Chromosomal instability and double minute chromosomes in a breast cancer patient.

Cytogenetic analysis was performed in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of a woman with ductal breast carcinoma, who as a hospital employee was exposed professionally for 15 years to low doses of ionizing radiation. The most important finding after the chemotherapy in combination with radiotherapy was the presence of double minutes (DM) chromosomes, in combination with other chromosomal abnormalities (on 200 scored metaphases were found 2 chromatid breaks, 10 dicentrics, 11 acentric fragments, 2 gaps, and 3 double min chromosomes). In a repeated analysis (after 6 months), DM chromosomes were still present. To rule out the possibility that the patient was overexposed to ionizing radiation at work, her blood test was compared with a group of coworkers as well as with a group of professionally unexposed people. The data rejected this possibility, but the retroactive analysis showed that the patient even at the time of employment had a moderately increased number of chromosomal aberrations (3.5%) consisting of 3 isochromatids and 4 gaps, suggesting that her initial genomic instability enhanced the later development. The finding of a continuous presence of rare DM chromosomes in her PBL (4 and 10 months after radiochemotherapy) was considered as an indicator of additional risk, which might have some prognostic significance.</p

Comparison of chromosome aberrations in peripheral blood lymphocytes from people occupationally exposed to ionizing and radiofrequency radiation.

The genotoxic effects of occupational exposure to ionizing and non-ionizing radiation were investigated in 25 physicians and nurses working in hospitals and in 20 individuals working at radio-relay stations. Examination was conducted by chromosome aberration analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes. The data showed that total number of chromosome aberrations in people exposed to ionizing and radio-frequency radiation (4.08 +/- 0.37 and 4.35 +/- 0.5 on 200 scored metaphases, respectively) were almost equally higher than those of non-irradiated subjects. The increase was in proportion to the number of individuals having more that 5-aberration/200 metaphases. Acentric fragments comprised the most frequently seen type of aberration. The average numbers in examined groups (11.8 x 10(-3) and 14.8 x 10(-3) per cell, respectively), were significantly higher than 4.2 x 10(-3), which was observed in controls, unexposed individuals. Dicentric fragments were also frequent (4.8 x 10(-3) and 6.25 x 10(-3), respectively, vs. 0.52 x 10(-3) in control). In contrast, the frequency of chromatid breaks increased only after ionizing radiation (3.8 x 10(-3) vs. 0.26 x 10(-3) in control). A positive correlation between the total number of chromosome aberrations and cumulative 6-years dosage was also found. The data emphasized the dangerous effects of prolonged exposure to both types of radiation and indicated that chromosomal aberration analysis should be obligatory for individuals working at radio-relay stations.</p

The concept of internationalisation and the inevitability of mobility of highly skilled employees: What can the nuclear energy sector in Europe learn from it?

The international mobility of highly skilled professionals is not a new phenomenon - cosmopolitan values have always been part of various institutional operations. Nevertheless the concept of internationalization, as we know it today, developed primarily in the last thirty years on the basis of globalization. Internationalization became increasingly important, if not a core component of the various institutions throughout the world. In Europe, countries have been faced with profound social, political, economic and technological change especially since the beginning of the nineties. These changes were due to globalization of capital, production, trade and services, and Europeanization. It is recognized that only social cohesion, intercultural dialogue and international cooperation can enable organizations to successfully face the challenges and risks brought by technological development, globalization and European integration processes. The internationalisation of research and development (R&D) and mobility of human resources in science and technology has therefore become a central aspect of globalisation. As the mobility increases, so do challenges with it, one of which is the recognition of education and qualifications acquired. Mutual recognition concentrates, not on the process of qualification, but on the outcome of that process. In other words, it does not matter how individuals become qualified in their own country, the important fact is that they are qualified. What about mobility in the nuclear energy sector? The nuclear energy sector in Europe can also profit from the increased mobility of its employees where this mobility is necessary for: 1. human resources development (through the exchange of tacit knowledge, transfer of knowledge from retiring experts to newly employed experts, etc.), and for 2. creating of strategic alliances. There are nevertheless still some questions to be addressed on the European level which could facilitate this mobility: • the harmonisation of job profiles’ denominations or the existence of a common job taxonomy for the nuclear energy sector within the EU; • a network of education and training (E&T) and other institutions on national level that recognise the above taxonomy; • familiarity with and use of the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) principles within the nuclear energy sector in the EU for a set of jobs from the above taxonomy which are, for example, defined as “more mobile”.JRC.F.4-Nuclear Reactor Integrity Assessment and Knowledge Managemen

Magnitude and sign epistasis among deleterious mutations in a positive-sense plant RNA virus

How epistatic interactions between mutations determine the genetic architecture of fitness is of central importance in evolution. The study of epistasis is particularly interesting for RNA viruses because of their genomic compactness, lack of genetic redundancy, and apparent low complexity. Moreover, interactions between mutations in viral genomes determine traits such as resistance to antiviral drugs, virulence and host range. In this study we generated 53 Tobacco etch potyvirus genotypes carrying pairs of single-nucleotide substitutions and measured their separated and combined deleterious fitness effects. We found that up to 38% of pairs had significant epistasis for fitness, including both positive and negative deviations from the null hypothesis of multiplicative effects. Interestingly, the sign of epistasis was correlated with viral protein-protein interactions in a model network, being predominantly positive between linked pairs of proteins and negative between unlinked ones. Furthermore, 55% of significant interactions were cases of reciprocal sign epistasis (RSE), indicating that adaptive landscapes for RNA viruses maybe highly rugged. Finally, we found that the magnitude of epistasis correlated negatively with the average effect of mutations. Overall, our results are in good agreement to those previously reported for other viruses and further consolidate the view that positive epistasis is the norm for small and compact genomes that lack genetic robustness.Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation BFU2009-06993 JAE program from CSICPeer reviewe

Model studija u sintezi epotilona - alternativni pristup sintezi C1-C7 fragmenta

In this model study an alternative synthetic approach to the C1-C7 fragment of epothilones was investigated. Starting froth 4,4-dimethylcyclopentenone, a 7 step reaction sequence afforded the key intermediate 7 in 27%, overall yield. Surprisingly, the attempted deprotection of latent functionalities in 7 failed, indicating the incompatibility of the ethoxyethyl protective group with the reaction conditions employed.U okviru model studije ispitivan je alternativni sintetički pristup C1–C7 fragmentu molekula epotilona. Polazeći od 4,4-dimetilciklopentenona, ključni intermedijer 7 dobijen je u sedam faza, u ukupnom prinosu od 27 %. Deprotekciju latentnih funkcionalnih grupa u molekulu 7 nije bilo moguće izvršiti, zbog iznenađujuće labilnosti etoksietil zaštitne grupe u baznim reakcionim uslovima

Seasonal forecasting of green water components and crop yields of winter wheat in Serbia and Austria

A probabilistic crop forecast based on ensembles of crop model output (CMO) estimates offers a myriad of possible realizations and probabilistic forecasts of green water components (precipitation and evapotranspiration), crop yields and green water footprints (GWFs) on monthly or seasonal scales. The present paper presents part of the results of an ongoing study related to the application of ensemble forecasting concepts for agricultural production. The methodology used to produce the ensemble CMO using the ensemble seasonal weather forecasts as the crop model input meteorological data without the perturbation of initial soil or crop conditions is presented and tested for accuracy, as are its results. The selected case study is for winter wheat growth in Austria and Serbia during the 2006–2014 period modelled with the SIRIUS crop model. The historical seasonal forecasts for a 6-month period (1 March-31 August) were collected for the period 2006–2014 and were assimilated from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecast and the Meteorological Archival and Retrieval System. The seasonal ensemble forecasting results obtained for winter wheat phenology dynamics, yield and GWF showed a narrow range of estimates. These results indicate that the use of seasonal weather forecasting in agriculture and its applications for probabilistic crop forecasting can optimize field operations (e.g., soil cultivation, plant protection, fertilizing, irrigation) and takes advantage of the predictions of crop development and yield a few weeks or months in advance

Stanje kečige (acipenser ruthenus l.) u Srbiji i Mađarskoj

Izlov kečige je tradicionalna i značajna privredna aktivnost i u Srbiji i u Mađarskoj. Osnovni problem vezan za izlov kečige u Srbiji odnosi se na nedostatak validnih podataka o izlovu kečige u poslednjim godinama što je imalo negativan efekat na upravljanje korišćenja ove vrste. Poribljavanje kečigom nije nikada u potpunosti razvijeno u Srbiji dok se u Mađarskoj počelo sa poribljavanjem mlađi kečige od 1980. godine i to sa 10.000-100.000 jedinki/godini. Uzgoj kečige je započet u Mađarskoj od 1990. godine, mada je proizvodnja malog obima. U cilju uspostavljanja boljih planova za upravljanje ovom značajnom vrstom potrebno je uskladiti i koordinisati aktivnosti svih zainteresovanih strana u obe zemlje