Detecção de Begomovirus em maracujazeiro (Passiflora edulis Sims) no Estado de Alagoas

O maracujazeiro é uma cultura de grande importância econômica nos países tropicais, destacando-se o Brasil como o maior produtor. No presente trabalho, é relatada a infecção de plantas de maracujazeiro por um vírus do gênero Begomovirus, família Geminiviridae, no município de Anadia, Estado de Alagoas. As plantas infectadas apresentavam sintomas de mosaico amarelo, redução drástica de crescimento e da área foliar. DNA extraído de plantas sintomáticas foi empregado como molde em PCRs, contendo os pares de primers PAL1v1978 e par1C496 ou PBL1v2040 e PCRc1 que direcionam, respectivamente, a amplificação de regiões de aproximadamente 1,2 kb do DNA-A e 0,6 kb do DNA-B, do genoma dos begomovírus. Fragmentos de tamanho esperado foram amplificados a partir de amostras de plantas sintomáticas, confirmando a infecção por Begomovirus. O seqüenciamento desses fragmentos está em andamento para uma definição precisa da espécie viral.

Points to consider for prioritizing clinical genetic testing services: a European consensus process oriented at accountability for reasonableness.

Given the cost constraints of the European health-care systems, criteria are needed to decide which genetic services to fund from the public budgets, if not all can be covered. To ensure that high-priority services are available equitably within and across the European countries, a shared set of prioritization criteria would be desirable. A decision process following the accountability for reasonableness framework was undertaken, including a multidisciplinary EuroGentest/PPPC-ESHG workshop to develop shared prioritization criteria. Resources are currently too limited to fund all the beneficial genetic testing services available in the next decade. Ethically and economically reflected prioritization criteria are needed. Prioritization should be based on considerations of medical benefit, health need and costs. Medical benefit includes evidence of benefit in terms of clinical benefit, benefit of information for important life decisions, benefit for other people apart from the person tested and the patient-specific likelihood of being affected by the condition tested for. It may be subject to a finite time window. Health need includes the severity of the condition tested for and its progression at the time of testing. Further discussion and better evidence is needed before clearly defined recommendations can be made or a prioritization algorithm proposed. To our knowledge, this is the first time a clinical society has initiated a decision process about health-care prioritization on a European level, following the principles of accountability for reasonableness. We provide points to consider to stimulate this debate across the EU and to serve as a reference for improving patient management.

Polychlorinated and polybrominated biphenyls

This volume of the IARC Monographs provides evaluations of the carcinogenicity of polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated biphenyls. Polychlorinated biphenyls are a class of aromatic compounds comprising 209 congeners, each containing 1 to 10 chlorine atoms attached to a biphenyl nucleus. Technical products, which were manufactured to obtain a certain degree of chlorination, are mixtures of numerous congeners. These products were widely used as dielectric fluid in capacitors and transformers, and to a lesser extent in building materials. Although their production and use has been banned in most countries, these compounds are ubiquitous environmental pollutants, including in polar regions and the deep ocean, because they are persistent and bioaccumulate. Worldwide monitoring programmes have shown that polychlorinated biphenyls are present in most samples of human milk. An IARC Monographs Working Group reviewed epidemiological evidence, animal bioassays, and mechanistic and other relevant data to reach conclusions as to the carcinogenic hazard to humans of polychlorinated biphenyls, of the subclass of dioxinlike polychlorinated biphenyls, and of polybrominated biphenyls.

Conservação pós-colheita de mamão 'Sunrise Solo' com uso de quitosana

O mamão é um fruto de grande importância econômica, social e nutricional. No entanto, apresenta conservação limitada devido à deterioração pós-colheita e ao rápido amadurecimento. Portanto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi utilizar soluções de quitosana associadas ao glicerol como recobrimento de mamão papaia da cultivar 'Sunrise Solo' para manter a qualidade pós-colheita e prolongar sua vida útil. Os frutos foram lavados em água potável, higienizados em solução de hipoclorito de sódio a 200 mg L-1 por 10 minutos e secos à temperatura ambiente. Os tratamentos consistiram na imersão ou não (controle) dos frutos em cinco concentrações (0,25%; 0,50%; 0,75%; 1,0% e 1,25%) de quitosana. Decorrida a secagem natural do revestimento, os frutos foram armazenados a 28 ± 3 ºC e 65-70% UR. Foi utilizado um delineamento inteiramente casualisado, utilizando-se de seis concentrações de quitosana com oito repetições, totalizando 48 frutos. Ao atingir o ponto ótimo para o consumo, avaliaram-se o teor de ácido ascórbico, de sólidos solúveis, da acidez titulável, da firmeza, a perda de massa fresca, o desenvolvimento fúngico e a vida útil. A aplicação de quitosana em mamão 'Sunrise Solo' manteve a firmeza e os teores de sólidos solúveis, de acidez titulável e de ácido ascórbico dos frutos até o ponto considerado ótimo para o consumo, em termos de aparência. A concentração de 1% de quitosana manteve a qualidade e aumentou a vida útil dos frutos em quatro dias. A quitosana inibiu o crescimento de fungos dos gêneros Cladosporium, Aspergillus e Penicillium.

Caracterização anatômica e citométrica em biribazeiro (Rollinia mucosa [Jacq.])

O biribazeiro (Rollinia mucosa [Jacq.]) é uma frutífera nativa da América Central e América do Sul que se destaca das demais espécies do gênero por apresentar frutos grandes e comestíveis. Tendo em vista que pouco se conhece a respeito da anatomia da planta, tipo de reserva da semente, como também sobre o conteúdo de DNA de espécies da família anonáceas, este trabalho teve por objetivos caracterizar histoquimicamente as sementes e anatomicamente as plântulas, e determinar o conteúdo de DNA de biribazeiro. As plântulas foram obtidas de sementes coletadas na região Amazônica pela Embrapa Roraima e enviadas à Universidade Federal de Lavras. Os frutos foram despolpados, e suas sementes foram previamente lavadas e semeadas em bandejas de 48 células, contendo como substrato pó de serragem, permanecendo em câmara de germinação a 30ºC por 90 dias. Nas plantas obtidas, procedeu-se à análise histoquímica, à caracterização anatômica e à determinação do conteúdo de DNA. As principais conclusões deste trabalho foram que: (1) as sementes da Rollinia mucosa apresentam reserva principal lipídica; (2) as secções transversais da lâmina foliar indicam organização dorsiventral, do tipo hipoestomática com estômatos paracíticos e tricomas em ambas as faces da folha; (3) as folhas de biribazeiro apresentam, em média, 4,77 pg de DNA.

Mechanisms of Antifungal Drug Resistance.

Antifungal therapy is a central component of patient management for acute and chronic mycoses. Yet, treatment choices are restricted because of the sparse number of antifungal drug classes. Clinical management of fungal diseases is further compromised by the emergence of antifungal drug resistance, which eliminates available drug classes as treatment options. Once considered a rare occurrence, antifungal drug resistance is on the rise in many high-risk medical centers. Most concerning is the evolution of multidrug- resistant organisms refractory to several different classes of antifungal agents, especially among common Candida species. The mechanisms responsible are mostly shared by both resistant strains displaying inherently reduced susceptibility and those acquiring resistance during therapy. The molecular mechanisms include altered drug affinity and target abundance, reduced intracellular drug levels caused by efflux pumps, and formation of biofilms. New insights into genetic factors regulating these mechanisms, as well as cellular factors important for stress adaptation, provide a foundation to better understand the emergence of antifungal drug resistance.

Non-invasive prenatal testing for aneuploidy and beyond: challenges of responsible innovation in prenatal screening.

This paper contains a joint ESHG/ASHG position document with recommendations regarding responsible innovation in prenatal screening with non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT). By virtue of its greater accuracy and safety with respect to prenatal screening for common autosomal aneuploidies, NIPT has the potential of helping the practice better achieve its aim of facilitating autonomous reproductive choices, provided that balanced pretest information and non-directive counseling are available as part of the screening offer. Depending on the health-care setting, different scenarios for NIPT-based screening for common autosomal aneuploidies are possible. The trade-offs involved in these scenarios should be assessed in light of the aim of screening, the balance of benefits and burdens for pregnant women and their partners and considerations of cost-effectiveness and justice. With improving screening technologies and decreasing costs of sequencing and analysis, it will become possible in the near future to significantly expand the scope of prenatal screening beyond common autosomal aneuploidies. Commercial providers have already begun expanding their tests to include sex-chromosomal abnormalities and microdeletions. However, multiple false positives may undermine the main achievement of NIPT in the context of prenatal screening: the significant reduction of the invasive testing rate. This document argues for a cautious expansion of the scope of prenatal screening to serious congenital and childhood disorders, only following sound validation studies and a comprehensive evaluation of all relevant aspects. A further core message of this document is that in countries where prenatal screening is offered as a public health programme, governments and public health authorities should adopt an active role to ensure the responsible innovation of prenatal screening on the basis of ethical principles. Crucial elements are the quality of the screening process as a whole (including non-laboratory aspects such as information and counseling), education of professionals, systematic evaluation of all aspects of prenatal screening, development of better evaluation tools in the light of the aim of the practice, accountability to all stakeholders including children born from screened pregnancies and persons living with the conditions targeted in prenatal screening and promotion of equity of access.

Archiving Primary Data: Solutions for Long-Term Studies.

The recent trend for journals to require open access to primary data included in publications has been embraced by many biologists, but has caused apprehension amongst researchers engaged in long-term ecological and evolutionary studies. A worldwide survey of 73 principal investigators (Pls) with long-term studies revealed positive attitudes towards sharing data with the agreement or involvement of the PI, and 93% of PIs have historically shared data. Only 8% were in favor of uncontrolled, open access to primary data while 63% expressed serious concern. We present here their viewpoint on an issue that can have non-trivial scientific consequences. We discuss potential costs of public data archiving and provide possible solutions to meet the needs of journals and researchers.

Lectura dialógica: interacciones que mejoran y aceleran la lectura

En este trabajo se aborda el estudio de la lectura dialógica enmarcada en una más amplia concepción de aprendizaje que tiene sus fundamentos en las prácticas (comunidades de aprendizaje), teorías (Freire, Habermas, Searle) e investigaciones (includ-ed) más relevantes de la actual sociedad de la información, situando en este nuevo contexto las aportaciones dialógicas anteriores. Esto permite entenderla como una instancia coordinante de las actividades de aprendizaje que realizan todas las personas que interaccionan con los niños, especialmente quienes conviven con ellos en las aulas y en los domicilios, es decir, el profesorado y las familias. Aquí se intenta demostrar cómo los centros que han adoptado esta concepción de aprendizaje dialógico están consiguiendo mejorar y acelerar el aprendizaje de la lectura y la escritura de todos los educandos con más espacios y más personas que las tradicionales de la escuela heredada de la sociedad industrial. Asímismo, se constata cómo se promueve la lectura de los familiares en casa y también en el espacio escolar a través de las tertulias literarias dialógicas que consiguen que personas que nunca han leído un libro disfruten de obras de Safo, Joyce o Lorca. Resulta auspiciosa, además, la colaboración directa de familiares, de diversidad de profesionales y del voluntariado en el aprendizaje de la lectura y la escritura que realizan los estudiantes, no solo en el horario lectivo sino también fuera de clase.

Cysteine cathepsin proteases: regulators of cancer progression and therapeutic response.

Cysteine cathepsin protease activity is frequently dysregulated in the context of neoplastic transformation. Increased activity and aberrant localization of proteases within the tumour microenvironment have a potent role in driving cancer progression, proliferation, invasion and metastasis. Recent studies have also uncovered functions for cathepsins in the suppression of the response to therapeutic intervention in various malignancies. However, cathepsins can be either tumour promoting or tumour suppressive depending on the context, which emphasizes the importance of rigorous in vivo analyses to ascertain function. Here, we review the basic research and clinical findings that underlie the roles of cathepsins in cancer, and provide a roadmap for the rational integration of cathepsin-targeting agents into clinical treatment.

Combined deletion of cathepsin protease family members reveals compensatory mechanisms in cancer.

Proteases are important for regulating multiple tumorigenic processes, including angiogenesis, tumor growth, and invasion. Elevated protease expression is associated with poor patient prognosis across numerous tumor types. Several multigene protease families have been implicated in cancer, including cysteine cathepsins. However, whether individual family members have unique roles or are functionally redundant remains poorly understood. Here we demonstrate stage-dependent effects of simultaneously deleting cathepsin B (CtsB) and CtsS in a murine pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor model. Early in tumorigenesis, the double knockout results in an additive reduction in angiogenic switching, whereas at late stages, several tumorigenic phenotypes are unexpectedly restored to wild-type levels. We identified CtsZ, which is predominantly supplied by tumor-associated macrophages, as the compensatory protease that regulates the acquired tumor-promoting functions of lesions deficient in both CtsB and CtsS. Thus, deletion of multiple cathepsins can lead to stage-dependent, compensatory mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment, which has potential implications for the clinical consideration of selective versus pan-family cathepsin inhibitors in cancer.