Transcriptome pathways unique to dehydration tolerant relatives of modern wheat

Among abiotic stressors, drought is a major factor responsible for dramatic yield loss in agriculture. In order to reveal differences in global expression profiles of drought tolerant and sensitive wild emmer wheat genotypes, a previously deployed shock-like dehydration process was utilized to compare transcriptomes at two time points in root and leaf tissues using the Affymetrix GeneChip(R) Wheat Genome Array hybridization. The comparison of transcriptomes reveal several unique genes or expression patterns such as differential usage of IP(3)-dependent signal transduction pathways, ethylene- and abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent signaling, and preferential or faster induction of ABA-dependent transcription factors by the tolerant genotype that distinguish contrasting genotypes indicative of distinctive stress response pathways. The data also show that wild emmer wheat is capable of engaging known drought stress responsive mechanisms. The global comparison of transcriptomes in the absence of and after dehydration underlined the gene networks especially in root tissues that may have been lost in the selection processes generating modern bread wheats

Índice de Massa Corporal, Idade, Maturação Sexual e a Incidência de Hiperlordose Lombar em crianças e adolescentes

Introduction: Hyperlordosis can cause several degenerative spinal pathologies in children and adolescents. Objective: Determine whether body mass index, age and sexual maturation predict the occurrence of hyperlordosis in children and adolescents. Method: The study analyzed 380 students aged between 10 and 18 years. Body mass index was evaluated using the reference values suggested by the Fitnessgram test battery, and sexual maturation through Tanner’s scale of self-assessed pubic hair growth. Postural assessment was conducted using the DIPA photogrammetry method, version 3.1. (Digital Image Based Postural Assessment) The SPSS 24.0 program was used to analyze the data, and the following statistical tests were applied: chi squared, Mann-Whitney, Fisher’s exact and binary logistic regression. Results: There was statistical significance between hyperlordosis, girls’ age and puberty in boys (p 0.05). Conclusion: The girls’ age and boys’ stage of puberty were associated with the occurrence of hyperlordosis.Introdução: A Hiperlordose lombar pode ocasionar diversas patologias degenerativas na coluna vertebral de crianças e adolescentes. Objetivo: Identificar se o Índice de Massa Corporal, a Idade e a Maturação Sexual são previsores da ocorrência da hiperlordose lombar em crianças e adolescentes. Método: O estudo analisou 380 estudantes entre 10 e 18 anos. O Índice de Massa Corporal foi avaliado por meio dos valores de referência sugeridos pela bateria de testes Fitnessgram e a maturação sexual por meio da auto-avaliação da pilosidade pubiana de Tanner. A avaliação postural foi realizada pelo método de fotogrametria DIPA versão 3.1. (Avaliação Postural Baseada em Imagem Digital). Para análise dos dados foi utilizado o programa SPSS 24.0, tendo sido aplicados os testes estatísticos: Qui-Quadrado, Mann Whitney, Exato de Fisher e Regressão Logística Binária. Resultados: Observou-se que houve significância estatística entre a Hiperlordose lombar e a idade das meninas e a puberdade dos meninos (p0,05). Conclusão: A idade das meninas e a puberdade dos meninos foi associada à ocorrência da hiperlordose lombar.This study was funded by CIEC (Center for Investigations in Childhood Studies), Strategic Project UID/CED/00317/2013, via National FCT (Science and Technology Foundation) funds and co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), via COMPETE 2020 – Competitivity and Internalization Operational Program (POCI) under reference number POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007562

Local multiphase flow characteristics of a severe-service control valve

For safety-critical industrial applications, severe-service valves are often used, and the conditions during operations can be either single phase or multiphase. The design requirements for valves handling multiphase flows can be very different to the single-phase flow and depend on the flow regime within valves. The variation in flow conditions during the operation of such valves can have a significant effect on performance, particularly in oil and gas applications where multiphase behaviour can rapidly change within the valve causing unwanted flow conditions. Current practices in designing and sizing such valves are based solely on global phase properties such as pressure drop of the bulk fluid across the valve and overall phase ratio. These do not take into account local flow conditions, as with multiphase fluids, the flow behaviour across the valve becomes more complex. In this work, a well-validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is used to locally and globally quantify the performance characteristics of a severe service valve handling multiphase gas and liquid flow. Such flows are frequently encountered in process equipment found in vital energy industries e.g. process and oil & gas. The CFD model was globally validated with benchmark experiments. Two valve opening positions of 60% and 100% were considered each with 5, 10, and 15% inlet air volume fractions to simulate real life conditions. The results show that while the non-uniformity in pressure field is along expected lines, there is severe non-uniformity in the local air, water and void fraction distributions within the valve trim. To quantify the phase non-uniformities observed, an equation for the distribution parameter was defined and used to calculate its value in each localised quarter within the trim. Phase velocity and void fraction data extracted from the CFD results were also used to obtain relationships for the local void fraction distribution and flow coefficient. The detailed investigation that has been carried out allows for local flow characteristics to be determined and embedded in sizing methodology for severe-service control valve systems with multiphase gas and liquid flow

CFD based Investigations for the Design of Severe Service Control Valves used in Energy Systems

Multistage severe service control valves are extensively used in various energy systems, such as oil & gas, nuclear etc. The primary purpose of such valves is to control the amount of fluid flow passing through them under extreme pressure changes. As opposed to the conventional valves (butterfly, gate etc.), control valves are often installed in energy systems with geometrically complex trims, comprising of various geometrical features, formed by a complex arrangement of cylindrical arrays. The pressure within the trim varies in controlled steps and hence, cavitation resistance can be embedded in the trim through improved design process for the trim for severe service applications in energy systems. The flow characteristics within a control valve are quite complex, owing to complex geometrical features inherent in such designs, which makes it extremely difficult to isolate and quantify contribution of these features on the flow characteristics. One of the most important design parameters of such trims is the flow coefficient (also known as flow capacity) of the trim which depends on the geometrical features of the trim. The design of valves for particular performance envelop within the energy systems depends on effects of complex trim geometrical features on performance characteristics; hence, the focus of recent research is on quantifying the hydrodynamic behaviour of severe service control valves, including the trims. This includes the estimation of the local flow capacity contributions of the geometrical features of the trim through detailed numerical investigations. In this work, a tool has been developed that can be used to predict the local contribution of geometrical features on the flow coefficient of the trim. It is expected that this work will result in better performance of the energy systems where these valves are used