Federal University of Roraima

About: Federal University of Roraima is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Thermogravimetry. The organization has 981 authors who have published 1218 publications receiving 7849 citations. The organization is also known as: Federal University of Roraima.

Characterization of Capsicum annuum L. leaf and root antimicrobial peptides: antimicrobial activity against phytopathogenic microorganisms

Abstract: This study aimed to detect and characterize antimicrobial proteins, especially antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from leaves and roots of Capsicum annuum and to evaluate their inhibitory activities against different phytopathogenic fungi and the bacterium Xanthomonas euvesicatoria. Two methodologies were used for the extraction of peptides from leaves and roots of C. annuum: acid and ethanolic extraction. Extracts were subjected to reversed-phase chromatography on HPLC. The extraction and purification procedures were analysed by uni- and bi-dimensional electrophoresis in tricine gels. Our results show that alcoholic and acid extracts from both tissues can inhibit the growth of the phytopathogenics fungi C. lindemuthianum and C. gloeosporioides. The acid extracts from both tissues are active against X. euvesicatoria and only leaf extracts displayed specific inhibitory activity towards trypsin and α-amylase activity. The data compiled here aim to contribute to establish the multiplicity of potential uses of plant AMPs for the control of pests and pathogens of agricultural relevance.

Water absorption and method improvement concerning electrical conductivity testing Acacia mangium (Fabaceae) seeds

Abstract: Acacia is an important forest species of rapid growth whose seeds have tegument dormancy. In this work it was intended to characterize water absorption pattern after seed dormancy break, and to determine the amount of water, container size and the need of breaking the tegument dormancy, as to perform electrical conductivity test in small and large seeds of Acacia mangium (Fabaceae). The seeds were collected from 10, 8 and 6 years old trees established in poor yielding-capacity soils on savannah areas of Roraima, Brazil; seeds were classified in six lots concerning to seed size and tree age. Germination tests (50 seeds and four replications per lot) were carried out on germitest® paper maintained on gerbox at 25 °C. Imbibition was verified by seed weighing at different times (0, 2, 5, 8, 12, 16, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96 and 120 hours). The electrical conductivity test consisted of three experiments, distinguished by the amount of water used and by the container size in which seeds were immersed. Seeds of A. mangium coming from 10 years old trees presented increased germination percent and germination speed than seeds of six-year old trees. Small seeds presented increased in electrical conductivity and water absorption until 120 hours when compared to large seeds. The immersion of seeds of A. mangium in 40 mL of distilled water into 180 mL plastic containers, after dormancy break, it is indicated for the determination of electrical conductivity test. The ratio of electrolytes by seed mass, after 24 hours of immersion in water, turns electrical conductivity test more accurate concerning A. mangium seeds.

Colletotrichum species causing anthracnose on lima bean in Brazil

Abstract: The taxonomy of the genus Colletotrichum has undergone various changes. These alterations arise from the use of modern molecular tools. Currently, Colletotrichum species are grouped into complexes. Species of Colletotrichum associated with diseases in lima bean have been investigated very little. In Brazil, anthracnose in lima bean has often been associated with Colletotrichum truncatum, but only morphological characteristics have been used for identification purposes. In this study, samples of lima bean with symptoms of spots on the leaves and pods have been collected in Piaui and Alagoas states. Comparisons of morphological characteristics revealed nine isolates with cylindrical or curved conidia. The ITS region and partial sequences of GAPDH, β-tubulin and Actin regions were amplified by PCR, sequenced and submitted to multilocus phylogenetic analysis. The isolates analyzed grouped with reference specimens from Colletotrichum truncatum, C. cliviae and C. fructicola. All isolates were pathogenic to 25-day-old lima bean seedlings. Therefore, this work confirms the pathogenicity of C. truncatum to lima bean and for the first time records the occurrence of C. cliviae and C. fructicola as pathogens of this host in Brazil.

[Use of an artificial neural network to predict the incidence of malaria in the city of Cantá, state of Roraima].

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Malaria is endemic in the Brazilian Amazon region, with different risks for each region The City of Canta, State of Roraima, presented one of the largest annual parasite indices in Brazil for the entire study period, with a value always greater than 50 The present study aimed to use an artificial neural network to predict the incidence of malaria in this city in order to assist health coordinators in planning and managing resources METHODS: Data were collected on the website of the Ministry of Health, SIVEP - Malaria between 2003 and 2009 An artificial neural network was structured with three neurons in the input layer, two intermediate layers and an output layer with one neuron A sigmoid activation function was used In training, the backpropagation method was used, with a learning rate of 005 and momentum of 001 The stopping criterion was to reach 20,000 cycles or a target of 0001 The data from 2003 to 2008 were used for training and validation The results were compared with those from a logistic regression model RESULTS: The results for all periods provided showed that the artificial neural network had a smaller mean square error and absolute error compared with the regression model for the year 2009 CONCLUSIONS: The artificial neural network proved to be adequate for a malaria forecasting system in the city studied, determining smaller predictive values with absolute errors compared to the logistic regression model and the actual values

Global aspects of gravitomagnetism

Abstract: We consider global properties of gravitomagnetism by investigating the gravitomagnetic field of a rotating cosmic string. We show that although the gravitomagnetic field produced by such a configuration of matter vanishes locally, it can be detected globally. In this context we discuss the gravitational analogue of the Aharonov–Bohm effect.