A comparative map viewer integrating genetic maps for Brassica and Arabidopsis

Background: Molecular genetic maps provide a means to link heritable traits with underlying genome sequence variation. Several genetic maps have been constructed for Brassica species, yet to date, there has been no simple means to compare this information or to associate mapped traits with the genome sequence of the related model plant, Arabidopsis. Description: We have developed a comparative genetic map database for the viewing, comparison and analysis of Brassica and Arabidopsis genetic, physical and trait map information. This web- based tool allows users to view and compare genetic and physical maps, search for traits and markers, and compare genetic linkage groups within and between the amphidiploid and diploid Brassica genomes. The inclusion of Arabidopsis data enables comparison between Brassica maps that share no common markers. Analysis of conserved syntenic blocks between Arabidopsis and collated Brassica genetic maps validates the application of this system. This tool is freely available over the internet on http://bioinformatics.pbcbasc.latrobe.edu.au/cmap. Conclusion: This database enables users to interrogate the relationship between Brassica genetic maps and the sequenced genome of A. thaliana, permitting the comparison of genetic linkage groups and mapped traits and the rapid identification of candidate genes

INOVAÇÃO SOCIAL NA GERAÇÃO DISTRIBUÍDA DE ENERGIA: O CASO DE SANTA CRUZ DO SUL/RS

Em abril de 2012, iniciou-se um novo ciclo na história do setor elétrico no Brasil com a autorização para microgeração distribuída de energia pelo consumidor, em oposição ao modelo centralizado em vigor até então. O município de Santa Cruz do Sul se destaca nesse contexto, tornando-se, a partir de 2014, um dos cinco polos geradores de energia fotovoltaica no país. O foco do presente artigo reside na interpretação da geração de energia de fonte renovável nessa cidade de médio porte como nicho de inovação no regime sociotécnico de geração e distribuição de energia elétrica vigente no país. A metodologia de análise escolhida foi a pesquisa qualitativa e descritiva, mediante pesquisa bibliográfica; pesquisa de campo em empresas de painéis fotovoltaicos no município; entrevistas com agentes econômicos e análise de dados secundários nos demais municípios do estado. O aporte metodológico tem origem na Perspectiva Multinível de Frank Geels, que propõe a interpretação de transições em regimes sóciotécnicos rumo a maior sustentabilidade pelo detalhamento das interações sociais, políticas e econômicas, que ocorrem ao início das mudanças em nichos de inovação. Conclui que a inovação reside no controle do capital e na visão de longo prazo pelos agentes econômicos locais, pois famílias e empresas mobilizaram, em apenas cinco anos, ao menos R$ 54 milhões para investimento em sistemas fotovoltaicos cuja vida útil é estimada em 26 ano

Perspectives of patients, relatives and nurses on rooming-in for adult patients: A scoping review of the literature

Aim: To explore the perspectives of patients, their relatives and nurses on rooming-in for adult patients. Background: The practice of having family stay overnight with an adult patient in hospital is quite new. To support rooming-in programs, the perspectives from all stakeholders should be taken into account. Methods: All types of studies on rooming-in in adult healthcare settings were included in this scoping review. Rooming-in has been defined as the practice where ‘family members or trusted others are facilitated to continuously stay with the patient and are provided with facilities to sleep in the patient's room’. Results: Seven studies were included: one randomized controlled trial, three qualitative studies, and three correspondence articles. Generally, patients felt safe in the presence of a family member, but could also feel restricted in their freedom and privacy. Family members saw a benefit for the patient, considered rooming-in a moral duty, and were happy to help. Nonetheless, family members reported rooming-in as physically and emotionally stressful. Nurses described that patients were less anxious and more easily adjusted to the hospital environment. Conclusions: The reviewed studies suggest that patients, family members, and nurses have both positive and negative experiences with rooming-in. The concept

SNPServer: a real-time SNP discovery tool

SNPServer is a real-time flexible tool for the discovery of SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) within DNA sequence data. The program uses BLAST, to identify related sequences, and CAP3, to cluster and align these sequences. The alignments are parsed to the SNP discovery software autoSNP, a program that detects SNPs and insertion/deletion polymorphisms (indels). Alternatively, lists of related sequences or pre-assembled sequences may be entered for SNP discovery. SNPServer and autoSNP use redundancy to differentiate between candidate SNPs and sequence errors. For each candidate SNP, two measures of confidence are calculated, the redundancy of the polymorphism at a SNP locus and the co-segregation of the candidate SNP with other SNPs in the alignment. SNPServer is available at

SSRPrimer and SSR Taxonomy Tree: Biome SSR discovery

Simple sequence repeat (SSR) molecular genetic markers have become important tools for a broad range of applications such as genome mapping and genetic diversity studies. SSRs are readily identified within DNA sequence data and PCR primers can be designed for their amplification. These PCR primers frequently cross amplify within related species. We report a web-based tool, SSR Primer, that integrates SPUTNIK, an SSR repeat finder, with Primer3, a primer design program, within one pipeline. On submission of multiple FASTA formatted sequences, the script screens each sequence for SSRs using SPUTNIK. Results are then parsed to Primer3 for locus specific primer design. We have applied this tool for the discovery of SSRs within the complete GenBank database, and have designed PCR amplification primers for over 13 million SSRs. The SSR Taxonomy Tree server provides web-based searching and browsing of species and taxa for the visualisation and download of these SSR amplification primers. These tools are available at

Dr. Godfrey Mbaruku: A tribute and review of the life of a maternal health crusader in Tanzania

Dr. Godfrey Mbaruku, an obstetrician-gynecologist and one of Tanzania’s most dedicated maternal health researchers, passed away in September 2018. His professional career spanned over four decades, with the last decade of his life dedicated to maternal health research, advocacy and policy in Africa. We undertook a review of the key global milestones in maternal health policy, funding and research that took place during Dr. Mbaruku’s career until his untimely death in 2018. We then reflect on the progress of the maternal health agenda from 2018 to 2021 as lower middle income countries (LMICs) continue to strive to reach the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the midst of a global pandemic. Dr. Godfrey Mbaruku’s commitment to improving maternal health in Tanzania through his advocacy and research contributions over his professional life will forever serve as foundational pillars for the ongoing global effort to reduce maternal mortality.   Le Dr Godfrey Mbaruku, obstétricien-gynécologue et l'un des chercheurs en santé maternelle les plus dévoués de Tanzanie, est décédé en septembre 2018. Sa carrière professionnelle a duré plus de quatre décennies, la dernière décennie de sa vie étant consacrée à la recherche, au plaidoyer et aux politiques en santé maternelle en Afrique. Nous avons entrepris un examen des principales étapes mondiales de la politique, du financement et de la recherche en matière de santé maternelle qui ont eu lieu au cours de la carrière du Dr Mbaruku jusqu'à sa mort prématurée en 2018. Nous réfléchissons ensuite aux progrès du programme de santé maternelle de 2018 à 2021 en tant que milieu inférieur. Les pays à revenu intermédiaire (PRFI) continuent de s'efforcer d'atteindre les objectifs de développement durable (ODD) au milieu d'une pandémie mondiale. L'engagement du Dr Godfrey Mbaruku à améliorer la santé maternelle en Tanzanie grâce à ses contributions de plaidoyer et de recherche au cours de sa vie professionnelle servira à jamais de piliers fondamentaux pour l'effort mondial en cours pour réduire la mortalité maternelle

Population Genomic Analysis Reveals Differential Evolutionary Histories and Patterns of Diversity across Subgenomes and Subpopulations of Brassica napus L.

The allotetraploid species Brassica napus L. is a global crop of major economic importance, providing canola oil (seed) and vegetables for human consumption and fodder and meal for livestock feed. Characterizing the genetic diversity present in the extant germplasm pool of B. napus is fundamental to better conserve, manage and utilize the genetic resources of this species. We used sequence-based genotyping to identify and genotype 30,881 SNPs in a diversity panel of 782 B. napus accessions, representing samples of winter and spring growth habits originating from 33 countries across Europe, Asia and America. We detected strong population structure broadly concordant with growth habit and geography, and identified three major genetic groups: spring (SP), winter Europe (WE), and winter Asia (WA). Subpopulation-specific polymorphism patterns suggest enriched genetic diversity within the WA group and a smaller effective breeding population for the SP group compared to WE. Interestingly, the two subgenomes of B. napus appear to have different geographic origins, with phylogenetic analysis placing WE and WA as basal clades for the other subpopulations in the C and A subgenomes, respectively. Finally, we identified 16 genomic regions where the patterns of diversity differed markedly from the genome-wide average, several of which are suggestive of genomic inversions. The results obtained in this study constitute a valuable resource for worldwide breeding efforts and the genetic dissection and prediction of complex B. napus traits

Implementation barriers for mHealth for non-communicable diseases management in low and middle income countries: a scoping review and field-based views from implementers.

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) has been hailed as a potential gamechanger for non-communicable disease (NCD) management, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Individual studies illustrate barriers to implementation and scale-up, but an overview of implementation issues for NCD mHealth interventions in LMIC is lacking. This paper explores implementation issues from two perspectives: information in published papers and field-based knowledge by people working in this field. Methods: Through a scoping review publications on mHealth interventions for NCDs in LMIC were identified and assessed with the WHO mHealth Evidence Reporting and Assessment (mERA) tool. A two-stage web-based survey on implementation barriers was performed within a NCD research network and through two online platforms on mHealth targeting researchers and implementors. Results: 16 studies were included in the scoping review. Short Message Service (SMS) messaging was the main implementation tool. Most studies focused on patient-centered outcomes. Most studies did not report on process measures and on contextual conditions influencing implementation decisions. Few publications reported on implementation barriers. The websurvey included twelve projects and the responses revealed additional information, especially on practical barriers related to the patients' characteristics, low demand, technical requirements, integration with health services and with the wider context. Many interventions used low-cost software and devices with limited capacity that not allowed linkage with routine data or patient records, which incurred fragmented delivery and increased workload. Conclusion: Text messaging is a dominant mHealth tool for patient-directed of quality improvement interventions in LMIC. Publications report little on implementation barriers, while a questionnaire among implementors reveals significant barriers and strategies to address them. This information is relevant for decisions on scale-up of mHealth in the domain of NCD. Further knowledge should be gathered on implementation issues, and the conditions that allow universal coverage

BASC: an integrated bioinformatics system for Brassica research

The BASC system provides tools for the integrated mining and browsing of genetic, genomic and phenotypic data. This public resource hosts information on Brassica species supporting the Multinational Brassica Genome Sequencing Project, and is based upon five distinct modules, ESTDB, Microarray, MarkerQTL, CMap and EnsEMBL. ESTDB hosts expressed gene sequences and related annotation derived from comparison with GenBank, UniRef and the genome sequence of Arabidopsis. The Microarray module hosts gene expression information related to genes annotated within ESTDB. MarkerQTL is the most complex module and integrates information on genetic markers, maps, individuals, genotypes and traits. Two further modules include an Arabidopsis EnsEMBL genome viewer and the CMap comparative genetic map viewer for the visualization and integration of genetic and genomic data. The database is accessible at

DESENVOLVIMENTO E ESTUDO DE DOIS SISTEMAS DE CONTROLE DE TEMPERATURA PARA ESCAMOTEADORES DE LEITÕES LACTENTES

Apresenta-se neste trabalho o desenvolvimento e a aplicação de dois sistemas decontrole de temperatura para escamoteadores de leitões lactentes. Em um dosescamoteadores foi instalado um piso térmico aquecido por fluxo de água. No outro,um sistema de lâmpadas que ligam e desligam automaticamente. Em ambos oscasos a temperatura interna dos escamoteadores é controlada para que os animaispermançam termicamente confortáveis. O desempenho produtivo foi avaliadoregistrando-se o número de leitões nascidos vivos e desmamados, assim como opeso ao nascimento e ao desmame. Os resultados ficaram dentro do consideradoideal