Seed Morphology in the Vitaceae Based on Geometric Models

16 páginas, 8 figuras, 6 tablasMorphometric methods based on artificial vision algorithms provide measurements for magnitudes descriptive of seed images (i.e., the length, width, area, and surface circularity index). Nevertheless, their results frequently omit the resemblance of the images to geometric figures that may be used as models. A complementary method based on the comparison of seed images with geometric models is applied to seeds of Vitis spp. The J index gives the percentage of similarity between a seed image and the model. Seven new geometric models are described based on the heart-shaped and piriform curves. Seeds of different species, subspecies and cultivars of Vitis adjust to different models. Models 1 and 3, the heart curve and the water drop, adjust better to seeds of V. amurensis, V. labrusca and V. rupestris than to V. vinifera. Model 6, the Fibonacci’s pear, adjusts well to seeds of V. vinifera, in general, and better to V. vinifera ssp. vinifera than to V. vinifera ssp. sylvestris. Seed morphology in species of Cissus and Parthenocissus, two relatives of Vitis in the Vitaceae, is also analysed. Geometric models are a tool for the description and identification of species and lower taxonomic levels complementing the results of morphometric analysis.This research was funded by Universidad de Salamanca (Programa XIII para la financiación de grupos GIR)Peer reviewe

Evaluación de la resistencia a la corrosión de un acero fabricado por manufactura aditiva mediante técnicas electroquímicas

Additive metal manufacturing has undergone a revolution in recent years, being able to be incorporated in several industries such as aeronautics, automotive and even in medicine, allowing the manufacture of complex parts with fewer steps in the process, which translates in material savings and cost reduction. In this work, the corrosion of low carbon steel obtained by depositing consecutive layers is carried out, using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and electrochemical noise immersed in a 0.1 M NaCl solution, establishing a comparison between the metal of contribution and deposited material. The layers of the material are characterized microstructurally and mechanically using scanning electron microscopy and Vickers microhardness. Overall, the results show a good response of the material to the action of the electrolyte after the immersion time, on the other hand, the microstructural results allow identifying the formation of 3 zones due to the cooling of the material. The microhardness of the steel does not show great changes between the zones, however, there is a slight increase in the intermediate zone due to the reduction in grain size. These studies allow researchers to know the behavior of these materials in applications that require contact with corrosive solutions of this nature.La manufactura aditiva de metales ha sufrido una revolución en los últimos años, pudiéndose incorporar en diversas industrias como la aeronáutica, automotriz e incluso en la medicina, permitiendo la fabricación de partes complejas con un menor número de pasos en el proceso, lo que se traduce en ahorro de material y reducción de costos. En este artículo se realiza el monitoreo del estado de corrosión de un acero de bajo carbono obtenido mediante la deposición de capas consecutivas, evaluándose a través de la técnica de impedancia electroquímica y ruido electroquímico, inmerso en una solución 0.1 M de NaCl, estableciendo una comparativa entre el metal de aporte y el material depositado. Las capas del material son caracterizadas microestructural y mecánicamente mediante microscopía electrónica de barrido y microdureza Vickers. De forma global, los resultados muestran una buena respuesta del material ante la acción del electrolito transcurrido el tiempo de inmersión, Por otro lado, los resultados microestructurales permiten identificar la formación de 3 zonas debido al enfriamiento en gradiente del material. La microdureza del acero no muestra grandes cambios entre las zonas, sin embargo, hay un ligero aumento en la zona intermedia debido a la reducción en el tamaño del grano. Estos estudios permiten a investigadores conocer el comportamiento de estos materiales en aplicaciones que demanden el contacto con soluciones corrosivas de esta naturaleza

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Seed apex curvature in key Spanish grapevine cultivars

Seed apex curvature in key Spanish grapevine cultivar

Seed morphology in key spanish grapevine cultivars

23 páginas, 12 tablas, 22 figuras, 1 tabla complementariaAmpelography, the botanical discipline dedicated to the identification and classification of grapevine cultivars, was grounded on the description of morphological characters and more recently is based on the application of DNA polymorphisms. New methods of image analysis may help to optimize morphological approaches in ampelography. The objective of this study was the classification of representative cultivars of Vitis vinifera conserved in the Spanish collection of IMIDRA according to seed shape. Thirty eight cultivars representing the diversity of this collection were analyzed. A consensus seed silhouette was defined for each cultivar representing the geometric figure that better adjusted to their seed shape. All the cultivars tested were classified in ten morphological groups, each corresponding to a new model. The models are geometric figures defined by equations and similarity to each model is evaluated by quantification of percent of the area shared by the two figures, the seed and the model (J index). The comparison of seed images with geometric models is a rapid and convenient method to classify cultivars. A large proportion of the collection may be classified according to the new models described and the method permits to find new models according to seed shape in other cultivarsPeer reviewe

Seed Morphological Analysis in Species of <i>Vitis</i> and Relatives

Seed shape descriptions of species of Vitis have traditionally been based on adjectives comparing overall shape with geometric figures, such as oval, elongated oval, and pear-shaped, corresponding to higher values of the Stummer index (lower aspect ratio) for oval, and lower values of the Stummer index for pear shape (or elongated seeds, with a higher aspect ratio). Analytical, quantitative descriptions of shape have recently been applied to diverse genera of Vitaceae and cultivated varieties of Vitis. Here, we present the application of three quantitative methods to the seed shape description of ten species of the genus Vitis and three species of related genera (Ampelopsis, Cissus and Parthenocissus). First, general seed shape was described through comparisons using geometric models. For this, the average silhouettes of representative seed populations were used as models for shape quantification. Two additional quantitative methods were based on the measurement of bilateral symmetry and curvature analysis in the apex. Quantitative methods for shape description based on similarity with the models give an accurate account of the relationships between Vitis species. The resulting dendrogram is like the dendrogram obtained from a combined analysis using the data from general measurements and curvature and symmetry analyses. The original methods presented here for seed morphology are useful for analyzing the phylogenetic relationships between species of Vitis

Discovering HIV related information by means of association rules and machine learning

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is still one of the main health problems worldwide. It is therefore essential to keep making progress in improving the prognosis and quality of life of affected patients. One way to advance along this pathway is to uncover connections between other disorders associated with HIV/AIDS-so that they can be anticipated and possibly mitigated. We propose to achieve this by using Association Rules (ARs). They allow us to represent the dependencies between a number of diseases and other specific diseases. However, classical techniques systematically generate every AR meeting some minimal conditions on data frequency, hence generating a vast amount of uninteresting ARs, which need to be filtered out. The lack of manually annotated ARs has favored unsupervised filtering, even though they produce limited results. In this paper, we propose a semi-supervised system, able to identify relevant ARs among HIV-related diseases with a minimal amount of annotated training data. Our system has been able to extract a good number of relationships between HIV-related diseases that have been previously detected in the literature but are scattered and are often little known. Furthermore, a number of plausible new relationships have shown up which deserve further investigation by qualified medical experts

COVID-19 in hospitalized HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients : A matched study

CatedresObjectives: We compared the characteristics and clinical outcomes of hospitalized individuals with COVID-19 with [people with HIV (PWH)] and without (non-PWH) HIV co-infection in Spain during the first wave of the pandemic. Methods: This was a retrospective matched cohort study. People with HIV were identified by reviewing clinical records and laboratory registries of 10 922 patients in active-follow-up within the Spanish HIV Research Network (CoRIS) up to 30 June 2020. Each hospitalized PWH was matched with five non-PWH of the same age and sex randomly selected from COVID-19@Spain, a multicentre cohort of 4035 patients hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19. The main outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality. Results: Forty-five PWH with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 were identified in CoRIS, 21 of whom were hospitalized. A total of 105 age/sex-matched controls were selected from the COVID-19@Spain cohort. The median age in both groups was 53 (Q1-Q3, 46-56) years, and 90.5% were men. In PWH, 19.1% were injecting drug users, 95.2% were on antiretroviral therapy, 94.4% had HIV-RNA < 50 copies/mL, and the median (Q1-Q3) CD4 count was 595 (349-798) cells/μL. No statistically significant differences were found between PWH and non-PWH in number of comorbidities, presenting signs and symptoms, laboratory parameters, radiology findings and severity scores on admission. Corticosteroids were administered to 33.3% and 27.4% of PWH and non-PWH, respectively (P = 0.580). Deaths during admission were documented in two (9.5%) PWH and 12 (11.4%) non-PWH (P = 0.800). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that well-controlled HIV infection does not modify the clinical presentation or worsen clinical outcomes of COVID-19 hospitalization

How do women living with HIV experience menopause? Menopausal symptoms, anxiety and depression according to reproductive age in a multicenter cohort

CatedresBackground: To estimate the prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms and anxiety/depression and to assess the differences according to menopausal status among women living with HIV aged 45-60 years from the cohort of Spanish HIV/AIDS Research Network (CoRIS). Methods: Women were interviewed by phone between September 2017 and December 2018 to determine whether they had experienced menopausal symptoms and anxiety/depression. The Menopause Rating Scale was used to evaluate the prevalence and severity of symptoms related to menopause in three subscales: somatic, psychologic and urogenital; and the 4-item Patient Health Questionnaire was used for anxiety/depression. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) of association between menopausal status, and other potential risk factors, the presence and severity of somatic, psychological and urogenital symptoms and of anxiety/depression. Results: Of 251 women included, 137 (54.6%) were post-, 70 (27.9%) peri- and 44 (17.5%) pre-menopausal, respectively. Median age of onset menopause was 48 years (IQR 45-50). The proportions of pre-, peri- and post-menopausal women who had experienced any menopausal symptoms were 45.5%, 60.0% and 66.4%, respectively. Both peri- and post-menopause were associated with a higher likelihood of having somatic symptoms (aOR 3.01; 95% CI 1.38-6.55 and 2.63; 1.44-4.81, respectively), while post-menopause increased the likelihood of having psychological (2.16; 1.13-4.14) and urogenital symptoms (2.54; 1.42-4.85). By other hand, post-menopausal women had a statistically significant five-fold increase in the likelihood of presenting severe urogenital symptoms than pre-menopausal women (4.90; 1.74-13.84). No significant differences by menopausal status were found for anxiety/depression. Joint/muscle problems, exhaustion and sleeping disorders were the most commonly reported symptoms among all women. Differences in the prevalences of vaginal dryness (p = 0.002), joint/muscle complaints (p = 0.032), and sweating/flush (p = 0.032) were found among the three groups. Conclusions: Women living with HIV experienced a wide variety of menopausal symptoms, some of them initiated before women had any menstrual irregularity. We found a higher likelihood of somatic symptoms in peri- and post-menopausal women, while a higher likelihood of psychological and urogenital symptoms was found in post-menopausal women. Most somatic symptoms were of low or moderate severity, probably due to the good clinical and immunological situation of these women