Evaluation of vineyard growth under four irrigation regimes using vegetation and soil on-the-go sensors

Precision agriculture is a useful tool to assess plant growth and development in vineyards. The present study focused on spatial and temporal analysis of vegetation growth variability, in four irrigation treatments with four replicates. The research was carried out in a vineyard located in the southwest of Spain during the 2012 and 2013 growing seasons. Two multispectral sensors mounted on an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) were used in the different growing seasons/stages in order to calculate the vineyard normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) was also measured up to 0.8m soil depth using an on-the-go geophysical sensor. All measured data were analysed by means of principal component analysis (PCA). The spatial and temporal NDVI and ECa variations showed relevant differences between irrigation treatments and climatological conditions

Novedades en la farmacoterapia del dolor óseo de origen maligno y no maligno.

Introducción: El dolor óseo es un síntoma debilitante que puede aparecer en un gran número de trastornos tanto malignos como no malignos y existen indicios que la prevalencia va a aumentar en las próximas décadas. El objetivo de esta revisión es recopilar y resumir la evidencia disponible sobre el tratamiento farmacológico actual del dolor óseo tanto en patologías de origen oncohematológico como de origen no maligno. Método: Para responder al objetivo de nuestro trabajo se realizó una búsqueda exhaustiva de la literatura publicada en las principales bases de datos hasta el 31 de abril de 2016. Resultados: Los fármacos antirresortivos, como los bifosfonatos, y aquellos que estimulan la formación del hueso, como la teriparatida, junto a analgésicos, como los AINEs y lo opioides, son actualmente la base farmacológica para tratar el dolor óseo (dependiendo de qué patología se trate). Existen nuevas hipótesis sobre diferentes mecanismos que pueden estar relacionados con la génesis del dolor, con el consecuente desarrollo de nuevas moléculas con distintos y novedosos mecanismos de acción. Conclusiones: Es necesario que se desarrollen más estudios que aclaren aspectos inciertos relacionados con el tratamiento del dolor óseo y permita el desarrollo de nuevos fármacos. Los farmacéuticos deben de estar actualizados sobre el arsenal terapéutico disponible en la actualidad para el tratamiento del dolor óseo como el primer paso para llevar a cabo una atención farmacéutica de calidad

Novedades en la farmacoterapia del dolor óseo de origen maligno y no maligno.

Introducción: El dolor óseo es un síntoma debilitante que puede aparecer en un gran número de trastornos tanto malignos como no malignos y existen indicios que la prevalencia va a aumentar en las próximas décadas. El objetivo de esta revisión es recopilar y resumir la evidencia disponible sobre el tratamiento farmacológico actual del dolor óseo tanto en patologías de origen oncohematológico como de origen no maligno. Método: Para responder al objetivo de nuestro trabajo se realizó una búsqueda exhaustiva de la literatura publicada en las principales bases de datos hasta el 31 de abril de 2016. Resultados: Los fármacos antirresortivos, como los bifosfonatos, y aquellos que estimulan la formación del hueso, como la teriparatida, junto a analgésicos, como los AINEs y lo opioides, son actualmente la base farmacológica para tratar el dolor óseo (dependiendo de qué patología se trate). Existen nuevas hipótesis sobre diferentes mecanismos que pueden estar relacionados con la génesis del dolor, con el consecuente desarrollo de nuevas moléculas con distintos y novedosos mecanismos de acción. Conclusiones: Es necesario que se desarrollen más estudios que aclaren aspectos inciertos relacionados con el tratamiento del dolor óseo y permita el desarrollo de nuevos fármacos. Los farmacéuticos deben de estar actualizados sobre el arsenal terapéutico disponible en la actualidad para el tratamiento del dolor óseo como el primer paso para llevar a cabo una atención farmacéutica de calidad

Anyone with a Long-Face? Craniofacial Evolutionary Allometry (CREA) in a Family of Short-Faced Mammals, the Felidae

Among adults of closely related species, a trend in craniofacial evolutionary allometry (CREA) for larger taxa to be long-faced and smaller ones to have paedomorphic aspects, such as proportionally smaller snouts and larger braincases, has been demonstrated in some mammals and two bird lineages. Nevertheless, whether this may represent a ‘rule’ with few exceptions is still an open question. In this context, Felidae is a particularly interesting family to study because, although its members are short-faced, previous research did suggest relative facial elongation in larger living representatives. Using geometric morphometrics, based on two sets of anatomical landmarks, and traditional morphometrics, for comparing relative lengths of the palate and basicranium, we performed a series of standard and comparative allometric regressions in the Felidae and its two subfamilies. All analyses consistently supported the CREA pattern, with only one minor exception in the geometric morphometric analysis of Pantherinae: the genus Neofelis. With its unusually long canines, Neofelis species seem to have a relatively narrow cranium and long face, despite being smaller than other big cats. In spite of this, overall, our findings strengthen the possibility that the CREA pattern might indeed be a ‘rule’ among mammals, raising questions on the processes behind it and suggesting future directions for its study

Multiple Determinants of Whole and Regional Brain Volume among Terrestrial Carnivorans

Mammalian brain volumes vary considerably, even after controlling for body size. Although several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this variation, most research in mammals on the evolution of encephalization has focused on primates, leaving the generality of these explanations uncertain. Furthermore, much research still addresses only one hypothesis at a time, despite the demonstrated importance of considering multiple factors simultaneously. We used phylogenetic comparative methods to investigate simultaneously the importance of several factors previously hypothesized to be important in neural evolution among mammalian carnivores, including social complexity, forelimb use, home range size, diet, life history, phylogeny, and recent evolutionary changes in body size. We also tested hypotheses suggesting roles for these variables in determining the relative volume of four brain regions measured using computed tomography. Our data suggest that, in contrast to brain size in primates, carnivoran brain size may lag behind body size over evolutionary time. Moreover, carnivore species that primarily consume vertebrates have the largest brains. Although we found no support for a role of social complexity in overall encephalization, relative cerebrum volume correlated positively with sociality. Finally, our results support negative relationships among different brain regions after accounting for overall endocranial volume, suggesting that increased size of one brain regions is often accompanied by reduced size in other regions rather than overall brain expansion

Observation of the unbiased conformers of putative DNA-scaffold ribosugars

The constitution, configuration, and flexibility of the core sugars of DNA molecules alter their function in diverse roles. Conformational itineraries of the ribofuranosides (fs) have long been known to finely determine rates of processing, yet we also know that, strikingly, semifunctional DNAs containing pyranosides (ps) or other configurations can be created, suggesting sufficient but incompletely understood plasticity. The multiple conformers involved in such processes are necessarily influenced by context and environment: solvent, hosts, ligands. Notably, however, to date the unbiased, “naked” conformers have not been experimentally determined. Here, the inherent conformational biases of DNA scaffold deoxyribosides in unsolvated and solvated forms have now been defined using gas-phase microwave and solution-phase NMR spectroscopies coupled with computational analyses and exploitation of critical differences between natural-abundance isotopologues. Serial determination of precise, individual spectra for conformers of these 25 isotopologues in alpha (α-d) and beta (β-d); pyrano (p) and furano (f) methyl 2-deoxy-d-ribosides gave not only unprecedented atomic-level resolution structures of associated conformers but also their quantitative populations. Together these experiments revealed that typical 2E and 3E conformations of the sugar found in complex DNA structures are not inherently populated. Moreover, while both OH-5′ and OH-3′ are constrained by intramolecular hydrogen bonding in the unnatural αf scaffold, OH-3′ is “born free” in the “naked” lowest lying energy conformer of natural βf. Consequently, upon solvation, unnatural αf is strikingly less perturbable (retaining 2T1 conformation in vacuo and water) than natural βf. Unnatural αp and βp ribosides also display low conformational perturbability. These first experimental data on inherent, unbiased conformers therefore suggest that it is the background of conformational flexibility of βf that may have led to its emergence out of multiple possibilities as the sugar scaffold for “life’s code” and suggest a mechanism by which the resulting freedom of OH-3′ (and hence accessibility as a nucleophile) in βf may drive preferential processing and complex structure formation, such as replicative propagation of DNA from 5′-to-3′

Observation of the Unbiased Conformers of Putative DNA-Scaffold Ribosugars

The constitution, configuration, and flexibility of the core sugars of DNA molecules alter their function in diverse roles. Conformational itineraries of the ribofuranosides (fs) have long been known to finely determine rates of processing, yet we also know that, strikingly, semifunctional DNAs containing pyranosides (ps) or other configurations can be created, suggesting sufficient but incompletely understood plasticity. The multiple conformers involved in such processes are necessarily influenced by context and environment: solvent, hosts, ligands. Notably, however, to date the unbiased, “naked” conformers have not been experimentally determined. Here, the inherent conformational biases of DNA scaffold deoxyribosides in unsolvated and solvated forms have now been defined using gas-phase microwave and solution-phase NMR spectroscopies coupled with computational analyses and exploitation of critical differences between natural-abundance isotopologues. Serial determination of precise, individual spectra for conformers of these 25 isotopologues in alpha (α-d) and beta (β-d); pyrano (p) and furano (f) methyl 2-deoxy-d-ribosides gave not only unprecedented atomic-level resolution structures of associated conformers but also their quantitative populations. Together these experiments revealed that typical 2E and 3E conformations of the sugar found in complex DNA structures are not inherently populated. Moreover, while both OH-5′ and OH-3′ are constrained by intramolecular hydrogen bonding in the unnatural αf scaffold, OH-3′ is “born free” in the “naked” lowest lying energy conformer of natural βf. Consequently, upon solvation, unnatural αf is strikingly less perturbable (retaining 2T1 conformation in vacuo and water) than natural βf. Unnatural αp and βp ribosides also display low conformational perturbability. These first experimental data on inherent, unbiased conformers therefore suggest that it is the background of conformational flexibility of βf that may have led to its emergence out of multiple possibilities as the sugar scaffold for “life’s code” and suggest a mechanism by which the resulting freedom of OH-3′ (and hence accessibility as a nucleophile) in βf may drive preferential processing and complex structure formation, such as replicative propagation of DNA from 5′-to-3′