Universidade Estadual De Research Articles

Allelic Variability in the Intronic Region of the Fibroin Heavy-Chain Gene in Silkworm Bombyx mori L. Strains of Brazilian Germplasm Bank.

The domesticated silkworm Bombyx mori L. is currently found only in germplasm banks. Therefore, characterization and conservation of this genetic resource is crucial. Based on previous studies that revealed nucleotide differences in silkworm strains, the intron of the fibroin heavy chain gene (H-fib) can be used for molecular silkworm characterization. The H-fib gene has two exons and a unique intron, and encodes the principal component of the silk fiber, the fibroin heavy chain. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the genetic variability of the unique intron of H-fib gene of 20 silkworm strains maintained at the Universidade Estadual de Maringá Brazilian Germplasm Bank (UBGB) by conformation-sensitive gel electrophoresis (CSGE) and nucleotide sequencing. Genomic DNA extracted from silkworm moths was PCR amplified. CSGE revealed that most of the analyzed silkworm strains had only homoduplex molecules. However, DNA from the Japanese strains B106, B82, and M12-2 had two extra DNA fragments produced by heteroduplex molecules, revealing variation between alleles. Sequencing of the H-fib intron was used to confirm the variation previously detected by CSGE and detected a significant polymorphism characterized by a 17-base pair (bp) deletion, a 2-bp insertion, and eight nucleotide substitutions. Although genetic and allelic variability was detected in some silkworm strains, the intron of the H-fib gene revealed not to be the best molecular marker for the characterization of B. mori strains from UBGB.

Low Genetic Polymorphism at the Cytochrome C Oxidase I in Silkworm Strains of the Brazilian Germplasm Bank

Nucleotide sequences have been used to distinguish species and specimens for many years. More recently, the use of a partial sequence of 650 bp of the cytochrome c oxidase I, COI mitochondrial gene, has been proposed for species identification, known as DNA barcodes. In this work, a short sequence of the DNA barcode is described—approximately 250 bp, named as “DNA mini-barcode”—to molecularly identify different silkworm strains maintained at the unique public Germplasm Bank of Bombyx mori, at the Universidade Estadual de Maringá, UEM, Brazil. Analysis revealed no significant differences among the silkworm strains. The phylogenetic tree obtained by the neighbor-joining method and K2P distance, in which specimens of B. mandarina were used as outgroup, clustered all the specimens of B. mori in a unique clade. Genetic variability detect within B. mori was low or nonexistent. In conclusion, the partial region of 250 bp of the mitochondrial gene COI herein analyzed may not be efficient to discriminate silkworm strains from the UEM Germplasm Bank of Bombyx mori.

Agronomic performance of popcorn genotypes in Northern and Northwestern Rio de Janeiro State

Three populations of popcorn from the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro recurrent selection program (cycles C3, C4 and C5 from UNB2U), five simple hybrids provided by the Universidade Estadual de Maringá breeding program, five varieties (BRS Angela, UFVM-2 Barão de Viçosa, Viçosa, Beija-Flor and SAM) and three commercial hybrids (Zelia, Jade and IAC 112) were evaluated in five environments for their potential to be registered by the MAPA and recommended to producers in Northern and Northwestern Rio de Janeiro State. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design, with three replications. The two main economic traits of the crops, grain yield (GY) and popping expansion (PE), were assessed. In the joint analysis of variance, significant differences were observed using the F test for the GY and PE traits. Regarding the genotype x environment interaction, only the GY was significant, thus revealing that the cultivar behavior varies according to the environment. The Pi statistics and the results for those traits showed that UNB2U-C5 and hybrid P1 x P7 have the potential to be recommended as new alternatives for producers in the region.

Evaluation of the potential use of rebaudioside-A as sweetener for diet jam

Sweeteners based on stevia extract contain a series of diterpene glycosides derivatives from steviol, standing out the rebaudioside-A. There is no tabletop sweeteners in the market formulated purely with rebaudioside-A yet, so its use in foods depends on the development of new products followed by physicochemical and sensory evaluations. This work presents the formulation of a diet strawberry jam dyed with cranberry juice and sweetened with rebaudioside-A purified from stevia plants of the lineage UEM-320 developed in the Centro de Estudos de Produtos Naturais da Universidade Estadual de Maringá. Evaluations of physicochemical properties, microbiological and sensory characteristics were carried out for the product in comparison with a control sweetened with equal amount of sucralose. The results showed that the physicochemical characteristics of the sample and the control are not significantly different and the supplementation with cranberry juice increased both color and total phenolic content in both samples. The sensory acceptability indicated a significant preference for the formulation sweetened with 100% of rebaudioside-A, only in the items flavor and purchase intent. We concluded that rebaudioside-A has a better sensory performance than sucralose, even this last one being 1.33 fold sweeter than rebaudioside-A.

Biological and molecular characterization of silkworm strains from the Brazilian germplasm bank of Bombyx mori

Brazil has only one public genetic pool of Bombyx mori strains, which was established in 2005 at Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, Paraná State. This genetic bank has been maintained, and the strains have been characterized using genetic and morphological tools. The quantitative and qualitative traits, directly or indirectly related to productivity, were evaluated in 14 silkworm strains. In addition to biological and productivity analyses, DNA markers related to susceptibility to the B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) were analyzed. BmNPV is a major cause of production loss and is a serious problem for Paraná sericulture. The silkworm strains from diverse geographic origins were found to have different characteristics, including body weight, larval stage duration, cocoon weight, and other biological traits. In terms of productivity, the raw silk percentages were almost uniform, with an overall average of 16.28%. Overall, the Chinese strain C37 gave the best performance in many of the quantitative traits, and it surpassed the other strains in productivity traits. Therefore, it can be used as one of the strains that compose the elite germplasm for silkworm breeding programs. Additionally, genetic molecular markers were efficient in discriminating between B. mori strains that had been identified based on their geographical origin. We found that all Japanese strains produced a 400-bp molecular marker that has been associated with susceptibility to BmNPV.

The study of the ceramic collection from Archaeological Site Corrego da Lagoa 2, Altônia - Paraná: an overview

Neste artigo apresentaremos estudos realizados num acervo cerâmico armazenado no Laboratório de Arqueologia, Etnologia e Etno-história da Universidade Estadual de Maringá-Maringá/PR, estabelecendo uma relação entre a história regional e os vestígios arqueológicos. Neste estudo utilizamos metodologias desenvolvidas na década de 1980 que descrevem os grafismos encontrados nas cerâmicas. No artigo apresentamos uma visão geral dos estudos apresentando dados referentes aos resultados obtidos nas pesquisas

Antifungal activity of the extract of Curcuma zedoaria (Christm.) Roscoe, Zingiberaceae, against yeasts of the genus Candida isolated from the oral cavity of patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus

Oropharyngeal candidiasis is the most common fungal infection among patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and is treated empirically with topical or systemic antifungals. The objective of the present study was to investigate the possible antifungal action of the hydroalcoholic extract of Curcuma zedoaria (Christm.) Roscoe, Zingiberaceae, on yeasts in this population. Samples were collected from HIV-positive patients who attended the Laboratory for Teaching and Research in Clinical Analysis at the Universidade Estadual de Maringá for routine exams. The isolated yeasts were identified at the genus and species levels through classical methodology. Next, tests of microdilution in broth were carried out to determine the profile of susceptibility of these yeasts towards the hydroalcoholic extract of C. zedoaria, following methodology standardised by the CLSI (2002). A total of 53 yeasts were identified, 49 of them C. albicans, two C. tropicalis and two C. glabrata. These yeasts were inhibited by low concentrations of the extract of C. zedoaria (between 1.95 and 15.63 μg/mL). In addition, 7.82 μg/mL inhibited 90% of the yeasts. Our results indicate a potent antifungal action for C. zedoaria and suggest more detailed studies with a view towards the practical application of this phytomedicine in topical pharmaceutical forms for the treatment of oral candidosis or candidiasis.

DIVERSIDADE E ABUNDÂNCIA DE ARTRÓPODES PREDADORES ASSOCIADOS A DIFERENTES CULTIVARES DE ALGODOEIRO

With the objective of studying the abundance and diversity of predaceous arthropods associated with cotton crop, and analyze the influence of meteorological factors, interactions between natural enemies and population dynamics of coccinellids associated with their principal prey, the aphid Aphis gossypii, an experiment was carried out in the region of Ipameri, Goiás State, Brazil, at the Universidade Estadual de Goiás campus. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with five treatments, consisting of the DeltaOPAL, FMX 966, FMX 993, FMX 910, and NuOPAL cultivars, in four replications. Among the arthropods sampled in the cotton crop, the coccinellids and spiders were the most abundant ones in the cultivars evaluated. Spiders occurred throughout the cotton cycle, while the coccinellids population increased gradually until 55 DAE, showing a population peak at 34 DAE, coinciding with the population peak of aphids (Aphis gossypii). Among the coccinellids observed in the cultivars under study, Scymnus spp. was the most abundant in cotton. The pentatomid and forficulid occurred from 99 to 128 days after the emergence of cotton, which corresponds to the highest density of target pest insects. It was not found influence of meteorological factors or negative interactions among predaceous arthropods. KEY-WORDS: Gossypium hirsutum; natural enemies, coccinellids.

Níveis alterados de pressão arterial em jovens, relacionados aos fatores sexo, cor de pele e historia familiar de hipertensão arterial sistêmica

Efforts in order to establish a precocious diagnosis of alterations in arterial pressure based on epidemiological information of young peoplasdfflicted with these alterations are welcome in the approach to arterial hypertension. Thus, the present study had as objective to check for changes in blood pressure in 207 young people, between 17 and 24 years old, from the first years of undergraduate courses at the Centro de Ciências da Saúde da Universidade Estadual de Maringá – PR – Brazil, and the correlation with the risk factors gender, ethnic group, and family history of systemic arterial hypertension. The pressure 120X180mmHg was considered normal, following orientations of the VII Joint National Committee (VII JNC). The results indicated a greater prevalence of alterations in males, in students with a family history of arterial hypertension and in students of Oriental descend. The only statistic significance obtained was for pressure difference between men and women (p

Diâmetro do ingrediente e a digestibilidade aparente de rações por duas espécies de peixes tropicais

This research was carried out at the Aquatic Organisms Nutrition Research Laboratory, FMVZ - Unesp - Campus of Botucatu, a unit of Aquaculture Center of Unesp (Universidade Estadual de São Paulo) - Brazil. The objective was to evaluate the ingredient diameter influence (0.5; 1.0; 1.5; 2.0 and 2.5 mm), using the apparent digestibility of diets by Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus L. (Perciformes cichlidae) and pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg) Characiformes, Characidae). The coefficients were determined according to dry matter, crude protein and ether extract. These treatments were analyzed by variance analysis in the factorial design 2 x 5 (two fish species and five diameters). The result showed that there is significant interaction between ingredient diamater and species and that, the most appropriate ingredient diameter to manufacture fish diets is between 1.0 and 2.0 mm to pacu and 1.5 mm to Nile tilapia.

Ocorrência e coleta de colônias e de enxames de abelhas africanizadas na zona urbana de Maringá, Estado do Paraná, Brasil

During the last years, a great number of swarms of Africanized honey bees migrated to the urban zone of Maringá, Paraná State, Brazil, causing a great concern, mainly in those who live at home with children, elderly and allergic people. This study aimed to record and remove the colonies and swarms reported to the Animal Science Department at Universidade Estadual de Maringá from 1997 to 1999, in order to avoid possible problems caused by honey bees (Apis mellifera) to the community and use them for research and teaching purposes. 283 reports were recorded, being 226 (79.9%) colonies and 57 (20.1%) swarms. 191 (67.5%) of the total reports were collected, being 169 (88.5%) colonies and 22 (11.5%) swarms. The honeybees were generally located in roofs (123; 43.5%), boxes (64; 22.6%), floors (59; 20.8%) and trees (37; 13.1%)

Preparados ou não para o futuro? Atitudes de alunos de graduação em relação ao Projeto Genoma Humano

The present study aimed to investigate attitudes and perceptions of enrolled students of Biological Sciences, Medicine and Law courses at Universidade Estadual de Maringá (Maringá State University), state of Paraná, Brazil, regarding to The Human Genome Project (HGP). The research was carried out from October, 2002 to February, 2003, based on a questionnaire interview. The results showed that most academics had elementary knowledge of HGP, an optimistic expectation about the practical application of such studies, and also predisposition to participate in genetic tests. On the other hand, they showed few concerns regarding to ethical, social and legal issues of current biotechnological advances. Finally, the study concluded that more discussions and reflections urge on this issue in the higher education system

Morfologia e anatomia das plântulas de Tabebuia avellanedae Lor. ex Griseb e T. chrysotricha (Mart. ex Dc.) Standl. (Bignoniaceae)

Seedlings of Tabebuia avellanedae Lor. ex Griseb. (“ipê-roxo”) and T. chrysotricha (Mart. ex DC.) Standl. (“ipê-amarelo”), arboreal species that occurr in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil, are morphologically and anatomically studied. Seedlings were obtained from seeds collected at the Universidade Estadual de Maringá, state of Paraná. Anatomical sections were handmade and stained with astra blue and safranin. Seedlings are phanerocotylar and epigeal. The root is axial and pentarch-heptarch in T. avellanedae and tetrarch-hexarch in T. chrysotricha. The root-shoot transition region occurs in the hypocotyl. Mesophyll cotyledonous is homogeneous in T. avellanedae and heterogeneous in T. chrysotricha. Eophylls are simple and dorsiventral leaves and metaphylls are compound and isobilateral. Eophylls and metaphylls are hypostomatic with anomocytic stomatal complexes and glandular and non-glandular trichomes

Produção de alface em função de água e de nitrogênio

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the production of lettuce Lactuca sativa cv. Verônica to water and nitrogen levels. The experiment was conducted on the greenhouse of Centro Técnico de Irrigação, at Universidade Estadual de Maringá campus (State of Paraná, South of Brazil), from March 16 to April 25, 2001. It was conducted in a 4 x 4 factorial scheme, with 16 treatments. The experimental design was completely randomized with four levels of water (W1 = 62.5; W2 = 75.0; W3 = 87.5 and W4 = 100% of the water retention capacity of the soil) and four levels of nitrogen (N1 = 75; N2 = 150; N3 = 225 and N4 = 300mg N/dm3) subdivided in five identical applications during the studied period in the plant cycle. Every experimental unity was compound of one vase with 2kg of soil and one plant of lettuce. The replacement of water occurred when the mass of water evapotranspiration of each treatment reached 50% of the water retention capacity of the soil. The lettuce production was linearly affected by nitrogen and quadratic affected by water levels. Water and nitrogen are substituting production factors to lettuce, then increasing any of factors on soil, the other can be reduced without changing the production.

Desempenho e características de carcaça de cabritos da raça Saanen recebendo rações com farelo de glúten de milho e/ou farelo de soja

This research was carried out in Iguatemi Experimental Farm, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá (State University of Maringá), state of Paraná, Brazil, to study the performance of 30 Saanen (±17kg) kids, 75-day-old males and females, in feedlot for 70 days. The rations were adjusted with corn gluten meal and/or soybean meal, with 12.5% CP and 2.56 Mcal ME/kg of DM. The dry matter intake (kg/day), daily average gain and feed conversion ratio presented the best responses on soybean meal treatment. The variables of live weight in the origin and to the slaughter, loss weight in the origin, fat thickness, cooling loss, weight of the middle carcass, commercial carcass yield and biological carcass yield, carcass compactness, ham compactness, yield for ham, pallete, loin, rib, uncovered rib and neck did not differ (p>0.05) between the treatments.

PR 7 Post-operative pain after one and two visit endodontic treatment in nonvital teeth

Post-operative pain after one and two visit endodontic treatment in nonvital teeth. R. H&atugu*, L. Valdrighi, E. Kado, E. Miyasaki, K. Okino Neto, A. Fleury E A P A P C D (Escola de Aperfe i~oamento Profissional da Associag~o Paulista de Cirurgi6es Dentistas) and U N I C A M P (Univers idade Estadual de Campinas) Brazi l Despite many efforts of respected research centers, whether or not endodontic therapy in nonvital teeth should be performed in one visit or multiple visits remains a rather controversial issue. The purpose of this clinical investigation was to compare the postoperative pain occurrence after one and two visit endodontic treatment. Two hundred and forty nonvital teeth were divided into two groups of 120. In group 1, one visit endodontic treatment was performed and in group 2, two visit treatment. All teeth were instrumented using the crown-down technique and GT system (Greater Taper), RCprep, and NaOC1 5.25%. The apical limit carried out with a #15 K file. A paste of Ca(OH) 2 plus PMCC and glicerin was used as ICM in group 2. Root canals were obturated with gutta percha cones and Pulp Canal Sealer (Kerr) with vertical condensation. Post-operative pain was assessed at 24, 48 and 72h and the results analysed using the student t test. All teeth were treated by the same professional. The results showed that there was no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups, regarding post-operative pain. This study suggests that single visit endodontics may be the treatment of choice for nonvital teeth, as far as post-operative pain is concerned. Further investigations are necessary to assess the long term prognosis of this treatment.