 0.05) in CTGF expression at 3 h post-exposure. In the third experiment, day 7 embryos exposed to FGF18 during oocyte IVM expressed greater CTGF mRNA abundance, whereas FGF18 exposure during embryo in vitro embryo culture did not alter CTGF expression in comparison with untreated controls. The preliminary data presented here show that FGF18 modulates CTGF expression in critical periods of oocyte nuclear maturation, cumulus expansion and early embryonic development in cattle.

Tomato seeds subjected to osmo-priming show fast and more uniform germination. However, osmo-priming reduces seed longevity, which is a complex seed physiological attribute influenced by several mechanisms, including response to stress. Thus, to have new insights as to why osmo-primed tomato seeds show a short life span, we performed a transcript analysis during their priming. For that, we performed gene expression studies of the heat-shock protein family genes that were previously reported to be associated with the enhancement of longevity in primed tomato seeds. Physiological assays of germination, vigour and longevity tests were used to support the data. The results show that the short life span of osmo-primed tomato seeds is related to the decrease in the expression of transcripts associated with response to stress during the priming treatment. These results are important because they add information regarding which seed longevity mechanisms are impacted by the priming treatment. In parallel, it will allow the use of these genes as markers to monitor longevity in osmo-primed tomato seeds.

Background: In 5 hospitals located in Belo Horizonte city (>3,000,000 inhabitants) a focused survey on surgical site infection (SSI) was performed in patients undergoing CABG surgery. We statistically evaluated such incidences to enable study of the prediction power of SSI through pattern recognition algorithms, in this case the multilayer perceptron (MLP) artificial neural networks. Methods: Data were collected between July 2016 and June 2018 on SSI by the hospital infection control committees (CCIHs) of the hospitals involved in the research. We collected all data used in the analysis during their routine SSI surveillance procedures. The information was forwarded to the NOIS (Nosocomial Infection Study) Project, which uses the SACIH (Automated Hospital Infection Control System) software to collect data from a sample of hospitals participating voluntarily in the project. After data collection, 3 procedures were performed: (1) a treatment of the collected database for use of intact samples; (2) a statistical analysis on the profile of the hospitals collected; and (3) an assessment of the predictive power of 5 types of MLP (ie, backpropagation standard, momentum, resilient propagation, weight decay, and quick propagation) for SSI prediction. MLPs were tested with 3, 5, 7, and 10 hidden layer neurons and a database split for the resampling process (65% or 75% for testing and 35% or 25% for validation). They were compared by measuring the AUC (area under the curve; range, 0–1) presented for each of the configurations. Results: From 666 initial data, only 278 were able for analysis. We obtained the following statistics: 9.35% manifested SSIs; length of stay varied from 1 to 119 days, with ~40% staying between 10 and 19 days; 15.1% of the patients died. Regarding the prediction power of SSI, the experiments have a maximum value of 0.713. Conclusions: Despite the considerable loss rate of >50% of the database samples due to the presence of noise, it was possible to have a relevant sampling to evaluate the profile of hospitals in Belo Horizonte. In addition, for the predictive process, although some configurations had results equal to 0.5, others reached 0.713, which indicates that the automated SSI monitoring framework for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery is promising. To optimize data collection and to enable other hospitals to use the SSI prediction tool (available at www.sacihweb.com), a mobile application was developed.

Funding: None

Disclosures: None

Litter size reduction can induce early overnourishment, being an attractive experimental model to study short- and long-term consequences of childhood obesity. Epidemiological data indicate sex differences regarding cardiometabolic disorders and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The present study aimed to describe biometric, nutritional and cardiovascular changes related to neonatal overweight promoted by litter size reduction in young and adult Wistar rats of both sexes. Litter adjustment to eight or four pups/mother (1:1 male-to-female ratio) gave, respectively, control and overweight groups. Body mass, food intake, haemodynamic and echocardiographic parameters and cardiorespiratory capacity were evaluated at postnatal days 30 and 150. Diminished litters were correlated with higher body mass and weight gain (12 %) during lactation, validating the experimental model of neonatal overweight. Soon after weaning male (16 %) and female (25 %) offspring of these litters presented a lower food intake than their respective control, without differences in body mass. Adult males from reduced litters presented higher abdominal circumference (7 %), systolic blood pressure (10 %), interventricular septum thickness (15 %) and relative wall thickness (15 %) compared with their respective control. Rats' performance on the maximal effort ergometer test was not affected by neonatal overweight. Data suggest the occurrence of catch-down growth and hypophagia in male and female rats submitted to neonatal overweight. However, only male rats presented haemodynamic and cardiac structural changes. These findings are crucial to personalised/gender medicine.

Developmental contexts have been studied in terms of systems of beliefs and practices, treated as part of general cultural models. This paper aims to describe aspects of parenting cultural models of a group of 200 primiparous Brazilian mothers from Rio de Janeiro, who had children less than 44 months old. Mothers answered the Socialization Goals Interview (SGI), and an adapted version of an inventory of beliefs about practices of care, developed by M. Suizzo. Answers to the SGI were coded in five categories and their subcategories: Self-maximization (SM), Self-control (SC), Lovingness (L), Proper demeanor (PD) and Decency (D), and scores in each of them were calculated. A factor analysis indicated three dimensions of mothers' beliefs about practices: Awaking and exposing the child to diverse stimuli (Stimulation), ensuring the Proper presentation of the child and Responding to and bonding to the child. Data was further analyzed in terms of subcategories of SM and D and of the relation to the factors mothers' educational level and sex of their child. Results showed that mothers from Rio de Janeiro share a cultural model of autonomy for their children, but that they also believe in the importance of their relationship to others.

The concept of water productivity (WP) or ‘more crop per drop’ has been revived recently in international water debates. Its application has notably been extended from single crops to mixed farming systems, integrating both crops and livestock, with the wider objective of reducing poverty. Using evidence from the Ganga Basin, India, we discuss the relevance of this concept as a tool to guide interventions for livelihood improvement and poverty alleviation. We argue that WP studies would benefit from greater attention to the role of capitals, inequities and institutions. Firstly, it is crucial to acknowledge the heterogeneity of capitals and capabilities of farmers to make changes in their farming systems and practices and avoid one-fix-all interventions. Identifying pre-existing inequities in water access within and among communities will support better targeting of poor communities. WP interventions can either reinforce or reduce inter-household inequities within communities. We stress the need for assessment of institutional impacts of WP interventions on water access and development.

This study defined the body weight/length relationship and an equation for body mass estimation using morphometric measurements on Amazonian manatees Trichechus inunguis (Mammalia: Sirenia). Total length (TL), maximum girth (MG) and body mass (M) were obtained from 91 captive Amazonian manatees (46 males and 45 females) of different ages, and TL and M were obtained from eight free-ranging Amazonian manatees (6 males and 2 females). The data were analysed by linear and multiple linear regressions. The maximum length and mass measured were 266.5 cm and 379.5 kg, respectively. The equation for body weight/length relationship was M = 0.00001070 * TL3.122 (r2 = 0.984) (Equation I) and no differences between sexes and between captive and free-ranging animals were found (P > 0.05). We calculated two more equations for mass estimation (Equation II: M = 0.00003284 * TL1.857 * MG1.106, r2 = 0.992; and Equation III: M = 1.506 + 0.00003477 * TL * MG2, r2 = 0.995), and the best equation (high correlation coefficient and low percentage of residues) was Equation III. Equation I provides the body condition of manatees, whereas Equation III is more accurate for estimating body mass. Both equations are important tools for management of captive and free-ranging Amazonian manatees.

Low temperature (400°C) deposition of ferromagnetic Ni-Mn-Ga thin films is successfully performed via rf magnetron sputtering technique using co-deposition of two targets Ni50Mn50 and Ni50Ga50 on sapphire (0001) and Si (100) substrates. The films are in part amorphous with significant degree of crystallinity. The obtained crystallographic structure is shown to be substrate-dependent. Films on both substrates are ferromagnetic at room temperature (Curie temperature ∼ 332.5K) with well-defined hysteresis loops, low coercivity (∼ 100 Oe) and a saturation magnetization of ∼ 200 emu/cc. At low temperature (5 K), both films show increased magnetization value with wider hysteresis loops having higher coercivity and remanent magnetization. The process is therefore effective in achieving the appropriate thermodynamic conditions to deposit thin films of the Ni-Mn-Ga austenitic phase (highly magnetic at room temperature) at relatively low substrate temperature without the need for post-deposition annealing or further thermal treatment, which is prerequisite for the device fabrication.

This study estimates depreciation values for timber extraction activities in the Brazilian Amazon for 1990 and 1995. A generalized approach following Vincent and Hartwick (1997) is applied enabling us to calculate depreciation based on all three methods proposed in the literature. We also calculate Hotelling rents for timber as a whole and for mahogany alone. Apart from the expected differences in the results for each method, the results show substantially low depreciation estimates as a direct consequence of the high timber stocks and scarcity perception by economic agents due to the lack of property rights in the region. For mahogany alone we obtain substantially higher values. We conclude that if scarcity rents are not fully perceived, or they really do not exist in such huge supply conditions as our estimates may suggest, charges related to other forest services are fundamental to make environmental accounting an useful tool for planning in the Amazonian context.

Single crystalline samples of bismuth tellurite (Bi2TeO5) were implanted with 800 keV Au+ions to a fluence of 1×1016 cm-2 at room temperature. The samples were subjected to heat treatments in two different ambients (air and high vacuum) at temperatures ranging from 400 - 700°C in a conventional furnace. Strong absorption maxima in the range from 600 - 630 nm in the optical absorption spectra and an intense blue-green color in the samples were observed for annealings performed in air at temperatures between 500 and 700°C indicating the formation of gold colloids. The average radii of the Au clusters formed were estimated to be in the range of 3-4 nm. Samples annealed under vacuum showed distinct changes in color for different annealing temperatures. Studies using the RBS/channeling technique indicate that no full recrystallization of the samples was achieved under both annealing regimes although heat treatment under vacuum provides a significantly better lattice recovery than for air ambient.