Interplay between ascorbic acid and lipophilic antioxidant defences in chloroplasts of water-stressed Arabidopsis plants

AbstractThe effects of low ascorbic acid (Asc) on lipophilic antioxidant defences and lipid peroxidation in chloroplasts were evaluated in the vtc-1 mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana, which had an Asc deficiency in chloroplasts of ca. 60%. Although low Asc did not cause oxidative stress in optimal growth conditions, it increased malondialdehyde levels in chloroplasts by ca. 60%, and reduced α-tocopherol and β-carotene by ca. 85% and 40%, respectively, in water-stressed (WS) mutants. These results are indicative of the interplay between Asc and lipophilic antioxidants in chloroplasts of WS plants in vivo, and show that Asc contributes to the protection of thylakoid membrane lipids from oxidation in stressed plants

Ecophysiology of after-fire resprouts of Arbutus unedo L

Plant-water relationships, leaf morphology and concentrations of pigments, proline, soluble sugars, anthocyans and nutrients of after wildfire resprout leaves of Arbutus unedo L. were com-pared with those of same age sprout leaves in unbumed plants. In spring samples, several significant differences appear: after-fire resprouts showed some juvenile characteristics, such as high tissue elasticity, small cells, low specific leaf weight, high Chla/Chlb ratio and a high anthocyan content; on the other hand, unbnrned plants showed drought tolerance characteristics by osmotic adjustment and lower tissue elasticity, larger cells, higher specific leaf weight and lower Chla/Chlb ratio. In fall samples, both kind of shoots showed drought tolerance by osmotic adjustment, low tissue elasticity, large cells and high specific leaf weight. Results show that after-fire resprouts have, at the beginning of their development, higher morphological and physiological plasticity that the new sprouts of unburned plants.Es comparen les relacions hídriques, la morfologia foliar i les concentracions de pigments, prolina, sucres solubles, antocians i nutrients de les fulles de rebrots d'Arbutus unedo L. després d'un incendi, amb iguals característiques de les fulles de brots de plantes no cremades de la mateixa edat. A les mostres de primavera apareixen diverses diferències significatives: els rebrots, després del foc, presenten característiques juvenils, com són alta elasticitat dels teixits, cèl·lules petites, baix pes específic foliar, alta relació Chla/Chlb i un elevat contingut d'antocians; d'altra banda, les plantes no cremades presenten característiques de tolerància a I'eixut per ajustament osmòtic i baixa elasticitat dels teixits, cèl·lules més grosses, pes específic més alt i relació Chla/Chlb inferior. A les mostres de tardor els dos tipus de brots presenten tolerància a I'eixut per ajustament osmòtic, baixa elasticitat de teixits, cèl·lules grosses i pes específic foliar alt. Els resultats mostren que els rebrots després del foc tenen, a I'inici del seu desenvolupament, una plasticitat morfològica i fisiològica superior que els brots nous de les plantes no cremades

Determination of non-protein amino acids and betaines in vegetable oils by flow injection triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry: a screening method for the detection of adulterations of olive oils.

This document is the unedited author's version of a Submitted Work that was subsequently accepted for publication in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review.A novel screening method using an automated flow injection electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry system is proposed for the simultaneous determination of five nonprotein amino acids (β-alanine, alloisoleucine, ornithine, citrulline, pyroglutamic acid) and three betaines (glycine betaine, trigonelline, proline betaine) after derivatization with butanolic HCl. MS/MS experiments were carried out in a triple-quadrupole instrument using multiple reaction monitoring mode in <2 min. The proposed method provided high fingerprinting power to identify the presence of five of the studied compounds in different types of vegetable oils (soybean, sunflower, corn, olive) with LODs at parts per billion levels. The method was validated, and different mixtures of extra virgin olive oil with seed oils were analyzed, achieving the typification for the detection of adulterations in extra virgin olive oils up to 2% w/w. The nonprotein amino acid ornithine was confirmed as a marker for adulteration in the olive oils analyzedThe projects involved in this work have been: project CTQ2009-09022 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Spain), project S2009/AGR-1464 from the Comunidad Autónoma of Madrid (Spain) and European funding from FEDER programme (ANALISYC-II), and project CCG10-UAH/AGR-5950 from the University of Alcalá and the Comunidad Autónoma of Madrid (Spai

Plan de marketing para desarrollar y administrar una aplicación móvil de servicios para mascotas

El presente trabajo de Tesis tiene como objetivo central desarrollar un plan de marketing para gestionar una aplicación móvil dedicada a los servicios de cuidado, bienestar y diversión para mascotas en Lima Metropolitana. Para su desarrollo, se adoptó un enfoque metodológico mixto, combinando investigación exploratoria y descriptiva. Esto incluyó la realización de Focus Group con participantes de diversas edades y perfiles demográficos, así como la implementación de una encuesta. Los resultados obtenidos son prometedores: se identificó una notable disposición de aceptación del 95% y más del 60% de los encuestados tienen una alta preocupación por la salud y bienestar de sus mascotas lo que evidencia una notable brecha en el mercado, donde existe una demanda creciente y diversificada de servicios que no está siendo completamente satisfecha por la oferta actual y ofrece una oportunidad única para desarrollar una plataforma móvil que no solo aborde estos desafíos, sino que también eleve el estándar que actualmente existe. La conclusión principal es que, aunque la aplicación móvil es nueva, tiene un gran potencial para ganar relevancia entre las empresas que brindan servicios para mascotas y los tenedores de mascotas en Lima Metropolitana. Este potencial se ve impulsado por el efectivo boca a boca entre los usuarios. Además, la viabilidad financiera del proyecto es clara, con un TIR del 50% y un VAN de S/ 392 941 nuevos soles, lo que indica una inversión rentable

Unravelling myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) : Gender-specific changes in the microRNA expression profiling in ME/CFS

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a multisystem illness characterized by medically unexplained debilitating fatigue with suggested altered immunological state. Our study aimed to explore peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) for microRNAs (miRNAs) expression in ME/CFS subjects under an exercise challenge. The findings highlight the immune response and inflammation links to differential miRNA expression in ME/CFS. The present study is particularly important in being the first to uncover the differences that exist in miRNA expression patterns in males and females with ME/CFS in response to exercise. This provides new evidence for the understanding of differential miRNA expression patterns and post-exertional malaise in ME/CFS. We also report miRNA expression pattern differences associating with the nutritional status in individuals with ME/CFS, highlighting the effect of subjects' metabolic state on molecular changes to be considered in clinical research within the NINDS/CDC ME/CFS Common Data Elements. The identification of gender-based miRNAs importantly provides new insights into gender-specific ME/CFS susceptibility and demands exploration of sex-suited ME/CFS therapeutics

CLIL in Action: Educational and Professional Interactions among Teachers

AICLE (Aprendizaje Integrado de Contenidos y Lenguas Extranjeras) es el enfoque oficial europeo para la educación bilingüe, auspiciado por la Comisión Europea y fomentado por una cantidad ingente de investigación e implementación en todos los niveles educativos. Sin embargo, AICLE necesita de más investigación en el aula e interacciones que ofrezcan datos que nos indiquen en qué contextos y bajo qué condiciones específicas las acciones educativas son o no eficaces. Es en esta línea (innovación educativa e interacción en el aula) en la que entendemos que la formación inicial del profesorado en el ámbito de la educación bilingüe ha de estar necesariamente ligada a la formación permanente del profesorado y a la praxis en el aula que proporciona el profesorado en ejercicio. El objetivo esencial de este artículo consiste en establecer el vínculo entre profesorado universitario, profesorado en ejercicio, profesorado en formación (a tres niveles: Grado, Máster y Doctorado) y los CEP de Córdoba y provincia para diseñar una estructura de formación recíproca y cuidadosamente planificada, que contribuya a mejorar la calidad de la educación bilingüe a través del intercambio de prácticas de innovación educativa que fomenten la interacción y el aprendizaje en acción.CLIL (Content and Foreign Language Integrated Learning) is the official European approach to bilingual education, sponsored by the European Commission and fostered by an enormous amount of research and implementation at all levels of education. However, CLIL needs more research in the classroom and interactions which provide data on what contexts and under what specific conditions educational actions are or are not effective. It is in this line (educational innovation and interaction in the classroom) that we understand that the initial training of teachers in the field of bilingual education must necessarily be linked to the ongoing training of teachers and to the praxis in the classroom provided by practising teachers. The essential objective of this article is to establish the link between university teachers, practising teachers, teachers in training (at three levels: Bachelor, Master and Doctorate) and the CEPs of Cordoba and province to design a carefully planned reciprocal training structure that contributes to improving the quality of bilingual education through the exchange of educational innovation practices that foster interaction and learning in action

Clustering COVID-19 ARDS patients through the first days of ICU admission. An analysis of the CIBERESUCICOVID Cohort

Background Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can be classified into sub-phenotypes according to different inflammatory/clinical status. Prognostic enrichment was achieved by grouping patients into hypoinflammatory or hyperinflammatory sub-phenotypes, even though the time of analysis may change the classification according to treatment response or disease evolution. We aimed to evaluate when patients can be clustered in more than 1 group, and how they may change the clustering of patients using data of baseline or day 3, and the prognosis of patients according to their evolution by changing or not the cluster.Methods Multicenter, observational prospective, and retrospective study of patients admitted due to ARDS related to COVID-19 infection in Spain. Patients were grouped according to a clustering mixed-type data algorithm (k-prototypes) using continuous and categorical readily available variables at baseline and day 3.Results Of 6205 patients, 3743 (60%) were included in the study. According to silhouette analysis, patients were grouped in two clusters. At baseline, 1402 (37%) patients were included in cluster 1 and 2341(63%) in cluster 2. On day 3, 1557(42%) patients were included in cluster 1 and 2086 (57%) in cluster 2. The patients included in cluster 2 were older and more frequently hypertensive and had a higher prevalence of shock, organ dysfunction, inflammatory biomarkers, and worst respiratory indexes at both time points. The 90-day mortality was higher in cluster 2 at both clustering processes (43.8% [n = 1025] versus 27.3% [n = 383] at baseline, and 49% [n = 1023] versus 20.6% [n = 321] on day 3). Four hundred and fifty-eight (33%) patients clustered in the first group were clustered in the second group on day 3. In contrast, 638 (27%) patients clustered in the second group were clustered in the first group on day 3.Conclusions During the first days, patients can be clustered into two groups and the process of clustering patients may change as they continue to evolve. This means that despite a vast majority of patients remaining in the same cluster, a minority reaching 33% of patients analyzed may be re-categorized into different clusters based on their progress. Such changes can significantly impact their prognosis

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation