Evaluation of silages of sweet potato vine

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo selecionar clones de batata-doce com potencial para uso na alimenta??o animal. O experimento foi conduzido em blocos ao acaso, com 11 clones e quatro repeti??es. Os clones avaliados fazem parte do banco de germoplasma da Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, sendo: BD-06, BD-25, BD-15, BD-38, Cambraia, BD-31-TO, BD-67, BD-45, BD-42, BD-54 e a cultivar Brazl?ndia Rosada. Nas ramas coletadas do experimento foram avaliados o teor de mat?ria seca e as produtividades de massa verde e massa seca. Nas silagens de ramas foram avaliados o pH e os teores de mat?ria seca (MS), prote?na bruta (PB), fibra em detergente neutro (FDN), fibra em detergente ?cido (FDA), nutrientes digest?veis totais (NDT), f?sforo, c?lcio e s?dio. N?o houve diferen?a significativa para a produtividade de massa verde e de massa seca das ramas entre os clones de batata-doce. As silagens produzidas caracterizam-se como volumosos de boa qualidade, apresentando teores satisfat?rios de prote?na bruta (11,59%), FDN (31,98 a 39,68%), FDA (29,65 a 35,45%) e NDT (62,90 a 66,91%), comprovando o potencial de utiliza??o das ramas da batata-doce na forma de silagem.Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecu?ria de Minas Gerais (EPAMIG)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq)Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES)The objective of this study was to select potential clones of sweet potato for animal feeding purposes. The experiment was carried out in a randomized block design with four replications. Eleven clones BD-06, BD-25, BD-15, BD-38, Cambraia, BD-31-TO, BD-67, BD-45, BD-42, BD-54 and the cultivar Brazl?ndia Rosada belonging to germplasm bank of the Federal University of Vales do Jequitinhonha and Mucuri (UFVJM) were evaluated. We estimated the dry matter content and the productivity of green and dry mass of the vine. The traits pH, dry matter, crude protein phosphorus, calcium and sodium were estimated in the evaluation of silages quality. There was no significant difference in productivity of green mass and dry mass among the clones of sweet potato. The obtained silages had sufficient levels of crude protein (11.59%), neutral detergent fiber (31.98 to 39.68%), acid detergent fiber (29.65 to 35.45%) and total digestible nutrients (62.90 to 66.91%) proving the potential use of the sweet potato vine as silage in animal feeding

Morphologic characterization of sweet potato accesses from the germplasm bank of the Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Brazil

O trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar morfologicamente os acessos de batata-doce do banco de germoplasma da Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri (UFVJM). O experimento foi realizado no Setor de Olericultura da UFVJM, per?odo de fevereiro a novembro de 2006, utilizando-se o delineamento em blocos casualizados (DBC), contendo 65 tratamentos e 3 repeti??es, totalizando 195 parcelas de 4,5 m? cada. As avalia??es da parte vegetativa foram feitas tr?s meses ap?s o plantio e a colheita de ra?zes foi realizada nove meses ap?s o plantio das ramas. Observou-se pelo dendrograma de dissimilaridade morfol?gica, que os acessos da cole??o do banco de germoplasma da UFVJM apresentaram ampla variabilidade morfol?gica. Os descritores referentes ? parte a?rea se mostraram significativos com diferen?a entre clones, pelo teste Scott-Knott (p=0,05), diferentemente daqueles referentes ? raiz.Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecu?ria de Minas Gerais (EPAMIG)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq)Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES)Sweet potato accesses from the germplasm bank of the Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Diamantina, Minas Gerais state, Brazil were characterized. The experiment was carried out between February and November 2006, using a randomized blocks design, with 65 treatments and three replications, totaling 195 plots. The evaluation of the vegetative part was carried out three months after planting and the roots were harvested nine months after planting. Based on the dendrogram of morphologic differences we observed a great morphologic variability on the accesses. The characteristics of the vegetative part showed significant differences among the clones, by Scott Knot test at 5% probability, differently from those of the roots

Use of humanised rat basophilic leukaemia cell line RS-ATL8 for the assessment of allergenicity of Schistosoma mansoni proteins.

BACKGROUND Parasite-specific IgE is thought to correlate with protection against Schistosoma mansoni infection or re-infection. Only a few molecular targets of the IgE response in S. mansoni infection have been characterised. A better insight into the basic mechanisms of anti-parasite immunity could be gained from a genome-wide characterisation of such S. mansoni allergens. This would have repercussions on our understanding of allergy and the development of safe and efficacious vaccinations against helminthic parasites. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS A complete medium- to high-throughput amenable workflow, including important quality controls, is described, which enables the rapid translation of S. mansoni proteins using wheat germ lysate and subsequent assessment of potential allergenicity with a humanised Rat Basophilic Leukemia (RBL) reporter cell line. Cell-free translation is completed within 90 minutes, generating sufficient amounts of parasitic protein for rapid screening of allergenicity without any need for purification. Antigenic integrity is demonstrated using Western Blotting. After overnight incubation with infected individuals' serum, the RS-ATL8 reporter cell line is challenged with the complete wheat germ translation mixture and Luciferase activity measured, reporting cellular activation by the suspected allergen. The suitability of this system for characterization of novel S. mansoni allergens is demonstrated using well characterised plant and parasitic allergens such as Par j 2, SmTAL-1 and the IgE binding factor IPSE/alpha-1, expressed in wheat germ lysates and/or E. coli. SmTAL-1, but not SmTAL2 (used as a negative control), was able to activate the basophil reporter cell line. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE This method offers an accessible way for assessment of potential allergenicity of anti-helminthic vaccine candidates and is suitable for medium- to high-throughput studies using infected individual sera. It is also suitable for the study of the basis of allergenicity of helminthic proteins

Association of the Gene Polymorphisms IFN-γ +874, IL-13 −1055 and IL-4 −590 with Patterns of Reinfection with Schistosoma mansoni

Approximately 200 million people have schistosomiasis in parts of Africa, South America, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Asia. Several studies of multiple treatments and reinfections indicate that some people develop resistance to reinfection. Of all the immunologic findings associated with such studies, the most consistent observation is that resistance (usually defined as lower levels of infection upon reinfection) correlates with high IgE and low IgG4 antibodies against schistosome antigens. Our studies test whether single nucleotide polymorphisms residing in the gene or promoter regions of cytokines pivotal in controlling production of these antibody isotypes are different amongst those that develop resistance to reinfection as opposed to those that do not. Through genotyping of these polymorphisms in a cohort of occupationally exposed car washers, we found that men with certain genotypic patterns of polymorphisms in IL-4, IFN-γ, and IL-13 were significantly more likely to be resistant to reinfection than those with different patterns. These data provide initial insights into the potential genetic foundation of propensities of people to develop resistance to reinfection by schistosomes, and offer a basis for further molecular studies of how these polymorphisms might work at the transcriptional and gene product level in cells stimulated by schistosome antigens

Can the intake of antiparasitic secondary metabolites explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites among wild Psittaciformes?

Background: Parasites can exert selection pressure on their hosts through effects on survival, on reproductive success, on sexually selected ornament, with important ecological and evolutionary consequences, such as changes in population viability. Consequently, hemoparasites have become the focus of recent avian studies. Infection varies significantly among taxa. Various factors might explain the differences in infection among taxa, including habitat, climate, host density, the presence of vectors, life history and immune defence. Feeding behaviour can also be relevant both through increased exposure to vectors and consumption of secondary metabolites with preventative or therapeutic effects that can reduce parasite load. However, the latter has been little investigated. Psittaciformes (parrots and cockatoos) are a good model to investigate these topics, as they are known to use biological control against ectoparasites and to feed on toxic food. We investigated the presence of avian malaria parasites (Plasmodium), intracellular haemosporidians (Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon), unicellular flagellate protozoans (Trypanosoma) and microfilariae in 19 Psittaciformes species from a range of habitats in the Indo-Malayan, Australasian and Neotropical regions. We gathered additional data on hemoparasites in wild Psittaciformes from the literature. We considered factors that may control the presence of hemoparasites in the Psittaciformes, compiling information on diet, habitat, and climate. Furthermore, we investigated the role of diet in providing antiparasitic secondary metabolites that could be used as self-medication to reduce parasite load. Results: We found hemoparasites in only two of 19 species sampled. Among them, all species that consume at least one food item known for its secondary metabolites with antimalarial, trypanocidal or general antiparasitic properties, were free from hemoparasites. In contrast, the infected parrots do not consume food items with antimalarial or even general antiparasitic properties. We found that the two infected species in this study consumed omnivorous diets. When we combined our data with data from studies previously investigating blood parasites in wild parrots, the positive relationship between omnivorous diets and hemoparasite infestation was confirmed. Individuals from open habitats were less infected than those from forests. Conclusions: The consumption of food items known for their secondary metabolites with antimalarial, trypanocidal or general antiparasitic properties, as well as the higher proportion of infected species among omnivorous parrots, could explain the low prevalence of hemoparasites reported in many vertebrates

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta