Effect of NPA on adventitious root induction and root development in leaves of chestnut microshoots

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Assessing the ecotoxicological effects of long-term contaminated mine soils on plants and earthworms. Relevance of soil (total and available) and body concentrations

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10646-014-1262-2The interactions and relevance of the soil (total and available) concentrations, accumulation, and acute toxicity of several essential and non-essential trace elements were investigated to determine their importance in environmental soil assessment. Three plant species (T. aestivum, R. sativum, and V. sativa) and E. fetida were simultaneously exposed for 21 days to long-term contaminated soils collected from the surroundings of an abandoned pyrite mine. The soils presented different levels of As and metals, mainly Zn and Cu, and were tested at different soil concentrations [12.5, 25, 50, and 100 % of contaminated soil/soil (w/w)] to increase the range of total and available soil concentrations necessary for the study. The total concentrations in the soils (of both As and metals) were better predictors of earthworm uptake than were the available concentrations. In plants, the accumulation of metals was related to the available concentrations of Zn and Cu, which could indicate that plants and earthworms.accumulate elements from different pools of soil contaminants. Moreover, Zn and Cu, which are essential elements, showed controlled uptake at low concentrations. The external metal concentrations predicted earthworm mortality, whereas in plants, the effects on growth were correlated to the As and metal contents in the plants. In general, the bioaccumulation factors were lower at higher exposure levels, which implies the existence of auto-regulation in the uptake of both essential and non-essential elements by plants and earthwormsThis work was financed by the Community of Madrid through the EIADES Project (S-2009/AMB/1478) ) and by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science project CTM2010-21922-C02-0

Caracterización y análisis de expresión del gen TCTP en fagáceas

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LISTADO FLORÍSTICO DE LA CUENCA DEL RÍO BALSAS, MÉXICO

The Balsas river basin is one of the largest andmost important in Mexico. Comprisingapproximately 112,320 km2, it forms an eastwest-oriented depression in central-southMexico and occupies portions of the states ofGuerrero, Jalisco, México, Michoacán,Oaxaca, Puebla, and Tlaxcala, and all ofMorelos. The basin is physiographicallydelimited by the Transverse Volcanic Belt tothe north and the Sierra Madre del Sur to thesouth, and lies between 17°00' and 20°00' Nlatitude and 97°30' and 103°15' W longitude.The prevailing climate is warm and semiarid,with the aridity increasing eastward, wheremost of the xerophytic elements are thusconcentrated. Due to its position between twomajor mountain chains and the resultantvariations in elevation within the area, variousand diverse vegetation types occur in theregion, ranging from xerophyllous scrubs totropical forests to oak-pine forests and evenalpine grasslands above treeline. The greatdiversity of environmental conditions thatcharacterize the Balsas river basin, as well asthe biotic relationships to the neighboringareas, which belong to quite separate floristicregions, confer a great floristic diversity tothe area.The existing information on the vegetation andflora of the basin is not extensive, and we therefore can consider this to be one of themore poorly known regions of Mexico fromthe botanical point of view.The principal objective of this work is topresent a preliminary list of the phanerogamicflora of the balsas river Basin, based on thespecies that have been collected in or citedfrom the area. The list is alphabetical byfamily, genus, and species within the majorgroups of pteridophytes, gymnosperms, andangiosperms.The list includes 202 families, 1,246 generaand 4,442 species. The largest families are:Compositae with 136 genera and 573 species,Leguminosae with 90 genera and 486 species,Gramineae with 84 genera and 253 species andOrchidaceae with 51 genera and 197 species.The best collected states within the basin atpresent are Guerrero, Michoacán and Morelos.La cuenca del río Balsas es una de las másextensas e importantes de México, susuperficie es de aproximadamente 112,320km2, constituye una depresión con direccióneste-oeste en la parte centro sur de México, enla que están comprendidas porciones de losestados de Guerrero, Jalisco, México,Michoacán, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tlaxcala y latotalidad del estado de Morelos.Fisiográficamente está limitada por el ejeneovolcánico y la Sierra Madre del Sur, entrelas coordenadas 17°00' y 20°00' de latitudnorte y 97°30' y 103°15' de longitud oeste.La mayor parte del área presenta un climacálido semiseco, siendo hacia el oriente dondese acentúa más la condición de aridez y por lotanto donde se encuentra la mayor proporciónde elementos xerófilos.Asimismo, por su posición entre dos macizosmontañosos de gran importancia, esta regiónse caracteriza por tener varios tipos devegetación, resultado principalmente de lavariación climática que se da en relación aldesnivel altitudinal, presentándose desde matorrales xerófilos y bosques tropicales,hasta bosques de encino y pino e inclusopastizales alpinos por arriba del límite de lavegetación arbórea. La gran diversidad decondiciones ambientales que se dan en lacuenca del río Balsas, así como sus relacionescon las provincias florísticas circundantes,pertenecientes a dos regiones fisiográficasdistintas, le confieren una gran riquezaflorística.Los datos existentes sobre la vegetación y floraque prospera en esta cuenca no son muyabundantes, por lo que podemos considerar aesta zona como una de las regiones del paísmenos conocidas desde el punto de vistabotánico.El objetivo principal de este trabajo espresentar un listado preliminar de la florafanerógamica que prospera en el áreacomprendida por la cuenca del río Balsas; estelistado de elaboró tomando en consideraciónlas plantas vasculares que han sido citadas ocolectadas en la región del Balsas.La información se presenta de maneraalfabética, a nivel de familias, géneros yespecies. Encontrándose primero el grupo de las pteridofitas, siguiendo las gimnospermas yfinalmente las angiospermas. De acuerdo coneste listado florístico, se registra la existenciade 202 familias, 1,246 géneros y 4,442especies. Las familias mejor representadas son:Compositae con 136 géneros y 573 especies,Leguminosae con 90 géneros y 486 especies,Gramineae con 84 géneros y 253 especies yOrchidaceae con 51 géneros y 197 especies.Los estados mejor representados a la fecha sonGuerrero, Michoacán y Morelos

Risk assessment of an abandoned pyrite mine in Spain based on direct toxicity assays

This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Science of the Total Environment. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in [SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 470-471 (2014)] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.09.101This research reports the risk assessment of an abandoned pyrite mine using direct toxicity assays of soil and groundwater samples taken at the site. The toxicity of As and heavy metals from mining soils to soil and aquatic organisms was studied using the Multispecies Soil System (MS-3) in soil columns. Ecotoxicological assessment was performed with soil samples diluted with a control soil at concentrations of 12.5, 25, 50 and 100% test soil/ soil (w/w). In this way, changes in the mobility and bioavailability of soil contaminants due to changes in geochemical soil properties via soil dilution were studied. The toxicity of water samples was tested on algae and Daphnia magna. The assessment of the mining area indicated that the current presence of As and heavy metals at the site may cause injuries to soil and aquatic organisms in the entire research area. Moreover, this investigation demonstrated that changes in geochemical conditions can increase the availability of arsenic and, consequently, the environmental risk of these soils. A good correlation was not found between toxicity parameters and the concentrations of soil contaminants based on total and extracted element concentrations. This finding reinforces the usefulness of direct toxicity assays for evaluating environmental riskThis work has been financed by the Community of Madrid through EIADES Project S-2009/AMB/1478 and by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, project CTM-2007-66401-CO2/ TECNO and CTM2010-21922-C02-0

First records of non-indigenous Timarete caribous (Grube, 1859) (Polychaeta; Cirratulidae) in the Western Mediterranean, and its ecology in the Mar Menor (Murcia, SE Spain)

The knowledge and control of invasive species are essential in the management of marine ecosystems. The Mediterranean Sea is one of the marine areas with the highest number of invasive species detected, most of them invertebrates. On a smaller scale, colonization by non-native species in coastal lagoons depends directly on their connectivity with the adjacent sea and on the changes in their environmental conditions induced mainly by human interventions. In this study, the cirratulid species Timarete caribous Grube, 1859, native from the Western and Central Atlantic Ocean, was detected for the first time in a Western Mediterranean coastal lagoon, the Mar Menor. It has been found in dense aggregates on both artificial and natural rocky substrates, mainly in the most important communication channel with the Mediterranean Sea. Following the evolution of this NIS will be important for understanding the dynamic and spread of the species and its possible effects on the indigenous biological communitie

La cestería decorada de la cueva de los Murcíélagos (Albuñol, Granada)

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Effects of Postural Education and Physical Activity on UCLA Evaluation and Health Status in Adults from Chile: An Intervention Program

Shoulder pathologies among the adult population are increasing, causing a high concern in health-educational institutions. The aim of this research is to take a step further and to conduct a detailed study of the relationship between the application of Jackins technique and a postural education program for people affected by shoulder problems. This quasi-experimental study was carried out on 41 adults with shoulder pathologies, with an average age of 58.17 11.75. The main instruments used were the UCLA Test, Thermometer Euroqol of Health, and an ad-hoc questionnaire. In addition, SPSS 22.0 was used for statistical analysis. The results show that the Jackins shoulder rehabilitation program produces significant improvements in participants who it was applied to, causing a positive increase in shoulder evaluation and health status. Similarly, participants who were given a postural education treatment did not experience any modification in these variables. The Jackins program resulted in improvements in reference to shoulder evaluation. Thus, the course of the intervention program based on physical activity (six months) produces functional improvements in shoulder pathology through supervised therapeutic exercises and home intervention in patients with subacromial syndrome

Characterization and expression of a Pinus radiata putative ortholog to the Arabidopsis SHORT-ROOT gene

We characterized a Pinus radiata D. Don putative ortholog to the Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. SHORT-ROOT gene (AtSHR) and analyzed its expression in different organs during vegetative development and in response to exogenous auxin during adventitious rooting. The predicted protein sequence contained domains characteristic of the GRAS protein family and showed a strong similarity to the SHORT-ROOT (SHR) proteins. Quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and in situ hybridization showed that the gene is predominantly expressed in roots, root primordia and in the cambial region of hypocotyl cuttings. Increased mRNA levels were observed, independently of the presence or absence of exogenous auxin, in the cambial region and rooting competent cells of hypocotyl cuttings within the first 24 h of adventitious rooting, before the activation of cell divisions and the organization of the adventitious root meristem. The expression pattern in organs and during adventitious rooting was similar to that of a Pinus radiata SCARECROW-LIKE (PrSCL1) gene, except that PrSCL1 is induced in response to exogenous auxin. Results suggest that the Pinus radiata SHORT-ROOT (PrSHR) gene has a role in root meristem formation and maintenance and in the cambial region of hypocotyl cuttings.Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (AGL2002-04225-CO2-01 AGR/FOR and AGL2005-07228-CO2-02 AGR/FOR to C.S. and AGL2002-04225-CO2-02 AGR/FOR and AGL2005-07228-CO2-01 AGR/FOR to C.D.-S.) Partially supported by Xunta de Galicia (PGIDIT06PXIB400003PR to C.S.) University of Alcala (UAHCG2006-028 to C.D.-S.).Peer reviewe