Publications by authors named "Alexandre Alves"

A splenic abscess (SA) following sleeve gastrectomy (SG) is a rare manifestation of a gastric leak (GL). The clinical findings include fever, abdominal pain, leukocytosis, and an elevated C-reactive protein. A computed tomography scan is diagnostic and can show signs of GL, or diffuse peritonitis.

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This work reports the formation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by sputter deposition in thin films of three different ionic liquids (ILs) with the same anion (bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide) and cation (imidazolium), but with different alkyl chain lengths and symmetries in the cationic moiety ([CCim][NTf], [CCim][NTf], and [CCim][NTf]). Ionic liquid (IL) films in the form of microdroplets with different thicknesses (200 to 800 monolayers) were obtained through vacuum thermal evaporation onto glass substrates coated with indium tin oxide (ITO). The sputtering process of the Ag onto the ILs when conducted simultaneously with argon plasma promoted the coalescence of the ILs' droplets and the formation, incorporation, and stabilization of the metallic nanoparticles in the coalesced IL films.

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Ionic liquids (ILs) have been widely used for energy storage and conversion devices due to their negligible vapor pressure, high thermal stability, and outstanding interfacial properties. Notably, the interfacial nanostructure and the wettability of thin ionic liquid films on solid surfaces are of utmost relevance in nanosurface science and technology. Herein, a reproducible physical vapor deposition methodology was used to fabricate thin films of four alkylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ILs.

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Backgrounds: The present study explored the viability of bovine milk macrophages, their intracellular production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), and their phagocytosis of Staphylococcus aureus, as well as the profile of lymphocytes, from healthy udder quarters and udder quarters infected by Corynebacterium bovis. The study included 28 healthy udder quarters from 12 dairy cows and 20 udder quarters infected by C. bovis from 10 dairy cows.

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The implications of bovine leukemia virus (BLV) on innate and adaptive immune responses have been widely investigated; however, the effects of BLV on mammary gland immunity require further investigation. The present study investigated the viability, phagocytic capacity, and intracellular production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) by macrophages in milk samples from dairy cows naturally infected with BLV with or without persistent lymphocytosis (PL). No effect of BLV infection in the overall number of macrophages per milliliter and in the percentage of viable macrophages among overall milk viable cells was found.

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Thyroglossal duct cyst (TGDC) is the most common congenital neck anomaly in childhood, although it can be diagnosed at any age group. Ultrasound of the thyroid gland and the neck structures is an appropriate tool for diagnosis. The authors aim to report a rare case of a 22-year-old male with a laryngeal perforation during a TGDC excision and raise awareness to this potentially life-threatening complication.

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Background: Lateral overload in progressive collapsing foot deformity (PCFD) takes place as hindfoot valgus, peritalar subluxation, and valgus instability of the ankle increase. Fibular strain due to chronic lateral impingement may lead to distraction forces over the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis (DTFS). This study aimed to assess and correlate the severity of the foot and ankle offset (FAO) as a marker of progressive PCFD with the amount of DTFS widening and to compare it to controls.

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Background: The most widely used data for cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) referrals are from the Cooper Clinic, which uses calculated maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) values.

Objective: To develop CRF values from cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPX) in a Brazilian population with high socioeconomic level and free of structural heart disease. VO2max testing results were compared with the Cooper Clinic and FRIEND Registry data.

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In this study, a homogeneous thin film growth of pentacene onto indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass surfaces is explored using a high-resolution and reproducible vapor deposition methodology. Moreover, vacuum thermal evaporation of ionic liquids (ILs) ([C C im][NTf ] and [C C im][OTF]) onto ITO, gold/palladium (AuPd) and pentacene surfaces were performed. A greater wettability behavior of ILs is observed for surfaces containing AuPd.

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Purpose: Cardiorespiratory fitness is inversely associated with a high risk of cardiovascular disease, all-cause mortality, and mortality attributable to various cancers. It is often estimated indirectly using mathematical formulas for estimating oxygen uptake. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing, especially oxygen uptake, represents the "gold standard" for assessing exercise capacity.

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Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile genetic elements present in almost all eukaryotic genomes. Due to their typical patterns of repetition, discovery, and characterization, they demand analysis by various bioinformatics software. Probably, as a result of the need for a complex analysis, many genomes publicly available do not have these elements annotated yet.

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Genomic wide selection is a promising approach for improving the selection accuracy in plant breeding, particularly in species with long life cycles, such as Jatropha. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to estimate the genetic parameters for grain yield (GY) and the weight of 100 seeds (W100S) using restricted maximum likelihood (REML); to compare the performance of GWS methods to predict GY and W100S; and to estimate how many markers are needed to train the GWS model to obtain the maximum accuracy. Eight GWS models were compared in terms of predictive ability.

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Journal Citation Reports (JCR) is the main source of bibliometric indicators known by the scientific community. This paper presents the results of a study of the distributions of the first and second significant digits according to Benford's law (BL) of the number of articles, citations, impact factors, half-life and immediacy index bibliometric indicators in journals indexed in the JCR Sciences and Social Sciences Editions from 2007 to 2014. We also performed the data analysis to country's origin and by journal's category, and we verified that the second digit has a better adherence to BL.

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Phenological studies can provide information that enables the understanding of the dynamics of plants and how these dynamics are related to the biotic and abiotic environment. In order to study the phenological phases of Jatropha during two agricultural years, agronomic and climatic variables, such as temperature and rainfall, were evaluated. Data for each variable in each year and each genotype were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the differences were tested at 5% probability by F test.

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The aim of this study was to compare two Portuguese (Alentejana and Mertolenga) and two exotic (Frisian and Limousine) cattle breeds in terms of the relationship between the increase in ambient temperature and the responses of the evaporative heat loss pathways and the effects on homeothermy. In the experiment, six heifers of the Alentejana, Frisian, and Mertolenga breeds and four heifers of the Limousine breed were used. The animals were placed in four temperature levels, the first one under thermoneutral conditions and the other ones with increase levels of thermal stress.

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Development of dedicated perennial crops has been indicated as a strategic action to meet the growing demand for biofuels. Breeding of perennial crops,however, is often time- and resource-consuming. As genomics offers a platform from which to learn more about the relationships of genes and phenotypes,its operational use in the context of breeding programs through strategies such as genomic selection promises to foster the development of perennial crops dedicated to biodiesel production by increasing the efficiency of breeding programs and by shortening the length of the breeding cycles.

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Networks can greatly advance data sharing attitudes by providing organized and useful data sets on marine biodiversity in a friendly and shared scientific environment. NONATObase, the interactive database on polychaetes presented herein, will provide new macroecological and taxonomic insights of the Southwestern Atlantic region. The database was developed by the NONATO network, a team of South American researchers, who integrated available information on polychaetes from between 5°N and 80°S in the Atlantic Ocean and near the Antarctic.

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Benford's Law is a logarithmic probability distribution function used to predict the distribution of the first significant digits in numerical data. This paper presents the results of a study of the distribution of the first significant digits of the number of articles published of journals indexed in the JCR Sciences and Social Sciences Editions from 2007 to 2011. The data of these journals were also analyzed by the country of origin and the journal's category.

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Article Synopsis
  • The research seeks to create a detailed genomic database for Elaeis species, including the whole-genome sequencing of Elaeis oleifera.
  • The study challenges existing beliefs about genome sizes, showing that E. guineensis and E. oleifera have similar sizes, contrary to previous claims that E. oleifera has a smaller genome.
  • Findings reveal both species have around 38% GC content, and propose that the actual genome size for these species is approximately 4 pg, suggesting E. oleifera may have a larger genome than E. guineensis.
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The genetic variability of the Brazilian physic nut (Jatropha curcas) germplasm bank (117 accessions) was assessed using a combination of phenotypic and molecular data. The joint dissimilarity matrix showed moderate correlation with the original matrices of phenotypic and molecular data. However, the correlation between the phenotypic dissimilarity matrix and the genotypic dissimilarity matrix was low.

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Objectives: Leprosy household contacts represent a group at high risk of developing the disease. The aim of this study was to detect Mycobacterium leprae subclinical infection in this group through serological and molecular parameters.

Methods: Serum anti-PGL1 IgG/IgM and salivary anti-PGL1 IgA/IgM was investigated using an ELISA, and nasal carriage of M.

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Let j be a positive integer. For each integer n > j we consider the connectedness locus M(n) of the family of polynomials P(c)(z)=z(n) - cz(n-j), where c is a complex parameter. We prove that lim n→∞ M(n) = D in the Hausdorff topology, where D is the unitary closed disk {c;|c|≤1}.

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Chrysophorte cubensis induced canker occurs in nearly all tropical and subtropical regions where eucalypts are planted, causing losses in both wood quality and volume productivity, especially so in the warmer and more humid regions of Brazil. The wide inter and intra-specific genetic variability of resistance to canker among Eucalyptus species facilitates the selection of resistant plants. In this study, we evaluated resistance to this pathogen in five Eucalyptus grandis (G) and 15 E.

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As high-throughput genomic tools, such as the DNA microarray platform, have lead to the development of novel genotyping procedures, such as Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), it is likely that, in the future, high density linkage maps will be constructed from both dominant and co-dominant markers. Recently, a strictly genetic approach was described for estimating recombination frequency (r) between co-dominant markers in full-sib families. The complete set of maximum likelihood estimators for r in full-sib families was almost obtained, but unfortunately, one particular configuration involving dominant markers, segregating in a 3:1 ratio and co-dominant markers, was not considered.

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The objective of this study was to test a device developed to improve the functionality, accuracy and precision of the original technique for sweating rate measurements proposed by Schleger and Turner [Schleger AV, Turner HG (1965) Aust J Agric Res 16:92-106]. A device was built for this purpose and tested against the original Schleger and Turner technique. Testing was performed by measuring sweating rates in an experiment involving six Mertolenga heifers subjected to four different thermal levels in a climatic chamber.

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