Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in Pre-miR-27a, Pre-miR-196a2, Pre-miR-423, miR-608 and Pre-miR-618 with breast cancer susceptibility in a South American population

Indexación: Web of ScienceBackground MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a novel class of endogenous, non-coding, single-stranded RNAs capable of regulating gene expression by suppressing translation or degrading mRNAs. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) can alter miRNA expression, resulting in diverse functional consequences. Previous studies have examined the association of miRNA SNPs with breast cancer (BC) susceptibility. The contribution of miRNA gene variants to BC susceptibility in South American women had been unexplored. Our study evaluated the association of the SNPs rs895819 in pre-miR27a, rs11614913 in pre-miR-196a2, rs6505162 in pre-miR-423, rs4919510 in miR-608, and rs2682818 in pre-mir-618 with familial BC and early-onset non-familial BC in non-carriers of BRCA1/2 mutations from a South American population. Results We evaluated the association of five SNPs with BC risk in 440 cases and 807 controls. Our data do not support an association of rs11614913:C > T and rs4919510:C > G with BC risk. The rs6505162:C > A was significantly associated with increased risk of familial BC in persons with a strong family history of BC (OR = 1.7 [95 % CI 1.0–2.0] p = 0.05). The rs2682818:C > A genotype C/A is associated with an increased BC risk in non-familial early-onset BC. For the rs895819:A > G polymorphism, the genotype G/G is significantly associated with reduced BC risk in families with a moderate history of BC (OR = 0.3 [95 % CI 0.1–0.8] p = 0.01). Conclusions The contribution of variant miRNA genes to BC in South American women had been unexplored. Our findings support the following conclusions: a) rs6505162:C > A in pre-miR-423 increases risk of familial BC in families with a strong history of BC; b) the C/A genotype at rs2682818:C > A (pre-miR-618) increases BC risk in non-familial early-onset BC; and c) the G/G genotype at rs895819:A > G (miR-27a) reduces BC risk in families with a moderate history of BC.http://bmcgenet.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12863-016-0415-

Antifeedant activity of red clover root isoflavonoids on Hylastinus obscurus.

In the last decade, there has been increasing interest in investigating the impact of flavonoids on insects, specifically for pest control. In this study, we investigated the impact of isoflavonoids upon the feeding behavior of the clover root borer, Hylastinus obscurus Marsham (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), which is one of the most serious global pests associated with red clover, Trifolium pratense L. Four aglycones isoflavonoids: genistein (1), formononetin (2), daidzein (3) and biochanin A (4) were isolated and identified by HPLC, from roots of two Chilean red clover cultivars. The first two compounds, formononetin (2) and genistein (1), showed high feeding deterrent activity when they were evaluated in artificial diets. This antifeedant effect of isoflavones on feeding behavior of H. obscurus suggests that they are responsible for a decreasedin insect weight gain as compared with the control. This information could be useful respectively, to farmers and researcher to produce and create plants resistant to curculioni

Análisis Estructural de Tanque Cisterna Semirremolque Fabricado en Aleación de Aluminio para Transporte de Combustibles Líquidos

En este trabajo se estudia el comportamiento estructural de un tanque cisterna semirremolque de aleación de aluminio, fabricado por la firma Tanques Fangio S.A. de la ciudad de Pergamino, provincia de Buenos Aires. Mediante modelización y análisis a través del método de elementos finitos (FEM), se estudia el diseño ‘A’ (modelo clásico), para compararlo luego con un diseño ‘B’ (modelo americano). En ambos casos se estiman los esfuerzos estáticos internos a los cuales se encuentran sometidos los distintos componentes de la estructura del tanque semirremolque, respetando las cargas impuestas por las especificaciones DOT. La modelización, discretización tridimensional y cálculo FEM permiten abordar a los valores de tensiones y deformaciones presentes en ambos modelos. Se concluye que el modelo ‘B’ presenta mejor comportamiento estructural lográndose una mejor relación costo-beneficio

Collaborative, Distributed Simulations of Agri-Food Supply Chains : Analysis on How Linking Theory and Practice by Using Multi-agent Structures

Simulations help to understand and predict the behaviour of complex phenomena's, likewise distributed socio-technical systems or how stakeholders interacts in complex domains. Such domains are normally based on networked based interaction, where information, product and decision flows comes in to play, especially under the well-known supply chains structures. Although tools exist to simulate supply chains, they do not adequately support multiple stakeholders to collaboratively create and explore a variety of decision-making scenarios. Hence, in order to provide a preliminary understanding on how these interaction affects stakeholders decision-making, this research presents an study, analysis and proposal development of robust platform to collaboratively build and simulate communication among supply chain. Since realistic supply chain behaviours are complex, a multi-agent approach was selected in order to represent such complexities in a standardised manner. The platform provides agent behaviours for common agent patterns. It provides extension hotspots to implement more specific agent behaviour for expert users (that requires programming). Therefore, as key contribution, technical aspects of the platform are presented, and also the role of multi-level supply chain scenario simulation is discussed and analysed, especially under de context of digital supply chain transformation in the agri-food context. Finally, we discuss lessons learned from early tests with the reference implementation of the platform.Laboratorio de Investigación y Formación en Informática Avanzad

The Association between ATM IVS 22-77 T>C and Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It has become increasingly clear that ATM (ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated) safeguards genome stability, which is a cornerstone of cellular homeostasis, and ATM IVS 22-77 T>C affects the normal activity of ATM proteins. However, the association between the ATM IVS 22-77 T>C genetic variant and cancer risk is controversial. Therefore, we conducted a systematic meta-analysis to estimate the overall cancer risk associated with the polymorphism and to quantify any potential between-study heterogeneity. METHODS: A total of nine studies including 4,470 cases and 4,862 controls were analyzed for ATM IVS 22-77 T>C association with cancer risk in this meta-analysis. Heterogeneity among articles and their publication bias were also tested. RESULTS: Our results showed that no association reached the level of statistical significance in the overall risk. Interestingly, in the stratified analyses, we observed an inverse relationship in lung and breast cancer. CONCLUSION: Further functional research on the ATM mechanism should be performed to explain the inconsistent results in different cancer types

Insulin Resistance in Chileans of European and Indigenous Descent: Evidence for an Ethnicity x Environment Interaction

<p><b>Background:</b> Effects of urbanisation on diabetes risk appear to be greater in indigenous populations worldwide than in populations of European origin, but the reasons are unclear. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine whether the effects of environment (Rural vs. Urban), adiposity, fitness and lifestyle variables on insulin resistance differed between individuals of indigenous Mapuche origin compared to those of European origin in Chile.</p> <p><b>Methodology/Principal Findings:</b> 123 Rural Mapuche, 124 Urban Mapuche, 91 Rural European and 134 Urban European Chilean adults had blood taken for determination of HOMA-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA(IR)) and underwent assessment of physical activity/sedentary behaviour (using accelerometry), cardiorespiratory fitness, dietary intake and body composition. General linear models were used to determine interactions with ethnicity for key variables. There was a significant "ethnicity x environment" interaction for HOMA(IR) (Mean +/- SD; Rural Mapuche: 1.65 +/- 2.03, Urban Mapuche: 4.90 +/- 3.05, Rural European: 0.82 +/- 0.61, Urban European: 1.55 +/- 1.34, p((interaction)) = 0.0003), such that the effect of urbanisation on HOMA(IR) was greater in Mapuches than Europeans. In addition, there were significant interactions (all p<0.004) with ethnicity for effects of adiposity, sedentary time and physical activity on HOMA(IR), with greater effects seen in Mapuches compared to Europeans, an observation that persisted after adjustment for potential confounders.</p> <p><b>Conclusions/Significance:</b> Urbanisation, adiposity, physical activity and sedentary behaviour influence insulin resistance to a greater extent in Chilean Mapuches than Chileans of European descent. These findings have implications for the design and implementation of lifestyle strategies to reduce metabolic risk in different ethnic groups, and for understanding of the mechanisms underpinning human insulin resistance.</p&gt

Antimicrobial activity of endophytic fungi isolated from the mangrove plant Sonneratia apetala (Buch.-Ham) from the Sundarbans mangrove forest

Endophytic fungi reside in the intercellular space of plant nourished by the plant. In return, they provide bioactive molecules which can play critical roles on plant defense system. Fifty six endophytes were isolated from the leaves, root, bark and fruits of Sonneratia apetala, a pioneer mangrove plant in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh. A total of 56 isolates were obtained and 12 different species within 8 genera were identified using morphological and molecular characteristics. Antimicrobial activity of Ethyl Acetate (EtOAc) and Methanolic (MeOH) extracts of these 12 different species were analyzed by resazurin assay and the Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) were determined. The fungal extracts showed antimicrobial activities against more than one tested bacterium or fungus among 5 human pathogenic microbes, i.e. Escherichia coli NCTC 12241, Staphylococcus aureus NCTC 12981, Micrococcus lutus NCTC 7508, Pseudomonas aeruginosa NCTC 7508 and Candida albicans ATCC 90028. Overall, Methanolic extracts showed greater activity than that of Ethyl Acetate extracts. Of the isolates identified, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Aspergillus niger and Fusarium equiseti were the most active isolates and showed activity against microorganisms under investigation. Methanolic extracts of C. gloeosporioides and A. niger showed the lowest MIC (0.0024 mg/mL) against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The study indicates that endophytic fungi isolated from S. apetala species posses potential antimicrobial properties, which could be further investigated

Synthesis of Pacific Ocean Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics

The goal of the Pacific Ocean Boundary Ecosystem and Climate Study (POBEX) was to diagnose the large-scale climate controls on regional transport dynamics and lower trophic marine ecosystem variability in Pacific Ocean boundary systems. An international team of collaborators shared observational and eddy-resolving modeling data sets collected in the Northeast Pacific, including the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and the California Current System (CCS), the Humboldt or Peru-Chile Current System (PCCS), and the Kuroshio-Oyashio Extension (KOE) region. POBEX investigators found that a dominant fraction of decadal variability in basin- and regional-scale salinity, nutrients, chlorophyll, and zooplankton taxa is explained by a newly discovered pattern of ocean-climate variability dubbed the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). NPGO dynamics are driven by atmospheric variability in the North Pacific and capture the decadal expression of Central Pacific El Niños in the extratropics, much as the PDO captures the low-frequency expression of eastern Pacific El Niños. By combining hindcasts of eddy-resolving ocean models over the period 1950–2008 with model passive tracers and long-term observations (e.g., CalCOFI, Line-P, Newport Hydrographic Line, Odate Collection), POBEX showed that the PDO and the NPGO combine to control low-frequency upwelling and alongshore transport dynamics in the North Pacific sector, while the eastern Pacific El Niño dominates in the South Pacific. Although different climate modes have different regional expressions, changes in vertical transport (e.g., upwelling) were found to explain the dominant nutrient and phytoplankton variability in the CCS, GOA, and PCCS, while changes in alongshore transport forced much of the observed long-term change in zooplankton species composition in the KOE as well as in the northern and southern CCS. In contrast, cross-shelf transport dynamics were linked to mesoscale eddy activity, driven by regional-scale dynamics that are largely decoupled from variations associated with the large-scale climate modes. Preliminary findings suggest that mesoscale eddies play a key role in offshore transport of zooplankton and impact the life cycles of higher trophic levels (e.g., fish) in the CCS, PCCS, and GOA. Looking forward, POBEX results may guide the development of new modeling and observational strategies to establish mechanistic links among climate forcing, mesoscale circulation, and marine population dynamics

Global diversity and antimicrobial resistance of typhoid fever pathogens: Insights from a meta-analysis of 13,000 Salmonella Typhi genomes

Background: The Global Typhoid Genomics Consortium was established to bring together the typhoid research community to aggregate and analyse Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (Typhi) genomic data to inform public health action. This analysis, which marks 22 years since the publication of the first Typhi genome, represents the largest Typhi genome sequence collection to date (n=13,000). Methods: This is a meta-analysis of global genotype and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) determinants extracted from previously sequenced genome data and analysed using consistent methods implemented in open analysis platforms GenoTyphi and Pathogenwatch. Results: Compared with previous global snapshots, the data highlight that genotype 4.3.1 (H58) has not spread beyond Asia and Eastern/Southern Africa; in other regions, distinct genotypes dominate and have independently evolved AMR. Data gaps remain in many parts of the world, and we show the potential of travel-associated sequences to provide informal ‘sentinel’ surveillance for such locations. The data indicate that ciprofloxacin non-susceptibility (>1 resistance determinant) is widespread across geographies and genotypes, with high-level ciprofloxacin resistance (=3 determinants) reaching 20% prevalence in South Asia. Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid has becomedominant in Pakistan (70% in 2020) but has not yet become established elsewhere. Ceftriaxone resistance has emerged in eight non-XDR genotypes, including a ciprofloxacin-resistant lineage (4.3.1.2.1) in India. Azithromycin resistance mutations were detected at low prevalence in South Asia, including in two common ciprofloxacin-resistant genotypes. Conclusions: The consortium’s aim is to encourage continued data sharing and collaboration to monitor the emergence and global spread of AMR Typhi, and to inform decision-making around the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) and other prevention and control strategies