Carlos Henrique Osório Silva

Lipoxygenase-induced defense of soybean varieties to the attack of the velvetbean caterpillar (Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner)

The genetic elimination of lipoxygenase isozymes (LOX) and the Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (KTI) from soybean seeds is a way to overcome the problems associated with the undesirable beany flavor of soybean products. Although the role of the lipoxygenases in higher plants has not yet been established conclusively, several studies have indicated the physiological relevance of the lipoxygenase pathway induction in plants under biotic and abiotic stress conditions. To elucidate the effect of seed lipoxygenase and KTI elimination on soybean defense against injury, a biochemical assessment of the lipoxygenase pathway in soybean leaves subjected to the attack of Anticarsia gemmatalis (Lepdoptera:Noctuidae) was carried out in a commercial cultivar and three lines derived from this cultivar, which differ on the presence and absence of LOX and the protease inhibitor KTI. The soybean plants responded to the attack of the insect via the LOX pathway, by increasing LOX activity and protease inhibition in their leaves. Since jasmonic acid seems to activate transcription of genes encoding for protease inhibitors, the soybean plant responded to the injury via the LOX pathway, preferentially producing jasmonate and protease inhibitors. There was no association between the lack of LOX and KTI from the seeds and the leaf defense against injury, indicating that the loss of the genes for both proteins from soybean seeds does not interfere with the plant ability to respond to the attack of A. gemmatalis via this pathway.

Diagnóstico do estado nutricional dos atletas da Equipe Olímpica Permanente de Levantamento de Peso do Comitê Olímpico Brasileiro (COB)

This study aimed to diagnose the nutritional status of the Weight Lifting Permanent Olympic Team Athletes of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB). The sample was composed of 24 athletes, aged 16-23 yr, 12 males (19.7 ± 2.4 yr) and 12 females (19.2 ± 1.8 yr). The following procedure was applied to diagnose the nutritional status: analysis of the adequability of energy and macronutrient intake - carbohydrates (CHO), lipids (LIP) and proteins (PRO) -, through the methods 24-hr diet records and the Food Consumption Frequency Questionnaire, besides anthropometrical profile characterization. The results obtained from the dietary evaluation showed that the energy distribution among the macronutrients was adequate, 54 ± 6.8% (CHO); 28,5 ± 5.9% (LIP); and 14.5 ± 3.4% (PRO) for the male team, and 56.3 ± 4.7% (CHO); 28.6 ± 4.6% (LIP); and 13.7 ± 2.4% (PRO) for the female team. However, regarding total energy intake, 83% of the athletes presented energy intake below the recommended values, considering the high level of physical activity, resulting in daily caloric deficiency. Body fat percentage of the male athletes (3.6 ± 0.7%) indicated that all of them were below the reference standard, while 58% of the female athletes had excess fat (17.9 ± 5.8%). It was concluded that although the athletes showed an adequate caloric distribution of macronutrients, it was still not sufficient to meet the energy requirements of their modality, thus these athletes should seek nutritional orientation.

Parasitism by Campoletis flavicincta on Spodoptera frugiperda in corn

Parasitism by Campoletis flavicincta (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) on Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and consequent reduction of production losses were evaluated on caged corn plants in the field. Treatments consisted of plots infested with 0 (control), 15 and 30 pairs of C. flavicincta with egg masses per cage and plot infested without cage and liberation of the parasitoid. Parasitoid release was done when S. frugiperda larvae were three-day-old. Fifty corn plants (40%) per plot were collected seven days after infestation and S. frugiperda larvae present were reared in glass cups on an artificial diet . Number of S. frugiperda larvae was reduced by C. flavicincta but mortality of the pest and parasitoid sex ratio in laboratory were similar among treatments. Total progeny and female production from collected larvae were similar among densities of released parasitoid. Parasitism rate was higher on 30 than on 15 pairs of C. flavicincta. Damage on corn plants at seven and 14 days after S. frugiperda infestation had similar grades at 0, 15 or 30 C. flavicincta pairs and higher values than the plots without cage. Damage by S. frugiperda was lower at 30 C. flavicincta pairs after 21 days of infestation. Final stand, stand reduction by plant death and corn productivity were similar among treatments.

Testes para verificar a igualdade de parâmetros e a identidade de modelos de regressão não-linear em dados de experimento com delineamento em blocos casualizados

Considerou-se o ajustamento de equacoes de regressao nao-linear e o teste da razao de verossimilhanca, com aproximacoes pelas estatisticas qui-quadrado e F, para testar as hipoteses de igualdade de qualquer subconjunto de parâmetros e de identidade dos modelos para dados com repeticoes provenientes de experimento com delineamento em blocos completos casualizados. Concluiu-se que as duas aproximacoes podem ser utilizadas, mas a aproximacao pela estatistica F deve ser preferida, principalmente para pequenas amostras.

The Effect of Extrinsic Product Attributes of Pineapple Juice on Consumer Intention to Purchase

This study aimed to investigate the extent to which consumer information concerning several attributes of the pineapple juice packaging, including the manufacturing process, influenced the consumer intention to purchase. It is suggested that high-pressure technology retains nutrients as vitamins and keeps sensory attributes closer to those of fresh foods. These advantages meet the increasing consumer demand for healthy products and a more differentiated food assortment. However, the benefits provided by these products are not always communicated to consumers. Although information about the technology (high-pressure) had been positively considered by consumers when fruit juice consumption was taken into account, fewer studies have focused on this aspect. The effect of 5 attributes of the package (information on manufacturing process, product definition, production information, price, and brand name) on the pineapple juice consumer intention to purchase was investigated by 96 fruit juice consumers. Information about technology (high-pressure) positively contributed to the consumer pineapple juice intention to purchase and showed to be essential when it is applied on pineapple juice production, being a useful approach when adequately communicated to consumers.

Exercise training and detraining modify the morphological and mechanical properties of single cardiac myocytes obtained from spontaneously hypertensive rats

We determined the effects of exercise training and detraining on the morphological and mechanical properties of left ventricular myocytes in 4-month-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) randomly divided into the following groups: sedentary for 8 weeks (SED-8), sedentary for 12 weeks (SED-12), treadmill-running trained for 8 weeks (TRA, 16 m/min, 60 min/day, 5 days/week), and treadmill-running trained for 8 weeks followed by 4 weeks of detraining (DET). At sacrifice, left ventricular myocytes were isolated enzymatically, and resting cell length, width, and cell shortening after stimulation at a frequency of 1 Hz (~25°C) were measured. Cell length was greater in TRA than in SED-8 (161.30 ± 1.01 vs 156.10 ± 1.02 μm, P < 0.05, 667 vs 618 cells, respectively) and remained larger after detraining. Cell width and volume were unaffected by either exercise training or detraining. Cell length to width ratio was higher in TRA than in SED-8 (8.50 ± 0.08 vs 8.22 ± 0.10, P < 0.05) and was maintained after detraining. Exercise training did not affect cell shortening, which was unchanged with detraining. TRA cells exhibited higher maximum velocity of shortening than SED-8 (102.01 ± 4.50 vs 82.01 ± 5.30 μm/s, P < 0.05, 70 cells per group), with almost complete regression after detraining. The maximum velocity of relengthening was higher in TRA cells than in SED-8 (88.20 ± 4.01 vs70.01 ± 4.80 μm/s, P < 0.05), returning to sedentary values with detraining. Therefore, exercise training affected left ventricle remodeling in SHR towards eccentric hypertrophy, which remained after detraining. It also improved single left ventricular myocyte contractile function, which was reversed by detraining.

Características visuais da embalagem de café no processo de decisão de compra pelo consumidor

Conduziu-se este trabalho, com o objetivo de investigar, usando grupos de foco, atitudes, opinioes, conceitos e pensamentos de consumidores sobre embalagens de cafe torrado e moido que refletem na sua decisao de compra. Tres sessoes de grupo de foco de 90 minutos foram realizadas (duas em Vicosa/MG e uma em Londrina/PR), num total de 24 participantes. Foram apresentadas cinco embalagens de cafe (sendo quatro orgânicas, em razao da maior preocupacao em obter dados sobre cafe orgânico) para estimular a conversacao, sendo seguido um roteiro de perguntas. Os dados obtidos foram estudados, considerando palavras utilizadas pelos consumidores, sem analise estatistica, em razao da caracteristica qualitativa de grupos de foco. Foi observado que os principais fatores considerados no processo de decisao de compra sao: preco, cor da embalagem e marca. Muitos participantes mostraram-se fieis a marcas e outros admitiram pagar mais por um produto orgânico, dependendo do preco do mesmo. Foi sugerido que na embalagem de cafe orgânico deveria ser salientada a definicao do produto para aqueles que nao conhecem tal tecnica de producao.

Qualidade sensorial de néctares de maracujás BRS Ouro Vermelho produzidos em diferentes sistemas de cultivo

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o perfil sensorial e a aceitabilidade de nectares de maracujas obtidos de plantas submetidas a diferentes sistemas de producao, orgânico e convencional, com ou sem sombreamento pelo consorcio com mandioca. As amostras foram avaliadas por Analise Descritiva Quantitativa e por teste de aceitacao com escala hedonica. Os dados do perfil descritivo e de aceitacao foram analisados por Mapa de Preferencia Externo, Analise de Variância e teste de comparacao de medias de Fisher. Observou-se que os frutos que nao foram submetidos ao sombreamento apresentaram nectares com perfil sensorial bastante semelhante e maior aceitacao. Nectares de maracuja convencional nao sombreado e orgânico nao sombreado apresentaram correlacao com os atributos aroma verde, homogeneidade e gosto acido. As maiores diferencas na aceitacao foram observadas entre as amostras convencional sombreada e orgânico nao sombreada, com diferencas significativas nos atributos de cor, sabor e qualidade global. O Mapa de Preferencia Externo apontou que a amostra de nectar convencional sombreado, com menor aceitacao, foi correlacionada com os atributos fibrosidade e viscosidade.

Ordered probit regression analysis of the effect of brand name on beer acceptance by consumers

Ordered probit regression was used to analyze data of sensory acceptance tests designed to study the effect of brand name on the acceptability of beer samples. Eight different brands of Pilsen beer were evaluated by 101 consumers in two sessions of acceptance tests: blind evaluation and brand information test. Ordered probit regression, although a relatively sophisticated technique compared to others used to analyze sensory data, was chosen to enable the observation of consumers’ behavior using graphical interpretations of estimated probabilities plotted against hedonic scales. It can be concluded that brands B, C, and D had a positive effect on the sensory acceptance of the product, whereas brands A, F, G, and H had a negative influence on consumers’ evaluation of the samples. On the other hand, brand E had little influence on consumers’ assessment.

Análise conjunta de fatores baseada em escolhas no estudo da embalagem de iogurte light sabor morango

A análise conjunta de fatores baseada em escolhas (ANCFE) foi empregada para avaliar a influência de alguns fatores da embalagem de iogurte light sabor morango sobre a escolha do consumidor. Foram selecionados três fatores com dois níveis cada para a montagem das embalagens: conteúdo de açúcar (“0% de açúcar” e “com adoçante”), conteúdo de gordura (“0% de gordura” e “baixo teor de gordura”) e conteúdo de proteína (“enriquecido com proteínas bioativas” e “enriquecido com proteínas do soro do leite”). Oito imagens de embalagens foram criadas baseando-se em um arranjo fatorial completo. Estas imagens foram apresentadas a 144 consumidores, aos quais foi solicitado que escolhessem apenas uma dentre elas. Pela ANCFE, o produto ideal ou de maior probabilidade de escolha para os consumidores seria a embalagem de iogurte contendo as informações “0% de açúcar”, “0% de gordura” e “enriquecido com proteínas bioativas”. A ANCFE demonstrou ser eficiente em testes que envolvem a influência de características não sensoriais do produto sobre a avaliação do consumidor, permitindo, de maneira objetiva, interpretar dados em situações que envolvem a relação entre a análise sensorial e o estudo do comportamento do consumidor.