Resumo A propagação vegetal por meio de sementes pode ser uma fonte de transmissão de doenças, por isso, a utilização de métodos de tratamento de sementes é de grande importância. O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar o potencial fisiológico e sanitário de diferentes lotes de sementes de alface submetidas a vários tratamentos físicos. O delineamento experimental em blocos aleatórios incluiu a termoterapia e a exposição ao gás ozono durante 100 e 200 minutos para avaliar os índices de germinação, envelhecimento acelerado, comprimento, massa seca, emergência total, índice de velocidade de emergência, e sanidade (Blotter- test). A termoterapia aumentou a percentagem de germinação de sementes de alface e acelerou a formação de plântulas normais com maior massa seca de parte aérea e raízes. Ambos tratamentos com ozono aceleraram a velocidade de germinação e formação de raízes. A exposição ao ozono durante 200 minutos aumentou a massa seca da parte aérea de plântulas. O tratamento térmico foi eficiente no controle do fungo Alternaria sp., entretanto favoreceu o desenvolvimento de Aspergillus sp.

Abstract Plant propagation through seeds can be a source of disease transmission, so the use of seed treatment methods is of paramount importance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physiological and sanitary potential of different batches of lettuce seeds submitted to physical treatment methods. Thermotherapy and exposure to ozone gas were tested for 100 and 200 minutes. The efficiency and level of physiological damage caused by the treatments were evaluated by germination, accelerated aging, length, dry mass, total emergence, emergency speed index (LVI), and health (Blotter test) tests. The experimental design was completely randomized with four replications, and the results submitted to analysis of variance and Tukey test at 5% probability. Thermotherapy increased lettuce seed germination and accelerated the formation of normal seedlings with higher dry mass of shoots and roots. Both ozone treatments accelerated germination speed and root formation. Exposure to ozone for 200 minutes increased the shoot dry mass. The heat treatment was efficient in the control of Alternaria sp. Fungus, however favored the development of Aspergillus sp.

Several species of Aspidosperma plants are used to treat diseases in the tropics, including Aspidosperma ramiflorum, which acts against leishmaniasis, an activity that is experimentally confirmed. The species, known as guatambu-yellow, yellowperoba, coffee-peroba andmatiambu, grows in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil in the South to the Southeast regions. Through a guided biofractionation of A. ramiflorum extracts, the plant activity against Plasmodium falciparum was evaluated in vitro for toxicity towards human hepatoma G2 cells, normal monkey kidney cells and nonimmortalised human monocytes isolated from peripheral blood. Six of the seven extracts tested were active at low doses (half-maximal drug inhibitory concentration < 3.8 µg/mL); the aqueous extract was inactive. Overall, the plant extracts and the purified compounds displayed low toxicity in vitro. A nonsoluble extract fraction and one purified alkaloid isositsirikine (compound 5) displayed high selectivity indexes (SI) (= 56 and 113, respectively), whereas compounds 2 and 3 were toxic (SI < 10). The structure, activity and low toxicity of isositsirikine in vitro are described here for the first time in A. ramiflorum, but only the neutral and precipitate plant fractions were tested for activity, which caused up to 53% parasitaemia inhibition of Plasmodium bergheiin mice with blood-induced malaria. This plant species is likely to be useful in the further development of an antimalarial drug, but its pharmacological evaluation is still required.

OBJETIVO: Relacionar o nível de atividade física e a incidência de quedas com as condições de saúde dos idosos de grupos de convivência. MÉTODO: Pesquisa descritiva transversal. Amostra de 256 idosos, 219 do sexo feminino e 37 do masculino, com média de idade de 70,85 anos. Para coleta dos dados foram utilizados um formulário com perguntas sobre as condições de saúde, quedas e o Questionário Internacional de Atividade Física (IPAQ). A análise se deu por meio de estatística descritiva e de teste não-paramétrico (qui-quadrado), adotando-se um nível de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS: 201 idosos (79,13%) foram classificados como muito ativos. Desses, apenas 38 idosos haviam sofrido quedas nos últimos três meses. Houve relação estatisticamente significativa entre o nível de atividade física pouco ativo com o número de quedas e com a condição de saúde atual (p= 0,011). A condição de saúde se associou negativamente com a prática de atividade física (p= 0,016) e com a satisfação com a saúde (p= 0,05). Dos idosos pouco ativos que tiveram queda, 50% relataram que sua saúde atual é ruim. Todos os idosos pouco ativos que sofreram quedas disseram que sua condição de saúde atual dificulta a prática de atividade física, e apenas 20% deles estão satisfeitos com sua saúde. CONCLUSÃO: A prática regular de atividade física parece estar associada a uma melhor condição de saúde dos idosos e uma menor incidência de quedas.

OBJECTIVE: To relate the physical activity levels and incidence of falls among elderly people in social groups, to their health conditions. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study on a sample of 256 elderly people (219 females and 37 males) of mean age 70.85 years. A form containing questions about health conditions, falls and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were used for data collection. The analysis consisted of descriptive statistics and a non-parametric test (chi-square), adopting a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: 201 of the elderly people (79.13%) were classified as very active. Of these, only 38 had suffered falls during the last three months. Low physical activity levels presented statistically significant association with falls and current health condition (p= 0.011). Health condition related negatively with the practicing of physical activity (p= 0.016) and satisfaction with health condition (p= 0.05). Among the elderly individuals with little activity who had suffered falls, 50% reported that their current health was poor. All the elderly people with little activity who had suffered falls said that their current health condition made it difficult to practice physical activity, and only 20% of them were satisfied with their health. CONCLUSION: Regular practicing of physical activity seems to be associated with better health conditions among elderly people and lower incidence of falls.