Demonstration of event position reconstruction based on diffusion in the NEXT-white detector.

Noble element time projection chambers are a leading technology for rare event detection in physics, such as for dark matter and neutrinoless double beta decay searches. Time projection chambers typically assign event position in the drift direction using the relative timing of prompt scintillation and delayed charge collection signals, allowing for reconstruction of an absolute position in the drift direction. In this paper, alternate methods for assigning event drift distance via quantification of electron diffusion in a pure high pressure xenon gas time projection chamber are explored. Data from the NEXT-White detector demonstrate the ability to achieve good position assignment accuracy for both high- and low-energy events. Using point-like energy deposits from 83mKr calibration electron captures (E∼45 keV), the position of origin of low-energy events is determined to 2 cm precision with bias <1mm. A convolutional neural network approach is then used to quantify diffusion for longer tracks (E≥1.5 MeV), from radiogenic electrons, yielding a precision of 3 cm on the event barycenter. The precision achieved with these methods indicates the feasibility energy calibrations of better than 1% FWHM at Qßß in pure xenon, as well as the potential for event fiducialization in large future detectors using an alternate method that does not rely on primary scintillation.

Morphophysiology and production of bell pepper grown under salt stress and salicylic acid foliar application.

Considering the relevance of bell pepper and the limitations imposed by the deleterious effects of salt stress, especially in semi-arid regions, it is extremely important to establish strategies that can facilitate the use of saline water in vegetable production. In this scenario, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of the frequency of foliar application of salicylic acid on the morphophysiology and production of the bell pepper cv. "All Big" irrigated with saline water. The study was conducted at a greenhouse in Campina Grande - PB. The treatments were distributed in a completely randomized design and set up in a 4 × 4 factorial arrangement with three replications, corresponding to four application frequencies of salicylic acid (F1- No application of salicylic acid, F2 - Weekly application, F3- fortnightly application, and F4- monthly application) and four levels of electrical conductivity of irrigation water - ECw (0.8, 1.6, 2.4 and 3.2 dS m-1). The fortnightly application of salicylic acid at a concentration of 1.0 mM mitigated the effects of salt stress on the morphophysiology and production components of bell pepper cv. All Big cultivated with ECw of up to 2.4 dS m-1, which reinforces the hypothesis that salicylic acid can act as a signaling molecule and reduce the effects of saline stress in bell pepper, enabling the use of brackish water in agricultural activity, mainly in semi-arid regions of northeastern Brazil, which have a shortage of fresh water.

Methods of application of salicylic acid as attenuator of salt stress in cherry tomato.

Salt stress caused by excess salts present in irrigation water, is one of the biggest barriers in agricultural production, especially in semi-arid regions. Thus, the use of substances, such as salicylic acid, that minimize the deleterious effects of salinity on plants can be an alternative to ensure satisfactory production. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different methods of application of salicylic acid on the growth, production and water use efficiency of cherry tomato plants under salt stress. The study was conducted in a greenhouse, using an Entisol soil with a sandy loam texture. The treatments were distributed in a completely randomized design, in a 2×4 factorial arrangement, corresponding to two levels of electrical conductivity of irrigation water - ECw (0.6 and 2.6 dS m-1) and four methods of application of salicylic acid (Control - without application of SA; via spraying; via irrigation and via spraying and irrigation), with five replicates and one plant per plot. The salicylic acid concentration used in the different methods was 1.0 mM. Application of salicylic acid via foliar spraying increased the growth, production and water use efficiency of cherry tomato plants. The salt stress induced by the electrical conductivity of 2.6 dS m-1 was attenuated by the foliar application of salicylic acid. The use of water of 2.6 dS m-1 associated with the application of salicylic acid via irrigation water further intensified the adverse effects of salinity on cherry tomato plants.

Hydrogen peroxide in attenuation of salt stress effects on physiological indicators and growth of soursop.

To mitigate the deleterious effects of salt stress, substances capable of acting as mitigators and/or inducers of tolerance to stress have been used, enabling the use of saline waters and contributing to the development of irrigated agriculture. In this context, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of foliar spraying with hydrogen peroxide as an attenuator of salt stress effects on soursop morphophysiology. The experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions in Campina Grande - PB, Brazil, using a randomized block design, in a 4 × 4 factorial arrangement, whose treatments resulted from the combination of four levels of electrical conductivity of irrigation water - ECw (0.8 - control, 1.6, 2.4, and 3.2 dS m-1) and four concentrations of hydrogen peroxide - H2O2 (0, 10, 20, and 30 µM), with three replicates. Foliar application of hydrogen peroxide at a concentration of 10 µM increased growth, chlorophyll synthesis, and relative water content in the leaves and consequently reduced the foliar water saturation deficit of soursop irrigated with ECw up to 1.6 dS m-1. The concentration of hydrogen peroxide of 30 µM intensified the salt stress on the electrolyte leakage in the leaf blade and the photosynthetic pigments of soursop, 270 days after transplanting.

Seed priming with light quality and Cyperus rotundus L. extract modulate the germination and initial growth of Moringa oleifera Lam. seedlings.

Improving plant germination is essential to guarantee better quality seedlings. Thus, this research aimed to evaluate whether the seed priming with light quality (LIQ) and the aqueous extract of Cyperus rotundus (AEC) tuber could modulate the germination and initial growth of Moringa oleifera L. seedlings. The experimental design was a completely randomized in the 4x4 factorial scheme, composed of four LIQ conditions (white, blue, red, and distant red light) and four AEC concentrations (0, 25, 50 and 100%). Seed priming with red light reduced the average emergence time, while blue, red, and extreme red lights associated with 50% of aqueous extract of C. rotundus increased shoot initial length and photosynthetic pigment accumulation. Seed priming with blue light resulted in seedlings with a shorter final shoot length. However, application of 100% of aqueous extract of C. rotundus reversed this. The white light in combination with concentrations of 50 and 100% of AEC promoted a higher relative shoot growth rate of seedlings. The research revealed that seed priming with light quality and aqueous extracts of C. rotundus tubers modulates the germination and initial growth of M. oleifera seedlings. More work needs to be done to determine the responsible compounds in AEC that is responsible for priming growth as phytohormones.

Assessment of Allergen-Responsive Regulatory T Cells in Experimental Asthma Induced in Different Mouse Strains.

BACKGROUND: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are important in regulating responses to innocuous antigens, such as allergens, by controlling the Th2 response, a mechanism that appears to be compromised in atopic asthmatic individuals. Different isogenic mouse strains also have distinct immunological responses and susceptibility to the experimental protocols used to develop lung allergic inflammation. In this work, we investigated the differences in the frequency of Treg cell subtypes among A/J, BALB/c, and C57BL/6, under normal conditions and following induction of allergic asthma with ovalbumin (OVA). METHODS: Subcutaneous sensitization followed by 4 consecutive intranasal OVA challenges induced asthma characteristic changes such as airway hyperreactivity, inflammation, and production of Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-13, IL-5, and IL-33) in the lungs of only A/J and BALB/c but not C57BL/6 strain and evaluated by invasive whole-body plethysmography, flow cytometry, and ELISA, respectively. RESULTS: A/J strain naturally showed a higher frequency of CD4+IL-10+ T cells in the lungs of naïve mice compared to the other strains, accompanied by higher frequencies of CD4+IL-4+ T cells. C57BL/6 mice did not develop lung inflammation and presented higher frequency of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) after the allergen challenge. In in vitro settings, allergen-specific stimulation of mediastinal LN (mLN) cells from OVA-challenged animals induced higher frequency of CD4+IL-10+ Treg cells from A/J strain and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ from C57BL/6. CONCLUSIONS: The observed differences in the frequencies of Treg cell subtypes associated with the susceptibility of the animals to experimental asthma suggest that CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ and IL-10-producing CD4+ Treg cells may play different roles in asthma control. Similar to asthmatic individuals, the lack of an efficient regulatory response and susceptibility to the development of experimental asthma in A/J mice further suggests that this strain could be preferably chosen in experimental models of allergic asthma.

Central vein sign: A diagnostic biomarker in multiple sclerosis (CAVS-MS) study protocol for a prospective multicenter trial.

The specificity and implementation of current MRI-based diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis (MS) are imperfect. Approximately 1 in 5 of individuals diagnosed with MS are eventually determined not to have the disease, with overreliance on MRI findings a major cause of MS misdiagnosis. The central vein sign (CVS), a proposed MRI biomarker for MS lesions, has been extensively studied in numerous cross sectional studies and may increase diagnostic specificity for MS. CVS has desirable analytical, measurement, and scalability properties. "Central Vein Sign: A Diagnostic Biomarker in Multiple Sclerosis (CAVS-MS)" is an NIH-supported, 2-year, prospective, international, multicenter study conducted by the North American Imaging in MS Cooperative (NAIMS) to evaluate CVS as a diagnostic biomarker for immediate translation into clinical care. Study objectives include determining the concordance of CVS and McDonald Criteria to diagnose MS, the sensitivity of CVS to detect MS in those with typical presentations, and the specificity of CVS among those with atypical presentations. The study will recruit a total of 400 participants (200 with typical and 200 with atypical presentations) across 11 sites. T2*-weighted, high-isotropic-resolution, segmented echo-planar MRI will be acquired at baseline and 24 months on 3-tesla scanners, and FLAIR* images (combination of FLAIR and T2*) will be generated for evaluating CVS. Data will be processed on a cloud-based platform that contains clinical and CVS rating modules. Imaging quality control will be conducted by automated methods and neuroradiologist review. CVS will be determined by Select6* and Select3* lesion methods following published criteria at each site and by central readers, including neurologists and neuroradiologists. Automated CVS detection and algorithms for incorporation of CVS into McDonald Criteria will be tested. Diagnosis will be adjudicated by three neurologists who served on the 2017 International Panel on the Diagnosis of MS. The CAVS-MS study aims to definitively establish CVS as a diagnostic biomarker that can be applied broadly to individuals presenting for evaluation of the diagnosis of MS.

Triangle Singularity as the Origin of the a_{1}(1420).

The COMPASS Collaboration experiment recently discovered a new isovector resonancelike signal with axial-vector quantum numbers, the a_{1}(1420), decaying to f_{0}(980)π. With a mass too close to and a width smaller than the axial-vector ground state a_{1}(1260), it was immediately interpreted as a new light exotic meson, similar to the X, Y, Z states in the hidden-charm sector. We show that a resonancelike signal fully matching the experimental data is produced by the decay of the a_{1}(1260) resonance into K^{*}(→Kπ)K[over ¯] and subsequent rescattering through a triangle singularity into the coupled f_{0}(980)π channel. The amplitude for this process is calculated using a new approach based on dispersion relations. The triangle-singularity model is fitted to the partial-wave data of the COMPASS experiment. Despite having fewer parameters, this fit shows a slightly better quality than the one using a resonance hypothesis and thus eliminates the need for an additional resonance in order to describe the data. We thereby demonstrate for the first time in the light-meson sector that a resonancelike structure in the experimental data can be described by rescattering through a triangle singularity, providing evidence for a genuine three-body effect.

Effects of Environmental Variables and Habitat Integrity on the Structure of the Aquatic Insect Communities of Streams in the Cerrado-Caatinga Ecotone in Northeastern Brazil.

Alterations in the environmental gradients of streams have a direct influence on the structure of the insect communities of the orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT), which are extremely sensitive to changes in habitat. The present study evaluated how habitat integrity in streams influence the composition of EPT genera, by testing three hypotheses: (i) the composition of the EPT genera is modified along the gradient of environmental disturbance; (ii) the composition of the EPT genera is more homogeneous in gradients with a higher degree of anthropogenic disturbance, and (iii) the greatest degree of environmental disturbance along the gradient results in the reduction of the richness and abundance of EPT genera. The study focused on 14 tributaries of the middle Itapecuru River, within an area of ecotone between the Brazilian Cerrado and Caatinga biomes. Data on the structure and physicochemical traits of the streams were collected between September 2014 and July 2015, a period that covers both the dry and rainy seasons in the study region. The results of the present study indicate that the composition of the EPT genera is modified in accordance with the variation in the habitat integrity, although, in contrast with expectations, more impacted areas had a more heterogeneous composition than undisturbed ones. The areas with more integrated landscapes contribute positively to the richness and abundance of EPT genera of the streams of the Cerrado-Caatinga ecotone. Given this, habitat integrity provide an important predictor of EPT diversity in the streams of the Cerrado-Caatinga ecotone.

Haplosporosomes, sporoplasmosomes and their putative taxonomic relationships in rhizarians and myxozoans.

This paper reviews current knowledge of the structure, genesis, cytochemistry and putative functions of the haplosporosomes of haplosporidians (Urosporidium, Haplosporidium, Bonamia, Minchinia) and paramyxids (Paramyxa, Paramyxoides, Marteilia, Marteilioides, Paramarteilia), and the sporoplasmosomes of myxozoans (Myxozoa - Malacosporea, Myxosporea). In all 3 groups, these bodies occur in plasmodial trophic stages, disappear at the onset of sporogony, and reappear in the spore. Some haplosporidian haplosporosomes lack the internal membrane regarded as characteristic of these bodies and that phylum. Haplosporidian haplosporogenesis is through the Golgi (spherulosome in the spore), either to form haplosporosomes at the trans-Golgi network, or for the Golgi to produce formative bodies from which membranous vesicles bud, thus acquiring the external membrane. The former method also forms sporoplasmosomes in malacosporeans, while the latter is the common method of haplosporogenesis in paramyxids. Sporoplasmogenesis in myxosporeans is largely unknown. The haplosporosomes of Haplosporidium nelsoni and sporoplasmosomes of malacosporeans are similar in arraying themselves beneath the plasmodial plasma membrane with their internal membranes pointing to the exterior, possibly to secrete their contents to lyse host cells or repel haemocytes. It is concluded that these bodies are probably multifunctional within and between groups, their internal membranes separating different functional compartments, and their origin may be from common ancestors in the Neoproterozoic.

Molecular data infers the involvement of a marine aurantiactinomyxon in the life cycle of the myxosporean parasite Paramyxidium giardi (Cnidaria, Myxozoa).

An aurantiactinomyxon type is described from the marine naidid Tubificoides pseudogaster (Dahl, 1960), collected from the lower estuary of a Northern Portuguese River. This type constitutes the first of its collective group to be reported from Portugal, and only the fourth described from a marine oligochaete worldwide. Extensive morphological comparisons of new aurantiactinomyxon isolates to all known types without available molecular data are proposed to be unnecessary, given the artificiality of the usage of morphological criteria for actinosporean differentiation and the apparent strict host specificity of the group. Recognition of naidid oligochaetes as the hosts of choice for marine types of aurantiactinomyxon and other collective groups, suggests that the family Naididae played a preponderant role in the myxosporean colonization of estuarine communities. Molecular analyses of the type in study further infer its involvement in the life cycle of Paramyxidium giardi (Cépède, 1906) Freeman and Kristmundsson, 2018, a species that infects the kidney of European eel Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758) and that has been reported globally, including from Portuguese waters. The low intraspecific difference registered in relation to Icelandic isolates of P. giardi (0.6%) is hypothesized to result from the emergence of genotypically different subspecies due to geographic isolation.

Phylogeny and comprehensive revision of mugiliform-infecting myxobolids (Myxozoa, Myxobolidae), with the morphological and molecular redescription of the cryptic species Myxobolus exiguus.

Mullets inhabit a wide range of habitats from tropical to temperate regions and play a critical role in their ecosystems. This commercially important fish group constitutes a significant source of food in several geographic regions, and the production of some species for consumption is an increasing trend. About 64 myxosporean species have been reported in mullets, some of which are cryptic, as is the case of Myxobolus exiguus, and M. muelleri. This paper provides, for the first time, a detailed and critical revision of the data available for myxobolids reported in mullets, determining the species that have bona fide mugiliform fish hosts, in accordance with the original species descriptions, the available molecular data and the currently accepted taxonomic and phylogenetic criteria. Phylogenetic analyses using Bayesian inference and maximum-likelihood methodologies suggest that the evolutionary history of myxobolids with bona fide mugiliform fish hosts reflects that of its vertebrate hosts, while reinforcing known evolutionary factors and old systematic issues of the clade of myxobolids. A comprehensive morphological, ultrastructural and molecular redescription is also provided for the cryptic species M. exiguus, from infections in the visceral peritoneum of the thinlip-grey mullet Chelon ramada in the River Minho, Portugal.

Demonstration of Single-Barium-Ion Sensitivity for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay Using Single-Molecule Fluorescence Imaging.

A new method to tag the barium daughter in the double-beta decay of ^{136}Xe is reported. Using the technique of single molecule fluorescent imaging (SMFI), individual barium dication (Ba^{++}) resolution at a transparent scanning surface is demonstrated. A single-step photobleach confirms the single ion interpretation. Individual ions are localized with superresolution (∼2 nm), and detected with a statistical significance of 12.9σ over backgrounds. This lays the foundation for a new and potentially background-free neutrinoless double-beta decay technology, based on SMFI coupled to high pressure xenon gas time projection chambers.

Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on working memory and negative symptoms in schizophrenia: a phase II randomized sham-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The lack of efficacy of pharmacological treatments for cognitive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia highlights the need for new interventions. We investigated the effects of tDCS on working memory and negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. METHOD: Double-blinded, randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial, investigating the effects of 10 sessions of tDCS in schizophrenia subjects. Stimulation used 2 mA, for 20 min, with electrodes of 25 cm2 wrapped in cotton material soaked in saline solution. Anode was positioned over the left DLPFC and the cathode in the contralateral area. Twenty-four participants were assessed at baseline, after intervention and in a three-months follow-up. The primary outcome was the working memory score from MATRICS and the secondary outcome the negative score from PANSS. Data were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. RESULTS: We did not find group ∗ time interaction for the working memory (p = 0.720) score or any other cognitive variable (p > 0.05). We found a significant group ∗ time interaction for PANSS negative (p < 0.001, d = 0.23, CI.95 = -0.59-1.02), general (p = 0.011) and total scores (p < 0.001). Exploratory analysis of PANSS 5 factors suggests tDCS effect on PANSS negative (p = 0.012), cognitive (p = 0.016) and depression factors (p = 0.029). CONCLUSION: The results from this trial highlight the therapeutic effects of tDCS for treatment of persistent symptoms in schizophrenia, with reduction of negative symptoms. We were not able to confirm the superiority of active tDCS over sham to improve working memory performance. Larger sample size studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Assessing the expected response to genomic selection of individuals and families in Eucalyptus breeding with an additive-dominant model.

We report a genomic selection (GS) study of growth and wood quality traits in an outbred F2 hybrid Eucalyptus population (n=768) using high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping. Going beyond previous reports in forest trees, models were developed for different selection targets, namely, families, individuals within families and individuals across the entire population using a genomic model including dominance. To provide a more breeder-intelligible assessment of the performance of GS we calculated the expected response as the percentage gain over the population average expected genetic value (EGV) for different proportions of genomically selected individuals, using a rigorous cross-validation (CV) scheme that removed relatedness between training and validation sets. Predictive abilities (PAs) were 0.40-0.57 for individual selection and 0.56-0.75 for family selection. PAs under an additive+dominance model improved predictions by 5 to 14% for growth depending on the selection target, but no improvement was seen for wood traits. The good performance of GS with no relatedness in CV suggested that our average SNP density (~25 kb) captured some short-range linkage disequilibrium. Truncation GS successfully selected individuals with an average EGV significantly higher than the population average. Response to GS on a per year basis was ~100% more efficient than by phenotypic selection and more so with higher selection intensities. These results contribute further experimental data supporting the positive prospects of GS in forest trees. Because generation times are long, traits are complex and costs of DNA genotyping are plummeting, genomic prediction has good perspectives of adoption in tree breeding practice.

First Measurement of Transverse-Spin-Dependent Azimuthal Asymmetries in the Drell-Yan Process.

The first measurement of transverse-spin-dependent azimuthal asymmetries in the pion-induced Drell-Yan (DY) process is reported. We use the CERN SPS 190 GeV/c π^{-} beam and a transversely polarized ammonia target. Three azimuthal asymmetries giving access to different transverse-momentum-dependent (TMD) parton distribution functions (PDFs) are extracted using dimuon events with invariant mass between 4.3 GeV/c^{2} and 8.5 GeV/c^{2}. Within the experimental uncertainties, the observed sign of the Sivers asymmetry is found to be consistent with the fundamental prediction of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) that the Sivers TMD PDFs extracted from DY have a sign opposite to the one extracted from semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering (SIDIS) data. We present two other asymmetries originating from the pion Boer-Mulders TMD PDFs convoluted with either the nucleon transversity or pretzelosity TMD PDFs. A recent COMPASS SIDIS measurement was obtained at a hard scale comparable to that of these DY results. This opens the way for possible tests of fundamental QCD universality predictions.

Regularized quantile regression for SNP marker estimation of pig growth curves.

BACKGROUND: Genomic growth curves are generally defined only in terms of population mean; an alternative approach that has not yet been exploited in genomic analyses of growth curves is the Quantile Regression (QR). This methodology allows for the estimation of marker effects at different levels of the variable of interest. We aimed to propose and evaluate a regularized quantile regression for SNP marker effect estimation of pig growth curves, as well as to identify the chromosome regions of the most relevant markers and to estimate the genetic individual weight trajectory over time (genomic growth curve) under different quantiles (levels). RESULTS: The regularized quantile regression (RQR) enabled the discovery, at different levels of interest (quantiles), of the most relevant markers allowing for the identification of QTL regions. We found the same relevant markers simultaneously affecting different growth curve parameters (mature weight and maturity rate): two (ALGA0096701 and ALGA0029483) for RQR(0.2), one (ALGA0096701) for RQR(0.5), and one (ALGA0003761) for RQR(0.8). Three average genomic growth curves were obtained and the behavior was explained by the curve in quantile 0.2, which differed from the others. CONCLUSIONS: RQR allowed for the construction of genomic growth curves, which is the key to identifying and selecting the most desirable animals for breeding purposes. Furthermore, the proposed model enabled us to find, at different levels of interest (quantiles), the most relevant markers for each trait (growth curve parameter estimates) and their respective chromosomal positions (identification of new QTL regions for growth curves in pigs). These markers can be exploited under the context of marker assisted selection while aiming to change the shape of pig growth curves.

Variation of age and total length in Sotalia guianensis (Van Bénéden, 1864) (Cetacea, Delphinidae), on the coast of Espírito Santo state, Brazil / Variação etária e de comprimento total de Sotalia guianensis (Van Bénéden, 1864) (Cetacea, Delphinidae), no Litoral do Espírito Santo, Brasil

Abstract Variations of age and total length of Sotalia guianensis from the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, were evaluated. Specimens were found stranded. Age and total length of 44 Guiana dolphins were assessed based on tooth analysis. Age varied between 0.5 year and 33 years (mean = 8.23 years). Most specimens were between zero and 6 years old (47%). Total length varied from 119 cm to 198 cm, with mean of 172.52 cm. Asymptotic length was reached at 185 cm and approximately 5-6 years of age. Mean total length and age were higher than in other regions of the distribution range of the species. Nevertheless, more studies have to be carried out to evaluate the morphological variations in S. guianensis populations in the study area and Brazil.

Resumo Foram avaliadas variações de comprimento total e etárias de Sotalia guianensis provenientes do estado do Espírito Santo. Os espécimes foram encontrados encalhados. Idade e comprimento total de 44 S. guianensis foram avaliados com base na análise dentária. A idade variou entre 0,5 e 33 anos (média = 8,23 anos). A maioria dos exemplares tinha entre zero e seis anos de idade (47%). O comprimento total variou de 119 a 198 centímetros, com média de 172,52 centímetros. O comprimento assintótico foi atingido com 185 cm, aproximadamente entre 5-6 anos de idade. O comprimento total médio e a idade foram maiores que outras regiões de distribuição da espécie. No entanto, mais estudos devem ser realizados para avaliar as variações morfológicas em populações de S. guianensis na região e no Brasil.

Regularized quantile regression applied to genome-enabled prediction of quantitative traits.

Genomic selection (GS) is a variant of marker-assisted selection, in which genetic markers covering the whole genome predict individual genetic merits for breeding. GS increases the accuracy of breeding values (BV) prediction. Although a variety of statistical models have been proposed to estimate BV in GS, few methodologies have examined statistical challenges based on non-normal phenotypic distributions, e.g., skewed distributions. Traditional GS models estimate changes in the phenotype distribution mean, i.e., the function is defined for the expected value of trait-conditional on markers, E(Y|X). We proposed an approach based on regularized quantile regression (RQR) for GS to improve the estimation of marker effects and the consequent genomic estimated BV (GEBV). The RQR model is based on conditional quantiles, Qτ(Y|X), enabling models that fit all portions of a trait probability distribution. This allows RQR to choose one quantile function that "best" represents the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Data were simulated for 1000 individuals. The genome included 1500 markers; most had a small effect and only a few markers with a sizable effect were simulated. We evaluated three scenarios according to symmetrical, positively, and negatively skewed distributions. Analyses were performed using Bayesian LASSO (BLASSO) and RQR considering three quantiles (0.25, 0.50, and 0.75). The use of RQR to estimate GEBV was efficient; the RQR method achieved better results than BLASSO, at least for one quantile model fit for all evaluated scenarios. The gains in relation to BLASSO were 86.28 and 55.70% for positively and negatively skewed distributions, respectively.