Some digenetic trematodes found in a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) from Brazil

Research Areas: Parasitology ; ZoologyThis paper reports three recovered species of digeneans from an adult loggerhead sea turtle - Caretta caretta (Testudines, Cheloniidae) in Brazil. These trematodes include Diaschistorchis pandus (Pronocephalidae), Cymatocarpus solearis (Brachycoeliidae) and Rhytidodes gelatinosus (Rhytidodidae) The fi rst two represent new geographic records. A list of helminths reported from the Neotropical region, Gulf of Mexico and USA (Florida) is presented.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Controle Alternativo De Pinta-preta Em Genótipos De Mamoeiro

To find control forms alternative to fungicides, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of products with potential to control black spot (Asperisporium caricae) in different papaya genotypes. Installed in a greenhouse, the experiment was conducted in randomized blocks (RB) with factorial arrangement 5x6, three replicates, and spraying of four products (Bion®, Bordeaux mixture, Ecolife®, and Bordasul®) in six papaya genotypes (‘Sunrise Solo PT’, ‘STZ 03’, ‘Golden’, ‘Tailândia’, ‘Maradol’ and ‘UENF-CALIMAN 01’), while control was sprayed only with water. The severity (BSS) and the incidence (BSI) of black spot on the leaves were quantified, as well as the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC). There was variability among the evaluated genotypes, highlighting ‘STZ 03’, ‘Maradol’ and ‘UENF/ CALIMAN 01’ as the most resistant genotypes. ‘Tailândia’ (susceptible) showed greater response to the products. Plants sprayed with Bion®, Bordeaux mixture and Bordasul® had reduced black spot means. © 2017, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). All rights reserved.431606

Diacerhein attenuates the inflammatory response and improves survival in a model of severe sepsis

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Genetic characterization of Toxoplasma gondii isolates from pigs intended for human consumption in Brazil

AbstractThis study genetically Toxoplasma gondii isolates obtained from pigs intended for human consumption in northeastern Brazil; multilocus PCR-RFLP and sequencing techniques were utilized. Bioassays were conducted using the brain and tongue of 20 pig heads purchased at butcher shops in the city of Ilheus, Bahia, Brazil. Overall, 11 T. gondii isolates designated TgPgBr06-16 were identified. Application of multilocus PCR-RFLP with seven molecular markers (SAG1, SAG2, SAG3, BTUB, C22-8, PK1 and Apico) identified six different genotypes. Isolates TgPgBr 06, 08, 11, 12, 14 and 15 were indistinguishable by this technique, forming a single genotype; the remaining isolates were characterized as distinct genotypes. However, when five genetic markers (SAG1, SAG2, SAG3, BTUB and c22-8) were employed in multilocus PCR-sequencing, all eleven strains of T. gondii were shown to be different. All isolates differed from Type I, II and III clonal genotypes using both genotyping techniques. These results demonstrate that the multilocus PCR-RFLP assay underestimated the true diversity of the T. gondii population in this study. Thus, DNA sequencing is the preferred technique to infer the genetic diversity and population structure of T. gondii strains from Brazil. Moreover, it is necessary to develop new molecular markers to group and characterize atypical T. gondii isolates from South America

IL-6 and TNF-alpha polymorphisms in portuguese psoriatic patients

Introduction: Cytokines regulate the growth, function and differentiation of cells and help to steer immune response and inflammation. In this study we focused our attention in two proinflammatory cytokines: IL-6 and TNFa. It is known that their overexpression is responsible for initiation, maintenance and recurrence of skin lesions in psoriatic patients. Therefore, it is important to investigate genetic biomarkers with functional effects in the genes of those cytokines that could help to predict the severity of Psoriasis. Objectives: To investigate the hypothesis that allelic variants in IL-6 and TNF-a genes are a risk factor for the developing of severe Psoriasis. Materials and Methods: A cohort of 178 (74 females, 104 males) psoriatic patients with severe plaque type psoriasis [according to the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI)] and 206 healthy individuals were selected. Several polymorphisms in the IL-6 gene (rs1800795, rs1800796, rs2069827, rs2069840) and TNF-a (rs361525, rs1799964, rs1800629) promoter region were genotyped. SNP genotyping was performed using Mass Spectrometry (MassARRAY iPLEX–Sequenom). Results: We observed a lower frequency in the minor allele (C) of the TNFa rs1799964 SNP in psoriatic patients, compared with controls [(21.9% vs. 29.4%), p = 0.02, OR = 0.675 (0.49–0.94)]. The frequency of the CC genotype in patients was 3.93% while in the healthy control group it was 9.22% [(p = 0.04, OR = 0.403 (0.17–0.98)]. No statistical significant differences were found in the other polymorphisms. Conclusion: Our data suggest that the rs1799964 C allele could be a protective factor for developing severe psoriasis. These results were similar to the findings of Gallo et al (2012) in a Spanish population. The mechanism to explain this association remains elusive, given the lack of evidence of a functional association

Phytoplankton community responses in a shallow lake following lanthanum-bentonite application

The release of phosphorus (P) from bed sediments to the overlying water can delay the recovery of lakes for decades following reductions in catchment contributions, preventing water quality targets being met within timeframes set out by environmental legislation (e.g. EU Water Framework Directive: WFD). Therefore supplementary solutions for restoring lakes have been explored, including the capping of sediment P sources using a lanthanum (La)-modified bentonite clay to reduce internal P loading and enhance the recovery process. Here we present results from Loch Flemington where the first long-term field trial documenting responses of phytoplankton community structure and abundance, and the UK WFD phytoplankton metric to a La-bentonite application was performed. A Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) analysis was used to distinguish natural variability from treatment effect and confirmed significant reductions in the magnitude of summer cyanobacterial blooms in Loch Flemington, relative to the control site, following La-bentonite application. However this initial cyanobacterial response was not sustained beyond two years after application, which implied that the reduction in internal P loading was short-lived; several possible explanations for this are discussed. One reason is that this ecological quality indicator is sensitive to inter-annual variability in weather patterns, particularly summer rainfall and water temperature. Over the monitoring period, the phytoplankton community structure of Loch Flemington became less dominated by cyanobacteria and more functionally diverse. This resulted in continual improvements in the phytoplankton compositional and abundance metrics, which were not observed at the control site, and may suggest an ecological response to the sustained reduction in filterable reactive phosphorus (FRP) concentration following La-bentonite application. Overall, phytoplankton classification indicated that the lake moved from poor to moderate ecological status but did not reach the proxy water quality target (i.e. WFD Good Ecological Status) within four years of the application. As for many other shallow lakes, the effective control of internal P loading in Loch Flemington will require further implementation of both in-lake and catchment-based measures. Our work emphasizes the need for appropriate experimental design and long-term monitoring programmes, to ascertain the efficacy of intervention measures in delivering environmental improvements at the field scale

Soil organisms in organic and conventional cropping systems.

Apesar do crescente interesse pela agricultura orgânica, são poucas as informações de pesquisa disponíveis sobre o assunto. Assim, num Argissolo Vermelho-Amarelo distrófico foram comparados os efeitos de sistemas de cultivo orgânico e convencional, para as culturas do tomate (Lycopersicum esculentum) e do milho (Zea mays), sobre a comunidade de organismos do solo e suas atividades. As populações de fungos,bactérias e actinomicetos, determinadas pela contagem de colônias em meio de cultura, foram semelhantes para os dois sistemas de produção. A atividade microbiana, avaliada pela evolução de CO2, manteve-se superior no sistema orgânico, sendo que em determinadas avaliações foi o dobro da evolução verificada no sistema convencional. O número de espécimes de minhoca foi praticamente dez vezes maior no sistema orgânico. Não foi observada diferença na taxa de decomposição de matéria orgânica entre os dois sistemas. De modo geral, o número de indivíduos de microartrópodos foi superior no sistema orgânico do que no sistema convencional, refletindo no maior índice de diversidade de Shannon. As maiores populações de insetos foram as da ordem Collembola, enquanto para os ácaros a maior população foi a da superfamília Oribatuloidea. Indivíduos dos grupos Aranae, Chilopoda, Dyplopoda, Pauropoda, Protura e Symphyla foram ocasionalmente coletados e de forma similar entre os sistemas

High-resolution monitoring of diffuse (sheet or interrill) erosion using structure-from-motion

Sheet erosion is common on agricultural lands, and understanding the dynamics of the erosive process as well as the quantification of soil loss is important for both soil scientists and managers. However, measuring rates of soil loss from sheet erosion has proved difficult due to requiring the detection of relatively small surface changes over extended areas. Consequently, such measurements have relied on the use of erosion plots, which have limited spatial coverage and have high operating costs. For measuring the larger erosion rates characteristic of rill and gully erosion, structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry has been demonstrated to be a valuable tool. Here, we demonstrate the first direct validation of UAV-SfM measurements of sheet erosion using sediment collection data collected from erosion plots. Three erosion plots (12 m × 4 m) located at Lavras, Brazil, with bare soil exposed to natural rainfall from which event sediment and runoff was monitored, were mapped during two hydrological years (2016 and 2017), using a UAV equipped with a RGB camera. DEMs of difference (DoD) were calculated to detect spatial changes in the soil surface topography over time and to quantify the volumes of sediments lost or gained. Precision maps were generated to enable precision estimates for both DEMs to be propagated into the DoD as spatially variable vertical uncertainties. The point clouds generated from SfM gave mean errors of ~2.4 mm horizontally (xy) and ~1.9 mm vertically (z) on control and independent check points, and the level of detection (LoD) along the plots ranged from 1.4 mm to 7.4 mm. The soil loss values obtained by SfM were significantly (p < 0.001) correlated (r 2 = 95.55%) with those derived from the sediment collection. These results open up the possibility to use SfM for erosion studies where channelized erosion is not the principal mechanism, offering a cost-effective method for gaining new insights into sheet, and interrill, erosion processes