Concomitant turkey herpesvirus-infectious bursal disease vector vaccine and oil-adjuvanted inactivated Newcastle disease vaccine administration: consequences for vaccine intake and protection

Hatchery vaccination protocols in day-old chicks are designed to provide early priming and protection against several poultry diseases including, but not limited to, Marek's disease (MD), infectious bursal disease (IBD), and Newcastle disease (ND). The constraint of concomitant administration of live MD and IBD vaccines plus ND inactivated oil-adjuvanted vaccines (IOAVs) requires improvements in vaccine technology. Single-needle concomitant subcutaneous (SC) application of IBD/MDV and killed NDV vaccine and the use of viral vectors for expression of immunogenic proteins are a current trend in the industry. The objective of this work was to assess the compatibility of a turkey herpesvirus (HVT)-infectious bursal disease (vHVT-IBD) vector vaccine applied simultaneously with IOAV and to evaluate the consequences for vaccine intake, the need for additional immunizations with the respective vaccines, and protection. Five separate trials were performed using double- and/or single-needle injectors. The levels and persistence of vaccine intake, serologic response, vHVT-IBD virus combination with the MD Rispens strain, and/or live NDV vaccination were also assessed. Histopathology and PCR at injection sites showed adequate vaccine intake detected up to 44 days postvaccination. Serologic evidence of vaccine priming was observed, and all vaccinated groups differed (P < 0.05) from the control at different time points. MD, NDV, and IBD protection results after concomitant double-shot single-needle vaccination were near 85%, 95%, and 100%, respectively. Taken together the results indicate no deleterious effects on the efficacy of the vHVT-IBD vaccine monitored by vaccine intake, serologic and challenge results, and combinations after concomitant live/killed vaccination, suggesting the suitability of its use in hatchery vaccination. All types of injectors used as well as injection techniques, vaccines injected separately or together, gave the same results.     

Variable-rate seeding in soybean according to soil attributes related to grain yield

Precision Agriculture - Defining the ideal soybean stand is essential for obtaining maximum grain yield. As a hypothesis of the work, it was questioned whether it is possible to vary seeding...     

Scanning-Electron Microscopy of the Development of the Head of Rainbow-trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Embryos

The development of the cephalic region of rainbow trout in the 24th, 30th and 36th stages, corresponding to the table of development by Vernier (1969), was studied using light microscopy and SEM. The 24th stage shows a voluminous cephalic region as a principal feature. At this time, most components of this region have started their differentiation. The 30th stage can be considered as an intermediary phase in the embryonic formation, and it is characterized by the high degree of differentiation between the nervous system and the sense organs. In the 36th stage, the basic final shape of the embryo has been reached. The results of this study show that the differentiation of gill lamellae and the opening of the mouth takes place later than that moment described by other authors. This suggests that development between 30th and 36th stages is a critical survival period for rainbow trout, in which respiratory and digestive functions start.     

Migration and growth of Neostrongylus linearis (Marotel, 1913) Gebauer, 1932 in sheep

In order to establish the mammalian parasitic cycle of the nematode Neostrongylus linearis 18 lambs were infected with 5000 third-stage larvae obtained from the snail Cernuella (Xeromagna) cespitum arigonis. In the subsequent days, larvae were found in the walls of the caecum and colon, in the liver and the lungs, suggesting that the bloodstream is the main migratory route. The presence of low numbers of migrating larvae in the mesenteric lymph nodes indicates that this route is probably secondary. The first still sexually undifferentiated, fourth-stage larvae were found in the lungs on the 8th day post-infection (p.i.) and the first sexually differentiated fifth-stage larvae, on the 10th day. Also described are the macroscopic changes of the parasitized organs.     

Fique fibers: Enhancement of the tensile strength of alkali treated fibers during tensile load application

Fique fibers were treated using Na(OH) solution at 5 w/v%, slack and under 1 N of tension, at room temperature, for 4 and 24 h respectively. Changes in their structure and composition were monitored using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Additionally their mechanical properties were evaluated and analyzed. Results showed that tensile load application during alkali treatment improves their tensile strength and modulus. The most important change in mechanical properties was achieved in fibers treated for 24 h under tension. However, these fibers presented a high standard deviation; due to this treatment causing an important defibrillation. Moreover, fibers treated for 4 hours under tension, enhance their tensile strength around 56 %, while slack treated fibers improve only 38 %. When fibers were treated under tension, cellulose microfibrills were rearranged in the direction of tensile application and the spiral angle decreased, increasing the molecular orientation.     

Anti HSV-1 Activity of Halistanol Sulfate and Halistanol Sulfate C Isolated from Brazilian Marine Sponge Petromica citrina (Demospongiae)

The n-butanol fraction (BF) obtained from the crude extract of the marine sponge Petromica citrina, the halistanol-enriched fraction (TSH fraction), and the isolated compounds halistanol sulfate (1) and halistanol sulfate C (2), were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on the replication of the Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1, KOS strain) by the viral plaque number reduction assay. The TSH fraction was the most effective against HSV-1 replication (SI = 15.33), whereas compounds 1 (SI = 2.46) and 2 (SI = 1.95) were less active. The most active fraction and these compounds were also assayed to determine the viral multiplication step(s) upon which they act as well as their potential synergistic effects. The anti-HSV-1 activity detected was mediated by the inhibition of virus attachment and by the penetration into Vero cells, the virucidal effect on virus particles, and by the impairment in levels of ICP27 and gD proteins of HSV-1. In summary, these results suggest that the anti-HSV-1 activity of TSH fraction detected is possibly related to the synergic effects of compounds 1 and 2.     

Vacuum Squeezing of Solids: Macroscopic Quantum States Driven by Light Pulses

Femtosecond laser pulses and coherent two-phonon Raman scattering were used to excite KTaO3 into a squeezed state, nearly periodic in time, in which the variance of the atomic displacements dips below the standard quantum limit for half of a cycle. This nonclassical state involves a continuum of transverse acoustic modes that leads to oscillations in the refractive index associated with the frequency of a van Hove singularity in the phonon density of states.     

Evaluation of an auto-guidance system operating on a sugar cane harvester

Precision farming tools such as auto-guidance systems assembled on tractors and/or sugar cane harvester machines are being applied to decrease the costs involved with ethanol production. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy, the cane loss and the operational field efficiency achieved by an auto-guidance system used to guide a sugar cane harvester over the field when compared to a manually-guided machine. The field test was conducted with two treatments: auto-guidance versus manual guidance; and day versus night. Each treatment was replicated four times. Each position recorded represented a single sample, which was used to calculate the error between the planned and actual paths. It was concluded that the use of an auto-guidance system operating on a sugar cane harvester during the day and night periods increased the field pass-to-pass accuracy relative to the planned row track, but it is essential that the crop was planted using the system. The use of the auto-guidance system did not significantly decrease the sugar cane loss, once the crop was well cultivated. More long-term research needs to be done related to this issue. The operational field efficiency of the cane harvester was the same for both auto-guidance and manual steering systems.     

Effects of no tillage and genetic resistance on sunflower wilt by Verticillium dahliae

From 2001 to 2006 crop seasons three field experiments were run to compare the effect of no tillage (NT) vs. conventional tillage (CT) on Verticillium wilt of sunflower. One experiment had sunflower monocropping (SM) and the others the sequence wheat–sunflower (WS) with 6 years of fescue pasture or seven WS cycles as previous crops. All experimental fields have history of the disease. One cultivar with low resistance was used in SM and two genotype-resistance levels (high and low; characterized by six and eight cultivars each, respectively) in the WS sequences. Leaf mottle severity in all environments, Verticillium dahliae colony forming units (CFU)/g of soil in 2005 or 2006 trials, density of microsclerotia in the stem pith at 0.5 m above the soil line in WS, and grain yield and oil content in WS with fescue as previous crop were recorded. Every year, disease severity was higher in CT than in NT in all trials. In SM, disease severity increased during the 3 years in CT from 58% to 88%, while in NT disease severity remained around the initial level (49%). The V. dahliae-CFU/g of soil after 3 years in SM or three cycles of WS was approximately three times higher in CT than in NT. In WS, density of microsclerotia in stem pith were higher in CT than in NT. In WS with fescue pasture as previous crop, grain yield and oil content tend to increase with NT in relation to CT. The combination of NT and high-resistant genotypes reduced the disease and the production of microsclerotia in stem pith to very low values. NT + high resistance should be viewed as a preventative, not a curative disease management option because the microsclerotia persist in soil for a long time. Therefore, NT + high resistance programs should be initiated early, before inoculum builds up to high levels in the soil. Thus, the combination of NT and high-resistant cultivars promises to be an interesting tool to manage V. dahliae and Verticillium wilt in sunflower and would have potential in other crops like alfalfa, cotton or strawberry.     

Activation of the Tumor Suppressor PP2A Emerges as a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for Treating Prostate Cancer

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a tumor suppressor complex that has recently been reported as a novel and highly relevant molecular target in prostate cancer (PCa). However, its potential therapeutic value remains to be fully clarified. We treated PC-3 and LNCaP cell lines with the PP2A activators forskolin and FTY720 alone or combined with the PP2A inhibitor okadaic acid. We examined PP2A activity, cell growth, prostasphere formation, levels of PP2A phosphorylation, CIP2A and SET expression, and AKT and ERK activation. Interestingly, both forskolin and FTY720 dephosphorylated and activated PP2A, impairing proliferation and prostasphere formation and inducing changes in AKT and ERK phosphorylation. Moreover, FTY720 led to reduced CIP2A levels. Treatment with okadaic acid impaired PP2A activation thus demonstrating the antitumoral PP2A-dependent mechanism of action of both forskolin and FTY720. Levels of PP2A phosphorylation together with SET and CIP2A protein expression were studied in 24 PCa patients and both were associated with high Gleason scores and presence of metastatic disease. Altogether, our results suggest that PP2A inhibition could be involved in PCa progression, and the use of PP2A-activating drugs might represent a novel alternative therapeutic strategy for treating PCa patients.