High sensitivity to carcinogens in the brain of a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Cancer and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are commonly found among elderly patients. Chronic inflammation is the characteristic of both diseases. Amyloid-b peptide is the main inducer of inflammation in AD. Moreover, chronic inflammation promotes cancer, suggesting that AD patients may be more prone to develop cancer than nondemented people. To test this hypothesis, we injected the carcinogen 20-methylcholanthrene in the brain of transgenic mice overexpressing the mutant forms of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilin 1 (PS1), as a model of AD, and their wild-type (WT) littermates. Mutant mice developed tumors faster and with higher incidence than their WT counterparts. Expression of the inflammatory markers interleukin (IL)-1a, IL-1b, IL-6, IP-10 and tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) was measured in AD and WT mice of 3 and 12 months of age that had not been exposed to the carcinogen. These cytokines were elevated in older AD mice, indicating the existence of a highly inflammatory milieu in these animals. We also found elevated expression of a mutated form of p53 in older AD mice, suggesting an alternative mechanism for the predisposition of AD brains to develop brain tumors. Clinical studies reporting comorbidity of AD and brain cancer are needed to understand whether our observations hold true for humans.This work was supported by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation Grant SAF2007-60010, and Instituto de Salud Carlos III Grant RD06/0026/1001.Peer reviewe

Towards guidelines for building a business case and gathering evidence of software reference architectures in industry

Background: Software reference architectures are becoming widely adopted by organizations that need to support the design and maintenance of software applications of a shared domain. For organizations that plan to adopt this architecture-centric approach, it becomes fundamental to know the return on investment and to understand how software reference architectures are designed, maintained, and used. Unfortunately, there is little evidence-based support to help organizations with these challenges. Methods: We have conducted action research in an industry-academia collaboration between the GESSI research group and everis, a multinational IT consulting firm based in Spain. Results: The results from such collaboration are being packaged in order to create guidelines that could be used in similar contexts as the one of everis. The main result of this paper is the construction of empirically-grounded guidelines that support organizations to decide on the adoption of software reference architectures and to gather evidence to improve RA-related practices. Conclusions: The created guidelines could be used by other organizations outside of our industry-academia collaboration. With this goal in mind, we describe the guidelines in detail for their use.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Adaptación a la sequía y necesidades hídricas de Eucalyptus globulus Labill. en Huelva

Eucalyptus globulus Labill. es una especie ampliamente utilizada en plantaciones para producción de madera. Está adaptada a vivir sobre suelos pobres y bajo clima mediterráneo pero suave y con influencia oceánica. Soporta cierto grado de estrés hídrico pero le van mal temperaturas extremas que sobrepasen 40 ºC ó -5 ºC. Su cultivo en la provincia de Huelva está seriamente limitado por la frugalidad de los suelos y la sequía estival, así como por el ataque de plagas, especialmente virulentas en situaciones de estrés hídrico como en el caso de Phoracantha spp. En este trabajo se muestra una recopilación de varias experiencias, llevadas a cabo en vivero y en parcelas de campo, sobre la reacción de los clones al estrés hídrico y sus necesidades de consumo de agua. Al igual que para otros tipos de estreses biótico o abióticos, la especie manifestó variabilidad genética (a nivel clonal) en su grado de resistencia al estrés hídrico, lo que ofrece la posibilidad de seguir desarrollando programas de selección y mejora de la especie destinada a plantaciones forestales. Dicha resistencia se implementaba al ser expuestos a situaciones de estrés hídrico, poniendo en juego mecanismos de evitación (morfología foliar, cierre estomático, vulnerabilidad a la cavitación del xilema, etc.) y de tolerancia (ajuste osmótico y elástico). No obstante el grado de variación de cada uno de los parámetros medidos difirió entre los clones, manifestando distintas estrategias entre clones, lo que puede ser utilizado a la hora de establecer el criterio de selección en función del objetivo perseguido en cada línea de mejora (resistencia al ataque por Phoracantha spp., producción y eficiencia en el uso del agua, resistencia a valores críticos de estrés hídrico, etc.).___________________________________________Eucalyptus glubulus is a widely used species in forest plantations for wood production. It is adapted to live on poor soils under Mediterranean climate with oceanic influence. It supports some degree of water stress but not extreme temperatures exceeding 40 ºC or -5 ºC. Its cultivation in the province of Huelva is seriously limited by the frugality of the soils and the summer drought, and it is attacked by pests such as Phoracantha spp., particularly virulent under water stress conditions. In this work, we analyzed the results of several experiments, carried out in nurseries and in field plots, regarding to the response of E. globulus clones to water stress and its water consumption needs. As for other biotic or abiotic stresses, the species showed genetic variability (at clonal level) in their resistance to water stress, which offers the possibility to further develop and improve breeding programs. Under water stress conditions, it reacts by coming into play avoidance mechanisms (leaf morphology, stomatal closure, vulnerability to xylem cavitation, etc..) and tolerance mechanisms (osmotic and elastic adjustment). However, the degree of variation of each of the above cited parameters differed between clones, showing different strategies among them. This can be used when establishing the selection criteria in relation to the purpose of each breeding program (resistance to be attacked by Phoracantha spp., production and water use efficiency, resistance to threshold values of water stress, etc.

A reuse-based economic model for software reference architectures

The growing size and complexity of software systems, together with critical time-to-market needs, demand new software engineering approaches for software development. To remain competitive, organizations are challenged to make informed and feasible value-driven design decisions in order to ensure the quality of the systems. However, there is a lack of support for evaluating the economic impact of these decisions with regard to software reference architectures. This damages the communication among architects and management, which can result in poor decisions. This paper aims at opening a path in this direction by presenting a pragmatic preliminary economic model to perform cost-benefit analysis on the adoption of software reference architectures as key asset for optimizing architectural decision-making. A preliminary validation based on a retrospective study showed the ability of the model to support a cost-benefit analysis presented to the management of an IT consulting company.Preprin

Definition of the on-time delivery indicator in rapid software development

Rapid software development (RSD) is an approach for developing software in rapid iterations. One of the critical success factors of an RSD project is to deliver the product releases on time and with the planned features. In this paper, we elaborate an exploratory definition of the On-Time Delivery strategic indicator in RSD based on the literature and interviews with four companies. This indicator supports decision-makers to detect development problems in order to avoid delays and to estimate the additional time needed when requirements, and specifically quality requirements, are considered.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Cell Wall Composition and Structure Define the Developmental Fate of Embryogenic Microspores in Brassica napus

[EN] Microspore cultures generate a heterogeneous population of embryogenic structures that can be grouped into highly embryogenic structures [exine-enclosed (EE) and loose bicellular structures (LBS)] and barely embryogenic structures [compact callus (CC) and loose callus (LC) structures]. Little is known about the factors behind these different responses. In this study we performed a comparative analysis of the composition and architecture of the cell walls of each structure by confocal and quantitative electron microscopy. Each structure presented specific cell wall characteristics that defined their developmental fate. EE and LBS structures, which are responsible for most of the viable embryos, showed a specific profile with thin walls rich in arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs), highly and low methyl-esterified pectin and callose, and a callose-rich subintinal layer not necessarily thick, but with a remarkably high callose concentration. The different profiles of EE and LBS walls support the development as suspensorless and suspensor-bearing embryos, respectively. Conversely, less viable embryogenic structures (LC) presented the thickest walls and the lowest values for almost all of the studied cell wall components. These cell wall properties would be the less favorable for cell proliferation and embryo progression. High levels of highly methyl-esterified pectin are necessary for wall flexibility and growth of highly embryogenic structures. AGPs seem to play a role in cell wall stiffness, possibly due to their putative role as calcium capacitors, explaining the positive relationship between embryogenic potential and calcium levels.This work was supported by grant PID2020-115763RBI00 to JS-S from Spanish MICINN and by a Juan de la Cierva -Incorporacion Fellowship and a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (656579) to PC-M. RM holds a CDEIGENT (2018/023) fellowship from Generalitat Valenciana.Camacho-Fernández, C.; Seguí-Simarro, JM.; Mir Moreno, R.; Boutilier, K.; Corral-Martínez, P. (2021). Cell Wall Composition and Structure Define the Developmental Fate of Embryogenic Microspores in Brassica napus. Frontiers in Plant Science. 12:1-16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.7371391161

Proyecto de Investigación: La formación de los paisajes agrarios del Noroeste peninsular durante la Edad Media (siglos V al XII)

Presentamos los objetivos y los primeros resultados del proyecto de investigación La formación de los paisajes del Noroeste Peninsular durante la Edad Media (siglos V al XII). Exponemos los presupuestos teóricos y metodológicos de la arqueología agraria y nos acercamos a los resultados preliminares obtenidos en los tres casos de estudio abordados en nuestra investigación. [ABSTRACT] The paper introduces the aims and the preliminary outcomes of the research project entitled ‘The formation of agricultural landscapes in north western Iberia during the Middle Ages (V – XII centuries)’. Also, the text sets out the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of agrarian archaeology. Finally, the paper presents and explains the results achieved hitherto in the three archaeological case studies under investigation

DOGO4ML: Development, operation and data governance for ML-based software systems

Machine Learning based Software Systems (MLSS) are becoming increasingly pervasive in today’s society and can be found in virtually every domain. Building MLSS is challenging due to their interdisciplinary nature. MLSS engineering encompasses multiple disciplines, of which Data Engineering and Software Engineering appear as most relevant. The DOGO4ML project aims at reconciling these two disciplines for providing a holistic end-to-end framework to develop, operate and govern MLSS and their data. It proposes to combine and intertwine two software cycles: the DataOps and the DevOps lifecycles. The DataOps lifecycle manages the complexity of dealing with the big data needed by ML models, while the DevOps lifecycle is in charge of building the system that embeds these models. In this paper, we present the main vision and goals of the project as well as its expected contributions and outcomes. Although the project is in its initial stage, the progress of the research undertaken so far is detailed.This paper has been funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación under project / funding scheme PID2020-117191RB-I00 / AEI/10.13039/501100011033.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

The Importance of Using Empirical Evidence in Software Engineering

Experiments that are run with few experimental subjects are often considered not to be very reliable and deemed, as a result, to be useless with a view to generating new knowledge. This belief is not, however, entirely correct. Today we have tools, such as meta-analysis, that we can use to aggregate small-scale experiments and output results that are equivalent to experiments run on large samples that are therefore reliable. The application of meta-analysis can overcome some of the obstacles that we come up against when running software engineering experiments (such as, for example, the practitioner availability problem)