Diagnosis of plant viruses by nucleic acid hybridization

Nucleic acid hybridization is a powerful technique for the diagnosis of many plant viruses not easily detected by serological techniques. It is particularly effective in the detection of viruses occurring in low amount in plant tissue, viruses that are poor immunogens or contain satellites. Molecular probes with desired specificities can be prepared by recombinant DNA techniques for large scale use. cDNA probes of potato virus X(PVX) RNA were made by molecular cloning, and the clones were 32P labelled by nick translation. Hybridization of cDNA to PVX RNA revealed 1 ng of purified virus in 2 µl spots dried onto nitrocellulose filter. Infected samples of crude leaf extracts were easily detected by hybridization, while probes did not react with healthy leaf samples. Nucleic acid hybridization research aims at replacing radiometric probes with nonradioactive methods involving enzymes which are directly or indirectly coupled to the probe and whose presence is observed with the aid of a colour changing substrate. Hybridization assay formats that can easily be automatized are under development. Sandwich hybridization is a simple test format developed for analyzing unpurified biological material, and it appears to be a powerful tool for microbial diagnostics. Sensitivity can be improved by using detection systems in which the specific activity of the probe is increased. Procedures such as ’polymerase chain reaction’, in which the amount of detectable nucleic acid sequences can be increased, are promising alternatives for increasing sensitivity. It is concluded that even if probe-based assays are in their infancy, they will no doubt develop towards such easy use as have immunological test kits

Effect of various nanoadditives on the performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fuelled with jojoba biodiesel – diesel blends: A review

The review reports the results of various researches work on the engine performance and emission characteristics of diesel engine using different nanoadditives in jojoba biodiesel - diesel blends. Blending of diesel with biodiesel in a diesel engine has gained importance, due to its economical and environmental benefits. Jojoba biodiesel gained an importance as an alternative fuel over conventional diesel fuel even with their unfavorable effects of power reduction. The wide spread usage of nanoadditives to improve the combustion quality may be a good solution of this problem. Blending of nanoparticles as an additives in biodiesel – diesel blends improves the thermophysical properties, such as thermal conductivity, mass diffusivity and high surface area-to-volume ratio. Based on the results available in the literature, it has been found that nanoadditives with jojoba biodiesel - diesel blends improve the performance of diesel engine and reduced the emission of toxic gases depending upon the dosage of the nanoadditives

Physiological evaluation of the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei in production processes by marker gene expression analysis

Peer reviewe

Aspectos psicológicos associados à disfunção temporomandibular: uma revisão sistemática da literatura

A disfunção temporomandibular se configura como uma síndrome que afeta a região orofacial causando prejuízo à qualidade de vida. Atualmente, é explicada através do modelo etiológico multifatorial com vários fatores determinantes. Apesar de existir um consenso em relação à multifatoriedade, há pouca concordância em relação à importância dos fatores etiológicos envolvidos, e ainda não se sabe até que ponto estes fatores podem ser considerados predisponentes, desencadeantes ou perpetuantes. Diante disso, este estudo objetivou investigar, por meio de uma revisão sistemática de literatura, quais aspectos psicológicos são mais frequentemente associados à disfunção temporomandibular. Os artigos com datas entre 2000 e 2015 foram pesquisados nas bases de dados nacionais: SciELO, LILACS e BBO. Foram selecionados 21 artigos. Os resultados apontaram a depressão, o estresse, a ansiedade e características da personalidade como aspectos psicológicos mais associados à disfunção temporomandibular

La Política Exterior de QATAR y sus intereses Geopolíticas en Libia tras la caída del régimen de Muamar Gadafi. Implicaciones para el Estado Qatarì en la Región: periodo 2011-2018.

El Orígenes y Desarrollo de la Política Exterior de Qatar, contiene 4 apartados en los que se hace un estudio de las acciones y mecanismos implementados por el emirato, a través de su historia, desde sus antecedentes coloniales, el posterior desarrollo de su economía; permitiéndole posicionarse como una potencia económica tanto a nivel regional como a nivel mundial; y el pragmatismo mediante el cual se ha llevado a cabo el manejo de los asuntos exteriores del emirato, especialmente durante las últimas dos décadas.El capítulo II: Libia y la Crisis Política tras la Caída del Régimen de Muamar Gadafi; toma en cuenta, los factores geopolíticos y geoestratégicos por los que Libia posee gran relevancia para la consolidación de los intereses regionales de Qatar, señalando los recursos con los que cuenta el país, su posición geográfica en la costa mediterránea del norte de África, describiendo la crisis política y el Estado de anarquía bajo el cual se ha encontrado desde el estallido de la primavera árabe en 2011.Finalmente, el capítulo III: Intervención de Qatar en el Conflicto Libio y los Efectos de su Política Exterior en el Medio Oriente, señala los efectos políticos y económicos que ha experimentado el Estado de Qatar como producto de su política intervencionista, estableciendo los niveles de implicación de Doha en las dos guerras civiles vividas en Libia desde 2011, con su apoyo a grupos de corte islamista, para propiciar un eventual cambio de régimen; así como también el estudio de la imposición de un bloqueo diplomático, económico y de transporte impuesto por Arabia Saudita, Emiratos Árabes Unidos, Egipto y Bahréin, a Qatar, como medida para mantener el status quo de la región y la respuesta del emirato a talsituación

Screening for colorectal cancer: possible improvements by risk assessment evaluation?

Emerging results indicate that screening improves survival of patients with colorectal cancer. Therefore, screening programs are already implemented or are being considered for implementation in Asia, Europe and North America. At present, a great variety of screening methods are available including colono- and sigmoidoscopy, CT- and MR-colonography, capsule endoscopy, DNA and occult blood in feces, and so on. The pros and cons of the various tests, including economic issues, are debated. Although a plethora of evaluated and validated tests even with high specificities and reasonable sensitivities are available, an international consensus on screening procedures is still not established. The rather limited compliance in present screening procedures is a significant drawback. Furthermore, some of the procedures are costly and, therefore, selection methods for these procedures are needed. Current research into improvements of screening for colorectal cancer includes blood-based biological markers, such as proteins, DNA and RNA in combination with various demographically and clinically parameters into a “risk assessment evaluation” (RAE) test. It is assumed that such a test may lead to higher acceptance among the screening populations, and thereby improve the compliances. Furthermore, the involvement of the media, including social media, may add even more individuals to the screening programs. Implementation of validated RAE and progressively improved screening methods may reform the cost/benefit of screening procedures for colorectal cancer. Therefore, results of present research, validating RAE tests, are awaited with interest

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms