Standard operating procedures for sweetpotato breeding data management. COP Breeding Data Management SweetGAINS

Current modernization efforts of sweetpotato breeding operations in Africa establish a new mindset. A modern sweetpotato breeding program continuously generates vast amounts of data on which it depends for all decision making throughout the program. Without a proper systematization of efforts, it is likely that significant mistakes can be unwillingly made, which would impact in a negative manner both genetic gains and the adoption of new varieties by smallholders. This document describes standard operating procedures (SOPs) for implementing breeding data workflows to ensure that all necessary breeding data are recorded appropriately and made easily accessible. This document needs to be considered as an alive one, as through its ensuing iterations additional SOPs will be added, and the current ones would be modified to reflect the learnings acquired. The data management SOPs in this volume cover the following key sweetpotato breeding data workflows: phenotyping, crossing, quality assessment, germplasm management, and DNA sample management. A relational database, SPBase (www.sweetpotatobase.org)1, plays a central role as a breeding data management system across workflows. Several other digital tools have been developed to connect to SPBase to facilitate recording and uploading different types of data

Associations between Cognition, Gender and Monocyte Activation among HIV Infected Individuals in Nigeria.

The potential role of gender in the occurrence of HIV-related neurocognitive impairment (NCI) and associations with markers of HIV-related immune activity has not been previously examined. In this study 149 antiretroviral-naïve seropositive subjects in Nigeria (SP, 92 women and 57 men) and 58 seronegative (SN, 38 women and 20 men) were administered neuropsychological testing that assessed 7 ability domains. From the neuropsychological test scores was calculated a global deficit score (GDS), a measure of overall NCI. Percentages of circulating monocytes and plasma HIV RNA, soluble CD163 and soluble CD14 levels were also assessed. HIV SP women were found to be younger, more educated and had higher CD4+ T cell counts and borderline higher viral load measures than SP men. On the neuropsychological testing, SP women were more impaired in speed of information processing and verbal fluency and had a higher mean GDS than SN women. Compared to SP men, SP women were also more impaired in speed of information processing and verbal fluency as well as on tests of learning and memory. Numbers of circulating monocytes and plasma sCD14 and sCD163 levels were significantly higher for all SP versus all SN individuals and were also higher for SP women and for SP men versus their SN counterparts. Among SP women, soluble CD14 levels were slightly higher than for SP men, and SP women had higher viral load measurements and were more likely to have detectable virus than SP men. Higher sCD14 levels among SP women correlated with more severe global impairment, and higher viral load measurements correlated with higher monocyte numbers and sCD14 and sCD14 levels, associations that were not observed for SP men. These studies suggest that the risk of developing NCI differ for HIV infected women and men in Nigeria and, for women, may be linked to effects from higher plasma levels of HIV driving activation of circulating monocytes

High genetic variability of HIV-1 in female sex workers from Argentina

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A cross-sectional study on 625 Female Sex Workers (FSWs) was conducted between 2000 and 2002 in 6 cities in Argentina. This study describes the genetic diversity and the resistance profile of the HIV-infected subjects.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seventeen samples from HIV positive FSWs were genotyped by <it>env </it>HMA, showing the presence of 9 subtype F, 6 subtype B and 2 subtype C. Sequence analysis of the protease/RT region on 16 of these showed that 10 were BF recombinants, three were subtype B, two were subtype C, and one sample presented a dual infection with subtype B and a BF recombinant. Full-length genomes of five of the protease/RT BF recombinants were also sequenced, showing that three of them were CRF12_BF. One FSW had a dual HIV-1 infection with subtype B and a BF recombinant. The B sections of the BF recombinant clustered closely with the pure B sequence isolated from the same patient. Major resistance mutations to antiretroviral drugs were found in 3 of 16 (18.8%) strains.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The genetic diversity of HIV strains among FSWs in Argentina was extensive; about three-quarters of the samples were infected with diverse BF recombinants, near twenty percent had primary ART resistance and one sample presented a dual infection. Heterosexual transmission of genetically diverse, drug resistant strains among FSWs and their clients represents an important and underestimated threat, in Argentina.</p

A MARISCAGEM: A HERANÇA DOS MANGUEZAIS AMAZÔNICOS

Este vídeo faz parte da série “Vozes das mulheres do mangue” e é um dos produtos audiovisuais do projeto “Observatório do Mangue” que retrata os serviços ecossistêmicos de provisão utilizados por mulheres marisqueiras que residem na comunidade Vila do Bonifácio dentro da Reserva Extrativista Marinha de Caeté-Taperaçu no município de Bragança. Esta pesquisa foi realizada no âmbito de três projetos: “Redes de conhecimento socioecológico das florestas de mangue”, “Ciência cidadã e comunidades tradicionais do litoral na adaptação às mudanças climáticas: construindo uma rede brasileira de observação” e da equipe “Usos y Derechos” do projeto “Mangues da Amazônia”, realizados na região norte pelo Laboratório de Ecologia de Manguezal (LAMA) da Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), Campus de Bragança.Assista aqui

First report of an HIV-1 triple recombinant of subtypes B, C and F in Buenos Aires, Argentina

We describe the genetic diversity of currently transmitted strains of HIV-1 in men who have sex with men (MSM) in Buenos Aires, Argentina between 2000 and 2004. Nearly full-length sequence analysis of 10 samples showed that 6 were subtype B, 3 were BF recombinant and 1 was a triple recombinant of subtypes B, C and F. The 3 BF recombinants were 3 different unique recombinant forms. Full genome analysis of one strain that was subtype F when sequenced in pol was found to be a triple recombinant. Gag and pol were predominantly subtype F, while gp120 was subtype B; there were regions of subtype C interspersed throughout. The young man infected with this strain reported multiple sexual partners and sero-converted between May and November of 2004. This study reported for the first time the full genome analysis of a triple recombinant between subtypes B, C and F, that combines in one virus the three most common subtypes in South America

The roles and values of wild foods in agricultural systems

Almost every ecosystem has been amended so that plants and animals can be used as food, fibre, fodder, medicines, traps and weapons. Historically, wild plants and animals were sole dietary components for hunter–gatherer and forager cultures. Today, they remain key to many agricultural communities. The mean use of wild foods by agricultural and forager communities in 22 countries of Asia and Africa (36 studies) is 90–100 species per location. Aggregate country estimates can reach 300–800 species (e.g. India, Ethiopia, Kenya). The mean use of wild species is 120 per community for indigenous communities in both industrialized and developing countries. Many of these wild foods are actively managed, suggesting there is a false dichotomy around ideas of the agricultural and the wild: hunter–gatherers and foragers farm and manage their environments, and cultivators use many wild plants and animals. Yet, provision of and access to these sources of food may be declining as natural habitats come under increasing pressure from development, conservation-exclusions and agricultural expansion. Despite their value, wild foods are excluded from official statistics on economic values of natural resources. It is clear that wild plants and animals continue to form a significant proportion of the global food basket, and while a variety of social and ecological drivers are acting to reduce wild food use, their importance may be set to grow as pressures on agricultural productivity increase.</jats:p

“Vozes do Mangue”: promovendo sensibilização para a conservação dos manguezais amazônicos/ “Vozes do Mangue”: promoting awareness of the conservation of amazonian mangroves

Cerca de 80% dos manguezais brasileiros estão na costa amazônica, onde ocupam a maior faixa contínua de manguezal do mundo. A grande maioria desse ecossistema está abrigada em alguma unidade de conservação e, mesmo assim, a sua manutenção e sustentabilidade ainda é dependente do engajamento direto de projetos socioambientais. Mangues da Amazônia é um projeto socioambiental que incentiva a conservação e promove a sustentabilidade dos recursos dos manguezais amazônicos, através de ações e atividades estratégicas. Vozes do Mangue é um evento criado para se ajustar às condições pandêmicas da Covid-19, utilizando-se do universo virtual para dicutir temas inerentes aos manguezais através de webinários e rodas de conversa. O presente trabalho relata esse processo construtivo e o poder que a comunicação virtual tem para gerar produtos que democratizam o acesso à informação. Três edições desse evento foram realizadas em 2021 e trouxeram as mulheres do mangue (da ciência e das comunidades tracionais) e os manguezais como as principais temáticas. As edições contaram com 22 convidados(as), mais de 400 participantes (nacionais e internacionais) e mais de 2 mil visualizações nas redes sociais do projeto. Os resultados ressaltaram o Vozes do Mangue como uma ferramenta relevante para a popularização da ciência do manguezal e a criação de produtos, como a carta aberta, capazes de sensibilizar e facilitar o acesso à informação. As avaliações interativas identificaram falhas e preencheram lacunas para edições futuras, otimizando a gestão do tempo e potencializando a interação dos participantes