The effects on grain quality traits of a grain serpin protein and the VPM 1 segment in southern Australian wheat breeding

Trabalho final do 6º ano médico com vista à atribuição do Grau de Mestre no âmbito do ciclo de estudos de mestrado integrado em medicina da Faculdade de Medicina de Coimbra.Introdução: Estudos prévios estabeleceram que até 12% dos doentes com enfarte agudo do miocárdio não demonstravam lesão coronária aparente ao exame angiográfico. Contudo, existe muito pouca informação disponível acerca deste fenómeno em enfartes agudos do miocárdio sem elevação do segmento ST. O objectivo deste estudo foi avaliar uma população de doentes com esse diagnóstico sujeitos a angiografia coronária, analisando e comparando as características clínicas e os prognósticos entre os que não revelaram lesão coronária aparente e os que apresentavam doença coronária epicárdica. Métodos: O nosso estudo avaliou 270 doentes com enfarte agudo do miocárdio sem elevação do segmento ST que foram sujeitos a angiografia coronária nas primeiras 72 horas de enfarte. Foram valorizadas as características demográficas, clínicas, parâmetros analíticos, achados electrocardiográficos, fracção de ejecção ventricular esquerda, duração do internamento e prognóstico.Previous studies established that up to 12% of patients with acute myocardial infarction did not present coronary atherosclerotic disease demonstrable with angiographic exam. However, little information is available about this phenomenon in acute non-STelevation myocardial infarction. We examined a population of patients with this diagnosis who had undergone coronary angiography, assessing and comparing the clinical characteristics and prognosis between the subset of patients with angiographically normal coronary arteries and the subset of patients with coronary disease

Resistance to the cereal cyst nematode (Heterodera avenae) transferred from the wild grass Aegilops ventricosa to hexaploid wheat by a "stepping-stone" procedure

Transfer of resistance toHeterodera avenae, the cereal cyst nematode (CCN), by a stepping-stoneprocedure from the wild grassAegilops ventricosa to hexaploid wheat has been demonstrated. The number of nematodes per plant was lower, and reached a plateau much earlier, in the resistant introgression line H93-8 (1–2 nematodes per plant) than in the recipient H10-15 wheat (14–16 nematodes per plant). Necrosis (hypersensitive reaction) near the nematode, little cell fusion, and few, often degraded syncytia were observed in infested H93-8 roots, while abundant, well-formed syncytia were present in the susceptible H10-15 wheat. Line H93-8 was highly resistant to the two Spanish populations tested, as well as the four French races (Fr1-Fr4), and the British pathotype Hall, but was susceptible to the Swedish pathotypes HgI and HgIII. Resistance was inherited as though determined by a single quasi-dominant factor in the F2 generations resulting from crosses of H93-8 with H10-15 and with Loros, a resistant wheat carrying the geneCre1 (syn.Ccn1). The resistance gene in H93-8 (Cre2 orCcn2) is not allelic with respect to that in Loros. RFLPs and other markers, together with the cytogenetical evidence, indicate that theCre2 gene has been integrated into a wheat chromosome without affecting its meiotic pairing ability. Introduction ofCre2 by backcrossing into a commercial wheat backgroud increases grain yield when under challenge by the nematode and is not detrimental in the absence of infestation

How Many Scientists Fabricate and Falsify Research? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Survey Data

The frequency with which scientists fabricate and falsify data, or commit other forms of scientific misconduct is a matter of controversy. Many surveys have asked scientists directly whether they have committed or know of a colleague who committed research misconduct, but their results appeared difficult to compare and synthesize. This is the first meta-analysis of these surveys

Validation of the Spanish version of the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS)

BACKGROUND: Boredom, which is a common problem in the general population, has been associated with several psychiatric disorders. The Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS) was developed, based on a theoretically and empirically grounded definition of boredom, to assess this construct. The aim of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Spanish validated version of the MSBS in a multi-age sample recruited from the general population. METHODS: The patients (N = 303) were recruited from primary care settings. In addition to the sociodemographic variables and the MSBS, the General Health Questionnaire 28 items (GHQ-28), Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), Negative subscale and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) were administered. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to analyse the dimensionality of the MSBS. Cronbach’s α coefficient was used to analyse the internal consistency of the scale. The consistency of the MSBS over time (test-retest reliability) was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient. The construct validity was examined by calculating Pearson’s r correlations between the MSBS with theoretically related and unrelated constructs. Cronbach’s α for MSBS was 0.89 (95 % CI, 0.87–0.92), ranging from 0.75 to 0.83 for the 5 subscales. RESULTS: The characteristics of the final sample (N = 303) were that the participants were primarily female (66.77 %) with a mean age of 49.32 years (SD, 11.46) and primarily European (94.71 %). The CFA of the MSBS confirmed that the original five-factor model showed good fit indices: CFI = .96; GFI = .94; SRMR = .05; and RMSEA = .06 [.05–.08]. Cronbach’s α for MSBS was 0.89 (95 % CI, 0.87–0.92), ranging from 0.75 to 0.83 for the 5 subscales. The MSBS showed a test-retest coefficient measured with an ICC of 0.90 (95 % CI, 0.88–0.92). The ICC for the 5 subscales ranged from 0.81 to 0.89. The MSBS showed a significant negative correlation with MAAS and a significant positive correlation with the GHQ (total score and subscales) and PANAS-Negative Affect. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the MSBS has been validated as a reliable instrument for measuring boredom in the general population. This study will facilitate the assessment of boredom for clinical and research purposes in Spanish-speaking populations

Diet supplementation for 5 weeks with polyphenol-rich cereals improves several functions and the redox state of mouse leucocytes

BACKGROUND: Cereals naturally contain a great variety of polyphenols, which exert a wide range of physiological effects both in vitro and in vivo. Many of their protective effects, including an improvement of the function and redox state of immune cells in unhealthy or aged subjects come from their properties as powerful antioxidant compounds. However, whether cereal-based dietary supplementation positively affects the immune function and cellular redox state of healthy subjects remains unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the effects of supplementation (20% wt/wt) for 5 weeks with four different cereal fractions on healthy mice. METHODS: Several parameters of function and redox state of peritoneal leukocytes were measured. The cereals, named B (wheat germ), C (buckwheat flour), D (fine rice bran) and E (wheat middlings) contained different amounts of gallic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, sinapic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, quercetin, catechin, rutin and oryzanol as major polyphenols. RESULTS: In general, all cereal fractions caused an improvement of the leukocyte parameters studied such as chemotaxis capacity, microbicidal activity, lymphoproliferative response to mitogens, interleukin-2 (IL-2) and tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) release, as well as oxidized glutathione (GSSG), GSSG/GSH ratio, catalase (CAT) activity and lipid oxidative damage. We observed similar effects among the cereal fractions. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that some of these effects may due, at least partially, to the antioxidant activity of the polyphenols naturally present in cereals. Since an appropriate function of the leukocytes has been proposed as marker of the health state, a short-term intake of cereals seems to be sufficient to exert a benefit in the health of the general population. However, further studies are needed to assess the optimal doses and to find out which active polyphenols are able to mediate the observed physiological effects before recommending their regular consumption

When the going gets tough the beautiful get going: aesthetic appeal facilitates task performance.

The current studies examined the effect of aesthetic appeal on performance. According to one hypothesis, appeal would lead to overall decrements or enhancements in performance [e.g. Sonderegger & Sauer, (Applied Ergonomics, 41, 403-410, 2010)]. Alternatively, appeal might influence performance only in problem situations, such as when the task is difficult [e.g. Norman, (2004)]. The predictions of these hypotheses were examined in the context of an icon search-and-localisation task. Icons were used because they are well-defined stimuli and pervasive to modern everyday life. When search was made difficult using visually complex stimuli (Experiment 1), or abstract and unfamiliar stimuli (Experiment 2), icons that were appealing were found more quickly than their unappealing counterparts. These findings show that in a low-level visual processing task, with demand characteristics related to appeal eliminated, appeal can influence performance, especially under duress

Gene expression of NMDA receptor subunits in the cerebellum of elderly patients with schizophrenia

To determine if NMDA receptor alterations are present in the cerebellum in schizophrenia, we measured NMDA receptor binding and gene expression of the NMDA receptor subunits in a post-mortem study of elderly patients with schizophrenia and non-affected subjects. Furthermore, we assessed influence of genetic variation in the candidate gene neuregulin-1 (NRG1) on the expression of the NMDA receptor in an exploratory study. Post-mortem samples from the cerebellar cortex of ten schizophrenic patients were compared with nine normal subjects. We investigated NMDA receptor binding by receptor autoradiography and gene expression of the NMDA receptor subunits NR1, NR2A, NR2B, NR2C and NR2D by in situ hybridization. For the genetic study, we genotyped the NRG1 polymorphism rs35753505 (SNP8NRG221533). Additionally, we treated rats with the antipsychotics haloperidol or clozapine and assessed cerebellar NMDA receptor binding and gene expression of subunits to examine the effects of antipsychotic treatment. Gene expression of the NR2D subunit was increased in the right cerebellum of schizophrenic patients compared to controls. Individuals carrying at least one C allele of rs35753505 (SNP8NRG221533) showed decreased expression of the NR2C subunit in the right cerebellum, compared to individuals homozygous for the T allele. Correlation with medication parameters and the animal model revealed no treatment effects. In conclusion, increased NR2D expression results in a hyperexcitable NMDA receptor suggesting an adaptive effect due to receptor hypofunction. The decreased NR2C expression in NRG1 risk variant may cause a deficit in NMDA receptor function. This supports the hypothesis of an abnormal glutamatergic neurotransmission in the right cerebellum in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia

The Solar Orbiter magnetometer

The magnetometer instrument on the Solar Orbiter mission is designed to measure the magnetic field local to the spacecraft continuously for the entire mission duration. The need to characterise not only the background magnetic field but also its variations on scales from far above to well below the proton gyroscale result in challenging requirements on stability, precision, and noise, as well as magnetic and operational limitations on both the spacecraft and other instruments. The challenging vibration and thermal environment has led to significant development of the mechanical sensor design. The overall instrument design, performance, data products, and operational strategy are described

Alcohol affects the emotional modulation of cognitive control: an event-related brain potential study

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to determine whether alcohol affects the emotional modulation of cognitive control and its underlying neural mechanisms, which is pivotal to an understanding of the socially maladaptive behaviors frequently seen in alcohol-intoxicated individuals. METHOD: Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded in male participants receiving either a moderate dose of alcohol (0.65 g/kg alcohol; n = 32) or a non-alcoholic placebo beverage (n = 32) while performing an emotional Go/No-Go task that required response execution (Go trials) to pictures of a “target” emotional facial expression (angry, happy, neutral) and response inhibition (No-Go trials) to a different “non-target” expression. RESULTS: Overall, N200 and P300 amplitudes were more enhanced during No-Go than Go trials. Interestingly, alcohol-intoxicated individuals displayed larger No-Go N200 amplitudes across all emotional conditions than controls, accompanied by decreased task performance (i.e., more errors), particularly in response to angry faces. P300 amplitude in the alcohol group was significantly reduced for both Go and No-Go trials, but only following angry and happy emotional expressions. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that alcohol-intoxicated individuals need to effortfully activate more cognitive resources during the early inhibition process in order to regulate a response than controls. Moreover, alcohol affected the emotional modulation of both response inhibition and execution in the later stages of cognitive control. Alcohol dampened emotional responsiveness, which may restrict the availability of attentional resources for cognitive control. Yet, these findings may underlie the lack of control in alcohol-intoxicated individuals when faced with emotionally or socially challenging situations