A method for finding the genetic map position of cloned DNA fragments

A method for finding the genetic map position of cloned DNA fragment

Deinstitutionalization in Italian psychiatry -the course and consequences Part I. The course of deinstitutionalization -the activity of Basaglia's group

Summary Psychiatric reform in Italy consisted of the implementation of legislative changes derived from anti-institutional experiments conducted by Franco Basaglia and his group in the 60's and 70's of the 20th century. The activity of Basaglia's group was an integral part of the European reform movement of that time, which profited from the economic, cultural and political prosperity for changes in psychiatry. Italian anti-psychiatry has led to the most radical experiment in deinstitutionalization in history. It involved the whole public sector of psychiatry and across a quarter-century resulted in a grand social debate on the situation of the mentally ill and the need for systemic change of their treatment and care. Inspired mainly by phenomenological analysis, Basaglia opted for close emphatic contact with the mentally ill. While the British, French and American anti-psychiatrists contested the psychiatric care system as such, the Italian radicals made an approach to disassemble it from the inside and successfully gained social support for the process of deinstitutionalization. Basaglia promoted his ideas across Europe, including the World Health Organization (WHO) forum

Renal Allograft Survival in Transplant Recipients with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73852/1/j.1600-6143.2003.30111.x.pd

Detection of Pesticides in Active and Depopulated Beehives in Uruguay

The influence of insecticides commonly used for agricultural purposes on beehive depopulation in Uruguay was investigated. Honeycombs, bees, honey and propolis from depopulated hives were analyzed for pesticide residues, whereas from active beehives only honey and propolis were evaluated. A total of 37 samples were analyzed, representing 14,800 beehives. In depopulated beehives only imidacloprid and fipronil were detected and in active beehives endosulfan, coumaphos, cypermethrin, ethion and chlorpyrifos were found. Coumaphos was present in the highest concentrations, around 1,000 μg/kg, in all the propolis samples from active beehives. Regarding depopulated beehives, the mean levels of imidacloprid found in honeycomb (377 μg/kg, Standard Deviation: 118) and propolis (60 μg/kg, Standard Deviation: 57) are higher than those described to produce bee disorientation and fipronil levels detected in bees (150 and 170 μg/kg) are toxic per se. The other insecticides found can affect the global fitness of the bees causing weakness and a decrease in their overall productivity. These preliminary results suggest that bees exposed to pesticides or its residues can lead them in different ways to the beehive

MRN complex function in the repair of chromosomal Rag-mediated DNA double-strand breaks

The Mre11–Rad50–Nbs1 (MRN) complex functions in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by homologous recombination (HR) at postreplicative stages of the cell cycle. During HR, the MRN complex functions directly in the repair of DNA DSBs and in the initiation of DSB responses through activation of the ataxia telangiectasia-mutated (ATM) serine-threonine kinase. Whether MRN functions in DNA damage responses before DNA replication in G0/G1 phase cells has been less clear. In developing G1-phase lymphocytes, DNA DSBs are generated by the Rag endonuclease and repaired during the assembly of antigen receptor genes by the process of V(D)J recombination. Mice and humans deficient in MRN function exhibit lymphoid phenotypes that are suggestive of defects in V(D)J recombination. We show that during V(D)J recombination, MRN deficiency leads to the aberrant joining of Rag DSBs and to the accumulation of unrepaired coding ends, thus establishing a functional role for MRN in the repair of Rag-mediated DNA DSBs. Moreover, these defects in V(D)J recombination are remarkably similar to those observed in ATM-deficient lymphocytes, suggesting that ATM and MRN function in the same DNA DSB response pathways during lymphocyte antigen receptor gene assembly

The linked units of 5S rDNA and U1 snDNA of razor shells (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Pharidae)

[Abstract] The linkage between 5S ribosomal DNA and other multigene families has been detected in many eukaryote lineages, but whether it provides any selective advantage remains unclear. In this work, we report the occurrence of linked units of 5S ribosomal DNA (5S rDNA) and U1 small nuclear DNA (U1 snDNA) in 10 razor shell species (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Pharidae) from four different genera. We obtained several clones containing partial or complete repeats of both multigene families in which both types of genes displayed the same orientation. We provide a comprehensive collection of razor shell 5S rDNA clones, both with linked and nonlinked organisation, and the first bivalve U1 snDNA sequences. We predicted the secondary structures and characterised the upstream and downstream conserved elements, including a region at −25 nucleotides from both 5S rDNA and U1 snDNA transcription start sites. The analysis of 5S rDNA showed that some nontranscribed spacers (NTSs) are more closely related to NTSs from other species (and genera) than to NTSs from the species they were retrieved from, suggesting birth-and-death evolution and ancestral polymorphism. Nucleotide conservation within the functional regions suggests the involvement of purifying selection, unequal crossing-overs and gene conversions. Taking into account this and other studies, we discuss the possible mechanisms by which both multigene families could have become linked in the Pharidae lineage. The reason why 5S rDNA is often found linked to other multigene families seems to be the result of stochastic processes within genomes in which its high copy number is determinan

Monitoring of residues of dithiocarbamate fungicides in Polish crops during 1999-2000

The results of studies on residues of dithiocarbamate fungicides in 13 different crops during 1999-2000 are presented. According to monitoring programme 2,226 samples of fruits and vegetables were collected from the productions sites in the whole country. The samples were analyzed for residue content by a spectrophotometric method. In 11.3% of samples the residues were detected. Residues exceeding Polish MRLs were found in 10 samples (0.5%).W latach 1999-2000 zbadano 2226 próbek owoców i warzyw na obecność pozostałości fungicydów dwutiokarbaminianowych. Próbki do badań pobierano losowo z miejsc produkcji rolniczej na terenie całego kraju. Pozostałości wykrywano najczęściej w próbkach czarnej porzeczki (37,4%) , pomidora gruntowego (34,1%), maliny (33,3%) i truskawki (21,8%). 11,3% badanych próbek zawierało pozostałości, a w przypadku 0,5% próbek stwierdzono przekroczenia najwyższych dopuszczalnych poziomów. W poszczególnych grupach upraw: owocach, warzywach gruntowych oraz warzywach spod osłon udział próbek zawierających niedopuszczalne stężenia dwutiokarbaminianów był podobny i wynosił odpowiednio 0,4%, 0,6% i 0,4%. Najwięcej pozostałości wykryto w próbkach pochodzących z województwa świętokrzyskiego (25,5%), wielkopolskiego (21,4%) i kujawsko-pomorskiego (18,2%), najmniej w próbkach z województw: podkarpackiego (2%), dolnośląskiego (1 %)

Determination of organophosphorus pesticides in fruits and vegetables by matrix solid-phase dispersion method

Multiresidue matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) technique with capillary gas chromatographic detection for determination and quantification of ten commonly used organophosphorus pesticides (chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-methyl, diazinon, dimethoate, fenitrothion, formothion, malathion, parathion, phosalone, pirimiphos-methyl) in fruits and vegetables is described. The method gave high recoveries for all spiked samples in 80-120% range. The limits of detection were from 0.01 to 0.1 mg/kg for the compounds studied and were much lower than maximum residue levels (MRLs) allowed. The procedure was applied to the determination of ten organophosphorus pesticides in samples collected during the routine crop monitoring.Celem badań było sprawdzenie możliwości zastosowania metody rozproszenia matrycy w fazie stałej (MSPD) do oznaczania pozostałości najczęściej stosowanych związków fosforoorganicznych w owocach i warzywach. Porównano wyniki oznaczeń dziesięciu najczęściej stosowanych insektycydów z tej grupy związków uzyskane dwiema metodami: MSPD i klasyczną z wykorzystaniem ekstrakcji rozpuszczalnikiem organicznym. Obie metody okazały się równie skuteczne, a ich parametry (wartości odzysku, odchylenie standardowe, granice oznaczalności) porównywalne. Metoda MSPD jest jednak prostsza, mniej czasochłonna, a przede wszystkim bardziej ekonomiczna od metody klasycznej. Ograniczenie zużycia rozpuszczalników organicznych jest ważne ze względu na ich negatywny wpływ na zdrowie osób pracujących w laboratorium i środowisko. Metodę MSPD zastosowano w analizie pozostałości związków fosforoorganicznych w monitoringowych badaniach próbek owoców i warzyw