25 research outputs found

    Shedding some light over the floral metabolism by Arum Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) Spathe de novo transcriptome assembly

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    Zantedeschia aethiopica is an evergreen perennial plant cultivated worldwide and commonly used for ornamental and medicinal purposes including the treatment of bacterial infections. However, the current understanding of molecular and physiological mechanisms in this plant is limited, in comparison to other non-model plants. In order to improve understanding of the biology of this botanical species, RNA-Seq technology was used for transcriptome assembly and characterization. Following Z. aethiopica spathe tissue RNA extraction, high-throughput RNA sequencing was performed with the aim of obtaining both abundant and rare transcript data. Functional profiling based on KEGG Orthology (KO) analysis highlighted contigs that were involved predominantly in genetic information (37%) and metabolism (34%) processes. Predicted proteins involved in the plant circadian system, hormone signal transduction, secondary metabolism and basal immunity are described here. In silico screening of the transcriptome data set for antimicrobial peptide (AMP) – encoding sequences was also carried out and three lipid transfer proteins (LTP) were identified as potential AMPs involved in plant defense. Spathe predicted protein maps were drawn, and suggested that major plant efforts are expended in guaranteeing the maintenance of cell homeostasis, characterized by high investment in carbohydrate, amino acid and energy metabolism as well as in genetic information

    O uso de um produto à base de papaína na remoção seletiva do tecido cariado: uma revisão de literatura / The use of papain-based product in the selective removal of cariated tissue: a literature review

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    Com o foco na odontologia preventiva e buscando cada vez mais tratamentos menos invasivos, foram realizadas pesquisas com finalidade de substituir as turbinas de alta rotação, consequentemente, minimizando a produção de aerossóis, surgindo assim o Papacárie Duo®, que através de seus componentes conferem ações anti-inflamatória, bactericida e bacteriostática, acelerando o processo de cicatrização. O presente estudo tem como objetivo, através de uma revisão de literatura, abordar o uso de um produto a base de papaína na odontologia, seu mecanismo de ação, técnica, indicação, benefícios e limitações, a fim de melhor orientar seu uso racional no consultório odontológico.  Foi realizada uma revisão dos estudos disponíveis em base de dados, com descritores previamente selecionados. O Papacárie Duo® mostrou-se uma excelente opção quando se está diante de pacientes não colaborativos, devido a técnica simples, além de preservar os tecidos dentários sadios, acelerar a cicatrização e reduzir a produção de aerossóis no ambiente odontológico. Apesar da maior demanda de tempo clínico, o uso do produto a base de papaína é bastante promissor, pois promove diversos benefícios ao paciente desde que haja uma indicação e manejo do produto corretos.

    Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

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    Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

    Get PDF

    Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

    Get PDF
    Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

    New Cretaceous (Aptian/Albian) boxer shrimp (Crustacea, Decapoda, Stenopodidea) from the Araripe Sedimentary Basin, NE, Brazil.

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    Stenopodidean shrimps are mostly cryptic in their habitats and are typically related with coral rubble or dead coral heads, rocks and crevices, and in association with other marine invertebrate such as sponges, crinoids and corals. Here, we describe a new stenopodidean shrimp, Dubiostenopus parvus n. gen. n. sp., from the Romualdo Formation (Aptian/Albian), Araripe Sedimentary Basin. The specimen studied here was collected in the municipality of Trindade, Pernambuco State, Brazil. The specimen is the imprint of a small shrimp approximately 10 mm in length, with a robust cephalothorax, a well-developed cheliped in the third pereiopod, and a second pleura not overlapping the first. This is the first stenopodidean shrimp described from the Romualdo Formation and the first described from South America. Comparisons with other Brazilian shrimp-like fossils are made, as well as comparisons with all other fossil stenopodideans

    Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding Sylvatic Rabies among High-Risk Households in Ceará State, Brazil

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    Rabies transmitted by sylvatic populations has become an increasing concern in Brazil. A total of 113 participants with a history of contact with sylvatic populations were interviewed in 27 municipalities of Ceará State in northeast Brazil. Questionnaires included questions on knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding sylvatic rabies. Most of the respondents (92%) knew about rabies and confirmed at least one species that transmitted the disease (79.6%). Of these respondents, 69% mentioned monkeys, and 67.2% mentioned dogs. However, 16% of the respondents listed an incorrect species. In general, knowledge on the symptoms and signs and on prevention measures was weak. The majority raised pets (93.8%), most commonly dogs and cats, and, of all the pets, 85.7% were claimed to be vaccinated against rabies. A total of 67.3% reported the appearance of free-living wild animals around their houses, mostly marmosets and wild canids; 18.3% reported that sylvatic populations had attacked animals or humans. Seventy-three percent had raised or still were raising wild animals as pets, mostly capuchin monkeys (79.5%) and marmosets (24.1%). This is the first KAP study on sylvatic rabies in Brazil. The data indicate important knowledge gaps and risk behavior within a high-risk population. There is a need for strengthening and improving sylvatic rabies surveillance and control, combined with the intensification of education and information campaigns
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