Ex vitro hairy root induction in detached peanut leaves for plant-nematode interaction studies.

Abstract Background Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) production is largely affected by a variety of abiotic and biotic stresses, including the root-knot nematode (RKN) Meloidogyne arenaria that causes yield losses worldwide. Transcriptome studies of wild Arachis species, which harbor resistance to a number of pests and diseases, disclosed several candidate genes for M. arenaria resistance. Peanut is recalcitrant to genetic transformation, so the use of Agrobacterium rhizogenes-derived hairy roots emerged as an alternative for in-root functional characterization of these candidate genes. Results The present report describes an ex vitro methodology for hairy root induction in detached leaves based on the well-known ability of peanut to produce roots spontaneously from its petiole, which can be maintained for extended periods under high-humidity conditions. Thirty days after infection with the A. rhizogenes ‘K599’ strain, 90% of the detached leaves developed transgenic hairy roots with 5 cm of length in average, which were then inoculated with M. arenaria. For improved results, plant transformation, and nematode inoculation parameters were adjusted, such as bacterial cell density and growth stage; moist chamber conditions and nematode inoculum concentration. Using this methodology, a candidate gene for nematode resistance, AdEXLB8, was successfully overexpressed in hairy roots of the nematode-susceptible peanut cultivar ‘Runner’, resulting in 98% reduction in the number of galls and egg masses compared to the control, 60 days after M. arenaria infection. Conclusions This methodology proved to be more practical and cost-effective for functional validation of peanut candidate genes than in vitro and composite plant approaches, as it requires less space, reduces analysis costs and displays high transformation efficiency. The reduction in the number of RKN galls and egg masses in peanut hairy roots overexpressing AdEXLB8 corroborated the use of this strategy for functional characterization of root expressing candidate genes. This approach could be applicable not only for peanut–nematode interaction studies but also to other peanut root diseases, such as those caused by fungi and bacteria, being also potentially extended to other crop species displaying similar petiole-rooting competence

Renal Dysfunction Phenotypes in Patients Undergoing Obesity Surgery

Obesity surgery candidates are at an increased risk of kidney injury, but pre-operative evaluation usually neglects kidney function assessment. This study aimed to identify renal dysfunction in candidates for bariatric surgery. To reduce the sources of bias, subjects with diabetes, prediabetes under metformin treatment, neoplastic or inflammatory diseases were excluded. Patients' (n = 192) average body mass index was 41.7 +/- 5.4 kg/m(2). Among these, 51% (n = 94) had creatinine clearance over 140 mL/min, 22.4% (n = 43) had proteinuria over 150 mg/day and 14.6% (n = 28) albuminuria over 30 mg/day. A creatinine clearance higher than 140 mL/min was associated with higher levels of proteinuria and albuminuria. Univariate analysis identified sex, glycated hemoglobin, uric acid, HDL and VLDL cholesterol as being associated with albuminuria, but not with proteinuria. On multivariate analysis, glycated hemoglobin and creatinine clearance as continuous variables were significantly associated with albuminuria. In summary, in our patient population prediabetes, lipid abnormalities and hyperuricemia were associated with albuminuria, but not with proteinuria, suggesting different disease mechanisms might be implicated. Data suggest that in obesity-associated kidney disease, tubulointerstitial injury precedes glomerulopathy. A significant proportion of obesity surgery candidates present clinically relevant albuminuria and proteinuria along with renal hyperfiltration, suggesting that routine pre-operative assessment of these parameters should be considered

Doenças e pragas do jiloeiro.

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The universal character of Zwanziger's horizon function in Euclidean Yang-Mills theories

In light of the recently established BRST invariant formulation of the Gribov-Zwanziger theory, we show that Zwanziger's horizon function displays a universal character. More precisely, the correlation functions of local BRST invariant operators evaluated with the Yang-Mills action supplemented with a BRST invariant version of the Zwanziger's horizon function and quantized in an arbitrary class of covariant, color invariant and renormalizable gauges which reduce to the Landau gauge when all gauge parameters are set to zero, have a unique, gauge parameters independent result, corresponding to that of the Landau gauge when the restriction to the Gribov region $\Omega$ in the latter gauge is imposed. As such, thanks to the BRST invariance, the cut-off at the Gribov region $\Omega$ acquires a gauge independent meaning in the class of the physical correlators.Comment: 14 pages. v2: version accepted by Phys.Lett.

An exact nilpotent non-perturbative BRST symmetry for the Gribov-Zwanziger action in the linear covariant gauge

We point out the existence of a non-perturbative exact nilpotent BRST symmetry for the Gribov-Zwanziger action in the Landau gauge. We then put forward a manifestly BRST invariant resolution of the Gribov gauge fixing ambiguity in the linear covariant gauge.Comment: 8 pages. v2: version accepted for publication in PhysRev

More on the non-perturbative Gribov-Zwanziger quantization of linear covariant gauges

In this paper, we discuss the gluon propagator in the linear covariant gauges in $D=2,3,4$ Euclidean dimensions. Non-perturbative effects are taken into account via the so-called Refined Gribov-Zwanziger framework. We point out that, as in the Landau and maximal Abelian gauges, for $D=3,4$, the gluon propagator displays a massive (decoupling) behaviour, while for $D=2$, a scaling one emerges. All results are discussed in a setup that respects the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) symmetry, through a recently introduced non-perturbative BRST transformation. We also propose a minimizing functional that could be used to construct a lattice version of our non-perturbative definition of the linear covariant gauge.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure; V2 typos fixed and inclusion of section on the ghost propagator. To appear in PhysRev

A low-cost stereo video system for measuring directional wind waves

Typical oceanographic instruments are expensive, complex to build, and hard to deploy and require constant and specialized maintenance. In this paper, we present a cheap and simple technique to estimate a three-dimensional surface elevation map, n (x, y, t), the directional spectrum, and the main sea state parameters using inexpensive smartphones. The proposed methodology uses Time Lagged Cross Correlation (TLCC) between the audio signals from two independent video records to perform the frame synchronization. This makes the system much easier to deploy, where the main requirement is a fixed or moving platform close to the sea. The time records are mostly limited by the equipment storage space and battery life, although it can be easily replaced or recharged. Here, we pose the basis for an inexpensive yet powerful stereo reconstruction device and discuss its capabilities and limitations. The smartphone system capabilities were illustrated here by near shore experiment, at Leme beach in the Southeast of Brazil, and the results were compared against a pressure sensor. For this particular setup, the root mean square error in terms of significant wave height is of the order of 11% with perfect estimation of the peak period. The results are promising and demonstrate the validity and applicability of the technique

Carotenoid retention in minimally processed biofortified green corn stored under retail marketing conditions.

ABSTRACT - Storing processed food products can cause alterations in their chemical compositions. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate carotenoid retention in the kernels of minimally processed normal and vitamin A precursor (proVA)-biofortified green corn ears that were packaged in polystyrene trays covered with commercial film or in multilayered polynylon packaging material and were stored. Throughout the storage period, the carotenoids were extracted from the corn kernels using organic solvents and were quantified using HPLC. A completely factorial design including three factors (cultivar, packaging and storage period) was applied for analysis. The green kernels of maize cultivars BRS1030 and BRS4104 exhibited similar carotenoid profiles, with zeaxanthin being the main carotenoid. Higher concentrations of the carotenoids lutein, ?-cryptoxanthin, and ?-carotene, the total carotenoids and the total vitamin A precursor carotenoids were detected in the green kernels of the biofortified BRS4104 maize. The packaging method did not affect carotenoid retention in the kernels of minimally processed green corn ears during the storage period. RESUMO - O armazenamento de produtos alimentícios processados pode causar alterações na sua composição química. Sendo assim, objetivou-se, com este trabalho, determinar a retenção de carotenóides em grãos de milho verde normal e biofortificado com precursores de vitamina A, em espigas minimamente processadas, embaladas em bandeja de poliestireno com cobertura de filme comercial e embalagem multicamadas nylon poli ao longo do período de estocagem do produto. Os carotenóides foram extraídos dos grãos de milho verde em esquema sequencial de solventes orgânicos e quantificados por CLAE. O experimento foi planejado em delineamento inteiramente casualizado em esquema fatorial, constituído de três fatores (cultivar, embalagem, período de armazenamento). Os grãos verdes das cultivares de milho BRS1030 e BRS4104 apresentam semelhança no perfil de carotenóides, sendo zeaxantina o principal carotenoide presente nos grãos verdes desses materiais. Maiores concentrações dos carotenóides luteína, β-criptoxantina, β-caroteno, carotenóides totais e do total de carotenóides precursores de vitamina foram identificadas nos grãos verdes do milho biofortificado BRS4104. A retenção de carotenóides em grãos verdes de milho, durante o período de estocagem das espigas minimamente processadas, não foi influenciada pelos tipos de embalagens estudadas