Nota corta. Especies de ácaros fitoseidos (Acari: Phytoseiidae) en manzanos de Río Negro, Argentina

The presence of phytoseiid mites was determined in two unsprayed apple orchards at Cinco Saltos and Cipolletti, Río Negro Province, Argentina. Twenty apple trees were chosen in each orchard and a sample of 10 leaves per tree was taken at seven different sampling dates. Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor), Euseius fructicolus (Gonzalez &Schuster) and Paraseiulus talbii Athias-Henriot were found at Cinco Saltos, and Proprioseiopsis messor (Wainstein), N. californicus and Metaseiulus camelliae (Chant & Yoshida-Shaul) at Cipolletti. Of these species, only N. californicus has previously been reported from the Alto Valle del Río Negro region. Proprioseiopsis messor and Paraseiulus talbii are reported for the first time in South America and on the American Continent respectively.Se llevó a cabo un estudio para determinar la presencia de ácaros fitoseidos en dos plantaciones de manzanos no tratadas con plaguicidas, localizadas en Cinco Saltos y Cipolletti, Provincia de Río Negro, Argentina. Se seleccionaron 20 árboles en cada huerto y se tomó una muestra de 10 hojas por árbol en siete diferentes fechas de muestreo. Neoseiulus. californicus (McGregor), Euseius fructicolus (Gonzalez & Schuster) y Paraseiulus talbii Athias-Henriot fueron las especies identificadas en Cinco Saltos. Proprioseiopsis messor (Wainstein), N. californicus y Metaseiulus camelliae (Chant & Yoshida-Shaul) fueron identificadas en Cipolletti. De las especies recolectadas solamente había sido mencionada previamente N. californicus en la región del Alto Valle del Río Negro. P. messor y P. talbii constituyen nuevas citas para América del Sur y el continente americano, respectivamente

Changes in intestinal microbiota, immune- and stress-related transcript levels in Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) fed plant ingredient diets intercropped with probiotics or immunostimulants

Author's accepted version (post-print).Available from 04/03/2018.Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) is a highly valued flatfish that grows well with diets containing plant ingredients but their effects on immune competence is still a matter of debate. The current study aimed to examine changes in innate immune parameters and gut microbiota in Senegalese sole fed with 35% or 72% of plant ingredients with or without probiotic or yeast supplementation. Overall, fish fed diets with 72% of plant ingredients showed lower transcript levels of key immune- and stress-related genes in distal intestine, rectum and head-kidney than the 35% diets. In particular, hsp90b mRNA levels in distal intestine were down-regulated by 70% and 60% with the use of high content of plant ingredients in the diet containing the multispecies probiotic and autolyzed yeast, respectively. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis showed lower similarity values for distal intestine than rectum. Also fish fed high content of plant ingredients displayed lower similarity values, pointing to a difference in the microbial populations between fish fed different plant ingredients content on the diet. Our data revealed that inclusion of plant ingredients was associated with differences in gene expression and a more diverse microbiota profile but without a significant effect on growth performance. Moreover, probiotic supplementation resulted in up-regulation of hsp90b, gpx, cat and apoa1 transcript levels in distal intestine concomitantly with a growth rate reduction compared to non-supplemented fish

An optimized nanoparticle delivery system based on chitosan and chondroitin sulfate molecules reduces the toxicity of amphotericin B and is effective in treating tegumentary leishmaniasis

Amphotericin B (AmpB) is active against leishmaniasis, but its use is hampered due to its high toxicity observed in patients. In this study, a nanoparticles-delivery system for AmpB (NQC-AmpB), containing chitosan and chondroitin sulfate molecules, was evaluated in BALB/c mice against Leishmania amazonensis. An in vivo biodistribution study, including biochemical and toxicological evaluations, was performed to evaluate the toxicity of AmpB. Nanoparticles were radiolabeled with technetium-99m and injected in mice. The products presented a similar biodistribution in the liver, spleen, and kidneys of the animals. Free AmpB induced alterations in the body weight of the mice, which, in the biochemical analysis, indicated hepatic and renal injury, as well as morphological damage to the kidneys of the animals. In general, no significant organic alteration was observed in the animals treated with NQC-AmpB. Mice were infected with L. amazonensis and treated with the nanoparticles or free AmpB; then, parasitological and immunological analyses were performed. The NQC-AmpB group, as compared to the control groups, presented significant reductions in the lesion size and in the parasite burden in all evaluated organs. These animals presented significantly higher levels of IFN-γ and IL-12, and low levels of IL-4 and IL-10, when compared to the control groups. The NQC-AmpB system was effective in reducing the infection in the animals, and proved to be effective in diminishing the toxicity evoked by AmpB, which was observed when it was administered alone. In conclusion, NQC-AmpB could be considered a viable possibility for future studies in the treatment of leishmaniasisThis work was supported by grants from Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa from UFMG (Edital 01/2014), Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Nano-biofarmacêutica (INCT-Nanobiofar), FAPEMIG (CBB-APQ-00496-11 and CBB-APQ-00819-12), and CNPq (APQ-472090/2011-9 and APQ-482976/2012-8). MACF is a grant recipient of FAPEMIG/CAPES. EAFC, VNC, and AAGF are grant recipients of CNPq. Eduardo AF Coelho and André AG Faraco are co-senior authors of this stud

Background rejection in NEXT using deep neural networks

[EN] We investigate the potential of using deep learning techniques to reject background events in searches for neutrinoless double beta decay with high pressure xenon time projection chambers capable of detailed track reconstruction. The differences in the topological signatures of background and signal events can be learned by deep neural networks via training over many thousands of events. These networks can then be used to classify further events as signal or background, providing an additional background rejection factor at an acceptable loss of efficiency. The networks trained in this study performed better than previous methods developed based on the use of the same topological signatures by a factor of 1.2 to 1.6, and there is potential for further improvement.The NEXT Collaboration acknowledges support from the following agencies and institutions: the European Research Council (ERC) under the Advanced Grant 339787-NEXT; the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain and FEDER under grants CONSOLIDER-Ingenio 2010 CSD2008-0037 (CUP), FIS2014-53371-C04 and the Severo Ochoa Program SEV-2014-0398; GVA under grant PROMETEO/2016/120. Fermilab is operated by Fermi Research Alliance, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11359 with the United States Department of Energy. JR acknowledges support from a Fulbright Junior Research Award.Renner, J.; Farbin, A.; Muñoz Vidal, J.; Benlloch-Rodríguez, J.; Botas, A.; Ferrario, P.; Gómez-Cadenas, J.... (2017). Background rejection in NEXT using deep neural networks. Journal of Instrumentation. 12. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/12/01/T01004S1

Vegetative development, fruits yield and optimization of pineapple cv. Pérola with different levels of irrigation

Apesar de ser uma planta com necessidades hídricas relativamente baixas, o abacaxizeiro tem demanda permanente de água, variável ao longo do ciclo e dependente do seu estádio de desenvolvimento. Assim, objetivou-se analisar volumes de irrigação no desenvolvimento vegetativo, no rendimento da fruta e na otimização do abacaxizeiro cv. Pérola. O experimento foi realizado na Universidade Federal de Sergipe, município de São Cristóvão (11°01'S, 37°12'W), no delineamento em blocos ao acaso, com quatro tratamentos (lâminas de água) (100% da evaporação do tanque Classe A (523,7mm ano-1); 75% da evaporação do tanque Classe A (392,8mm ano-1), 50% da evaporação do tanque Classe A (261,8mm ano-1) e 0% da evaporação do tanque Classe A, seis repetições e 12 plantas úteis por parcela. O sistema de irrigação foi por aspersão convencional disposto em linha, com pressão de 20mca e vazão de 1,33m3 h-1. A área foliar (cm2) mínima atingida de 4552,6cm2 foi observada no volume de água de 122,9mm ano-1, enquanto a massa seca das folhas (147,6g) foi constatada com 17mm ano-1. O máximo comprimento da folha D (88,9cm) foi estimado com 532,7 mm ano-1. Já o máximo comprimento do fruto (23cm) foi observado na lâmina de 296,9mm ano-1. A massa do fruto máxima estimado de 1.736g foi constatado na lâmina de 356,4mm ano-1. No contexto, a irrigação contribui de forma positiva no desenvolvimento vegetativo e rendimento da fruta do abacaxizeiro. Ressalta-se remuneração mensal líquida de R 1.161,17ha-1, quando se adota lâmina de irrigação de 356,4mm ano-1. _________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT: Regardless a relatively low water needs, pineapple fruit has a variable behavior related to water need throughout its biological cycle depending on the development stage. The objective of this work was to analyze irrigation on the vegetative development and fruits yield in pineapple cv. Pérola. The experiment was conducted at the Universidade Federal de Sergipe Experimental Station, at São Cristóvão - SE (11°01'S, 37°12'W), in a randomized block design, with four water level treatments as follow: 100% of Class-A (523.7mm ano-1) evaporation pan; 75% of Class-A (392.8mm ano-1) evaporation pan, 50% of Class-A (261.8mm ano-1) evaporation pan and 0% of Class-A evaporation pan, in six replications and twelve plants per plot. The splinkler watering system of irrigation was installed in a line, with an operating pression of 20 mca and a sprinkler dischrage of 1.33m3h-1. A minimum leaf area of 4552.6cm2 was observed, considering a water level of 122.9mm year-1, while a leaf dry matter was 147.6 g in 17mmyear-1. The maximum leaf length (D) of 88.9cm was estimated considering 532.7mmyear-1. The maximum fruit length of 23cm was observed, considering a water level of 296.9mmyear-1. The maximum estimated fruit weight was 1.736g in a water level of 356.4mm year-1. The irrigation seems to contribute in a positive way to the vegetative development in the pineapple fruit yield. It is important to mention that it could be observed a net profit of R 1,161.17 ha-1, when a water level of 356.4mm ano-1 of irrigation was adopted