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Although the popularization of the combined use of alcoholic beverages and energy drinks (ED) containing caffeine, taurine and other substances has increased, there are no controlled experimental studies on the effects of ED alone or combined with ethanol. This work aimed at evaluating the effects of different doses of ED combined or not with ethanol, on the locomotor activity of Swiss mice. The administration of 3.57, 10.71 or 17.86 ml/kg of ED alone increased the locomotor activity of the animals in relation to a control group. Low doses of ethanol (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g/kg) alone or in combination with 10.71 ml/kg of ED did not affect their locomotor activity. However, the reduction of activity observed after 2.5 g/kg of ethanol was antagonized by 10.71 ml/kg of ED. Further studies on the mechanisms of this interaction are still needed.

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Introduction: Sleepiness is responsible for a considerable proportion of traffi c accidents. It is thus an important traffi c safety issue to fi nd a robust, objective and practical way to estimate the amount of time a person has been awake. To attempt to meet this goal, we investigated the relationship between sleepiness and posture control. Methods: Subjects were kept awake for 36 hours and posturographic data during quiet standing were collected every two hours by means of a force platform. The standing surface (rigid surface or foam surface) and visual (eyes open or eyes closed) conditions were manipulated. Results: In the more challenging conditions (with foam surface and/or eyes closed), the body sway variables derived from the center of the pressure measurement increased signifi cantly when time since awakening became greater than 21 h in almost all subjects. Conclusion: Based on this result, we propose a practical protocol that could robustly assess whether time since awakening was greater than 21 h.

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Insertion-deletion polymorphism (InDeL) is the second most frequent type of genetic variation in the human genome. For the detection of large InDeLs, researchers usually resort to either PCR gel analysis or RFLP, but these are time consuming and dependent on human interpretation. Therefore, a more efficient method for genotyping this kind of genetic variation is needed. In this report, we describe a method that can detect large InDeLs by DHPLC (denaturating high-performance liquid chromatography) using the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene I/D polymorphism as a model. The InDeL targeted in this study is characterized by a 288 bp Alu element insertion (I). We used DHPLC at nondenaturating conditions to analyze the PCR product with a flow through the chromatographic column under two different gradients based on the differences between D and I sequences. The analysis described is quick and easy, making this technique a suitable and efficient means for DHPLC users to screen InDeLs in genetic epidemiological studies.

Objetivo descrever o impacto do trabalho em turnos na saúde, no sono e na qualidade de vida de maquinistas ferroviários. Métodos foram avaliados 611 maquinistas (escalas de trabalho 4 x 1 e 6 x 2), por meio de polissonografia, Índice da Qualidade do Sono de Pittsburgh, Índice de Gravidade de Insônia, Questionário de Qualidade de Vida SF-36, Questionário de Horne e Östberg, Capacidade de Trabalho e Escala de Sonolência de Epworth. Resultados os maquinistas apresentaram idade média de 36,6 ± 15,1 anos, 22% apresentaram obesidade e 38,1% risco para doenças cardiovasculares. Em relação ao sono, 64,2% dos maquinistas relataram qualidade ruim de sono, 11,6% apresentaram distúrbios do sono e 29,3% sonolência excessiva. Os resultados da polissonografia mostraram que 36,1% deles apresentaram apneia do sono e 47,2% demonstraram eficiência do sono reduzida. Além disso, os maquinistas apresentaram baixos índices de qualidade de vida, especialmente os da escala 4 x 1. Conclusão é possível afirmar, na população estudada, que a exposição ao trabalho em turnos, a rotatividade inversa, pouco tempo dispensado às folgas e horas extras de trabalho estão associados a danos ao bem-estar, saúde, sociabilização e ao sono de qualidade desses trabalhadores e que provavelmente os fatores relacionados aos turnos de trabalho contribuem para esses danos.

The estimation of genetic variability in germplasm banks is important not only for the conservation of genetic resources, but also for their use in plant breeding. However, a large number of traits from different categories (qualitative and quantitative) can make the analysis and interpretation of the results difficult, often resulting in an incomplete distinction among accessions. We characterized 45 accessions of food-type soybean (Glycine max) from the Soybean Germplasm Bank of Londrina State University based on morphoagronomic traits. The experiment was carried out in the university farm using a randomized block design with three replicates. Twelve traits were evaluated: flower color, pubescence color, tegument color, hilum color, days until flowering, days until maturation, plant height, height of insertion of the first pod, mass of 100 grains, grain yield per plot, agronomic value, and lodging index. The quantitative trait data were submitted to deviance analysis. The genetic divergence among the accessions was examined by Gower's distance and clustering of the accessions was made based on Ward's hierarchical method. Morphoagronomic descriptors proved efficient in detecting the levels of genetic variability among the accessions maintained in the germplasm collection. Gower's distance was efficient in the discrimination of accessions, showing that simultaneous analysis of quantitative and D.M. Zeffa et al. 2 qualitative traits is useful to evaluate the variability in a germoplasm bank. These results can be used as an additional source of information to be exploited in food-type soybean breeding programs.