Neural plasticity is a consequence of a delicate balance between the processes of neurodegeneration and neurogenesis. When neurodegeneration overcomes neurogenesis, neurodegenerative diseases occur, which affect cognitive functions such as memory, language, and executive functions. Neurodegeneration, the process of neuronal cell death, presents several aspects that were categorized according to their macroscopic and/or morphological characteristics. The concept of apoptosis, autophagy, and necrosis is still widely used today. On the other hand, more in-depth forms emerge in the clinical and academia, describing the cascade of cell death events through biochemical approaches, and the essential (causal) and accessory (correlative) aspects of the cell death process. New concepts were introduced, addressed in the modules of signal translation involving issues such as the initiation, execution, and propagation of cell death, as well as the pathophysiological relevance of each of the main types. Currently, twelve types of cell death are already defined, not only apoptosis, necrosis, and autophagy. In this review, we will address the main mechanisms of cell death, with special emphasis on the participation of caspases and other proteins in these mechanisms. We will discuss some types of cell death such as extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis, necrosis, necroptosis, and autophagy-dependent cell death. We hope to elucidate key points in molecular systems, including the receptors involved in cell death and their role in neurodegeneration, and showing that neurodegeneration has characteristics beyond morphological (apoptosis and necrosis).

O Café com Ciência é uma série de seminários com professores/pesquisadores da Ufac ou convidados externos, inclusive estrangeiros. Este tipo de atividade já ocorria de maneira extraoficial entre professores e alunos nos programas de pós-graduação CITA e na Bionorte desde 2011 (UFAC, 2019). Por meio de projetos de extensão o evento tornou-se oficial e vem sendo realizado desde 2014 com interrupção devido a pandemia. Pretende-se então, dar continuidade ao evento e implementar novas ideias, com uma equipe mais forte, com auxílio de alunos de graduação e membros externos a universidade.

Peixes são animais consumidos por diferentes culturas e países no mundo, esses são extremamente ricos em diversos tipos de nutrientes, como vitamina A, vitamina B12, iodo, zinco, selênio, fósforo e vitamina B2, além dessas destaca-se os Ácidos graxos, principalmente poli insaturados Ecosapentaenóico (EPA) e docosahexaenóico (DHA), sendo consumida principalmente na forma de óleos, considerado excelente fonte destas substâncias. Tem se estabelecido um consenso mundial na razão de ácidos graxos ômega 6 e ômega 3, que variam de 4:1 até 5:1, devido sua ação cardioprotetora, envolvendo prevenção à fibrilação atrial, aterosclerose, trombose e morte cardíaca súbita. Além de melhorias nas funções cognitivas, de aprendizagem e memória, presentes desde a formação do Sistema Nervoso Central, diminuindo fatores associados aos processos neurodegenerativos. Portanto, nesta revisão, abordaremos os principais efeitos da ingestão de óleo de peixe para a saúde da população, com ênfase especial nos benefícios do consumo de ácidos graxos principalmente ômega 3 e ômega 6. Discutiremos seus benefícios à memória, cognição e sistema cardiovascular. Esperamos com isso, elucidar que a inclusão desses derivados do peixe na dieta pode ser vista como promissora frente à prevenção de doenças neurodegenerativas, cardiovasculares e inflamatórias, bem como para a manutenção da vida saudável.

The measurement and evaluation of changes in calcium levels between cellular compartments can provide important information for the understanding of biochemical processes, both physiological and pathological. The objective of this study was to validate the use of the calcium diagnostic kit (Arzenazo III) to tissue samples from the Central Nervous System. We used 96-well, flat-bottomed microplates with an internal diameter of 6.7 mm, total height of 12 mm and actual height of 10.705 mm, bottom thickness 1.295 mm, to carry out the tests and calculation parameters, therefore, the path optic was 5.729 mm with a total volume of 202 µL per well. The microplates were incubated at 37 °C for 2 minutes. Optical densities were measured at 630 nm on the Elx800 plate reader, (BioTek, VT, USA). According to the Arzenazo III Bioclin© calcium diagnostic kit. the absorbance of the tests/samples was normalized with the absorbance of the blank (colorimetric reagent 2 - Arsenazo III – Arzenazo III Bioclin© calcium diagnostic kit). PFC, Thalamus and Hippocampus were normalized by blank and presented respectively 0.1782 ± 0.0013; 0.1296 ± 0.0102; 0.0231 ± 0.0053; 0.0170 ± 0.0051; 0.0136 ± 0.0026. The calculation µg calcium / mg tissue obtained 0.4670 ± 0.1056 to sample PFC; 0.4322 ± 0.1228 to sample Thalamus and 0.1027 ± 0.0203 to sample Hippocampus. Although the limitations of the technique, the measurement of free calcium in the CNS tissues (PFC, Thalamus and Hippocampus) showed positive and satisfactory results, as an alternative and viable means for the quantification of calcium levels.

PALAVRAS-CHAVE:biodiesel, desenvolvimento sustentável, nitrogênio. NITROGEN FERTILIZATION EFFECT ON THE CRAMBE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENTABSTRACT: Aiming to study the effects of the nitrogen fertilization on the Crambe growth and development an experiment was carried out on an area of the Institute Federal of Education, Science and Technology do Rio Grande do Norte-IFRN, Apodi -RN. The study was conducted in a 5x4 factorial with randomized blocks and four replications using the cultivar of Crambe submitted to four nitrogen doses (25; 50; 75 e 100 kg ha -1 ). The data was analyzed through analyses of variance using the F test. The increasing doses of nitrogen increased significantly the Crambe growth and development.