Terpenoid emissions of two mediterranean woody species in response to drought stress

Drought is a major environmental constrain affecting plant performance and survival, particularly in Mediterranean ecosystems. Terpenoids may play a protective role under these conditions, however, observations of drought effects on plant terpenoid emissions are controversial ranging from decreased emissions to unaffected or increased release of terpenoids. In the present study we investigated terpenoid emissions of cork oak (Quercus suber) and gum rockrose (Cistus ladanifer) in response to summer drought stress in 2017. Pre-dawn leaf water potential (9PD) decreased from 0.64 to 1.72 MPa in Q. suber and from 1.69 to 4.05 MPa in C. ladanifer, indicating a transition from mild to severe drought along summer. Total terpenoid emissions decreased with drought, but differed significantly between species (p < 0.001) and in response to 9PD, air temperature and assimilation rates. C. ladanifer emitted a large variety of >75 compounds comprising monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and even diterpenes, which strongly decreased from 1.37 0.23 mg g1 h1 to 0.40 0.08 mg g1 h1 (p < 0.001) in response to drought. Total emission rates were positively correlated to air temperature (p < 0.001). C. ladanifer behavior points toward terpenoid leaf storage depletion and reduced substrate availability for terpenoid synthesis with increasing drought, most likely accelerated by high air temperatures. Q. suber emitted mainly monoterpenes and emissions declined significantly from June (0.50 0.08 mg g1 h1) to August (0.29 0.02 mg g1 h1) (p < 0.01). Emission rates were weakly correlated with net assimilation rates (R2 = 0.19, p < 0.001), but did not respond strongly to 9PD and air temperature. Early onset of drought in 2017 most likely reduced plant metabolism in Q. suber, resulting in diminished, but stable terpenoid fluxes. Calculation of standard emission factors (at 30 C) revealed contrasting emission patterns of decreasing, unaffected, or increasing fluxes of single terpenoid compounds. Unaffected or drought-enhanced emissions of compounds such as a-pinene, camphene or manoyl oxide may point toward a specific role of these terpenoids in abiotic stress adaptation. In conclusion, these results suggest a strong negative, but species- and compoundspecific effect of severe drought on terpenoid fluxes in Mediterranean ecosystemsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Direct-acting antiviral therapy improves kidney survival in hepatitis C virus-associated cryoglobulinaemia: the RENALCRYOGLOBULINEMIC study

Background: Direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) have shown high rates of sustained virological response in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, the influence of DAAs on the course of kidney involvement in HCV-associated mixed cryoglobulinaemia (HCV-MC) has been little studied. The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of antiviral treatment on kidney prognosis and evolution in patients diagnosed with HCV-MC. Methods: The RENALCRYOGLOBULINEMIC study is an observational multicentre cohort study of 139 patients with HCV-MC from 14 Spanish centres. Clinical and laboratory parameters were measured before and after antiviral treatment. Primary endpoints were kidney survival and mortality after HCV-MC diagnosis. Secondary endpoints were clinical, immunological and virological responses after antiviral treatment. Results: Patients were divided into three groups based on the treatment received: treatment with DAAs (n = 100) treatment with interferon (IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) (n = 24) and no treatment (n = 15). Patients were followed up for a median duration of 138 months (interquartile range 70-251. DAA treatment reduced overall mortality {hazard ratio [HR] 0.12 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.04-0.40]; P < 0.001} and improved kidney survival [HR 0.10 ( 95% CI 0.04-0.33); P < 0.001]. Conclusions: Results from the RENALCRYOGLOBULINEMIC study indicated that DAA treatment in patients with HCV-MC improves kidney survival and reduces mortality

Dynamic profiles and predictive values of some biochemical and haematological quantities in COVID-19 inpatients

Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in some hospitalized patients has shown some important alterations in laboratory tests. The aim of this study was to establish the most relevant quantities associated with the worst prognosis related to COVID-19. Materials and methods: This was a descriptive, longitudinal, observational and retrospective study, in a cohort of 845 adult inpatients from Bellvitge University Hospital (L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain). A multivariate regression analysis was carried out in demographic, clinical and laboratory data, comparing survivors (SURV) and non-survivors (no-SURV). A receiver operating characteristic analysis was also carried out to establish the cut-off point for poor prognostic with better specificity and sensibility. Dynamic changes in clinical laboratory measurements were tracked from day 1 to day 28 after the onset of symptoms. Results: During their hospital stay, 18% of the patients died. Age, kidney disease, creatinine (CREA), lactate-dehydrogenase (LD), C-reactive-protein (CRP) and lymphocyte (LYM) concentration showed the strongest independent associations with the risk of death in the multivariate regression analysis. Established cut-off values for poor prognosis for CREA, LD, CRP and LYM concentrations were 75.0 mu mol/L, 320 U/L, 80.9 mg/L and 0.69 x10(9)/L. Dynamic profile of laboratory findings, were in agreement with the consequences of organ damage and tissue destruction. Conclusions: Age, kidney disease, CREA, LD, CRP and LYM concentrations in COVID-19 patients from the southern region of Catalonia provide important information for their prognosis. Measurement of LD has demonstrated to be very good indicator of poor prognosis at initial evaluation because of its stability over time

RKIP Inhibition in cervical cancer Is associated with higher tumor aggressive behavior and resistance to cisplatin therapy

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in women worldwide, being high-risk group the HPV infected, the leading etiological factor. The raf kinase inhibitory protein (RKIP) has been associated with tumor progression and metastasis in several human neoplasms, however its role on cervical cancer is unclear. In the present study, 259 uterine cervix tissues, including cervicitis, cervical intraepithelial lesions and carcinomas, were analyzed for RKIP expression by immunohistochemistry. We found that RKIP expression was significantly decreased during malignant progression, being highly expressed in non-neoplastic tissues (54% of the samples; 73/135), and expressed at low levels in the cervix invasive carcinomas (,15% (19/124). Following in vitro downregulation of RKIP, we observed a viability and proliferative advantage of RKIP-inhibited cells over time, which was associated with an altered cell cycle distribution and higher colony number in a colony formation assay. An in vitro wound healing assay showed that RKIP abrogation is associated with increased migratory capability. RKIP downregulation was also associated with an increased vascularization of the tumors in vivo using a CAM assay. Furthermore, RKIP inhibition induced cervical cancer cells apoptotic resistance to cisplatin treatment. In conclusion, we described that RKIP protein is significantly depleted during the malignant progression of cervical tumors. Despite the lack of association with patient clinical outcome, we demonstrate, in vitro and in vivo, that loss of RKIP expression can be one of the factors that are behind the aggressiveness, malignant progression and chemotherapy resistance of cervical cancer.This work was partially supported by the Portuguese Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (grant PTDC/SAU-TOX/114549/2009). Olga Martinho and Sara Granja were recipients of PhD fellowships (SFRH/BD/36463/2007 and SFRH/BD/51062/2010, respectively), and Filipe Pinto and Vera Miranda-Goncalves were recipients of research fellowships (UMINHO/BI/016/2011 and SFRH/BI/33503/2008, respectively), both from FCT, Portugal. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. No additional external funding received for this study

Nicotiana benthamiana as a Production Platform for Artemisinin Precursors

Background Production of pharmaceuticals in plants provides an alternative for chemical synthesis, fermentation or natural sources. Nicotiana benthamiana is deployed at commercial scale for production of therapeutic proteins. Here the potential of this plant is explored for rapid production of precursors of artemisinin, a sesquiterpenoid compound that is used for malaria treatment. Methodology/Principal Findings Biosynthetic genes leading to artemisinic acid, a precursor of artemisinin, were combined and expressed in N. benthamiana by agro-infiltration. The first committed precursor of artemisinin, amorpha-4,11-diene, was produced upon infiltration of a construct containing amorpha-4,11-diene synthase, accompanied by 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase and farnesyl diphosphate synthase. Amorpha-4,11-diene was detected both in extracts and in the headspace of the N. benthamiana leaves. When the amorphadiene oxidase CYP71AV1 was co-infiltrated with the amorphadiene-synthesizing construct, the amorpha-4,11-diene levels strongly decreased, suggesting it was oxidized. Surprisingly, no anticipated oxidation products, such as artemisinic acid, were detected upon GC-MS analysis. However, analysis of leaf extracts with a non-targeted metabolomics approach, using LC-QTOF-MS, revealed the presence of another compound, which was identified as artemisinic acid-12-ß-diglucoside. This compound accumulated to 39.5 mg.kg-1 fwt. Apparently the product of the heterologous pathway that was introduced, artemisinic acid, is further metabolized efficiently by glycosyl transferases that are endogenous to N. benthamiana. Conclusion/Significance This work shows that agroinfiltration of N. bentamiana can be used as a model to study the production of sesquiterpenoid pharmaceutical compounds. The interaction between the ectopically introduced pathway and the endogenous metabolism of the plant is discussed

Does input purchase cooperation foster downstream collusion?

We set up a model where two retailers compete downstream and buy their inputs from a single producer. Retailers may collude downstream, when fixing the retail price and cooperate upstream by jointly negotiating the wholesale price with the producer. We find that purchase cooperation renders downstream collusion more likely. First it expands the range of differentiation where downstream collusion is a profitable strategy. Second it makes more stable the agreement downstream since the punishment becomes harsher due to the increase in the wholesale price coming from the breakdown of common upstream negotiation. The results are robust to a scenario of upstream price rigidity where the wholesale price cannot be immediately renegotiated after a deviation downstream has occurred

Acte de recepció del fons documental del polític i historiador Lluís M. de Puig i Olivé

Acte de donació i de recepció del fons documental del polític i historiador Lluís M. de Puig i Olivé. En l'acte han intervingut: el Dr. Jörg Zimmer, vicerector en funcions de Política Internacional, el Dr. Joaquim Nadal i Farreras, catedràtic d'Història Contemporània de la Universitat de Girona, la Sra. Àngels Merino, directora de la Biblioteca, i la Sra. Loreto Bosch, vídua de Lluís M. de Puig i Oliv

Physiological and antioxidant responses of Erica multiflora to drought and warming through different seasons

Climate change projections forecast a warming and an associated change in the distribution and intensity of rainfalls. In the case of the Mediterranean area, this will be reflected in more frequent and severe drought periods in the future. Within a long-term (9 years) manipulation experiment, we aimed to study the effect of the soil drought (15-20% decreased soil moisture) and warming conditions (+1A degrees C warming) projected for the next decades onto photosynthetic rates and water relations, and onto the antioxidant and anti-stress defense capacity of Erica multiflora, a common species of the dry Mediterranean coastal scrublands, in two different seasons, spring and summer. Results indicated that none of the applied treatments was severe enough to induce a pronounced negative response of photosynthesis in this species well adapted to harsh Mediterranean conditions, but also highlighted important seasonal differences. Photosynthesis was limited by photoinhibition in spring and by stomatal closure in summer. Isoprenoid emission and the level of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants were lower in summer than in spring, whereas pigment and total phenolic contents were generally higher in summer. Volatile isoprenoid emissions were largely inhibited by drought and were not stimulated by warming. Drought and warming increased the oxidation state of ascorbate and reduced total glutathione levels in spring, but not in summer. It is concluded that E. multiflora plants can adapt to prolonged drought and warming, at least at the level simulated by our manipulative experiment, through changes in the seasonal physiological and antioxidant response of leaves

Revista de logopedia, foniatría y audiología

Resumen basado en el de la publicación. Resumen en inglésSe expone una investigación cuyo objetivo es describir el inicio y el crecimiento del léxico expresivo en una población de prematuros sanos, nacidos con 32 o menos semanas de gestación y un peso al nacer no superior a 1.500 g, y comparar sus resultados con los procedentes de una población de nacidos a término, con el fin de evaluar la existencia de posibles diferencias entre los grupos, conocer la incidencia de posibles retrasos iniciales en el desarrollo del lenguaje y analizar el patrón evolutivo durante el segundo año de vida, con medidas obtenidas a los 12, 18 y 24 meses, según el inventario de desarrollo comunicativo MacArthur. La muestra del estudio procede de la Unidad de Neonatología del Hospital Materno-Infantil San Joan de Déu (Barcelona). Los resultados obtenidos apuntan a un ritmo inicial de crecimiento léxico (expresivo) más lento en el prematuro, solo aparente a partir de los 18 meses y con mayor incidencia en la población masculina.CataluñaConsejería de Educación y Cultura. Secretaría General de Educación; Calle Delgado Valencia, 6; 06800 Mérida (Badajoz); Tel. +34924006714; Fax +34924006716; [email protected]