Screening genetic resources of Capsicum peppers in their primary centre of diversity in Bolivia and Peru

For most crops, like Capsicum, their diversity remains under-researched for traits of interest for food, nutrition and other purposes. A small investment in screening this diversity for a wide range of traits is likely to reveal many traditional varieties with distinguished values. One objective of this study was to demonstrate, with Capsicum as model crop, the application of indicators of phenotypic and geographic diversity as effective criteria for selecting promising genebank accessions for multiple uses from crop centers of diversity. A second objective was to evaluate the expression of biochemical and agromorphological properties of the selected Capsicum accessions in different conditions. Four steps were involved: 1) Develop the necessary diversity by expanding genebank collections in Bolivia and Peru; 2) Establish representative subsets of ~100 accessions for biochemical screening of Capsicum fruits; 3) Select promising accessions for different uses after screening; and 4) Examine how these promising accessions express biochemical and agromorphological properties when grown in different environmental conditions. The Peruvian Capsicum collection now contains 712 accessions encompassing all five domesticated species (C. annuum, C. chinense, C. frutescens, C. baccatum, and C. pubescens). The collection in Bolivia now contains 487 accessions, representing all five domesticates plus four wild taxa (C. baccatum var. baccatum, C. caballeroi, C. cardenasii, and C. eximium). Following the biochemical screening, 44 Bolivian and 39 Peruvian accessions were selected as promising, representing wide variation in levels of antioxidant capacity, capsaicinoids, fat, flavonoids, polyphenols, quercetins, tocopherols, and color. In Peru, 23 promising accessions performed well in different environments, while each of the promising Bolivian accessions only performed well in a certain environment. Differences in Capsicum diversity and local contexts led to distinct outcomes in each country. In Peru, mild landraces with high values in health-related attributes were of interest to entrepreneurs. In Bolivia, wild Capsicum have high commercial demand

Noncontact Optical Fiber Sensor for Measuring the Refractive Index of Liquids

A noncontact optical fiber sensor for measuring the refractive index of transparent liquids is proposed. It operates by calculating the path of a focused laser beam at 635 nm that travels across the boundaries of a liquid sample. The optical power Fresnel reflections are detected and, subsequently, the refractive index is determined as the ratio between the traveled beam paths when the liquid is deposited versus a reference without the liquid sample. Additionally, a mathematical analysis of the geometrical case is included. The theoretical data from our sensor are in good agreement with the experimental results. The resolution achieved by the sensor is better than 10−3 RIU

Ciclo biológico y exploración de parasitismo en Specularius impressithorax (Pic) 1932 (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) en México

El brúquido Specularius impressithorax es un insecto deorigen africano cuyo desplazamiento se ha dado de manera importante a nivel mundial debido a que se le ha encontrado en países como la India, Estados Unidos (Hawaii, California) y actualmente México, en este último desplazándose a varios estados de la República, en gran parte debido a que su principal fuente de alimento son las semillas de plantas del género Erythrina, las cuales se encuentran abundantemente en zonas con climas desde semiáridos hasta secos o templados; el clima en México y la diversidad de especies de Erythrina ha favorecido al establecimiento del insecto y por lo tanto el ataque a nuevos hospederos. Para el estudio del ciclo biológico del insecto se realizó la cría del mismo y se cuantificó el número de huevos depositados y el tiempo requerido para cada etapa de desarrollo, todo ello a temperatura ambiente (18 - 22 °C) y temperatura controlada de 25 ºC ± 2 ºC; tambiénse observó la polifagia hacia nuevos hospederos y la exploraciónde parasitismo en S. impressithorax. Los resultados mostraron que S.impressithorax en condiciones controladas de laboratorio presenta una disminución en la oviposición de huevos viables, en comparación con la temperatura ambiente, en donde la mayoría de los huevos llegaron a ser fértiles y la población llegó a estado adulto. Insectos vírgenes de S.impressithorax fueron colocados en contenedores donde se les agregó alimento de diferentes especies de Erythrina originarias de México y se evaluó la preferencia alimenticia. Se observó que fue capaz de invadir nuevos hospederos y de ellos emergieron adultos. Al realizar las colectas en donde se presentaban semillas de eritrinas infestadas por S. impressithorax se observó la presencia de parasitoides de huevos, éstos se identificaron como Uscana sp. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae); sin embargo, no se han podido obtener formas adultas libres para la corroboración de la especie; el segundo enemigo natural encontrado correspondió a Entedeon erythrinae Gumovsky y Ramadan (Hymenoptera:Eulophidae), se trata de un parasitoide de huevo-larva del brúquido. Los datos anteriores indican que la infestación hacia nuevos hospederos de eritrinas y el incremento de su dispersión será inminente y que hace falta realizar estrategias de control del brúquido; el control biológico se puede incluir en su manejo y así evitar el deterioro del germoplasma de los hospederos, mismos que realizan funciones importantes en la ecología, la etnobótanica y la ciencia

Predicción de lesiones coronarias significativas mediante perfusión miocárdica con SPECT. Resultados de un centro de referencia nacional en Lima-Perú

Objective. To determine the discriminative capacity of myocardial perfusion with single photon emission tomography (SPECT) to predict coronary obstructions by coronary angiography. To determine mortality and major cardiovascular events at follow-up. Materials and methods. Retrospective observational study with clinical follow-up in patients undergoing SPECT and then coronary angiography. We excluded patients with myocardial infarction and percutaneous and/or surgical revascularization in the previous 6 months. Results: 105 cases were included in the study. The most commonly used SPECT protocol was pharmacological (70%). Patients with perfusion defect ≥10% of total ventricular mass (TVM) had significant coronary lesions (SCL) in 88% of cases (sensitivity 87.5% and specificity 83%). On the other hand, having ischemia ≥10% of the TVM was associated with 80% SCL (sensitivity: 72%, specificity: 65%). Clinical follow-up at 48 months evidenced that a perfusion defect ≥ 10% was predictive of major cardiovascular events (MACE) in both univariate (HR=5.3; 95%CI 1.2 - 22.2; p=0.022) and multivariate (HR= 6.1; 95%CI 1.3 - 26.9; p= 0.017) analyses. Conclusions. Having a perfusion defect ≥10% of the MVT in the SPECT study predicted with high probability and sensitivity the existence ofSCL (>80%); moreover, this group had higher MACE at follow-up.Objetivo. Determinar la capacidad discriminativa de la perfusión miocárdica con tomografía de emisión de fotón único (SPECT) para predecir obstrucciones coronarias por coronariografía. Determinar la mortalidad y eventos cardiovasculares mayores en el seguimiento. Materiales y métodos. Estudio observacional retrospectivo con seguimiento clínico en pacientes sometidos a SPECT y luego coronariografía. Excluimos pacientes con infarto de miocardio y revascularización percutánea y/o quirúrgica en los seis meses previos. Resultados. Se incluyeron 105 casos en el estudio. El protocolo de SPECT más usado fue el farmacológico (70%). Los pacientes que tenían defecto de perfusión mixto (isquemia e infarto) ≥10% de la masa ventricular total (MVT) presentaron en el 88% de los casos lesiones coronarias significativas (LAS) (sensibilidad 87,5% y especificidad 83%). Por otro lado, el tener isquemia ≥10% de la MVT se relacionó con 80% de LAS (sensibilidad: 72%, especificidad: 65%). El seguimiento clínico a 48 meses evidenció que un defecto de perfusión ≥ 10% fue predictor de eventos cardiovasculares mayores (ECM) tanto en el análisis univariado (HR=5,3; IC95% 1,2 - 22,2; p=0,022) como multivariado (HR= 6,1; IC95% 1,3 - 26,9; p= 0,017). Conclusiones. El tener un defecto de perfusión ≥10% de la MVT en el estudio SPECT predijo con alta probabilidad y sensibilidad la existencia de LAS (>80%); además, este grupo tuvo mayores ECM en el seguimiento

Engineering of III-Nitride Semiconductors on Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics

This work presents results in the feld of advanced substrate solutions in order to achieve high crystalline quality group-III nitrides based heterostructures for high frequency and power devices or for sensor applications. With that objective, Low Temperature Co-fred Ceramics has been used, as a noncrystalline substrate. Structures like these have never been developed before, and for economic reasons will represent a groundbreaking material in these felds of Electronic. In this sense, the report presents the characterization through various techniques of three series of specimens where GaN was deposited on this ceramic composite, using diferent bufer layers, and a singular metal-organic chemical vapor deposition related technique for low temperature deposition. Other single crystalline ceramic-based templates were also utilized as substrate materials, for comparison purposes

VOLUMEN 21, NÚMERO 36 (1999)

GEOQUÍMICA Y ORIGEN DE LOS DEPÓSITOS DE ESMERALDAS EN COLOMBIA. Gulliani, G., Cheilletz, A., Arboleda, C., Rueda, F., Carrillo, V., Sheppard, S.MÉTODOS DE ESTUDIO DE LOS MINERALES DEL GRUPO DE LA CLORITA. García Ramírez, C. A.EVOLUCIÓN DE SUBCUENCAS CENOZOICAS EN EL VALLE-CAUCA-PATÍA. Padilla Valle, L. E.ESTUDIO DE ORIENTACIÓN GEOQUÍMICA PARA LOCALIZACIÓN DE MINERALIZACIONESMETÁLICAS EN LA REGIÓN DE ANZÁ (ANT.). Ortiz, B. F.; Maya, E. J.; Mejía, F.MUSEO GEOLÓGICO “MARINO ARCE HERRERA”: UNA CONTRIBUCIÓN AL DESARROLLO DE LA ENSEÑANZA DE LAS CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA. Ríos Reyes, C. A

The membrane-spanning 4-domains, subfamily A (MS4A) gene cluster contains a common variant associated with Alzheimer's disease

Background\ud In order to identify novel loci associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in the Spanish population.\ud \ud Methods\ud We genotyped 1,128 individuals using the Affymetrix Nsp I 250K chip. A sample of 327 sporadic AD patients and 801 controls with unknown cognitive status from the Spanish general population were included in our initial study. To increase the power of the study, we combined our results with those of four other public GWAS datasets by applying identical quality control filters and the same imputation methods, which were then analyzed with a global meta-GWAS. A replication sample with 2,200 sporadic AD patients and 2,301 controls was genotyped to confirm our GWAS findings.\ud \ud Results\ud Meta-analysis of our data and independent replication datasets allowed us to confirm a novel genome-wide significant association of AD with the membrane-spanning 4-domains subfamily A (MS4A) gene cluster (rs1562990, P = 4.40E-11, odds ratio = 0.88, 95% confidence interval 0.85 to 0.91, n = 10,181 cases and 14,341 controls).\ud \ud Conclusions\ud Our results underscore the importance of international efforts combining GWAS datasets to isolate genetic loci for complex diseases