Aspectos relacionados à precocidade sexual em bovinos machos da raça Nelore, PO

O estudo foi desenvolvido em 79 bovinos machos da raça Nelore, PO, de dez a 16 meses de idade. Em todos os animais foram medidas a circunferência escrotal (CE), a concentração de testosterona (Testo) e o aparecimento dos primeiros espermatozoides no ejaculado. Os resultados indicaram que 18,5 % dos machos em estudo apresentaram os primeiros espermatozoides aos 306,17± 2,42 dias de idade, 19,75± 0,9 cm de circunferência escrotal, e uma concentração de testosterona de 1,57± 0,9 ng/ml. Após o aparecimento dos primeiros espermatozoides no ejaculado, os machos mostraram a puberdade aos 365,39± 1,13 dias e a maturidade aos 487,38± 3,08 dias. Estes resultados indicam que existem machos na raça Nelore, PO que iniciam a atividade sexual em idades inferiores às descritas na literatura, sendo portanto considerados precoces.The sexual precocity was studied on 79 Nelore pure breed bovine males ten to 16 month of age. All animals were avaluated for scrotal circumference (CE), testosterone concentration (Testo) and onset of the first spermatozoa in the ejaculate. The results indicate that 18,5% of males exhibit the first spermatozoa at 306,17 ± 2,42 days, 19,75± 0,9 cm of scrotal circunference and a testosterone concentration of 1,57± 0,9ng/ml. According to the onset of the first spermatozoa in ejaculate, these males showed puberty at 365,39± 1,13 days and the maturity at 487,38± 3,08 days. The results indicate the existence of Nelore pure breed males presenting sexual activity at ages bellow that described in the literature, therefore beeing considered precocious

Theranostic applications of phage display to control leishmaniasis: selection of biomarkers for serodiagnostics, vaccination, and immunotherapy

AbstractPhage display is a high-throughput subtractive proteomic technology used for the generation and screening of large peptide and antibody libraries. It is based on the selection of phage-fused surface-exposed peptides that recognize specific ligands and demonstrate desired functionality for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Phage display has provided unmatched tools for controlling viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections, and allowed identification of new therapeutic targets to treat cancer, metabolic diseases, and other chronic conditions. This review presents recent advancements in serodiagnostics and prevention of leishmaniasis -an important tropical parasitic disease- achieved using phage display for the identification of novel antigens with improved sensitivity and specificity. Our focus is on theranostics of visceral leishmaniasis with the aim to develop biomarker candidates exhibiting both diagnostic and therapeutic potential to fight this important, yet neglected, tropical disease