PCR-based Landmark Unique Gene (PLUG) markers are a useful tool for comparative genomic analysis and BAC clone screening in wheat

Dissertação de mestrado em Psicologia Clínica e Saúde (Psicopatologia e Psicoterapia Dinâmica), apresentada à Faculdade de Psicologia e Ciências da Educação da Universidade de CoimbraOs pacientes infetados pelo VIH têm sido objeto de interesse por parte dos profissionais de saúde mental pela dimensão do impacto psicológico do diagnóstico, evolução da infeção e a vulnerabilidade destes sujeitos. Seja como for, em traço de evolução da terapêutica, a infeção pelo vírus da imunodeficiência humana (VIH) é, atualmente, uma doença tendencialmente crónica. Entre as perturbações mentais, a depressão é descrita como uma das comorbidades mais frequentes nos indivíduos com VIH e que muitas vezes passa despercebida. Acompanha-se de elevada morbilidade e apresenta um impacto sócio-económico, sendo uma das causas mais frequentes de suicídio. Para além da incapacidade que se vai instalando progressivamente, os indivíduos são confrontados com o estigma social, carência de apoio social e isolamento. Neste sentido, este estudo foi realizado com o intuito de chamar a atenção para a necessidade de intervenção psicoterapêutica com esta população, através da exploração dos sintomas psicopatológicos mais prevalentes (com especial destaque para a depressão e para a ideação suicida), tendo em consideração a progressão da doença e a as caraterísticas socio-demográficas.Patients infected with HIV have been the object of interest on the part of mental health professionals due to the dimension of the psychological impact of the diagnosis, the course of infection and the vulnerability of these subjects. Anyway, in trait evolution of therapy, infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is currently a chronic disease. Among mental disorders, depression is described as one of the most frequent comorbidities in individuals infected with HIV and which often goes unnoticed. It is accompanied by high morbidity and presents a socialeconomic impact, being one of the most frequent causes of suicide. Beyond the progressively established disability, individuals face social stigma, lack of social support and isolation. Thus, this study was conducted in order to draw attention to the need for psychotherapeutic intervention among this population, through the exploitation of the most prevalent psychopathological symptoms (with special emphasis on depression and suicidal ideation), taking into account the progression of this disease and the social-demographic characteristics

The CBF gene family in hexaploid wheat and its relationship to the phylogenetic complexity of cereal CBFs

Most temperate plants tolerate both chilling and freezing temperatures whereas many species from tropical regions suffer chilling injury when exposed to temperatures slightly above freezing. Cold acclimation induces the expression of cold-regulated genes needed to protect plants against freezing stress. This induction is mediated, in part, by the CBF transcription factor family. To understand the evolution and function of this family in cereals, we identified and characterized 15 different CBF genes from hexaploid wheat. Our analyses reveal that wheat species, T. aestivum and T. monococcum, may contain up to 25 different CBF genes, and that Poaceae CBFs can be classified into 10 groups that share a common phylogenetic origin and similar structural characteristics. Six of these groups (IIIc, IIId, IVa, IVb, IVc and IVd) are found only in the Pooideae suggesting they represent the CBF response machinery that evolved recently during colonization of temperate habitats. Expression studies reveal that five of the Pooideae-specific groups display higher constitutive and low temperature inducible expression in the winter cultivar, and a diurnal regulation pattern during growth at warm temperature. The higher constitutive and inducible expression within these CBF groups is an inherited trait that may play a predominant role in the superior low temperature tolerance capacity of winter cultivars and possibly be a basis of genetic variability in freezing tolerance within the Pooideae subfamily

Wheat-barley hybridization – the last forty years

Abstract Several useful alien gene transfers have been reported from related species into wheat (Triticum aestivum), but very few publications have dealt with the development of wheat/barley (Hordeum vulgare) introgression lines. An overview is given here of wheat 9 barley hybridization over the last forty years, including the development of wheat 9 barley hybrids, and of addition and translocation lines with various barley cultivars. A short summary is also given of the wheat 9 barley hybrids produced with other Hordeum species. The meiotic pairing behaviour of wheat 9 barley hybrids is presented, with special regard to the detection of wheat– barley homoeologous pairing using the molecular cytogenetic technique GISH. The effect of in vitro multiplication on the genome composition of intergeneric hybrids is discussed, and the production and characterization of the latest wheat/barley translocation lines are presented. An overview of the agronomical traits (b-glucan content, earliness, salt tolerance, sprouting resistance, etc.) of the newly developed introgression lines is given. The exploitation and possible use of wheat/barley introgression lines for the most up-to-date molecular genetic studies (transcriptome analysis, sequencing of flow-sorted chromosomes) are also discussed

Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to all-hadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV;{\rm Te}{\rm V}$and correspond to an integrated luminosity of$4.6\;{\rm f}{{{\rm b}}^{-1}}$. The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-of-mass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum${{p}_{{\rm T}}}\gt 320\;{\rm Ge}{\rm V}$and pseudorapidity$|\eta |\lt 1.9$, is measured to be${{\sigma }_{W+Z}}=8.5\pm 1.7$ pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques

Search for pair-produced long-lived neutral particles decaying to jets in the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter in ppcollisions at √s=8TeV

The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN is used to search for the decay of a scalar boson to a pair of long-lived particles, neutral under the Standard Model gauge group, in 20.3fb−1of data collected in proton–proton collisions at √s=8TeV. This search is sensitive to long-lived particles that decay to Standard Model particles producing jets at the outer edge of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter or inside the hadronic calorimeter. No significant excess of events is observed. Limits are reported on the product of the scalar boson production cross section times branching ratio into long-lived neutral particles as a function of the proper lifetime of the particles. Limits are reported for boson masses from 100 GeVto 900 GeV, and a long-lived neutral particle mass from 10 GeVto 150 GeV

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV

Integrated genetic map and genetic analysis of a region associated with root traits on the short arm of rye chromosome 1 in bread wheat

A rye–wheat centric chromosome translocation 1RS.1BL has been widely used in wheat breeding programs around the world. Increased yield of translocation lines was probably a consequence of increased root biomass. In an effort to map loci-controlling root characteristics, homoeologous recombinants of 1RS with 1BS were used to generate a consensus genetic map comprised of 20 phenotypic and molecular markers, with an average spacing of 2.5 cM. Physically, all recombination events were located in the distal 40% of the arms. A total of 68 recombinants was used and recombination breakpoints were aligned and ordered over map intervals with all the markers, integrated together in a genetic map. This approach enabled dissection of genetic components of quantitative traits, such as root traits, present on 1S. To validate our hypothesis, phenotyping of 45-day-old wheat roots was performed in five lines including three recombinants representative of the entire short arm along with bread wheat parents ‘Pavon 76’ and Pavon 1RS.1BL. Individual root characteristics were ranked and the genotypic rank sums were subjected to Quade analysis to compare the overall rooting ability of the genotypes. It appears that the terminal 15% of the rye 1RS arm carries gene(s) for greater rooting ability in wheat

Wnt5a Regulates Midbrain Dopaminergic Axon Growth and Guidance

During development, precise temporal and spatial gradients are responsible for guiding axons to their appropriate targets. Within the developing ventral midbrain (VM) the cues that guide dopaminergic (DA) axons to their forebrain targets remain to be fully elucidated. Wnts are morphogens that have been identified as axon guidance molecules. Several Wnts are expressed in the VM where they regulate the birth of DA neurons. Here, we describe that a precise temporo-spatial expression of Wnt5a accompanies the development of nigrostriatal projections by VM DA neurons. In mice at E11.5, Wnt5a is expressed in the VM where it was found to promote DA neurite and axonal growth in VM primary cultures. By E14.5, when DA axons are approaching their striatal target, Wnt5a causes DA neurite retraction in primary cultures. Co-culture of VM explants with Wnt5a-overexpressing cell aggregates revealed that Wnt5a is capable of repelling DA neurites. Antagonism experiments revealed that the effects of Wnt5a are mediated by the Frizzled receptors and by the small GTPase, Rac1 (a component of the non-canonical Wnt planar cell polarity pathway). Moreover, the effects were specific as they could be blocked by Wnt5a antibody, sFRPs and RYK-Fc. The importance of Wnt5a in DA axon morphogenesis was further verified in Wnt5a−/− mice, where fasciculation of the medial forebrain bundle (MFB) as well as the density of DA neurites in the MFB and striatal terminals were disrupted. Thus, our results identify a novel role of Wnt5a in DA axon growth and guidance