Dynamics of natural infection by Toxoplasma gondii in goat herds in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil: transitional antibody observation

Veterinary Research Communications - This study aimed to describe the transmission of T. gondii in naturally infected goats in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil, through evaluating the...     

Race identification of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici isolates obtained from tomato plants in Nova Friburgo,Brazil

European Journal of Plant Pathology - Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL) is one of the main diseases affecting tomato plants. Three races (races 1, 2 and 3) of the...     

Formulation and Physicochemical and Sensorial Evaluation of Biscuit-Type Cookies Supplemented with Fruit Powders

Cashew apple and guava residues from fruit juice industry were prepared as dehydrated fruit powders and used at different levels of wheat flour substitution for cookies formulations. The effects of guava and cashew apple fruit powders supplementation on physicochemical and sensorial characteristics of the cookies were evaluated. The pH, fibre and protein content were significantly affected. Biscuits with 15 g and 20 g/100g cashew apple and guava fruit powders showed the highest scores for sensorial attributes, respectively. The supplementation seems to be suited for wheat flour substitution and it is possible to obtain cookies with value-added food ingredient within the standards.     

Essential oils for preventative treatment and control of Asian soybean rust

The objective of the work was to evaluate the effect of essential oils as a preventive treatment to control Asian soybean rust. Initially the fungitoxic effect of the essential oils of Hyptis marrubioides, Aloysia gratissima and Cordia verbenacea was tested on the urediniospores of Phakopsora pachyrhizi, through in vitro tests. The in vivo test was set up in a greenhouse, using cultivar MGBR-46. The treatments consisted of the three oils at different concentrations, a fungicide based on pyraclostrobin + epoxyconazole and a control. To verify the potential of the essential oils in preventive treatment, inoculation was conducted at 0, 6, 12 and 24?h intervals, after application of the treatments. All treatments inhibited 100% of Phakopsora pachyrhizi germination. In the in vivo test, it was observed that all of the oils were efficient in controlling soybean rust, by preventive treatment, mainly at the higher concentrations. Efficiency of the oils was reduced with the increase of the interval between the application of the treatments and the onset of the pathogen. The essential oils, at the tested dosages, were not as efficient as the pyraclostrobin + epoxyconazole based fungicide.     

Genomic evaluation for novel stayability traits in Nellore cattle

Cow stayability plays a major role on the overall profitability of the beef cattle industry, as it is directly related to reproductive efficiency and cow's longevity. Stayability (STAY63) is usually defined as the ability of the cow to calve at least three times until 76 months of age. This is a late-measured and lowly heritable trait, which consequently constrains genetic progress per time unit. Thus, the use of genomic information associated with novel stayability traits measured earlier in life will likely result in higher prediction accuracy and faster genetic progress for cow longevity. In this study, we aimed to compare pedigree-based and single-step GBLUP (ssGBLUP) methods as well as to estimate genetic correlations between the proposed stayability traits: STAY42, STAY53 and STAY64, which are measured at 52, 64 and 76 months of cow's age, considering at least 2, 3 and 4 calving, respectively. ssGBLUP yielded the highest prediction accuracy for all traits. The heritability estimates for STAY42, STAY53, STAY63 and STAY64 were 0.090, 0.151, 0.152 and 0.143, respectively. The genetic correlations between traits ranged from 0.899 (STAY42 and STAY53) to 0.985 (STAY53 and STAY63). The high genetic correlation between STAY42 and STAY53 suggests that besides being related to cow longevity, STAY53 is also associated with the early-stage reproductive efficiency. Thus, STAY53 is recommended as a suitable selection criterion for reproductive efficiency due to its higher heritability, favourable genetic correlation with other traits, and measured earlier in life, compared with the conventional stayability trait, that is STAY63.     

Method for evaluation of coarse cork oak root system by means of digital imaging

Digital imaging is becoming a powerful tool for data storage and information retrieval. Image comparison and similarity evaluation has become part of the information market and it is today a common part of, for example, web search engines. The cork oak tree (Quercus suber L.), the dominant species of the ??montado?? woodland system is, due to its cultural and socio-economic value, protected by law that prevents extensive destructive studies on an essential part of the tree??the root. Especially in the Mediterranean zone, where the water is the limiting growth factor, the root development studies are of significant interest. In this work we present a method of using digital images for cork oak coarse root systems-evaluation by means of digital imaging. Acquired images of structural roots are processed automatically to prevent subjective decisions by the human observer. The performance of the method, its potential for semantic retrieval and similarity assessment is demonstrated, having as example eight young cork oak root systems, and critical issues for evaluation and conclusion-making, are discussed.     

A niche-based gap analysis for the conservation of odonate species in the Brazilian Amazon

1. Despite the current rates of deforestation and the expected climatic changes, protecting species in their natural habitats is still the simplest, cheapest, and most effective way of safeguarding biodiversity. Here, the network of protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon was evaluated to assess its effectiveness in safeguarding species of Odonata.
2. Ecological niche models were built to assess the suitability of the habitat for 503 Amazonian odonate species. Then, the effectiveness for the protection of odonate species of three classes of protected areas (strictly protected area, sustainable use area, and indigenous territory) was evaluated.
3. Approximately 30% of the species are protected within the network of protected areas. These findings highlight the importance of protected areas for safeguarding most odonate species in the Amazon. For under-represented or gap species, additional resources are still needed for effective management and protection on some private properties, which need to set aside land for conservation. In this way, it is possible to preserve habitats for odonate species and guarantee their conservation in the Amazon.

     

Physioecology of the mussel Perna perna (Mytilidae) in Southern Brazil

The energy budget or scope for growth in bivalves has been applied to economically important species, in studies on the limits of climactic adjustment for a particular ecological niche. This paper presents the physiological rates of respiration, clearance and absorption efficiency of the marine mussel Perna perna, determined during the years 1997–2001, for mussels collected on the Santa Catarina coast, southern Brazil. These physiological parameters were achieved under static, laboratory controlled conditions. A total of 153 experiments were carried out, grouped in 2-month periods, performed seasonally in order to estimate the scope for growth and its probable sources of variation, using biotic and abiotic environmental parameters. Temperature directly influences respiration. Absorption efficiency is directly related to the organic content of the seston. Clearance rates didn't show relationship with the environmental parameters, but a tendency of being low in high temperatures. The scope for growth is negative during the hot months (January–February) reflecting the high respiration and low clearance rates, and reaches its highest positive values during the winter months and early spring, due to the high organic content of the seston and its higher absorption efficiency. Scope for growth showing a strong relationship with the biological condition index of the organisms.     

Administration of meloxicam to improve the welfare of mice in research: a systematic review (2000 – 2020)

Veterinary Research Communications - Although laboratory animals experience pain as a necessary component of the objectives of experimental protocols, the level of pain should be minimized through...     

Biosorption of Toxic Metals by Water Lettuce (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pistia stratiotes</Emphasis>) Biomass

Adsorption isotherms were constructed to evaluate the potential use of water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) dry biomass for the biosorption of zinc and cadmium. One gram of dry biomass of this plant was treated with five increasing doses of zinc (1.8, 18, 50, 79, and 105 mg L^?1) and four doses of cadmium (0.01, 0.1, 1, and 10 mg L^?1), for nine collection times (1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 h). The levels of these metals were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. To evaluate changes in the surface morphology of the dry biomass, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images were taken of the samples subjected to the greatest contamination, and these were compared with the images of the samples without zinc and cadmium (control). The ISOFIT software was used to select the isotherm model that best fit the biosorption of metals by water lettuce dry biomass. The linear model was determined to be the best-fitting isotherm model, because it had the lowest corrected Akaike information criterion (AICc) value and a Akaike weight (AICw) value closest to one, which indicates the high affinity of the biosorbent for the adsorbates evaluated. The results for both metals demonstrated greater than 70% reductions in the concentrations of the metals in the contaminated solutions. The SEM images indicated changes in the morphology of the contaminated biomass, thus demonstrating the biosorption mechanisms and confirming the potential of the dry biomass of this plant for use in the remediation of solutions contaminated with zinc and cadmium.