Molecular diversity and genetic relationships in Secale

The objective of this study was to quantify the molecular diversity and to determine the genetic relationships among Secale spp. and among cultivars of Secale cereale using RAPDs, ISSRs and sequence analysis of six exons of ScMATE1 gene. Thirteen ryes (cultivated and wild) were genotyped using 21 RAPD and 16 ISSR primers. A total of 435 markers (242 RAPDs and 193 ISSRs) were obtained, with 293 being polymorphic (146 RAPDs and 147 ISSRs). Two RAPD and nine ISSR primers generated more than 80% of polymorphism. The ISSR markers were more polymorphic and informative than RAPDs. Further, 69% of the ISSR primers selected achieved at least 70% of DNA polymorphism. The study of six exons of the ScMATE1 gene also demonstrated a high genetic variability that subsists in Secale genus. One difference observed in exon 1 sequences from S. vavilovii seems to be correlated with Al sensitivity in this species. The genetic relationships obtained using RAPDs, ISSRs and exons of ScMATE1 gene were similar. S. ancestrale, S. kuprijanovii and S. cereale were grouped in the same cluster and S. segetale was in another cluster. S. vavilovii showed evidences of not being clearly an isolate species and having great intraspecific differences

Polymorphism of the prolactin gene (PRL) and its relationship with milk production in American Swiss cattle

The modern dairy cattle breeding strategy in the Mexican tropic is to identify genes or allelic variants that can be incorporated into selection programs such as the prolactin gene (PRL) which is associated with milk production and quality. The aim of this study is to screen an American Swiss population in Chiapas, Mexico, in order to analyze the polymorphism of the prolactin gene as well as its relationship with milk production in blood samples of 417 American Swiss cattle. The genotypes were determined through the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragments length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique, using RsaI restriction endonuclease, showing a 156 bp fragment located in exon 3. Allele frequencies in the studied breed were: A = 0.8765 and B = 0.1235. The genotype frequencies of AA, AB and BB were 0.776, 0.174 and 0.026, respectively. The Chi-square indicated that genotype distributions were not in the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P<0.05). The results show that animals with genotype AA had a greater milk production during lactation than genotypes AB and BB (P<0.05), with genotype BB being the one that had the lowest production (P<0.05). It was concluded that the identification of the prolactin polymorphism in this population will allow the achievement of a better efficiency in the selection of breeding animals.Keywords: Brown Swiss, prolactin, polymorphism, milk, RFLP-RsaI.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 11(29), pp. 7338-7343, 10 April, 201

Psoralen analogues: synthesis, inhibitory activity of growth of human tumor cell lines and computational studies

Eight psoralens have been evaluated for their ability to inhibit the in vitro growth of three human turner cell lines representing different tumor types, MCF-7 (breast cancer), NCI-14460 (non-small cell lung cancer) and SF-268 (CNS cancer). The synthesis of four new psoralens (benzofur-ocournarins) is presented as well as the results of the ab initio calculations to find the parameters that relate the structure with the antitumor activity. This work provides supplementary information that could allow the development of new psoralen analogues with this type of biological activity.For financial support from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (I&D no. 226/9 and to CQ-UM), POCTI and FEDER; Ph.D. grants from FCT: Ana M.A.G. Oliveira (PRAXIS XXI/BD/19707/99), Madalena Pedro (SFRH/BD/1456/2000) and César Portela (SFRH/BD/3036/2000). For financial support and research grants to FAPEMIG (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais) and CNPq (Conselho Nacional do Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Brazil). The authors thank National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD (USA) for kindly providing the tumor cell lines and Elisa Pinto for obtaining 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectra and elemental analyses.POCTI

EFECTO DE UNA BACTERINA DE DOSIS ÚNICA CONTRA Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae SOBRE EL TÍTULO DE ANTICUERPOS, GANANCIA DE PESO Y LESIONES PULMONARES EN PORCINOS PROVENIENTES DE MADRES VACUNADAS

El objetivo del presente estudio fue determinar si la inmunización con bacterina de dosis única contra Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae afecta los títulos de anticuerpos, mejora la ganancia de peso, y disminuye las lesiones pulmonares en porcinos de crianza intensiva. Se emplearon 60 lechones provenientes de madres vacunadas, los cuales fueron divididos en 2 grupos de 30 lechones (15 hembras y 15 machos). Un grupo fue inmunizado a los 42 días de edad y el otro fue utilizado como control. Se tomaronmuestras de sangre a los 21, 42, 70, 84, 112 y 145 días para determinar el título de anticuerpos con la prueba de ELISA indirecta. Los lechones se pesaron a los 21 y 145 días de edad y las lesiones pulmonares se evaluaron al beneficio (145 días). Cerca del 60% de porcinos en ambos grupos presentaron títulos altos de anticuerpos a los 21 días de edad, disminuyendo hacia los 70 días. El grupo inmunizado elevó sus títulos entre los 84 y 145 días de edad y el grupo control los elevó hacia los 112 días de edad. No existió diferencia estadística significativa en la ganancia de peso de ambos grupos. El 79.3 (23/29) y 20.7% (6/29) del grupo control e inmunizado, respectivamente, presentaron lesiones pulmonares al beneficio. Se puede concluir que la inmunización con bacterina de dosis única contra M. hyopneumoniae elevó los títulos de anticuerpos de los porcinos inmunizados en gran parte de la población, y disminuyó el porcentaje de lesiones pulmonares al beneficio, pero no influyó en la ganancia de peso.The aim of the present study was to determine whether the immunization with a single dose of a commercial bacterin against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae influences antibody titles, bodyweight gain, and lung lesions in a commercial pig farm. Sixty piglets born from vaccinated sows were used. One group of 30 piglets (15males and 15 females) were vaccinated at 42 days of age and the other group remained unvaccinated, as a control group. Blood sampleswere collected at 21, 42, 70, 84, 112, and 145 days of age to determine antibody titleswith an Indirect ELISAtest.Animalswereweighed at 21 and 145 days of age and lung lesions were evaluated at slaughter (145 days). Nearly60% of pigs from both groups had high antibody titres at 21 days of age, but decreased by day 70. Titres increased between 84 and 145 days of age in the vaccinated group while increased by day 112 in the unvaccinated group. There were no significant differences in body weight gain between both groups. The 79.3 and 20.7% of piglets from the control group and the vaccinated group respectively, presented lung lesions. The results showed that vaccination with a single dose bacterin against M. hyopneumoniae increased antibody titles, although not in the entire population, and diminished the frequency of lung lesions, but no influenced body weight gain

Assessment of patients with functional chronic obstructive pulmonary diasease through WHODAS

A mensuração das Atividades de vida diária (AVD’s) nos paciente com DPOC é um instrumento comumente empregado e amparado pela Classificação Internacional da Funcionalidade (CIF). Objetivo: Avaliar a incapacidade funcional de pacientes com doença pulmonar obstrutiva crônica (DPOC) através do World Health Organization Disabilty Assessment Schedule (WHODAS). Métodos: Trata de estudo transversal que avaliou 24 pacientes no início de um programa de reabilitação pulmonar com o questionário WHODAS 2.0. A análise estatística foi descritiva e inferencial com análise do coeficiente de correlação de Spearman com nível de significância de 5%. Resultados: Os dados obtidos com as pontuações totais de domínios e das escalas na avaliação dos pacientes foram comparados pelo teste de Mann-Whitney. Os pacientes apresentaram leve incapacidade funcional. O escore total WHODAS 2.0 foi maior nos menores de 60 anos (35,3 ± 16 vs 14,4 ± 8,6; p = 0,05) e no sexo masculino (12,1 ± 6,7 vs 25,2 ± 15,1; p = 0,03) apresentando maior incapacidade. Houve também correlação entre o domínio “atividades diárias” com o domínio “participação” (r = 0,771; p < 0,001). Conclusão: Foi possível concluir que O WHODAS 2.0 demonstrou-se como um instrumento viável para a avaliação da incapacidade na atividades de vida diária (AVD’s) do paciente com DPOC. A mesma revelou que pacientes comunitários fora da crise, apresentam moderada a leve dificuldade desde a mobilidade até sua participação socialMeasurement of Activities of daily living (ADLs) in patients with COPD is a commonly used instrument and supported by the International Classification of Functioning (ICF). Objective: Evaluate the functional disability in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS). Methods: This cross-sectional study that evaluated 24 patients at the beginning of a pulmonary rehabilitation program with WHODAS 2.0 questionnaire. The statistical analysis was descriptive and inferential analysis with the Spearman correlation coefficient with 5% significance level. Results: The data obtained with the total scores of domains and scales in the evaluation of patients were compared using the Mann-Whitney test. Patients had mild functional disability. The total score WHODAS 2.0 was higher in younger than 60 years (35.3 ± 16 vs 14.4 ± 8.6; p = 0.05) and males (12.1 ± 6.7 vs 25.2 ± 15.1; p = 0.03) part will introduce greater disability. There was also a correlation between the domain “daily activities” with the domain “participation” (r = 0.771; p0.001). Conclusion: The 2.0 WHODAS was rated as a feasible tool for the assessment of disability in activities of daily living (ADL’s) of COPD patients. The results also revealed that community patients out of the COPD crisis, have moderate to mild difficulty in mobility to social participation domain

Development of a Cyclic Voltammetry-Based Method for the Detection of Antigens and Antibodies as a Novel Strategy for Syphilis Diagnosis

54/2017). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.The improvement of laboratory diagnosis is a critical step for the reduction of syphilis cases around the world. In this paper, we present the development of an impedance-based method for detecting T. pallidum antigens and antibodies as an auxiliary tool for syphilis laboratory diagnosis. We evaluate the voltammetric signal obtained after incubation in carbon or gold nanoparticle-modified carbon electrodes in the presence or absence of Poly-L-Lysine. Our results indicate that the signal obtained from the electrodes was sufficient to distinguish between infected and non-infected samples immediately (T0′) or 15 min (T15′) after incubation, indicating its potential use as a point-of-care method as a screening strategy.publishersversionpublishe

Optical and Infrared Photometry of the Type Ia Supernovae 1991T, 1991bg, 1999ek, 2001bt, 2001cn, 2001cz, and 2002bo

We present optical and/or infrared photometry of the Type Ia supernovae SN 1991T, SN 1991bg, SN 1999ek, SN 2001bt, SN 2001cn, SN 2001cz, and SN 2002bo. All but one of these supernovae have decline rate parameters Delta m_15(B) close to the median value of 1.1 for the whole class of Type Ia supernovae. The addition of these supernovae to the relationship between the near-infrared absolute magnitudes and Delta m_15(B) strengthens the previous relationships we have found, in that the maximum light absolute magnitudes are essentially independent of the decline rate parameter. (SN 1991bg, the prototype of the subclass of fast declining Type Ia supernovae, is a special case.) The dispersion in the Hubble diagram in JHK is only ~0.15 mag. The near-infrared properties of Type Ia supernovae continue to be excellent measures of the luminosity distances to the supernova host galaxies, due to the need for only small corrections from the epoch of observation to maximum light, low dispersion in absolute magnitudes at maximum light, and the minimal reddening effects in the near-infrared.Comment: Astron. J., 128, 3034 (Dec. 2004). This version with updated author list, addresses, acknowledgments, reference

A Field Trial of Alternative Targeted Screening Strategies for Chagas Disease in Arequipa, Peru

In the wake of emerging T. cruzi infection in children of periurban Arequipa, Peru, we conducted a prospective field trial to evaluate alternative targeted screening strategies for Chagas disease across the city. Using insect vector data that is routinely collected during Ministry of Health insecticide application campaigns in 3 periurban districts of Arequipa, we separated into 4 categories those households with 1) infected vectors; 2) high vector densities; 3) low vector densities; and 4) no vectors. Residents of all infected-vector households and a random sample of those in the other 3 categories were invited for serological screening for T. cruzi infection. Subsequently, all residents of households within a 15-meter radius of detected seropositive individuals were invited to be screened in a ring case-detection scheme. Of 923 participants, 21 (2.28%) were seropositive. There were no significant differences in prevalence across the 4 screening strategies, indicating that household entomologic factors alone could not predict the risk of infection. Indeed, the most predictive variable of infection was the number of years a person lived in a location with triatomine insects. Therefore, a simple residence history questionnaire may be a useful screening tool in large, diverse urban environments with emerging Chagas disease