Categorias: Institucional, Notícias
Os quatro projetos de alunos do Colégio Dante Alighieri apresentados na edição de 2016 da Genius Olympiad, um evento que recebe projetos de pré-iniciação científica de todo o mundo, foram premiados. A olimpíada foi realizada entre 12 e 17 de junho na State University of New York de Oswego, nos Estados Unidos. Os dantianos foram acompanhados pela coordenadora-geral do Dante, professora Sandra Tonidandel.
Foram submetidos, este ano, 2.450 projetos à Genius, dos quais 1.035, de 69 países, se tornaram finalistas. Os projetos dantianos ficaram com uma medalha de prata e três menções honrosas. O resumo de cada um dos quatro trabalhos apresentados está disponível no fim deste texto (em inglês).
A prata ficou com a aluna Lorena dal Collina Sangiuliano, da 3ª H, com o projeto Allergy Prevention: identifying milk antigens in food, orientada pela professora Carolina Lavini Ramos em parceria com a Faculdade de Medicina da USP. Uma das menções honrosas foi para o trabalho de Carolina Eva Padilha, da 2ª série B, com o projeto Effects of physical activity upon mitochondria trafficking in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease, orientada pela professora Carolina Lavini Ramos, em parceria com o Laboratório Instituto de Biociências da USP.
A segunda ficou com a dupla Cecilia de Gouveia (3º F) e Renan Soares Ricci (3º G), responsáveis pelo projeto Effect of silicon in the micropropagation of Catasetum fimbriatum (Orchidaceae). Eles foram orientados pelos professores Fernando Campos de Domenico e Nilce de Angelo. A terceira menção honrosa foi para a dupla Gabriel Bassoto de Abreu (3º F) e Sophia Lopes Ribeiro Fiorotto (3º F), que elaboraram o projeto Less Nutrients, More Life?, também sob orientação dos professores mencionados anteriormente.
Confira, a seguir, os resumos dos projetos produzidos no Dante:
• Effects of physical activity upon mitochondria trafficking in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease – Carolina Eva Padilha:
Parkinson’s disease is characterized by tremors and mobility difficulty. It occurs when dopaminergic neurons – which are responsible for sending neural commands to muscles – start degenerate and alter these messages, leading to loss of effective movement control. In this disease a dysfunction in the mitochondrial respiratory chain was identified and a significant atrophy of the substantia nigra and locus coeruleus. Taking in consideration that the practice of physical activity is related to good health, the objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of treadmill running upon the expression of motor and adaptor proteins related to mitochondrial trafficking and degradation in brain areas related to Parkinson’s disease, both before and after the induction of the disease. Our first results indicate that there is a probable decrease in mitochondrial trafficking during neurodegeneration, as well as during physical activity practice.
• Effect of silicon in the micropropagation of Catasetum fimbriatum (Orchidaceae) – Cecilia de Gouveia e Renan Soares Ricci
The project object is to know if the use of silicon as a medium culture affects or improves the growth of orchid C atasetum fimbriatum . All the orchids were obtained by a method called micro propagation, a technique that consists in cloning plants. The plants of the specie C atasetum fimbriatum produced by the technique of micropropagation were divided in four groups, each one composed by 20 plants. The first group (control group) was cultivated in standard culture medium (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) and, after bottling, watered only with water (water/water group). The second group of plants were also grown in standard culture medium, but after the filling these plants were watered with silicon solution (water/silicon group). The third group of plants was grown in modified culture medium containing potassium silicate, and after potting were watered with water only (silicon/water group). Finally, the fourth and last group was cultured in silicon modified culture and, after filling, drizzled with potassium silicate solution (silicion/silicon group). Before the orchids were potted we took photos of each plant and measured the lenght of its leaves, roots and pseudo bulbs. After five months we removed the plants from the vases and measured the same plants, comparing the differences. To measured the lenght of the plants (leaves, roots and pseud bulbs) we used a ruler and a caliper ruler. We also measured the weight of each plant. To compare the results we used a spreadsheet where had the initial and final values. After statistical analysis, we made a chart that compared the groups with the control group, identifying whether there was a significant difference or not. To be a significant difference the P value should be less than 0.05 difference representing that a group control to the other was no accident, but significant. The analysis statistic table shows that few plants, only two groups, have significant difference, in the group silicon/water in two categories and in the group silicon/silicon in one category. However, this significance was not in a positive way and that difference represents a decrease and not a growth and a positive effect. So, we conclude that our hypothesis was refuted.
• Less Nutrients, More Life? – Gabriel Bassoto de Abreu e Sophia Lopes Ribeiro Fiorotto
It is known that the acclimatization stage in the culture of orchids generates countless loss of plants, because of the stress they suffer from a decrease in available nutrients. This project aims to develop a solution to reduce these losses, which harm producers, generating a higher cost of production and consumers, who will pay more. Thus, it was thought in a pre-acclimatization period, aiming at producing a culture through an intermediary for the growth of plants, assuming a reduction in the impact generated in the filling.
Therefore, we used four culture mediums to test if this pre-acclimatizion period could reduce the loss of plants: a control medium, which has X (100%) of nutrient concentration, and others which have been produced from this dilution having 1/8, 1/16 and 1/32 of X concentration. These plants were cultivated for three months and then we proceeded with the initial data collection, considering quantitative aspects leaf, root and pseudobulbs. There was waiting for four months and disassembly of the experiment, in which is made the removal of all plants of the culture medium in which they were followed by a second data collection of variables used above, including the mass measurements fresh air and root.
The analysis was performed using ANOVA statistics, with a single factor, comparing two groups according relations as the variance of the length of leaves and roots. It was felt less significant variation in the length of the roots and leaves of the groups 1/16 and 1/32 in the control, while the group 1/8 there was an increase.
Then, it is concluded that the groups 1/16 and 1/32 showed no adaptive stimuli and probably would not have a change in survival rate, and therefore the 1/8 group as mentioned, since the plant maintains or even improves its development in addition to the savings that the producer would have to prepare the culture medium.
• Allergy Prevention: identifying milk antigens in food – Lorena dal Collina Sangiuliano
Allergy can cause itching, hives and even anaphylactic shock that can lead to death. The difficulty of identifying foods that present the antigen to which the person is allergic causes the need of an easy method to detect these proteins. For this, the project aims to create a handle and rapid kit that evidences the presence of β-lactoglobulin in foods using aptamer adsorbed to latex spheres in visible agglutination. Therefore, optimum concentration curve agglutination tests were made, three times, by putting together certain concentrations of the aptamer warmed to 37oC with decreasing concentrations of powder milk in a test plate and mildly agitated. Results were analyzed by visual interpretation, tests were considered positive when small amounts of agglutination mass were detected and negative when the sample remained milky. It was observed that agglutination of milk prepared concentrated, pure, diluted 1:10 and 1:2 with the aptamer diluted 1:4 was slightly significant after fifteen minutes of reaction. In the milk with aptamer diluted 1:16, agglutination was quickly and easily perceived with pure milk, but no agglutination occurs when milk was diluted 1:10. Using the aptamer diluted 1:8 with milk dilution of 1:10 and 1:20 there was the best point for binding since the results were seen in less than two minutes and have agglutinated even when using small amounts of milk, which is the situation that is expected to happen on a daily basis, in the search of small amounts of milk. So it was concluded that, so far, our data show promising results in order to develop a kit in the future for quick identification of β-lactoglobulin using aptamer dilution of 1:8. Nevertheless, more experiments need to be done to confirm the kit viability and to add molecular validation.
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