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Aims: This study aimed to assess the long-term effect of SBY on the academic performance of adolescents and their gender.
Materials & Methods: Repeated measure design using purposive sampling was adopted and 324 adolescent boys and girls practicing Superbrain Yoga for three years from Mysuru District, India were involved in the study. Academic scores of adolescents from 2013 to 2016 were analyzed using Repeated Measure ANOVA by SPSS 21.
Findings: A significant increase in academic scores of adolescents in their performance (F=168.324, p=0.001) was noticed. Girls outperformed boys in Science (F=5.263, p=0.006, η_p²=0.02), second language (F=5.832, p=.004, η_p²=.02), and total performance (F=4.534, p=0.014, η_p²=0.02) with a  minimal effect size.
Conclusion: The long-term practice of Superbrain Yoga showed a positive impact on academic performance among adolescents and the gender difference in academic performance is found minimal. The cognitive enhancement practice of SBY can be implemented in educational settings.

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Objective: Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan that causes Toxoplasmosis in human and animal. In recent years, significant progress has been made in the identification of vaccine candidates which can induce protective responses. In this study we used complete Rhoptry protein 2 gene of Toxoplasma gondii as a single DNA vaccine and evaluated its immune responses in comparison with control groups. Materials and Methods: BALB/c mice were immunized intramuscularly with three weaks time interval with pcROP2 (as case group) and pc-DNA3 and PBS (as control groups). After immunization, we evaluated the immune response using cytokine and antibody measurements. Results: The results of cytokine (IFN-γ, IL-4) assays showed that mice immunized with pcROP2, elicited stronger Th1-type cellular immune responses than those immunized with empty plasmid, or PBS (high level of IFN-γ and low-level of IL-4).Also Anti-T. gondii IgG titres (OD) increased markedly in the pcROP2 group, which was significantly higher than those of control groups (P<0.05). When challenged with the highly virulent Toxoplasma gondii RH strain, mice immunized with pcROP2 had siginificantly higher survival rates compared to control groups (P<0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that pc-ROP2 as a single DNA vaccine is effective to prime enhanced and balanced cellular and humeral immunity responses, and relatively improved mice survival time against toxoplasmosis.

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 The aim of this study was to evaluate thirteen cultivars of roses for nutritional composition, bioactive compounds and total antioxidant activity. Attaché cultivar had the highest amounts of proteins and total fiber. Regarding color,Avalanchepresented values for internal cromacity around 7 fold higher than Attaché cultivar. The results showed that the evaluated roses presented means of bioactive compounds as ascorbic acid (70.47 mg 100 g^-1), yellow flavonoids (35.25 mg 100 g^-1) and total anthocyanins (150.40 mg 100 g^-1).  The evaluated roses presented relatively low content of total carotenoids (1.25 mg 100 g^-1), and high content of total polyphenols (1565 mg 100 g^-1) and antioxidant capacity (260 µM trolox g^-1). Avalanche, Prima Donna, Dolce Vita, Salmone, and Elisa cultivar presented the minor Euclidean distance. The petals of the evaluated roses are excellent sources of nutritional compounds and antioxidants.

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Knowledge of buffalo growth curves is essential for improving reproductive management, nutritional strategies and identifying the best slaughter age. We provided the first joint study comparing growth curves of the three major buffalo breeds. Additionally, we used principal component analysis and Biplot graphics to evaluate the degree of similarity between the groups (breed by sex) and their relationship with mature weight, maturation rate and weight at different ages. The dataset included 8,550 weight records from 1,391 Jaffarabadi, Mediterranean and Murrah buffaloes. The Bertalanffy model had the best fit. The mature weights were 696.64±8.50 and 678.53±9.44 kg (Mediterranean), 716.26±48.54 and 629.28±32.11 kg (Jaffarabadi) and 694.69±17.97 and 556.53±15.49 kg (Murrah) male and female, respectively, by Bertalanffy model. All breeds reaching 75% of mature weight in less than two years. Murrah females were particularly productive, having high precocity and low weight maturity - important biotypes for milk production. Murrah males showed intermediate characteristics, and high potential for meat production in dairy herds. Mediterranean animals showed high weight gain, median precocity and medium to high weight at maturity, supporting its status as the main breed for beef production in Brazil. Jaffarabadi males had high mature weight, slow growth in the first year of life followed by high growth thereafter. Female Jaffarabadi were smaller and showed a similar level of precocity to Mediterranean animals. Buffaloes in Brazil have traditionally been used for milk production; however, our study clearly demonstrates that all three breeds have appropriate characteristics for meat production.

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The study of mango (Mangifera indica L.) cultivars in different regions is of great importance, due to the enormous diversity of cultivars and hybrids, as well as different soil and climatic conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics and bioactive compounds of mango fruits under subtropical conditions. The experiment was conducted at the São Manuel Experimental Farm, School of Agriculture, Botucatu, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Brazil. Espada Vermelha, Keitt and Palmer cultivars were evaluated. For physical analysis, weight, longitudinal and transverse diameters, fruit shape, pulp yield, peel, seed, peel color and pulp color were evaluated. Regarding chemical characteristics and bioactive compounds, titratable acidity, soluble solids, SS/TA ratio (relationship between soluble solids and titratable acidity), reducing sugars, non-reducer, total ascorbic acid, carotenoids, flavonoids, polyphenols and antioxidant activity were determined. The results showed that Palmer and Keitt cultivars had higher physical quality, such as higher pulp yield, analyzed under subtropical conditions of Brazil. However, Palmer cultivar had higher chemical quality, which was observed in the values of SS/TA ratio, high antioxidant capacity, high ascorbic acid content, greater amount of total polyphenols, and suitable quantities of flavonoids and sugars.

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Sample storage and fasting times leads to some changes of blood metabolites in broilers. Therefore, a study was conducted with the aim to assess the influence of storage and fasting times in serum and plasma fractions on glucose, total cholesterol, triacylglycerols, Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and Gamma-Glutamyl Transferase (GGT) concentrations in broilers. A total of 70 male broiler chickens fasted at 7 times (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 hours) to collect blood fractions (serum and plasma) stored at -20°C for 0, 30, and 60 days. Glucose and GGT were affected by fasting times×blood fraction. Serum glucose concentration decreased linearly (≅ 2.48 mg dL^-1), whereas total cholesterol and plasma GGT increased linearly (≅ 0.92 mg dL^-1 and ≅ 0.19 IU L^-1, respectively) with fasting time. There was a quadratic effect on plasma glucose and serum GGT (maximum at 3.95 hours and minimum at 5.22 hours of fasting, respectively), and triacylglycerol (minimum at 8.75 hours of fasting) and ALT concentrations (maximum at 8.45 hours of fasting). Glucose, total cholesterol, AST, ALT, GGT concentrations were higher in serum, while triacylglycerol was higher in plasma. Glucose concentration had the lowest values at 30 days, while ALT was higher on day 0. However, GGT concentrations were lower on days 0 and 30. Samples of plasma for glucose, ALT, and GGT stored at -20°C for long periods should be avoided. In addition, serum samples and 6 hours fasting are recommended for the assessment of blood biochemical metabolites in broilers.