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O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar a reação de genótipos de batata aos nematoide-das-galhas Meloidogyne spp. Foram realizados dois experimentos em campo, o primeiro com 12 clones e uma cultivar de batata, em um campo naturalmente infestado com Meloidogyne incognita raça 1; no segundo, foram utilizados 12 clones e duas cultivares de batata, em um campo infestado com Meloidogyne javanica. Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-12T00:32:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2878582PB.pdf: 167981 bytes, checksum: d39f5e7c86be0d8cd499f8d7a1370946 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-09-11

Metabolic glycan probes have emerged as an excellent tool to investigate vital questions in biology. Recently, methodology to incorporate metabolic bacterial glycan probes into the cell wall of a variety of bacterial species has been developed. In order to improve this method, a scalable synthesis of the peptidoglycan precursors is developed here, allowing for access to essential peptidoglycan immunological fragments and cell wall building blocks. The question was asked if masking polar groups of the glycan probe would increase overall incorporation, a common strategy exploited in mammalian glycobiology. Here, we show, through cellular assays, that E. coli do not utilize peracetylated peptidoglycan substrates but do employ methyl esters. The 10-fold improvement of probe utilization indicates that (i) masking the carboxylic acid is favorable for transport and (ii) bacterial esterases are capable of removing the methyl ester for use in peptidoglycan biosynthesis. This investigation advances bacterial cell wall biology, offering a prescription on how to best deliver and utilize bacterial metabolic glycan probes.

Evolution of resistance by pests can reduce the benefits of crops genetically engineered to produce insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Because of the widespread resistance of Helicoverpa zea to crystalline (Cry) Bt toxins in the United States, the vegetative insecticidal protein Vip3Aa is the only Bt toxin produced by Bt corn and cotton that remains effective against some populations of this polyphagous lepidopteran pest. Here we evaluated H. zea resistance to Vip3Aa using diet bioassays to test 42,218 larvae from three lab strains and 71 strains derived from the field during 2016 to 2020 in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. Relative to the least susceptible of the three lab strains tested (BZ), susceptibility to Vip3Aa of the field-derived strains decreased significantly from 2016 to 2020. Relative to another lab strain (TM), 7 of 16 strains derived from the field in 2019 were significantly resistant to Vip3Aa, with up to 13-fold resistance. Susceptibility to Vip3Aa was significantly lower for strains derived from Vip3Aa plants than non-Vip3Aa plants, providing direct evidence of resistance evolving in response to selection by Vip3Aa plants in the field. Together with previously reported data, the results here convey an early warning of field-evolved resistance to Vip3Aa in H. zea that supports calls for urgent action to preserve the efficacy of this toxin.

Diffuse lung disease in early childhood due to mutations in the filamin A gene has been recently reported. Clinical outcomes vary among individuals indicating variability in phenotype but a substantial proportion of reported cases in early life have ended up in death or lung transplantation. We recently encountered a school-aged child in whom the diagnosis of a filamin A mutation was delayed and the natural history of emphysematous lung disease was altered by serial lung volume reduction surgeries. She eventually underwent a bilateral lung transplant and we report the natural history of her disease and treatments applied herein.

Fil: Lafuente, Maria Leticia. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Quimica. Laboratorio de Estudio de Compuestos Organicos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina

Cu-Fe spinels promoted the Ferrier rearrangement of 2-nitroglycals with several O-nucleophiles. 2,3- Unsaturated carbohydrate derivatives were prepared by the reaction of 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-2-nitroglucal and alcohols in the presence of 5 % of CuFe2O4. After separation of the catalyst with an external magnet, the reaction products were obtained in good yields and high stereo and regioselectivity. Also, S- and heterocyclic C-3 substituted 2-nitro-endo-glycals could be prepared by this method. Fil: Lafuente, María Leticia. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Química. Laboratorio de Estudio de Compuestos Orgánicos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina Fil: Rochetti, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas "Dr. Jorge J. Ronco". Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ciencias Aplicadas; Argentina Fil: Bravo, Rodolfo Daniel. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Química. Laboratorio de Estudio de Compuestos Orgánicos; Argentina Fil: Santiago, Cintia Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Química. Laboratorio de Estudio de Compuestos Orgánicos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina Fil: Santiago, Cintia Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Química. Laboratorio de Estudio de Compuestos Orgánicos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina Fil: Ponzinibbio, Agustín. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Química. Laboratorio de Estudio de Compuestos Orgánicos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina

Background Despite improvements in fetal survival for pregnancies that are affected by twin-twin transfusion syndrome since the introduction of laser photocoagulation, prematurity remains a major source of neonatal morbidity and death. Objective To investigate the indications and factors that influence the timing of delivery after laser treatment, we collected delivery information regarding twin-twin transfusion syndrome cases in a large multicenter cohort. Study Design Eleven North American Fetal Therapy Network centers conducted a retrospective review of twin-twin transfusion syndrome patients who underwent laser photocoagulation. Clinical, demographic, and ultrasound variables that included twin-twin transfusion syndrome stage and gestational age at treatment and delivery were recorded. Primary and secondary maternal and fetal indications for delivery were identified. Univariate analysis was used to select candidate variables with significant correlation with latency and gestational age at delivery. Multivariable Cox regression with competing risk analysis was used to determine the independent associations. Results A total of 847 pregnancies were analyzed. After laser therapy, the average latency to delivery was 10.11±4.8 weeks, and the mean gestational age at delivery was 30.7±4.5 weeks. Primary maternal indications for delivery comprised 79% of cases. The leading indications included spontaneous labor (46.8%), premature rupture of membranes (17.1%), and placental abruption (8.4%). Primary fetal indications accounted for 21% of cases; the most frequent indications included donor nonreassuring status (20.5%), abnormal donor Doppler evaluations (15.1%), and donor growth restriction (14.5%). The most common secondary indications for delivery were premature rupture of membranes, spontaneous labor, and donor growth restriction. Multivariate modeling found gestational age at diagnosis, stage, history of previous amnioreduction, cerclage, intertwin membrane disruption, procedure complications, and chorioamniotic membrane separation to be predictors for both gestational age at delivery and latency. Conclusion Premature delivery after laser therapy for twin-twin transfusion syndrome is primarily the result of spontaneous labor, preterm premature rupture of membranes, and nonreassuring status of the donor fetus. Placental abruption was found to be a frequent complication that resulted in early delivery. Future research should be directed toward the goal of prolonging gestation after laser photocoagulation to further reduce morbidity and mortality rates that are associated with twin-twin transfusion syndrome.

Doxorubicin (DOX), a chemotherapy drug successfully used in the therapy of various types of cancer, is currently associated with the mucositis development, an inflammation that can cause ulcerative lesions in the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract, abdominal pain and secondary infections. To increase the safety of the chemotherapy, we loaded DOX into nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs). The NLC–DOX was characterized by HPLC, DLS, NTA, Zeta potential, FTIR, DSC, TEM and cryogenic-TEM. The ability of NLC–DOX to control the DOX release was evaluated through in vitro release studies. Moreover, the effect of NLC–DOX on intestinal mucosa was compared to a free DOX solution in C57BL/6 mice. The NLC–DOX showed spherical shape, high drug encapsulation efficiency (84.8 ± 4.6%), high drug loading (55.2 ± 3.4 mg/g) and low average diameter (66.0–78.8 nm). The DSC and FTIR analyses showed high interaction between the NLC components, resulting in controlled drug release. Treatment with NLC–DOX attenuated DOX-induced mucositis in mice, improving shortening on villus height and crypt depth, decreased inflammatory parameters, preserved intestinal permeability and increased expression of tight junctions (ZO-1 and Ocludin). These results indicated that encapsulation of DOX in NLCs is viable and reduces the drug toxicity to mucosal structures.

Highlights • The coexistence of cervical cancer and pelvic organ prolapse is a rare scenario. • This is the first report of a cervical neuroendocrine cancer in a prolapsed uterus. • A pessary was used to optimize the accuracy and reproducibility of the target volume position during chemoradiation., Background The coexistence of cervical cancer and pelvic organ prolapse represents a rare clinical scenario. Small cell neuroendocrine histology likewise represents only 0.9–1.5% of all invasive cervical cancers. There is no consensus regarding the optimal management of patients with concomitant locally advanced cervical cancer and pelvic organ prolapse. Case summary The patient was a 32-year old woman with an 8-cm fungating cervical mass extruding from the introitus. Biopsy was consistent with small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. Examination showed stage IIIC1r cervical cancer with stage IV pelvic organ prolapse. After manual reduction, a pessary was used to optimize target volume reproducibility during definitive chemoradiation. The patient was treated using cisplatin and etoposide chemotherapy with intensity modulated radiation therapy followed by intracavitary brachytherapy. The patient had no clinical evidence of disease and recurrence of symptomatic prolapse one year after treatment completion. Conclusion This is the first reported case of a cervical neuroendocrine carcinoma in a prolapsed uterus, and the youngest patient in literature to have concomitant cervical cancer and pelvic organ prolapse. The use of a pessary for optimizing target volume reproducibility during definitive chemoradiation is a viable option in managing this rare case scenario.

Stem cell therapy is an interesting approach for neural repair, once it can improve and increase processes, like angiogenesis, neurogenesis, and synaptic plasticity. In this regard, adult neural stem cells (NSC) are studied for their mechanisms of proliferation, differentiation and functionality in neural repair. Here, we describe novel neural differentiation methods. NSC from adult mouse brains and human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSC) were isolated and characterized regarding their neural differentiation potential based on neural marker expression profiles. For both cell types, their capabilities of differentiating into neuron-, astrocyte- and oligodendrocytes-like cells (NLC, ALC and OLC, respectively) were analyzed. Our methodologies were capable of producing NLC, ALC and OLC from adult murine and human transdifferentiated NSC. NSC showed augmented gene expression of NES, TUJ1, GFAP and PDGFRA/Cnp. Following differentiation induction into NLC, OLC or ALC, specific neural phenotypes were obtained expressing MAP2, GalC/O4 or GFAP with compatible morphologies, respectively. Accordingly, immunostaining for nestin

Chagasic megacolon is caused byWe developed a murine model ofIn the chronic phase of infection, there was decreased intestinal motility associated with decreased amplitude and rhythmicity of intestinal contractility. Pharmacological tests suggested a defective response mediated by acetylcholine receptors. The contractile response induced by acetylcholine was decreased by atropine in the acute phase while the lack of its action in the chronic phase was associated with tissue damage, and decreased expression of choline acetyltransferase, nicotinic subunits of acetylcholine receptors, and neurotransmitters.

The bacterial cell wall, composed of peptidoglycan (PG), provides structural integrity for the cell and is responsible for cell shape in most bacteria. Here we present tools to study the cell wall using a clickable PG-specific sugar, 2-alkyne muramic acid (MurNAc-alk), as a metabolic probe. Here we present a new reaction pathway for generating MurNAc-alk. We also include protocols for labeling PG synthesis in Helicobacter pylori, determining the identity of the labeled muropeptides using LC-MS/MS, sample preparation of cells labeled for a short fraction of the doubling time, and visualization using 3D structured illumination microscopy. © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Alternative synthesis of MurNAc-alk (direct coupling) Support Protocol 1: Growing Helicobacter pylori in liquid culture Support Protocol 2: Fosfomycin rescue assay Basic Protocol 2: Mass spectrometry (MS) analysis to determine incorporation of MurNAc-alk within the peptidoglycan of H. pylori Support Protocol 3: Hayashi test to determine if SDS is present in the supernatant of peptidoglycan preparations Support Protocol 4: Creating custom cytocentrifuge units for use in a swinging-bucket tabletop centrifuge Basic Protocol 3: Labeling H. pylori with MurNAc-alk or D-Ala-alk Basic Protocol 4: Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) imaging on the DeltaVision OMX.

Background Increased levels of inflammatory cytokines are associated with severe dengue evolution, but the source of such hypercytokinemia is elusive. We investigated the contribution of innate lymphocytes, innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), and natural killer (NK) cells in cytokine production in early dengue infection. Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells of individuals with dengue without warning signs (DWS–) and dengue with warning signs and severe dengue (SD) presentation combined (DWS+) were obtained between 2 and 7 days since fever onset and submitted to flow cytometry without specific antigen stimulation to evaluate cytokines in ILC and NK cell subpopulations. Results ILCs and NK cells were found to be important sources of cytokines during dengue. ILCs of the DWS+/SD group displayed higher production of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and interleukin (IL) 4/IL-13 when compared to DWS– individuals. On the other hand, NK Eomes+ cells of DWS– patients displayed higher IFN-γ production levels compared with the DWS+/SD group. Interestingly, when NK cells were identified by CD56 expression, DWS+/SD displayed higher frequency of IL-17 production compared with the DWS– group. Conclusions These results indicate that ILCs and NK cells are important sources of inflammatory cytokines during acute dengue infection and display distinct profiles associated with different clinical forms.

Hasta hace muy poco, los modelos educativos tradicionales fomentaban la memorización como una habilidad esencial para el aprendizaje, esto ha cambiado debido a la llegada y rápida difusión de las tecnologías digitales y el impacto que han tenido en los estudiantes de hoy en día. Esta nueva generación que inunda las aulas no son las personas para la que los modelos educativos de enseñanza y aprendizaje fueron diseñados, ellos nacieron y crecieron junto a la World Wide Web, las redes sociales, los dispositivos móviles y las redes multimedia. Los denominados nativos digitales procesan la información y adquieren conocimiento de manera muy diferente a nuestra generación. Incentivar en ellos una metodología educativa tradicional que involucre el aula, la conferencia magistral y la biblioteca es una batalla perdida. Las nuevas generaciones de estudiantes necesitan nuevos modelos educativos, metodologías pedagógicas innovadoras y una plataforma educativa mas natural y eficaz que se acople a sus habilidades y necesidades. En la última década, las tecnologías de la información (TI) han aumentado a un ritmo nunca antes visto, proporcionando a los alumnos una tecnología digital, accesible, rápida, asequible y portátil. Un claro ejemplo de ello son los dispositivos móviles, los cuales, debido a sus características de movilidad y ubicuidad, se han vuelto muy populares e indispensables en nuestra vida cotidiana. Cisco, en su Informe anual de Internet (2018-2023) publicado en marzo de 2020, pronostica que los teléfonos inteligentes tendrán un crecimiento muy acelerado. Esto significa que más del 70% de la población mundial tendrá un teléfono celular en 2023. Definitivamente, la penetración de los dispositivos móviles tienen un impacto directo en la forma como los estudiantes actuales acceden a la información. Hoy en día, el aprendizaje mediante dispositivos móviles está vinculado a casi todas las actividades relacionadas con el conocimiento. En consecuencia, el uso del aprendizaje móvil como estrategia para la innovación educativa está creciendo a un ritmo acelerado. El interés mostrado hacia la tecnología móvil ha aumentado en los últimos años debido a sus características como la movilidad, ubicuidad, accesibilidad, colaboración, utilidad, privacidad, adaptabilidad, portabilidad, flexibilidad y universalidad. Por tanto, la tecnología móvil y sus características tienen el potencial de transformar, mejorar y cambiar el paradigma educativo tradicional de la enseñanza impuesta al aprendizaje cooperativo y colaborativo. El uso de la tecnología ha cambiado radicalmente la forma de impartir la enseñanza, esto se debe al fácil acceso a la información y el uso de herramientas útiles para encontrar y compartir recursos educativos. Por esta razón se puede mencionar que, las TI, tienen el potencial de innovar la educación, con la creación de nuevas metodologías y modelos educativos basados en las habilidades tecnológicas que poseen los estudiantes de hoy en día. El mundo actual exige modelos educativos más eficaces que permitan crear en los estudiantes experiencias de aprendizaje, además de invitarlos a desempeñar un papel más activo en su educación. Por esta razón, la implementación de nuevos enfoques y prácticas educativas tienen que ser beneficiosos y generar un impacto en los individuos y en las instituciones académicas. El uso de las TI en la educación puede influir en el rendimiento académico y en la motivación hacia el aprendizaje debido a las características inherentes de las tecnologías móviles. De esta manera, el uso de la tecnología y los dispositivos móviles como apoyo en la educación, puede ser un factor importante para mejorar la gestión educativa. Además, puede influir en la mejora de las tasas de graduación y disminuir las estadísticas de abandono o deserción estudiantil. Por este motivo la investigación inició con una búsqueda de información sobre el tema del uso de los dispositivos móviles en la educación. Utilizamos una revisión de literatura para analizar el potencial que tienen los dispositivos móviles en la educación superior. Además, se definieron las ventajas y desventajas que podrían influir en el uso de los dispositivos móviles para el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje. También se realizó un análisis de fortalezas, oportunidades, debilidades y amenazas (FODA) de la tecnología móvil con uso en la educación. Se eligió una ventana más amplia de investigación (2010 - 2020), en esta nueva revisión se encontraron y definieron los principales beneficios y problemas que deben ser abordados para el correcto despliegue de la tecnología móvil como parte de un modelo educativo. Finalmente, se realizó un mapeo sistemático para evidenciar como los dispositivos móviles se están utilizando para crear metodologías educativas innovadoras. El mapeo sistemático permitió definir un nuevo modelo para el análisis de innovación académica con el uso de dispositivos móviles. Este modelo define cinco dimensiones útiles para identificar metodologías educativas que sean verdaderamente innovadores y ayuden en el proceso académico. Una vez concluida la base teórica de la investigación, se procedió con la parte de experimentación. Para ello, se realizó el diseño y construcción de aplicaciones móviles educativas que sirvan de apoyo para la educación formal e informal. La primera aplicación móvil fue diseñada para el aprendizaje de un idioma indígena (Kichwa). El análisis estadístico de los resultados obtenidos en este experimento muestra una gran aceptación de la tecnología móvil por parte de los usuarios. El instrumento utilizado fue el modelo Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) con una escala de Likert de cinco puntos. El siguiente trabajo involucró la tecnología de realidad aumentada para diseñar una aplicación móvil que pueda ser utilizada como apoyo en la educación formal de ingeniería. Para el análisis estadístico de los resultados en una evaluación entre un grupo experimental y un grupo de control, se utilizó la metodología de Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA). Los resultados son alentadores y muestran que los dispositivos móviles pueden ser utilizados como apoyo en la educación formal e informal. Los resultados de este trabajo permiten evidenciar los principales problemas, desventajas, y desafíos que deben ser afrontados para un correcto despliegue de la tecnología móvil en la educación. De la misma forma, es claro y están definidas las ventajas y los beneficios que el uso de los dispositivos móviles aportan al aprendizaje. Este trabajo puede influenciar a las instituciones educativas al uso de los dispositivos móviles para utilizarlos como una metodología educativa innovadora, útil para mejorar el aprendizaje.

Motivation: Trait variation within species can reveal plastic and/or genetic responses to environmental gradients, and may indicate where local adaptation has occurred. Here, we present a dataset of rangewide variation in leaf traits from seven of the most ecologically and economically important tree species in Europe. Sample collection and trait assessment are embedded in the GenTree project (EU‐Horizon 2020), which aims at characterizing the genetic and phenotypic variability of forest tree species to optimize the management and sustainable use of forest genetic resources. Our dataset captures substantial intra‐ and interspecific leaf phenotypic variability, and provides valuable information for studying the relationship between ecosystem functioning and trait variability of individuals, and the response and resilience of species to environmental changes. Main types of variable contained: We chose morphological and chemical characters linked to trade‐offs between acquisition and conservation of resources and water use, namely specific leaf area, leaf size, carbon and nitrogen content and their ratio, and the isotopic signature of stable isotope ¹³C and ¹⁵N in leaves. Spatial location and grain: We surveyed between 18 and 22 populations per species, 141 in total, across Europe. Time period: Leaf sampling took place between 2016 and 2017. Major taxa and level of measurement: We sampled at least 25 individuals in each population, 3,569 trees in total, and measured traits in 35,755 leaves from seven European tree species, i.e. the conifers Picea abies, Pinus pinaster and Pinus sylvestris, and the broadleaves Betula pendula, Fagus sylvatica, Populus nigra and Quercus petraea. Software format: The data files are in ASCII text, tab delimited, not compressed.

This paper proposes a distributed deep reinforcement learning (DRL) methodology for autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to manage radio resources in an indoor factory with no network infrastructure. Hence, deep neural networks (DNN) are used to optimize the decision policy of the robots, which will make decisions in a distributed manner without signalling exchange. To speed up the learning phase, a centralized training is adopted in which a single DNN is trained using the experience from all robots. Once completed, the pre-trained DNN is deployed at all robots for distributed selection of resources. The performance of this approach is evaluated and compared to 5G NR sidelink mode 2 via simulations. The results show that the proposed method achieves up to 5% higher probability of successful reception when the density of robots in the scenario is high. This work has been partially funded by Junta de Andalucía (projects EDEL4.0:UMA18-FEDERJA-172 and PENTA:PY18-4647) and Universidad de Málaga (I Plan Propio de Investigación, Transferencia y Divulgación Científica). Ramoni Adeogun is supported by the Danish Council for Independent Research, grant no. DFF 9041-00146B. The authors would like to express their profound gratitude to Nokia Standardization Aalborg and Aalborg University for funding the first author’s research stay. The authors thank Assoc. Prof. Gilberto Beradinelli for his comments on the manuscript.

In this article, an analysis of the current potentialities of social media and their impact on the daily life of human beings will be done. Leading to the presentation of software that helps to the generation of new knowledge based on different tools analysis applied to the users. The use of social media their strengths and orientation are analyzed by reviewing the advantages of the main ones used in the world and their focus. In this way, an analysis is presented on a global and local scale, looking for important acceptance indicators for users who remain active in the media. Finding the fields of interest, age groups, and gender according to the network and indistinct parameters that ultimately let us see the impact from the user. Base on different SM search engines on the main trends found we can define a friendly interface that can be implemented in the software model to be proposed. Finally, we put forward a proposal whose main orientation is to analyze personal and business interest groups, performing a benchmarking that has as its main input social media. It allows companies to innovate and improve in a certain line of business by obtaining knowledge of those who do things better at a given time. Organizations will be able to make decisions more efficient, agile, and appropriate to their own business.

Background: Progress in the field of evolutionary forest ecology has been hampered by the huge challenge of phenotyping trees across their ranges in their natural environments, and the limitation in high-resolution environmental information. Findings: The GenTree Platform contains phenotypic and environmental data from 4,959 trees from 12 ecologically and economically important European forest tree species: Abies alba Mill. (silver fir), Betula pendula Roth. (silver birch), Fagus sylvatica L. (European beech), Picea abies (L.) H. Karst (Norway spruce), Pinus cembra L. (Swiss stone pine), Pinus halepensis Mill. (Aleppo pine), Pinus nigra Arnold (European black pine), Pinus pinaster Aiton (maritime pine), Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine), Populus nigra L. (European black poplar), Taxus baccata L. (English yew), and Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl. (sessile oak). Phenotypic (height, diameter at breast height, crown size, bark thickness, biomass, straightness, forking, branch angle, fructification), regeneration, environmental in situ measurements (soil depth, vegetation cover, competition indices), and environmental modeling data extracted by using bilinear interpolation accounting for surrounding conditions of each tree (precipitation, temperature, insolation, drought indices) were obtained from trees in 194 sites covering the species’ geographic ranges and reflecting local environmental gradients. Conclusions: The GenTree Platform is a new resource for investigating ecological and evolutionary processes in forest trees. The coherent phenotyping and environmental characterization across 12 species in their European ranges allow for a wide range of analyses from forest ecologists, conservationists, and macro-ecologists. Also, the data here presented can be linked to the GenTree Dendroecological collection, the GenTree Leaf Trait collection, and the GenTree Genomic collection presented elsewhere, which together build the largest evolutionary forest ecology data collection available.

Las innovaciones técnicas han permitido realizar un sinnúmero de cirugías endoscópicas y laparoscópicas, entre ellas la mastectomía preservadora de piel y pezón por puerto único, que ha sido reportada como bien tolerada, con un excelente resultado cosmético y con el mismo pronóstico oncológico que la cirugía tradicional. Esta técnica, común en Asia, presenta diversos retos técnicos y económicos. Presentamos la primera aproximación en nuestro país sobre este abordaje en una paciente con cáncer de mama. Para realizar esta cirugía es preciso el entrenamiento en mínima invasión y en cirugía mamaria, así como una adecuada selección de las pacientes.Technical innovations and scientific advances have allowed to perform countless endoscopic and laparoscopic surgical procedures. Among these, Single port endoscopic Mastectomy has been reported as well tolerated, with great aesthetic results and the same oncologic prognosis as traditional surgery. This popular approach in Asian countries presents many technical and economic challenges. We present the first endoscopic approach in our country: a female patient with infiltrating ductal carcinoma in the left breast. We understand that to carry out this procedure, adequate patient selection, great minimal invasive and breast surgery skills are necessary.

Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is used as a biomarker for anti-programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) or anti-PD-L1 immunotherapies in NSCLC. We report here the results of population-based PD-L1 testing using the 22C3 IHC pharmDx Assay (Agilent Technologies) in a large Canadian regional reference pathology laboratory.Testing was conducted reflexively on biopsies and resections for NSCLC during an 8-month period. Tumor proportion score (TPS) cutoffs for low and high expression were 1% and 50%, respectively.Altogether, 2031 PD-L1 tests were performed on specimens from 1795 patients, with 107 inconclusive results (5.3%). Excluding cases with inconclusive/missing data, proportions for the remaining 1713 patients were 41.6% for TPS less than 1%, 28.6% for TPS 1% to 49%, and 29.8% for TPS greater than or equal to 50%. Higher PD-L1 expression rates were noted in EGFR wild-type versus mutant tumors (p0.001), squamous versus adenocarcinoma (p0.001), and metastatic versus primary tumors (p0.001). PD-L1 among 103 patients with paired biopsy and resection specimens revealed moderate concordance (κ = 0.67). A total of 52% (25 of 48) of biopsies with TPS less than 1% had TPS greater than 1% in resection, whereas 84.6% (22 of 26) of biopsies with TPS greater than or equal to 50% were concordant in resected tumors. Discordance rates between biopsy and resection were 71.4% for biopsies with less than 8 mmIntratumoral heterogeneity of PD-L1 expression may result in misclassification of PD-L1 status in a substantial proportion of PD-L1-negative small biopsy samples. Biopsy of metastatic site may increase proportion of patients with high PD-L1 expression.

Las innovaciones tecnicas han permitido realizar un sinnumero de cirugias endoscopicas y laparoscopicas, entre ellas la mastectomia preservadora de piel y pezon por puerto unico, que ha sido reportada como bien tolerada, con un excelente resultado cosmetico y con el mismo pronostico oncologico que la cirugia tradicional. Esta tecnica, comun en Asia, presenta diversos retos tecnicos y economicos. Presentamos la primera aproximacion en nuestro pais sobre este abordaje en una paciente con cancer de mama. Para realizar esta cirugia es preciso el entrenamiento en minima invasion y en cirugia mamaria, asi como una adecuada seleccion de las pacientes. Technical innovations and scientific advances have allowed to perform countless endoscopic and laparoscopic surgical procedures. Among these, Single port endoscopic Mastectomy has been reported as well tolerated, with great aesthetic results and the same oncologic prognosis as traditional surgery. This popular approach in Asian countries presents many technical and economic challenges. We present the first endoscopic approach in our country: a female patient with infiltrating ductal carcinoma in the left breast. We understand that to carry out this procedure, adequate patient selection, great minimal invasive and breast surgery skills are necessary.

The quality of the images obtained from mobile cameras has been an important feature for modern smartphones. The camera Image Signal Processing (ISP) is a significant procedure when generating high-quality images. However, the existing algorithms in the ISP pipeline need to be tuned according to the physical resources of the image capture, limiting the final image quality. This work aims at replacing the camera ISP pipeline with a deep learning model that can better generalize the procedure. A Deep Neural Network based on the UNet architecture was employed to process RAW images into RGB. Pre-processing stages were applied, and some resources for training were added incrementally. The results demonstrated that the test images were obtained efficiently, indicating that the replacement of traditional algorithms by deep models is indeed a promising path.

Background Helicoverpa zea is a destructive pest and target of maize and cotton expressing Cry and Vip3Aa proteins in North America. The efficacy of Cry proteins against H. zea in the U.S. has been largely compromised by resistance. A rapid shift towards planting Bt cotton and maize producing Vip3Aa will accelerate evolution of resistance to Vip3Aa in H. zea. Research on the genetic basis of Vip3Aa resistance in H. zea is urgently needed, and can provide fundamental information for managing resistance of this pest. Here, we characterize the inheritance of Vip3Aa resistance in H. zea. Results Susceptibility of a Vip3Aa-susceptible strain (SS), a resistant strain (RR), and progeny from different crosses against Vip3Aa39 was determined. RR was established from an F2 screening of a population sampled from Texas in 2019. RR had a resistance ratio of 45,194.1-fold against Vip3Aa39 relative to SS. Maternal effects and sex linkage were absent in RR. The dominance D value calculated based on LC50 values was -1.0, and the effective dominance (DML ) calculated based on a given Vip3Aa39 concentration was ≤ 0.0 at the concentrations of 0.1-31.6 μg/cm2 . The test using a monogenic mode of inheritance showed that the resistance to Vip3Aa in H. zea was largely due to a single gene. Conclusion Results of this study indicate that the Vip3Aa resistance in H. zea is monogenic, autosomal and recessive. This information is valuable for studying the mechanism of Vip3Aa resistance, monitoring of resistance development, and designing appropriate strategies for preventive management of Vip3Aa resistance. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assesses pulmonary hypoplasia in fetal congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Neonatal mortality may occur with CDH.To quantify MRI parameters associated with neonatal survival in fetuses with isolated CDH.Fetal MRI for assessing CDH included region of interest (ROI) measurements for total lung volume (TLV), herniated liver volume, herniated other organ volume and predicted lung volume. Ratios of observed lung volume and liver up volume to predicted lung volume (observed to predicted TLV, percentage of the thorax occupied by liver) were calculated and compared to neonatal outcomes. Analyses included Wilcoxon rank sum test, multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.Of 61 studies, the median observed to predicted TLV was 0.25 in survivors and 0.16 in non-survivors (P=0.001) with CDH. The median percentage of the thorax occupied by liver was 0.02 in survivors and 0.22 in non-survivors (P0.001). The association of observed to predicted TLV and percentage of the thorax occupied by liver with survival for gestational age (GA)28 weeks was greater compared to GA ≤28 weeks. The ROC analysis demonstrated an area under the curve of 0.96 (95% confidence interval 0.91-1.00) for the combined observed to predicted TLV, percentage of the thorax occupied by liver and GA.The percentage of the thorax occupied by liver and observed to predicted TLV was predictive of neonatal survival in fetuses with CDH.

Phytocystatins are tight-binding cysteine protease inhibitors produced by plants. The first phytocystatin described was isolated from Oryza sativa and, since then, cystatins from several plant species were reported, including from sugarcane. Sugarcane cystatins were unraveled in Sugarcane EST project database, after sequencing of cDNA libraries from various sugarcane tissues at different developmental stages and six sugarcane cystatins were cloned, expressed and characterized (CaneCPI-1 to CaneCPI-6). These recombinant proteins were produced in different expression systems and inhibited several cysteine proteases, including human cathepsins B and L, which can be involved in pathologies, such as cancer. In this review, we summarize a comprehensive history of all sugarcane cystatins, presenting an updated phylogenetic analysis; chromosomal localization, and genomic organization. We also present protein docking of CaneCPI-5 in the active site of human cathepsin B, insights about canecystatins structures; recombinant expression in different systems, comparison of their inhibitory activities against human cysteine cathepsins B, K, L, S, V, falcipains from Plasmodium falciparum and a cathepsin L-like from the sugarcane weevil Sphenophorus levis; and enlighten their potential and current applications in agriculture and health.

Data from the routine surveillance systems have been extensively used to estimate the incidence of dengue. However, routine surveillance data frequently underestimate the diseases’ incidence. Underreporting of dengue cases is related to the varying spectrum of its clinical presentation, with a large proportion of mild and asymptomatic infections, to its unspecific signs and symptoms, to the limitations of access to health care, and to the performance of the surveillance system itself [1–3].In order to obtain accurate figures on dengue incidence, a cohort of children and adolescents was set up and followed during four years. The incidence of reported cases was used as a reference for the sample size calculation, which was stratified by age groups. A two-stage procedure was used to select the participants: census tracts were randomly selected, and within each one, a pre-determined number of children of each age group was randomly selected.The parents or legal guardians of the participating children and adolescents provided a written informed consent. In the first home visit, they responded to a questionnaire containing data on socio-demographic characteristics, housing, access to water, sewage, and garbage collection. Also, during the first visit a blood sample of the participating child/adolescent was collected for dengue baseline serology. Beginning in the week after the enrolment, the parent or legal guardian that was designated in the first visit received weekly phone calls for fever surveillance. If the child/adolescent had fever during the week, a nurse was dispatched to the family's home to collect more detailed data on the fever episode and collect a blood sample for dengue diagnosis (IgG, IgM, NS1 and PCR). If the dengue diagnosis was confirmed, a medical appointment was scheduled, and another blood sample for confirmatory tests was collected. It was also agreed that in every anniversary of their participation, they would receive another visit for a blood collection for dengue serology, regardless if they had a fever episode or a confirmed dengue diagnosis during the previous year.This article contains the description of the cohort's dataset. It is associated with the article published in Acta Tropica, under the title “A cohort study to assess the incidence of dengue, Brazil, 2014–2018” [4]. The associated article focused on the seroprevalence and incidence of dengue, and explored some associations between both outcomes and some explanatory variables. Keywords: Dengue, Incidence, Cohort study, Seroprevalence, Brazil

Background In December 2018, a large, tertiary, university-affiliated hospital in the Philippines discovered that their legitimate supply chain was infiltrated with counterfeit rabies vaccines. Methods All vials suspected to be counterfeit were quarantined and surrendered to the Philippine Food and Drug Administration. Patients who may have received the counterfeit products were recalled, evaluated, and revaccinated accordingly. Vials of the counterfeit vaccines were sent to various laboratories for testing. Results Two batches of counterfeit rabies vaccines were found to have infiltrated the hospital’s supply chain between December 2017 and December 2018. Of the 1711 patients who may have received counterfeit vaccines, 1397 patients were successfully contacted, and 734 were revaccinated with at least 1 dose of authentic rabies vaccine. The counterfeit vials were sterile, contained no toxic substances, and both contained active antirabies ingredient. No report of rabies infection or other adverse events were noted. Conclusions Our experience demonstrates the need for strong intervention and collaborative response from all stakeholders—government and regulatory bodies, the pharmaceutical industry, and individual institutions and consumers—to effectively eradicate counterfeiting and protect our patients., This article describes how counterfeit rabies vaccines infiltrated one hospital’s supply chain, details its comprehensive response, including investigation, patient recall and revaccination, and vaccine testing, and illustrates how governments, the pharmaceutical industry, and individual institutions can collaborate to prevent recurrences.

Background The corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), is a major target pest of pyramided Bt corn and cotton in the United States. Field-evolved practical resistance to Cry1 and Cry2 proteins in H. zea has been documented in multiple locations in the United States. Understanding the genetic basis of Bt resistance is essential in developing insect resistance management (IRM) strategies for the sustainable use of the Bt crop technology. In this study, we characterized the genetic bases of Cry2Ab2 resistance in H. zea using diet-overlay bioassays with two different forms of Cry2Ab2 protein. Results Laboratory bioassays using a Cry2Ab2-resistant (RR) strain, a susceptible (SS) strain, as well as cross and backcross strains, revealed that resistance to Cry2Ab2 was autosomally inherited and controlled by more than one locus. In diet bioassays, the dominance of Cry2Ab2 resistance in H. zea varied from incompletely recessive to incompletely dominant across all tested Cry2Ab2 concentrations of either Bt corn leaf powder or solubilized protein. On leaf tissue of TwinLink cotton (expressing Cry1Ab and Cry2Ae), Cry2Ab2 resistance in H. zea was completely dominant. Conclusion These results have significant implications for understanding the widespread field-evolved resistance of H. zea against Cry1 and Cry2 proteins in Bt corn and cotton and should be useful in developing effective IRM strategies for H. zea. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Infants prenatally suspected of having a choledochal cyst (CDC) typically undergo ultrasound imaging shortly after birth. This study sought to evaluate features on the initial postnatal ultrasound (IPU) that could identify newborns at risk for early complications.Following IRB approval, patients from four US fetal centers with prenatal suspicion for CDC and postnatal imaging from 2000 to 2017 were reviewed. Imaging and clinical courses were assessed.Forty-two patients had prenatal ultrasounds suspicious for CDC. Nineteen (45.2%) were excluded due to diagnostic revision (In newborns with prenatally diagnosed CDC, a cyst size ≥ 4.5 cm on IPU is associated with symptom development during the first month after birth and therefore early cyst excision is recommended.

Background Approximately 20% of fetuses diagnosed with congenital lung malformations (CLMs) are found to have additional anomalies. We aim to determine if additional anomalies have an impact on postnatal outcomes for patients with CLMs. Methods After institutional review board approval, we performed a retrospective review of live-born patients with CLMs from 2008 to 2018. All patients were prenatally diagnosed with CLMs. Clinical information pertaining to additional congenital anomalies and outcomes was collected from the electronic health record and analyzed. Results Of the 88 patients who had a prenatal diagnosis of CLMs, 20.5% had additional anomalies. Ten of the 18 patients (56%) were considered to have a major anomaly in addition to CLMs. Outcomes for patients electing nonoperative management of CLMs were similar between those with and without an additional anomaly. Although patients with an additional anomaly were more likely to have perinatal respiratory complications (44% versus 17%, P = 0.03), the number of preoperative clinic and emergency department visits, age at surgery, minimally invasive approach to surgical resection of CLM, estimated blood loss, length of hospital stay, intubation, duration of intubation, 30-day postoperative complications, and long term sequelae were not statistically different. This held true when stratified for major versus minor anomalies. Conclusions Twenty percent of fetuses diagnosed with CLM in our population have additional anomalies. Newborns with additional anomalies have a higher risk of pre-excision pulmonary complications. However, the overall outcomes of all patients with CLMs are similar.