GiGAn: evolutionary mutation testing for C++ object-oriented systems

The reduction of the expenses of mutation testing should be based on well-studied cost reduction techniques to avoid biased results. Evolutionary Mutation Testing (EMT) aims at generating a reduced set of mutants by means of an evolutionary algorithm, which searches for potentially equivalent and difficult to kill mutants to help improve the test suite. However, there is little evidence of its applicability to other contexts beyond WS-BPEL compositions. This study explores its performance when applied to C++ object-oriented programs thanks to a newly developed system, GiGAn. The conducted experiments reveal that EMT shows stable behavior in all the case studies, where the best results are obtained when a low percentage of the mutants is generated. They also support previous studies of EMT when compared to random mutant selection, reinforcing its use for the goal of improving the fault detection capability of the test suite

Catch Bonds in Sickle Cell Disease: Shear-Enhanced Adhesion of Red Blood Cells to Laminin

Could the phenomenon of catch bonding—force-strengthened cellular adhesion—play a role in sickle cell disease, where abnormal red blood cell (RBC) adhesion obstructs blood flow? Here we investigate the dynamics of sickle RBCs adhering to a surface functionalized with the protein laminin (a component of the extracellular matrix around blood vessels) under physiologically relevant micro-scale flow. First, using total internal reflectance microscopy we characterize the spatial fluctuations of the RBC membrane above the laminin surface before detachment. The complex dynamics we observe suggest the possibility of catch bonding, where the mean detachment time of the cell from the surface initially increases to a maximum and then decreases as a function of shear force. We next conduct a series of shear-induced detachment experiments on blood samples from 25 sickle cell disease patients, quantifying the number and duration of adhered cells under both sudden force jumps and linear force ramps. The experiments reveal that a subset of patients does indeed exhibit catch bonding. By fitting the data to a theoretical model of the bond dynamics, we can extract the mean bond lifetime versus force for each patient. The results show a striking heterogeneity among patients, both in terms of the qualitative behavior (whether or not there is catch bonding) and in the magnitudes of the lifetimes. Patients with large bond lifetimes at physiological forces are more likely to have certain adverse clinical features, like a diagnosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension and intracardiac shunts. By introducing an in vitro platform for fully characterizing RBC-laminin adhesion dynamics, our approach could contribute to the development of patient-specific anti-adhesive therapies for sickle cell disease. The experimental setup is also easily generalizable to studying adhesion dynamics in other cell types, for example leukocytes or cancer cells, and can incorporate disease-relevant environmental conditions like oxygen deprivation

The targeted overexpression of SlCDF4 in the fruit enhances tomato size and yield involving gibberellin signalling

[EN] Tomato is one of the most widely cultivated vegetable crops and a model for studying fruit biology. Although several genes involved in the traits of fruit quality, development and size have been identified, little is known about the regulatory genes controlling its growth. In this study, we characterized the role of the tomato SlCDF4 gene in fruit development, a cycling DOF-type transcription factor highly expressed in fruits. The targeted overexpression of SlCDF4 gene in the fruit induced an increased yield based on a higher amount of both water and dry matter accumulated in the fruits. Accordingly, transcript levels of genes involved in water transport and cell division and expansion during the fruit enlargement phase also increased. Furthermore, the larger amount of biomass partitioned to the fruit relied on the greater sink strength of the fruits induced by the increased activity of sucrose-metabolising enzymes. Additionally, our results suggest a positive role of SlCDF4 in the gibberellin-signalling pathway through the modulation of GA(4) biosynthesis. Finally, the overexpression of SlCDF4 also promoted changes in the profile of carbon and nitrogen compounds related to fruit quality. Overall, our results unveil SlCDF4 as a new key factor controlling tomato size and composition.Renau-Morata, B.; Carrillo, L.; Cebolla Cornejo, J.; Molina Romero, RV.; Martí-Renau, R.; Domínguez-Figueroa, J.; Vicente-Carbajosa, J.... (2020). The targeted overexpression of SlCDF4 in the fruit enhances tomato size and yield involving gibberellin signalling. Scientific Reports. 10(1):1-14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-67537-x1141011FAO. Crops production database. FAOSTAT. Latest update: 04/03/2020. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome https://www.fao.org/faostat (2018).Willcox, J. K., Catignani, G. L. & Lazarus, S. Tomatoes and cardiovascular health. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. 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Sucrose metabolism: regulatory mechanisms and pivotal roles in sugar sensing and plant development. Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 7, 235–246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2004.03.014 (2004).Carrari, F. et al. Integrated analysis of metabolite and transcript levels reveals the metabolic shifts that underlie tomato fruit development and highlight regulatory aspects of metabolic network behavior. Plant Physiol. 142, 1380–1396. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.106.088534 (2006).Mounet, F. et al. Gene and metabolite regulatory network analysis of early developing fruit tissues highlights new candidate genes for the control of tomato fruit composition and development. Plant Physiol. 149, 1505–1528. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.108.133967 (2009).Ozga, J. A. & Reinecke, D. M. Hormonal interactions in fruit development. J. Plant Growth Regul. 22, 73–81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-003-0024-9 (2003).Liu, S. Y. et al. 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Characterization of tomato Cycling Dof factors reveals conserved and new functions in the control of flowering time and abiotic stress responses. J. Exp. Bot. 65, 995–1012. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ert451 (2014).Renau-Morata, B. et al. Ectopic Expression of CDF3 genes in tomato enhances biomass production and yield under salinity stress conditions. Front. Plant Sci. 8, 18. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00660 (2017).Guillet, C. et al. Regulation of the fruit-specific PEP carboxylase SlPPC2 promoter at early stages of tomato fruit development. PLoS ONE https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0036795 (2012).Bourdon, M. et al. Evidence for karyoplasmic homeostasis during endoreduplication and a ploidy-dependent increase in gene transcription during tomato fruit growth. Development 139, 3817–3826. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.084053 (2012).de Jong, M. et al. Solanum lycopersicum AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 9 regulates cell division activity during early tomato fruit development. J Exp. Bot. 66, 3405–3416. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erv152 (2015).Serrani, J. C., Fos, M., Atares, A. & Garcia-Martinez, J. L. Effect of gibberellin and auxin on parthenocarpic fruit growth induction in the cv micro-tom of tomato. J. Plant Growth Regul. 26, 211–221. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-007-9014-7 (2007).Srivastava, A. & Handa, A. K. Hormonal regulation of tomato fruit development: a molecular perspective. J. Plant Growth Regul. 24, 67–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-005-0015-0 (2005).Exposito-Rodriguez, M., Borges, A. A., Borges-Perez, A., Hernandez, M. & Perez, J. A. Cloning and biochemical characterization of ToFZY, a tomato gene encoding a flavin monooxygenase involved in a tryptophan-dependent auxin biosynthesis pathway. J. Plant Growth Regul. 26, 329–340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-007-9019-2 (2007).Li, Z. M. et al. High invertase activity in tomato reproductive organs correlates with enhanced sucrose import into, and heat tolerance of, young fruit. J. Exp. Bot. 63, 1155–1166. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/err329 (2012).Wang, F., Sanz, A., Brenner, M. L. & Smith, A. Sucrose synthase, starch accumulation, and tomato fruit sink strength. Plant Physiol. 101, 321–327. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.101.1.321 (1993).Pattison, R. J. et al. Comprehensive tissue-specific transcriptome analysis reveals distinct regulatory programs during early tomato fruit development. Plant Physiol. 168, 1684-U1002. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.15.00287 (2015).Musseau, C. et al. Identification of two new mechanisms that regulate fruit growth by cell expansion in tomato. Front. Plant Sci. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00988 (2017).Shiota, H., Sudoh, T. & Tanaka, I. Expression analysis of genes encoding plasma membrane aquaporins during seed and fruit development in tomato. Plant Sci. 171, 277–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2006.03.021 (2006).Wang, L. et al. Ectopically expressing MdPIP1;3, an aquaporin gene, increased fruit size and enhanced drought tolerance of transgenic tomatoes. BMC Plant Biol. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-017-1212-2 (2017).Long, S. P., Zhu, X. G., Naidu, S. L. & Ort, D. R. Can improvement in photosynthesis increase crop yields?. Plant Cell Environ. 29, 315–330. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2005.01493.x (2006).D’Aoust, M. A., Yelle, S. & Nguyen-Quoc, B. Antisense inhibition of tomato fruit sucrose synthase decreases fruit setting and the sucrose unloading capacity of young fruit. Plant Cell 11, 2407–2418. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.11.12.2407 (1999).Liu, T., Hu, Y. Q. & Li, X. X. Characterization of a chestnut FLORICAULA/LEAFY homologous gene. Afr. J. Biotechnol. 10, 3978–3985 (2011).Fridman, E., Carrari, F., Liu, Y. S., Fernie, A. R. & Zamir, D. Zooming in on a quantitative trait for tomato yield using interspecific introgressions. Science 305, 1786–1789. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1101666 (2004).Ikeda, H. et al. Dynamic metabolic regulation by a chromosome segment from a wild relative during fruit development in a tomato introgression line, IL8-3. Plant Cell Physiol. 57, 1257–1270. https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcw075 (2016).Ho, L. C. Partitioning of assimilates in fruiting tomato plants. Plant Growth Regul. 2, 277–285. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00027287 (1984).Beauvoit, B. et al. Putting primary metabolism into perspective to obtain better fruits. Ann. Bot. 122, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcy057 (2018).Corrales, A. R. et al. Multifaceted role of cycling DOF factor 3 (CDF3) in the regulation of flowering time and abiotic stress responses in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell Environ. 40, 748–764. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.12894 (2017).Carrari, F. & Fernie, A. R. Metabolic regulation underlying tomato fruit development. J. Exp. Bot. 57, 1883–1897. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erj020 (2006).Osorio, S. et al. Alteration of the interconversion of pyruvate and malate in the plastid or cytosol of ripening tomato fruit invokes diverse consequences on sugar but similar effects on cellular organic acid, metabolism, and transitory starch accumulation. Plant Physiol. 161, 628–643. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.112.211094 (2013).Gillaspy, G., Bendavid, H. & Gruissem, W. Fruits—a developmental perspective. Plant Cell 5, 1439–1451. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.5.10.1439 (1993).Carrera, E., Ruiz-Rivero, O., Peres, L. E. P., Atares, A. & Garcia-Martinez, J. L. Characterization of the procera tomato mutant shows novel functions of the SlDELLA protein in the control of flower morphology, cell division and expansion, and the auxin-signaling pathway during fruit-set and development. Plant Physiol. 160, 1581–1596. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.112.204552 (2012).Chen, S. et al. Identification and characterization of tomato gibberellin 2-oxidases (GA2oxs) and effects of fruit-specific SlGA2ox1 overexpression on fruit and seed growth and development. Hortic. Res. https://doi.org/10.1038/hortres.2016.59 (2016).Mignolli, F., Vidoz, M. L., Picciarelli, P. & Mariotti, L. Gibberellins modulate auxin responses during tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruit development. Physiol. Plant. 165, 768–779. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.12770 (2019).De Jong, M., Wolters-Arts, M., Feron, R., Mariani, C. & Vriezen, W. H. The Solanum lycopersicum auxin response factor 7 (SlARF7) regulates auxin signaling during tomato fruit set and development. Plant J. 57, 160–170. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-313X.2008.03671.x (2009).Ellul, P. et al. The ploidy level of transgenic plants in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of tomato cotyledons (Lycopersicon esculentum L. Mill.) is genotype and procedure dependent. Theor. Appl. 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Características psicosociales en niños en contextos de riesgo y de no riesgo

Some researchers have put in evidence the importance of the family for the individual optimal development, as well as the effects due to the lack of this. Reason why it was investigated if there are some differences between children who live in family and children who live in orphaned situation, in psychological variables such as: self-esteem, locus of control, intra-family relationships, confrontation to the problems in life, and functions of the I (self). It worked with a sample composed by 355 children of both sexes that live in family (200) and (155) who live in orphaned situation. All the children are between 9 to14 years old, and live in Toluca, Mexico State City. The results indicate differences in each one of the scales applied in favor of the family children.Diversas investigaciones han puesto en evidencia la importancia de la familia para el desarrollo óptimo del individuo, así como los efectos debido a su ausencia. Por ello, se investigó si existían diferencias en niños que viven en familia y niños huérfanos, en variables psicológicas tales como: Autoestima, Locus de control, Enfrentamiento a los problemas de la vida, Funciones del Yo y Relaciones intrafamiliares, para lo cual se trabajó con una muestra compuesta por 355 niños de ambos sexos que viven en familia (200) y en situación de orfandad (155) entre 9 y 14 años de edad de la ciudad de Toluca, México. Los resultados indican diferencias en cada una de las escalas aplicadas a favor de los niños de familia.   &nbsp

Estilos atributivos y estrategias de comunicación en mujeres con y sin experiencia de abuso psicológico

Between 25 and 54 years, with an educational level: In this research the relationship between attributional style and communication strategies, 204 women in 39% and 61% with no experience of physical or psychological abuse, the vast majority are examined secondary later, with independent work or dependent and more than three years cohabiting with your partner. To do this, they administered the Attributional Style Questionnaire Peterson and colleagues. (12 situations with questions to measure dimensions of Causality, and Stability Internality); Questionnaire on Assertion Couple (Form A) of Carrasco (10 situations recojen representative aspects of the life of a couple, to evaluate communication strategies Assertion, Aggression, Submission and Battery-Passive); Inventory and Psychological Abuse in intimate relationships, Calvete, Corral and Estevez adapted Saltzman (17 items related to 17 categories of emotional abuse). Using a descriptive-comparative study statistically significant differences in the use of an optimistic explanatory style and assertive communication strategies for women in the control group, from children’s villages in the Municipality of Lima and pessimistic attributional style and strategies was found submissive for the victims of both physical violence and psychological, from Women’s Emergency Centers of the Ministry of women and vulnerable populations communication.En esta investigación se examinan las relaciones entre el estilo atributivo y las estrategias de comunicación, en 204 mujeres 39% con y 61% sin experiencia de abuso fisico o psicológico, en su gran mayoria: entre 25 y 54 años, con un nivel educativo de secundaria a más, con trabajo independiente o dependiente y con más de tres años cohabitando con su pareja. Para ello, se les administro el Cuestionario de Estilo Atribucional de Peterson y Cols. (12 situaciones con preguntas para medir dimensiones de Causalidad, Internalidad y Estabilidad); el Cuestionario de Aserción en la Pareja (Forma A) de Carrasco (10 situaciones que recojen aspectos representativos de la vida de una pareja, para evaluar las estrategias de comunicación de Aserción, Agresión, Sumisión y Agresión-Pasiva); y el Inventario de Abuso Psicológico en las Relaciones de Pareja, de Calvete, Corral y Estévez adaptado de Saltzman (17 ítems referidos a 17 categorías de abuso emocional). Mediante un estudio descriptivo-comparativo se encontro diferencias estadisticamente significativas en el uso de un estilo explicativo optimista y estrategias de comunicacion asertivas por las mujeres del grupo de control, provenientes de las aldeas infantiles de la Municipalidad de Lima y un estilo atribucional pesimista y estrategias de comunicación sumisas por las victimas tanto de violencia fisica como psicologica, provenientes de Centros de Emergencia Mujer del Ministerio de la mujer y poblaciones vulnerables

Surgical education during the COVID-19 pandemic : first national consensus of the education division of the Colombian Association of Surgery

Este consenso presenta las recomendaciones de la División de Educación de la Asociación Colombiana de Cirugía para los programas de especialización en cirugía general del país, con el fin de enfrentar la Pandemia Covid-19 en los próximos años. Las recomendaciones se realizaron mediante un método informal de consenso de expertos conformado por todos los directores de los programas de especialización en cirugía general en Colombia. Las principales recomendaciones se relacionan con los procesos de selección en los programas, investigación, bioseguridad, vigilancia de volumen operatorio, evaluación, simulación y virtualidad, rotaciones especiales, esquemas de trabajo y evaluación de la calidad programática.This consensus presents the recommendations of the División de Educación of the Asociación Colombiana de Cirugía for the Colombian surgical residency programs, in order to face the COVID-19 pandemic in the coming years. The recommendations were formulated using an informal method of consensus of experts made up of all pro-gram directors of residency programs in the country. The main recommendations are related to the selection processes in the programs, research, biosecurity, surveillance of operative volume, evaluation, simulation and virtual education, special rotations, work schemes and evaluation of program quality.Revista Nacional - No indexad

Expansion of Signal Transduction Pathways in Fungi by Extensive Genome Duplication

[EN] Plants and fungi use light and other signals to regulate development, growth, and metabolism. The fruiting bodies of the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus are single cells that react to environmental cues, including light, but the mechanisms are largely unknown [1]. The related fungus Mucor circinelloides is an opportunistic human pathogen that changes its mode of growth upon receipt of signals from the environment to facilitate pathogenesis [2]. Understanding how these organisms respond to environmental cues should provide insights into the mechanisms of sensory perception and signal transduction by a single eukaryotic cell, and their role in pathogenesis. We sequenced the genomes of P. blakesleeanus and M. circinelloides and show that they have been shaped by an extensive genome duplication or, most likely, a whole-genome duplication (WGD), which is rarely observed in fungi [3-6]. We show that the genome duplication has expanded gene families, including those involved in signal transduction, and that duplicated genes have specialized, as evidenced by differences in their regulation by light. The transcriptional response to light varies with the developmental stage and is still observed in a photoreceptor mutant of P. blakesleeanus. A phototropic mutant of P. blakesleeanus with a heterozygous mutation in the photoreceptor gene madA demonstrates that photosensor dosage is important for the magnitude of signal transduction. We conclude that the genome duplication provided the means to improve signal transduction for enhanced perception of environmental signals. Our results will help to understand the role of genome dynamics in the evolution of sensory perception in eukaryotes.European funds (European Regional Development Fund, ERDF); Spanish Ministerio de Economı´a y Competitividad; Junta de Andalucí

una mirada desde las Ciencias de la Conducta

Este libro es el resultado de los trabajos presentados en el 1er Congreso Internacional "Convivencia y bienestar con sentido humanista para una cultura de paz"