Microsatellite Markers For Urochloa Humidicola (poaceae) And Their Transferability To Other Urochloa Species

Background: Urochloa humidicola is a warm-season grass commonly used as forage in the tropics and is recognized for its tolerance to seasonal flooding. This grass is an important forage species for the Cerrado and Amazon regions of Brazil. U. humidicola is a polyploid species with variable ploidy (6X-9X) and facultative apomixis with high phenotypic plasticity. However, this apomixis and ploidy, as well as the limited knowledge of the genetic basis of the germplasm collection, have constrained genetic breeding activities, yet microsatellite markers may enable a better understanding of the species' genetic composition. This study aimed to develop and characterize new polymorphic microsatellite molecular markers in U. humidicola and to evaluate their transferability to other Urochloa species. Findings: A set of microsatellite markers for U. humidicola was identified from two new enriched genomic DNA libraries: the first library was constructed from a single sexual genotype and the second from a pool of eight apomictic genotypes selected on the basis of previous results. Of the 114 loci developed, 72 primer pairs presented a good amplification product, and 64 were polymorphic among the 34 genotypes tested. The number of bands per simple sequence repeat (SSR) locus ranged from 1 to 29, with a mean of 9.6 bands per locus. The mean polymorphism information content (PIC) of all loci was 0.77, and the mean discrimination power (DP) was 0.87. STRUCTURE analysis revealed differences among U. humidicola accessions, hybrids, and other Urochloa accessions. The transferability of these microsatellites was evaluated in four species of the genus, U. brizantha, U. decumbens, U. ruziziensis, and U. dictyoneura, and the percentage of transferability ranged from 58.33% to 69.44% depending on the species. Conclusions: This work reports new polymorphic microsatellite markers for U. humidicola that can be used for breeding programs of this and other Urochloa species, including genetic linkage mapping, quantitative trait loci identification, and marker-assisted selection.

Climatic vulnerabilities and ecological preferences of soil invertebrates across biomes.

Unlike plants and vertebrates, the ecological preferences, and potential vulnerabilities of soil invertebrates to environmental change, remain poorly understood in terrestrial ecosystems globally. We conducted a cross-biome survey including 83 locations across six continents to advance our understanding of the ecological preferences and vulnerabilities of the diversity of dominant and functionally important soil invertebrate taxa, including nematodes, arachnids and rotifers. The diversity of invertebrates was analyzed through amplicon sequencing. Vegetation and climate drove the diversity and dominant taxa of soil invertebrates. Our results suggest that declines in forest cover and plant diversity, and reductions in plant production associated with increases in aridity, can result in reductions of the diversity of soil invertebrates in a drier and more managed world. We further developed global atlases of the diversity of these important soil invertebrates, which were cross-validated using an independent database. Our study advances the current knowledge of the ecological preferences and vulnerabilities of the diversity and presence of functionally important soil invertebrates in soils from across the globe. This information is fundamental for improving and prioritizing conservation efforts of soil genetic resources and management policies

Microsatellite markers for urochloa Humidicola (poaceae) and their transferability to other urochloa species

Urochloa humidicola is a warm-season grass commonly used as forage in the tropics and is recognized for its tolerance to seasonal flooding. This grass is an important forage species for the Cerrado and Amazon regions of Brazil. U. humidicola is a polyploid species with variable ploidy (6X-9X) and facultative apomixis with high phenotypic plasticity. However, this apomixis and ploidy, as well as the limited knowledge of the genetic basis of the germplasm collection, have constrained genetic breeding activities, yet microsatellite markers may enable a better understanding of the species' genetic composition. This study aimed to develop and characterize new polymorphic microsatellite molecular markers in U. humidicola and to evaluate their transferability to other Urochloa species. Findings: A set of microsatellite markers for U. humidicola was identified from two new enriched genomic DNA libraries: the first library was constructed from a single sexual genotype and the second from a pool of eight apomictic genotypes selected on the basis of previous results. Of the 114 loci developed, 72 primer pairs presented a good amplification product, and 64 were polymorphic among the 34 genotypes tested. The number of bands per simple sequence repeat (SSR) locus ranged from 1 to 29, with a mean of 9.6 bands per locus. The mean polymorphism information content (PIC) of all loci was 0.77, and the mean discrimination power (DP) was 0.87. STRUCTURE analysis revealed differences among U. humidicola accessions, hybrids, and other Urochloa accessions. The transferability of these microsatellites was evaluated in four species of the genus, U. brizantha, U. decumbens, U. ruziziensis, and U. dictyoneura, and the percentage of transferability ranged from 58.33% to 69.44% depending on the species. Conclusions: This work reports new polymorphic microsatellite markers for U. humidicola that can be used for breeding programs of this and other Urochloa species, including genetic linkage mapping, quantitative trait loci identification, and marker-assisted selection8

Parent's reports of lexical and grammatical aspects of toddlers's language in European Portuguese: developmental trends, age and gender differences

The results from a large-scale study on toddlers’ language acquisition in European Portuguese are presented. Toddlers’ lexical and grammatical competencies were assessed using the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventory: Words and Sentences. The results, based on 3012 reports completed by parents, indicate an increase in the lexical size and on five measures of grammatical development (production of regular morphology, irregular morphology, over-regularizations, mean length of utterances and sentence complexity) across age groups. A main effect of gender was found for lexical size, production of regular and irregular morphology, production of over-regularizations and sentence complexity, with girls obtaining overall higher scores than boys. All lexical and grammatical development measures are positively correlated, even after controlling for age and gender effects. These findings are discussed in terms of their consistency with those obtained for other languages.CiPsi - Psychology Research Centre, Uminho (UID/PSI/ 01662/2013), PortugalCIEC – Research Centre on Child Studies, IE, UMinho (FCT R&D unit 317), Portugalinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Envolver os alunos produtivamente em aulas de física e química durante uso de simulações computacionais: Dois professores com mediações distintas e uso distinto das simulações

Neste trabalho, pretende-se identificar e descrever as características da mediação do professor determinantes para promover o envolvimento produtivo dos alunos, durante o uso de simulações computacionais (SC). São apresentados resultados com base no estudo de aulas lecionadas por dois professores de física e química, com a mesma experiência profissional, mas diferente experiência de integração de investigação didática nas suas práticas de ensino. Os resultados permitem compreender as condições fundamentais para os alunos se envolverem produtivamente nas tarefas, as principais diferenças entre a mediação de professores com experiência de integração de resultados de investigação didática nas práticas de ensino. São ainda discutidos os fatores que influenciam o uso de SC em contexto de aula.In this work, we intend to identify and describe the characteristics of teacher mediation that are determinant to promote students productive engagement, while using computer simulations (CS). Results are presented based on the study of classes taught by two teachers of physics and chemistry, with similar professional experience, but different experience integrating educational research in their teaching practices. The results allow us to understand the fundamental conditions for students to engage productively in the tasks, the main differences between the mediation of teachers with experience integrating research results in teaching practices. The factors that influence the use of CS in the classroom context are also discussed

Obtaining microalgae biomass tolerant to herbicides for production of bio-fertilizers: a review based on methodi ordinatio methodology

The objective of this work was to use a systematic review of the literature on the cultivation of microalgae resistant to herbicide using the Method Methodi Ordinatio, which assists the search, selection, collection and classification of scientific articles. Initially, research was done on the databases Scopus, Science Direct and Web of Science, using the keywords “microalgae” and “herbicide”. The results were imported to the Mendeley bibliographic reference manager. Subsequently, the index In Ordinatio index was applied, which works with the three most important factors in a scientific article: The impact factor, the year of publication and the number of citations of the research. This index turns it is possible to classify the most important articles in the area of herbicide-tolerant microalgae and note the importance of this method, which made it possible to find current studies and demonstrate the relevance of this research theme. In order to show the dynamics of the methodology, a research with the theme is presented, comprising works from years 2008 to 2018. The results indicate that the methodology is effective in relation to the objectives proposed, and the most relevant work on the cultivation of herbicide resistant microalgae are used to construct the scenario in this theme.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Phytotherapics in tissue healing and its interface with professionals of health in Brazil / Fitoterápicos na cicatrização de tecidos e sua interface com profissionais de saúde no Brasil

The World Health Organization and many other national health conferences have stimulated the use of phytotherapeutics and medicinal plants in primary health care in Brazil. Phytotherapeutics and the use of medicinal plants are part of the folk medicine practice, which complements the treatment that is usually employed by lower income population. There is a growing interest in researches about improving the knowledge of plants’ medicinal properties used in tissue healing. This process occurs as a biological response after injury, where uncountable signaling pathways are stimulated to restore the homeostasis of the affected structure. It is observed that Brazil has been developing important researches to improve the knowledge of plants’ medicinal properties favoring a greater prescription by the health professionals and also a better use by the population. Phototherapeutics act in tissue repair in different ways, and the present review describes the use of these in healing in experimental researches and its interface with professionals of health. In this research, we checked scientific articles (Medline, Scielo, Lilacs, Coordination of Superior Level Staff Improvement (CAPES), PubMed and Google Scholar) published between years 2000 and 2018. Companies, researchers, professionals of health and the general population have shown an interest in phytotherapeutics compounds as alternatives for the treatment of various conditions and the healing of injuries. This is due to the lower side effects, easy access and low cost of herbal medicines compared to allopathic medicines and the rich biodiversity from the Brazilian flora. However, it is necessary for the health professionals training and motivation, aiming at a correct and safe prescription and the use of herbal medicines in tissue healing, as well as the insertion of this practice into their professional qualification.

Plasticity of resting state brain networks in recovery from stress

Chronic stress has been widely reported to have deleterious impact in multiple biological systems. Specifically, structural and functional remodeling of several brain regions following prolonged stress exposure have been described; importantly, some of these changes are eventually reversible. Recently, we showed the impact of stress on resting state networks (RSNs), but nothing is known about the plasticity of RSNs after recovery from stress. Herein, we examined the "plasticity" of RSNs, both at functional and structural levels, by comparing the same individuals before and after recovery from the exposure to chronic stress; results were also contrasted with a control group. Here we show that the stressed individuals after recovery displayed a decreased resting functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN), ventral attention network (VAN), and sensorimotor network (SMN) when compared to themselves immediately after stress; however, this functional plastic recovery was only partial as when compared with the control group, as there were still areas of increased connectivity in dorsal attention network (DAN), SMN and primary visual network (VN) in participants recovered from stress. Data also shows that participants after recovery from stress displayed increased deactivations in DMN, SMN, and auditory network (AN), to levels similar to those of controls, showing a normalization of the deactivation pattern in RSNs after recovery from stress. In contrast, structural changes (volumetry) of the brain areas involving these networks are absent after the recovery period. These results reveal plastic phenomena in specific RSNs and a functional remodeling of the activation-deactivation pattern following recovery from chronic-stress, which is not accompanied by significant structural plasticity.We are thankful to all study participants. Jose M. Soares, Paulo Marques, and Nadine C. Santos are supported by fellowships of the project SwitchBox-FP7-HEALTH-2010-grant 259772-2; Fernanda Marques is supported by the fellowship SFRH/BPD/33379/2008 funded by the Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal). The work was supported by SwitchBox-FP7-HEALTH-2010-grant 259772-2

Outdoor solutions for the seasonal concentration of tourism demand in northern portugal: an integrated approach based on the gini index

Measures that address the seasonality, one of the identified overtourism direct causes, allow making a critical reflection on the application of control policies and monitoring regional measures crucial on a sector with such importance at the regional development analysis. The measures should stimulate or reduce tourism demand during low or peak seasons, respectively, generating a better distribution of tourism flows and eliminating potential overtourism situations. Therefore, this chapter focuses on the development of a Gini Index to analyse the distribution of the seasonality in northern Portugal and through it control current public measures in practice and suggest the implementation of different and more effective policy measures. For instance, the ones that make a clear bet on outdoor tourism activities. It will be used in the Gini Index, by the tourists? market of origin measured by the overnight stays in hotel establishments. The results showed the high seasonal concentration of tourist flows.691D-6753-BE59 | Manuel Jos? Serra da Fonsecainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effect of an extract of Centella asiatica on the biodistribution of sodium pertechnetate (Na^99mTcO₄) and on the fixation of radioactivity on blood constituents

This study evaluates the effects of an acute treatment with a Centella asiatica (CA) extract on the biodistribution of the radiopharmaceutical Na99mTcO4 and on the fixation of technetium-99m on blood constituents. Wistar rats were treated with CA extract and, 1 hour after, Na99mTcO4 was administered; organs/tissues were withdrawn and weighted. The radioactivity was counted to calculate the percentage of activity per gram (%ATI/g). Also, blood samples were withdrawn, plasma (P), blood cells (BC), insoluble fraction (IF) and soluble fractions of P and BC were isolated and the radioactivity was counted to calculate the percentage of activity (%ATI). Data indicated that the acute treatment with CA extract changed significantly (p99mTcO4 and the fixation of the technetium-99m on blood constituents in an acute treatment