An Albino Mutant in Brassica rapa Maps to the PDX2 Locus on Chromosome 10

We have identified an albino mutant in the plant Brassica rapa. This recessive mutation could provide insights into the photosynthetic pathways of all plants. Previously the mutation was mapped to chromosome 10 of Brassica rapa. To narrow down the chromosomal region containing the albino mutation, we grew a segregating population of plants. DNA was extracted from albino and wildtype (green) plants and genotyped using PCR markers on chromosome 10. The genotype detected using the INDEL2 marker perfectly predicted whether a plant was albino or WT. This indicates that the INDEL2 marker is tightly linked to the albino mutation. INDEL2 is near the gene PDX2 and we detected a single nucleotide change near the PDX2 gene that is only found in albino plants. It is possible that this mutation affects the expression of PDX2 and is the cause of the albino phenotype. PDX2 is involved in vitamin B6 synthesis and it is unclear how altering vitamin metabolism could affect photosynthesis

Silent Violence and Adoption: the paradigm of Children's Rights in Brazil

openThis research aimed to identify and investigate processes of silent violence in the context of adoption and its impact on child protection in Brazil. The study consisted of exploratory research from a literature review on the history of childhood and adoption in Brazil, the legal path of child protection and the violence issue in the context and an analysis of concepts and implications through a psychoanalytic perspective. Then, through in-depth interviews with relevant groups (suiters for adoption, adopters professionals, and adoptees), the study investigated the silent violence phenomena in the context of adoption, identifying key issues and variables that were further analyzed and discussed considering the content explored in the literature review. Therefore, the paradigm in Children's rights in Brazil can be described as a problematic reality with deep social-historical roots based on four main phenomena: minorism, biologism, the conceptual problem of adoption, and lack of professional qualification in the specific field. Through these critical phenomena, adoption walks a dangerous path regarding putting the child's best interest in the spotlight. Hiding acts of violence through a set of new laws that can still show minorist characteristics, especially in a conceptual view, is a fake sensation that we are protecting the youth when we are just in a fight against the undeniable biologism that permeates society.This research aimed to identify and investigate processes of silent violence in the context of adoption and its impact on child protection in Brazil. The study consisted of exploratory research from a literature review on the history of childhood and adoption in Brazil, the legal path of child protection and the violence issue in the context and an analysis of concepts and implications through a psychoanalytic perspective. Then, through in-depth interviews with relevant groups (suiters for adoption, adopters professionals, and adoptees), the study investigated the silent violence phenomena in the context of adoption, identifying key issues and variables that were further analyzed and discussed considering the content explored in the literature review. Therefore, the paradigm in Children's rights in Brazil can be described as a problematic reality with deep social-historical roots based on four main phenomena: minorism, biologism, the conceptual problem of adoption, and lack of professional qualification in the specific field. Through these critical phenomena, adoption walks a dangerous path regarding putting the child's best interest in the spotlight. Hiding acts of violence through a set of new laws that can still show minorist characteristics, especially in a conceptual view, is a fake sensation that we are protecting the youth when we are just in a fight against the undeniable biologism that permeates society

La forja de un artista en Bufo & Spallanzani, de Rubem Fonseca

Se analiza la novela de Rubem Fonseca Buffo & Spallanzani.  Luego de observar la trama y el desarrollo de los personajes, se concluye que el autor logra reivindicar la belleza, particularmente la que aparece en las obras de arte, y los pequeños placeres cotidianos, como fuentes legítimas de alegría para los seres humanos