Comparison between indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for Anaplasma marginale antibodies with recombinant major surface protein 5 and initial body antigens

Indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) based on recombinant major surface protein 5 (rMSP5) and initial body (IB) antigens from a Brazilian isolate of Anaplasma marginale were developed to detect antibodies against this rickettsia in cattle. Both tests showed the same sensitivity (98.2%) and specificities (100% for rMSP5 and 93.8% for IB ELISA) which did not differ statistically. No cross-reactions were detected with Babesia bigemina antibodies, but 5 (rMSP5 ELISA) to 15% (IB ELISA) of cross-reactions were detected with B. bovis antibodies. However, such difference was not statistically significant. Prevalences of seropositive crossbred beef cattle raised extensively in Miranda county, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, were 78.1% by rMSP5 ELISA and 79.7% by IB ELISA. In the analysis of sera from dairy calves naturally-infected with A. marginale, the dynamics of antibody production was very similar between both tests, with maternal antibodies reaching the lowest levels at 15-30 days, followed by an increase in the mean optical densities in both ELISAs, suggesting the development of active immunity against A. marginale. Results showed that all calves were seropositive by one-year old, characterizing a situation of enzootic stability. The similar performances of the ELISAs suggest that both tests can be used in epidemiological surveys for detection of antibodies to A. marginale in cattle.

The remarkable journey of adaptation of the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite to New World anopheline mosquitoes

Plasmodium falciparum originated in Africa, dispersed around the world as a result of human migration and had to adapt to several different indigenous anopheline mosquitoes. Anophelines from the New World are evolutionary distant form African ones and this probably resulted in a more stringent selection of Plasmodium as it adapted to these vectors. It is thought that Plasmodium has been genetically selected by some anopheline species through unknown mechanisms. The mosquito immune system can greatly limit infection and P. falciparum evolved a strategy to evade these responses, at least in part mediated by Pfs47, a highly polymorphic gene. We propose that adaptation of P. falciparum to new vectors may require evasion of their immune system. Parasites with a Pfs47 haplotype compatible with the indigenous mosquito vector would be able to survive and be transmitted. The mosquito antiplasmodial response could be an important determinant of P. falciparum population structure and could affect malaria transmission in the Americas.

Tradução e adaptação cultural do global appraisal of individual needs - initial

Este estudo objetivou traduzir e adaptar culturalmente o instrumento Global Appraisal of Individual Needs - Initial e calcular seu Índice de Validade de Conteúdo. Trata-se de estudo metodológico, de adaptação cultural do instrumento. O instrumento foi traduzido para o português em duas versões que deram origem à síntese das traduções, submetida à avaliação de quatro juízes experts na área de álcool e outras drogas. Após modificações, foi retraduzido e ressubmetido aos juízes e autores do instrumento original, resultando na versão final do instrumento, Avaliação Global das Necessidades Individuais - Inicial O Índice de Validade de Conteúdo do instrumento foi de 0,91, considerado válido pela literatura. O instrumento Avaliação Global das Necessidades Individuais - Inicial é um instrumento adaptado culturalmente para o português falado no Brasil; entretanto, não foi submetido a testes com a população-alvo, o que sugere que sejam realizados estudos que testem sua confiabilidade e validade.

Translation and cultural adaptation of the Perceived Stigmatization Questionnaire for burn victims in Brazil

This methodological study aimed to describe the process of translation and cultural adaptation of the Perceived stigmatization Questionnaire (PSQ) and analyze the internal consistency of the items in the step of pre-testing. The PSQ was developed to evaluate the perception of stigmatizing behaviors of burn victims. The adaptation process was carried out from August 2012 to February 2013, comprising the steps outlined in the literature. As part of this process, the pre-test with 30 adult burn victims was held. All participants at this step reported to understand the instrument items and the scale of responses. There were no suggestions or changes in the tested version. The value of Cronbach’s alpha at pre-test was 0.87. The contribution of this study is to describe the operation of each of the steps of this methodological process and show the internal consistency of the items in the pre-test.

Cultural adaptation of the scale Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia – PAINAD to Brazil

Objective: To translate and culturally adapt to Brazil the scale Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia(PAINAD).Method: The cultural adaptation process followed the methodology of a theorical reference, in five steps: translation to Brazilian Portuguese, consensual version of translations, back-translation to the original language, revision by a committee of specialists in the field and a equivalency pre-test. The instrument was assessed and applied by 27 health professionals in the last step. Results: The Escala de Avaliação de Dor em Demência Avançada was culturally adapted to Brazil and presented semantic equivalency to the original, besides clarity, applicability and easy comprehension of the instrument items. Conclusion: This process secured the psychometric properties as the reliability and content validity of the referred scale.


Study of adaptation and validation of the Practice environment scale of the nursing work index for the portuguese reality

Objective: Testing the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index. Method: A descriptive, analytical and cross-sectional study, for the cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the psychometric properties of the scale. The study participants were 236 nurses from two hospitals in the regions of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo. Results: The 0.92 Cronbach’s alpha was obtained for overall reliability and support of a five-dimension structure. Conclusion: The excellent quality of adjustment of analysis confirms the validity of the adapted version to hospital care settings, although there was no total coincidence of items in the five dimensions


Leaf area of common bean genotypes during early pod filling as related to plant adaptation to limited phosphorus supply

Low phosphorus supply markedly limits leaf growth and genotypes able to maintain adequate leaf area at low P could adapt better to limited-P conditions. This work aimed to investigate the relationship between leaf area production of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) genotypes during early pod filling and plant adaptation to limited P supply. Twenty-four genotypes, comprised of the four growth habits in the species and two weedy accessions, were grown at two P level applied to the soil (20 and 80 mg kg-1) in 4 kg pots and harvested at two growth stages (pod setting and early pod filling). High P level markedly increased the leaf number and leaf size (leaf area per leaf), slightly increased specific leaf area but did not affect the net assimilation rate. At low P level most genotypic variation for plant dry mass was associated with leaf size, whereas at high P level this variation was associated primarily with the number of leaves and secondarily with leaf size, specific leaf area playing a minor role at both P level. Determinate bush genotypes presented a smaller leaf area, fewer but larger leaves with higher specific leaf area and lower net assimilation rate. Climbing genotypes showed numerous leaves, smaller and thicker leaves with a higher net assimilation rate. Indeterminate bush and indeterminate prostrate genotypes presented the highest leaf area, achieved through intermediate leaf number, leaf size and specific leaf area. The latter groups were better adapted to limited P. It is concluded that improved growth at low P during early pod filling was associated with common bean genotypes able to maintain leaf expansion through leaves with greater individual leaf area.

Growth promotion of pineapple 'vitória' by humic acids and burkholderia spp. during acclimatization

In vitro propagation of pineapple produces uniform and disease-free plantlets, but requires a long period of acclimatization before transplanting to the field. Quicker adaptation to the ex vitro environment and growth acceleration of pineapple plantlets are prerequisites for the production of a greater amount of vigorous, well-rooted planting material. The combination of humic acids and endophytic bacteria could be a useful technological approach to reduce the critical period of acclimatization. The aim of this study was to evaluate the initial performance of tissue-cultured pineapple variety Vitória in response to application of humic acids isolated from vermicompost and plant growth-promoting bacteria (Burkholderia spp.) during greenhouse acclimatization. The basal leaf axils were treated with humic acids while roots were immersed in bacterial medium. Humic acids and bacteria application improved shoot growth (14 and 102 %, respectively), compared with the control; the effect of the combined treatment was most pronounced (147 %). Likewise, humic acids increased root growth by 50 %, bacteria by 81 % and the combined treatment by 105 %. Inoculation was found to significantly increase the accumulation of N (115 %), P (112 %) and K (69 %) in pineapple leaves. Pineapple growth was influenced by inoculation with Burkholderia spp., and further improved in combination with humic acids, resulting in higher shoot and root biomass as well as nutrient contents (N 132 %, P 131 %, K 80 %) than in uninoculated plantlets. The stability and increased consistency of the host plant response to bacterization in the presence of humic substances indicate a promising biotechnological tool to improve growth and adaptation of pineapple plantlets to the ex vitro environment.

NPK fertilization on initial growth of physic nut seedlings in Quartzarenic Neossol

Balanced fertilization is important for plant growth. There is little information on physic nut (Jatropha curcas L.) and tests with the fertilization of the species are very recent. This study evaluated the initial growth of physic nut seedlings in response to NPK rates to Quartzarenic Neossol in a greenhouse and estimated P and K critical soil levels and N, P and K in shoot dry matter after 120 days of evaluation. The treatments were arranged in a randomized, fractional factorial design (4 x 4 x 4)½, totalizing 32 treatments with three replicates, 96 experimental plots and N rates (0, 75, 150 and 300 mg dm-3) as urea; P rates (0, 45, 90 and 180 mg dm-3) as triple superphosphate and K rates (0, 50, 100 and 200 mg dm-3) as potassium chloride. After 120 days, the plants were harvested and some variables evaluated: plant height, stem diameter, shoot and root dry weight, macro and micronutrient levels in plant shoots, and soil chemical properties. The physic nut seedlings responded to NPK fertilizer in the initial growth phase; the response to N was negative. The recommended P and K rates were 25 and 67 mg dm-3, respectively. The critical levels, corresponding to the recommended P rate were 13 and 74 mg dm-3 for K in soil (Mehlich-1). The N, P and K levels in the shoot dry matter of physic nut were 37.4, 2.1 and 35.7 g kg-1, respectively.

Microbial biomass and activity in litter during the initial development of pure and mixed plantations of Eucalyptus grandis and Acacia mangium

Studies on microbial activity and biomass in forestry plantations often overlook the role of litter, typically focusing instead on soil nutrient contents to explain plant and microorganism development. However, since the litter is a significant source of recycled nutrients that affect nutrient dynamics in the soil, litter composition may be more strongly correlated with forest growth and development than soil nutrient contents. This study aimed to test this hypothesis by examining correlations between soil C, N, and P; litter C, N, P, lignin content, and polyphenol content; and microbial biomass and activity in pure and mixed second-rotation plantations of Eucalyptus grandis and Acacia mangium before and after senescent leaf drop. The numbers of cultivable fungi and bacteria were also estimated. All properties were correlated with litter C, N, P, lignin and polyphenols, and with soil C and N. We found higher microbial activity (CO2 evolution) in litter than in soil. In the E. grandis monoculture before senescent leaf drop, microbial biomass C was 46 % higher in litter than in soil. After leaf drop, this difference decreased to 16 %. In A. mangium plantations, however, microbial biomass C was lower in litter than in soil both before and after leaf drop. Microbial biomass N of litter was approximately 94 % greater than that of the soil in summer and winter in all plantations. The number of cultivable fungi and bacteria increased after leaf drop, especially so in the litter. Fungi were also more abundant in the E. grandis litter. In general, the A. mangium monoculture was associated with higher levels of litter lignin and N, especially after leaf drop. In contrast, the polyphenol and C levels in E. grandis monoculture litter were higher after leaf drop. These properties were negatively correlated with total soil C and N. Litter in the mixed stands had lower C:N and C:P ratios and higher N, P, and C levels in the microbial biomass. This suggests more effective nutrient cycling in mixed plantations in the long term, greater stimulation of microbial activity in litter and soil, and a more sustainable system in general.

Photosynthesis rate, chlorophyll content and initial development of physic nut without micronutrient fertilization

Few studies in Brazil have addressed the need for micronutrients of physic nut focusing on physiological responses, especially in terms of photosynthesis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of omission of boron (B), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) on Jatropha curcas L.. The experimental design was a randomized block with four replications. The treatments were complete solution (control) and solution without B, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn. We evaluated the chlorophyll content (SPAD units), photosynthetic rate, dry matter production and accumulation of micronutrients in plants, resulting from different treatments. The first signs of deficiency were observed for Fe and B, followed by Mn and Zn, while no symptoms were observed for Cu deficiency. The micronutrient omission reduced the dry matter yield, chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate of the plants differently for each omitted nutrient. It was, however, the omission of Fe that most affected the development of this species in all parameters evaluated. The treatments negatively affected the chlorophyll content, evaluated in SPAD units, and the photosynthetic rate, except for the omission of B. However this result was probably due to the concentration effect, since there was a significant reduction in the dry matter production of B-deficient plants.

Performance of food-type soybean genotypes and their possibility for adaptation to Brazilian latitudes

This work was conducted at the Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL), in Londrina, State of Paraná, Brazil, with the goal to study food-type soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) genotypes performance for use in cultivation or crosses. A total of 104 genotypes were analyzed: 88 were food-type with large seeds, eight were food-type with small seeds, and eight-grain types adapted cultivars. The experimental plan was in randomized complete block design with four replications, and 12 traits of agronomic importance were considered. Genetic diversity was observed in the food-type germplasm. There were some genotypes with high yield adapted to a normal period of sowing. Soybean genetic improvement programs for direct human consumption in Brazil, either by means of Asiatic pure lines or by means of the incorporation of genes for late flowering in short-day conditions in this lines is highly viable.

Designs and model effects definitions in the initial stage of a plant breeding program

The objective of this work was to compare the relative efficiency of initial selection and genetic parameter estimation, using augmented blocks design (ABD), augmented blocks twice replicated design (DABD) and group of randomised block design experiments with common treatments (ERBCT), by simulations, considering fixed effect model and mixed model with regular treatment effects as random. For the simulations, eight different conditions (scenarios) were considered. From the 600 simulations in each scenario, the mean percentage selection coincidence, the Pearsons´s correlation estimates between adjusted means for the fixed effects model, and the heritability estimates for the mixed model were evaluated. DABD and ERBCT were very similar in their comparisons and slightly superior to ABD. Considering the initial stages of selection in a plant breeding program, ABD is a good alternative for selecting superior genotypes, although none of the designs had been effective to estimate heritability in all the different scenarios evaluated.

Methodological adaptation for nematodes extration in forest soils of the southern Mata Atlântica

The objective of this work was to clarify whether the method to extract nematodes from European soils is suitable for forest soils and litter in the eastern of Paraná state, Brazil, and whether nematode abundance differs between sites with different ecosystems and levels of human interference. The study sites were situated in the coastal area of the Serra do Mar, near the town of Antonina, in Eastern Paraná, Brazil. Cobb's sieving and decanting method was more appropriate than ISO method, since extraction efficiency was higher and intra-sample variability was significantly lower. In order to achieve an extraction efficiency higher than 90%, Cobb's method was modified. For the extraction of nematodes from litter, the Baermann funnel, with an extraction time of 48 hours, yielded an extraction efficiency higher than 90%. Nematode abundance in litter was higher than in soil. The mean number of individuals extracted from the litter increased with the age stage of the forest sites sampled, and there was no difference in the number of individuals in the soil of the four forest sites. Mean nematode abundance in soil in banana plantations was about twice as high compared to the banana-palmito mixed stands and to the forest sites.