Efeitos de diferentes níveis de N, P e K sôbre cacaueiros jovens (Theorema cacao L.) em solução nutritiva

Cocoa seedlings were grown in nutrient solution in order to find out the effects of the levels of N, P, K in the substrate on growth, symptoms and chemical composition of the leaves. A 3x3x3 factorial design was used. The following conclusions can be drawn. 5.1. Among the three elements under study, only nitrogen had a positive, significant effect on growth as measured by height and dry weight. 5.2. The level of a given elements in the leaves did increase when its level in the nutrient solution was raised. On the other hand the N content was positively affected by the concentration of P in the substrate. 5.3. A decrease in the N/P and K/P rations in the leaves was observed when the nutrient solutions had, res-respectively, absence of K and N and high level both of K and N. The N/K ratio increased with the level of P in the substrate. 5.4 A highly significant positive correlation was found between N content in the leaves and dry weight. This was not the case however, insofar P and K are considered - no correlation whatsoever was observed.

Dispersão larval radial pós-alimentar em Lucilia cuprina (Diptera, Calliphoridae): profundidade, peso e distância de enterramento para pupação

Blowflies utilize discrete and ephemeral sites for breeding and larval nutrition. After the exhaustion of food, the larvae begin dispersing to search for sites to pupate or for additional food source, process referred as postfeeding larval dispersal. Some aspects of this process were investigated in Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann, 1830), utilizing a circular arena to permit the radial dispersion of larvae from the food source in the center. To determine the localization of each pupa, the arena was split into 72 equal sectors from the center. For each pupa, distance from the center of arena, weight and depth were determined. Statistical tests were performed to verify the relation among weight, depth and distance of burying for pupation. It was verified that the larvae that disperse farthest are those with lowest weights. The majority of individuals reached the depth of burying for pupation between 7 and 18 cm. The study of this process of dispersion can be utilized in the estimation of postmortem interval (PMI) for human corpses in medico-criminal investigations.

Phylogeny of Thylamys (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae) species, with special reference to Thylamys karimii

The genus Thylamys Gray, 1843 lives in the central and southern portions of South America inhabiting open and shrub-like vegetation, from prairies to dry forest habitats in contrast to the preference of other Didelphidae genera for more mesic environments. Thylamys is a speciose genus including T. elegans (Waterhouse, 1839), T. macrurus (Olfers, 1818), T. pallidior (Thomas, 1902), T. pusillus (Desmarest, 1804), T. venustus (Thomas, 1902), T. sponsorius (Thomas, 1921), T. cinderella (Thomas, 1902), T. tatei (Handley, 1957), T. karimii (Petter, 1968), and T. velutinus (Wagner, 1842) species. Previous phylogenetic analyses in this genus did not include the Brazilian species T. karimii, which is widely distributed in this country. In this study, phylogenetic analyses were performed to establish the relationships among the Brazilian T. karimii and all other previously analyzed species. We used 402-bp fragments of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, and the phylogeny estimates were conducted employing maximum parsimony (MP), maximum likelihood (ML), Bayesian (BY), and neighbor-joining (NJ). The topologies of the trees obtained in the different analyses were all similar and pointed out that T. karimii is the sister taxon of a group constituted of taxa from dry and arid environments named the dryland species. The dryland species consists of T. pusillus, T. pallidior, T. tatei, and T. elegans. The results of this work suggest five species groups in Thylamys. In one of them, T. velutinus and T. kariimi could constitute a sister group forming one Thylamys clade that colonized Brazil.

Effects of irradiation and tunicamycin on the surface glycoproteins Schistosoma mansoni

The cercarial glycocalyx and schistosomulum surface contains a number of glycoproteins which are expressed in very variable amounts within a parasite population. Tunicamycin inhibits glycoprotein synthesis of schistosomula if the parasites are incubated for 24hr with the drug (10µg ml[raised to the power of -1]). An unexpected increase in lectin binding to the parasite surface was observed but no other changes were detected. Schistosomula treated in this way did not develop in the host past the lung stage. Ultraviolet irradiation (400µW min cm[raised to the power of-2]) also inhibited glycoprotein synthesis. Synthesis of other proteins, and in particular heat shock proteins, were also inhibited. Sera from mice (NIH strain) infected with irradiated cercariae contained antibodies which bound to normal schistosomula with lower affinity than to irradiated parasites. This is evidence that irradiation modifies the surface and secreted glycoproteins of schistosomula, so they are processed in a different way to normal glycoproteins by the host's immune system. The effects of irradiation on heat shock protein synthesis may allow the parasite to release a variety of proteins and glycoproteins in abnormal conformations. This may explain the enhanced immunogenicity of irradiated cercariae.

Susceptibility of laboratory-reared female Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva, 1912) to infection by different species and strains of Leishmania Ross, 1903

A study was undertaken to compare the susceptibility of laboratory-reared female Lutzomyia longipalpis to infection by different species or strains of New World Leishmania. The sand flies proved to be highly susceptible to infection by a strain of Le. guyanensis, with flagellates developing in all (18/18) of the specimens examined. A lower infection rate of 37 per cents (10/27) was recorded in flies exposed to infection by a strain of Le. amazonensis. Flagellates developed in 13 per cents (6/46) of the sand flies that glood fed on dogs in the earlly stage of experimental infection with an old laboratory strain of Le. chagasi. In contrast, promastigotes did not develop in sand flies that blood fed on dogs with naturally acquired Le. chagasi. The naturally infected dogas were in an advanced stage of disease. Flagellates developed in 9// (3/32) of the sand flies that blood fed on lesions of hamsters infected with a strain of Le. braziliensis and in 9 per cents (3/34) of those that fed on hamsters with lesions due to a parasite fo the mexicana complex (strain MHOM/BR/73/BH121). Sand flies did not develop flagellate infections after blood feeding on hamsters bearing lesions induced by strain MHOM/BR/71/BR49. Factors influencing the susceptibility of Lu. longipalpis to infection by New World species of Leishmania are discussed.

Picking the Right Budget Constraint for Scotland

This position paper considers the devolution of further fiscal powers to the Scottish Parliament in the context of the objectives and remit of the Smith Commission. The argument builds on our discussion of fiscal decentralization made in our previous published work on this topic. We ask what sort of budget constraint the Scottish Parliament should operate with. A soft budget constraint (SBC) allows the Scottish Parliament to spend without having to consider all of the tax and, therefore, political consequences, of that spending, which is effectively the position at the moment. The incentives to promote economic growth through fiscal policy – on both the tax and spending sides are weak to non-existent. This is what the Scotland Act, 1998, and the continuing use of the Barnett block grant, gave Scotland. Now other budget constraints are being discussed – those of the Calman Commission (2009) and the Scotland Act (2012), as well as the ones offered in 2014 by the various political parties – Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Greens, Scottish Labour, the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Government. There is also the budget constraint designed by the Holtham Commission (2010) for Wales that could just as well be used in Scotland. We examine to what extent these offer the hard budget constraint (HBC) that would bring tax policy firmly into the realm of Scottish politics, asking the Scottish electorate and Parliament to consider the costs to them of increasing spending in terms of higher taxes; or the benefits to them of using public spending to grow the tax base and own-sourced taxes? The hardest budget constraint of all is offered by independence but, as is now known, a clear majority of those who voted in the referendum did not vote for this form of budget constraint. Rather they voted for a significant further devolution of fiscal powers while remaining within a political and monetary union with the rest of the UK, with the risk pooling and revenue sharing that this implies. It is not surprising therefore that none of the budget constraints on offer, apart from the SNP’s, come close to the HBC of independence. However, the almost 25% fall in the price of oil since the referendum, a resource stream so central to the SNP’s economic policy making, underscores why there is a need for a trade off between a HBC and risk pooling and revenue sharing. Ranked according to the desirable characteristic of offering something approaching a HBC the least desirable are those of the Calman Commission, the Scotland Act, 2012, and Scottish Labour. In all of these the ‘elasticity’ of the block grant in the face of failure to grow the Scottish tax base is either not defined or is very elastic – meaning that the risk of failure is shuffled off to taxpayers outside of Scotland. The degree of HBC in the Scottish Conservative, Scottish Greens and Scottish Liberal Democrats proposals are much more desirable from an economic growth point of view, the latter even embracing the HBC proposed by the Holtham Commission that combines serious tax policy with welfare support in the long-run. We judge that the budget constraint in the SNP’s proposals is too hard as it does not allow for continuation of the ‘welfare union’ in the UK. We also consider that in the case of a generalized UK economic slow requiring a fiscal stimulus that the Scottish Parliament be allowed increased borrowing to be repaid in the next economic upturn.

Bacterial overgrowth during treatment with omeprazole compared with cimetidine: a prospective randomised double blind study.

BACKGROUND: Gastric and duodenal bacterial overgrowth frequently occurs in conditions where diminished acid secretion is present. Omeprazole inhibits acid secretion more effectively than cimetidine and might therefore more frequently cause bacterial overgrowth. AIM: This controlled prospective study compared the incidence of gastric and duodenal bacterial overgrowth in patients treated with omeprazole or cimetidine. METHODS: 47 outpatients with peptic disease were randomly assigned to a four week treatment regimen with omeprazole 20 mg or cimetidine 800 mg daily. Gastric and duodenal juice were obtained during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and plated for anaerobic and aerobic organisms. RESULTS: Bacterial overgrowth (> or = 10(5) cfu/ml) was present in 53% of the patients receiving omeprazole and in 17% receiving cimetidine (p < 0.05). The mean (SEM) number of gastric and duodenal bacterial counts was 6.0 (0.2) and 5.0 (0.2) respectively in the omeprazole group and 4.0 (0.2) and 4.0 (0.1) in the cimetidine group (p < 0.001 and < 0.01; respectively). Faecal type bacteria were found in 30% of the patients with bacterial overgrowth. Basal gastric pH was higher in patients treated with omeprazole compared with cimetidine (4.2 (0.5) versus 2.0 (0.2); p < 0.001) and in patients with bacterial overgrowth compared with those without bacterial overgrowth (5.1 (0.6) versus 2.0 (0.1); p < 0.0001). The nitrate, nitrite, and nitrosamine values in gastric juice did not increase after treatment with either cimetidine or omeprazole. Serum concentrations of vitamin B12, beta carotene, and albumin were similar before and after treatment with both drugs. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that the incidence of gastric and duodenal bacterial overgrowth is considerably higher in patients treated with omeprazole compared with cimetidine. This can be explained by more pronounced inhibition of gastric acid secretion. No patient developed signs of malabsorption or an increase of N-nitroso compounds. The clinical significance of these findings needs to be assessed in studies with long-term treatment with omeprazole, in particular in patients belonging to high risk groups such as HIV infected and intensive care units patients.

An empirical analysis of a merger between a network and low-cost airlines

We use a difference-in-difference estimator to examine the effects of a merger involving three airlines. The novelty lies in the examination of this operation in two distinct scenarios: (1) on routes where two low-cost carriers and (2) on routes where a network and one of the low-cost airlines had previously been competing. We report a reduction in frequencies but no substantial effect on prices in the first scenario, while in the second we report an increase in prices but no substantial effect on frequencies. These results may be attributed to the differences in passenger types flying on these routes.

Experimental Infection of Culex (Culex) quinquefasciatus and Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti with Wuchereria bancrofti

A study was conducted to determine the susceptibility of local strains of Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti to infection with the strain of Wuchereria bancrofti that occurs in Maceió, State of Alagoas, Brazil. Cx. quinquefasciatus blood fed simultaneously on the same microfilariae carrier ingested more blood and 2-3x more microfilariae than Ae. aegypti. Survival rates of both species of insects living for 21 days after blood feeding on microfilaraemic patients were not significantly different from the survival rates of mosquitoes that blood fed on amicrofilaraemic individuals. W. bancrofti parasites underwent normal development in Cx. quinquefasciatus, with third stage larvae first being recorded on the 11th day post infection, and their numbers increasing thereafter. Development of filariae in Ae. aegypti did not proceed beyond the first larval stage, and there was a progressively increasing number of non-viable larvae with the passage of time. It is concluded that Ae. aegypti is not involved in the transmission of W. bancrofti in Maceió.

Concurrent and simultaneous polydrug use among young Swiss males: use patterns and associations of number of substances used with health issues.

Background: Simultaneous polydrug use (SPU) may represent a greater incremental risk factor for human health than concurrent polydrug use (CPU). However, few studies have examined these patterns of use in relation to health issues, particularly with regard to the number of drugs used. Methods: In the present study, we have analyzed data from a representative sample of 5734 young Swiss males from the Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors. Exposure to drugs (i.e., alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and 15 other illicit drugs), as well as mental, social and physical factors, were studied through regression analysis. Results: We found that individuals engaging in CPU and SPU followed the known stages of drug use, involving initial experiences with licit drugs (e.g., alcohol and tobacco), followed by use of cannabis and then other illicit drugs. In this regard, two classes of illicit drugs were identified, including first uppers, hallucinogens and sniffed drugs; and then "harder" drugs (ketamine, heroin, and crystal meth), which were only consumed by polydrug users who were already taking numerous drugs. Moreover, we observed an association between the number of drugs used simultaneously and social issues (i.e., social consequences and aggressiveness). In fact, the more often the participants simultaneously used substances, the more likely they were to experience social problems. In contrast, we did not find any relationship between SPU and depression, anxiety, health consequences, or health. Conclusions: We identified some associations with SPU that were independent of CPU. Moreover, we found that the number of concurrently used drugs can be a strong factor associated with mental and physical health, although their simultaneous use may not significantly contribute to this association. Finally, the negative effects related to the use of one substance might be counteracted by the use of an additional substance.

Predation Potential of the Water Bugs Sphaerodema rusticum on the Sewage Snails Physa acuta

The sewage snail Physa acuta is a serious threat to certain economic plants and to the purification plant of sewage works by rendering the biofilters ineffective. Various attempts are being made to control it. The efficacy of the predacious water bugs Sphaerodema rusticum was judged experimentally, in the laboratory in the potential control of P. acuta. It is revealed that, when supplied separately, the first, second and third instar and the adult S. rusticum did not attack P. acuta belonging to 3.1-8 mm, 5.1-8 mm, 7.1-8 mm and <= 3 mm size classes respectively. In the remaining trials predation rate varied from zero to eight (average 2.3) individuals per predator per day. In experiments with P. acuta belonging to all the size classes supplied together, none, except the first instar S. rusticum, attacked the prey individuals belonging to the lowest (<= 3 mm) size class. The first and second instar S. rusticum, in both trials did not attack P. acuta larger than 4 mm and 5 mm in shell length respectively. The water bugs belonging to the third, fourth, fifth instar and adult stages though preyed upon P. acuta with 3.1-8 mm shell length. The average rate of predation by a single S. rusticum varied from 0.14-3.08 individuals per day depending upon the size of P. acuta and the stage of S. rusticum. A single S. rusticum, irrespective of instar and adult stages, destroyed on average 4.16 P. acuta daily irrespective of sizes. It is estimated that one S. rusticum could destroy 1,360 P. acuta in its life time. The results clearly indicate that the water bug S. rusticum may be used to control the snails P. acuta.

Estudio de marcadores moleculares en neoplasias mieloproliferativas

Las neoplasias mieloproliferativas (NM) son un grupo de enfermedades clonales de la célula hematopoyética madre. Entre las NM clásicas se encuentran la policitemia vera (PV), la trombocitemia esencial (TE) y la mielofibrosis primaria (MFP). Durante muchos años el diagnóstico de estas patologías se hacía por exclusión utilizando biomarcadores de clonalidad poco específicos. En el año 2005, la descripción de la mutación JAK2V617F supuso un avance importante en el diagnóstico de estas patologías. Posteriormente, se han descrito mutaciones en otros genes como mutaciones en MPL, TET2, ASXL1, IDH1, IDH2, c-CBL, EZH2, IKZF1 y LNK, en distintas neoplasias mieloides y en porcentaje variable. Aun así, ninguno de estos genes son marcadores específicos de ninguna NM y todavía existe un porcentaje elevado de pacientes con TE y MFP sin un marcador de clonalidad conocido. Además, todos estos genes se han descrito como eventos genéticos implicados en la transformación de una NM a leucemia mieloide aguda. El objetivo de este proyecto fue estudiar varios marcadores moleculares en neoplasias mieloproliferativas Philadelphia negativas. En primer lugar, se estudió la modulación de la carga alélica JAK2V617F en pacientes con PV o TE que recibieron tratamiento citoreductor y a su vez se analizó la dinámica natural de la carga alélica en pacientes que no recibieron tratamiento. Posteriormente, se analizaron la presencia de alteraciones en los genes previamente mencionados, en distintos grupos de pacientes. En primer lugar, se analizó la presencia de mutaciones en TET2, ASXL1, IDH1, IDH2 y CBL en un grupo de pacientes JAK2 y MPL negativos, para determinar la frecuencia de alteraciones de estos genes en este grupo de pacientes y determinar su valor en el diagnóstico de estas patologías. En segundo lugar, se estudió la presencia de mutaciones en estos genes incluyendo EZH2, IKZF1 y LNK para estudiar la incidencia y el valor pronóstico de estas alteraciones en las NM que progresan a mielofibrosis.

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.

Large-scale gene-centric analysis identifies novel variants for coronary artery disease.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) has a significant genetic contribution that is incompletely characterized. To complement genome-wide association (GWA) studies, we conducted a large and systematic candidate gene study of CAD susceptibility, including analysis of many uncommon and functional variants. We examined 49,094 genetic variants in ∼2,100 genes of cardiovascular relevance, using a customised gene array in 15,596 CAD cases and 34,992 controls (11,202 cases and 30,733 controls of European descent; 4,394 cases and 4,259 controls of South Asian origin). We attempted to replicate putative novel associations in an additional 17,121 CAD cases and 40,473 controls. Potential mechanisms through which the novel variants could affect CAD risk were explored through association tests with vascular risk factors and gene expression. We confirmed associations of several previously known CAD susceptibility loci (eg, 9p21.3:p<10(-33); LPA:p<10(-19); 1p13.3:p<10(-17)) as well as three recently discovered loci (COL4A1/COL4A2, ZC3HC1, CYP17A1:p<5×10(-7)). However, we found essentially null results for most previously suggested CAD candidate genes. In our replication study of 24 promising common variants, we identified novel associations of variants in or near LIPA, IL5, TRIB1, and ABCG5/ABCG8, with per-allele odds ratios for CAD risk with each of the novel variants ranging from 1.06-1.09. Associations with variants at LIPA, TRIB1, and ABCG5/ABCG8 were supported by gene expression data or effects on lipid levels. Apart from the previously reported variants in LPA, none of the other ∼4,500 low frequency and functional variants showed a strong effect. Associations in South Asians did not differ appreciably from those in Europeans, except for 9p21.3 (per-allele odds ratio: 1.14 versus 1.27 respectively; P for heterogeneity = 0.003). This large-scale gene-centric analysis has identified several novel genes for CAD that relate to diverse biochemical and cellular functions and clarified the literature with regard to many previously suggested genes.

Atlas interactivo de mortalidad de Andalucía (AIMA)

Until now, mortality atlases have been static. Most of them describe the geographical distribution of mortality using count data aggregated over time and standardized mortality rates. However, this methodology has several limitations. Count data aggregated over time produce a bias in the estimation of death rates. Moreover, this practice difficult the study of temporal changes in geographical distribution of mortality. On the other hand, using standardized mortality hamper to check differences in mortality among groups. The Interactive Mortality Atlas in Andalusia (AIMA) is an alternative to conventional static atlases. It is a dynamic Geographical Information System that allows visualizing in web-site more than 12.000 maps and 338.00 graphics related to the spatio-temporal distribution of the main death causes in Andalusia by age and sex groups from 1981. The objective of this paper is to describe the methods used for AIMA development, to show technical specifications and to present their interactivity. The system is available from the link products in www.demap.es. AIMA is the first interactive GIS that have been developed in Spain with these characteristics. Spatio-temporal Hierarchical Bayesian Models were used for statistical data analysis. The results were integrated into web-site using a PHP environment and a dynamic cartography in Flash. Thematic maps in AIMA demonstrate that the geographical distribution of mortality is dynamic, with differences among year, age and sex groups. The information nowadays provided by AIMA and the future updating will contribute to reflect on the past, the present and the future of population health in Andalusia.