Ear photosynthesis in C3 cereals and its contribution to grain yield: Methodologies, controversies, and perspectives

In C3 cereals such as wheat and barley, grain filling was traditionally explained as being sustained by assimilates from concurrent leaf photosynthesis and remobilization from the stem. In recent decades, a role for ear photosynthesis as a contributor to grain filling has emerged. This review analyzes several aspects of this topic: (i) methodological approaches for estimation of ear photosynthetic contribution to grain filling; (ii) the existence of genetic variability in the contribution of the ear, and evidence of genetic gains in the past; (iii) the controversy of the existence of C4 metabolism in the ear; (iv) the response of ear photosynthesis to water deficit; and (v) morphological and physiological traits possibly related to ear temperature and thermal balance of the ear. The main conclusions are: (i) there are a number of methodologies to quantify ear photosynthetic activity (e.g. gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence) and the contribution of the ear to grain filling (individual ear shading, ear emergence in shaded canopies, and isotope composition); (ii) the contribution of ear photosynthesis seems to have increased in modern wheat germplasm; (iii) the contribution of the ear to grain filling increases under resource-limitation (water deficit, defoliation, or pathogen infection); (iv) there is genetic variability in the contribution of the ear in wheat, opening up the possibility to use this trait to ameliorate grain yield; (v) current evidence supports the existence of C3 metabolism rather than C4 metabolism; (vi) the ear is a 'dehydration avoider organ' under drought; and (vii) thermal balance in the ear is a relevant issue to explore, and more research is needed to clarify the underlying morphological and physiological traits.Fil: Tambussi, Eduardo Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Fisiología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Fisiología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Maydup, Maria Luján. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Fisiología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Fisiología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Carrión, Cristian Antonio. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego. Instituto de Ciencias Polares, Recursos Naturales y Ambiente; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Guiamet, Juan José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Fisiología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Fisiología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Araus, José L.. Universidad de Barcelona; Españ

Niveles de vida y diferencias rural-urbana de la estatura en los inicios del crecimiento económico español

This paper examines the urban-rural differences of the height during the early stages of modern economic growth and industrialization in Spain. Its aim is to explore the extent of the urban penalty, and the changes of biological welfare in the cities and villages, in the rural and urban areas. We use height data of military recruitment records between 1857 and 1936, that provide information on the health and net nutrition of cohorts 1837-1915. We note that previous studies reported higher penalty in rural areas than in cities, and that the height deteriorated in the most industrialized cities due to unhealthy environments, child labor and spread of infections. The new data shows that in some rural areas had better nutritional status that in urban areas with better care resources, so the rural-urban gap was more diverse than we thought, not only by environmental factors but institutions. Data suggests more research on height by social classes in the diverse Spanish geography.Este trabajo examina las diferencias urbano-rurales de la estatura durante las primeras fases de la industrialización española. Su objetivo es explorar la dimensión de la urban penalty y los cambios del bienestar biológico en las ciudades frente al mundo rural. Usamos como principal fuente de datos las tallas de los reclutamientos militares entre 1857 y 1936, que nos informan sobre la salud y la nutrición neta en las cohortes de 1837 a 1915. Señala que los estudios previos registraron una mayor penalización en las zonas rurales que en las ciudades y que la talla se deterioró en las ciudades más industrializadas como consecuencia de ambientes insalubres, del abultado empleo infantil y alta incidencia de las infecciones. Los nuevos datos demuestran que en ciertos ámbitos rurales había un mejor estado nutricional que en algunos centros urbanos bien provistos de recursos asistenciales; por tanto, la brecha rural-urbana de la estatura fue más diversa de lo que pensábamos, por factores no sólo ambientales sino institucionales. Se sugiere ampliar la investigación sobre la geografía de la estatura y analizarla por clases sociales

Genome-wide association analyses of weight loss in a randomized controlled trial of lifestyle intervention, and combined transcriptome-wide associations in a Mediterranean population

Pòster presentat a EMBO - EMBL Symposia Multiomics to Mechanisms - Challenges in Data Integration. September (11th – 13th 2019 European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Heidelberg, Germany)Although large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for obesity traits have identified more than 400 associated loci from observational studies (Figure 1), we highlight the fact that currently the number of GWAS for intentional weight change in randomized controlled trials (RCT) of lifestyle interventions is very scarce. Only a few RCT on weight loss have been carried out and recently a GWAS including 2 populations (a Canadian RCT and the Diogenes RCT) was been published (Valsesia et al, Nat Communications, 2019). Likely, at the transcriptome level, there is a scarcity of transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) of weight loss in RCT. Moreover, this scarcity is higher for studies including subjects from the Mediterranean countries. Therefore, our first aim was to undertake a GWAS in overweight/obese subjects from a Mediterranean population (Spain) after 1-year lifestyle intervention (including an energy restricted Mediterranean diet plus physical activity) in a RCT to identify genetic variants associated with weight loss and related outcomes. In addition, as a second aim, we carried out a TWAS in a subsample of subjects for the same intervention to identify changes in gene expression and related pathways

El Rol de los Jóvenes Profesionales Universitarios en las Organizaciones. Estudio Comparativo Europa/Latinoamérica

Job requirements have evolved, asking for changes in required professional and personal competencies. These changes affect attitudinal, operative, strategic and organizational aspects. In this paper we analyze the role developed by young university graduates in the organizations where they work. For this purpose a sample of young university graduates in Europe and Latin America are analyzed. The results show the existence of different economic and socio-cultural environment and how young graduates adapt its activity to these environments.Las exigencias de los puestos de trabajo están evolucionando, y en la actualidad demandan cambios en las competencias profesionales y personales. Estos cambios afectan a aspectos actitudinales, operativos, estratégicos y organizacionales. En este artículo se analiza el papel desarrollado por los profesionales universitarios en las organizaciones en donde trabajan. Para ello se analiza una amplia muestra de jóvenes graduados universitarios de Europa y Latinoamérica. Los resultados muestran que existen entornos económicos y socio-culturales diferentes y que los graduados adaptan su actividad a estos entornos

Influence of low insertion torque values on survival rate of immediately loaded dental implants: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim The aim was to systematically evaluate the effect of low insertion torque values on the survival rate of immediately loaded dental implants. Materials and Methods The protocol was registered with PROSPERO (ID CRD42020189499). An electronic search was performed in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials until June 2022 in English and Spanish. Studies analysing the failure or survival rate of immediately loaded dental implants according to different insertion torque values were included. Results Five-hundred seventy-three articles were assessed for eligibility, of which seven articles, four randomized clinical trials (RCTs), one controlled clinical trial, and two prospective case series studies were included in the qualitative analysis. The RCTs were classified as having low risk of bias and the non-RCTs as having moderate and serious risk of bias. The mean survival rate for implants with low insertion toque (≤35 Ncm) was 96% (p > .001, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.91–0.98) and that for implants with medium or high insertion torque (>35 Ncm) was 92% (p > .001, 95% CI: 0.86–0.96) (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.79–1.39, p = .175, I2 = 0.0%). Splinted implants with insertion torque >20 Ncm and single implants with insertion torque >35 Ncm had a higher survival rate than implants with lower insertion torque values (IRR = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.78–1.43, p = .956, I2 = 0.0%, and RR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.48–1.75, p = .799, I2 = 0.0%, respectively). Different insertion torque values achieved equivalent outcomes. The mean follow-up was 24 months. Conclusions Low insertion torque values have no significant effect on survival rates of immediate loading implants at a mean follow-up of 24 monthsThere was no funding for this studyS

Influence of DNA-Polymorphisms in Selected Circadian Clock Genes on Clock Gene Expression in Subjects from the General Population and Their Association with Sleep Duration

Background and Objectives: Circadian rhythms have an important implication in numerous physiological and metabolic processes, including the sleep/wake cycle. Inter-individual differences in factors associated with circadian system may be due to gene differences in gene expression. Although several studies have analyzed the association between DNA polymorphisms and circadian variables, the influence on gene expression has been poorly analyzed. Our goal was to analyze the association of genetic variations in the clock genes and the gene expression level. Materials and Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study of 102 adults (50.9% women). RNA and DNA were isolated from blood and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and the main circadian clock genes were determined. Gene expression of CLOCK, PER1, and VRK2 genes was measured by Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The association between the DNA-SNPs and gene expression was analyzed at the gene level. In addition, a polygenic risk score (PRS), including all the significant SNPs related to gene expression, was created for each gene. Multivariable model analysis was performed. Results: Sex-specific differences were detected in PER1 expression, with these being higher in women (p = 0.034). No significant differences were detected in clock genes expression and lifestyle variables. We observed a significant association between the ARNTL-rs7924734, ARNTL-rs10832027, VRK2- rs2678902 SNPs, and CLOCK gene expression; the PER3-rs228642 and PER3-rs10127838 were related to PER1 expression, and the ARNTL-rs10832027, ARNTL-rs11022778, and MNTR1B-rs10830963 were associated with VRK2 gene expression (p < 0.05). The specific PRS created was significantly associated with each of the gene expressions analyzed (p < 0.001). Finally, sleep duration was associated with PER3-rs238666 (p = 0.008) and CLOCK-rs4580704 (p = 0.023). Conclusion: We detected significant associations between DNA-SNPs in the clock genes and their gene expression level in leukocytes and observed some differences in gene expression per sex. Moreover, we reported for the first time an association between clock gene polymorphisms and CLOCK, PER1, and VRK2 gene expression. These findings need further investigation

Exploiting the potential of autophagy in cisplatin therapy: a new strategy to overcome resistance

Resistance to cisplatin is a major challenge in the current cancer therapy. In order to explore new therapeutic strategies to cisplatin resistance, we evaluated, in a model of lung cancer (H1299 and H460 cell lines), the nature of the pathways leading to cell death. We observed that H1299 displayed a natural resistance to cisplatin due to an inability to trigger an apoptotic response that correlates with the induction of autophagy. However, pharmacological and genetic approaches showed how autophagy was a mechanism associated to cell death rather than to resistance. Indeed, pro-autophagic stimuli such as mTOR or Akt inhibition mediate cell death in both cell lines to a similar extent. We next evaluated the response to a novel platinum compound, monoplatin, able to promote cell death in an exclusive autophagy-dependent manner. In this case, no differences were observed between both cell lines. Furthermore, in response to monoplatin, two molecular hallmarks of cisplatin response (p53 and MAPKs) were not implicated, indicating the ability of this pro-autophagic compound to overcome cisplatin resistance. In summary, our data highlight how induction of autophagy could be used in cisplatin resistant tumours and an alternative treatment for p53 mutated patient in a synthetic lethally approach

Indoor air pollution caused by cigarette smoke in public places in Portugal

OBJETIVO: Poucos têm sido os estudos para conhecer o grau de poluição pelo fumo do tabaco a que estão sujeitas as pessoas em vários lugares públicos e privados. O objectivo do estudo foi quantificar o nível de poluição do ar provocada pelo fumo do cigarro em locais de trabalho e de lazer. MÉTODOS: O estudo foi realizado no concelho de Braga, Portugal, em 2005. A medição dos teores de nicotina no ar interior foi realizada com monitores passivos contendo um filtro de 37 mm de diâmetro tratado com bissulfato sódico no seu interior. Os monitores foram colocados em lugares públicos, de trabalho e de lazer, pré-definidos. Para cada um dos locais, calculou-se a mediana da nicotina. RESULTADOS: A presença de nicotina foi detectada em 85% das amostras. Foram encontrados valores elevados de contaminação do ar nas discotecas, com mediana de 82,26 µg/m3, variando entre os 5,79 e os 106,31 µg/m3.Os locais de trabalho da administração pública e da universidade apresentaram os valores mais baixos de nicotina. CONCLUSÕES: Os dados confirmam a necessidade de reforçar a implemen-tação e sobretudo, o cumprimento de políticas sem fumo nos locais de trabalho e de lazer, em benefício da saúde dos trabalhadores e como medida reforçadora de um ambiente que facilite aos fumadores o abandono do fumo do tabaco.OBJECTIVE: There have been few studies investigating the level of cigarette smoke pollution to which people in several public and private places are exposed. The purpose of this study was to quantify the level of air pollution produced by cigarette smoking in workplaces and leisure settings. METHODS: The study was carried out in Braga, Portugal, in 2005. Nicotine content in indoor air was measured using passive monitors containing a 37-mm diameter filter inside treated with sodium bisulphate. The monitors were installed in predefined public workplaces and leisure settings. Median nicotine content was estimated for each place studied. RESULTS: Nicotine was detected in 85% of the samples. Extremely high air contamination levels were found in discos with a median of 82.26 µg/m3, ranging between 5.79 and 106.31 µg/m3. Workplaces of public administration and university buildings showed the lowest nicotine content. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings confirm the need to promote the implementation of smoke-free policies in workplaces and leisure settings to protect workers' health and as a reinforcing measure of an environment which facilitates smokers to quit smoking.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Recensiones [Revista de Historia Económica Año IX Invierno 1991 n. 1 pp. 201-222]

J. M. López García: La transición del feudalismo al capitalismo en un señorío monástico castellano. El Abadengo de la Santa Espina (1147-1835) (Por Miguel Ángel Melón Jiménez).-- Richard J. Salvucci: Textiles and Capitalism in México. An Economic History of the Obrajes, 1539-1840 (Por Pedro Fraile).-- Marjorje Grice-Hutchinson: Aproximación al pensamiento económico en Andalucía: de Séneca a finales del siglo XVIII. (Por Andrés Moreno Mengíbar).-- John Komlos: Nutrition and economic development in the eighteenth-century Hansburg Monarchy. And anthropometric history (Por José M. Martínez Carrión).-- Jean-Charles Sournia: Histoire de l'alcoolisme (Por Juan Pan-Montojo).-- David Christian: Living Water Vodka and Russian Society on the Eve of Emancipation (Por Juan Pan-Montojo).-- Jeffrey G. Williamson: Coping with City Gnwth During the British Industrial Revolution (Por Blanca Sánchez Alonso).-- Jacques Maurice: El anarquismo andaluz. Campesinos y sindicalistas, 1868-1936 (Por Juan Pro Ruiz).-- Eugene White (ed.): Crashes and Panics: The lessonsfrom History (Por Mª Angeles Pons).-- Alfonso W. Quiroz: Banqueros en conflicto. Estructura financiera y Economía Peruana, 1884-1930 (Por Mª Angeles Pons).-- Pedro San Miguel: El mundo que creó el azúcar. Las haciendas en Vega Baja, 1800- 1873 (Por Juan Velarde Fuertes)Publicad