161 research outputs found
Genetic evaluation of Hevea brasiliensis [(Willd ex Adr. de Juss.) MĂŒell. Arg.] for juvenile vigour using the Reml/Blup method.
This paper intended to estimate genetic values and parameters for plant height, diameter at the base of the plant and leaf-storey number of rubber tree [Hevea brasiliensis (Willd ex Adr. de Juss.) MĂŒell, Arg.] halfsib progenies using the mĂxed-model methodology (Reml/Blup procedure). The rubber tree progenies were obtained from a second generation population produced from the recombination of 30 original parents, pertaining to the Instituto AgronĂŽmico de Campinas (IAC) in SĂŁo Paulo state. At the age of eight months the variables were evaluated. Results demonstrated the existence of significant genetic variability among the progenies for the studied traits. The estimates of the heritability coefficient showed moderate values for both height and leaf-storey number, and low values for plant diameter at the base of the plant. There are good possibilities of genetic gain for these main traits in the context of the improvement program that was started in Mato Grosso do Sul state
In silico Drug Repurposing for COVID-19: Targeting SARS-CoV-2 Proteins through Docking and Consensus Ranking
In December 2019, an infectious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 appeared in Wuhan, China. This disease (COVID-19) spread rapidly worldwide, and on March 2020 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Today, over 21 million people have been infected, with more than 750.000 casualties. Today, no vaccine or antiviral drug is available. While the development of a vaccine might take at least a year, and for a novel drug, even longer; finding a new use to an old drug (drug repurposing) could be the most effective strategy. We present a docking-based screening using a quantum mechanical scoring of a library built from approved drugs and compounds undergoing clinical trials, against three SARS-CoV-2 target proteins: the spike or S-protein, and two proteases, the main protease and the papain-like protease. The S-protein binds directly to the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 receptor of the human host cell surface, while the two proteases process viral polyproteins. Following the analysis of our structure-based compound screening, we propose several structurally diverse compounds (either FDA-approved or in clinical trials) that could display antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. Clearly, these compounds should be further evaluated in experimental assays and clinical trials to confirm their actual activity against the disease. We hope that these findings may contribute to the rational drug design against COVID-19.Fil: Cavasotto, Claudio Norberto. Universidad Austral. Facultad de Ciencias BiomĂ©dicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Oficina de CoordinaciĂłn Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional; ArgentinaFil: Di Filippo, Juan Ignacio. Universidad Austral. Facultad de Ciencias BiomĂ©dicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Oficina de CoordinaciĂłn Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional; Argentin
Avaliação genĂ©tica de progĂȘnies de Leucaena leucocephala [(Lam.) De Wit] em ĂĄrea da reserva indĂgena, em CaparaĂł, MS.
O presente trabalho objetivou estimar parĂąmetros genĂ©ticos e avaliar o desempenho das progĂȘnies (linhagens) de Leucena leucocephala [(Lam.) De Wit], com vistas Ă seleção do melhor material genĂ©tico, para uso em diversos sistemas de produção. Trinta linhagens foram plantadas em forma de teste de progĂȘnie na Reserva IndĂgena KaiowĂĄ e Guarani, em CaarapĂł/MS, sob delineamento de blocos ao acaso, com cinco repetiçÔes e dez plantas por parcela. Aos 13 meses de idade, foram avaliados os caracteres: altura total da planta e diĂąmetro do coleto. Os resultados demonstraram haver baixa variabilidade genĂ©tica para os caracteres estudados, o que sugere que as 30 progĂȘnies podem ser oriundas de uma ou poucas linhagens ou cultivares. As estimativas de herdabilidades individuais foram de baixas magnitudes (3,38% a 5,13%) para os caracteres estudados. As herdabilidades da mĂ©dia de linhagens apresentaram moderadas magnitudes e podem proporcionar progressos genĂ©ticos considerĂĄveis em resposta Ă seleção. Os resultados obtidos permitiram identificar as 4 melhores linhagens, porĂ©m para a continuidade do programa de melhoramento Ă© necessĂĄrio ampliar a base genĂ©tica do material
Photometric Redshifts of Galaxies in COSMOS
We measure photometric redshifts and spectral types for galaxies in the
COSMOS survey. We use template fitting technique combined with luminosity
function priors and with the option to simultaneously estimate dust extinction
(i.e. E(B-V)) for each galaxy.Our estimated redshifts are accurate to i<25 and
z~1.2.
Using simulations with sampling and noise characteristics similar to those in
COSMOS, the accuracy and reliability is estimated for the photometric redshifts
as a function of the magnitude limits of the sample, S/N ratios and the number
of bands used. From the simulations we find that the ratio of derived 95%
confidence interval in the redshift probability distribution to the estimated
photometric redshift (D95) can be used to identify and exclude the catastrophic
failures in the photometric redshift estimates.
We compare the derived redshifts with high-reliability spectroscopic
redshifts for a sample of 868 normal galaxies with z < 1.2 from zCOSMOS.
Considering different scenarios, depending on using prior, no prior and/or
extinction, we compare the photometric and spectroscopic redshifts for this
sample. This corresponds to an rms scatter of 0.031, with a small number of
outliers (<2.5%). We also find good agreement (rms=0.10) between photometric
and spectroscopic redshifts for Type II AGNs.
We compare results from our photometric redshift procedure with three other
independent codes and find them in excellent agreement. We show preliminary
results, based on photometric redshifts for the entire COSMOS sample (to i < 25
mag.).Comment: 38 pages; 14 Figures; 7 Tables. Accepted for Publication in ApJS.
COSMOS Special Issu
The XMM-Newton Wide-Field Survey in the COSMOS field (XMM-COSMOS): demography and multiwavelength properties of obscured and unobscured luminous AGN
We report the final optical identifications of the medium-depth (~60 ksec),
contiguous (2 deg^2) XMM-Newton survey of the COSMOS field. XMM-Newton has
detected ~800 X-ray sources down to limiting fluxes of ~5x10^{-16},
~3x10^{-15}, and ~7x10^{-15} erg/cm2/s in the 0.5-2 keV, 2-10 keV and 5-10 keV
bands, respectively. The work is complemented by an extensive collection of
multi-wavelength data from 24 micron to UV, available from the COSMOS survey,
for each of the X-ray sources, including spectroscopic redshifts for ~50% of
the sample, and high-quality photometric redshifts for the rest. The XMM and
multiwavelength flux limits are well matched: 1760 (98%) of the X-ray sources
have optical counterparts, 1711 (~95%) have IRAC counterparts, and 1394 (~78%)
have MIPS 24micron detections. Thanks to the redshift completeness (almost
100%) we were able to constrain the high-luminosity tail of the X-ray
luminosity function confirming that the peak of the number density of
logL_X>44.5 AGN is at z~2. Spectroscopically-identified obscured and unobscured
AGN, as well as normal and starforming galaxies, present well-defined optical
and infrared properties. We devised a robust method to identify a sample of
~150 high redshift (z>1), obscured AGN candidates for which optical
spectroscopy is not available. We were able to determine that the fraction of
the obscured AGN population at the highest (L_X>10^{44} erg s^{-1}) X-ray
luminosity is ~15-30% when selection effects are taken into account, providing
an important observational constraint for X-ray background synthesis. We
studied in detail the optical spectrum and the overall spectral energy
distribution of a prototypical Type 2 QSO, caught in a stage transitioning from
being starburst dominated to AGN dominated, which was possible to isolate only
thanks to the combination of X-ray and infrared observations.Comment: ApJ, in press. 59 pages, 14 figures, 2 Tables. A few typos corrected
and a reference added. Table 2 is also available at
http://www.mpe.mpg.de/XMMCosmos/xmm53_release ; a version of the paper in ApJ
format (27 pages) is available at
http://www.mpe.mpg.de/XMMCosmos/xmm53_release/brusa_xmmcosmos_optid.pd
The 10k zCOSMOS: morphological transformation of galaxies in the group environment since z~1
We study the evolution of galaxies inside and outside of the group
environment since z=1 using a large well defined set of groups and galaxies
from the zCOSMOS-bright redshift survey in the COSMOS field. The fraction of
galaxies with early-type morphologies increases monotonically with M_B
luminosity and stellar mass and with cosmic epoch. It is higher in the groups
than elsewhere, especially at later epochs. The emerging environmental effect
is superposed on a strong global mass-driven evolution, and at z~0.5 and
log(M*/Msol)~10.2, the "effect" of group environment is equivalent to (only)
about 0.2 dex in stellar mass or 2 Gyr in time. The stellar mass function of
galaxies in groups is enriched in massive galaxies. We directly determine the
transformation rates from late to early morphologies, and for transformations
involving colour and star formation indicators. The transformation rates are
systematically about twice as high in the groups as outside, or up to 3-4 times
higher correcting for infall and the appearance of new groups. The rates reach
values, for masses around the crossing mass 10^10.5 Msol, as high as
(0.3-0.7)/Gyr in the groups, implying transformation timescales of 1.4-3 Gyr,
compared with less than 0.2/Gyr, i.e. timescales >5 Gyr, outside of groups. All
three transformation rates decrease at higher stellar masses, and must decrease
also at the lower masses below 10^10 Msol which we cannot well probe. The rates
involving colour and star formation are consistently higher than those for
morphology, by a factor of about 50%. Our conclusion is that the
transformations which drive the evolution of the overall galaxy population
since z~1 must occur at a rate 2-4 times higher in groups than outside of them.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures, submitted to Ap
Dexketoprofen/tramadol: randomised double-blind trial and confirmation of empirical theory of combination analgesics in acute pain
Background: Combination analgesics are effective in acute pain, and a theoretical framework predicts efficacy for combinations. The combination of dexketoprofen and tramadol is untested, but predicted to be highly effective. Methods: This was a randomised, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, single-dose trial in patients with moderate or severe pain following third molar extraction. There were ten treatment arms, including dexketoprofen trometamol (12.5 mg and 25 mg) and tramadol hydrochloride (37.5 mg and 75 mg), given as four different fixed combinations and single components, with ibuprofen 400 mg as active control as well as a placebo control. The study objective was to evaluate the superior analgesic efficacy and safety of each combination and each single agent versus placebo. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with at least 50 % max TOTPAR over six hours. Results: 606 patients were randomised and provided at least one post-dose assessment. All combinations were significantly better than placebo. The highest percentage of responders (72 %) was achieved in the dexketoprofen trometamol 25 mg plus tramadol hydrochloride 75 mg group (NNT 1.6, 95 % confidence interval 1.3 to 2.1). Addition of tramadol to dexketoprofen resulted in greater peak pain relief and greater pain relief over the longer term, particularly at times longer than six hours (median duration of 8.1 h). Adverse events were unremarkable. Conclusions: Dexketoprofen trometamol 25 mg combined with tramadol hydrochloride 75 mg provided good analgesia with rapid onset and long duration in a model of moderate to severe pain. The results of the dose finding study are consistent with pre-trial calculations based on empirical formulae
Genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms related to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
Pharmacological treatment of several diseases, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), presents marked variability in efficiency and its adverse effects. The genotyping of specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can support the prediction of responses to drugs and the genetic risk of presenting comorbidities associated with ADHD. This study presents two rapid and affordable microarray-based strategies to discriminate three clinically important SNPs in genes ADRA2A, SL6CA2, and OPRM1 (rs1800544, rs5569, and rs1799971, respectively). These approaches are allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization (ASO) and a combination of allele-specific amplification (ASA) and solid-phase hybridization. Buccal swab and blood samples taken from ADHD patients and controls were analyzed by ASO, ASA, and a gold-reference method. The results indicated that ASA is superior in genotyping capability and analytical performance.This research has been funded through projects FEDER MINECO INNPACTO IPT-2011-1132-010000, CTQ/2013/45875R, and PrometeoII/2014/040 (GVA).Tortajada-Genaro, LA.; Mena-MollĂĄ, S.; Niñoles Rodenes, R.; Puigmule, M.; Viladevall, L.; Maquieira Catala, Ă. (2016). Genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms related to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. 408(9):2339-2345. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9332-3S233923454089Cortese S. The neurobiology and genetics of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): what every clinician should know. Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 2012;16:422â33.Contini V, Rovaris DL, Victor MM, Grevet EH, Rohde LA, Bau CH. Pharmacogenetics of response to methylphenidate in adult patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a systematic review. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2013;23:555â60.Gardiner SJ, Begg EJ. 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