Impact of a purified blueberry extract on in vitro probiotic mucin-adhesion and its effect on probiotic/intestinal pathogen systems

Several arguments have been made to substantiate the need for natural antimicrobials for the food industry. With blueberry extracts, the most compelling are both their healthy connotation and the possibility of obtaining a multipurpose solution that can be an antioxidant, colorant, and antimicrobial. From an antimicrobial perspective, as blueberry/anthocyanin-rich extracts have been associated with a capacity to inhibit harmful bacteria while causing little to no inhibition on potential probiotic microorganisms, the study of potential benefits that come from synergies between the extract and probiotics may be of particular interest. Therefore, the present work aimed to evaluate the effect of an anthocyanin-rich extract on the adhesion of five different probiotics as well as their effect on the probiotics’ capacity to compete with or block pathogen adhesion to a mucin/BSA-treated surface. The results showed that, despite some loss of probiotic adhesion, the combined presence of extract and probiotic is more effective in reducing the overall amount of adhered viable pathogen cells than the PROBIOTIC alone, regardless of the probiotic/pathogen system considered. Furthermore, in some instances, the combination of the extract with Bifidobacterium animalis Bo allowed for almost complete inhibition of pathogen adhesioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Diatomaceous earth effects on weevils with different susceptibility standard to phosphine.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a atividade inseticida da terra de diatomácea (TD), em diferentes temperaturas, em relação a duas populações de Tribolium castaneum e Rhyzopertha dominica previamente diagnosticadas como resistentes e susceptíveis à fosfina. A eficiência da TD foi avaliada nas temperaturas de 20, 25, 30, 35 e 40 ± 2 ºC e os experimentos foram realizados em placas de Petricontendo 35 g de grãos inteiros de trigo, tratados com TD na dose de 1,0 kg t-1. O controle foi constituído de grãos de trigo não tratados; ressalta-se que cada placa de Petri foi infestada com 30 insetos adultos, cuja mortalidade foi contabilizada sete dias após o início dos bioensaios. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o inteiramente casualizado, com três repetições. As populações de T. castaneum e R.dominica, respectivamente, resistentes e susceptíveis à fosfina apresentaram padrões de susceptibilidade semelhantes; por outro lado, a mortalidade das duas populações de T. castaneum aumentou com a elevação da temperatura embora para R.dominica a mortalidade não tenha variado com a temperatura

Advances in assisted reproduction

Buscou-se, por meio de uma revisão bibliográfica de publicações científicas, atualizar conhecimentos produzidos sobre reprodução assistida. Inicialmente, investigou-se o histórico e, em seguida, foram apresentados conceitos relativos à infertilidade e sobre as técnicas de reprodução assistida, especificando-se ainda alguns temas relacionados a aspectos obstétricos, epidemiológicos e perinatais. Vários artigos que abordam o tema foram apresentados. Foi discutida a situação no Brasil bem como os vários aspectos assinalados.This study aimed to survey the knowledge produced on human assisted reproduction, by means of a bibliographic review of scientific publications. First, we investigated the history; then, we presented concepts related to infertility and to the techniques used in human assisted reproduction. Some other themes were detailed, such as those involving obstetric, epidemiological, and perinatal aspects. Several studies that deal with the theme were presented. The situation of human assisted reproduction in Brazil was discussed, as well as the various aspects mentioned above

Pollen Niche from Tetrapedia diversipes Klug (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Tetrapediini) in a Brazilian Semi-deciduous Lowland Forest

Tetrapedia diversipes Klug (Apidae) is a solitary bee with wide geographical distribution. Females of this species usually nest in pre-existing cavities and although their biology is relatively well known, studies on their trophic niche are still scarce. Thus, the present study aimed to identify the plant species used in the diet of immature T. diversipes through the analysis of residual pollen material. The nests used in the study were obtained through the use of trap nests during the period between December 2014 and October 2015, distributed in an area of coastal forest in northeastern Brazil. For the study of the trophic niche, samples of post-emergency residue (feces) from cells of offspring of males (n = 31) and females (n = 66) of T. diversipes were analyzed. In total, 29 pollen types were identified in the feeding of T. diversipes, being of the pollen types identified, only seven were not used by both sexes. Although a significant difference was found in the amplitude in the trophic niche between the sexes, there was a high overlap for Horn-Morisita index (CH = 0.989), with no significant difference being found in the frequency distribution of male and female food items (D = 0.214; p = 0.341). In this study we concluded that the diet of T. diversipes in coastal forest is polyletic, similarly to the pattern found in other studies of pollen resources in different vegetation in Brazil, with a predominance of pollen from the families Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae and Onagraceae

Métodos de inoculação de Beauveria bassiana para colonização endofítica de mudas de cultivares de bananeira.

A cultura da bananeira ocupa lugar de expressão entre as fruteiras produzidas no Brasil, apresentando importância social e econômica, como fonte de alimento e subsistência principalmente para pequenos produtores em função de sua produção durante todo ano (EMBRAPA, 2009). A broca-do-rizoma Cosmopolites sordidus (Germ.) é a principal praga da bananeira (Fancelli & Mesquita, 2008). O seu ataque, além de reduzir o tamanho dos cachos comprometendo até 50% da produção, provoca tombamento das plantas e favorece a incidência do mal-do-Panamá (Gold et al., 2004). O uso de inseticidas para controle desse inseto, além de aumentar o custo de produção, acarreta sérios problemas ambientais e risco à saúde dos consumidores (Nankinga et al., 1999). Assim, o controle biológico pelo emprego de entomopatógenos é uma alternativa viável ao uso de inseticidas, pois causa baixo impacto ambiental, não deixa resíduos tóxicos nos frutos, além de ser compatível com outras táticas de controle da praga (Alves et al., 1998).pdf 241

Uso da oxitocina e do cloprostenol na coleta de sêmen bubalino (Bubalus bubalis).

Resumos do III Congresso Norte Nordeste de Reprodução Animal (CONERA)

A new chronological framework and site formation history for Cova del Gegant (Barcelona): Implications for Neanderthal and Anatomically Modern Human occupation of NE Iberian Peninsula

The chronological framework for Neanderthal occupation and demise across Europe continues to be debated. In particular, there is still uncertainty regarding the nature, timing and regional expressions of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition associated with the disappearance of Neanderthals and the broader expansion of modern human populations in Europe around 42e40 thousand years ago (ka). The geographical and chronological distribution of Neanderthal populations also remains difficult to evaluate owing to the practical challenges of directly dating human fossils at many sites, and the fact that a large proportion of Neanderthals sites lie close to, or well-beyond, the limits of radiocarbon dating. Cova del Gegant e one of the few sites in north-eastern Iberian Peninsula to yield Neanderthal fossil remains, associated Mousterian archaeological layers, and occupations related to the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic transition e is a key locality for informing these ongoing debates. Here we provide a comprehensive chronological framework for the Cova del Gegant site using multiple radiometric dating techniques (uranium-thorium (UeTh), radiocarbon and luminescence dating), sedimentological and micromorphological analyses, and Bayesian modelling. This integrated chronostratigraphic approach enables us to reliably reconstruct site formation processes and history, and undertake improved correlations with other sites regionally. The results allow us to sub-divide the Cova del Gegant sequence into three sections spanning ~94 ka to ~32 ka, namely: a Middle Palaeolithic sequence covering ~94e59 ka, a Châtelperronian/Aurignacian section spanning ~43e39 ka, and a Late Aurignacian/Gravettian section spanning ~34e32 ka. The Neanderthal fossil remains accumulated in the cave between the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5/MIS 4 and the beginning of MIS 3, during two different events dated to ~72e67 ka and ~60e52 ka. The chronological framework for Cova del Gegant is in accordance with that reported for other Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites in north-eastern Iberian Peninsula, and reveals a record of successive human occupation coinciding with a period of progressive global cooling and lowering sea levels (end of MIS 5 through to MIS 2). Sedimentological evidence points to the emergence of a coastal platform in front of the cave and indicates that local palaeoenvironmental conditions likely benefited human displacements along the littoral margin, and favoured repeated occupation of the cave during the Late Pleistocene