Avian malaria parasites are responsible for severe diseases in some domestic and wild birds. These parasites are cosmopolitan in distribution; they are widespread in Europe, including the Baltic region. A peculiarity of current studies of avian Plasmodium species is that information about ecology, distribution, prevalence and other aspects of their biology has been accumulated using free-living birds. To elucidate the significance of malaria infections and their impact on host fitness, behaviour, sexual selection and parasite-host co-evolution, experimental information about Plasmodium spp. virulence, specificity and dynamics of parasitemia in different avian hosts is crucial. Unfortunately such studies remain uncommon. Theobjective of this study was to obtain new field and laboratory experimental data about the biology of avian malaria parasites and to link PCR-based information with data from traditional parasitology. It was demonstrated that prevalence of avian malaria and other haemosporidian parasites is estimated equally well by microscopy and currently used nested PCR-based methods. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. So we encourage using both these tools in parallel during studies of haemosporidians. Lineages for molecular identification of P. relictum (lineage SGS1) and P. circumflexum (TURDUS1) were determined, also new methods of single cell dissection, DNA extraction and PCR-based analysis of avian malaria and closely related blood parasites were... [to full text] / Paukščių maliariniai parazitai sukelia pavojingas naminių ir laukinių paukščių ligas. Šie parazitai dažnai sutinkami įvairiose paukščių grupėse ir yra plačiai paplitę Europoje, tame tarpe ir Baltijos regione. Dabartinių maliarinių parazitų studijų ypatumas yra tas, kad informacija apie šių parazitų ekologiją, paplitimą, įvairovę ir kitus biologijos aspektus yra surenkama iš laisvai gyvenančių paukščių. Vertinant maliarinių parazitų įtaką paukščių fizinei būklei, elgsenai, lytinei atrankai ir parazitų-šeimininkų ko-evoliucijai yra būtina surinkti informaciją apie maliarinių parazitų specifiškumą, virulentiškumą ir parazitemijos vystymąsi skirtinguose paukščiuose. Tokie duomenys gali būti gaunami atliekant eksperimentinius tyrimus. Deja, tokių studijų kol kas yra nedaug. Disertacijos tikslas – lauko ir eksperimentinių tyrimų pagalba surinkti naują medžiagą apie paukščių maliarinių parazitų biologiją bei susieti PGR paremtais metodais gautą informaciją su tradicinės parazitologijos duomenimis. Šių tyrimų metu įrodyta, kad PGR paremtų ir tradicinės parazitologijos (mikroskopijos) metodų, naudojamų tiriant paukščių maliarinius parazitus ir kitas hemosporidijas, tikslumas nesiskiria. Abu metodai turi savų privalumų ir trūkumų, todėl rekomenduojame naudoti mikroskopijos ir PGR paremtų metodų kombinaciją. Taip pat išvystytas Plasmodium relictum (linija SGS1) ir P. circumflexum (TURDUS1) molekulinis identifikavimas, bei sukurti nauji paukščių maliarinių ir susijusių kraujo parazitų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

The sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) undergoes programmed genome rearrangements (PGRs) during embryogenesis that results in the deletion of ~0.5 Gb of germline DNA from the somatic lineage. The underlying mechanism of these rearrangements remains largely unknown. miRNAs (microRNAs) and piRNAs (PIWI interacting RNAs) are two classes of small noncoding RNAs that play important roles in early vertebrate development, including differentiation of cell lineages, modulation of signaling pathways, and clearing of maternal transcripts. Here, I utilized next generation sequencing to determine the temporal expression of miRNAs, piRNAs, and other small noncoding RNAs during the first five days of lamprey embryogenesis, a time series that spans the 24-32 cell stage to the formation of the neural crest. I obtained expression patterns for thousands of miRNA and piRNA species. These studies identified several thousand small RNAs that are expressed immediately before, during, and immediately after PGR. Significant sequence variation was observed at the 3’ end of miRNAs, representing template-independent covalent modifications. Patterns observed in lamprey are consistent with expectations that the addition of adenosine and uracil residues plays a role in regulation of miRNA stability during the maternal-zygotic transition. We also identified a conserved motif present in sequences without any known annotation that is expressed exclusively during PGR. This motif is similar to binding motifs of known DNA binding and nuclear export factors, and our data could represent a novel class of small noncoding RNAs operating in lamprey.

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Ciência da Informação, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Informação, 2017. / Submitted by Raquel Almeida (raquel.df13@gmail.com) on 2017-08-10T20:55:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_MarcioDenysPessanhaGonçalves.pdf: 10113427 bytes, checksum: d25a7d02efaba7ba778509d263ab4c16 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Raquel Viana (raquelviana@bce.unb.br) on 2017-09-20T16:43:45Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_MarcioDenysPessanhaGonçalves.pdf: 10113427 bytes, checksum: d25a7d02efaba7ba778509d263ab4c16 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-20T16:43:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_MarcioDenysPessanhaGonçalves.pdf: 10113427 bytes, checksum: d25a7d02efaba7ba778509d263ab4c16 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-09-20 / Trabalho de pesquisa que aborda o estudo das necessidades informacionais relacionadas à gestão das ações de prevenção e combate à corrupção em órgão jurídico da Administração Pública Federal. Teve por objetivo conceber um sistema de informação aplicado, buscando estudar os recursos humanos, os processos e os recursos de tecnologia da informação do órgão analisado, com proposta adicional de metodologia de um ciclo de inteligência aplicado. Analisou, sob o aspecto tripartite, assuntos relacionados ao Direito (aplicado à prevenção e combate à corrupção), à Tecnologia da Informação e à Ciência da Informação. A metodologia adotada priorizou os métodos mistos concomitantes, com foco na estratégia qualitativa. Dados sobre as características das atividades e a gestão das ações de prevenção e combate à corrupção foram coletados em entrevistas com membros do órgão, pertencentes ao grupo especializado na temática, após observação sistemática das atividades diárias. Os resultados apresentados proporcionam aos órgãos públicos e privados o planejamento de sistema de informação relacionado a essa ambiência informacional. A pesquisa visou identificar a estrutura organizacional da PGU e de órgãos congêneres que lidam com essa temática, a cultura de organização da informação do órgão e as técnicas e ferramentas informacionais e computacionais que pudessem ser aplicadas à gestão dos dados e informações relacionados à prevenção e combate à corrupção. O problema tratado foi o de identificação das necessidades informacionais para a concepção de um sistema de informação capaz de promover a gestão das ações de prevenção e combate à corrupção na Procuradoria-Geral da União. O resultado final é a proposta de um sistema de informação aplicado, aliado a um ciclo de inteligência para as atividades de prevenção e combate à corrupção em órgãos públicos ou organizações privadas. / Research work that deals with the study of information needs related to the management of prevention and combating corruption in a legal organization of the Federal Public Administration. It aims to design an applied information system, seeking to study human resources, processes and information technology resources analyzed, with additional proposal of a methodology of an applied intelligence cycle. Analyzes, under the tripartite aspect, issues related to the Law (applied to preventing and combating corruption), the Information Technology and Information Science. The methodology prioritized the concurrent mixed methods, focusing on qualitative strategy. Data about the characteristics of the activities and management of prevention and combating corruption were collected in interviews with members of the organization, who belong to the specialized group in the subject, after systematic observation of daily activities. The results presented provide the public and private organizations with the planning of an information system related to this informational environment. The research aimed to identify the organizational structure of PGU and sister agencies that deal with this theme, the organization culture of the agency's information and the techniques and informational and computational tools that can be applied to the management of data and information related to preventing and combating corruption. The problem to be addressed was the identification of information needs and skills necessary to design an information system able to promote the management of prevention and combating corruption in the Attorney General of the Union. The final result is the proposal of an applied information system, combined with an intelligence cycle for activities to prevent and combat corruption in public bodies or private organizations.

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Yes / Mental ill-health is an escalating problem in higher education. Not only does this impact students’ ability to learn, it can lead to poor completion, with learners opting to withdraw from studies, even if attainment has been satisfactory. The aim of this study was to gain insight about perceptions of poor mental health from postgraduate research students in a diverse UK university and canvas opinion regarding how the University could improve this. A short, pragmatic survey with basic quantitative and qualitative responses was distributed. This was analysed by a team comprising the learning developer responsible for postgraduate researcher learning development, academics and a doctoral student. The study found that poor mental health was evident, with over three quarters of respondents reporting some experience of mental ill-health. We identified five areas in need of attention: University Systems, Supervisor Training, Well-being Monitoring, Building Networks, and Finance. Sources of University-based stress were finance, administrative support, and an environment where a perception that poor mental health was an expectation rather than a problem was experienced. Students preferred to access support outside the academic environment. This is the first study of its kind at a diverse, plate-glass UK university, to consider research student mental ill-health, with a staff-student team working with data, and the learning developer spear-heading changes across postgraduate research. These findings have already influenced university strategy, staff training, and induction practices. The synthesis of the five areas could be used to visualise where further work is needed to improve mental health in these learners.

Object of work. 1. Investigation of prolactin gene polymorphism and distribution of different alleles at Lithuanian cattle breeds (Lithuanian Red, Lithuanian Light Grey, Lithuanian White Backed, Lithuanian Black and White). 2 Investigation of prolactin (PRL) gene influence to milk production. Tasks of work. 1. Introduce cattle prolactin gene research methodology at K. Janušauskas Laboratory of Animal Genetics, LVA. 2. Investigate prolactin gene polymorphism at LR, LBW, LWB, LLG cattle breeds by molecular PCR-RFLP method. 3. Determine frequency of prolactin gene alleles and genotypes at LR, LBW, LWB, LLG cattle breeds. 4. Compose data base for dairy production of investigative cattle population. 5. Investigate influence of prolactin gene to milk yield, fat and proteins. Research methodology. 1. DNA extraction from: blood and hair roots. 2. PCR to amplify PRL gene. 3. RFLP method-PRL – enzyme RsaI. 3. Electrophoresis in agarose gel. 4. Staining with Etidium bromide. 5. Genotyping. Results. The following DNA restriction fragments were obtained for the PRL-RsaI polymorphism: 82 and 74 bp for the BB genotype, 156, 82 and 74 bp for the AB and 156 bp for the AA genotype. The AA genotype was found most frequent in all breeds (0.06 – 0.94), followed by the AB (0.06 – 0.37). The least frequent was the BB genotype (0.00 – 0.08). Prolactin gene A allele was found most frequent (0.97) at Lithuanian Light Grey, the least frequent (0.77) - at Lithuanian red cattle breed. Conclusions... [to full text]