State University of Santa Cruz

About: State University of Santa Cruz is a education organization based out in Ilhéus, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Species richness. The organization has 3266 authors who have published 4642 publications receiving 51876 citations. The organization is also known as: Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz.

Mapping rust, anthracnose and angular leaf spot resistance genes in common bean using RAPD markers

Abstract: Molecular markers were used to study the organization of rust, anthracnose and angular leaf spot resistance genes in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) Ouro Negro cultivar A segregant population of 154 recombinant inbred lines (RIL´s) from the crossing between Ouro Negro and Ruda cultivars was inoculated under controlled conditions with seven races of Uromyces appendiculatus, three of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum and four of Phaeoisariopsis griseola DNA samples of each RIL were amplified by polymerase chain reaction using 70 decamer primers Segregation analysis of rust, anthracnose and angular leaf spot resistance suggested specific resistance inheritance to each physiologic race Genetic linkage analysis revealed the grouping of different rust and anthracnose resistance genes in the same linkage group Angular leaf spot resistance genes also were mapped together, but in another linkage group The utility of RAPD markers linked to common bean resistance genes, previously identified in the literature, was restricted Only five out of 38 molecular markers tested were validated on the RIL´s population as linked to rust and anthracnose resistance genes Three new molecular markers (OBA16669 and OAB16583 to 104 cM in coupling and OAD93210 to 139 cM in repulsion) were identified that are linked to to the angular leaf spot resistance gene block in Ouro Negro cultivar

Vector meson quasinormal modes in a finite-temperature AdS/QCD model

Abstract: We study the spectrum of vector mesons in a finite temperature plasma. The plasma is holographically described by a black hole AdS/QCD model. We compute the boundary retarded Green’s functions using AdS/CFT prescriptions. The corresponding thermal spectral functions show quasiparticle peaks at low temperatures. Then we calculate the quasinormal modes of vector mesons in the soft-wall black hole geometry and analyse their temperature and momentum dependences.

Ayahuasca and Its DMT- and β-carbolines - Containing Ingredients Block the Expression of Ethanol-Induced Conditioned Place Preference in Mice: Role of the Treatment Environment.

Abstract: Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic beverage produced from the decoction of Banisteriopsis caapi (Bc) and Psychotria viridis (Pv), β-carboline- and N,N-dimethyltryptamine(DMT)-containing plants, respectively. Accumulating evidence suggests that ayahuasca may have therapeutic effects on ethanol abuse. It is not known, however, whether its effects are dependent on the presence of DMT or if non-DMT-containing components would have therapeutic effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate the rewarding properties of ayahuasca (30, 100, and 300 mg/kg, orally), Bc (132, 440, and 1320 mg/kg, orally) and Pv (3.75, 12.5 and 37.5 mg/kg, i.p.) extracts and their effects on ethanol (1.8 g/kg, i.p.) reward using the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm in male mice. Animals were conditioned with ayahuasca, Bc or Pv extracts during 8 sessions. An intermediate, but not a high, dose of ayahuasca induced CPP in mice. Bc and Pv did not induce CPP. Subsequently, the effects of those extracts were tested on the development of ethanol-induced CPP. Ayahuasca, Bc or Pv were administered before ethanol injections during conditioning sessions. While Bc and Pv exerted no effects on ethanol-induced CPP, pretreatment with ayahuasca blocked the development of CPP to ethanol. Finally, the effects of a post-ethanol-conditioning treatment with ayahuasca, Bc or Pv on the expression of ethanol-induced CPP were tested. Animals were conditioned with ethanol, and subsequently treated with either ayahuasca, Bc or Pv in the CPP environment previously associated with saline or ethanol for 6 days. Animals were then reexposed to ethanol and ethanol-induced CPP was quantified on the following day. Treatment with all compounds in the ethanol-paired environment blocked the expression of ethanol-induced CPP. Administration of an intermediate, but not a high, dose of ayahuasca and Bc, as well as Pv administration, in the saline-paired compartment blocked the expression of ethanol-induced CPP. The present study sheds light into the components underlying the therapeutic effects of ayahuasca on ethanol abuse, indicating that ayahuasca and its plant components can decrease ethanol reward at doses that do not exert abuse liability. Importantly, the treatment environment seems to influence the therapeutic effects of ayahuasca and Bc, providing important insights into clinical practice.

Amphibians of Serra Bonita, southern Bahia: a new hotpoint within Brazil’s Atlantic Forest hotspot

Abstract: We studied the amphibian community of the Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (RPPN) Serra Bonita, an area of 20 km(2) with steep altitudinal gradients (200-950 m a.s.l.) located in the municipalities of Camacan and Pau-Brasil, southern Bahia State, Brazil. Data were obtained at 38 sampling sites (including ponds and transects within the forest and in streams), through active and visual and acoustic searches, pitfall traps, and opportunistic encounters. We recorded 80 amphibian species distributed in 15 families: Aromobatidae (1), Brachycephalidae (3), Bufonidae (4), Centrolenidae (2), Ceratophryidae (1), Craugastoridae (7), Eleutherodactylidae (2), Hemiphractidae (2), Hylidae (42), Hylodidae (1), Leptodactylidae (7), Microhylidae (3), Siphonopidae (1), Odontophrynidae (3) and Pipidae (1). Species richness was positively correlated with monthly rainfall. Near 36% of the species were found in strictly forest environments, 15% are endemic to Bahia State and 77.2% are endemic to the Atlantic Forest biome. The large species diversity of this small area, the high degree of endemism and the taxonomic and biogeographic significance turn the Serra Bonita mountain into a hotpoint for amphibians within Brazil's Atlantic Forest hotspot.