Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2016-02-22T23:19:51Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MichaelJeffersonCoelhoMeira_DISSERT.pdf: 6007089 bytes, checksum: 8193a72146f38df6552ad2f77a6bb3dc (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-02-26T19:06:01Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 MichaelJeffersonCoelhoMeira_DISSERT.pdf: 6007089 bytes, checksum: 8193a72146f38df6552ad2f77a6bb3dc (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-26T19:06:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MichaelJeffersonCoelhoMeira_DISSERT.pdf: 6007089 bytes, checksum: 8193a72146f38df6552ad2f77a6bb3dc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-20 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / Col?mbolos s?o microartr?podes comumente reconhecidos em ambientes ed?ficos. Entre as formas mais comuns (e mais vis?veis) destes animais, est?o os Entomobryoidea, um dos grupos mais diversificados de col?mbolos. Embora sejam registradas mais de 8300 esp?cies de Collembola no globo, no Brasil pouco mais de 310 esp?cies s?o registradas, sendo a maioria no Sudeste do pa?s. No Nordeste, em particular no Rio Grande do Norte, esses registros ainda s?o reduzidos, mesmo na Mata Atl?ntica, dom?nio reconhecidamente diverso para esta fauna e de forma espec?fica, para os Entomobryoidea. Assim, este trabalho teve como principal objetivo descrever novas esp?cies de Entomobryoidea em remanescentes urbanos de Mata Atl?ntica no Rio Grande do Norte, especificamente no Parque das Dunas, Natal e na ?rea de Prote??o Ambiental de Genipabu, Extremoz. As coletas foram realizadas nos meses Julho e agosto de 2012 e Janeiro e Fevereiro de 2013. Os esp?cimes foram identificados em laborat?rio e descritos de forma detalhada atrav?s de consulta a literatura espec?fica. Neste trabalho foram descritas quatro novas esp?cies da fam?lia Entomobryidae: Entomobrya sp. nov. 1, Seira sp. nov. 1, Seira sp. nov. 2 e Trogolaphysa sp. nov. 1. Seira sp. nov. 1 possui claras semelhan?as com S. paraibensis, entretanto a quetotaxia do Th. II e Abd. IV distingue ambas as esp?cies. Estas semelhan?as sugere proximidade filogen?tica entre as esp?cies. Seira sp. nov. 2 ? caracterizado por sua quetotaxia, principalmente na regi?o ?M? cef?lica e pelo seu Th II. Existe possibilidade de uma rela??o filogen?tica com S. praiana e S. potiguara devido a algumas semelhan?as. Entomobrya sp. nov. 1 possui poucas semelhan?as com esp?cies brasileiras, entretanto n?o h? para estas ?ltimas detalhes da quetotaxia dorsal, o que pode ocultar rela??es de proximidade evolutiva, entretanto, a principal caracter?stica diagn?stica de Entomobrya sp. nov. 1 frente a outras esp?cies do g?nero ? a quetotaxia do Abd. IV. Trogolaphysa sp. nov. 1 mostrou acentuada diferen?a em sua quetotaxia cef?lica dorsal e ao Th II e Abd. IV. A descri??o de novas esp?cies de col?mbolos, potencialmente end?micas de seus habitats de ocorr?ncia pode ajudar na compreens?o de padr?es morfol?gicos e evolutivos nos t?xons amostrados, assim como na preserva??o dos ambientes nos quais foram encontradas. / Springtails are commonly recognized microarthropods edaphic environments. Among the most common (and most visible) forms of these animals are the Entomobryoidea, one of the most diverse groups of springtails. Although more than 8,300 species of Collembola are registered on the globe, in Brazil a little over 310 species are recorded, mostly in the Southeast. In the Northeast, particularly in Rio Grande do Norte, these records are still reduced, even in the Atlantic Forest domain for this admittedly diverse fauna and specifically, for Entomobryoidea. This study aimed to describe new species of Entomobryoidea in urban remnants of Atlantic Forest in Rio Grande do Norte, specifically in Parque das Dunas, Natal in the Environmental Protection Area Genipabu, Extremoz. The collections were made in the months July and August 2012 and January and February 2013, using entomological vacuums and plastic trays. The specimens were identified in the laboratory and described in detail by looking at the literature. In this paper four new species were described Entomobryidae family: Entomobrya sp. nov. 1, Seira sp. nov. 1, Seira sp. nov. 2 and Trogolaphysa sp. nov. 1. Seira sp. nov. 1 has clear similarities to S. paraibensis, however the chaetotaxy of the mesothorax and abdomen IV distinguishes both species. The number of phylogenetic proximity suggests similarities between species. Seira sp. nov. 2 is characterized by its chaetotaxy, mainly in the 'M' head and his mesothorax. There is possibility of a phylogenetic relationship with S. praiana and S. Potiguara due to some similarities. Entomobrya sp. nov. 1 has little resemblance to Brazilian species, from the point of view of color, however there is for the latter detailing the dorsal chaetotaxy, which might obscure evolutionary relationships of proximity. Even so, the main diagnostic feature Entomobrya sp. nov. 1 compared to other species of the genus is the complexity of the chaetotaxy of the fifth abdominal segment. Descriptions of new species of Collembola, potentially endemic to their habitats of occurrence may help to understand the morphological and evolutionary patterns in the sampled taxa, as well as the preservation of the environments in which they were found.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2016-03-03T19:55:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ErikaCristinaPinheiroDeCastro_DISSERT.pdf: 2706231 bytes, checksum: fd12403d1b13d2a828b00af3b56d6cc1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-03-07T21:59:52Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ErikaCristinaPinheiroDeCastro_DISSERT.pdf: 2706231 bytes, checksum: fd12403d1b13d2a828b00af3b56d6cc1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-07T21:59:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ErikaCristinaPinheiroDeCastro_DISSERT.pdf: 2706231 bytes, checksum: fd12403d1b13d2a828b00af3b56d6cc1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-12-18 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / O consumo mundial de ?leos vegetais aumentou nos ?ltimos anos devido sua aplica??o na ind?stria aliment?cia, qu?mica, farmac?utica e, recentemente energ?tica. Todavia, as sementes oleaginosas das quais esses ?leos s?o extra?dos envelhecem rapidamente, comprometendo o cultivo e a produtividade destas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito do envelhecimento sobre a coordena??o dos sistemas antioxidantes da catalase (CAT) e da ascorbato peroxidase (APX) em c?rtamo e girassol. Para tanto, sementes foram submetidas a envelhecimento acelerado por 3, 6 e 9 dias e cultivadas em papel-toalha umedecido durante 72h. Adicionalmente, antes de serem submetidas ao envelhecimento acelerado, sementes de girassol foram pr?- tratadas por osmopriming com 10 mM de ascorbato (ASC) ou 3 amino 1,2,4 triazole(3-AT), inibidor espec?fico da CAT. O m?todo de envelhecimento artificial utilizado foi eficiente para ambas esp?cies, pois promoveu diminui??o na germina??o, no desenvolvimento de pl?ntulas e no crescimento destas, principalmente no c?rtamo. O envelhecimento provocou inibi??o da atividade CAT para ambas as esp?cies e para compensar tal inibi??o, o girassol aumentou a express?o do mRNA desta enzima, enquanto o c?rtamo mobilizou mais a atividade da APX. A an?lise da express?o da malato sintase e do conte?do de a?ucares demonstrou que o girassol consome suas reservas lip?dicas no estado quiescente, enquanto o c?rtamo ? mais dependente dos carboidratos. O pr?-tratamento com 3-AT inibiu a atividade CAT e estimulou a da APX, enquanto o ASC atuou de forma inversa nesses sistemas. Nenhum dos tratamentos recuperou o decl?nio fisiol?gico decorrente do envelhecimento. Conclui-se que o envelhecimento alterou significativamente o metabolismo antioxidante das oleaginosas e, apesar das varia??es interespec?ficas na resposta a esse processo, a deple??o do sistema antioxidante da CAT foi comum, deforma que a mensura??o da atividade desta enzima pode ser utilizada para identifica??o de lotes de sementes envelhecidas. / World consumption of vegetable oils has increased in recent years because of its application in food, chemical, pharmaceutical and, more recently, energy industry. However, oilseeds, which these oils are extracted, have low viability, affecting the cultivation and productivity of these species. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of aging on the coordination of catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) antioxidant systems in safflower and sunflower. . Therefore, seeds were subjected to accelerated aging for 3, 6 and 9 days and grown in moistened paper towel for 72 hours. Additionally, before accelerated aging, sunflower seeds were pretreated by osmopriming with 10 mM ascorbate (ASC) or 3 amino 1,2,4 triazol (3-AT), a specific inhibitor of CAT activitie. The method of artificial aging used was efficient in both species, because it caused a decrease in germination, seedling development and growth, especially in safflower. The aging caused inhibition of CAT activity for both species and to compensate for such inhibition , sunflower increased mRNA expression of this enzyme , while safflower mobilized over the activity of APX. Analysis of the expression of malate synthase and sugar content demonstrated that sunflower seeds consumes lipid reserves in quiescent state, while the safflower is more dependent on carbohydrate. Pretreatment with 3-AT inhibited CAT activity and stimulated the APX, though with ASC acted reverse on these systems. None of the treatments recovered the physiological decline aging. It is concluded that aging change the oilseeds antioxidant metabolism, despite interspecies variations in response to this process, the depletion of the CAT antioxidant system was common. Because of this we propose that the measurement of CAT activity can be used to identify aging seed lots.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2016-03-03T19:55:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 RayssaKarlaDeMedeirosOliveira_DISSERT.pdf: 5161047 bytes, checksum: b9cdb0f408571e0784106130b004445a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-03-07T22:14:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 RayssaKarlaDeMedeirosOliveira_DISSERT.pdf: 5161047 bytes, checksum: b9cdb0f408571e0784106130b004445a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-07T22:14:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RayssaKarlaDeMedeirosOliveira_DISSERT.pdf: 5161047 bytes, checksum: b9cdb0f408571e0784106130b004445a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-21 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior - CAPES / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico - CNPq / Prote?nas do reparo por excis?o de bases (BER) t?m sido associadas a fun??es al?m do reparo e DNA. A apur?nica/apirimidinica endonuclease 1 (APE1) ? uma prote?na multifuncional envolvida em diversas atividades celulares como ativa??o redox de fatores de transcri??o, processamento de RNA e reparo de DNA. Alguns trabalhos t?m descrito a a??o da prote?na 8-oxoguanina (OGG1) na corre??o de les?es oxidadas no promotor como passo para a transcri??o de citocinas pro-inflamat?rias. Apesar de ser notadamente importante na ativa??o redox de fatores de transcri??o, como o fator nuclear ?B (NF- ?B) e AP-1, a atividade de reparo de APE1 ainda n?o foi associada ? resposta inflamat?ria. Neste trabalho, foram utilizadas an?lises bioinform?ticas e abordagens experimentais para investigar a rela??o entre a inibi??o do reparo de s?tios ab?sicos no DNA pela MX, mol?cula sint?tica inibidora indireta da atividade de reparo de APE1, e a modula??o de resposta inflamat?ria. Os resultados demonstraram que o tratamento de mon?citos com lipopolissacar?deo (LPS) e MX reduziu a express?o de citocinas, quimiocinas e receptores toll-like, e regulou negativamente processos biol?gicos da imunidade, como ativa??o de macr?fagos, e as vias ativadas pelo (NF-?B), fator de necrose tumoral (TNF-?) e interferon, sem induzir morte celular. A an?lise transcript?mica sugere que o tratamento LPS/MX induz disfun??es mitocondriais, estresse de ret?culo endoplasm?tico e ativa??o de vias de autofagia, provavelmente ativadas pelo comprometimento da energ?tica celular e/ou pelo ac?mulo de danos ao DNA, nuclear e mitocondrial. Adicionalmente, prop?e-se que a atividade de reparo de APE1 ? requerida para a transcri??o de genes inflamat?rios pela intera??o com s?tios ab?sicos no promotores espec?ficos e recrutamento de complexos transcricionais durante a sinaliza??o inflamat?ria. Este trabalho apresenta uma nova perspectiva acerca das intera??es entre a atividade do BER e a modula??o de resposta inflamat?ria, e sugere uma nova atividade para a prote?na APE1 como modular da resposta imune de maneira redox-independente. / Base excision repair (BER) proteins has been associated with functions beyond DNA repair. Apurynic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) is a multifunctional protein involved in a plethora of cellular activities, such as redox activation of transcription factors, RNA processing and DNA repair. Some studies have described the action of the protein 8-oxoguanine (OGG1) in correcting oxidized lesions in promoters as a step in the transcription of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Despite being especially important in redox activation of transcription factors such as nuclear factor ?B (NF-?B) and AP- 1, the repair activity of APE1 has not yet been associated with the inflammatory response. In this study, experimental and bioinformatic analysis approaches have been used to investigate the relationship between inhibition of the repair of abasic sites in DNA by MX, a synthetic molecule designed to inhibt the repair activity of APE1, and the modulation of the inflammatory response. The results showed that treatment of monocytes with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and MX reduced the expression of cytokines, chemokines and toll-like receptors, and negatively regulated biological immune processes, as macrophages activation, and NF-?B and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-?) and interferon pathways, without inducing cell death. The transcriptomic analysis suggests that LPS/MX treatment induces mitochondrial dysfunction, endoplasmic reticulum stress and activation of autophagy pathways, probably activated by impairment of cellular energy and/or the accumulation of nuclear and mitochondria DNA damage. Additionally, it is proposed that the repair activity of APE1 is required for transcription of inflammatory genes by interaction with abasic sites at specific promoters and recruitment of transcriptional complexes during inflammatory signaling. This work presents a new perspective on the interactions between the BER activity and the modulation of inflammatory response, and suggests a new activity for APE1 protein as modulator of the immune response in a redox-independent manner.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2016-03-03T20:03:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PedroDeFariasCapistranoMacedo_DISSERT.pdf: 1029460 bytes, checksum: 4d43c3ed0516d37711c5df52dd573891 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-03-07T23:36:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 PedroDeFariasCapistranoMacedo_DISSERT.pdf: 1029460 bytes, checksum: 4d43c3ed0516d37711c5df52dd573891 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-07T23:36:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PedroDeFariasCapistranoMacedo_DISSERT.pdf: 1029460 bytes, checksum: 4d43c3ed0516d37711c5df52dd573891 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-06-21 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico - CNPq / A ecologia tr?fica estuda assuntos relacionados ? dieta dos indiv?duos dentro de uma comunidade. A rela??o entre tamanho corporal do predador e o tamanho da presa, a especializa??o individual e a largura de nicho s?o alguns dos assuntos que podem ser explorados por ela. Realizei coletas de lagartos utilizando armadilha de queda, de cola e coleta ativa em um fragmento de Caatinga. As esp?cies mais comuns nesta comunidade foram Tropidurus hispidus, Tropidurus semitaeniatus e Cnemidophorus ocellifer. Incurs?es ? fazenda tamb?m contaram com coletas de invertebrados em cada esta??o para entender como se apresentavam os recursos alimentares dos lagartos nas esta??es coletadas. Procurei responder algumas perguntas: 1) Se haveria rela??o positiva entre a rela??o corporal do predador e da presa da comunidade; 2) Se em diferentes esta??es a rela??o do tamanho corporal do predador e o tamanho m?ximo e/ou m?nimo da presa seria positiva; 3) Se esp?cies com estrat?gias de forrageio distintas teriam rela??o positiva na rela??o tamanho do predador-presa; 4) Se a sazonalidade influenciaria a especializa??o individual na comunidade de lagartos e esp?cies mais comuns; 5) Se a largura do nicho seria influenciada pela sazonalidade; 6) Se indiv?duos com morfologia mais diferentes entre si apresentariam dieta menos similar. Encontrei que houve realmente uma rela??o positiva entre tamanho da presa e do predador, mas inexistente quanto ao tamanho m?nimo das presas; Entre as esta??es a rela??o tamanho dos predadores e presas foi diferente para o tamanho m?ximo e m?nimo, mas foi positivamente relacionado apenas com o tamanho do m?ximo das presas. E as compara??es entre estrat?gias de forrageio diferentes tiveram as inclina??es da reta m?xima e m?nima maiores que zero e diferentes uma da outra; a especializa??o individual n?o foi influenciada pela sazonalidade e a largura de nicho apenas para T. semitaeniatus teve o nicho mais amplo na esta??o seca. Por fim n?o encontrei rela??o negativa significativa entre dissimilaridade morfol?gica e similaridade da dieta. / The trophic ecology studies issues related to the diet of individuals within a community .The relation between the body size of the predator and the prey size, individual specialization and niche breadth are some of the issues that can be discussed by it .I collected the lizards using pitfall trap, glue and active collecting traps in a fragment of Caatinga. The most common species in this community were Tropidurus hispidus, T. semitaeniatus and Cnemidophorus ocellifer. The visits to the farm also relied on collecting invertebrates at each season to understand how the nutritional resources of lizards were presented in each one of them. I tried to answer some questions : 1) If there was a positive relation between body size of the predator and the size of prey of the community ; 2) If in different seasons the relation of body size of the predator and the maximum and/or minimum size of the prey would be positive ; 3) If species with different foraging strategies have positive relation on the size of the predatorprey relation; 4) If the seasonality would influence on the individual expertise of lizards community and more common species; 5) If the breadth of the niche would be influenced by seasonality ; 6) If more individuals with different morphology between them would present less similar diet. I found that there was indeed a positive relationship between size of prey and predator, but nonexistent related to the minimum size of prey; Among the seasons relative size of predators and prey was different for the maximum and minimum size, but was positively related only to the size of the maximum prey. And comparisons between different foraging strategies had the maximum and minimum line inclination greater than zero and different from each other; individual specialization was not influenced by seasonality and the niche breadth was wider in the dry season only to T. semitaeniatus. At last I didn't find a significant negative relationship between morphological dissimilarity and similarity of diet.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2016-04-25T23:51:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MarianyPatriciaWanderleyDeMacedo_DISSERT.pdf: 1476311 bytes, checksum: d40929188702a06876c5f930bd5a5f9e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-04-28T20:01:08Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 MarianyPatriciaWanderleyDeMacedo_DISSERT.pdf: 1476311 bytes, checksum: d40929188702a06876c5f930bd5a5f9e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:01:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MarianyPatriciaWanderleyDeMacedo_DISSERT.pdf: 1476311 bytes, checksum: d40929188702a06876c5f930bd5a5f9e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-24 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES) / A caprinocultura e a ovinocultura mostram-se como atividades agropecu?rias de grande import?ncia para o semi?rido nordestino. No entanto, a produ??o de caprinos e ovinos se faz com v?rias dificuldades. Dentre elas as infec??es parasit?rias, em especial as helmintoses do trato gastrintestinal, a eimeriose e a toxoplasmose; esta relacionada com problemas na reprodu??o. Em virtude disso, este trabalho teve como objetivo fazer o levantamento da ocorr?ncia e de alguns determinantes das parasitoses que acometem os rebanhos de pequenos ruminantes das microrregi?es Natal, Maca?ba, Litoral Sul, Angicos, Vale do A?u e Borborema Potiguar. Para isso foram aplicados instrumentos epidemiol?gicos com produtores, tratadores ou respons?veis pelos rebanhos e tamb?m realizadas colheitas de amostras de sangue e fezes dos animais em oito propriedades, localizadas em sete munic?pios dessas microrregi?es. A carga parasit?ria dos animais foi determinada atrav?s da contagem de ovos e oocistos por grama de fezes OPG e OoPG, respectivamente. Al?m disso, foi feita a recupera??o de larvas infectantes. Com as amostras de sangue foram feitas a mensura??o do volume globular e a pesquisa de IgG anti-Toxoplasma gondiino soro sangu?neo dos ovinos, por meio do teste imunoenzim?tico (ELISA). Para as vari?veis discretas, a an?lise estat?sticafoi feita por regress?o de Poisson, com n?vel de signific?ncia menor que 0,05.A an?lise dos instrumentos epidemiol?gicos permitiu observar que a ivermectina ? o antihelm?ntico utilizado em 85,71% das propriedades. Do total de amostras de fezes dos ovinos (n=179) 53,07% apresentaram positividade para ovos de helminto e 48,04% mostraram-se positivas para oocistos de Eimeria. Das amostras de fezes dos caprinos (n=133), 72,18% foram positivas para ovos de helmintos e 96,99% para oocistos de Eimeria. A menor contagem de OPG e de OoPG foi observada na microrregi?o Angicos. A maior contagem de OPG foi encontrada na microrregi?o Litoral Sul e a de OoPG na microrregi?o Borborema Potiguar.Para ambos os casos, a diferen?a foi estatisticamente significante (p?0,000). O g?nero de helminto mais prevalente foi Haemonchus, presente em 49,87% dos ovinos e em 80,42% dos caprinos. A m?dia do hemat?crito variou de 22,91 a 33,25 nos ovinos e de 22,62 a 28,25 nos caprinos. A preval?ncia de IgG anti-Toxoplasma gondii variou de 63,33% a 100,00%. Os caprinos mostraram-se mais suscept?veis ?s infec??es por parasitos do trato gastrintestinal do que os ovinos. Em todas as propriedades foi observada elevada preval?ncia de infec??o por T. gondii, sendo as menores porcentagens registradas nas microrregi?es Angicos e Borborema Potiguar. / The goat and sheep industry shows up as an agricultural activity of great importance for the semiarid Northeast. However, the sheep and goats production is made with various difficulties. Among them, parasitic infections, particularly helminth infections of the gastrointestinal tract, the eimeriosis and toxoplasmosis; this one related to problems in reproduction. For this reason, the aim of this study is to to make a survey of the occurrence and some determinants of parasitic diseases that affect small ruminant flocks of the microregions Natal, Maca?ba, Litoral Sul, Angicos, Vale do A?u and Borborema Potiguar. Thereunto, epidemiological tools were applied with producers, keepers or guardians of herds and also held collections of blood and feces of animals in eight properties located in seven municipalities of these microregions. The parasite load of the animals was determined through eggs and oocysts counting per gram of feces EPG and OPG, respectively. In addition, the recovery of infective larvae was made. Blood samples were used to measure the globular cell volume and the search for anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG in sheep serum, by Enzyme Linked Immune Sorbent Assay (ELISA). For categorical variables, the statistical analysis was performed using Poisson regression, with significance level of 0.05. The analysis of the instruments showed that ivermectin is the anthelmintic used in 85,71% of properties. From the total of feces samples of the sheep (n = 179), 53,07% were positive for helminth eggs and 48,04% were positive for oocysts of Eimeria. From the samples of faeces of goats (n = 133), 72,18% were positive for helminth eggs and 96,99% for oocysts of Eimeria. The lowest EPG and OPG count was observed in the micro region of Angicos. Most of the EPG count was found in the micro region Litoral Sul and the OPG count in the micro-region Borborema Potiguar. Both cases the difference was statistically significant(p- value?0,000)The most prevalent helminth genus found was Haemonchus, present in 49,87% of the sheep and 80,42% of goats. The average of hematocrit ranged from 22,91 to 33,25 in sheep and from 22,62 to 28,25 in goats. The prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG ranged from 63,33% to 100,00%. The goats showed to be more susceptible to infections by parasites of the gastrointestinal tract than the sheep. In all the properties was observed high prevalence of infection by T. gondii, with the lowest percentages recorded in the micro regions Angicos and Borborema Potiguar.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2016-04-26T19:16:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 EvellynCamaraGrilo_DISSERT.pdf: 1083379 bytes, checksum: 5c4378ae79f8da0ab5335caca60a8c5d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-04-28T21:55:39Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 EvellynCamaraGrilo_DISSERT.pdf: 1083379 bytes, checksum: 5c4378ae79f8da0ab5335caca60a8c5d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T21:55:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 EvellynCamaraGrilo_DISSERT.pdf: 1083379 bytes, checksum: 5c4378ae79f8da0ab5335caca60a8c5d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-07-14 / As vitaminas A e E s?o nutrientes que possuem natureza lipof?lica e atuam em v?rios processos biol?gicos importantes, como a imunidade, reprodu??o, crescimento e desenvolvimento. Estas vitaminas s?o essenciais na fase inicial da vida e devem ser transferidas adequadamente da m?e para o filho durante a gesta??o e a lacta??o. A suplementa??o materna com vitamina A ? uma das estrat?gias de controle de sua defici?ncia no grupo materno-infantil, entretanto, estudos com animais evidenciaram que a suplementa??o com altas doses de vitamina A reduziu os n?veis de alfa-tocoferol (vitamina E) no soro e no leite. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a influ?ncia da suplementa??o materna com vitamina A sobre a concentra??o de retinol e alfa-tocoferol nos leites colostro e maduro de lactantes. Pu?rperas a termo e saud?veis foram aleatoriamente distribu?das nos grupos controle (n = 44) e suplementado (n = 44). Amostras de sangue e leite colostro foram coletadas no p?s-parto imediato e uma amostra de leite maduro foi coletada ap?s 30 dias. O grupo suplementado recebeu uma suplementa??o com palmitato de retinila (200.000 UI), imediatamente ap?s a primeira coleta de colostro. O retinol e o alfa-tocoferol das amostras biol?gicas foram analisados por Cromatografia L?quida de Alta Efici?ncia (CLAE). Valores s?ricos abaixo de 20 ?g/dL para a vitamina A e 516 ?g/dL para a vitamina E foram indicativos de defici?ncia. As concentra??es de retinol e alfa-tocoferol no soro das lactantes foram 46,4 ? 15,9 ?g/ dL e 1.023,6 ? 380,4 ?g/ dL, respectivamente, sendo consideradas adequadas. No grupo suplementado, verificou-se um aumento significativo dos n?veis de retinol no leite colostro, 24 horas ap?s interven??o (p<0,001), entretanto, n?o foi observada diferen?a estat?stica entre a concentra??o de retinol no leite maduro dos grupos avaliados (p>0,05). Al?m disso, ap?s a suplementa??o materna com vitamina A, houve uma redu??o significativa na concentra??o de alfa-tocoferol no leite colostro (p<0,05), que correspondeu a um decl?nio de 16,4% dos n?veis de vitamina E. Por outro lado, a administra??o do suplemento n?o influenciou os n?veis de alfa-tocoferol no leite maduro (p>0,05). Diante disso, conclui-se que a suplementa??o materna com altas doses de vitamina A aumentou os n?veis desse micronutriente no leite colostro, por?m, reduziu a biodisponibilidade do alfa-tocoferol, o que pode trazer preju?zos ? sa?de do neonato, que possui reservas limitadas de vitamina E ao nascimento. / Vitamins A and E are lipophilic nutrients that act in many important biological processes, such as immunity, reproduction, growth, and development. These vitamins are essential during the initial phase of life and should be properly transferred from mother to child during pregnancy and lactation. Maternal supplementation with vitamin A is one of the strategies for controlling its deficiency in the mother-child dyad, but studies with animals showed that supplementation with high doses of vitamin A reduces the levels of alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) in the mother?s serum and milk. Hence, the objective of this study was to assess the influence of maternal supplementation with vitamin A on the concentration of retinol and alpha-tocopherol in colostrum and mature milk. Healthy puerperal women with term deliveries were randomly distributed into a control group (n=44) and a supplemented group (n=44). Blood and colostrum samples were collected immediately after delivery, and mature blood samples were collected 30 days later. The supplemented group received 200,000 IU of retinyl palmitate immediately after the first colostrum collection. The retinol and alpha-tocopherol levels in the biological samples were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Serum vitamin A levels below 20 ?g/dL and serum vitamin E levels below 516 ?g/dL indicated deficiency. The retinol and alpha-tocopherol levels in the maternal serum were considered adequate at 46.4 ? 15.9 ?g/ dL and 1,023.6 ? 380.4 ?g/ dL, respectively. The colostrum retinol levels of the supplemented group increased significantly 24 hours after the intervention (p<0.001). However, the retinol levels in the mature milk of both groups did not differ (p>0.05). Moreover, after maternal supplementation with vitamin A, colostrum alpha-tocopherol level decreased by 16.4%, a significant reduction (p<0.05). However, vitamin A supplementation did not affect the alpha-tocopherol level of mature milk (p>0.05). In conclusion, maternal supplementation with high doses of vitamin A increased the colostrum level of this nutrient but reduced the bioavailability of alpha-tocopherol, which may harm the newborn?s health since newborns have limited vitamin E reserves.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2016-04-26T19:16:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MariliaMedeirosFernandesDeNegreiros_DISSERT.pdf: 2997173 bytes, checksum: 85466eb8c67b6b55509f4861197c4d35 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-04-28T22:23:31Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 MariliaMedeirosFernandesDeNegreiros_DISSERT.pdf: 2997173 bytes, checksum: 85466eb8c67b6b55509f4861197c4d35 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T22:23:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MariliaMedeirosFernandesDeNegreiros_DISSERT.pdf: 2997173 bytes, checksum: 85466eb8c67b6b55509f4861197c4d35 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-07 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq) / A produ??o de nanoparticulas de prata com extratos naturais tem sido apontada como uma excelente alternativa para potencializar ou fornecer novas aplicabilidades aos extratos. Extratos de polissacar?deos sulfatados de algas (ASP) apresentam propriedades farmacol?gicas, por?m h? poucos relatos da produ??o de nanopart?culas de prata com extratos ricos em polissacar?deos sulfatados (SPN). Assim, neste trabalho sintetizou-se SPN de algas encontradas no Brasil: Spatoglossum schr?ederi, Dictyopteris justii, Sargassum filipendula e Dictyota mertensii. A obten??o dos extratos ricos em polissacar?deos ocorreu por prote?lise seguida por precipita??o com metanol. A s?ntese das diferentes nanopart?culas ocorreu com a adi??o de solu??es de prata 1 mM em solu??es dos diferentes polissacar?deos e mantidos em repouso. Posteriormente as amostras foram centrifugadas e liofilizadas. A forma??o SPN foi confirmada por espectroscopia UV/vis?vel, microscopia eletr?nica de varredura e microscopia de for?a at?mica. O tamanho das SPN foi de 108 ? 2 nm; 82 ? 1nm; 288 ? 52 nm; 104 ? 2 nm para S. schr?ederi; D. justii; S. filipendula; D. mertensii, respectivamente e se manteve est?vel por catorze meses, os potenciais zeta foram negativos e as formas das SPN foram esf?ricas. Os resultados de diversos testes in vitro mostraram que as SPN potencializam as atividades antioxidantes de ASP. As SPN tamb?m foram biocompat?veis com c?lulas normais 3T3 (fibroblastos murinicos). Por outro lado, SPN de S schr?ederi e de D. mertensii tiveram atividade citot?xica (~60%) frente as c?lulas de melanoma mur?nico (B16F10) e acredita-se que a maior atividade citot?xica destas SPN ocorram devido aos seus pequenos tamanhos. SPN tamb?m tiveram grande capacidade antibacteriana. Nanopart?culas de D. justii e S. filipendula tiveram os melhores resultados, sendo necess?rio somente 50 ?g/mL para a morte da bact?ria E. coli e 100 ?g/mL para a morte de S. aureus. Hipotet?za-se que esta atividade ocorra por libera??o de prata pelas SPN. SPN tamb?m foram capazes de induzir a produ??o de ?xido n?trico e citocinas com perfil semelhante a os seus respectivos ASP, com exce??o para SPN de S. schr?ederi. Em geral, os resultados revelaram que a s?ntese de SPN a partir das ASP potencializa efeitos antioxidantes, citot?xico e antibacteriano dos ASP, al?m de apresentar o mesmo efeito imunomodulador de seus respectivos ASP. Os dados obtidos levam a propor que a s?ntese de SPN constituiu-se como um poss?vel mecanismo potencializador de atividades biol?gicas. / The production of silver nanoparticle containing natural extracts has been identified as an excellent alternative to enhance or provide new applicability for these extracts. Sulfated polysaccharides-rich extracts (ASP) from seaweeds showed several pharmacological properties, but there are few reports of the production of silver nanoparticle with sulfated polysaccharides (SPN). Therefore, this paper we synthesized SPN from seaweeds founded in Brazil: Spatoglossum schr?ederi, Dictyopteris justii, Sargassum filipendula e Dictyota mertensii. The obtainment of polysaccharides rich extracts it occurred by proteolysis followed by methanol precipitation. The synthesis of various nanoparticles occurred with the addition of silver solution 1 mM on different polysaccharides solutions and kept at rest. Subsequently the samples were centrifuge and lyophilized. The SPN formation was confirmed by UV/ visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The size of SPN was 108 ? 2 nm; 82 ? 1nm; 288 ? 52 nm; 104 ? 2 nm for S. schr?ederi; D. justii; S. filipendula; D. mertensii, respectively. The nanoparticules remained stable for fourteen months, the Zeta potential were negative and forms of SPN were rounded. Data from various antioxidant in vitro tests showed that the SPN were more effective than ASP. The SPN were also biocompatible with the normal cells 3T3 (murine fibroblast). Moreover, SPN of S. schr?ederi and of D. mertensii had cytotoxic activity (~60%) against melanoma cells (B16F10). We believe that the increased of cytotoxic activity of these SPN occur due to their small size. SPN also had great antibacterial capacity. D. justii and S. filipendula nanoparticles had the best results, requiring only 50 mg/mL and 100 mg/mL for induces E. coli and S. aureus death. We hypothesized that this activity occurs by release of SPN?s silver. SPN also increase the nitric oxide and cytokines release from macrophages as similar profile to the respective ASP, except for S. schr?ederi SPN. In general, the results showed that SPN were more effective as antioxidant, antibacterial and cytotoxic agents than their respective ASP, as well as, SPN have shown the same immunomodulation effect of the respective ASP. The results lead to propose that the SPN synthesis constituted as a possible potentiating mechanism of biological activities of ASPs.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2016-04-26T19:16:13Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MarinaSampaioDeMenezesCruz_DISSERT.pdf: 1274699 bytes, checksum: f39afb06729aedccb850680b592f9def (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-04-28T22:46:18Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 MarinaSampaioDeMenezesCruz_DISSERT.pdf: 1274699 bytes, checksum: f39afb06729aedccb850680b592f9def (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T22:46:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MarinaSampaioDeMenezesCruz_DISSERT.pdf: 1274699 bytes, checksum: f39afb06729aedccb850680b592f9def (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-07-30 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq) / Os produtos naturais derivados de plantas servem de mat?ria-prima para a s?ntese de fitoter?picos, sendo amplamente utilizados por v?rias popula??es em todo o mundo. Dentre estes compostos, destacam-se as saponinas e seus metab?litos. Seu intenso uso ? decorrente de suas propriedades bioativas, somado a sua similaridade estrutural a horm?nios. As saponinas derivam-se em sapogeninas, como, por exemplo, a Diosgenina e a Hecogenina. Al?m de serem utilizadas na ind?stria farmac?utica para a produ??o de horm?nios e anti-inflamat?rios esteroidais, estas duas sapogeninas tamb?m s?o empregadas como fitoter?picos, estando presentes tamb?m em vegetais que comp?em a dieta de muitas popula??es. Apesar da vasta utiliza??o destes compostos, existe uma falta de informa??es sobre a toxicidade gen?tica, o que torna o consumo destas sapogeninas um risco para as popula??es. Diante deste contexto, o presente trabalho apresentou como objetivo investigar as potencialidades t?xicas, em n?vel celular e de DNA, da Diosgenina e da Hecogenina. Ensaios em c?lulas HepG2 para a avalia??o da citotoxicidade, genotoxicidade, e mutagenicidade foram realizados. Considerando os resultados obtidos com a Diosgenina, esta sapogenina revelou efeito citot?xico em concentra??es acima de 30 ?M, assim como induziu significativamente incrementos na frequ?ncia de danos no DNA e de micron?cleos. Por outro lado, a Hecogenina somente se revelou citot?xica acima de 150 ?M, por?m em concentra??es abaixo deste valor, foi capaz de induzir danos ao material gen?tico sem promover um aumento na frequ?ncia de micron?cleos. A an?lise do conjunto destes dados sugere que o consumo de alimentos, fitoter?picos ou de medicamentos que contenham a Diosgenina na sua composi??o apresenta um risco maior de toxicidade, quando comparados com as formula??es a base de Hecogenina, uma vez que a Diosgenina apresenta um potencial mutag?nico demonstrado por meio de um aumento significativo na frequ?ncia de micron?cleos que s?o biomarcadores de instabilidade gen?mica. / Natural products derived from plants are used as raw material for the synthesis of phytotherapeutics, and are widely used by many populations around the world. Among these compounds, there are the saponins and its metabolites. Its intense use is due to its bioactive properties, added to its structural similarity to hormones. Saponins derived in sapogenins, as Diosgenin and Hecogenin. Besides its use by pharmaceutical industries to synthesis of steroidal hormones and anti-inflammatories, these two sapogenins are also used as phytotherapeutics, being also present in vegetables from diets of many populations. Despite the widespread use of these compounds, there are a lack of information about their genetic toxicity, which makes the use of these sapogenins a risk. Given this context, the present work aimed to investigate the toxic potential of Diosgenin and Hecogenin, at cellular and DNA level. Assays with HepG2 cells was performed to evaluate the cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and mutagenicity. Considering the results obtained with Diosgenin, that sapogenin showed cytotoxic effects at concentrations higher than 30 ?M, as well as significantly induced increases in frequency of DNA damage and micronucleus. On the other hand, Hecogenin only revealed cytotoxicity above 150 ?M, however, at concentrations below this value, it was able to induce DNA damage without promote an increase in micronucleus frequency. The analysis of these results together suggests that the consumption of foods, phyotheraputics or medicines containing Diosgenin on its composition, presents a higher risk of toxicity when compared with formulations with Hecogenin, since Diosgenin shows a mutagenic potential demonstrated by a significant increase in micronucleus frequency, which are biomarkers of genome instability.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2016-05-10T21:56:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 JulioCesarDeOliveiraLeal_DISSERT.pdf: 6500078 bytes, checksum: 0c1d82c4392ea24f4b7fec649833fd61 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-05-16T20:54:32Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 JulioCesarDeOliveiraLeal_DISSERT.pdf: 6500078 bytes, checksum: 0c1d82c4392ea24f4b7fec649833fd61 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-16T20:54:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JulioCesarDeOliveiraLeal_DISSERT.pdf: 6500078 bytes, checksum: 0c1d82c4392ea24f4b7fec649833fd61 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-28 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES) / No ciclo estral, h? uma varia??o nos n?veis de horm?nios sexuais, tal como o estrog?nio. Estudos demonstram a influ?ncia do estrog?nio na cogni??o em tarefas dependentes do hipocampo. Por exemplo, roedores no proestro obt?m melhor desempenho do que roedores no estro, altos e baixos n?veis de estrog?nio respectivamente. A estampa temporal evidencia a influ?ncia da ritmicidade circadiana sobre o comportamento e a cogni??o. A evoca??o de mem?ria ? observada somente quando os hor?rios do treino e do teste coincidem. Neste estudo, investigamos o efeito do estrog?nio na evoca??o de mem?ria na tarefa do reconhecimento e o efeito do estrog?nio no ritmo circadiano de atividade locomotora.Utilizamos ratas Wistar jovens adultas. No Experimento 1, ratas na fase de proestro ou na fase de diestro foram treinadas na tarefa do reconhecimento de objetos. Seguindo um intervalo de 24 ou 28 horas, quando as ratas estavam na fase de estro ou na fase de proestro respectivamente, elas foram testadas. No Experimento 2, ratas sem ov?rios e ratas submetidas a cirurgia sham no diestro foram treinadas na tarefa do reconhecimento de objetos. Seguindo um intervalo de 24 ou 28 horas foram testadas, ratas sem ov?rios e ratas sham na fase de proestro foram testadas. Os resultados do experimento 1 demonstram que ratas em proestro gastaram mais tempo explorando o objeto novo que o objeto antigo independente da coincid?ncia de fases circadianas, entretanto ratas no estro apenas gastaram mais tempo explorando o novo objeto que o objeto antigo quando o teste foi realizado no mesmo hor?rio que o treino. Os resultados do experimento 2 demonstram que nenhuma diferen?a com rela??o a explora??o dos objetos novo e antigo foi observada nas ratas sem ov?rios, e as ratas sham gastaram mais tempo explorando o objeto novo que o objeto antigo, independente da coincid?ncia de fase circadianas. Quanto a ritmicidade, a acrofase do ritmo mudou conforme a fase do ciclo estral, ocorrendo mais tarde no proestro. Juntos, estes resultados sugerem que n?veis elevados de estrog?nio facilitam evoca??o de mem?ria, independente do hor?rio. Al?m disso, altera??es nos par?metros r?tmicos conforme a fase do ciclo estral s?o exclusivamente na acrofase. / Previous studies have demonstrated an effect of the estrogen in hippocampus dependent memory. For example, proestrous rodents outperforming diestrous rodents, estrogen high levels and estrogen low levels, respectively. Besides its circadian modulation, memory is also subjected to the 24-h time stamp phenomenon, in which memory recall is best when the circadian times of the testing and training match. The aim of this study was investigated the effect of estrogen on memory recall on matching times or non matching times in an object recognition task, and identify if changes which ocurr during the estrous cycle on locomotor activity rhythm modulate the cognitive performance. We used 59 young adult female Wistar rats, arranged in 3 groups: intact (n = 34), sham-operated (n = 10) and ovariectomized (n = 15). Animals were trained and tested in matching times (ZT 14 - ZT 14) or non matching times (ZT 14 - ZT 18), testing made on proestrous or estrous phase. The results demonstrated that rats tested in proestrous phase explore more the new object than the old object, independent of the circadian coincidence between training and testing phases. Whatever, when the tests were made during estrous phase, we found the time stamp memory in na object recognition task. In ovariectomized groups, rats failured in memory recall of new object on matching times and non matching times in na object recognition task. Moreover, the acrophase of the locomotor activity rhythm changed according to the phase of estrous cycle, later on proestrous. But no correlations were found between acrophase and c ognitive performance in an object recognition task. We suggest that high levels of estrogen facilitate memory recall regardless of time of the day. Additionally, changes on locomotor activity rhythms according to the estrous cycle in Wistar rats that is exclusively in acrophase, don?t influence cognitive performance on object recognition task.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2016-05-30T23:43:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 RafaelNeiaBarbosaScott_TESE.pdf: 4836581 bytes, checksum: d4e7eebe367482a0daaa974bad483192 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-06-02T22:18:05Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 RafaelNeiaBarbosaScott_TESE.pdf: 4836581 bytes, checksum: d4e7eebe367482a0daaa974bad483192 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T22:18:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RafaelNeiaBarbosaScott_TESE.pdf: 4836581 bytes, checksum: d4e7eebe367482a0daaa974bad483192 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-06-22 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES) / O sono promove altera??es quantitativas e qualitativas na mem?ria, mas ainda n?o ? clara qual a fun??o dos sonhos nesse processamento. Nossa hip?tese considera que a fun??o on?rica ? relevante por simular poss?veis cen?rios de sucesso e fracasso para maximizar o sucesso do indiv?duo, atrav?s de aprendizado sem riscos e direcionamento adaptativo do comportamento na vig?lia. Realizamos dois experimentos distintos, utilizando como evento significativo: (1) o exame vestibular de acesso ? universidade; (2) uma simula??o em videogame do confronto Presa versus Predador. No experimento (1), abordamos os candidatos do vestibular UFRN 2010, solicitamos que preenchessem um question?rio e comparamos suas respostas com o desempenho nas provas (n = 255). Verificamos que 44,3% dos participantes reportaram um sonho antecipat?rio relacionado ao vestibular. A ocorr?ncia desse tipo de sonho correspondeu a maiores escores de medo e apreens?o, e maiores altera??es no cotidiano, no humor e no sono em fun??o do vestibular. N?o foram encontradas diferen?as significativas de desempenho na compara??o direta entre quem sonhou e n?o sonhou com o exame. Observamos uma baixa propor??o de homens no grupo que sonhou, mas participantes do sexo masculino apresentaram melhor desempenho a priori que o feminino. Entre os que sonharam com o vestibular, encontramos uma correla??o positiva entre altera??es do cotidiano e desempenho; candidatos que julgaram a dificuldade do vestibular como ?alta? apresentaram melhor rendimento do que os que julgaram a dificuldade ?m?dia?, sugerindo uma rela??o do sonho com a adapta??o a contextos desafiadores. No experimento (2) utilizamos como tarefa um jogo de videogame de tiro em primeira pessoa. O desenho experimental incluiu: Treino - Cochilo (sono diurno) - Teste. A cada sess?o dois participantes jogavam entre si, um no papel de Ca?ador (Objetivo: localizar e matar advers?rio) e outro como Presa (Objetivo: localizar e coletar itens), sendo monitorados eletrofisiologicamente durante todo o experimento (EEG, ECG, EOG e EMG). A maioria dos volunt?rios (53,8%, n=26) relatou sonhar com conte?dos relacionados ao jogo, o que esteve associado com o aumento da atividade card?aca m?dia durante os jogos. Nas Presas observamos efeito entre desempenho e sonho com o jogo: aquelas que n?o sonharam mataram mais o Predador e tamb?m morreram mais do que aquelas que sonharam. As Presas que sonharam com o jogo tamb?m coletaram mais itens do que as Presas que n?o sonharam. Assim, Presas que sonharam com o jogo apresentaram ganhos no escore do Objetivo, e aquelas que n?o sonharam apresentaram perdas. An?lises da atividade card?aca e do sono demonstraram maior estresse entre as Presas. O sonho com o jogo provocou redu??o do comportamento de agress?o ao Predador, com maior efici?ncia no forrageio e otimiza??o da resposta de luta-ou-fuga. Finalmente, encontramos uma associa??o entre sonhos e diminui??o das intera??es violentas entre Treino e Teste, sugerindo uma fun??o social para a atividade on?rica em humanos. Em conjunto, os experimentos refor?am a no??o de que o sonho com desafios da vig?lia tem papel adaptativo. / Dreams are important to simulate possible scenarios of success and failure to maximize adaptive success of the individual, by way of risk-less learning able to guide waking behavior. We performed two different experiments using: (1) the examination for admission to the university; (2) a videogame simulation of a prey-predator conflict. For experiment (1), we compared the answers in a questionnaire of 255 candidates to the UFRN 2010 examination (n = 255) with performance. Dreams related to the examination were reported by 44.3% of the participants, and their occurrence was associated with higher scores of fear and apprehension, and major changes in daily life, mood and sleep. We found a positive correlation between changes in daily life and performance among those who dreamed about the examination. In experiment (2), we used as a task a first person shooter videogame. For each session, two participants played against each other, one in the role of Predator (seek and kill the opponent), and the other in the role of Prey (find and collect items); both participants were monitored electrophysiologically (EEG, ECG, EOG e EMG). Most of the volunteers (53.8%, n = 26) reported dreams related to the game. Dreaming with the task was associated with increased mean heart activity during game playing. Preys who dreamt about the game showed gains in a quantitative score of Goal achievement, while those who did not dream presented score losses. Analyses of cardiac variability and sleep patterns showed greater stress among Preys. Dreaming about the game was related to decreased aggressive behavior towards the Predator, with more efficient foraging, an apparent optimization of the fight-or-flight response. Finally, we found an association between oneiric activity and the reduction of violent interactions between the participants from Training to Test, which suggests a social function for dreams in humans. Altogether, the experiments support the notion that dreams related to waking-life challenges play an adaptive role.