The impact of polymorphic variations in the 5p15, 6p12, 6p21 and 15q25 loci on the risk and prognosis of Portuguese patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Polymorphic variants in the 5p15, 6p12, 6p21, and 15q25 loci were demonstrated to potentially contribute to lung cancer carcinogenesis. Therefore, this study was performed to assess the role of those variants in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) risk and prognosis in a Portuguese population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blood from patients with NSCLC was prospectively collected. To perform an association study, DNA from these patients and healthy controls were genotyped for a panel of 19 SNPs using a Sequenom® MassARRAY platform. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to assess the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). RESULTS: One hundred and forty-four patients with NSCLC were successfully consecutively genotyped for the 19 SNPs. One SNP was associated with NSCLC risk: rs9295740 G/A. Two SNPs were associated with non-squamous histology: rs3024994 (VEGF intron 2) T/C and rs401681 C/T. Three SNPs were associated with response rate: rs3025035 (VEGF intron 7) C/T, rs833061 (VEGF -460) C/T and rs9295740 G/A. One SNP demonstrated an influence on PFS: rs401681 C/T at 5p15, p?=?0.021. Four SNPs demonstrated an influence on OS: rs2010963 (VEGF +405 G/C), p?=?0.042; rs3025010 (VEGF intron 5 C/T), p?=?0.047; rs401681 C/T at 5p15, p?=?0.046; and rs31489 C/A at 5p15, p?=?0.029. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that SNPs in the 6p12, 6p21, and 5p15 loci may serve as risk, predictive and prognostic NSCLC biomarkers. In the future, SNPs identified in the genomes of patients may improve NSCLC screening strategies and therapeutic management as well.This project was supported by Programa Doutoral em Medicina e Oncologia Molecular, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal and University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Diversidade de Parasitóides (Hymenoptera: Braconidae e Figitidae) de larvas frugívoras (Diptera: Tephritidae e Lonchaeidae) na Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke, Amazônia Ocidental, Manaus, Brasil

This study aimed to identify parasitoid species of frugivorous larvae and to describe the tritrophic interactions involving wild fruits, frugivorous insects and their natural enemies at Adolpho Ducke Forest Reserve (RFAD) (Manaus, AM, Brazil). Collections were performed in four 1 km2 quadrants in the corners of the RFAD. The wild fruits were collected inside the forest in access trails leading to each collection area and in trails that surrounded the quadrants, up to five metres from the trail on each side. The fruits were placed in plastic containers covered with thin fabric, with a vermiculite layer on the base to allow the emergence of flies or parasitoids. Seven Braconidae species were collected, distributed among Opiinae: Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti, 1911), Utetes anastrephae (Viereck, 1913), and Opius sp., and Alysiinae: Asobara anastrephae (Muesebeck, 1958), Phaenocarpa pericarpa Wharton and Carrejo, 1999, Idiasta delicata Papp, 1969, and Asobara sp. Parasitism rates by braconids and figitids are presented. Doryctobracon areolatus was the most frequent, parasitizing the highest number of fly species, and showing the highest parasitism percentage in larvae feeding on Micropholis williamii fruits. The collected figitids belong to Aganaspis nordlanderi Wharton, 1998 and A. pelleranoi (Brethes, 1924). All 15 tritrophic associations are new records for the Brazilian Amazon region. The RFAD is an important natural reservoir of frugivorous larvae parasitoids

Malandragem and Ginga: Socio-cultural constraints on the development of expertise and skills in Brazilian football

In an ecological dynamics rationale, the development of expertise in sports is shaped by interactions of personal, task and environmental constraints. A notable outcome of this process is the distinctive performance styles of athletes shaped by socio-cultural-historical constraints. To understand this process, we examined the role of socio-cultural constraints shaping the development of skill in Brazilian football players at the macrosystem level. A range of data sources were inductively generated and analysed through the qualitative interpretative paradigm, including historical contextual analysis, participant observation, and unstructured interviews. Malandragem (i.e., cunning) emerged as a major focus and our findings suggested that behavioural characteristics, such as mischief and deception, are common attributes valued by many elite Brazilian footballers. Our analysis suggests how the value system of Malandragem is a product of the socio-cultural constraints primarily influenced by the Mulattos’ cultural traditions, historically interacting with particular socio-economic conditions. In Brazil, Malandragem can manifest itself through the Ginga (i.e., body sway) playing style in which footballers move deceptively to gain competitive advantages over opponents. Whilst the theatrical antics of contemporary Malandros (i.e., tricksters and/or streetwise persons), such as Neymar Junior, are frowned upon by many football critics, we argue that some aspects of being Malandro may be contributing to the development of a high level of perceptual-motor and cognitive functioning that has underpinned the Ginga playing style in Brazilian football for many decades