Satellyptus: analysis and database of microsatellites from ESTs of Eucalyptus

The main goal of our research was to search for SSRs in the Eucalyptus EST FORESTs database (using a software for mining SSR-motifs). With this objective, we created a database for cataloging Eucalyptus EST-derived SSRs, and developed a bioinformatics tool, named Satellyptus, for finding and analyzing microsatellites in the Eucalyptus EST database. The search for microsatellites in the FORESTs database containing 71,115 Eucalyptus EST sequences (52.09 Mb) revealed 20,530 SSRs in 15,621 ESTs. The SSR abundance detected on the Eucalyptus ESTs database (29% or one microsatellite every four sequences) is considered very high for plants. Amongst the categories of SSR motifs, the dimeric (37%) and trimeric ones (33%) predominated. The AG/CT motif was the most frequent (35.15%) followed by the trimeric CCG/CGG (12.81%). From a random sample of 1,217 sequences, 343 microsatellites in 265 SSR-containing sequences were identified. Approximately 48% of these ESTs containing microsatellites were homologous to proteins with known biological function. Most of the microsatellites detected in Eucalyptus ESTs were positioned at either the 5 or 3 end. Our next priority involves the design of flanking primers for codominant SSR loci, which could lead to the development of a set of microsatellite-based markers suitable for marker-assisted Eucalyptus breeding programs.

Classic and molecular cytogenetic analyses reveal chromosomal gains and losses correlated with survival in head and neck cancer patients

Purpose: Genetic biomarkers of head and neck tumors could be useful for distinguishing among patients with similar clinical and histopathologic characteristics but having differential probabilities of survival. The purpose of this study was to investigate chromosomal alterations in head and neck carcinomas and to correlate the results with clinical and epidentiologic variables.Experimental Design: Cytogenetic analysis of short-term cultures from 64 primary untreated head and neck squamous cell carcinomas was used to determine the overall pattern of chromosome aberrations. A representative subset of tumors was analyzed in detail by spectral karyotyping and/or confirmatory fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis.Results: Recurrent losses of chromosomes Y (26 cases) and 19 (14 cases), and gains of chromosomes 22 (23 cases), 8 and 20 (11 cases each) were observed. The most frequent structural aberration was del(22)(q13.1) followed by rearrangements involving 6q and 12p. The presence of specific cytogenetic aberrations was found to correlate significantly with an unfavorable outcome. There was a significant association between survival and gains in chromosomes 10 (P = 0.008) and 20 (P = 0.002) and losses of chromosomes 15 (P = 0.005) and 22 (P = 0.021). Univariate analysis indicated that acquisition of monosomy 17 was a significant (P = 0.0012) factor for patients with a previous family history of cancer.Conclusions: the significant associations found in this study emphasize that alterations of distinct regions of the genome may be genetic biomarkers for a poor prognosis. Losses of chromosomes 17 and 22 can be associated with a family history of cancer.

Serology for Brucella abortus in cart horses from an urban area in Brazil

Avaliou-se a infecção por Brucella abortus em cavalos de carroça de Curitiba e São José dos Pinhais-PR. Um total de 123 amostras foi submetido ao teste do antígeno tamponado acidificado (ATA), soroaglutinação lenta em tubos (SAL) e prova do 2-mercaptoetanol (2-ME) para confirmação dos resultados. Oito (6,5%) equinos foram positivos para o ATA e um animal permaneceu positivo ao teste confirmatório. Existem evidências da presença de brucelose entre os cavalos de carroça.

Estudo dos métodos de rotina diagnóstica de mastite no leite de éguas

Routine diagnosis methods used in bovine mastitis were studied in 55 mares in lactation. The findings of strip cup test, California Mastitis Test-CMT, electronic somatic cell count-CCS, microbiological culture, and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility profile of isolates were discussed. Streptococcus spp., Staphylococcus spp, and enterobacteria were the most common microorganisms isolated in health and CMT-positive mammary glands. Staphylococcus aureus and Arcanobacterium pyogenes were identified in two mares presenting clinical mastitis. Mean somatic cell count of eight mares without presence of microorganisms in milk was 247.57x10³/mL and 1.621,86x10³/mL in 47 mares with positive microbiological culture. Moderate concordance (63.8%) between positive reactions in CMT (1 to 3+) and microbiological culture was observed. Amicacin (78.9%), ceftiofur (74.7%), sulpha-trimetoprim (69,0%) and norfloxacin (69.0%), were the most effective drugs, while resistance of isolates was mainly observed against penicillin (64.8%), gentamycin (35.2%), azithromycin (35.2%), enrofloxacin (28.2%), and florfenicol (28.2%).

Registro periodontal simplificado em gestantes

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

New records of endoparasites infecting Hypsiboas albopunctatus (Anura : Hylidae) in a savanna area in Brasilia, Brazil

Seventy specimens of Hypsiboas albopunctatus (Anura: Hylidae) were collected and surveyed for endoparasites in Brasilia, Brazil at the end of the rainy season (February and March) in 2005. Sixteen males (22.86%) were infected by Rhabdias sp., Aplectana sp., Cosmocerca sp., and Falcaustra mascula. Rhabdias sp., a lung parasite, presented the highest prevalence (8.57%), mean intensity of infestation (1.333), and mean abundance (0.114). Moreover, this is the first report of a rhabdiasid nematode in the Hylidae in Brazil. The intestinal parasites, Cosmocerca sp. and Aplectana sp., had a similar prevalence (5.71%), but the former presented a higher mean intensity of infestation and mean abundance. The behavior and food habits of amphibians are responsible for the differences in their helminthofauna, and this study presents four new records of nematodes in H. albopunctatus.

Rhamnolipids and PHAs: Recent reports on Pseudomonas-derived molecules of increasing industrial interest

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

Effects of different environmental stresses on seed germination

In this paper, the hypothesis was that different environmental stresses may show similar responses in a biological system, as exemplified by the kinetic of germination of Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden seeds. It was observed that the kinetic of germination depends on environmental factors, and different treatments induced similar germination responses. The treatments with PEG 6000 and NaCl suggest that germination depends on solute used, since NaCl exhibit both ionic and osmotic effects. The analysis of the results showed that different external disturbances may lead, perhaps through different physiological ways, to similar responses related to the germination process.

Anatomical aspects of the gynoecium of species of Anthurium sect. Urospadix Engl. (Araceae, Alismatales)

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

Spatial distribution of nests of Nasutitermes sp (Isoptera : Termitidae) in a Cerrado area in southeastern Brazil

The density and aggregation patterns of nests of a species of Nasutitermes were determined in an area of 12,750 m(2). We found 131 nests in this area, and the distribution pattern was regular, with a density equaling 102.74 nests per hectare. Nest volume was determined from the height and diameter of 105 nests and varied from 1.59 to 192.46 dm(3). of the colonies, 70.5% had a volume below the mean value: 51.4% of these had volumes lower than 9 dm(3). Regression between the mean volumes and the distance of the 2 nearest nests was positive and significant (P < 0.001), suggesting competition between colonies.

Periodic solutions of abstract neutral functional differential equations

We characterize the existence of periodic solutions of some abstract neutral functional differential equations with finite and infinite delay when the underlying space is a UMD space. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recursive renormalization of the singlet one-pion-exchange plus point-like interactions

The subtracted kernel approach is shown to be a powerful method to be implemented recursively in scattering equations with regular plus point-like interactions. The advantages of the method allows one to recursively renormalize the potentials, with higher derivatives of the Dirac-delta, improving previous results. The applicability of the method is verified in the calculation of the 1 So nucleon-nucleon phase-shifts, when considering a potential with one-pion-exchange plus a contact interaction and its derivatives. The S-1(0) renormalization parameters are fitted to the data. The method can in principle be extended to any derivative order of the contact interaction, to higher partial waves and to coupled channels. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dynamically induced spontaneous symmetry breaking in 3-3-1 models

We show that in SU(3)(C) circle times SU(3)(L) circle times U(1)(N) (3-3-1) models embedded with a singlet scalar playing the role of the axion, after imposing scale invariance, the breaking of Peccei-Quinn symmetry occurs through the one-loop effective potential for the singlet field. We, then, analyze the structure of spontaneous symmetry breaking by studying the new scalar potential for the model, and verify that electroweak symmetry breaking is tightly connected to the 3-3-1 breaking by the strong constraints among their vacuum expectation values. This offers a valuable guide to write down the correct pattern of symmetry breaking for multi-scalar theories. We also obtained that the accompanying massive pseudo-scalar, instead of acquiring mass of order of Peccei-Quinn scale as we would expect, develops a mass at a much lower scale, a consequence solely of the breaking via Coleman-Weinberg mechanism. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.