Efeito de doses de nitrapirina (2-cloro-6-triclorometil piridina), na nitrificação do sulfato de amônio e da uréia, em dois solos (LE e Pml) do Estado de São Paulo

Foram adicionados aos solos LE e Pml 36 ppm de N, na forma de sulfato de amonio e uréia, com 0; 1,2; 2,4 e 4,8 ppm de nitrapirina. Os solos foram incubados por 150 dias à temperatura entre 25ºC e 30ºC, com 75% do seu poder de embebição. Aos 50, 100 e 150 dias de incubação, procedeu-se a determinação dos teores de NO-3 e calculou-se a porcentagem de inibição da nitrificação nos tratamentos com nitrapirina Verificou-se que o teor de NO-3 no solo diminui significativamente, quando o sulfato de amonio e a uréia são associados com nitrapirina. A nitrapirina inibe igualmente a nitrificação do sulfato de amonio e da uréia, e apresenta inicialmente porcentagem de inibição da nitrificação (1%) no LE que no Pml. O tempo de ação da nitrapirina no solo ultrapassa 150 dias.

Nutrição mineral de hortaliças LXXV. doses de cálcio afetando o crescimento e concentração de macro e micronutrientes de salsao (Apium graveolens L. var. dulce) nos cultivares golden detroit e cornell 6-19

O salsão (Apium graveolens L. var. Dulce) é uma hortaliça pouco cultivada no Brasil, encontra-se atualmente em franca expansão devido o aumento da demanda pelas indústrias de sopas desidratadas. Como nos países que tradicionalmente cultivam o salsão apresentam sérios problemas nutricionais, foi proposto neste trabalho os seguintes objetivos. Aquilatar o efeito de doses crescentes de cálcio no seu desenvolvimento; Descrever os sintomas de deficiência e excesso de cálcio; Verificar diferenças de resistências a anomalia do blackheart entre os cultiva res Cornell 6-19 e Golden Detroit. Para atender estes objetivos foi realizado um ensaio em condições controladas, cultivando-se o salsão em solução nutritiva em presença dos níveis de cálcio - 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 e 300 ppm de Ca. Os autores concluíram que: É possível caracterizar com nitidez a deficiência de cálcio em ambas as cultivares; A cultivar Golden Detroit apresenta maior resistência ao aparecimento dos sintomas de deficiência de cálcio do que a cultivar Cornell 6-19. Os sintomas de deficiência de cálcio nas folhas novas de ambas as cultivares manifestam-se com a concentração de cálcio em solução nutritiva igual ou inferior a 150 ppm; O aumento da concentração de cálcio na solução nutritiva favorece o crescimento das plantas e há maior acúmulo de matéria-seca nas doses mais elevadas. O aumento de concentração de cálcio na solução nutritiva induz a uma diminuição de manganês em parte aérea das plantas.

Increased Pro-inflammatory Cytokines (TNF-a and IL-6) and Anti-inflammatory Compounds (sTNFRp55 and sTNFRp75) in Brazilian Patients during Exanthematic Dengue Fever

Pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor (TNF-a), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1b (IL-1b) as well as anti-inflammatory compounds, soluble TNF-Receptor p55 (sTNFRp55), sTNFRp75 and IL-1 receptor antagonist (sIL-1Ra), were investigated in 34 Brazilian cases of dengue fever (DF) originated from a study of exanthematic virosis. The presence of pro-inflammatory cytokines was detected in sera from these patients by ELISA. TNF-a and IL-6 levels were significantly higher than control subjects in 32% and 52% patients, respectively. To our knowledge this was the first time a receptor antagonist and soluble receptors for cytokines were detected in sera obtained during exanthematic DF without hemorrhagic manifestations. Both sTNFRp55 and sTNFRp75 were consistently elevated in 42% and 84% patients, respectively. Most patients had IL-1b levels not different from those of normal subjects, except for one case. Only 16% patients had altered levels of IL-1Ra. Previous studies in dengue hemorrhagic fever patients demonstrated production of these soluble factors; here we observed that they are found in absence of hemorrhagic manifestations. The possible role of these anti-inflammatory compounds in immune cell activation and in regulating cytokine-mediated pathogenesis during dengue infection is discussed.

Aluminum hydroxide associated to Schistosoma mansoni 22.6 kDa protein abrogates partial protection against experimental infection but not alter interleukin-10 production

The need to develop a vaccine against schistosomiasis led several researches and our group to investigate proteins from Schistosoma mansoni as vaccine candidates. Sm22.6 is a protein from S. mansoni that shows high identity with Sj22.6 and Sh22.6 (79 and 91%, respectively). These proteins are associated with high levels of IgE and protection to reinfection. Previously, we have shown that Sm22.6 induced a partial protection of 34.5% when used together with Freund's adjuvant and produced a Th0 type of immune response with interferon-g and interleukin-4. In this work, mice were immunized with Sm22.6 alone or with aluminum hydroxide adjuvant and high levels of IgG, IgG1, and IgG2a were measured. Unfortunately, no protection was detected. Since IL-10 is a modulating cytokine in schistosomiasis, we also observed a high level of this molecule in splenocytes of vaccinated mice. In conclusion, we did not observe the adjuvant effect of aluminum hydroxide associated with rSm22.6 in protective immunity.

Interferon-gamma is required for the late but not early control of Leishmania amazonensis infection in C57Bl/6 mice

The critical role of interferon-gamma (IFN-g) in the resistance of C57Bl/6 mice to Leishmania major is widely established but its role in the relative resistance of these animals to L. amazonensis infection is still not clear. In this work we use C57Bl/6 mice congenitally deficient in the IFN-g gene (IFN-g KO) to address this issue. We found that IFN-g KO mice were as resistant as their wild-type (WT) counterparts at least during the first two months of infection. Afterwards, whereas WT mice maintained lesion growth under control, IFN-g KO mice developed devastating lesions. At day 97 of infection, their lesions were 9-fold larger than WT controls, concomitant with an increased parasite burden. At this stage, lesion-draining cells from IFN-g KO mice had impaired capacity to produce interleukin-12 (IL-12) and tumour necrosis factor-a in response to parasite antigens whereas IL-4 was slightly increased in comparison to infected WT mice. Together, these results show that IFN-g is not critical for the initial control of L. amazonensis infection in C57Bl/6 mice, but is essencial for the developmente of a protective Th1 type immune response in the later stages.