Monomorphic subtelomeric DNA in the filamentous fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae, contains a RecQ helicase-like gene.

In most filamentous fungi, telomere-associated sequences (TASs) are polymorphic, and the presence of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) may permit the number of chromosome ends to be estimated from the number of telomeric bands obtained by restriction digestion. Here, we describe strains of Metarhizium, Gliocladium and Paecilomyces species in which only one or a few telomeric bands of unequal intensity are detectable by Southern hybridization, indicating that interchromosomal TAS exchange occurs. We also studied an anomalous strain of Metarhizium anisopliae, which produces polymorphic telomeric bands larger than 8 kb upon digestion of genomic DNA with XhoI. In this case, the first XhoI site in from the chromosome end must lie beyond the presumed monomorphic region. Cloned telomeres from this strain comprise 18?26 TTAGGG repeats, followed at the internal end of the telomere tract by five repeats of the telomere-like sequence TAAACGCTGG. An 8.1-kb TAS clone also contains a gene for a RecQ-like helicase, designated TAH1, suggesting that this TAS is analogous to the Y elements in yeast and the subtelomeric helicase ORFs of Ustilago maydis (UTASRecQ) and Magnaporthe grisea (TLH1). The TAS in the anomalous strain of M. anisopliae, however, appears distinct from these in that it is found at most telomeres and its predicted protein product possesses a significantly longer N-terminal region in comparison to the M. grisea and U. maydis helicases. Hybridization analyses showed that TAH1 homologues are present in all other anomalous M. anisopliae strains studied, as well as in some other polymorphic strains, where the recQ-like gene also appears to be telomere-associated.Published online: 2 June 2005

Ofertas de suplementos múltiplos em tourinhos anelorados na fase de recria, em pastagens durante o período da seca: produção e eficiência microbiana.

O uso de suplementos múltiplos para bovinos visa aumentar o aporte de nutrientes, para melhor atender às exigências nutricionais. Neste contexto, avaliou-se a digestibilidade em tourinhos anelorados em fase de recria, recebendo diferentes ofertas de suplementos em pastagem de Brachiaria decumbens. A área foi dividida em cinco piquetes de 2,0 ha cada. Foram utilizados 30 tourinhos, com peso e idade iniciais médios de 230,0 ±6,14 kg e 8,5 ±0,18 meses, em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, contendo cinco tratamentos, sendo quatro ofertas de suplementos, mais mistura mineral (MM) e seis repetições. Foram avaliados a MM (60g/animal) e suplementos múltiplos, formulados para atender diferentes níveis de suplementação diariamente nas quantidades de 0,5, 1,0, 1,5 e 2,0 kg/animal e suprir 300g/dia de PB. O consumo de suplemento aumentou (P<0,10) a produção de proteína microbiana (PMic), quando comparado com os animais do grupo controle. A produção de PMic apresentou comportamento quadrático com ponto de máxima produção de 404,47 gramas na quantidade de 1,34kg de suplemento. A eficiência de síntese microbiana (EFMic) não diferiu entre os animais do grupo controle e os suplementados. Contudo, observa-se um comportamento quadrático com máxima eficiência 160,38 g/kg de NDT para oferta de 1,18 kg de suplemento. Observa-se que o ponto (1,18 kg) onde ocorreu a máxima EFMic foi inferior ao valor (1,34 kg) em que ocorreu a máxima produção de PMic. Conclui-se que, o ponto ótimo entre produção e eficiência de síntese de proteína microbiana, está entre as ofertas de suplemento diárias de 1,18 e 1,34 kg/animal

Biometric evaluation of morpho-agronomic traits in pepper lines and hybrids

Objetivou-se avaliar linhagens e h?bridos de pimenta (Capsicum chinense e C. annuum) afim de obter informa??es sobre o desempenho agron?mico, heterose, heterobeltiose, correla??es fenot?picas e dissimilaridade gen?tica. Foram avaliadas as linhagens PIM-030, BGH-433, BGH-4285, Numex Sweet, Numex Garnet e os h?bridos simples Numex Sweet x PIM-030, Numex Garnet x PIM-030 e BGH-4285 x BGH-433. O experimento foi conduzido com oito tratamentos e quatro repeti??es, em casa de vegeta??o, no campus JK da UFVJM. Foram avaliadas 22 caracter?sticas morfoagron?micas. No h?brido BGH-4285 x BGH-433 foi observado maior heterose e heterobeltiose para produtividade total de frutos e produtividade de massa seca total de frutos, sendo interessante aos futuros programas de melhoramento. Observa-se que plantas de maior porte tendem a ser mais produtivas com maiores massas fresca dos frutos e frutos com pericarpo mais espesso, frutos maiores com maiores pedicelos e com sementes mais densas, sendo importante para a produ??o de p?prica. As linhagens BGH-433, BGH-4285 e PIM-030 s?o as mais recomendadas para uso em programas de melhoramento.In this study, we aimed to evaluate pepper lines and hybrids (Capsicum chinense and C. annuum) in order to obtain information on agronomic performance, heterosis, heterobeltiosis, phenotypic correlations and genetic dissimilarity. We evaluated lines PIM-030, BGH-433, BGH-4285, Numex Sweet, Numex Garnet and simple hybrids Numex Sweet x PIM-030, Numex Garnet x PIM-030 and BGH-4285 x BGH-433. The research was conducted with eight treatments and four replications in a greenhouse, at campus JK of UFVJM. Twenty two agronomic traits were evaluated. The hybrid BGH-4285 x BGH-433 presents higher heterosis and heterobeltiosis for total fruit productivity and productivity of total fruit dry mass, information of great value for future breeding studies. The authors noticed that larger plants tend to be more productive and present higher fruit fresh mass and also fruits with thicker pericarp, as well as larger fruits having longer pedicels with denser seeds, important for production of paprika. Lines BGH-433, BGH-4285 and PIM-030 are the most recommended to be used in breeding programs

Prevalence of Sexual Dysfunction and its Associated Factors in Women Aged 40–65 Years with 11 Years or More of Formal Education: A Population-Based Household Survey

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and its associated factors in middle-aged women with 11 years or more of formal education. METHODS: A cross-sectional, population-based study was carried out using an anonymous, self-response questionnaire. A total of 315 Brazilian-born women, 40-65 years of age with 11 years or more of schooling, participated in the study. The instrument used in the evaluation was based on the Short Personal Experiences Questionnaire. Sexual dysfunction was calculated from the mean score of sexual responsiveness (pleasure in sexual activities, excitation and orgasm), frequency of sexual activities and libido. Sociodemographic and clinical factors were evaluated. Poisson multiple regression analysis was carried out and the prevalence ratios with respective 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were calculated. RESULTS: The prevalence of sexual dysfunction was 35.9% among our study population. Multiple regression analysis showed that sexual dysfunction was positively associated with older age (prevalence ratios=1.04; 95%CI:1.01-1.07) and with the presence of hot flashes (prevalence ratios=1.37; 95%CI:1.04-1.80). Having a sexual partner (PR=0.47; 95%CI:0.34-0.65) and feeling well or excellent (prevalence ratios= 0.68; 95%CI: 0.52-0.88) were factors associated with lower sexual dysfunction scores. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual dysfunction was present in more than one-third of women that were 40-65 years of age with 11 years or more of formal education. Within that age group, older age and hot flashes were associated with higher sexual dysfunction scores, whereas feeling well and having a sexual partner were associated with better sexuality

Ofertas de suplementos múltiplos para tourinhos Nelore na fase de recria em pastagens durante o período da seca: desempenho produtivo e características nutricionais.

Avaliaram-se o desempenho produtivo e as características nutricionais em tourinhos Nelore em fase de recria, não-castrados, recebendo diferentes ofertas de suplementos em pastagem de Brachiaria decumbens, de julho a setembro de 2006. A área foi dividida em cinco piquetes de 2,0 ha, com disponibilidade média de matéria seca (MS) e matéria seca potencialmente digestível (MSpd) de 3,88 e 2,22 t/ha, respectivamente. Foram utilizados 30 bezerros com peso e idade iniciais médios de 230,0 ± 6,14 kg e 8,5 ± 0,18 meses, em delineamento inteiramente casualizado contendo cinco tratamentos: quatro ofertas de suplementos em comparação a mistura mineral (MM). Foram avaliados a MM (60 g/animal) e suplementos múltiplos, fornecidos diariamente nas quantidades de 0,5; 1,0; 1,5 e 2,0 kg/animal para suprir 300 g/dia de PB. Os animais responderam ao uso de suplementos múltiplos, ganhando mais peso (88,72%) e apresentaram maiores níveis séricos de N-ureia (19,95 vs. 9,66) em comparação àqueles que receberam mistura mineral. Os animais sob suplementação apresentaram maiores consumos de MS, MO, EE, FDN, CNF e NDT e esses consumos aumentaram com os níveis de oferta de suplemento. A suplementação aumentou o coeficiente de digestão da maioria das variáveis avaliadas, independentemente do nível de suplemento fornecido. Os níveis mais moderados (0,5 kg) de suplementos múltiplos podem ser fornecidos aos tourinhos em fase de recria durante o período da seca para estimular o consumo de pasto, porém a máxima produção microbiana é obtida com oferta de 1,34 kg de suplemento. As melhores respostas de desempenho e características nutricionais podem ser obtidas com o fornecimento diário de suplemento em níveis de 0,5 a 1,34 kg/animal

pH e força de cisalhamento da carne de cordeiros alimentados com glicerina bruta na fase de terminação.

Objetivou-se neste trabalho avaliar o efeito da inclusão de glicerina bruta (GB) na dieta de cordeiros em terminação, sobre o pH, a temperatura (TºC), a força de cisalhamento (FC) e as perdas obtidas pelo descongelamento (PDESC) e cocção (PCOC) da carne de cordeiros da raça Santa Inês

Effects of supplements with different protein contents on nutritional performance of grazing cattle during the rainy season

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of supplements with different crude protein (CP) contents on grazing cattle intake, digestibility, ruminal fermentation pattern, and nitrogen (N) metabolism characteristics during the rainy season. Five ruminal and abomasal cannulated Holstein×Zebu steers (296 kg body weight, BW) were used in a 5×5 Latin square design. The animals grazed five signal grass paddocks (0.34 ha). The five treatments evaluated were: Control (no supplement) and 1.0 g of supplement/kg BW with 0, 330, 660, and 1,000 g of CP/kg as-fed. The supplement was composed of starch, soybean meal, urea, and ammonium sulphate. There was a positive linear effect (p≤0.033) of the CP content in the supplements on the organic matter (OM), CP, and digested OM intakes. The provision of supplements did not increase (p≥0.158), on average, total and ruminal digestibilities of OM and CP. However, the increase in CP content in the supplements caused a positive linear effect (p≤0.018) on ruminal digestibilities of OM and CP. Additionally, a quadratic effect of the CP contents of the supplements were observed (p = 0.041) for the ruminal digestibility of neutral detergent fiber corrected for ash and protein, with the highest estimate obtained with the CP content of 670 g/kg. The supply of supplements increased (p<0.001) the ruminal ammonia N concentration, which also changed linearly and positively (p<0.001) according to increase in CP content in the supplements. The apparent N balance and relative N balance (g/g N intake) were not, on average, changed (p≥0.164) by the supplements supply. However, both showed a tendency of a linear increase (p≤0.099) with increasing supplement CP content. The supplements increased (p = 0.007) microbial N production in the rumen, which also changed linearly and positively (p = 0.016) with increasing supplement CP content. In conclusion, protein supplementation in grazing cattle during the rainy season, while stimulating voluntary forage intake, results in higher efficiency of N utilization when compared to energy supplementation. This is a possible response to increased microbial protein synthesis in the rumen and improved N status in the animal body