Identification, characterization and expression analysis of hepcidin gene in sheep     

Peres R. Badial  Jos P. Oliveira Filho  Paulo Henrique J. Cunha  Didier Q. Cagnini  Joo P. Araújo Jr  Nena J. Winand  Alexandre S. Borges 《Research in veterinary science》2011,90(3):443-450

Hepcidin is part of the innate immune system, and it plays a central role in the regulation of iron homeostasis. This peptide has been previously characterized in man, non-human primates, rat, mouse, dog, swine, cattle, horse, fishes, reptiles and birds but until now not in sheep. The aim of this study was to sequence, characterize and perform hepcidin expression analysis in different tissues collected from healthy sheep. The resulting open reading frame consisted of 249 bp predicted to encode an 82 aa peptide with a putative 23 aa signal peptide, a 34 aa pro-region and the 25 aa mature hepcidin. The deduced sequence of the sheep hepcidin precursor was most homologous to Bos taurus and Bubalus bubalis. Hepcidin was predominantly expressed in liver, although high expression was present in abomasum and lower level expression occurred in other tissues. These findings extend our comparative knowledge showing the relationship of sheep hepcidin to other mammalian hepcidins and will be helpful for additional studies on iron metabolism and inflammatory processes in sheep.  相似文献   

The value of primary, secondary and plantation forests for Amazonian birds     

Jos Barlow  Luiz A.M. Mestre  Carlos A. Peres 《Biological conservation》2007,136(2):212-231

Secondary forests and exotic tree plantations are rapidly expanding across tropical landscapes, yet we currently have a very poor understanding of the value of these human-dominated forest landscapes for biodiversity conservation. Mist netting, point counts and transect walks were used to compare the bird communities of these habitats and neighboring primary forest in north-east Brazilian Amazonia. The extensive spatial scale of plantations and second-growth in our study area enabled us to implement a robust replicated design, with survey plots approximately two to three orders of magnitude larger than most previous studies of land-use change in the tropics, thus minimising the influence of the surrounding landscape. Species richness was highest in primary forest and lowest in Eucalyptus plantations, and community turnover between habitats was very high whether based upon matrices of relative abundance or species presence-absence data, and for both point count and mist net data. Monthly line-transect censuses conducted over an annual cycle showed an increase in the detection of canopy frugivores and seed predators during the peak of flower and fruit availability in primary forest, but failed to suggest that second-growth or Eucalyptus stands provide suitable foraging habitat at any time of the year. The conservation value of both secondary forest and plantations was low compared to conclusions from previous studies. Our results indicate that while large-scale reforestation of degraded land can increase regional levels of diversity, it is unlikely to conserve most primary forest species, such as understorey insectivores and canopy frugivores.  相似文献   

Marjolin’s Ulcer in Two Horses with Hereditary Equine Regional Dermal Asthenia     

Peres R. Badial  Ann M. Rashmir-Raven  Didier Q. Cagnini  José P. Oliveira-Filho  Avery J. Cooley  Paulo Henrique J. Cunha  Barbara E. Kitchell  Lissandro G. Conceição  Cathleen A. Mochal  Alexandre S. Borges 《Journal of Equine Veterinary Science》2013

Two Quarter Horse mares with hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA) were diagnosed with metastatic squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) associated with chronic nonhealing wounds. The lesions were similar to the development of SCC from chronic nonhealing ulcers, known as Marjolin’s ulcers in humans. The horses showed recurrent skin wounds in the saddle and paralumbar regions and were confirmed by molecular techniques as having HERDA. Both horses were maintained as research animals for prolonged periods and received regular veterinary care and wound treatment. Both horses were ultimately euthanized because of their chronic progressive wounds, coupled with declining health. At necropsy, the nonhealing wounds were found to be complicated by infiltrative SCC; both horses had metastasis to lungs. Chronically inflamed, recurrent skin wounds that heal slowly and incompletely as a consequence of HERDA are proposed as a major pathogenetic factor in tumorigenesis. Consistent findings with respect to proliferation index (Ki-67) and mutations of p53 tumor suppressor gene were confirmed by immunohistochemistry in one horse. SCC consistent with Marjolin’s ulcer has been previously suggested in association with chronic ulcers or burn scars in horses, but this is the first report of an association with chronic poor healing wounds in HERDA horses.  相似文献   

Temperature and dietary starch level affected protein but not starch digestibility in gilthead sea bream juveniles     

Couto A  Enes P  Peres H  Oliva-Teles A 《Fish physiology and biochemistry》2012,38(3):595-601

A study was carried out with gilthead sea bream juveniles to assess the effect of water temperature (18 and 25°C) and dietary pregelatinized starch level (10, 20 and 30%) on digestibility of protein and starch and on the activity of proteolytic and amylolytic enzymes. ADC of pregelatinized starch was very high (>99%) irrespectively of dietary inclusion level, and it was not affected by water temperature. ADC of protein was also high (>90%) but improved at the higher water temperature. Dietary starch interacted with protein digestibility, which decreased as dietary starch level increased. Temperature affected both acid and basic protease activities, with acid protease activity being higher at 25°C and basic protease activity being higher at 18°C. However, total proteolytic activity and amylase activities were not affected by water temperature. Dietary carbohydrate exerted no effect on proteolytic or amylolitic activities. It is concluded that gilthead sea bream juveniles digest pregelatinized starch very efficiently irrespective of water temperature, due to adjustments of amylase activity to cope with temperature differences. Pregelatinized starch interacts negatively with protein digestibility, with the ADC of protein decreasing as dietary starch levels increase.  相似文献   

Long-term erosion of tree reproductive trait diversity in edge-dominated Atlantic forest fragments     

Ariadna Valentina Lopes  Luciana Coe Girão  Carlos A. Peres 《Biological conservation》2009,142(6):1154-1997

Habitat loss and fragmentation promote relatively predicable shifts in the functional signature of tropical forest tree assemblages, but the full extent of cascading effects to biodiversity persistence remains poorly understood. Here we test the hypotheses that habitat fragmentation (a) alters the relative contribution of tree species exhibiting different reproductive traits; (b) reduces the diversity of pollination systems; and (c) facilitates the functional convergence of reproductive traits between edge-affected and early-secondary forest habitats (5-32 years old). This study was carried out in a severely fragmented 670-km² forest landscape of the Atlantic forest of northeastern Brazil. We assigned 35 categories of reproductive traits to 3552 trees (DBH ? 10 cm) belonging to 179 species, which described their pollination system, floral biology, and sexual system. Trait abundance was calculated for 55 plots of 0.1 ha across four habitats: forest edges, small forest fragments (3.4-83.6 ha), second-growth patches, and core tracts of forest interior within the largest available primary forest fragment (3500 ha) in the region. Edge-affected and secondary habitats showed a species-poor assemblage of trees exhibiting particular pollination systems, a reduced diversity of pollination systems, a higher abundance of reproductive traits associated with pollination by generalist diurnal vectors, and an elevated abundance of hermaphroditic trees. As expected, the reproductive signature of tree assemblages in forest edges and small fragments (edge-affected habitats), which was very similar to that of early second-growth patches, was greatly affected by both habitat type and plot distance to the nearest forest edge. In hyper-fragmented Atlantic forest landscapes, we predict that narrow forest corridors and small fragments will become increasingly dominated by edge-affected habitats that can no longer retain the full complement of tree life-history diversity and its attendant mutualists.  相似文献   

Priority areas for the conservation of Atlantic forest large mammals     

Mauro Galetti  Henrique C. Giacomini  Christine S.S. Bernardo  Ricardo S. Bovendorp  Paulo Rubim  Camila I. Donatti  Rodrigo A. Begotti  Rodrigo de A. Nobre  Carlos A. Peres 《Biological conservation》2009,142(6):1229-1241

Large mammal faunas in tropical forest landscapes are widely affected by habitat fragmentation and hunting, yet the environmental determinants of their patterns of abundance remain poorly understood at large spatial scales. We analysed population abundance and biomass of 31 species of medium to large-bodied mammal species at 38 Atlantic forest sites (including three islands, 26 forest fragments and six continuous forest sites) as related to forest type, level of hunting pressure and forest fragment size using ANCOVAs. We also derived a novel measure of mammal conservation importance for each site based on a “Mammalian Conservation Priority index” (MP_i) which incorporates information on species richness, population abundance, body size distribution, conservation status, and forest patch area. Mammal abundance was affected by hunting pressure, whereas mammalian biomass of which was largely driven by ungulates, was significantly influenced by both forest type and hunting pressure. The MP_i index, when separated into its two main components (i.e. site forest area and species-based conservation index C_i), ordered sites along a gradient of management priorities that balances species-focused and habitat-focused conservation actions. Areas with the highest conservation priority were located in semi-deciduous forest fragments, followed by lowland forests. Many of these fragments, which are often embedded within large private landholdings including biofuel and citrus or coffee crops, cattle ranches and pulpwood plantations, could be used not only to comply with environmental legislation, but also enhance the prospects for biodiversity conservation, and reduce edge effects and hunting.  相似文献   

Effect of feeding time on dietary protein utilization and growth of juvenile Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis)     

Gonçalo Marinho  Helena Peres  António Paulo Carvalho 《Aquaculture Research》2014,45(5):828-833

The present study aimed to determine the effect of feeding time on growth and nitrogen excretion in juvenile sole. An 84‐day growth trial was conducted, in which food was supplied to three triplicate groups of juvenile Senegalese sole (3 g wet weight) at different schedules – diurnal, nocturnal and mixed. At the end of the growth trial, ammonia and urea excretion was assessed during a 24 h cycle. Improved growth (1.3% vs. 0.9% day^?1, specific growth rate), higher nitrogen retention (0.35 vs. 0.27 g N kg^?1 day^?1), lower ammonia excretion (209 vs. 272 mg N‐NH₄ kg^?1 day^?1) and lower total nitrogen excretion (278 vs. 352 mg N kg^?1 day^?1) were found in daytime‐fed fish compared with night‐fed fish. Fish in the mixed feeding regime showed intermediate values of ammonia and total nitrogen excretion, but did not differ from day‐fed fish regarding the other parameters. Results indicate that juvenile sole at a period of their life cycle appear to use more efficiently dietary protein for somatic growth under a diurnal than under a nocturnal feeding regime. This suggest that at least during a time‐window in the juvenile rearing a diurnal feeding regime might be more effective in the production of this species.  相似文献   

The use of mobile devices with multi-tag technologies for an overall contextualized vineyard management     

Carlos R. Cunha Author Vitae  Emanuel Peres Author Vitae  Raul Morais Author Vitae  Ana A. Oliveira Author Vitae  Samuel G. Matos Author Vitae  Miguel A. Fernandes Author Vitae  P.J.S.G. Ferreira Author Vitae Author Vitae 《Computers and Electronics in Agriculture》2010,73(2):154-164

This paper describes a Viticulture Service-Oriented Framework (VSOF) which turns around context elements or tags that are placed in the field and which can be decoded by mobile devices such as mobile phones or PDAs. The tags are used to automatically associate a field location to the relevant database tables or records and also to access contextual information or services. By pointing a mobile device to a tag, the viticulturalist may download data such as climatic data or upload information such as disease and pest incidence in a simple way, without having to provide coordinates or any other references, and without having to return to a central office. This work is part of an effort to implement a large-scale distributed cooperative network in the Douro Demarcated Region in Northeast Portugal, a region in which the effort makes particular sense due to the extremely variable topography and mesoclimates. The possibility of exchanging contextualized information and accessing contextualized services in the field, using well-known devices such as cell phones, may contribute to increase the rate of adoption of information technology in viticulture, and contribute to more efficient and closer-to-the-crops practices.  相似文献   

Pre- and post-inoculation activity of a protectant and a systemic fungicide for control of anthracnose fruit rot of strawberry under different wetness durations     

Natália A. Peres  Teresa E. Seijo  William W. Turechek 《Crop Protection》2010

A protectant fungicide (Captan, a.i. captan) and a systemic fungicide (Switch, a.i. fludioxonil + cyprodinil) were evaluated as pre- and post-inoculation applications for control of anthracnose fruit rot (AFR), caused by Colletotrichum acutatum, under a short (6 or 8 h) or long (18 or 24 h) wetting period. Evaluations were conducted for two seasons in Maryland and for two seasons in Florida. Both Captan and Switch were very effective for control of AFR when applied prior to inoculation, but control was more effective under the shorter wetting period. Switch was as effective when applied 4, 8, or 24 h post-inoculation as when applied before inoculation, but control was better under the short wetting period. Captan was effective when applied 4 or 8 h after inoculation under the short wetting period, but was ineffective at 24 h post-inoculation. Post-inoculation sprays of Captan were ineffective at any time under the long wetting period. The post-infection activity of Switch allows greater flexibility for managing AFR when fungicide applications are scheduled based on weather-based decision-support systems.  相似文献   

Evaluation of genetic diversity and plant growth promoting activities of nitrogen-fixing bacilli isolated from rice fields in South Brazil   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Anelise Beneduzi  Daiane Peres  Luciano K. Vargas  Maria Helena Bodanese-Zanettini  Luciane Maria P. Passaglia   《Applied soil ecology》2008,39(3):311-320

Several strains of bacilli, mainly species of the genera Bacillus and Paenibacillus, displaying important plant growth promoting (PGP) characteristics were isolated from seven distinct rice production zones of the Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Of 296 isolates, 155 were from rhizospheric soil and 141 from bulk soil. In order to evaluate the diversity among the isolates of each bacterial population the Shannon index was used on a 70% similarity basis. Diversity indices varying from 2.27 to 5.51 were obtained. Using principal coordinate analysis (PCA) to correlate bacterial diversity with soil parameters, it was found that soil pH was the characteristic most closely related to bacilli diversity. The bacilli isolated were also analyzed for some PGP activities. Of those 296 isolates, 94 and 148 produced between 0.1 and 30 μg of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) ml⁻¹ in vitro after 72 and 144 h of incubation, respectively. Twenty-two isolates were able to solubilize phosphate and 32 isolates produced siderophores. Paenibacillus and Bacillus genera were the most prominent groups in the rhizosphere and soil populations analyzed. Paenibacillus borealis was the most frequent species in both locations. The isolate SVPR30, identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis as a strain of Bacillus sp., was chosen for in vivo greenhouse experiments and proved to be very efficient in promoting a significant increase in the roots and shoot parts of rice plants. The identification and isolation of PGP bacilli from temperate and subtropical soils, which combine the ability to fix nitrogen with the production of substances capable to promote the plant growth, could significantly increase productivity of grain crops in Brazil.  相似文献