Genetic diversity of Rhizoctonia solani AG-3 from potato and tobacco in North Carolina

Anastomosis group 3 (AG-3) of Rhizoctonia solani (teleomorph = Thanatephorus cucumeris) is frequently associated with diseases of potato (AG-3 PT) and tobacco (AG-3 TB). Although isolates of R. solani AG-3 from these two Solanaceous hosts are somatically related based on anastomosis reaction and taxonomically related based on fatty acid, isozyme and DNA characters, considerable differences are evident in their biology, ecology, and epidemiology. However, genetic diversity among field populations of R. solani AG-3 PT and TB has not been documented. In this study, the genetic diversity of field populations of R. solani AG-3 PT and AG-3 TB in North Carolina was examined using somatic compatibility and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) criteria. A sample of 32 isolates from potato and 36 isolates from tobacco were paired in all possible combinations on PDA plus activated charcoal and examined for their resulting somatic interactions. Twenty-eight and eight distinct somatic compatibility groups (SCG) were identified in the AG-3 PT and AG-3 TB samples, respectively. AFLP analyses indicated that each of the 32 AG-3 PT isolates had a distinct AFLP phenotype, whereas 28 AFLP phenotypes were found among the 36 isolates of AG-3 TB. None of the AG-3 PT isolates were somatically compatible or shared a common AFLP phenotype with any AG-3 TB isolate. Clones (i.e., cases where two or more isolates were somatically compatible and shared the same AFLP phenotype) were identified only in the AG-3 TB population. Four clones from tobacco represented 22% of the total population. All eight SCG from tobacco were associated with more than one AFLP phenotype. Compatible somatic interactions between AG-3 PT isolates occurred only between certain isolates from the same field (two isolates in each of four different fields), and when this occurred AFLP phenotypes were similar but not identical.

Tobacco in adolescence: importance to knowledge the health hazards and preventive measures

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estimating mortality in laying hens as the environmental temperature increases

Layer mortality due to heat stress is an important economic loss for the producer. The aim of this study was to determine the mortality pattern of layers reared in the region of Bastos, SP, Brazil, according to external environment and bird age. Data mining technique were used based on monthly mortality records of hens in production, 135 poultry houses, from January 2004 to August 2008. The external environment was characterized according maximum and minimum temperatures, obtained monthly at the meteorological station CATI in the city of Tupa, SP, Brazil. Mortality was classified as normal (<= 1.2%) or high (> 1.2%), considering the mortality limits mentioned in literature. Data mining technique produced a decision tree with nine levels and 23 leaves, with 62.6% of overall accuracy. The hit rate for the High class was 64.1% and 59.9% for Normal class. The decision tree allowed finding a pattern in the mortality data, generating a model for estimating mortality based on the thermal environment and bird age.

A novel A2 allele found in Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum chagasi

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

An efficient neural approach to economic load dispatch in power systems

A neural approach to solve the problem defined by the economic load dispatch in power systems is presented in this paper, Systems based on artificial neural networks have high computational rates due to the use of a massive number of simple processing elements and the high degree of connectivity between these elements the ability of neural networks to realize some complex nonlinear function makes them attractive for system optimization the neural networks applyed in economic load dispatch reported in literature sometimes fail to converge towards feasible equilibrium points the internal parameters of the modified Hopfield network developed here are computed using the valid-subspace technique These parameters guarantee the network convergence to feasible quilibrium points, A solution for the economic load dispatch problem corresponds to an equilibrium point of the network. Simulation results and comparative analysis in relation to other neural approaches are presented to illustrate efficiency of the proposed approach.

A DOE based approach for the design of RBF artificial neural networks applied to prediction of surface roughness in AISI 52100 hardened Steel turning

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in children with obstructive sleep apnea and primary snoring

Objective: To evaluate the systemic blood pressure (BP) during daytime and nighttime in children with sleep breathing disorders (SBD) and compare parameters of BP in children with diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) to those one with primary snoring (PS).Methods: Children, both genders, aged from 8 to 12 years, with symptoms of SBD realized an overnight polysomnography followed by a 24 h recording of ambulatory BP.Results: All subjects presented with a history of snoring 7 nights per week. Children who have apnea/hipoapnea index >= four or a apnea index >= one presented a mean BP of 93 +/- 7 mmHg and 85 +/- 9 mmHg diurnal and nocturnal respectively whereas children who have a apnea/hipoapnea < four or a apnea index < one presented 90 +/- 7 mmHg and 77 +/- 2 mmHg. Eight children out of fourteen, from OSA group, lost the physiologic nocturnal dipping of the blood pressure. Among OSA children 57% were considered non-dippers. Two (16%) have presented absence of nocturnal dipping among children with primary snoring. The possibility of OSA children loosing physiologic blood pressure dipping was 6.66 higher than the possibilities of patients from PS group.Discussion: Our results indicate that children with sleep apnea syndrome exhibit a higher 24 h blood pressure when compared with those of primary snoring in form of decreased degree of nocturnal dipping and increased levels of diastolic and mean blood pressure, according to previous studies in literature. OSA in children seems to be associated to the development of hypertension or other cardiovascular disease. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of different protocols for anatomical studies in Parmeliaceae (lichenized Ascomycota)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Occurrence of Microcerella halli (Engel) (Diptera, Sarcophagidae) in snake carrion in southeastern Brazil

Occurrence of Microcerella halli (Engel) (Diptera, Sarcophagidae) in snake carrion in southeastern Brazil. The occurrence of 27 second-instar larvae of the flesh fly Microcerella halli (Engel, 1931) (Diptera, Sarcophagidae) in a carcass of a snake usually called as Urutu, Bothrops alternatus (Dumeril, Bibron & Dumeril, 1854) (Serpentes, Viperidae, Crotalinae) is reported. The snake was kept in captivity in a snake farm in Morungaba, São Paulo state, Brazil. Descriptions of reptile carcass colonization by insects and general biological data of this flesh fly are scarce and this necrophagic behavior is described for the first time in literature.

Seasonal variation in natural populations of Drosophila spp. (Diptera) in two woodlands in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Natural radioactivity and radon exhalation rate in Brazilian igneous rocks

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Behavior of an albino vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus (E. Geoffroy) (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae), in captivity

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Multi-wavelength holography in Bi12TiO20 crystals: Applications in refractometry

We present a recent development in holography with multimode, large free-spectral range (FSR) diode lasers in photorefractive sillenite crystals. A novel refractometry method based on this type of holographic recording in Bi12TiO20 (BTO) crystals is proposed. The holographic image of a prism-shaped transparent sample appears covered of interference fringes, and as the sample is properly translated, the fringes run along the holographic image. An expression providing the refractive index of the medium as a function of the sample displacement and the correspondent number of running fringes was derived. The refractive indexes of optical (BK7) glass, ethanol, hexan, cumene and aqueous solution of NaCl with different concentrations were measured in order to test the method. The obtained results are in good agreement with the ones reported in literature or measured by us using a commercial Abbe refractometre. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermal analysis applied in the crystallization study of SrSnO3

SrSnO3 was synthesized by the polymeric precursor method with elimination of carbon in oxygen atmosphere at 250 A degrees C for 24 h. The powder precursors were characterized by TG/DTA and high temperature X-ray diffraction (HTXRD). After calcination at 500, 600 and 700 A degrees C for 2 h, samples were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and Rietveld refinement of the XRD patterns for samples calcined at 900, 1,000 and 1,100 A degrees C. During thermal treatment of the powder precursor ester combustion was followed by carbonate decomposition and perovskite crystallization. No phase transition was observed as usually presented in literature for SrSnO3 that had only a rearrangement of SnO6 polyhedra.