A software to estimate heat stress impact on dairy cattle productive performance

ArticleThe aim of this study is to develop a computational tool, based on the Temperature and Humidity Index value, to characterize the thermal environment in dairy cattle barns and to evaluate the impact of thermal stress on productive performance. The software for the thermal environment prediction, and determination of the influence of heat stress on dairy cow productivity (Ambi + Leite) was developed using the C# programming language in the Microsoft Visual C# 2010 Express Integrated Development Environment. The following scenario was considered for the program test: air temperature 32°C, relative air humidity 70% and milk production potential in thermoneutrality condition 20 kg cow-1 day-1 . The prediction of the thermal environment based on the simulated situations indicates that the animals are submitted to a moderate heat stress condition with THI equal to 82.81. In this condition a decrease of approximately 26% in milk production and a reduction of 4 kg cow-1 day-1 in food intake was calculated. In conclusion, the developed software can be a practical tool to assist the producer in making-decision processes

Areas of natural occurrence of melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811(Hymenoptera: Apidae) in the state of Bahia, Brazil.

The bee Melipona scutellaris is considered the reared meliponine species with the largest distribution in the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, with records from the state of Rio Grande do Norte down to the state of Bahia. Considering the importance of this species in the generation of income for family agriculture and in the preservation of areas with natural vegetation, this study aimed at providing knowledge on the distribution of natural colonies of M. scutellaris in the state of Bahia. Literature information, interviews with stinglessbee beekeepers, and expeditions were conducted to confirm the natural occurrence of the species. A total of 102 municipalities showed records for M. scutellaris, whose occurrence was observed in areas ranging from sea level up to 1,200-meter height. The occurrence of this species in the state of Bahia is considered to be restricted to municipalities on the coastal area and the Chapada Diamantina with its rainforests. Geographic coordinates, elevation, climate and vegetation data were obtained, which allowed a map to be prepared for the area of occurrence in order to support conservation and management policies for the species

Growth inhibitory effects of 3′-nitro-3-phenylamino nor-beta-lapachone against HL-60: A redox-dependent mechanism

AbstractIn this study, the cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and early ROS generation of 2,2-dimethyl-(3H)-3-(N-3′-nitrophenylamino)naphtho[1,2-b]furan-4,5-dione (QPhNO2) were investigated and compared with those of its precursor, nor-beta-lapachone (nor-beta), with the main goal of proposing a mechanism of antitumor action. The results were correlated with those obtained from electrochemical experiments held in protic (acetate buffer pH 4.5) and aprotic (DMF/TBABF4) media in the presence and absence of oxygen and with those from dsDNA biosensors and ssDNA in solution, which provided evidence of a positive interaction with DNA in the case of QPhNO2. QPhNO2 caused DNA fragmentation and mitochondrial depolarization and induced apoptosis/necrosis in HL-60 cells. Pre-treatment with N-acetyl-l-cysteine partially abolished the observed effects related to the QPhNO2 treatment, including those involving apoptosis induction, indicating a partially redox-dependent mechanism. These findings point to the potential use of the combination of pharmacology and electrochemistry in medicinal chemistry

Taxonomic Catalog of the Brazilian Fauna: order Trichoptera (Insecta), diversity and distribution

Caddisflies are a highly diverse group of aquatic insects, particularly in the Neotropical region where there is a high number of endemic taxa. Based on taxonomic contributions published until August 2019, a total of 796 caddisfly species have been recorded from Brazil. Taxonomic data about Brazilian caddisflies are currently open access at the “Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil” website (CTFB), an on-line database with taxonomic information on the animal species occurring in Brazil. The order Trichoptera at CTFB includes a catalog of species recorded for the country, with synonymic lists, distribution throughout six biomes, 12 hydrographic regions, and 27 political states (including Federal District) from Brazil. The database is constantly updated to include newly published data. In this study, we reviewed the taxonomic effort on Brazilian caddisflies based on data currently in CTFB database. The accumulation curve of species described or recorded from the country, by year, shows a strong upward trend in last 25 years, indicating that it is possible that there are many more species to be described. Based on presence/absence of caddisfly species at three geographic levels (biomes, hydrographic regions, and states), second order Jackknife estimated at least 1,586 species occurring in Brazil (with hydrographic regions as unities), indicating we currently know about 50% of the Brazilian caddisfly fauna. Species distribution by Brazilian biomes reveals that the Atlantic Forest is the most diverse, with 490 species (298 endemic), followed by the Amazon Forest, with 255 species (101 endemic). Even though these numbers may be biased because there has been more intense collecting in these two biomes, the percentage of endemic caddisfly species in the Atlantic Forest is remarkable. Considering the distribution throughout hydrographic regions, clustering analyses (UPGMA) based on incidence data reveals two groups: northwestern basins and southeastern. Although these groups have weak bootstrap support and low similarity in species composition, this division of Brazilian caddisfly fauna could be related to Amazon-Atlantic Forest disjunction, with the South American dry diagonal acting as a potential barrier throughout evolutionary time