Resistência extrema a duas estirpes do Potato virus Y (PVY) de batata transgênica, cv. Achat, expressando o gene da capa protéica do PVYO

The coat protein (CP) gene of the potato virus Y strain “o” (PVYO) was introduced into potato, cultivar Achat, via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Sixty three putative transgenic lines were challenged against the Brazilian strains PVY-OBR and PVY-NBR. An extremely resistant phenotype, against the two strains, was observed in one line, denominated 1P. No symptoms or positive ELISA results were observed in 16 challenged plants from this line. Another clone, named as 63P, showed a lower level of resistance. Southern blot analysis showed five copies of the CP gene in the extremely resistant line and at least three copies in the other resistant line. The stability of the integrated transgenes in the extreme resistant line was examined during several in vitro multiplications over a period of three years, with no modification in the Southern pattern was observed. The stability of the transgenes, the absence of primary infections and the relatively broad spectrum of resistance suggest that the extremely resistant line obtained in this work can be useful for agricultural purposes.O gene da capa protéica (CP) do Potato virus Y estirpe “o”, foi introduzido em batata cultivar Achat, via Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Sessenta e três linhas possivelmente transgênicas foram desafiadas com as estirpes brasileiras PVY-OBR e PVY-NBR. Uma linha apresentou extrema resistência às duas estirpes inoculadas, e foi denominado clone 1P. Não foram observados sintomas sistêmicos de infecção e as plantas foram negativas em Elisa. Outra linha, denominada clone 63P, mostrou algum nível de resistência. Análises por Southern blot indicaram a presença de pelo menos cinco cópias do gen CP no clone 1P e pelo menos três cópias no clone 63P. A estabilidade do gene introduzido no clone 1P foi avaliada durante três anos, após várias multiplicações in vitro. Não foram observadas mudanças no padrão do Southern blot. A estabilidade do transgene, na ausência de infecções primárias e relativo largo espectro de resistência sugerem que o clone 1P pode ser utilizado para fins comerciais.Fil: Romano, Eduardo. Embrapa Recursos Genéticos; BrasilFil: Ferreira, Adriana T.. Embrapa Hortaliças; BrasilFil: Dusi, André N.. Embrapa Hortaliças; BrasilFil: Proite, Karina. Embrapa Recursos Genéticos; BrasilFil: Buso, Jose A.. Embrapa Hortaliças; BrasilFil: Avila, Antonio C.. Embrapa Hortaliças; BrasilFil: Nishijima, Marta L.. Embrapa Hortaliças; BrasilFil: Nascimento, Adriana S.. Embrapa Hortaliças; BrasilFil: Bravo Almonacid, Fernando Felix. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Mentaberry, Alejandro Nestor. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Monte, Damares. Embrapa Recursos Genéticos; BrasilFil: Campos, Magnolia A.. Embrapa Recursos Genéticos; BrasilFil: Melo, Paulo Eduardo. Embrapa Hortaliças; BrasilFil: Cattony, Monica K.. No especifica;Fil: Torres, Antonio C.. Embrapa Hortaliças; Brasi

The elusive nature of adaptive mitochondrial DNA evolution of an Arctic lineage prone to frequent introgression

Mitochondria play a fundamental role in cellular metabolism, being responsible for most of the energy production of the cell in the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encodes for key components of this process, but its direct role in adaptation remains far from understood. Hares (Lepus spp.) are privileged models to study the impact of natural selection on mitogenomic evolution because 1) species are adapted to contrasting environments, including arctic, with different metabolic pressures, and 2) mtDNA introgression from arctic into temperate species is widespread. Here, we analyzed the sequences of 11 complete mitogenomes (ten newly obtained) of hares of temperate and arctic origins (including two of arctic origin introgressed into temperate species). The analysis of patterns of codon substitutions along the reconstructed phylogeny showed evidence for positive selection in several codons in genes of the OXPHOS complexes, most notably affecting the arctic lineage. However, using theoretical models, no predictable effect of these differences was found on the structure and physicochemical properties of the encoded proteins, suggesting that the focus of selection may lie on complex interactions with nuclear encoded peptides. Also, a cloverleaf structure was detected in the control region only from the arctic mtDNA lineage, which may influence mtDNA replication and transcription. These results suggest that adaptation impacted the evolution of hare mtDNA and may have influenced the occurrence and consequences of the many reported cases of massive mtDNA introgression. However, the origin of adaptation remains elusive

A Built-In Mixed-signal Block Observer (BIMBO) to improve observability in 1149.4 environments

This document proposes an extension to the IEEE 1149.4 test infrastructure [1], whereby a bank of sigma-delta first order modulators enables the simultaneous observation of several analog pins in a single component. The modulator output bit streams are shifted out and made available to an external test controller that comprises the corresponding bank of decimation filters and other decision and control logic. The architecture proposed is fully non-intrusive and may be used to support debug and test operations in mixed-signal environments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Non-edible parts of Solanum stramoniifolium Jacq. - a new potent source of bioactive extracts rich in phenolic compounds for functional foods

Extracts prepared from leaves, roots, and stems of Solanum stramoniifolium Jacq. (Solanaceae) in 80% ethanol have been tested for their in vitro antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activities with an aim to find new sources of substances for functional foods and food additives. The root extract revealed the highest antioxidant activity in all assays exceeding the trolox capacity, and was the only extract that inhibited nitric oxide production in mouse macrophage cells, showing also the capacity to suppress the growth of all tested human tumor cell lines (MCF-7, NCI-H460, HeLa and HepG2). The leaf extract showed the strongest antimicrobial activity inhibiting all tested clinical isolates. To the author's best knowledge it was the first time that all individual parts of this plant were tested for biological activity together with the phenolic compound characterization.Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) [UID/AGR/00690/2013, SFRH/BPD/107855/2015, SFRH/BPD/101413/2014, SFRH/BPD/BPD/68344/2010]; FEDER [UID/AGR/00690/2013, SFRH/BPD/107855/2015, SFRH/BPD/101413/2014, SFRH/BPD/BPD/68344/2010]; FEDER, through POCI-COMPETE [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984]; FCT [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984]; Internal Grant Agency of Tomas Bata University in Zlin [IGA/FT/2016/003]POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984, CIMO, Kansainvälisen Liikkuvuuden ja Yhteistyön Keskus; POCI-COMPETE2020, FCT, Fundació Catalana de Trasplantament; SFRH/BPD/101413/2014, CIMO, Kansainvälisen Liikkuvuuden ja Yhteistyön Keskus; SFRH/BPD/107855/2015, CIMO, Kansainvälisen Liikkuvuuden ja Yhteistyön Keskus; SFRH/BPD/BPD/68344/2010, CIMO, Kansainvälisen Liikkuvuuden ja Yhteistyön Keskus; UID/AGR/00690/2013, CIMO, Kansainvälisen Liikkuvuuden ja Yhteistyön Keskus; FEDER, Federación Española de Enfermedades Rara

Lethality by pneumonia and factors associated to death

AbstractObjectiveto describe the case-fatality rate (CFR) and risk factors of death in children with community-acquired acute pneumonia (CAP) in a pediatric university hospital.Methoda longitudinal study was developed with prospective data collected from 1996 to 2011. Patients aged 1 month to 12 years were included in the study. Those who left the hospital against medical orders and those transferred to ICU or other units were excluded. Demographic and clinical-etiological characteristics and the initial treatment were studied. Variables associated to death were determined by bivariate and multivariate analysis using logistic regression.Resultsa total of 871 patients were selected, of whom 11 were excluded; thus 860 children were included in the study. There were 26 deaths, with a CFR of 3%; in 58.7% of these, penicillin G was the initial treatment. Pneumococcus was the most common pathogen (50.4%). From 1996 to 2000, there were 24 deaths (93%), with a CFR of 5.8% (24/413). From 2001 to 2011, the age group of hospitalized patients was older (p = 0.03), and the number of deaths (p = 0.02) and the percentage of disease severity were lower (p = 0.06). Only disease severity remained associated to death in the multivariate analysis (OR = 3.2; 95%CI: 1.2-8.9; p = 0.02).Conclusionwhen the 1996-2000 and 2001-2011 periods were compared, a significant reduction in CFR was observed in the latter, as well as a change in the clinical profile of the pediatric inpatients at the institute. These findings may be related to the improvement in the socio-economical status of the population. Penicillin use did not influence CFR

Squaraine dyes derived from indolenine and benzo[e]indole as potential fluorescent probes for HSA detection and antifungal agents

Four squaraine dyes derived from 2,3,3-trimethylindolenine and 1,1,2-trimethyl-1H-benzo[e]indole with different combinations of barbituric groups attach to the central ring, having ester groups and alkyl chains in the nitrogen atoms of heterocyclic rings were synthesized. These dyes were fully characterized and their photophysical behavior was studied in ethanol and phosphate-buffered saline solution. Absorption and emission bands between 631 and 712 nm were detected, with the formation of aggregates in aqueous media, which is typical of this class of dyes. Tests carried out with 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran allowed us to verify the ability of the dyes to produce singlet oxygen. The interaction of synthesized dyes with human serum albumin (HSA) was also evaluated, being demonstrated a linear correlation between fluorescence intensity and protein concentration. The antifungal potential of the dyes against the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was evaluated using a broth microdilution assay. In order to test the photosensitizing capacity of the synthesized dyes, tests were carried out in the dark and with irradiation, using a custom-built light-emitting diode that emits close to the absorption wavelength of the studied dyes. The results showed that the interaction of dyes with HSA and the antifungal activity depends on the different structural modifications of the dyes.We thanks to Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Comissão de Coordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional do Norte (CCDR-N) and FEDER (European Fund for Regional Development)-COMPETEQREN-EU for financial support to the research centers CQ/UM (UIDB/00686/2020), CBMA (UID/BIA/04050/2020), CQ/VR (UID/QUI/UI0616/2019) and CICSUBI (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007491), as well as PhD grants to V.S.D.G. (UMINHO/BD/43/2016) and J.C.C.F. (SFRH/BD/133207/2017)

Changes in Epigaeic Ant Assemblage Structure in the Amazon during Successional Processes after Bauxite Mining

Environmental impact studies often involve monitoring and using bioindicators to evaluate the restoration stage of impacted areas. We aimed to assess ant assemblages’ response to the ecological succession of previously disturbed areas in the Brazilian Amazon. We sampled epigeic ant assemblages in five bauxite mining areas, representing different restoration stages, and compared them with two pristine areas. We also compared trends in species richness at the same mine site investigated 14 years earlier. Ten pitfall traps and four Winkler samples of litter were taken along a 100-m transect in each area. We expected that ant species richness would increase with the amelioration in habitat condition (i.e., environmental surrogates of ecological succession, including litter depth, soil penetrability, the circumference of trees, the distance of trees to adjacent trees, and percentage of ground cover). We also compared the efficacy of both sampling methods. Due to more significant sampling effort, pitfall traps captured more ant species than Winkler sacks. However, Winkler samples’ addition allowed the collection of more cryptic species than by pitfall traps alone. We sampled a total of 129 ant species, with increases in ant species richness in more mature rehabilitation. Nevertheless, similarity analysis indicated a significant difference between ant assemblages of rehabilitated areas and pristine ones. Assemblages differed mainly by the presence of specialist and rare species, found only in pristine plots. Rehabilitated areas exhibited a significant increase in tree circumference as they reached more ecologically advanced stages, which contributed to increasing ant species richness. These trends and comparison with the earlier study indicate that although there are favorable increases in ant species richness, in terms of species composition, rehabilitated areas were far from achieving an ant assemblage composition or environmental status that closely resembles pristine areas

Insertion (22;9)(q11;q34q21) in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia characterized by fluorescence in situ hybridization

An unusual cytogenetic rearrangement, described as ins(22;9)(q11;q34q21), was detected in a 49-year-old male patient diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed a b3a2 fusion transcript. In order to confirm the cytogenetic findings and fully characterize the inverted insertion, we performed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assays using locus-specific and whole chromosome painting probes. Our FISH analysis showed the presence of the BCR/ABL fusion gene, verified the insertion and determined that the breakpoint on chromosome 22 where the insertion took place was located proximal to the BCR gene and distal to the TUPLE1 gene on 22q11