Caracterização de linhagens comerciais de café através de marcadores moleculares.

Estudos sobre a diversidade genética de espécies com finalidade de melhoramento genético representam importante preocupação dos melhoristas. Diversas técnicas moleculares têm permitido revelar uma diversidade genética presente no genoma que até então era desconhecida pelos cientistas. Muitas espécies de interesse agronômico têm sido alvo de estudos que abordam a diversidade genética em nível molecular. De uma maneira geral, os resultados obtidos a partir do uso dos marcadores têm sido bastante satisfatórios, principalmente para aquelas espécies que apresentam ampla base genética e insuficiente número de descritores botânicos para diferenciação de genótipos, como é o caso da mandioca. A base genética formada pelos cultivares de C. arabica, principal espécie cultivada, é considerada estreita. Em relação ao Brasil, principal produtor mundial desta cultura, a própria história explica em parte a ausência de variação genética nos materiais atualmente em cultivo. Historicamente, as primeiras plantações de café formaram-se há mais de dois séculos a partir de poucas plantas, constituindo material muito uniforme e de pouca variabilidade genética. De fato, estudos sobre a diversidade genética de cafeeiros em cultivo realizados no IAC utilizando descritores botânicos e agronômicos têm revelado baixo nível de variação genética entre as diferentes linhagens que compõem um cultivar. Entre diferentes cultivares esta variação é mais notória, mão não tão acentuada como se pensava, mesmo quando diferentes espécies participam da genealogia destes cultivares. Desta maneira, este trabalho teve como objetivo principal a avaliação das técnicas de RAPD e AFLP para a identificação e caracterização de diversas linhagens comerciais de C. arabica selecionadas pelo IAC. Os resultados obtidos com estes marcadores confirmam os dados obtidos anteriormente de que a variabilidade genética entre as linhagens é pequena. Além disso, os dados sugerem que a técnica de RAPD não é eficiente para a identificação e determinação da distância genética entre as linhagens avaliadas, apesar de representar uma ferramenta adequada para avaliação da variabilidade no cafeeiro. No entanto, embora o nível de variação observado através dos marcadores moleculares seja baixo, sabe-se que estas linhagens apresentam comportamento agronômico bastante diferenciado. Isso nos leva a pensar que poucos genes diferenciam os principais materiais genéticos de cafeeiro de importância agronômica e que o uso de marcadores moleculares para estudos de diversidade genética e localização de genes de interesse agronômico deve ser repensada

Ultra-processed food consumption and its correlates among Italian children, adolescents and adults from the Italian Nutrition & Health Survey (INHES) cohort study

Objective: To assess ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and its socio-demographic, psychosocial and behavioural correlates in a general population of Italian children, adolescents and adults. Design: Cross-sectional telephone-based survey Setting: Italy, 2010-2013. Participants: In total, 9078 participants (5-97 years) from the Italian Nutrition & Health Survey. Dietary intakes were collected by a 1-d 24-h dietary recall. UPF was defined by the NOVA classification and expressed as percentage of total energies. Results: Average energy intake from UPF (95 % CI) was 17·3 % (17·1 %, 17·6 %) among adults and 25·9 % (24·8 %, 27·0 %) in children/adolescents. Top sources of UPF were processed meats (32·5 %) and bread substitutes (16·7 %). Among adults, age (β = -3·10; 95 % CI (-4·40, -1·80) for >65 years v. 20-40 years; βs are dimensionless) and residing in Southern Italy (β = -0·73; 95 % CI (-1·32, -0·14) v. Northern) inversely associated with UPF. Screen view during meals was directly linked to UPF, as well as poor self-rated health (β = 5·32; 95 % CI (2·66, 7·99)), adverse life events (β = 2·33; 95 % CI (1·48, 3·18)) and low sleep quality (β = 2·34; 95 % CI (1·45, 3·23)). Boys consumed two-point percent more UPF of the total energy than girls (β = 2·01; 95 % CI (0·20, 3·82)). For all ages, a Mediterranean diet was inversely associated with UPF (β = -4·86; 95 % CI (-5·53, -4·20) for good v. poor adherence in adults and (β = -5·08; 95 % CI (-8·38, -1·77) for kids). Conclusions: UPF contributes a modest proportion of energy to the diets of Italian adults while being one-quarter of the total energies in children/adolescents. UPF was associated with several psychosocial factors and eating behaviours. Increased adherence to Mediterranean diet would possibly result in lower UPF consumption

Validation of a patient-specific system for mandible-first bimaxillary surgery: ramus and implant positioning precision assessment and guide design comparison

In orthognathic surgery, the use of patient-specific osteosynthesis devices is a novel approach used to transfer the virtual surgical plan to the patient. The aim of this study is to analyse the quality of mandibular anatomy reproduction using a mandible-first mandibular-PSI guided procedure on 22 patients. Three different positioning guide designs were compared in terms of osteosynthesis plate positioning and mandibular anatomical outcome. PSIs and positioning guides were designed according to virtual surgical plan and 3D printed using biocompatible materials. A CBCT scan was performed 1 month after surgery and postoperative mandibular models were segmented for comparison against the surgical plan. A precision comparison was carried out among the three groups. Correlations between obtained rami and plates discrepancies and between planned rami displacements and obtained rami discrepancies were calculated. Intraoperatively, all PSIs were successfully applied. The procedure was found to be accurate in planned mandibular anatomy reproduction. Different guide designs did not differ in mandibular outcome precision. Plate positional discrepancies influenced the corresponding ramus position, mainly in roll angle and vertical translation. Ramus planned displacement was found to be a further potential source of inaccuracy, possibly due to osteosynthesis surface interference

The GINGER Project and status of the ring-laser of LNGS

A ring-laser attached to the Earth measures the absolute angular velocity of the Earth summed to the relativistic precessions, de Sitter and Lense-Thirring. GINGER (Gyroscopes IN GEneral Relativity) is a project aiming at measuring the LenseThirring effect with a ground based detector; it is based on an array of ring-lasers. Comparing the Earth angular velocity measured by IERS and the measurement done with the GINGER array, the Lense-Thirring effect can be evaluated. Compared to the existing space experiments, GINGER provides a local measurement, not the averaged value and it is unnecessary to model the gravitational field. It is a proposal, but it is not far from being a reality. In fact the GrossRing G of the Geodesy Observatory of Wettzell has a sensitivity very close to the necessary one. G ofWettzell is part of the IERS system which provides the measure of the Length Of the DAY (LOD); G provides information on the fast component of LOD. In the last few years, a roadmap toward GINGER has been outlined. The experiment G-GranSasso, financed by the INFN Commission II, is developing instrumentations and tests along the roadmap of GINGER. In this short paper the main activities of G-GranSasso and some results will be presented. The first results of GINGERino will be reported, GINGERino is the large ring-laser installed inside LNGS and now in the commissioning phase. Ring-lasers provide as well important informations for geophysics, in particular the rotational seismology, which is an emerging field of science. GINGERino is one of the three experiments of common interest between INFN and INGV

The Dietary Intake of Polyphenols Is Associated with a Lower Risk of Severe Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Case-Control Analysis from the PREFACE Study

Polyphenols are naturally occurring compounds endowed with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. We sought to examine the association of dietary polyphenols with the risk of severe lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS), a condition possibly characterized by a high inflammatory component. A case-control study included 156 patients with LSS and indication to surgery and 312 controls, matched (1:2) for sex, age (±6 months), and physical activity. The polyphenol intake was calculated by matching food consumption data from a 188-item food frequency questionnaire with the Phenol-Explorer database regarding the polyphenol content of each reported food. In a multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analysis including lifestyles, sociodemographic factors, and the Mediterranean Diet Score, a 1-standard deviation (SD) increase in dietary polyphenols intake was associated with lower odds of LSS (Odds ratio [OR] = 0.65; 95% CI: 0.47–0.89). Analyses of different polyphenol classes showed that a per 1-SD in the consumption of flavonoids and stilbenes was related to lower LSS risk (OR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.42–0.78; OR = 0.40; 95% CI: 0.27–0.61, respectively). Further adjustment for the total dietary antioxidant capacity did not modify the strength of these associations. A diet rich in polyphenols is independently associated with a lower risk of severe LSS, possibly through mechanisms that include the anti-inflammatory potential of these bioactive compounds

HSPH1 inhibition downregulates Bcl-6 and c-Myc and hampers the growth of human aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma

We have shown that human B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (B-NHLs) express heat shock protein (HSP)H1/105 in function of their aggressiveness. Here, we now clarify its role as a functional B-NHL target by testing the hypothesis that it promotes the stabilization of key lymphoma oncoproteins. HSPH1 silencing in 4 models of aggressive B-NHLs was paralleled by Bcl-6 and c-Myc downregulation. In vitro and in vivo analysis of HSPH1-silenced Namalwa cells showed that this effect was associated with a significant growth delay and the loss of tumorigenicity when 104 cells were injected into mice. Interestingly, we found that HSPH1 physically interacts with c-Myc and Bcl-6 in both Namalwa cells and primary aggressive B-NHLs. Accordingly, expression of HSPH1 and either c-Myc or Bcl-6 positively correlated in these diseases. Our study indicates that HSPH1 concurrently favors the expression of 2 key lymphoma oncoproteins, thus confirming its candidacy as a valuable therapeutic target of aggressive B-NHLs

Vortex dynamics and states of artificially layered superconducting films with correlated defects

Linear resistances and $IV$-characteristics have been measured over a wide range in the parameter space of the mixed phase of multilayered a-TaGe/Ge films. Three films with varying interlayer coupling and correlated defects oriented at an angle $\approx 25$ from the film normal were investigated. Experimental data were analyzed within vortex glass models and a second order phase transition from a resistive vortex liquid to a pinned glass phase. Various vortex phases including changes from three to two dimensional behavior depending on anisotropy have been identified. Careful analysis of $IV$-characteristics in the glass phases revealed a distinctive $T$ and $H$-dependence of the glass exponent $\mu$. The vortex dynamics in the Bose-glass phase does not follow the predicted behavior for excitations of vortex kinks or loops.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, 3 table

Conceivable security risks and authentication techniques for smart devices

With the rapidly escalating use of smart devices and fraudulent transaction of users’ data from their devices, efficient and reliable techniques for authentication of the smart devices have become an obligatory issue. This paper reviews the security risks for mobile devices and studies several authentication techniques available for smart devices. The results from field studies enable a comparative evaluation of user-preferred authentication mechanisms and their opinions about reliability, biometric authentication and visual authentication techniques

Adiabatic evolution of a coupled-qubit Hamiltonian

We present a general method for studying coupled qubits driven by adiabatically changing external parameters. Extended calculations are provided for a two-bit Hamiltonian whose eigenstates can be used as logical states for a quantum CNOT gate. From a numerical analysis of the stationary Schroedinger equation we find a set of parameters suitable for representing CNOT, while from a time-dependent study the conditions for adiabatic evolution are determined. Specializing to a concrete physical system involving SQUIDs, we determine reasonable parameters for experimental purposes. The dissipation for SQUIDs is discussed by fitting experimental data. The low dissipation obtained supports the idea that adiabatic operations could be performed on a time scale shorter than the decoherence time.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, to be pub.in Phys Rev

Measurement of the branching ratio of the decay Ξ0→Σ+μ−νˉμ\Xi^{0}\rightarrow \Sigma^{+} \mu^{-} \bar{\nu}_{\mu}

From the 2002 data taking with a neutral kaon beam extracted from the CERN-SPS, the NA48/1 experiment observed 97 $\Xi^{0}\rightarrow \Sigma^{+} \mu^{-} \bar{\nu}_{\mu}$ candidates with a background contamination of $30.8 \pm 4.2$ events. From this sample, the BR($\Xi^{0}\rightarrow \Sigma^{+} \mu^{-} \bar{\nu}_{\mu}$) is measured to be $(2.17 \pm 0.32_{\mathrm{stat}}\pm 0.17_{\mathrm{syst}})\times10^{-6}$