Multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of Parkinson?s disease

Although over 90 independent risk variants have been identified for Parkinson’s disease using genome-wide association studies, most studies have been performed in just one population at a time. Here we performed a large-scale multi-ancestry meta-analysis of Parkinson’s disease with 49,049 cases, 18,785 proxy cases and 2,458,063 controls including individuals of European, East Asian, Latin American and African ancestry. In a meta-analysis, we identified 78 independent genome-wide significant loci, including 12 potentially novel loci (MTF2, PIK3CA, ADD1, SYBU, IRS2, USP8, PIGL, FASN, MYLK2, USP25, EP300 and PPP6R2) and fine-mapped 6 putative causal variants at 6 known PD loci. By combining our results with publicly available eQTL data, we identified 25 putative risk genes in these novel loci whose expression is associated with PD risk. This work lays the groundwork for future efforts aimed at identifying PD loci in non-European populations

Dinámica de crecimiento de plántulas de Vitex parviflora Juss en sustratos de compost de corteza de las especies Eucalyptus saligna Smith, y Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell en viveros forestales.

The successful formation of high forest production depends largely on the quality of seedlings, which must withstand the harsh conditions encountered in the field and produce economically desirable trees with volumetric growth. To evaluate the growth dynamics of Vitex parviflora Juss seedlings in bark compost substrates of Eucalyptus saligna Smith and Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell in nurseries is the objective. Substrates in which the seedlings were developed compost made from bark of Eucalyptus saligna Smith and Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell, mixed with peat in different proportions. The seedlings were evaluated in nurseries morphological characteristics; allowing to determine its growth dynamics and morphological indices that characterize them. Which demonstrated that there, during the growth of plants Vitex parviflora Juss in the substrates studied in the nursery stage an establishment phase, with duration, about 45 days after planting a rapid growth phase, with a duration of approximately 50 days, after the phase establishment and hardening phase approximately 95 days after planting and morphological parameters of plants obtained Vitex parviflora Juss showed no major significant differences between them although the best results were for plants grown in compost substrates without extracting.El éxito en la formación de altas producciones forestales depende en gran parte de la calidad de las plántulas, que deben resistir las condiciones adversas encontradas en el campo y producir árboles con crecimiento volumétrico económicamente deseables. Evaluar la dinámica de crecimiento de plántulas de Vitex parviflora Juss. en sustratos de compost de corteza de las especies Eucalyptus saligna Smith, y Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell en viveros forestales es el objetivo propuesto. Los sustratos en los que se desarrollaron las plántulas fueron elaborados a partir del compost de corteza de las especies Eucalyptus saligna Smith, y Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell, mezclados con turba en diferentes proporciones. A las plántulas se les evaluaron en viveros forestales sus características morfológicas; lo que permitió determinar su dinámica de crecimiento así como los índices morfológicos que las caracterizan. Lo cual demostró que existen, durante el crecimiento de plantas de Vitex parviflora Juss. en los sustratos estudiados en su etapa de vivero, una Fase de establecimiento, con un tiempo de duración, cerca de los 45 días después de la siembra, una Fase de crecimiento rápido, con una duración de 50 días aproximadamente, posterior a la fase de establecimiento, y una Fase endurecimiento 95 días aproximadamente después de la siembra y que los parámetros morfológicos de las plantas de Vitex parviflora Juss obtenidas no mostraron grandes diferencias significativas entre ellas aunque los mejores resultados fueron para las plantas desarrolladas en los sustratos de compost sin extraer

Reproductive efficiency of Ovsynch + CIDR in Holstein cows under a fixed time artificial insemination scheme in northern Mexico

Se evaluó el uso de Ovsynch más dispositivo intravaginal de liberación controlada de progesterona (CIDR) en vacas altas productoras. El estudio se llevó en la Comarca Lagunera (25° 44´ N, 103° 10´ O a 1,111 msnm) durante diciembre y enero. Las vacas (n=100) se pre-sincronizaron con dos inyecciones de PGF2α a los 35 y 47 días posparto y asignadas a dos tratamientos (n= 50): 1) El grupo OV recibió el protocolo Ovsynch: 100 μg de GnRH (i.m.; día 1), 25 mg de PGF2α (i.m.; día 7) y 100 μg GnRH (i.m.; día 9); 2) El grupo (OV+C) recibió el protocolo Ovsynch más un CIDR (1.38 g), retirado siete días después. Todas las vacas se expusieron a un protocolo de inseminación artificial a tiempo fijo (IATF; 16 a 20 h posteriores a la última inyección). Se registró tanto el porcentaje de preñez, el número de vacas repitiendo celo considerando dos periodos (≤24 y ≥25 días post-inseminación), así como los días de retorno al celo. Mientras que no existió diferencia entre grupos para tasa de preñez (OV= 28 %, OV+C= 32 %; P>0.05), el porcentaje de vacas que manifestaron celo después de la IATF difirió (P0.05), the percentage of cows showing estrus after IATF differed (P<0.05) between treatments for the two studied periods (28 % vs 62 % ≤24 d; 69 % vs 35 % ≥25 d; OV and OV+C, respectively). Moreover, mean of days when cows repeated estrus was lower (P<0.05) in the OV+C group (25 ± 1.6 vs 30 ± 1.3 d). Although the Ovsynch+CIDR treatment did not improve pregnancy rate, it reduced the latency for return to estrus, emerging as an alternative to diminish the days to the next AI, and potentially improve the reproductive efficiency and the economic return of the dairy herd

Medicago root nodule microbiomes: insights into a complex ecosystem with potential candidates for plant growth promotion

Purpose: Studying the legume nodule microbiome is important for understanding the development and nutrition of the plants inhabited by the various microbes within and upon them. We analyzed the microbiomes of these underground organs from both an important crop plant (Medicago sativa) and a related legume (M. polymorpha) using metagenomic and culture-based techniques to identify the main cultivatable contributors to plant growth enhancement. Methods: Using high-throughput sequencing, culturing, and in planta techniques, we identified and analyzed a broad population of the bacterial taxa within Medicago nodules and the surrounding soil. Results: Fifty-one distinct bacterial strains were isolated and characterized from nodules of both Medicago species and their growth-promoting activities were studied. Sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons showed that in addition to Ensifer, the dominant genus, a large number of Gram-positive bacteria belonging to the Firmicutes and Actinobacteria were also present. After performing ecological and plant growth-promoting trait analyses, selecting the most promising strains, and then performing in planta assays, we found that strains of Bacillus and Micromonospora among others could play important roles in supporting the growth, health, and productivity of the host plant. Conclusion: To our knowledge, the comparison of the biodiversity of the microbiota of undomesticated vs. cultivated Medicago roots and nodules is novel and shows the range of potential Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria that could be used for plants of agricultural interest. These and other nodule-isolated microbes could also serve as inoculants with rhizobia with the goal of replacing synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for sustainable agriculture

The Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Children: Cross-Cultural Assessment with a New Self-Report Measure

This study describes a series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses that were conducted with the 44-item Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Children- 4th version (SAQ-CIV) to identify a reduced set of items that might be used to construct a new abbreviated instrument for measuring social anxiety in children and adolescents. The fourth version of the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Children (SAQ-CIV) was administered to 12,801 non-clinical participants (ages 9 to 15 years) from 12 Latin American countries and Spain. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported a 6-factor structure of social anxiety in children, replicating a similar structure to that of adults (Caballo et al. in Behavioral Psychology/Psicología Conductual, 18(1), 5–34, 2010; Caballo et al. in Behavior Therapy, 43(2), 313–328, 2012): 1) Interactions with the opposite sex, 2) Criticism and embarrassment, 3) Speaking in public/Talking to teachers, 4) Assertive expression of annoyance and disgust, 5) Performing in public, and 6) Interactions with strangers. Each of the factors contains 4 items, yielding an abbreviated 24-item instrument, the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Children (SAQ-C). The present results suggest this is a reliable, valid, and culturally sensitive instrument to assess social anxiety in youth