1,681 research outputs found

    Anfíbios Do Parque Estadual De Vassununga, Um Dos últimos Remanescentes De Mata Atlântica Semidecidual E Cerrado No Nordeste Do Estado De São Paulo, Brasil

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    Although São Paulo state has one of the best known amphibian fauna in Brazil, there are still protected areas for which the species composition remains unknown. Here, we present the first species list of anuran amphibians in Vassununga State Park. This area is one of the last remnants of semideciduous Atlantic Forest and Cerrado in the northeastern region of São Paulo state, southeastern Brazil. To survey species, we visited six sites (two ponds, two streams, and two transects) in December, January, and February of 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, totalizing 18 days of field samplings at each site. We recorded 24 anuran species belonging to four families: Bufonidae (2 species), Hylidae (11 species), Leptodactylidae (10 species), and Microhylidae (1 species). Anurans consist mainly of generalist and widely distributed species. Although none of the species recorded are threatened with extinction according to the International Red List of Endangered Species (IUCN), four species have declining population and another three species have unknown population trends. © 2017 Biota Neotropica All rights reserved.17

    Pulsation Period Changes as a Tool to Identify Pre-Zero Age Horizontal Branch Stars

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    One of the most dramatic events in the life of a low-mass star is the He flash, which takes place at the tip of the red giant branch (RGB) and is followed by a series of secondary flashes before the star settles into the zero-age horizontal branch (ZAHB). Yet, no stars have been positively identified in this key evolutionary phase, mainly for two reasons: first, this pre-ZAHB phase is very short compared to other major evolutionary phases in the life of a star; and second, these pre-ZAHB stars are expected to overlap the loci occupied by asymptotic giant branch (AGB), HB and RGB stars observed in the color-magnitude diagram (CMD). We investigate the possibility of detecting these stars through stellar pulsations, since some of them are expected to rapidly cross the Cepheid/RR Lyrae instability strip in their route from the RGB tip to the ZAHB, thus becoming pulsating stars along the way. As a consequence of their very high evolutionary speed, some of these stars may present anomalously large period change rates. We constructed an extensive grid of stellar models and produced pre-ZAHB Monte Carlo simulations appropriate for the case of the Galactic globular cluster M3 (NGC 5272), where a number of RR Lyrae stars with high period change rates are found. Our results suggest that some -- but certainly not all -- of the RR Lyrae stars in M3 with large period change rates are in fact pre-ZAHB pulsators.Comment: Conference Proceedings HELAS Workshop on 'Synergies between solar and stellar modelling', Rome, June 2009, Astrophys. Space Sci., in the pres

    Vulvodynia: A disease commonly hidden in plain sight

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    Vulvodynia is a poorly recognized entity by clinicians – even by those who deal with female sexual health. While the study of vulvovaginal diseases, including pain disorders, is included in most residency programs in North America, it is acknowledged that clinical exposure may be insufficient. The scenario in the rest of the world is probably no better. Vulvodynia affects at least 6% of women (up to 20% in some series), and can be found at any age and in all ethnic groups. The disease is common and dramatically affects quality of life, beyond the obvious sexual aspect. The importance of investigating vulvar symptoms even in younger women is underlined by studies reporting that the prevalence of vulvodynia among adolescents is similar to that among adult women. The International Society for the Study of Vulvovaginal Disease (ISSVD) defined vulvodynia as vulvar pain of at least 3?months'' duration, without clear identifiable cause, which may have potential associated factors– or, more simply, idiopathic vulvar pain. It was subdivided according to location (generalized, localized) and the need of a stimulus to elicit the symptoms (provoked, spontaneous, or mixed). In the terminology recommended in 2015 it was acknowledged that there are potential associated factors..

    Size of predatory mites and refuge entrance determine success of biological control of the coconut mite

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    Published online: 06 July 2016Predators face the challenge of accessing prey that live in sheltered habitats. The coconut mite Aceriaguerreronis Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae) lives hidden beneath the perianth, which is appressed to the coconut fruit surface, where they feed on the meristematic tissue. Its natural enemy, the predatory mite Neoseiuluspaspalivorus De Leon (Acari: Phytoseiidae), is larger than this pest and is believed to gain access to the refuge only after its opening has increased with coconut fruit age. In the field, experimentally enlarging the perianth-rim-fruit distance beyond the size of the predators resulted in earlier predator occurrence beneath the perianth and lower numbers of coconut mites. On non-manipulated coconut fruits, the predators gained access to the prey weeks later than on manipulated ones, resulting in higher pest densities of coconut mites. Successful biological control thus critically hinges on the size of the predator relative to the opening of the prey refuge

    Field Evaluation Of Safety During Gestation And Horizontal Spread Of A Recombinant Differential Bovine Herpesvirus 1 (bohv-1) Vaccine

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    Bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1) is recognized as a major cause of respiratory, reproductive disease and abortion in cattle. Vaccination is widely applied to minimize losses induced by BoHV-1 infections; however, vaccination of dams during pregnancy with modified live virus (MLV) vaccines has been occasionally associated to abortions. We have previously reported the development of a BoHV-1 recombinant virus, constructed with basis on a Brazilian BoHV-1 (Franco et al. 2002a) from which the gene coding for glycoprotein E (gE) was deleted (gE-) by genetic manipulation. Such recombinant has been previously evaluated in its potential as a differential vaccine (gE-vaccine) that allows differentiation between vaccinated and infected animals. Here, in the first part of the present study, the safety of the gE-vaccine during pregnancy was evaluated by the intramuscular inoculation of 107.4 tissue culture 50% infective doses (TCID50) of the virus into 22 pregnant dams (14 BoHV-1 seronegative; 8 seropositive), at different stages of gestation. Other 15 pregnant dams were kept as non-vaccinated controls. No abortions, stillbirths or fetal abnormalities were seen after vaccination. Seroconversion was observed in both groups of previously seronegative vaccinated animals. In the second part of the study, the potential of the gE-vaccine virus to spread among beef cattle under field conditions was examined. Four heifers were inoculated intranasally with a larger amount (107.6TCID50) of the gE-vaccine (to increase chances of transmission) and mixed with other sixteen animals at the same age and body condition, in the same grazing area, at a population density equal to the average cattle farming density within the region (one cattle head per 10,000 m2), for 180 days. All animals were monitored daily for clinical signs. Serum samples were collected on days 0, 30, 60 and 180 post-vaccination. Seroconversion was observed only in vaccinated heifers. These results indicate that, under the conditions of the present study, the gE-vaccine virus did not cause any noticeable harmful effect on pregnant dams and on its offspring and did not spread horizontally among cattle.2515458Belknap, E.B., Walters, L.M., Kelling, C., Ayers, V.K., Norris, J., McMillend, J., Hayhowe, C., Collins, J.K., Immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a gE, gG and US2 gene-deleted bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) vaccine (1999) Vaccine, 17, pp. 2297-2305Bouma, A., De Jong, M.C.M., Kimman, T.G., Transmission of pseudorabies virus within pig populations is independent of the size of the population (1995) Prev. Vet. Med., 23, pp. 163-172Casal, J., Planasdemunt, L., Varo, J.A., Martín, M., The use of different vaccination schedules for sows to protect piglets against Aujeszky's disease (2004) Vet. Med. B, 51, pp. 8-11D'Arce, R.C.F., Almeida, R.S., Silva, T.C., Franco, A.C., Spilki, F., Roehe, P.M., Arns, C.W., Restriction endonuclease and monoclonal antibody characterization of Brazilian isolates of bovine herpesviruses types 1 and 5 (2002) Vet. Microbiol., 88, pp. 315-324Ellis, J.A., Hassard, L.E., Cortese, V.S., Morley, P.S., Effects of perinatal vaccination on humoral and cellular immune responses in dams and young calves (1996) J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc., 208, pp. 393-400Flores, E.F., Donis, R.O., Isolation of a mutant MDBK cell line resistant to bovine viral diarrhea virus infection due to a block in viral entry (1995) Virology, 208, pp. 565-575Flores, E.F., Osorio, F.A., Zanella, E.L., Kit, S., Kit, M., Efficacy of a deletion mutant bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) vaccine that allows serologic differentiation of vaccinated from naturally infected animals (1993) J. Vet. Diagn. Invest., 5, pp. 534-540Franco, A.C., Rijsewijk, F.A.M., Flores, E.F., Weiblen, R., Roehe, P.M., Construction and characterization of a glycoprotein E deletion of bovine herpesvirus type 1.2 strain isolated in Brazil (2002) Braz. J. Microbiol., 33, pp. 274-278Franco, A.C., Spilki, F.R., Esteves, P.A., Lima, M., Weiblen, R., Flores, E.F., Rijsewijk, F.A.M., Roehe, P.M., A Brazilian glycoprotein E-negative bovine herpesvirus type 1.2a (BHV-1.2a) mutant is attenuated for cattle and induces protection against wild-type virus challenge (2002) Pesq. Vet. Bras., 22, pp. 135-140Hage, J.J., Schukken, Y.H., Barkema, H.W., Benedictus, G., Rijsewijk, F.A.M., Wentink, G.H., Population dynamics of bovine herpesvirus infection a dairy herd (1996) Vet. Microbiol., 53, pp. 169-180Guy, J.S., Potgieter, L.N., Bovine herpesvirus-1 infection of cattle: Kinetics of antibody formation after intranasal exposure and abortion induced by the virus (1985) Am. J. Vet. Res., 46, pp. 893-898Kaashoek, M., (1995) Marker Vaccines Against Bovine Herpesvirus 1 Infections, 155p. , Ph.D. Thesis, Utrecht University, NetherlandsKleiboeker, S.B., Lee, S.M., Jones, C.A., Estes, D.M., Evaluation of shedding of bovine herpesvirus 1, bovine viral diarrhea virus 1, and bovine viral diarrhea virus 2 after vaccination of calves with a multivalent modified-live virus vaccine (2003) J. Am. Vet. Med Assoc., 222, pp. 1399-1403Lomba, F., Vascoboinic, E., Zygraich, N., Immunization of pregnant dams with a temperature-sensitive mutant of the IBR Virus (1976) 6th Int. Congr. Diseases of Cattle, pp. 395-399. , ParisMars, M.H., De Jong, M.C.M., Van Oirschot, J.T., A gE-negative BHV-1 vaccine virus strain cannot perpetuate in cattle populations (2000) Vaccine, 18, pp. 2120-2124McFelly, R.A., Merrit, A.M., Stearly, E.L., Abortion in a dairy herd vaccinated for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (1964) Vet. Path., 1, pp. 7-17Miller, J.M., Whetstone, C.A., Van Der Maaten, M.J., Abortfacient property of bovine herpesvirus type 1 isolates that represent three subtypes determined by restriction endonuclease analysis of viral DNA (1991) Am. J. Vet. Res., 52, pp. 458-461Miller, J.M., Whetstone, C.A., Bello, L.J., Lawrence, W.C., Whitbeck, J.C., Abortions in heifers inoculated with a thymidine kinase-negative recombinant of bovine herpesvirus 1 (1995) Am. J. Vet. Res., 56, pp. 870-874Mitchell, D., An outbreak of abortion in a dairy herd following inoculation with an intramuscular infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (1964) Can. Vet. J., 26, pp. 8-14Odde, K.G., Survival of the neonatal calf. Factors influencing colostral and calf serum immunoglobulin levels (1988) Vet. Clin. North Am. Food Anim. Pract., 4, pp. 501-508Pastoret, P.P., Babiuk, L.A., Misra, V., Griebel, P., Reactivation of temperature sensitive and non-temperature-sensitive infectious bovine rhinotracheitis vaccine virus with dexamethasone (1980) Infect. Immun., 29, pp. 483-488Roehe, P.M., (1991) Studies on the Comparative Virology of Pestiviruses, 361p. , Ph.D. thesis. University of Surrey, Guildford, UKSiebert, S., Auer, S., Heinem, E., Kretzdom, D., Strube, W., Marker vaccines - Opportunities for IBR control. Part I: BHV-1 infections - The problem (1995) Tierärztl. Umschau, 50, pp. 530-533Siebert, S., Auer, S., Heinem, E., Kretzdom, D., Strube, W., Marker vaccines - Opportunities for IBR control. Part II: Safety and efficacy of the gE-deleted Bayovac IBR marker vaccines (1995) Tierärztl. Umschau, 50, pp. 582-584Strube, W., Abar, B., Bergle, R.D., Safety aspects in the development of an infectious bovine rhinotracheitis marker vaccine. Non-target effects of live vaccines (1995) Dev. Biol. Stand., 84, pp. 75-81Turin, L., Russo, S., Poli, G., BHV-1: New molecular approaches to control a common and widespread infection (1999) Mol. Med., 5, pp. 261-284Van Drunen Littel-van Den Hurk, S., Parker, M.D., Massie, B., Van Den Hurk, J.V., Harland, R., Babiuk, L.A., Zamb, T.J., Protection of cattle from BHV-1 infection by immunization with recombinant glycoprotein gIV (1993) Vaccine, 11, pp. 25-35Van Engelenburg, F.A.C., Kaashoek, M.J., Van Oirschot, J.T., Rijsewijk, F.A.M., A glycoprotein E deletion mutant of bovine herpesvirus 1 infects the same limited number of tissues in calves as wild-type virus, but for a shorter period (1995) J. Gen. Virol., 76, pp. 2387-2392Wentink, G.H., Van Oirschot, J.T., Verhoeff, J., Risk of infection with bovine herpes virus 1 (BHV-1): A review (1993) Vet. Quarterly, 15, pp. 30-33Whetstone, C.A., Wheeler, J.G., Reed, D.E., Investigation of possible vaccine-induced epizootics of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, using restriction endonuclease analysis of viral DNA (1986) Am. J. Vet. Res., 47, pp. 1789-1795Zuckermann, F.A., Husmann, R.J., Schwartz, R., Brandt, J., Mateu De Antonio, E., Martin, S., Interleukin-12 enhances the virus-specific interferon gamma response of pigs to an inactivated pseudorabies virus vaccine (1998) Vet. Immunol. Immunopath., 63, pp. 57-6

    MultiS: A Context-Server for Pervasive Computing

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    AbstractContext-aware applications are capable of recognizing environmental changes and adapting their behavior to the new context. This process can be divided into three stages: monitoring, context recognition and adaptation. On the monitoring layer, raw information about the environment is collected from sensors. The context recognition layer processes the data acquired from the context and transforms it into information which can be useful for the adaptation process. With this information, the adaptation system can determine what behavior is correct for the application in each different context. This paper proposes a context server called MultiS, which has the goal of solving the problems arising from the context recognition layer, and which includes the following advantages: a) the production of new context data based on the information of several sensors and an ability to react to changes in the environment; b) definition of a composed language for the context data called CD-XML; c) support for mobility

    Characterization of anti-crotalic antibodies

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    AbstractCrotalus durissus terrificus, C. d. collilineatus, C. d. cascavella and C. d. marajoensis are responsible minor but severe snake bites in Brazil. The venoms of these snakes share the presence of crotoxin, a neurotoxin comprising of two associated components, crotapotin and phospholipase A2 (PLA2). Treatment of the victims with specific antiserum is the unique effective therapeutic measure. The ability of anti-Crotalus antisera produced by the routine using crude venom to immunize horses or purified crotoxin and PLA2 as individual immunogens was compared. Antisera obtained from horses immunized with C. durissus terrificus crude venom were able to recognize and neutralize not only the toxins presents in C. durissus terrificus, but also the ones present in the venoms from C. d. collilineatus, C. d. cascavella and C. d. marajoensis. Antisera from horses immunized with individual crotoxin or PLA2, although in lesser titers, were also able of recognizing the toxins in all four Crotalus species and neutralize the lethality of the C. d. terrificus venom

    Anthocyanin profile of elderberry juice: A natural-based bioactive colouring ingredient with potential food application

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    Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) is a widely disseminated plant that produces bright black berries containing high quantities of anthocyanins, acknowledged for their bioactivity and dye capacity. Besides other applications, anthocyanins might be employed as natural colouring agents to reduce/eliminate the use of artificial dyes, while providing positive e ects on consumers’ health. Herein, the anthocyanins profile of elderberry juice was characterised by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn. In addition, its antioxidant capacity and cytotoxicity were also evaluated. As a proof-of-concept of its colouring capacity, elderberry juice was added (di erent percentages) to a highly appreciated and consumed pastry product (croissant) and compared with a commercial dye (black carrot). In general, the nutritional properties of control and coloured croissants were similar, despite some individual di erences in sugars and fatty acids. In turn, the appearance obtained with elderberry juice incorporation might be considered innovative, besides partially maintaining the anthocyanins content of fresh juice and showing considerable antioxidant activity.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Programmer PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2019), Sandrina A. Heleno, João C.M. Barreira, Ricardo C. Calhelha and L. Barros contracts; to the European Structural and Investment Funds (FEEI) through the Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of Project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-023289: DeCodE and project Mobilizador ValorNatural®; and FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal programme for financial support through the project 0377_Iberphenol_6_E.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Las problemáticas en la diferenciación entre madres e hijas: un estudio de caso

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    Este trabajo pretende investigar cómo la dinámica psicológica de las relaciones entre madres e hijas, como base de la perspectiva psicoanalítica. Más específicamente, pretendemos comprender los problemas que pueden surgir en una relación altamente indiferenciada entre madre e hija. Por lo tanto, se pretende proporcionar una mejor comprensión de la relación simbiótica con una madre y sus consecuencias para la constitución psíquica de las niñas. A partir de este estudio de caso, se lleva a cabo una discusión en línea con nuestros conceptos teóricos constructivos que diferentes autores del psicoanálisis han realizado sobre el tema de la transmisión de la feminidad entre madres e hijas.       O presente trabalho visa investigar as dinâmicas psicológicas das relações entre mães e filhas, utilizando como base a perspectiva psicanalítica. Mais especificamente, buscou-se compreender as problemáticas existentes quando há um grau elevado de indiferenciação entre a menina e sua mãe. Para isso, realizou-se uma articulação entre um estudo de caso e conceitos da psicanálise que fundamentam as cenas clínicas apresentadas. O estudo de caso concretizou-se a partir de um atendimento psicológico de uma criança que apresentava importantes sofrimentos oriundos de uma dificuldade de separação da figura materna. Assim, pretende-se fornecer uma melhor compreensão a respeito das vicissitudes de uma relação simbiótica com a mãe e as consequências de tal para a constituição da vida psíquica da mulher.This work aims to investigate how the psychological dynamics of relations between mothers and daughters, as a basis the psychoanalytic perspective. More specifically, we intend to comprehend the problems that may emerge in a highly undifferentiated relationship between mother and daughter. Thus, it is intended to provide a better understanding of the symbiotic relationship with a mother and its consequences for the the girls psychic constitution. Departing from this case study, a discussion is carried out in line with our constructive theoretical concepts that different authors of psychoanalysis have made on the subject of the transmission of femininity between mothers and daughters.                                                                                                        &nbsp
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