The oxidative metabolism of sparteine in the Cuna Amerindians of Panama: Absence of evidence for defient metabolizers

Artículo científico -- Universidad de Costa Rica. Instituto de Investigaciones en Salud, 1988Sparteine sulfate (50 mg) was administered to 170 Cuna Amerindians, 142 of whom were unrelated, and the drug and its dehydrometabolites were determined in the 0- to 12-hour urine samples. The log10 of the metabolic ratio was unimodally, but not normally, distributed and showed the following values: mean 0.21 ± 0.26, median 0.24, limits 0.73 and 0.76, skewness 1.00, and kurtosis 4.95. On the basis of these results, it can be concluded that there are no deficient metabolizers in the Cuna sample population studied. However, the similarity of the skewness found between the Cuna sample population studied and the extensive Canadian white group, as well as an inflection point at 6.3 U in the former's probit plot, suggests the existence of at least two subgroups congregating within the same single mode in the frequency distribution curve. The use of the inflection point is discussed thoroughly, concluding that although it does not allow exclusion of the existence of genotypically different subgroups, the limitations of the data do not permit its use to determine the number of heterozygotes and thus the existence of polymorphism. The possibility of an isozyme variant, consistent with the general genetic structure of Amerindians, as suggested by the coexistence of two subgroups within the unimodal curve, is entertained. (CLIN PHARmAcoL THER 1988;43:456-65.)Universidad de Costa Rica. Instituto de Investigaciones en Salud.Universidad de PanamáUniversidad de TorontoUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias de la Salud::Instituto de Investigaciones en Salud (INISA

Global distribution of two fungal pathogens threatening endangered sea turtles

This work was supported by grants of Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain (CGL2009-10032, CGL2012-32934). J.M.S.R was supported by PhD fellowship of the CSIC (JAEPre 0901804). The Natural Environment Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council supported P.V.W. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Thanks Machalilla National Park in Ecuador, Pacuare Nature Reserve in Costa Rica, Foundations Natura 2000 in Cape Verde and Equilibrio Azul in Ecuador, Dr. Jesus Muñoz, Dr. Ian Bell, Dr. Juan Patiño for help and technical support during samplingPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Exon expression in lymphoblastoid cell lines from subjects with schizophrenia before and after glucose deprivation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of glucose reduction stress on lymphoblastic cell line (LCL) gene expression in subjects with schizophrenia compared to non-psychotic relatives.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>LCLs were grown under two glucose conditions to measure the effects of glucose reduction stress on exon expression in subjects with schizophrenia compared to unaffected family member controls. A second aim of this project was to identify cis-regulated transcripts associated with diagnosis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were a total of 122 transcripts with significant diagnosis by probeset interaction effects and 328 transcripts with glucose deprivation by probeset interaction probeset effects after corrections for multiple comparisons. There were 8 transcripts with expression significantly affected by the interaction between diagnosis and glucose deprivation and probeset after correction for multiple comparisons. The overall validation rate by qPCR of 13 diagnosis effect genes identified through microarray was 62%, and all genes tested by qPCR showed concordant up- or down-regulation by qPCR and microarray. We assessed brain gene expression of five genes found to be altered by diagnosis and glucose deprivation in LCLs and found a significant decrease in expression of one gene, glutaminase, in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). One SNP with previously identified regulation by a 3' UTR SNP was found to influence IRF5 expression in both brain and lymphocytes. The relationship between the 3' UTR rs10954213 genotype and IRF5 expression was significant in LCLs (p = 0.0001), DLPFC (p = 0.007), and anterior cingulate cortex (p = 0.002).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Experimental manipulation of cells lines from subjects with schizophrenia may be a useful approach to explore stress related gene expression alterations in schizophrenia and to identify SNP variants associated with gene expression.</p

Enraizamento de corticeira-da-serra em função do tipo de estaca e variações sazonais

Erythrina falcata Benth. may be used as an ornamental plant, in rehabilitation of degraded land and as a component in agroforestry systems. However seedling production from seeds is difficult. The aim of this work was to evaluate vegetative propagation of E. falcata by using stem cuttings obtained from adult trees (softwood cuttings, hardwood cuttings and regrowth cuttings) and cuttings from seedlings collected in the four seasons of the year as well as the effect of indolebutyric acid on rooting of stem cuttings. After cutting preparation, the material was treated with an indolebutyric acid solution (IBA, 0, 1.5 and 3 g L-1). Cuttings were grown in 55-mL tapered plastic containers in a greenhouse at 25 to 30°C and relative humidity above 80%. The substrate for growing of cuttings was middle texture vermiculite. The highest percentage of rooted cuttings (73%) and root length of four longest roots (46 mm) and root number (6.2) were obtained in seedling cuttings collected in the summer. No rooting was observed in cuttings collected from softwood cuttings raised from adult trees. Cutting immersion in IBA solutions had no effect on rooting. Cuttings from seedlings collected in the summer are recommended because of their high percentage of rooting and survival

Enraizamento de estacas lenhosas de pessegueiro cv. Okinawa em diferentes diâmetros de ramos, substratos e recipientes Rooting of peach cv. Okinawa hardwood cuttings at different stem diameters, substrates, and pots

O trabalho foi desenvolvido no Departamento de Produção Vegetal - Setor Horticultura da Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas (FCA) da Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio de Mesquita Filho" (UNESP), Campus de Botucatu (SP) com o objetivo de avaliar a influência de diferentes substratos e tipos de recipientes no potencial de enraizamento de estacas lenhosas de pessegueiro cultivar Okinawa com diferentes diâmetros. As estacas foram tratadas com 2,5g L-1 de ácido indol-butírico. O período de permanência das estacas na casa de vegetação foi de 50 dias. Os tratamentos consistiram de seis substratos: areia, casca de arroz carbonizada, vermiculita, areia + casca de arroz carbonizada, areia + vermiculita e casca de arroz carbonizada + vermiculita, com as misturas na proporção 1:1v/v, três tipos de recipientes: sacos plásticos, bandejas de poliestireno expandido e bandejas plásticas e dois grupos de estacas com diâmetros diferentes: 2 a 6mm e 6 a 10mm. O melhor resultado de enraizamento foi obtido em sacos plásticos com vermiculita independente do diâmetro das estacas.<br>This work was carried out at the Department of Plant Production/Horticulture of the Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas (FCA) of the Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) located in Botucatu (SP, Brazil). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of substrate and pot type on rooting of stem hardwood cuttings of peach cultivar Okinawa with different diameters. The cuttings were treated with 2.5g L-1 of IBA. The cuttings were maintained in greenhouse for 50 days. The treatments consisted of the combination of six substrate compositions: sand, carbonized rice husk, vermiculite, sand + carbonized rice husk, sand + vermiculite, and carbonized rice husk + vermiculite, mixture at proportion 1:1v/v and three types of pots: plastic bags, polystyrene trays, plastic trays and two groups of cutting diameter: 2 to 6mm and 6 to 10mm. The highest rooting frequency was obtained with plastic bag, and vermiculite independent of cutting diameter

Seeding resilient restoration: an indicator system for the analysis of tree seed systems

Achieving multi-million-hectare commitments from countries around the world to restore degraded lands in resilient and sustainable ways requires, among other things, huge volumes of tree planting material. Seed systems encompassing all forest reproductive material (e.g., seeds, cuttings, stakes, and wildings), are key to ensuring that sufficient planting material with a diverse range of suitable species, adapted to local conditions and capable of persisting under a changing climate, is available for restoration projects. The ideal structure of a seed system integrates five components: seed selection and innovation, seed harvesting and production, market access, supply and demand, quality control, and an enabling environment. We propose 15 indicators to evaluate these key components and trial them by assessing national seed systems in 7 Latin American countries. We conclude that the indicators enable a straightforward assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of national seed systems, thus assisting governments to identify key areas for improvement and opportunities for horizontal learnin