734 research outputs found
La importancia de los intercambios internacionales de recursos fitogenéticos para la mejora de los cultivos en Guatemala
Una de las principales consideraciones para la creación del Tratado Internacional
sobre los Recursos Fitogenéticos para la Alimentación y la Agricultura y de su
Sistema Multilateral para el acceso y la distribución de beneficios es el
reconocimiento de la interdependencia de todos los países sobre los recursos
genéticos de los cultivos y forrajes más importantes para la seguridad alimentaria
global. Para apoyar la implementación de un sistema global de acceso e intercambio
de recursos fitogenéticos, contribuyendo al desarrollo agrícola y la adaptación al
cambio climático de los países, es necesario apreciar los beneficios de los
intercambios históricos de germoplasma y reconocer que es urgente que un sistema de
intercambio facilitado siga en pie y se expanda en el futuro. Tomando el caso de
Guatemala, y del maíz y frijoles como cultivos principales, el artículo describe la
dinámica de los recursos genéticos de estos dos cultivos, tanto dentro como fuera del
país, en el pasado y mirando hacia el futuro. Se ilustra así el grado en que Guatemala
depende de germoplasma de otros países para su seguridad alimentaria, y cómo, de
manera complementaria, otros países dependen de germoplasma procedente de
Guatemala. Se espera que la información presentada aquí estimule y facilite la
implementación del Tratado Internacional y del Sistema Multilateral en el país
The importance of international exchanges of plant genetic resources for national crop improvement in Guatemala
One of the main considerations underlying the establishment of the International Treaty on
Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and its Multilateral System of Access and
Benefit Sharing is the recognition of countries’ high interdependence on the genetic resources
of the crops and forages which they depend upon for their food security. A continued
appreciation of how countries have benefited from facilitated exchange of germplasm in the
past and are likely to continue doing so in the future is needed, in order to move forward the
implementation of the Multilateral System and creating a truly global pool of genetic
resources for countries’ agricultural development and adaptation to climate change. Using
Guatemala as a case and maize and beans as key crops, the paper presents a picture of the
dynamics of their genetic resources, both inside and outside of the country, over past years
and into the future. It illustrates the extent to which Guatemala is dependent upon germplasm
from other countries for its food security, and how, in a complementary manner, other
countries rely upon germplasm from Guatemala. It is hoped that the information presented
here may encourage and facilitate the implementation of the International Treaty and its
Multilateral System in the country
Addressing Inequity to Achieve the Maternal and Child Health Millennium Development Goals: Looking Beyond Averages.
Inequity in access to and use of child and maternal health interventions is impeding progress towards the maternal and child health Millennium Development Goals. This study explores the potential health gains and equity impact if a set of priority interventions for mothers and under fives were scaled up to reach national universal coverage targets for MDGs in Tanzania. We used the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) to estimate potential reductions in maternal and child mortality and the number of lives saved across wealth quintiles and between rural and urban settings. High impact maternal and child health interventions were modelled for a five-year scale up, by linking intervention coverage, effectiveness and cause of mortality using data from Tanzania. Concentration curves were drawn and the concentration index estimated to measure the equity impact of the scale up. In the poorest population quintiles in Tanzania, the lives of more than twice as many mothers and under-fives were likely to be saved, compared to the richest quintile. Scaling up coverage to equal levels across quintiles would reduce inequality in maternal and child mortality from a pro rich concentration index of -0.11 (maternal) and -0.12 (children) to a more equitable concentration index of -0,03 and -0.03 respectively. In rural areas, there would likely be an eight times greater reduction in maternal deaths than in urban areas and a five times greater reduction in child deaths than in urban areas. Scaling up priority maternal and child health interventions to equal levels would potentially save far more lives in the poorest populations, and would accelerate equitable progress towards maternal and child health MDGs
Cardioprotective Effects of Cell Permeable NADPH oxidase inhibitors in Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury
During myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) contributes to post-reperfused cardiac injury and contractile dysfunction. Activation of NADPH oxidase (NOX) during reperfusion generates ROS, and exacerbates I/R injury. We hypothesize that reducing ROS formation through inhibition of NOX will attenuate myocardial I/R injury in isolated perfused rat hearts subjected to I(30min)/R(45min) compared to untreated I/R hearts. The cell-permeable NOX inhibiting peptide, gp91 ds/tat (RKKRRQRRR-CSTRIRRQL-Amide, MW=2452 g/mol, 20μM, n=5), significantly improved post-reperfused cardiac function compared to controls (n=15,
Quality of care for pregnant women and newborns—the WHO vision
In 2015, as we review progress towards Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), despite significant progress in reduction of mortality, we still have unacceptably high numbers of maternal and newborn deaths globally. Efforts over the past decade to reduce adverse outcomes for pregnant women and newborns have been directed at increasing skilled birth attendance.1,2 This has resulted in higher rates of births in health facilities in all regions.3 The proportion of deliveries reportedly attended by skilled health personnel in developing countries rose from 56% in 1990 to 68% in 2012.4 With increasing utilisation of health services, a higher proportion of avoidable maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity have moved to health facilities. In this context, poor quality of care (QoC) in many facilities becomes a paramount roadblock in our quest to end preventable mortality and morbidity
The Unusual Monomer Recognition of Guanine-Containing Mixed Sequence DNA by a Dithiophene Heterocyclic Diamidine
DB1255 is a symmetrical diamidinophenyl-dithiophene that exhibits cellular activity by binding to DNA and inhibiting binding of ERG, an ETS family transcription factor that is commonly overexpressed or translocated in leukemia and prostate cancer [Nhili, R., Peixoto, P., Depauw, S., Flajollet, S., Dezitter, X., Munde, M. M., Ismail, M. A., Kumar, A., Farahat, A. A., Stephens, C. E., Duterque-Coquillaud, M., Wilson, W. D., Boykin, D. W., and David-Cordonnier, M. H. (2013) Nucleic Acids Res. 41, 125−138]. Because transcription factor inhibition is complex but is an attractive area for anticancer and antiparasitic drug development, we have evaluated the DNA interactions of additional derivatives of DB1255 to gain an improved understanding of the biophysical chemistry of complex function and inhibition. DNase I footprinting, biosensor surface plasmon resonance, and circular dichroism experiments show that DB1255 has an unusual and strong monomer binding mode in minor groove sites that contain a single GC base pair flanked by AT base pairs, for example, 5′-ATGAT-3′. Closely related derivatives, such as compounds with the thiophene replaced with furan or selenophane, bind very weakly to GC-containing sequences and do not have biological activity. DB1255 is selective for the ATGAT site; however, a similar sequence, 5′-ATGAC-3′, binds DB1255 more weakly and does not produce a footprint. Molecular docking studies show that the two thiophene sulfur atoms form strong, bifurcated hydrogen bond-type interactions with the G-N-H sequence that extends into the minor groove while the amidines form hydrogen bonds to the flanking AT base pairs. The central dithiophene unit of DB1255 thus forms an excellent, but unexpected, single-GC base pair recognition module in a monomer minor groove complex
Minor Groove Binding Compounds That Jump a GC Base Pair and Bind to Adjacent AT Base Pair Sites †
Most A/T specific heterocyclic diamidine derivatives need at least four A/T base pairs for tight binding to the DNA minor groove. Addition of a GC base pair to A/T sequences typically causes a large decrease in binding constant. The ability to target biologically important sequences of DNA could be significantly increased if compounds that could recognize A/T sites with an intervening GC base pair could be designed. The kinetoplast DNA sequence of parasitic microorganisms, for example, contains numerous three A/T binding sites that are separated by a single G. A series of compounds were prepared to target the AAAGTTT sequence as a model system for discovery of “G-jumpers”. The new synthetic compounds have two aromatic-amidine groups for A/T recognition, and these are connected through an oxy-methylene linker to cross the GC. CD experiments indicated a minor groove binding mode, as expected, for these compounds. Tmax, surface plasmon resonance, and isothermal titration calorimetry experiments revealed 1:1 binding to the AAAGTTT sequence with an affinity that depends on compound structure. Benzimidazole derivatives gave the strongest binding and had generally good solution properties. The binding affinities to the classical AATT sequence were similar to that for AAAGTTT for these extended compounds, but binding was weaker to the AAAGCTTT sequence with two intervening GC base pairs. Binding to both AAAGTTT and AATT was enthalpy driven for strong binding benzimidazole derivatives
Treatment of hypertension in rural Cambodia: results of a 6-year programme
This study was aimed to describe the outcomes of a hypertension treatment programme in two outpatient clinics in Cambodia. We determined proportions of patients who met the optimal targets for blood pressure (BP) control and assessed the evolution of mean systolic and diastolic BP (SBP/DBP) over time. Multivariate analyses were used to identify predictors of BP decrease and risk factors for LTFU. A total of 2858 patients were enrolled between March 2002 and June 2008 of whom 69.2% were female, 30.5% were aged >/=64years and 32.6% were diabetic. The median follow-up time was 600 days. By the end of 2008, 1642 (57.4%) were alive-in-care, 8 (0.3%) had died and 1208 (42.3%) were lost to follow-up. On admission, mean SBP and DBP were 162 and 94 mm Hg, respectively. Among the patients treated, a significant SBP reduction of 26.8 mm Hg (95% CI: 28.4-25.3) was observed at 6 months. Overall, 36.5% of patients reached the BP targets at 24 months. The number of young adults, non-overweight patients and non-diabetics reaching the BP targets was more. Older age (>64 years), uncontrolled DBP (>/=90 mm Hg) on last consultation and coming late for the last consultation were associated with LTFU, whereas non-diabetic patients were 1.5 times more likely to default than diabetics (95% CI: 1.3-1.7). Although the definite magnitude of the BP decrease due to antihypertension medication over time cannot be assessed definitely without a control group, our results suggest that BP reduction can be obtained with essential hypertension treatment in a large-scale programme in a resource-limited setting
A deeply branching thermophilic bacterium with an ancient acetyl-CoA pathway dominates a subsurface ecosystem
<div><p>A nearly complete genome sequence of <em>Candidatus</em> ‘Acetothermum autotrophicum’, a presently uncultivated bacterium in candidate division OP1, was revealed by metagenomic analysis of a subsurface thermophilic microbial mat community. Phylogenetic analysis based on the concatenated sequences of proteins common among 367 prokaryotes suggests that <em>Ca.</em> ‘A. autotrophicum’ is one of the earliest diverging bacterial lineages. It possesses a folate-dependent Wood-Ljungdahl (acetyl-CoA) pathway of CO<sub>2</sub> fixation, is predicted to have an acetogenic lifestyle, and possesses the newly discovered archaeal-autotrophic type of bifunctional fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase/phosphatase. A phylogenetic analysis of the core gene cluster of the acethyl-CoA pathway, shared by acetogens, methanogens, some sulfur- and iron-reducers and dechlorinators, supports the hypothesis that the core gene cluster of <em>Ca.</em> ‘A. autotrophicum’ is a particularly ancient bacterial pathway. The habitat, physiology and phylogenetic position of <em>Ca.</em> ‘A. autotrophicum’ support the view that the first bacterial and archaeal lineages were H<sub>2</sub>-dependent acetogens and methanogenes living in hydrothermal environments.</p> </div
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