First report of endocytobionts in the digestive tract of ponerine ants

We conducted ultrastructural studies to examine the presence of microorganisms in the midgut of the ant Odontomachus bauri (Ponerinae), as a contribution towards understanding the relationships between microorganisms and their hosts. The presence of microorganisms in this region, including inside the cells, suggests their participation in food digestion as symbiontic organisms and represent a new possibility to exploit food sources in the environment.     

Histochemical technique for the detection of chloride cells in fish

Chloride cells are responsible for ionic exchanges in the fish gill. These cells have been widely studied, considering its importance in vital functions of the gill, and because they proliferate when exposed to unfavorable environments. One of the main characteristic of these cells is an acidic cytoplasm, which has been used for identification through histochemical techniques with dyes such as Toluidine Blue and Hematoxylin and Eosin. However, these techniques can be problematic, since epithelial cells can, in certain situations, acquire acidic characteristics similar to those of chloride cells, thus staining in a similar way. Among other functions, chloride cells play a role in calcium uptake from the environment, and therefore have a high concentration of this element. Based on this information, this study aims at developing a specific protocol for the identification of chloride cells. With this purpose, the Von Kossa method specific for calcium was used combined with Hematoxylin counterstaining. Chloride cells had cytoplasm slightly stained with Hematoxylin and the presence of dark stained granules dispersed in the cytoplasm resulted from the Von Kossa reaction due to the calcium present in these cells. This was not found in any other gill cell. Thus, the technique used in this study was specific and efficient to identify chloride cells in fish gills.     

Thermo- and pH-Responsive Gelatin/Polyphenolic Tannin/Graphene Oxide Hydrogels for Efficient Methylene Blue Delivery

Gelatin (GE), amino-functionalized polyphenolic tannin derivative (TN), and graphene oxide (GO) were associated to yield thermo- and pH-responsive hydrogels for the first time. Durable hydrogel assemblies for drug delivery purposes were developed using the photosensitizer methylene blue (MB) as a drug model. The cooling GE/TN blends provide brittle physical assemblies. To overcome this disadvantage, different GO contents (between 0.31% and 1.02% wt/wt) were added to the GE/TN blend at 89.7/10.3 wt/wt. FTIR and RAMAN spectroscopy analyses characterized the materials, indicating GO presence in the hydrogels. Incorporation studies revealed a total MB (0.50 mg/mL) incorporation into the GE/TN-GO hydrogel matrices. Additionally, the proposed systems present a mechanical behavior similar to gel. The GO presence in the hydrogel matrices increased the elastic modulus from 516 to 1650 Pa. SEM revealed that hydrogels containing MB present higher porosity with interconnected pores. Dissolution and swelling degree studies revealed less stability of the GE/TN-GO-MB hydrogels in SGF medium (pH 1.2) than SIF (pH 6.8). The degradation increased in SIF with the GO content, making the polymeric matrices more hydrophilic. MB release studies revealed a process controlled by Fickian diffusion. Our results point out the pH-responsible behavior of mechanically reinforced GE/TN-GO-MB hydrogels for drug delivery systems purposes.     

Morphological features and occurrence of degenerative characteristics in the hypopharyngeal glands of the paper wasp Polistes versicolor (Olivier) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Different histochemical techniques were applied to examine the morphological features of the secretory cells of hypopharyngeal glands in the wasp Polistes versicolor. The results showed that most analyzed individuals present active glands with secretion stored in the cytoplasm. In some glands, morphological analyses revealed the presence of degenerative characteristics. Analyses of cellular integrity, however, did not detect dead cells. The results showed that, in P. versicolor, the development and regression of the hypopharyngeal glands were not age related, unlike glands of social bees.     

Ileum of the Cephalotes ants: a specialized structure to harbor symbionts microorganisms

We conducted comparative morphological studies of the tract digestive of Cephalotes atratus, C. clypeatus and C. pusillus, aiming at describing the relationships among these three species, as well as the histochemical, enzymatic, and ultra-morphological differences of the wall and the contents of the digestive tract, therefore contributing for the understanding of the relationships between symbionts and their host.     

The influence of graded interfaces in the electronic spectrum of nanometer silicon dots

The effects imposed to the electron energy levels of Si/SiO₂ quantum dots by the presence of smooth graded interfaces and interfacial carriers trap is studied. For small diameter quantum dots, while the existence of graded interfaces strongly blue shifts the carrier energy states (up to a few hundred meV), the effect of the interfacial carriers trap is to red shift the energies, but to a lesser extend (under 50 meV). In addition, slight changes in the distance of the carriers trap in relation to the center of the dot does not alter significantly the energy spectrum.     

Reaction of dichloroketene and sulfenc with N,N-disubstituted 2-aminomethylene-1 -indanones. Synthesis of indeno[ 1,2-b ] pyran and lndeno[2,l-e] -1,2-oxathiin derivatives

The 1,4-cycloaddition of dichloroketene to N,N-disubstituted 2-aminomethylcnc-l-indanones afforded N,N-disubstituted 4-ainino-3,3-dichloro-3,4-dihydro-2-oxoindeno[1,2-b ]pyrans only in the case of full or partial aromatic N-substitution. The diphenylamino adduct gave 3-chloro-4-diphenylamino-2-oxoindeno[ 1,2-b]pyran by dehydrochlorination with DBN. The 1,4-cycloaddition with sulfene occurred only in the case of 2-diethylaininomethylene-1-indanone to give 4-diethylamino-3,4-dihydroindeno[2, 1-e]-1,2-oxathiin 2,2-dioxide, a derivative of a new hetero-cyclic system.     

Surface hydration for antifouling and bio-adhesion

Antifouling properties of materials play crucial roles in many important applications such as biomedical implants, marine antifouling coatings, biosensing, and membranes for separation. Poly(ethylene glycol) (or PEG) containing polymers and zwitterionic polymers have been shown to be excellent antifouling materials. It is believed that their outstanding antifouling activity comes from their strong surface hydration. On the other hand, it is difficult to develop underwater glues, although adhesives with strong adhesion in a dry environment are widely available. This is related to dehydration, which is important for adhesion for many cases while water is the enemy of adhesion. In this research, we applied sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy to investigate buried interfaces between mussel adhesive plaques and a variety of materials including antifouling polymers and control samples, supplemented by studies on marine animal (mussel) behavior and adhesion measurements. It was found that PEG containing polymers and zwitterionic polymers have very strong surface hydration in an aqueous environment, which is the key for their excellent antifouling performance. Because of the strong surface hydration, mussels do not settle on these surfaces even after binding to the surfaces with rubber bands. For control samples, SFG results indicate that their surface hydration is much weaker, and therefore mussels can generate adhesives to displace water to cause dehydration at the interface. Because of the dehydration, mussels can foul on the surfaces of these control materials. Our experiments also showed that if mussels were forced to deposit adhesives onto the PEG containing polymers and zwitterionic polymers, interfacial dehydration did not occur. However, even with the strong interfacial hydration, strong adhesion between mussel adhesives and antifouling polymer surfaces was detected, showing that under certain circumstances, interfacial water could enhance the interfacial bio-adhesion.

Antifouling properties of materials play crucial roles in many important applications such as biomedical implants, marine antifouling coatings, biosensing, and membranes for separation.     

Sharp embeddings of Besov spaces involving only logarithmic smoothness

We use Kolyada's inequality and its converse form to prove sharp embeddings of Besov spaces (involving the zero classical smoothness and a logarithmic smoothness with the exponent β) into Lorentz–Zygmund spaces. We also determine growth envelopes of spaces . In distinction to the case when the classical smoothness is positive, we show that we cannot describe all embeddings in question in terms of growth envelopes.     

Topologically equivalent N-dimensional isometries

Let G be the group of isometries of the n-sphere, Euclidean n-space, or hyperbolic n-space, the group of similarities of Euclidean n-space, or the group of Möbius transformations of the n-sphere. In each case we attempt to determine the conjugacy classes in G which are amalgamated when we allow conjugation of the elements of G by homeomorphisms of the space on which G acts. We are successful modulo undetermined amalgamation among certain periodic orthogonal transformations.