Rapid Overview Research Articles

Biplot analysis of seed yield and oil content combining ability in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)

Biplot analysis was conducted to estimate the combining ability of ten parental genotypes using 7 3: Line Tester data of 21 F1 hybrids in (Brassica napus L.) for seed yield and oil content. The data obtained from all the three replications of experimental material in randomized complete block design were subjected to analysis of variance to check the null hypothesis of the equality of means. Significant differences (P=0.01) were found among the parents, F1 hybrids and Line Tester interaction for the variables seed yield plant-1 and oil content. The genotypes CA-4 and DH-6 were the promising for seed yield plant-1 (36.8 g) and oil content (51.2%), respectively. Among the hybrids DH-3 CA-4 and DH-4 CA-4 were best for seed yield plant-1 (51.1 g) and oil content (52.1%). The GGE biplot displayed DH-8 and DH-2 as the best general combiners for seed yield and oil content, respectively. The best specific combiner for seed yield plant-1 was DH-3 whereas; for oil content DH-2 was ranked first. Among the testers CA-5 and CA-4 were ranked first on the basis of GCA for seed yield plant-1 and oil content, respectively. The GGE biplot graphic allowed a rapid and effective overview of General Combining Ability (GCA) and Specific Combining Ability (SCA) effects of the inbred lines; best lines and tester, as well as their performance in crosses.

Torus-nuclear magnetic resonance: Quasicontinuous airborne magnetic resonance profiling by using a helium-filled balloon

The application of surface nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements, although proven to be valuable for various hydrogeological issues, is in practice often limited to single 1D surveys because measurement progress is slow. First, large stacking rates are necessary to overcome the low signal-to-noise ratio and, second, time and effort are required to move the equipment and to place the measurement loops in the field. We have evaluated a novel approach to cope with the latter. We have assessed and tested a data acquisition scheme based on a torus-shaped helium-filled balloon carrying the loop and moving it rapidly from one to the next measurement position along the profile lines. We have referred to this system as Torus-NMR. We have showed the feasibility of the system to deliver reliable results using common processing and inversion. Surface NMR field data are acquired at successively overlapping positions along a test profile using the Torus-NMR system. To take advantage of the faster loop setup, the overall measurement time of the single NMR soundings is reduced by reducing the number of stacks, whereas the number of soundings is increased to obtain highly overlapping coverage. Regarding a single measurement position, a significant loss of vertical resolution must be accepted that can, however, be compensated to some extent by inverting the complete profile data set simultaneously using a laterally constrained inversion. We have found that for simple subsurface models, e.g., a layered earth with up to three layers, the proposed scheme provided reasonable results, which were demonstrated using synthetic and real field data. We do not expect the Torus-NMR concept to replace 2D data acquisition schemes if high spatial resolution is required. However, we expect fields of application that aim at rapid lateral overview of how specific hydrogeological parameters of shallow aquifers are distributed over large catchment-scale areas.

Saudi Arabia in Transition: Insights on Social, Political, Economic, and Religious Change

Saudi Arabia in Transition: Insights on Social, Political, Economic, and Religious Change

A Bacterial Analysis Platform: An Integrated System for Analysing Bacterial Whole Genome Sequencing Data for Clinical Diagnostics and Surveillance

Recent advances in whole genome sequencing have made the technology available for routine use in microbiological laboratories. However, a major obstacle for using this technology is the availability of simple and automatic bioinformatics tools. Based on previously published and already available web-based tools we developed a single pipeline for batch uploading of whole genome sequencing data from multiple bacterial isolates. The pipeline will automatically identify the bacterial species and, if applicable, assemble the genome, identify the multilocus sequence type, plasmids, virulence genes and antimicrobial resistance genes. A short printable report for each sample will be provided and an Excel spreadsheet containing all the metadata and a summary of the results for all submitted samples can be downloaded. The pipeline was benchmarked using datasets previously used to test the individual services. The reported results enable a rapid overview of the major results, and comparing that to the previously found results showed that the platform is reliable and able to correctly predict the species and find most of the expected genes automatically. In conclusion, a combined bioinformatics platform was developed and made publicly available, providing easy-to-use automated analysis of bacterial whole genome sequencing data. The platform may be of immediate relevance as a guide for investigators using whole genome sequencing for clinical diagnostics and surveillance. The platform is freely available at: https://cge.cbs.dtu.dk/services/CGEpipeline-1.1 and it is the intention that it will continue to be expanded with new features as these become available.

Lipid Nanoparticles to Deliver miRNA in Cancer.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of post-transcriptional gene expression modulators. In the past two decades, over 1500 human miRNAs were discovered. These small non-coding RNAs regulate various biological processes, including cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, and cell death. Thus, miRNAs have been proposed as new therapeutical agents in different multifactorial diseases such as cancer. Since miRNAs therapies represent a great promise, many research studies have been focused on the development of delivery strategies to overcome miRNAs biopharmaceutical issues. Lipid delivery systems are undoubtedly the non-viral carriers most largely investigated due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, easy production, low toxicity and immunogenicity, possibility to easily modify the carriers for targeting strategies. In this mini-review we provide a rapid and updated overview on the lipid delivery system currently used to deliver miRNAs, pointing out the progresses achieved in the optimization of these nanovectors, which led up to the first clinical trial.

Connecting Scholarship in the Open

Social media and public engagement play an increasing role in how people across ages, disciplines, and interests communicate with each other and perform their own lives. While different audiences participate for a diverse of reasons, researchers increasingly explore how connections are made, remain, and shift, along with the whats and whys these occur, especially within personal learning networks or environments related to academic learning (Buchem, Attwell, & Torres, 2011; Dabbagh & Kitsantas, 2012; Kop, 2011; Rahimi, Berg, & Veen, 2014; Veletsianos, 2012). Social media commonly promotes public conversationality, with personal learning networks and connected communities utilized by developing researchers while engaging in their learning and inquiries. While researcher development is a growing speciality within higher education academic discourse (McAlpine & Amundsen, 2009; McAlpine, Horn, & Rath, 2011; Wisker et al., 2010; Wisker, Robinson, Trafford, Lilly, & Warnes, 2004), little is known about researcher support structures of those engaging in research in public.With social media and networking technologies constantly shifting how people use, learn from, and make meaning through them, a scoping study is a useful methodology to explore this topic. Scoping studies examine the range and nature of an area of research, help determine the value of undergoing a full systematic review, summarize findings of previous studies, and serve to identify gaps in the literature (Arksey & O'Malley, 2005; Paré, Trudel, Jaana, & Kitsiou, 2015). While there are numerous kinds of literature reviews, scoping studies are particularly useful when a rapid overview of the literature is needed to broadly map what is currently known about an area (Pham et al., 2014), especially one that is not directly linked to specific disciplinary communities or functions where an established coherent portion of literature exists.The question guiding this study is: How do developing researchers learn in networked public spaces? The findings of this research work in progress will be presented during the Pecha Kucha.

Interactive social media interventions to promote health equity: an overview of reviews.

Social media use has been increasing in public health and health promotion because it can remove geographic and physical access barriers. However, these interventions also have the potential to increase health inequities for people who do not have access to or do not use social media. In this paper, we aim to assess the effects of interactive social media interventions on health outcomes, behaviour change and health equity. We conducted a rapid response overview of systematic reviews. We used a sensitive search strategy to identify systematic reviews and included those that focussed on interventions allowing two-way interaction such as discussion forums, social networks (e.g. Facebook and Twitter), blogging, applications linked to online communities and media sharing. Eleven systematic reviews met our inclusion criteria. Most interventions addressed by the reviews included online discussion boards or similar strategies, either as stand-alone interventions or in combination with other interventions. Seven reviews reported mixed effects on health outcomes and healthy behaviours. We did not find disaggregated analyses across characteristics associated with disadvantage, such as lower socioeconomic status or age. However, some targeted studies reported that social media interventions were effective in specific populations in terms of age, socioeconomic status, ethnicities and place of residence. Four reviews reported qualitative benefits such as satisfaction, finding information and improved social support. Social media interventions were effective in certain populations at risk for disadvantage (youth, older adults, low socioeconomic status, rural), which indicates that these interventions may be effective for promoting health equity. However, confirmation of effectiveness would require further study. Several reviews raised the issue of acceptability of social media interventions. Only four studies reported on the level of intervention use and all of these reported low use. More research on established social media platforms with existing social networks is needed, particularly in populations at risk for disadvantage, to assess effects on health outcomes and health equity.

Malign plevral efüzyon

Pleurodesis is a frequent treatment approach for malignant pleural effusion. The search for an agent which is cheap, effective, with minimal side effects, readily available and simply applicable is still going on. This article aimed a rapid overview to malignant pleural effusion and pleurodesis. Key words: Malignant, pleural effusion, pleurodesis

Análise das publicações etnobotânicas sobre plantas medicinais da Mata Atlântica na Região Sul do Estado da Bahia, Brasil

Human populations that occupy tropical forests coexist with great biological diversity and its cultural repertoire there are the practices related to the popular use of plants for medicinal purposes. The aim of this study was to establish an overview of the use of medicinal plants for traditional populations of the Atlantic Forest in the state of Bahia, northeastern Brazil, seeking to exploit the potential site ethnopharmacological and contribute to new herbal research. To this was accomplished a bibliographical and documentary survey on virtual repositories on ethnobotanical studies conducted on the use of medicinal plants in the cure and treatment of diseases by traditional and peasant communities of this region. 21 references were found on the use of medicinal plants for traditional and rural communities located in the state of Bahia, nine of which refer exclusively to the Atlantic Forest totaling 276 species in 77 plant families. The present study allowed the rapid and comprehensive overview of the scientific production involving traditional knowledge on the use of medicinal plants in primary care health and contributes to the cultural value associated with educational development and scientific involving empirical knowledge of traditional populations.

Structural Challenges for Improving Rural Medical Training in Germany

The role and strength of primary health care (PHC) varies considerably between countries although it has been on the global health-policy agenda for almost three decades since the Conference of Alma-Ata in 1978. A rapid international overview suggests the hypothesis that state-run or tax-borne health system tend to face less difficulties to implement strong primary care compared to those where non-state actor play a more important or even predominant role. This paper aims at contributing to empirical evidence and system understanding of the underlying causes for countries’ difficulties to strengthen PHC. Germany is an example for a healthcare system with long tradition and universal coverage of quality health services that has not yet managed to strengthen PHC. For assessing the reasons why, the paper starts with a general overview of relevant features and the rather complex structure of stakeholders in the German healthcare system, including medical training. It follows an analysis of potential system obstacles on the way towards strengthening PHC and particularly towards reforming medical training in order to better prepare future physicians for general practice and rural health. Finally, the paper briefly presents an innovative approach launched by the medical faculty of Magdeburg for promoting the recruitment of rural health professionals and upcoming system obstacles.

Three Phase Partitioning System, an Emerging Non-Chromatographic Tool for Proteolytic Enzymes Recovery and Purification

A rapid overview of the Three Phase Partitioning (TPP) system as an efficient non-chromatographic tool is given. This elegant non-chromatographic tool is able to purify numerous proteins and especially proteases in a one step protocol. TPP is able to do not only purify proteins, but also concentrate them into one of the phases and enhance their proteolytic activity. The application of TPP for the extraction and purification of plant milk-clotting enzymes and meat tenderizers agents are given. In addition, some proteases from other materials are summarized. This short communication stress showed that TPP is a simple, economical and quick method for proteases recovery from plant proteases. This elegant non-chromatographic tool may be performed in a purification process to be used successfully in food industries, namely to provide enzymes for cheese-making and meat tenderizing.

Targeting protein–protein interactions, a wide open field for drug design

Abstract Targeting protein–protein interactions has long been considered as a very difficult if impossible task, but over the past decade, front lines have moved. The number of successful examples is exponentially growing. This review presents a rapid overview of recent advances in this field considering the strengths and weaknesses of the small molecule approaches and alternative strategies such as the selection or design of artificial antibodies, peptides or peptidomimetics.

Looking back: ten years of visual qualitative research

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the development of visual qualitative research in organizations and management over the past ten years, the experience of editing a special issue ofQualitative Research in Organizations and Managemententitled “Exploring the visual in organizations and management”, and the potential contributions this journal could make to the advancement of this significant area of research.Design/methodology/approach– This paper provides an overview and critical reflections on visual qualitative research in the study of organizations and management.Findings– The authors note that organization studies have been slow to develop visual research compared to other disciplines, especially the humanities and branches of the social sciences. However, development has been rapid over the past decade, and the authors comment on the diverse visual empirical material and the range of conceptual approaches.Research limitations/implications– The paper is a condensed reflection. It predicts a “mainstreaming” of visual research in future years and an increased integration of the visual into the study of management processes and organizations.Practical implications– This piece provides useful directions and references for researchers new to the field and different ways of thinking the visual and visual methodologies.Originality/value– The paper provides a rapid overview of the state of visual research in organizations and management studies.

Development of an open source tool for mapping disease clusters

BackgroundMapping is an important step in investigations of infectious disease outbreaks. Despite advances in molecular characterisation of pathogens that allow delineation of outbreaks with greater precision, geospatial methods that complement these analyses are rarely used in real time. Barriers include lack of flexibility, expense of specialised software, and the need for trained personnel. This study aimed to develop a tool with free, open source software that could be used by public health professionals to display clusters of disease on a map, and to demonstrate its utility through the exemplar of molecular clusters of tuberculosis in London. MethodsWe developed a bespoke interactive mapping tool using Shiny, a web application framework for the statistical software package, R. Mapping was enabled using Leaflet, a JavaScript library for interactive mapping, through the R package leaflet. Data were extracted from the Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance System for cases of tuberculosis with a residential postcode in London, who were part of a molecular cluster, and were notified between Jan 1, 2010, and Dec 31, 2013. FindingsData subsets can be interactively displayed on the basis of cluster name, notification date, demographics, and reported risk factors. In addition to mapping, epidemic curves and summary tables are automatically produced. The tool was used to explore 3194 cases of tuberculosis in 767 clusters in London, and allowed rapid overview of the geographical, temporal, and epidemiological features to support cluster investigation. InterpretationGeographical displays of molecular data can enhance understanding of disease transmission. Advantages of the tool developed in this study include: flexibility, allowing user-defined subsets of data in any geographical location to be displayed; potential adaptability to other geocoded health or other contextual data; and a web interface, which is user-friendly, needs minimal training to operate, and does not require upload of identifiable information to the internet. A potential limitation is maintenance of code, although the use of open source software also benefits from support and improvement from the wider developer community. Future work will involve testing of the tool with potential users to assess its utility in practice. FundingCMS is funded by the Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research.

Application of low-voltage backscattered electron imaging to the mapping of organic photovoltaic blend morphologies

With organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology moving towards commercialisation, high-throughput analytical techniques are required to study the nanoscale morphology of OPV blends. We demonstrate a low-voltage backscattered electron imaging technique in the SEM that combines a solid-state backscattered electron detector with stage biasing to produce a rapid overview of the phase-separated surface morphology of an organic photovoltaic (P3HT:PCBM) blend. Aspects of obtaining the best possible results from the technique are discussed along with the possibility of probing the sub-surface morphology by altering the primary electron beam landing energy.

Detection of Common, Emerging and Uncommon VP4, and VP7 Human Group A Rotavirus Genotypes from Urban Sewage Samples in Uruguay.

Environmental approach has proven to be a useful tool for epidemiological studies demonstrating through environmental studies the diversity of viruses circulating in a given population. The aim of this study was to perform a phylogenetic characterization of the group A rotavirus (RVA) glycoprotein (G)- and protease-sensitive (P)-genotypes obtained from sewage samples (n = 116) collected in six cities of Uruguay during March 2011 to April 2013. A worldwide standardized semi-nested multiplex RT-PCR (SNM RT-PCR) protocol directed against VP4 and VP7 genes were conducted for RVA detection and consensual DNA fragments were submitted to nucleotide sequencing. P and/or G genotype was successfully determined by phylogenetic analysis in 61% (n = 37) of the positive samples obtained by SNM RT-PCR (n = 61). The RVA genotypes were as follow: G1 (n = 2), G2 (n = 14), G3 (n = 5), G12 (n = 2), P[4] (n = 4), P[8] (n = 16), and P[3] (n = 2). Interestingly, through phylogenetic analysis, emerging, and uncommon human genotypes could be detected. Results obtained from the comparison of RVA genotypes detected in the current study and Uruguayan RVA strains previously described for contemporary clinical pediatric cases showed that monitoring sewage may be a good screening option for a rapid and economical overview of the circulating genotypes in the surrounding human population and a useful approximation to study RVA epidemiology in a future vaccine monitoring program. The present study represents the first report in Uruguay that describes the phylogenetic diversity of RVA from urban sewage samples.

The theory of the firm in the scientific work of graziani

The analysis of the scientific production of Graziani is a difficult but challenging task. His contributions to numerous areas of economics provide plenty of interesting and stimulating insights. However, the search for a systematic assessment of his work proves to be extremely complex. This turns out to be particularly true for his contributions to fields that have not been at the very centre of his research agenda, as is the case of the theory of the firm. In order to provide a tentative analysis of his contribution in this field, this note presents a rapid overview of Graziani’s critical evaluation of the neoclassical theory of the firm, from his textbook analysis to his critical remark on the design of incentive policies. The note aims at showing that his originality, joint with the full command of the orthodox theory, made Graziani capable of providing interesting insights even in this field.

Atlas of General Surgery

This is the English translation of the second edition of the Atlas of General Surgery edited by a prominent German academic surgeon. The atlas is comprehensible and very well illustrated, offering students, surgical trainees and also specialist nurses the opportunity to journey through the most common surgical procedures. Each chapter describing a specific surgical technique has a very useful introduction summarising the following points: indication, pre-operative preparation, specific risks, patient information and consent, type of anaesthesia, positioning of the patient, surgical approach, operative steps, relevant anatomy, how to deal with specific complications, and postoperative care. In surgery, details make the difference and having the opportunity to recall the key points before an operation certainly helps in optimising surgery. The description of the specific surgical techniques is clear and schematic but lacking in detail. Furthermore, there is a paucity of references supporting the contents of the topics. Only one page is dedicated to further reading, with many books cited that are not up-to-date. This may be seen as a weak point in the book in the era of evidence-based surgery. In addition, it is not completely clear why some relevant procedures are completely missing. For instance, there is a chapter dedicated to pancreatic tail resection but not to Whipple’s procedure. In the same way, left hepatic lobe resection is described but not right or left hepatectomy. Indeed, the intention of this single-volume atlas is not to cover all the disciplines of medical surgery but to offer a rapid overview of some surgical techniques. This represents a benefit for those who need a quick summary of a specific surgical technique. On the other hand, this is probably a limitation for trained surgeons who are looking for detailed surgical descriptions. Overall, the atlas succeeds in fulfilling its objective as a summary of the most common surgical techniques and it is suitable for medical students, surgeons in training and specialist nurses looking for an ‘all inclusive’ book as a helpful instrument in everyday practice.

Les insectes comme vecteurs : systématique et biologie

Among the many complex relationships between insects and microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria and parasites, some have resulted in the establishment of biological systems within which the insects act as a biological vector for infectious agents. It is therefore advisable to understand the identity and biology of these vectors in depth, in order to define procedures for epidemiological surveillance and anti-vector control. The following are successively reviewed in this article: Anoplura (lice), Siphonaptera (fleas), Heteroptera (bugs: Cimicidae, Triatoma, Belostomatidae), Psychodidae (sandflies), Simuliidae (black flies), Ceratopogonidae (biting midges), Culicidae (mosquitoes), Tabanidae (horseflies) and Muscidae (tsetse flies, stable flies and pupipara). The authors provide a rapid overview of the morphology, systematics, development cycle and bio-ecology of each of these groups of vectors. Finally, their medical and veterinary importance is briefly reviewed.

A high-throughput ChIP-Seq for large-scale chromatin studies.

We present a modified approach of chromatin immuno-precipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-Seq), which relies on the direct ligation of molecular barcodes to chromatin fragments, thereby permitting experimental scale-up. With Bar-ChIP now enabling the concurrent profiling of multiple DNA–protein interactions, we report the simultaneous generation of 90 ChIP-Seq datasets without any robotic instrumentation. We demonstrate that application of Bar-ChIP to a panel of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromatin-associated mutants provides a rapid and accurate genome-wide overview of their chromatin status. Additionally, we validate the utility of this technology to derive novel biological insights by identifying a role for the Rpd3S complex in maintaining H3K14 hypo-acetylation in gene bodies. We also report an association between the presence of intragenic H3K4 tri-methylation and the emergence of cryptic transcription in a Set2 mutant. Finally, we uncover a crosstalk between H3K14 acetylation and H3K4 methylation in this mutant. These results show that Bar-ChIP enables biological discovery through rapid chromatin profiling at single-nucleosome resolution for various conditions and protein modifications at once.