Grasses control strategies in setting restoration stand of the Atlantic Forest.

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of four weed control strategies in forest setting stands linked by a set of Atlantic Forest tree species. Four treatments were employed: mechanical ? manual hoeing and mowing; chemical ? glyphosate herbicide application in the total area; chemical ? cultural ? herbicide spraying and herbaceous legume intercropping; chemical-mechanical ? herbicide planting in rows and mowing in the interrows. Diameter, crown area and soil cover percentage of the eight tree species were assessed at 18 months. Herbicide spraying in total area promoted the greatest reduction in weed populations, as well as superior growth in height, diameter, crown area and soil cover of the tree species. More interventions were necessary in the treatment of mechanical weed control that has also shown the least growth of the tree species. The chemical method was the most effective in weed control and promoted the greatest growth of the tree speci

The intestinal expulsion of the roundworm Ascaris suum is associated with eosinophils, intra-epithelial T cells and decreased intestinal transit time

Ascaris lumbricoides remains the most common endoparasite in humans, yet there is still very little information available about the immunological principles of protection, especially those directed against larval stages. Due to the natural host-parasite relationship, pigs infected with A. suum make an excellent model to study the mechanisms of protection against this nematode. In pigs, a self-cure reaction eliminates most larvae from the small intestine between 14 and 21 days post infection. In this study, we investigated the mucosal immune response leading to the expulsion of A. suum and the contribution of the hepato-tracheal migration. Self-cure was independent of previous passage through the liver or lungs, as infection with lung stage larvae did not impair self-cure. When animals were infected with 14-day-old intestinal larvae, the larvae were being driven distally in the small intestine around 7 days post infection but by 18 days post infection they re-inhabited the proximal part of the small intestine, indicating that more developed larvae can counter the expulsion mechanism. Self-cure was consistently associated with eosinophilia and intra-epithelial T cells in the jejunum. Furthermore, we identified increased gut movement as a possible mechanism of self-cure as the small intestinal transit time was markedly decreased at the time of expulsion of the worms. Taken together, these results shed new light on the mechanisms of self-cure that occur during A. suum infections

Diversidade genética da comunidade bacteriana durante a compostagem de resíduos agrícolas enriquecidos com rochas e bioinoculante.

FertBio 2016

Oceanic protists with different forms of acquired phototrophy display contrasting biogeographies and abundance

Leles, S.G. ... et. al.-- 6 pages, 3 figures, supplementary material https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/suppl/10.1098/rspb.2017.0664This first comprehensive analysis of the global biogeography of marine protistan plankton with acquired phototrophy shows these mixotrophic organisms to be ubiquitous and abundant; however, their biogeography differs markedly between different functional groups. These mixotrophs, lacking a constitutive capacity for photosynthesis (i.e. non-constitutive mixotrophs, NCMs), acquire their phototrophic potential through either integration of prey-plastids or through endosymbiotic associations with photosynthetic microbes. Analysis of field data reveals that 40–60% of plankton traditionally labelled as (non-phototrophic) microzooplankton are actually NCMs, employing acquired phototrophy in addition to phagotrophy. Specialist NCMs acquire chloroplasts or endosymbionts from specific prey, while generalist NCMs obtain chloroplasts from a variety of prey. These contrasting functional types of NCMs exhibit distinct seasonal and spatial global distribution patterns. Mixotrophs reliant on ‘stolen’ chloroplasts, controlled by prey diversity and abundance, dominate in high-biomass areas. Mixotrophs harbouring intact symbionts are present in all waters and dominate particularly in oligotrophic open ocean systems. The contrasting temporal and spatial patterns of distribution of different mixotroph functional types across the oceanic provinces, as revealed in this study, challenges traditional interpretations of marine food web structures. Mixotrophs with acquired phototrophy (NCMs) warrant greater recognition in marine researchPeer Reviewe