Dermatophylosis in Santa Inês sheep from Distrito Federal

Relataram-se quatro casos de dermatofilose em ovinos da raça Santa Inês, no período de um ano. Microscopicamente observaram-se filamentos na forma de "trilho de bonde" e zoósporos nos quatro casos. A tentativa do isolamento do microrganismo foi realizada por meio do método de Haalstra e em apenas um caso obteve-se sucesso, observando-se colônias de aparência lisa, formato circular, cor amarelada e hemolítica em ágar sangue. O exame direto com coloração de Gram mostrou-se um método bastante eficiente na confirmação da presença do microrganismo afetando a epiderme em razão da morfologia típica do agente.Four cases of dermatophylosis were reported in Santa Inês sheep in a study period of one year. Microscopically, septate filaments and coccoid forms zoospores were observed. Attempts to isolate the microorganisms were accomplished using Haastra's method and it was successful in only one case. Dermatophilus congolensis samples have grown on blood agar, colonies where hemolytic, small, round and pigmentation vary from yellow to orange. The gram staining method was efficient to confirm the presence of the microorganism affecting the epidermis due to typical morphology of the agent

The ultra-violet question in maximally supersymmetric field theories

We discuss various approaches to the problem of determining which supersymmetric invariants are permitted as counterterms in maximally supersymmetric super Yang--Mills and supergravity theories in various dimensions. We review the superspace non-renormalisation theorems based on conventional, light-cone, harmonic and certain non-Lorentz covariant superspaces, and we write down explicitly the relevant invariants. While the first two types of superspace admit the possibility of one-half BPS counterterms, of the form $F^4$ and $R^4$ respectively, the last two do not. This suggests that UV divergences begin with one-quarter BPS counterterms, i.e. $d^2 F^4$ and $d^4 R^4$, and this is supported by an entirely different approach based on algebraic renormalisation. The algebraic formalism is discussed for non-renormalisable theories and it is shown how the allowable supersymmetric counterterms can be determined via cohomological methods. These results are in agreement with all the explicit computations that have been carried out to date. In particular, they suggest that maximal supergravity is likely to diverge at four loops in D=5 and at five loops in D=4, unless other infinity suppression mechanisms not involving supersymmetry or gauge invariance are at work.Comment: 56 pages, 1 figure, uses youngtab.sty. Contribution to the proceedings of the W.E. Heraeus Workhop "Quantum Gravity: Challenges and Perspectives", Bad Honnef, 14-16 April 2008. References and clarifying comments adde

Genes de enterotoxinas e perfil antimicrobiano de Escherichia coli isoladas de suínos hígidos no Distrito Federal

Um total de 127 cepas de Escherichia coli foi isolado de suínos no Distrito Federal, testado para a presença de genes de enterotoxinas (STa, LT-I, LT-II, Stx1 e Stx2) e para resistência antimicrobiana. Das cepas isoladas, oito (6,3%) possuíam genes para enterotoxinas, sendo quatro (3,2%) positivas somente para LT-I, três (2,4%) somente para STa e uma (0,8%) positiva para STa e LT-I. Nenhuma das cepas isoladas apresentou genes para LT-II, Stx1 ou Stx2. Quanto ao perfil de resistência antimicrobiano, os antibióticos com maiores porcentagens de resistência foram lincomicina (100%), sulfonamidas (74,8%) e tetraciclina (70,1%), enquanto os maiores índices de sensibilidade foram observados na norfloxacina (82,7%), gentamicina (75,6%) e sulfametoxazol + trimetoprim (63%). Esses resultados demonstraram a presença de genes de enterotoxinas e altas taxas de resistência antimicrobiana em E. coli isoladas de suínos hígidos no DF

Evaluation in vitro of the infection times of engorged females of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus by the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema glaseri CCA strain Avaliação in vitro dos tempos de infecção de fêmeas ingurgitadas de Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus pelo nematoide entomopatogênico Steinernema glaseri estirpe CCA

Studies have shown that ticks are susceptible to infection by entomopathogenic nematodes. These studies indicate different susceptibilities of ticks to infection by these fungi, depending on the tick species, development phase, entomopathogenic nematodes species and strains and the time the ticks are exposed to them. Usually this period ranges from 24 to 72 hours. The aim of this study was to evaluate the infection times in vitro of engorged Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus females by the entomopathogenic nematodes Steinernema glaseri CCA strain, by analysis of the ticks' biological parameters. The results show that a 2-hour exposure time was sufficient for the engorged R. microplus females to be infected by S. glaseri CCA, but that a minimum exposure time of 24 hours was necessary to generate treatment efficacy above 90%.<br>Os carrapatos são susceptíveis à infecção por nematoides entomopatogênicos. Essa susceptibilidade diverge quanto às espécies de carrapato estudadas, à fase evolutiva, às espécies e estirpes dos nematoides e ao tempo ao qual os carrapatos ficam expostos a estes. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os tempos de infecção in vitro de fêmeas ingurgitadas de Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus pelo nematoide entomopatogênico Steinernema glaseri estirpe CCA, pela análise dos parâmetros biológicos do carrapato. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que um período de duas horas de exposição foi suficiente para que fêmeas ingurgitadas de R. microplus fossem infectadas por S. glaseri CCA e que um período de exposição mínimo de 24h foi necessário para que houvesse infecção de fêmeas ingurgitadas de R. microplus por S. glaseri estirpe CCA, capaz de gerar, in vitro, eficácia no tratamento superior a 90%

A Brief History of Silicene

Research on silicene shows a fast and steady growth that has increased our tool-box of novel 2D materials with exceptional potential applications in materials science. Especially after the experimental synthesis of silicene on substrates in 2012 it has attracted substantial interest from both theoretical and experimental communities. Every day, new people from various disciplines join this rapidly growing field. The aim of this book is to serve as a fast entry to the field to these newcomers and as a long-living reference to the growing community. To achieve this goal, the book is designed to emphasize the most crucial developments from both theoretical and experimental point of view since the starting of the silicene field back in 1994 with the first theoretical paper proposing the structure of silicene. We provide the general concepts and ideas such that the book is accessible to everybody from graduate students to senior researchers and we refer the reader interested in the detail to the relevant literature. We now start with a brief history of silicene where we highlight, in the chronological order, the important works that shaped our understanding of silicene

Common variants of the <i>BRCA1</i> wild-type allele modify the risk of breast cancer in <i>BRCA1</i> mutation carriers

Mutations in the &lt;i&gt;BRCA1&lt;/i&gt; gene substantially increase a woman's lifetime risk of breast cancer. However, there is great variation in this increase in risk with several genetic and non-genetic modifiers identified. The &lt;i&gt;BRCA1&lt;/i&gt; protein plays a central role in DNA repair, a mechanism that is particularly instrumental in safeguarding cells against tumorigenesis. We hypothesized that polymorphisms that alter the expression and/or function of &lt;i&gt;BRCA1&lt;/i&gt; carried on the wild-type (non-mutated) copy of the &lt;i&gt;BRCA1&lt;/i&gt; gene would modify the risk of breast cancer in carriers of &lt;i&gt;BRCA1&lt;/i&gt; mutations. A total of 9874 &lt;i&gt;BRCA1&lt;/i&gt; mutation carriers were available in the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of &lt;i&gt;BRCA1/2&lt;/i&gt; (CIMBA) for haplotype analyses of &lt;i&gt;BRCA1&lt;/i&gt;. Women carrying the rare allele of single nucleotide polymorphism rs16942 on the wild-type copy of &lt;i&gt;BRCA1&lt;/i&gt; were at decreased risk of breast cancer (hazard ratio 0.86, 95% confidence interval 0.77–0.95, &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt; = 0.003). Promoter &lt;i&gt;in vitro&lt;/i&gt; assays of the major &lt;i&gt;BRCA1&lt;/i&gt; haplotypes showed that common polymorphisms in the regulatory region alter its activity and that this effect may be attributed to the differential binding affinity of nuclear proteins. In conclusion, variants on the wild-type copy of &lt;i&gt;BRCA1&lt;/i&gt; modify risk of breast cancer among carriers of &lt;i&gt;BRCA1&lt;/i&gt; mutations, possibly by altering the efficiency of &lt;i&gt;BRCA1&lt;/i&gt; transcription