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Biomedical subjects

L A Cardoso

Publications and source records attributed to L A Cardoso.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Immunogold localization of trehalose-6-phosphate synthase in leaf segments of wild-type and transgenic tobacco plants expressing the AtTPS1 gene from Arabidopsis thaliana.

Following the establishment of a transgenic line of tobacco (B5H) expressing the trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS) gene from Arabidopsis thaliana, a preliminary immunolocalization study was conducted using leaves of adequately watered B5H and wild-type plants. Immunocytochemical staining, followed by electron microscopy showed that the enzyme could be detected in both B5H and wild-type plants at two different levels. Quantification showed the signal to be two to three times higher in transgenic plants than in the wild type. This enzyme was markedly present in the vacuoles and the cell wall, and to a lesser extent in the cytosol. Moreover, a high profusion of gold particles was detected in adjacent cells and in the sieve elements. Occasional spots were also detected in chloroplasts and the nucleus, especially in the transgenic B5H line. No labeling signal was detected in mitochondria. Protein localization seems to confirm the important role of TPS in sugar metabolism and transport through the plant, which could explain its role in plant stress tolerance. Finally, it can be expected that TPS from tobacco has a relatively high similarity to the TPS of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Arabidopsis↗
PubMed2006

The effect of supplementation on productive performance of Boer goat bucks fed winter veld hay.

Fifteen Boer goat bucks, (6-8 months old), were allocated into two groups and fed ad libitum for a period of 29 days. The WH group (winter hay; n = 8) received a chopped diet consisting of grass hay, predominantly Themeda trianda grass (cut during the winter) from a natural pasture (veld). The WH+S group (winter hay plus supplement; n = 7) received a chopped diet consisting of Themeda trianda veld hay, supplemented with maize meal, molasses meal and urea. Body weights and feed consumption were recorded. Animals were slaughtered and carcass characteristics (weight and percentages of selected carcass cuts) and the carcass chemical composition were determined. The WH+S animals showed a higher live weight and cumulated feed intake. Carcass cuts from WH animals represented a higher percentage of the total carcass, especially cuts where muscle depots are higher (legs, best end chops and prime cuts). There is an attempt by non-supplemented animals to preserve the body's nitrogen reserves under prolonged nutritional stress conditions, and there is consequently a necessity to supplement feeding of small ruminants fed winter veld hay, especially if the animals are to be used in subsequent breeding seasons.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed2002

Protective effect of clenbuterol on duodenal epithelium during food restriction in rats.

The aim of the study was to examine the effect of the beta2-adrenoceptor, clenbuterol, on the duodenal epithelium of food-restricted rats. Clenbuterol was administered as a dietary admixture (4 mg/kg diet) to three groups of male Wistar rats (n = 8) housed individually in metabolic cages and fed ad libitum for 15 days at 110% and 160% of the estimated requirement for energy maintenance. Untreated groups at each energy intake level were also included. Samples of the duodenum were examined by light microscopy. Compared with control animals, clenbuterol treatment significantly increased body mass in all diet groups, although it induced no changes in mean food intake. Gastrointestinal (GIT) dry mass was increased by clenbuterol only in the most severely-restricted-diet group. In this group, clenbuterol treatment increased GIT tissue nitrogen (23%), more than it did in the ad libitum group (13%). In all treated groups, clenbuterol induced significant hypertrophy of duodenal enterocytes and circular muscle layers, and the diameter of lymphatic vessels increased. In the clenbuterol-treated, restricted-diet groups the height of the brush borders of enterocytes increased. It is concluded that clenbuterol has a protective effect on the intestinal structure in rats on restricted as well as ad libitum diets.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗
PubMed2002

Effect of clenbuterol on growth, nitrogen and energy balances and endocrine status in food-restricted sheep.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of the beta2-adrenoceptor clenbuterol on food-restricted sheep. Clenbuterol was administered as a dietary admixture (4 mg/ kg diet) to a group of male Serra da Estrela sheep (n = 6). The animals were housed individually in metabolic cages and fed for 45 days at 65% of estimated requirement for energy maintenance. An untreated group with the same energy intake level was included as a control. Changes in body mass, nitrogen and energy balances and insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), and triiodothyronine (T3 ) levels in the experimental animals were monitored. During the 4th week of the trial, clenbuterol-treated sheep showed increased mass gains, greater energy retention and serum IGF-1 levels and decreased T3 serum concentrations. This study showed that clenbuterol may induce a protective effect in sheep subjected to periods of food deprivation, based on the body mass and digestible energy effects manifested by treated animals.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗
PubMed2000

Parentage testing on blood crusts from firearms projectiles by DNA typing settles and insurance fraud case.

We describe a case of a fraudulent insurance claim. The family of an adult white male (DLF) notified the police of their son's disappearance. After a few weeks, a corpse that presented characteristics similar to those of the DLF was found in advanced stages of decay and was identified by the family as being DLF. The family then filed a claim for the life insurance that DLF had taken out just before he disappeared. Suspicions were raised about the identification of the corpse, because it had been done only visually, and because the insurance policy had been taken out just prior to DLF's disappearance. The insurance company requested a postmortem examination for identification. As the corpse had been cremated immediately after identification by the family, the biological material that was encrusted on the two projectiles removed from the body was used for analysis. The blood crusts provided enough genomic DNA for us to carry out PCR base typing of HLA-DQA1, D1S80, HUMCSF1PO, HUMTPOX, HUMTH01, D3S1744, D12S1090, D18S849, and amelogenin. Results from all loci typing from the corpse presumed to be that of DLF were then compared with that of his alleged biological parents, revealing genetic incompatibility.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Effect of clenbuterol on endocrine status and nitrogen and energy balance in food-restricted rats.

We administered clenbuterol as a dietary admixture (4 mg/kg diet) to three groups of male Wistar rats (n = 8) housed individually in metabolism cages and fed for 15 d at 110, 160, and 235% (ad libitum) of the estimated requirement for energy maintenance. Untreated groups at each level of energy intake and a baseline group were also included. In the diet-restricted rats, clenbuterol induced greater and more persistent increases in nitrogen balance, biological value, and net protein utilization than it did in the ad libitum-fed rats. Energy balance was increased by clenbuterol treatment in the diet-restricted rats, with no significant changes occurring in the ad libitum fed rats. Compared with untreated rats, clenbuterol reduced blood glucose in all diet groups and serum insulin in the ad libitum and the moderately restricted (160%) rats. Serum IGF-I was increased in the highly restricted (110%) rats. Corticosterone levels were increased by clenbuterol treatment in all diet groups. These results are consistent with previous results showing that clenbuterol can help improve growth, but they also show that clenbuterol can offset the effects of food restriction on protein and energy metabolism.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗
PubMed1996

Effect of clenbuterol on growth and body composition during food restriction in rats.

Clenbuterol was administered as a dietary admixture (4 mg/kg diet) to three groups of male Wistar rats (n = 8) housed individually in metabolism cages and fed for 15 d at 110, 160, and 235% (ad libitum) of estimated requirement for energy maintenance. Untreated groups at each level of energy intake were also included. There was no effect of clenbuterol on food intake in the ad libitum group, but the drug produced significant increases in body weight, feed efficiency, and carcass weight, dressing and protein content at all three levels of energy intake. This effect of clenbuterol was particularly noticeable in the restricted animals. Clenbuterol caused changes in body composition (increased percentage of water and protein, decreased percentage of fat) in the ad libitum rats but had no effect in the restricted groups. The reduction in the growth of the viscera caused by energy restriction was not affected by clenbuterol, apart from in the 110% restricted group, where the gastrointestinal tract was 26% heavier in the clenbuterol-treated rats. The results show that the growth anabolic actions of clenbuterol can be sustained and may be even more marked in rats fed restrictively than in those given ad libitum access to feed.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗
PubMed1994

Bladder irrigation with amphotericin B for treatment of fungal urinary tract infections.

Fungal urinary tract infection has become a frequent clinical entity. Despite limited evaluation of its efficacy, bladder irrigation with amphotericin B has become the usual means of therapy for such infections. The outcome of treatment with amphotericin B bladder irrigation for an average of 5 days for 95 hospitalized patients with funguria (mean age, 75 years) during a 14-month period is presented. All patients who received treatment were identified from pharmacy records; those for whom urine culture results were obtained after treatment were studied. Fever and/or pyuria was identified in the majority of cases. Funguria was eradicated in 80% (confidence interval, 72%-88%). Concomitant diabetes mellitus or the previous use of indwelling bladder catheters did not alter response to treatment. The mortality rate following treatment of funguria was 39%, compared to 30.5% for a similar population during the same period. Amphotericin B bladder irrigation may not prove to be ideal therapy despite the fact that it initially eradicated funguria in the majority of subjects in this study.

Administration, Intravesical↗
PubMed1994

Median mandibular cleft.

We report on a patient with median cleft of mandible and lower lip and its associated corrective treatment, and we review the literature.

Branchial Region↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Utilization of cytogenetic technics in paternity investigation.

The joint analysis of several genetic markers in cases of paternity investigation renders possible a cumulative probability of 99.7% of chance of exclusion of a falsely accused father. The role of heteromorphisms of the Y chromosome size was appraised in this work, with more than one genetic marker, in 20 expertise examinations in paternity investigation, where the children were male. The results found with this method, in association with the research on erythrocytic and leucocytic antigens showed the exclusion of two falsely accused men. Cytogenetics analysis with Giemsa stain in combination with leukocyte (HLA system) and erythrocyte antigens investigation demonstrated the exclusion of two men falsely accused.

Cytogenetics↗