Recursos genéticos de espécies frutíferas nativas da Amazônia Brasileira

This article presents the history of the institutional organizations responsable for the study of fruit genetic resources indigenous to the Amazon. The past and present priority lists of CPATU/EMBRAPA, FCAP, INPA/ CNPq, UEPAE/EMBRAPA, CNPMF/EMBRAPA, CEPLAC, CNPSD/EMBRAPA and EPACE are presented, together with the species lists of the germplasm collections and germplasm banks maintained by each institution, as well as discussion of each institution's immediate intentions for the expansion of these studies. Most of the species that appear in the priority list as indigenous to Amazonia are then considered with more detail, as well as several others with eventual economic potential. The uses of these fruits are mentioned and references are made in relation to the threat of genetic erosion faced by each species. The importance of Palmae germplasm is emphasized. General considerations are made about the status of efforts for collecting and conservation of these valuable genetic resources With special reference to the work of CENARGEN/EMBRAPA, about general and specific threats of genetic erosion in the region and some suggestions are made on the strategy for saving these genetic resources.", 'enEste artigo reúne parte dos estudos com recursos genéticos das espécies frutíferas indígenas da Amazônia. Apresentam-se listas de prioridades históricas e atuais de cada instituição que se dedica à pesquisa com estas espécies, as listas das coleções e os bancos de germoplasma de cada instituição e suas possibilidades imediatas para expandir estas pesquisas. Apresentam-se algumas informações sobre diversas espécies prioritárias, comentários sobre o respectivo potencial económico e algumas considerações sobre a ameaça de erosão genética que cada uma enfrenta. Discute-se a situação atual da prospecção e conservação de germoplasma de espécies frutíferas nativas da região Amazônica e apresentam-se sugestões para conservação destes recursos genéticos

Exposure of patients to di(2-ethylhexy)phthalate (DEHP) and its metabolite MEHP during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy

The plasticizer di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) is often used for PVC medical devices, that are also largely used for intensive care medical treatments, like extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy. Due to the toxicological potential of DEHP, the inner exposure of patients with this plasticizer is a strong matter of concern as many studies have shown a high leaching potential of DEHP into blood. In this study, the inner DEHP exposure of patients undergoing ECMO treatment was investigated. The determined DEHP blood levels of ECMO patients and the patients of the control group ranged from 31.5 to 1009 μg/L (median 156.0 μg/L) and from 19.4 to 75.3 μg/L (median 36.4 μg/L), respectively. MEHP blood levels were determined to range from < LOD to 475 μg/L (median 15.9 μg/L) in ECMO patients and from < LOD to 9.9 μg/L (median 3.7 μg/L) in the control group patients, respectively. Increased DEHP exposure was associated with the number of cannulas and membranes of the ECMO setting, whereas residual diuresis decreased the exposure. Due to the suspected toxicological potential of DEHP, its use in medical devices should be further investigated, in particular for ICU patients with long-term exposure to PVC, like in ECMO therapy

FISH analysis of PTEN in endometrial carcinoma. Comparison with SNP arrays and MLPA

Aims: To check the usefulness of a standardized protocol of PTEN FISH in 31 endometrial carcinomas (ECs) in comparison with SNP array (SNPA), multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA), and immunohistochemistry. Methods and results: Fluorescence in-situ hybridization analysis showed two PTEN copies in 17 cases, three copies in nine cases, hemizygous deletion in two cases, and diverse cell populations with different PTEN copy number in three cases. A good correlation was seen between FISH and SNPA, particularly in cases with three copies. FISH identified two cases with entire deletion of chromosome 10, but did not identify a focal deletion of PTEN. Five cases with PTEN deletion and duplication of the second allele by SNPA were interpreted as normal by FISH. Concordance between FISH and MLPA was seen in 15 cases with two copies, and in two cases with PTEN deletion. Six cases were interpreted as amplified by MLPA, but showed polyploidy by FISH. FISH was superior to SNPA and MLPA in assessing the tumours with diverse cell populations with different PTEN copies. Conclusions: The results show good concordance between FISH, SNPA and MLPA. SNPA was superior in tumours with deletion of one copy and duplication of the second allele. FISH was superior in assessing tumour heterogeneity.The study was supported by a research agreement with Dako, Denmark. The research team was also supported by grants FIS PI100922, Fundacion Mutua Madrilena AP75732010, 2009SGR794, RD12/0036/ ~ 0013, Fundacion Asociaci on Espa nola contra el Can- ~ cer, Programa de Intensificacion de la Investigaci on, Instituto Carlos III, Verelst Baarmoederkankerfonds, Leuven, and ENITEC (European Network for Individualized Treatment of Endometrial Carcinoma). F. Amant is senior researcher for the research fund Flandersb (FWO). Tumour samples were obtained with the support of Xarxa Catalana de Bancs de Tumours, and Plataforma de Biobancos ISCIII (PT13/ 0010/0014)

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file