Leaf-, panel- and latex-expressed sequenced tags from the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) under cold-stressed and suboptimal growing conditions: the development of gene-targeted Functional markers for stress response.

Hevea brasiliensis is a native species of the Amazon Basin of South America and the primary source of natural rubber worldwide. Due to the occurrence of South American Leaf Blight disease in this area, rubber plantations have been extended to suboptimal regions. Rubber tree breeding is time-consuming and expensive, but molecular markers can serve as a tool for early valuation, thus reducing time and costs. In this work, we constructed six different cDNA libraries with the aim of developing gene-targeted molecular markers for the rubber tree. A total of 8,263 reads were assembled, generating 5,025 unigenes that were analyzed; 912 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) represented new transcripts, and two sequences were highly up-regulated by cold stress. These unigenes were scanned for microsatellite (SSR) regions and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In total, 169 novel EST-SSR markers were developed; 138 loci were polymorphic in the rubber tree, and 98 % presented transferability to six other Hevea species. Locus duplication was observed in H. brasil-iensis and other species. Additionally, 43 SNP markers in 13 sequences that showed similarity to proteins involved in stress response, latex biosynthesis and developmental processes were characterized. cDNA libraries are a rich source of SSR and SNP markers and enable the identification of new transcripts. The new markers developed here will be a valuable resource for linkage mapping, QTL identification and other studies in the rubber tree and can also be used to evaluate the genetic variability of other Hevea species, which are valuable assets in rubber tree breeding

Processamento auditivo: marcadores de tempo por habilidade auditiva

Model of study: descriptive study and cross. Purpose: to characterize the acquisition time of each hearing ability worked with children diagnosed with Disturbance of Central Auditory Processing, school age, from a speech therapy program pre-established, which lasted 20 sessions. Methods: participated in speech therapy 8 patients aged seven to nine years, school age, in a public school. For the analysis of the data set as a criterion for participation, the individual who completed at least 16 sessions of therapy, or one that reached the proposed objectives (adequacy of skills) in fewer sessions. For each session, which occurred weekly, lasting 40 minutes each, was conducted cursive record the child’s performance for each of the skills worked (location, discrimination, recognition, figure-ground/closing, comprehension e memory). Subsequently, we performed a descriptive content analysis of similarity between the skills. In the record was marked session considered the end of the activity, that is, the acquisition of skill. Results: the number of sessions held by the study subjects ranged from 10 to 20 sessions and the average length of sessions for each skill acquisition of auditory worked varied from three to 16 sessions. Conclusion: it was possible to observe adequacy in auditory skills in all subjects of the group, with a range of time worked for each skill. Studies with larger samples are essential to achieve time markers for the acquisition of auditory skills in this population segment.Modelo de estudo: estudo descritivo e transversal. Objetivo do estudo: caracterizar o tempo de aquisi- ção de cada habilidade auditiva trabalhada em crianças diagnosticadas com Distúrbio do Processamento Auditivo Central, em idade escolar, a partir de um programa de intervenção fonoaudiológica pré-estabelecido, com duração máxima de 20 sessões. Metodologia: foram selecionados, para a intervenção fonoaudiológica, 8 indivíduos na faixa etária de sete a nove anos, em idade escolar, de uma escola pública e que completasse, no mínimo, 16 sessões de terapia, ou, ainda, aquele que atingisse os objetivos propostos (adequação das habilidades) em menor número de sessões. Para cada sessão, que ocorreu semanalmente, com duração de 40 minutos, foi realizado registro cursivo do desempenho da crian- ça, para cada uma das habilidades trabalhadas (localização, discriminação, reconhecimento, figura-fundo/ fechamento, compreensão e memória). Posteriormente, foi realizada análise do conteúdo descritivo por semelhança entre as habilidades. No registro, foi assinalada a sessão considerada como término da atividade, isto é, a aquisição da habilidade. Resultados: o número de sessões realizadas pelos indivíduos do estudo variou de 10 a 20 sessões, sendo que o tempo médio de sessões para a aquisição de cada habilidade auditiva trabalhada oscilou entre três e 16 sessões. Conclusões: foi possível observar adequação das habilidades auditivas em todos os indivíduos do estudo, com variação de tempo para cada habilidade trabalhada. Estudos com maior casuística são fundamentais para que se alcancem marcadores de tempo para aquisição de habilidades auditivas, nesse segmento populacional

Evaluation of participation restriction in activities of daily living in elderly users of hearing aids

Objective: to evaluate the effects of using hearing aids and counseling in self-perception of participation restriction in activities in the elderly. Model Study: prospective and descriptive study. Method: we selected 29 elderly. They answered the questionnaire Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly Screening Version (HHIE-S), before the hearing aid fitting. After three months was carried out the same questionnaire and the results obtained were compared. Results: quantitatively the difference between the scores (total, social/situation, emotional), before and after the audiological intervention, showed significant results. In qualitative analysis, it was observed in the condition before the adaptation, a significant perception of auditory handicap for the total score; however, in the situation after the hearing aid use, it no longer occurred handicap perception for the three scores. Conclusion: the acoustic stimulation through the use of hearing aids and counseling sessions contributed to the decrease in scores of participation restriction in elderly, valued at HHIE-S questionnaireObjetivo: avaliar o efeito do uso do aparelho de amplificação sonora individual e do aconselhamento na autopercepção da restrição de participação em atividades de vida diária de idosos. Modelo do Estudo: estudo prospectivo e descritivo. Metodologia: foram selecionados 29 idosos, os quais responderam ao questionário Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly Screening Version (HHIE-S) e, em seguida, começaram a fazer uso contínuo de aparelhos de amplificação sonora individual (AASI). Após três meses foi realizada nova aplicação do questionário e comparados os resultados obtidos sobre a restri- ção de participação. Resultados: quantitativamente a diferença entre os escores (total, social/situacional e emocional), antes e depois da adaptação foi significante. Na análise qualitativa, observou-se na condição antes do uso dos AASI, uma auto-percepção significativa da restrição de participação para o escore total e três meses após o uso esta deixa de existir. Conclusão: A estimulação acústica por meio do uso de AASI e das sessões de aconselhamento foram efetivos para a diminuição da restrição de participação dos idosos, avaliados pelo questionário HHIE-

First events from the CNGS neutrino beam detected in the OPERA experiment

The OPERA neutrino detector at the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory (LNGS) was designed to perform the first detection of neutrino oscillations in appearance mode, through the study of nu_mu to nu_tau oscillations. The apparatus consists of a lead/emulsion-film target complemented by electronic detectors. It is placed in the high-energy, long-baseline CERN to LNGS beam (CNGS) 730 km away from the neutrino source. In August 2006 a first run with CNGS neutrinos was successfully conducted. A first sample of neutrino events was collected, statistically consistent with the integrated beam intensity. After a brief description of the beam and of the various sub-detectors, we report on the achievement of this milestone, presenting the first data and some analysis results.Comment: Submitted to the New Journal of Physic

Data Descriptor: An open resource for transdiagnostic research in pediatric mental health and learning disorders

Technological and methodological innovations are equipping researchers with unprecedented capabilities for detecting and characterizing pathologic processes in the developing human brain. As a result, ambitions to achieve clinically useful tools to assist in the diagnosis and management of mental health and learning disorders are gaining momentum. To this end, it is critical to accrue large-scale multimodal datasets that capture a broad range of commonly encountered clinical psychopathology. The Child Mind Institute has launched the Healthy Brain Network (HBN), an ongoing initiative focused on creating and sharing a biobank of data from 10,000 New York area participants (ages 5–21). The HBN Biobank houses data about psychiatric, behavioral, cognitive, and lifestyle phenotypes, as well as multimodal brain imaging (resting and naturalistic viewing fMRI, diffusion MRI, morphometric MRI), electroencephalography, eyetracking, voice and video recordings, genetics and actigraphy. Here, we present the rationale, design and implementation of HBN protocols. We describe the first data release (n =664) and the potential of the biobank to advance related areas (e.g., biophysical modeling, voice analysis

Solution to the stationary problem of glacier dynamics

A stationary problem of the non-Newtonian fluid dynamics is applied to the modeling of an alpine glacier motion with Dirichlet boundary conditions corresponding to the ice increment in the upper part of the glacier and to the ice meltdown in its lower part. The existence of a weak solution in a functional class with the first-order derivatives integrable to the power q > 6/5 is established for sufficiently small given boundary data. The proof is largely based on regularizing weak solutions and using properties of monotone operators. © 2010 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd