Expression of drought tolerance genes in tropical upland rice cultivars (Oryza sativa).

Gene expression related to drought response in the leaf tissues of two Brazilian upland cultivars, the drought-tolerant Douradão and the drought-sensitive Primavera, was analyzed. RNA-seq identified 27,618 transcripts in the Douradão cultivar, with 24,090 (87.2%) homologous to the rice database, and 27,221 transcripts in the Primavera cultivar, with 23,663 (86.9%) homologous to the rice database. Gene-expression analysis between control and water-deficient treatments revealed 493 and 1154 differentially expressed genes in Douradão and Primavera cultivars, respectively. Genes exclusively expressed under drought were identified for Douradão, including two genes of particular interest coding for the protein peroxidase precursor, which is involved in three distinct metabolic pathways. Comparisons between the two drought-exposed cultivars revealed 2314 genes were differentially expressed (978 upregulated, 1336 downregulated in Douradão). Six genes distributed across 4 different transcription factor families (bHLH, MYB, NAC, and WRKY) were identified, all of which were upregulated in Douradão compared to Primavera during drought. Most of the genes identified in Douradão activate metabolic pathways responsible for production of secondary metabolites and genes coding for enzymatically active signaling receptors. Quantitative PCR validation showed that most gene expression was in agreement with computational prediction of these transcripts. The transcripts identified here will define molecular markers for identification of Cis-acting elements to search for allelic variants of these genes through analysis of polymorphic SNPs in GenBank accessions of upland rice, aiming to develop cultivars with the best combination of these alleles, resulting in materials with high yield potential in the event of drought during the reproductive phase.

Selection of optimized candidate reference genes for qRT-PCR normalization in rice (Oryza sativa L.) during Magnaporthe oryzae infection and drought.

Drought and rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae are two of the most serious threats to global rice production. To explore the mechanisms underlying gene expression induced in rice by stresses, studies involving transcriptome analyses have been conducted over the past few years. Thus, it is crucial to have a reliable set of reference genes to normalize the expression levels of rice genes affected by different stresses. To identify potential reference genes for studies of the differential expression of target genes in rice under M. oryzae infection and drought conditions, the present study evaluated five housekeeping genes for the normalization of gene expression. The stability of the expression of these genes was assessed using the analytical software packages geNorm and NormFinder. For all samples analyzed, the stability rank was UBQ5 > GAPDH > eIF-4α> ß-TUB > 18S rRNA. The data showed that the UBQ5, GAPDH, and eIF-4αgenes are appropriate, high-performing reference genes and will be highly useful in future expression studies of fungal infections and drought in rice.

Validation of the Italian version of interpersonal sensitivity measure (IPSM) in adolescents and young adults.

BACKGROUND: Interpersonal sensitivity is a personality trait that describes as excessive awareness of both the behaviour and feelings of others. High interpersonal sensitivity has been associated with the development and maintenance of mental health problems. This study aimed to examine whether the Italian version of the interpersonal sensitivity measure (IPSM) has good internal consistence and convergent validity. METHODS: Validity was established on a sample of 153 Italian adolescents and young adult help seekers for several psychological problems. These subjects were divided in two groups - depressive spectrum disorder group (n=42) and other diagnosis group (n=111) - according to Structured Clinical Interview (SCID-I) for DSM-IV and Kiddie-Sads-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). For convergent validity, we studied the correlation between total and each subscale IPSM scores and the General Symptoms (included depressive and dysphoric symptoms) of Prodromal Questionnaire. RESULTS: The internal consistency were adequate and comparable to the original Boyce and Parker study. The validity was good, as indicated by both the convergent validity analysis and the depressive spectrum disorder group and other diagnosis group comparison. LIMITATIONS: The absence of another scale measuring interpersonal sensitivity to assess the construct validity of IPSM; the clinical heterogeneity of the sample; the absence of test re-test reliability of the instrument. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of the results of internal consistency and convergent validity of the IPSM indicates that this version translated into Italian is valid and reliable.

Efeitos da ractopamina e de dois níveis de lisina digestível na dieta sobre o desempenho e características de carcaça de leitoas em terminação / Effects of ractopamine and two lysine levels on performance and carcass traits of gilts in the finishing phase

Avaliaram-se os efeitos da ractopamina e de dois níveis de lisina digestível na dieta sobre o desempenho e características de carcaça de leitoas com peso corporal a partir de 85kg, durante 21 e 28 dias antes do abate, os quais foram distribuídos em delineamento experimental de blocos ao acaso com cinco repetições de dois animais por unidade experimental. Os tratamentos consistiram de arranjo fatorial 2x2, com dois níveis de lisina digestível (LD), 0,67 e 0,87 por cento, e dois níveis de ractopamina (0 e 5ppm). Observou-se efeito significativo do nível de LD sobre o ganho de peso e peso corporal e interação significativa (P<0,05) entre o nível de LD e a ractopamina sobre a conversão alimentar e sobre a taxa de deposição de carne magra corporal. Não houve efeito significativo (P>0,05) do nível de LD sobre a espessura de toucinho, profundidade de lombo e rendimento em carne magra da carcaça de acordo com avaliação da carcaça, feita in vivo. Não houve efeito (P>0,05) da ractopamina sobre o consumo de ração, o ganho de peso diário e o peso corporal aos 21 e 28 dias de experimento. A ractopamina reduziu a espessura de toucinho no ponto P2 aos 21 dias e aumentou o rendimento de carne magra e a profundidade de lombo na avaliação da carcaça no frigorífico.

The effects of ractopamine and digestible lysine levels on performance and carcass traits of gilts with initial body weight average of 85kg, recorded during 21 and 28 day before slaughtering time were evaluated in a completely randomized block design with five replicates of two animals per experiment unit. The treatments consisted in a 2 x 2 factorial scheme, two levels of digestible lysine (DL) (0.67 and 0.87 percent) and two ractopamine levels (0 and 5ppm). Significant effects of DL on daily weight gain and body weight and significant effects of DL and ractopamine level were observed for feed:weight gain ratio and lean meat carcass deposition. No significant effects (P>0.05) of DL on fat thickness, muscle depth and lean meat yield according to the in vivo carcass evaluation were observed. No significant effect of ractopamine (P>0.05) on feed intake, daily weight gain and body weight (21 and 28 days) were observed. Ractopamine reduced back fat thickness at P2 point (21days) and increased lean meat yield and muscle depth in frigorific carcass evaluation.

[Post-thyroidectomy hypocalcemia. Personal experience]. / L'ipocalcemia post-tiroidectomia. La nostra esperienza.

BACKGROUND: The study evaluates the incidence of both early and protracted post-thyroidectomy hypocalcemia over a 6-year period (1995-2000) in a series of 330 consecutive thryoid operations. The aim was to identify the profile of patients with the greatest risk of permanent parathyroid functional insufficiency and a suitable treatment protocol. METHODS: Having performed a statistical ana-lysis of all the variables, we divided the entire population of 330 patients into 4 groups based on the extent of demolition, the method of organotherapeutic replacement with L-Thyroxine and the (eco-radioguided) procedure used to identify the parathyroids: 59 patients undergoing subtotal thyroidectomy; 155 patients undergoing total thyroidectomy who commenced replacement organotherapy from postoperative day 15-30; 94 patients undergoing total thyroidectomy who commenced replacement organotherapy from postoperative day 1; 22 patients undergoing total thyroidectomy who underwent routine intraoperative parathyroid assay. RESULTS: The results show that the impact of more radical surgery in determining hypocalcemia, in particular protracted hypocalcemia, represents the most striking characteristic of patients with the greatest probability of permanent parathyroid insufficiency. We emphasise that early correction of postoperative hypothyroidism can drastically reduce the incidence of both early and protracted hypocalcemia. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, hypoparathyroidism is an exceptional event, whereas hypocalcemia is relatively common after total thyroidectomy. The effects of the early correction of postoperative hypothyroidism are undoubtedly beneficial, as is the use of eco- and radioguided methods for the intraoperative identification of the parathyroid glands, although they are not free from limits and criticism.