Análise in silico de proteínas quinases expressas em Coffea arabica.

Apesar da indiscutível importância agronômica do café, particularmente para o Brasil, esta cultura ainda é alvo de diferentes estresses que causam perda em sua produtividade. A resposta do cafeeiro aos diferentes sinais como patógenos e de condições ambientais adversas é ainda desconhecida. Com o objetivo de identificar proteínas quinases, o banco de seqüências expressas de Café (CAFEST) foi investigado. A análise do banco de dados CafEST revelou 479 seqüências identificadas como quinases que formaram um conjunto de 153 unigenes. As proteínas codificadas pelos segmentos expressos correspondem a diferentes e importantes categorias de quinases (MAPK, MAPKK, MAPKKK, receptores, etc). A análise filogenética mostrou a conservação das proteínas expressas no cafeeiro comparado a outras plantas e fungos. Os presentes resultados indicam que a resposta a estresses seja conservada em cafeeiro, provavelmente mediada pelos mecanismos de fosforilação em cascata. Além disso, apontam para o aprofundamento dos estudos destas vias como contribuição aos fenômenos relacionados à interação planta-patógeno

Estrutura de tamanho e fertilidade em uma população de Eriocnema fulva Naudin (Melastomataceae) no sudeste do Brasil

Eriocnema fulva Naudin is an endangered perennial herbaceous plant, endemic to Minas Gerais state, Brazil. This study was conducted in the Jambreiro Forest (19° 58' -59'S and 43° 52' -55' W, 800-1100 m altitude). In an attempt to describe the population size structure and its association with individual fertility, fifteen 1 x 1 m contiguous plots were set. We tagged, counted, and measured a total of 260 individuals in 1997, 1998 and 1999. Young individuals with leaf lamina lengths 10 cm in length did not reproduce was 2.69%. The highest survival probability of the large-sized individuals confirmed the strong correlation between size and survival. The data indicated that size is important for the fertility of E. fulva, and it may be one of the relevant aspects to be considered for analyses of survival probability. The intraspecific competition, which was indicated by negative correlation between fruit production per size unit and density, can affect fertility, as larger plants had higher fruit production.Eriocnema fulva é endêmica no estado de Minas Gerais e é ameaçada de extinção. Este estudo foi realizado na Mata do Jambreiro (19° 58' -59' S e 43° 52'-55' W, 800-1100 m de altitude) Com o objetivo de descrever a estrutura de tamanho da população e suas relações com a fertilidade dos indivíduos, foram instaladas 15 parcelas contíguas de 1 x 1m. Marcamos, contamos e medimos um total de 260 indivíduos em 1997, 1998 e 1999. Os indivíduos jovens com o comprimento do limbo 10 cm não se reproduzirem foi de 2,69%. A maior probabilidade de sobrevivência dos indivíduos de maior tamanho confirmou a forte correlação entre tamanho e sobrevivência. Os dados mostraram que o tamanho é importante para a fertilidade de Eriocnema fulva e pode ser relevante para análises de probabilidade de sobrevivência da espécie. A competição intra-específica, indicada pela correlação negativa entre a produção de frutos por unidade de tamanho e a densidade, pode influir na fertilidade, pois plantas maiores apresentaram maior produção de frutos.685693Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Phosphoproteomic differences in major depressive disorder postmortem brains indicate effects on synaptic function

There is still a lack in the molecular comprehension of major depressive disorder (MDD) although this condition affects approximately 10% of the world population. Protein phosphorylation is a posttranslational modification that regulates approximately one-third of the human proteins involved in a range of cellular and biological processes such as cellular signaling. Whereas phosphoproteome studies have been carried out extensively in cancer research, few such investigations have been carried out in studies of psychiatric disorders. Here, we present a comparative phosphoproteome analysis of postmortem dorsolateral prefrontal cortex tissues from 24 MDD patients and 12 control donors. Tissue extracts were analyzed using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry in a data-independent manner (LC-MSE). Our analyses resulted in the identification of 5,195 phosphopeptides, corresponding to 802 non-redundant proteins. Ninety of these proteins showed differential levels of phosphorylation in tissues from MDD subjects compared to controls, being 20 differentially phosphorylated in at least 2 peptides. The majority of these phosphorylated proteins were associated with synaptic transmission and cellular architecture not only pointing out potential biomarker candidates but mainly shedding light to the comprehension of MDD pathobiology

Boko Haram Assault on Nigeria: Towards Effective Mass Media Response

The Islamic sect, Boko Haram has waged a relentless war of attrition on Nigeria since 2009. The sect has attacked mostly government’s establishments, security operatives, places of worships, markets and lately, the mass media. These assaults have accounted for countless deaths and injuries to Nigerians and destruction of property worth millions. Many have expressed concern that the attacks if not decisively checked could spell grave danger to stability of the country, worsen security of lives and properties as well as freedom of speech and other related freedoms. The mass media, given their power and influence could play very significant role in winning the war against the Boko Haram insurgency. This paper critically examines the whole situation: the Boko Haram sect and its attacks; the assault on media houses, government’s response, mass media and objectivity, the media and terrorism and makes recommendations on how the mass media could be effectively deployed in the effort to stop the sect

X-Ray Spectroscopy of Stars

(abridged) Non-degenerate stars of essentially all spectral classes are soft X-ray sources. Low-mass stars on the cooler part of the main sequence and their pre-main sequence predecessors define the dominant stellar population in the galaxy by number. Their X-ray spectra are reminiscent, in the broadest sense, of X-ray spectra from the solar corona. X-ray emission from cool stars is indeed ascribed to magnetically trapped hot gas analogous to the solar coronal plasma. Coronal structure, its thermal stratification and geometric extent can be interpreted based on various spectral diagnostics. New features have been identified in pre-main sequence stars; some of these may be related to accretion shocks on the stellar surface, fluorescence on circumstellar disks due to X-ray irradiation, or shock heating in stellar outflows. Massive, hot stars clearly dominate the interaction with the galactic interstellar medium: they are the main sources of ionizing radiation, mechanical energy and chemical enrichment in galaxies. High-energy emission permits to probe some of the most important processes at work in these stars, and put constraints on their most peculiar feature: the stellar wind. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of cool and hot stars through the study of X-ray spectra, in particular high-resolution spectra now available from XMM-Newton and Chandra. We address issues related to coronal structure, flares, the composition of coronal plasma, X-ray production in accretion streams and outflows, X-rays from single OB-type stars, massive binaries, magnetic hot objects and evolved WR stars.Comment: accepted for Astron. Astrophys. Rev., 98 journal pages, 30 figures (partly multiple); some corrections made after proof stag

SHRUB AND TREE SPECIES COMPOSITION IN THE CERRADOS OF SOUTHWEST MINAS GERAIS

In order to improve the knowledge about variations in the floristic community of Brazilian cerrado, especially in regard to soil and climate conditions, we conducted a floristic assessment of the tree and shrub community of three disjoint adjacent regions situated in three municipalities of southwest Minas Gerais state (geographical coordinates 20-23 degrees S and 44-47 degrees W). Over a period of 24 months, in 49 allocated plots of 20 x 20 m, all tree and shrub species 1 m high or more in vegetative and/or reproductive stage were sampled. Additional random samples of blossoming plants were collected outside plots, and each plot was analyzed and categorized for soil type. 170 botanical species were identified belonging to 103 genera and 46 families. Family Fabaceae and genus Miconia presented the largest number of species. Although the cerrado of southwest Minas Gerais extends over marginal areas of occurrence of Brazilian cerrado, its floristic composition is rich not only in species but also in genera and families. Some species found in these cerrados also occur in local semideciduous forests, while other species that are frequently found in other areas of cerrado were not found in southwest Minas Gerais. Tibouchina sellowiana does not feature in the list of species occurring in Brazilian cerrados. There is little similarity among the three sampled areas due to soil factors and different types of human influence in each of the areas. Alpinopolis presented cerrado sensu stricto - subtype cerrado ralo, with 75 species and red-yellow latosol. Campo do Meio presented cerrado sensu stricto - subtype cerrado tipico, with 88 species and red latosol. Pimenta falls under the cerraddo category, with 124 species and red latosol. On the subsurface, the soil of Pimenta was found to present lower Al(+++)saturation, which apparently shapes conditions for a more vigorous vegetation. The cerrado soils sampled in this study showed high similarity to cerrado soils in other parts of Brazil.15214215

Cardiac afferent activity modulates the expression of racial stereotypes

Negative racial stereotypes tend to associate Black people with threat. This often leads to the misidentification of harmless objects as weapons held by a Black individual. Yet, little is known about how bodily states impact the expression of racial stereotyping. By tapping into the phasic activation of arterial baroreceptors, known to be associated with changes in the neural processing of fearful stimuli, we show activation of race-threat stereotypes synchronized with the cardiovascular cycle. Across two established tasks, stimuli depicting Black or White individuals were presented to coincide with either the cardiac systole or diastole. Results show increased race-driven misidentification of weapons during systole, when baroreceptor afferent firing is maximal, relative to diastole. Importantly, a third study examining the positive Black-athletic stereotypical association fails to demonstrate similar modulations by cardiac cycle. We identify a body–brain interaction wherein interoceptive cues can modulate threat appraisal and racially biased behaviour in context-dependent ways

Protein aggregation containing beta-amyloid, alpha-synuclein and hyperphosphorylated tau in cultured cells of hippocampus, substantia nigra and locus coeruleus after rotenone exposure

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protein aggregates containing alpha-synuclein, beta-amyloid and hyperphosphorylated tau are commonly found during neurodegenerative processes which is often accompanied by the impairment of mitochondrial complex I respiratory chain and dysfunction of cellular systems of protein degradation. In view of this, we aimed to develop an <it>in vitro </it>model to study protein aggregation associated to neurodegenerative diseases using cultured cells from hippocampus, locus coeruleus and substantia nigra of newborn Lewis rats exposed to 0.5, 1, 10 and 25 nM of rotenone, which is an agricultural pesticide, for 48 hours.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We demonstrated that the proportion of cells in culture is approximately the same as found in the brain nuclei they were extracted from. Rotenone at 0.5 nM was able to induce alpha-synuclein and beta amyloid aggregation, as well as increased hyperphosphorylation of tau, although high concentrations of this pesticide (over 1 nM) lead cells to death before protein aggregation. We also demonstrated that the 14kDa isoform of alpha-synuclein is not present in newborn Lewis rats.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Rotenone exposure may lead to constitutive protein aggregation <it>in vitro</it>, which may be of relevance to study the mechanisms involved in idiopathic neurodegeneration.</p

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns