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An aspartic proteinase precursor, herein named BYC (Boophilus Yolk pro-Cathepsin) was isolated from eggs of the hard tick, Boophilus microplus. As judged by electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide slab gel (SDS-PAGE), purified BYC presented 2 bands of 54 and 49 kDa, bearing the same NH2-terminal amino acid sequence. By Western blot analysis, BYC was also found in the haemolymph, indicating an extraovarian site of synthesis. Several organs were incubated in culture medium with [35S]methionine, and only the gut and fat body showed synthesis of BYC polypeptides. Protein sequencing of both the NH2-terminal and an internal sequence obtained after cyanogen bromide (CNBr) cleavage of BYC revealed homology with several aspartic proteinase precursors. Incubation at pH 3.5 resulted in autoproteolysis of BYC, which produced the mature form of the enzyme, that displayed pepstatin-sensitive hydrolytic activity against haemoglobin. Western blot analysis using anti-BYC monoclonal antibodies showed proteolytic processing of BYC during embryogenesis and suggested activation of the enzyme during development. A role of BYC in degradation of vitellin, the major yolk protein of tick eggs, is discussed.

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Dois mil cento e dezenove bovinos adultos pertencentes a 156 propriedades leiteiras distribuídas em 22 localizadas do município de Passo Fundo foram testados para tuberculose bovina (TB) e brucelose bovina (BB). A prevalência de anticorpos contra o vírus da diarréia viral bovina (BVDV), vírus da leucose enzoótica bovina (BLV) e herpesvírus bovino tipo 1 (BHV-1) foi estimada por amostragem aleatória em 28 dessas propriedades. Para tanto, considerou-se prevalência acima de 30% para essas infecções e intervalo de confiança de 90%, e sorteou-se 204 amostras de soro sangüíneo. Entre os 2.119 animais testados, 32 (1,51%) foram positivos para TB e 26 (1,22%) foram positivos para BB. Os exames sorológicos dos animais pertencentes às 28 propriedades indicaram animais positivos para BHV-1, BVDV e BLV em 22 (92,85%), 19 (67,85%) e 17 (60,71%) propriedades, respectivamente; 11 (39,28%) propriedades apresentaram animais soropositivos tanto para BHV-1, BVDV e BLV; em 1 (3,57%) propriedade apenas todos os animais eram soronegativos para essas infecções.

This chapter describes the application of ILCYM (Insect Life Cycle Modelling) software, which supports the development of process-oriented temperature-driven and age-stage structured insect phenology/population models. ILCYM interactively leads the user through the steps for developing insect phenology models, for conducting simulations, and for producing potential population distribution and risk mapping under current or future temperature (climate change) scenarios. The phenology model developed for the potato tuber moth Phthorimaea operculella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is used to demonstrate the resulting modelling outputs.