Factors associated with postharvest ripening heterogeneity of "Hass" avocados (Persea americana Mill)

Indexación: Web of ScienceIntroduction. 'Hass' is the main avocado cultivar commercialized worldwide. The extended flowering period, very low percentage of fruit set and inability to ripen on the tree renders the fruit heterogeneous and unpredictable during postharvest management. The "triggered" and "ready-to-eat" growing markets for 'Hass' avocados are affected by the variable postharvest ripening or ripening heterogeneity which creates severe logistical problems for marketers and inconsistent quality delivery to consumers. Synthesis. The dry matter content, the current avocado harvest index that correlates very well with oil content, has been extensively used to harvest 'Hass' avocados to comply with the minimum standards to guarantee consumer satisfaction. However, previous work and empirical experience demonstrate that dry matter does not correlate on a fruit-to-fruit basis with time to reach edible ripeness. Thus, avocados of very different ages are harvested from individual trees, resulting in heterogeneous postharvest ripening of fruit within a specific batch. Several preharvest factors related to environmental and growing conditions and crop management as well as postharvest technology strategies influence the observed variability of postharvest ripening. Conclusion. Modern approaches based on studying the composition of individual fruits displaying contrasting postharvest ripening behavior, combined with non-destructive phenotyping techniques, seem to offer practical solutions for the fresh supply chain of avocados to sort fruit based on their ripening capacity.http://www.pubhort.org/fruits/2016/5/fruits160045.ht

Neuroprotective effects of EpoL against oxidative stress induced by soluble oligomers of Aβ peptide

Erythropoietin is a glycoproteic hormone that regulates hematopoiesis by acting on its specific receptor (EpoR). The expression of EpoR in the central nervous system (CNS) suggests a role for this hormone in the brain. Recently, we developed a new Epo variant without hematopoietic activity called EpoL, which showed marked neuroprotective effects against oxidative stress in brain ischemia related models. In this study, we have evaluated the neuroprotective effects of EpoL against oxidative stress induced by chronic treatment with Aβ. Our results show that EpoL was neuroprotective against Aβ-induced toxicity by a mechanism that implicates EpoR, reduction in reactive oxygen species, and reduction in astrogliosis. Furthermore, EpoL treatment improved calcium handling and SV2 levels. Interestingly, the neuroprotective effect of EpoL against oxidative stress induced by chronic Aβ treatment was achieved at a concentration 10 times lower than that of Epo. In conclusion, EpoL, a new variant of Epo without hematopoietic activity, is of potential interest for the treatment of diseases related to oxidative stress in the CNS such as Alzheimer disease.Grant Innova-Corfo “13IDL2-18688”; Conicyt Grant “Beca Doctorado Nacional no. 21130386”; Fondecyt Grant “1161078

Interferencia del Herpesvirus equino 1 (EHV-1) en la apoptosis inducida

La apoptosis es un tipo de muerte celular programada que puede ser desencadenada por múltiples factores, tanto internos como externos; dentro de estos últimos se encuentran las infecciones virales. Algunos alphaherpesvirus han desarrollado diversas estrategias para retardar o inhibir la muerte celular obteniendo, de esta manera, su propio beneficio al poder permanecer durante más tiempo en la célula. Hasta el momento no se ha identificado ningún mecanismo relacionado con la modulación de la muerte celular durante la infección con Herpesvirus equino tipo 1 (EHV-1). El objetivo del presente trabajo fue describir el efecto producido por la infección con EHV-1 sobre cultivos celulares inducidos a la muerte por apoptosis. La evaluación de la apoptosis se realizó mediante el reconocimiento de la fragmentación en escalera del ADN, la evaluación de la relación Anexina V/ioduro de propidio (IP) y la determinación del clivaje de la citoqueratina 18, utilizando técnicas de inmunofluorescencia. Los resultados indican una posible interferencia del EHV-1 con la muerte por apoptosis hacia la mitad de su ciclo de replicación, que se incrementa hacia el final del mismo.Apoptosis is a programmed cell death that can be triggered by many factors, both internal and external. Viral infections are included among the latter. Some alphaherpesvirus have developed several strategies to retard or inhibit cell death and thus the virus benefits itself by staying longer in the cell. So far, no mechanisms have been identified related to modulation of cell death during infection with equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1). The aim of the present study was to describe the effect produced by the infection with EHV-1 on apoptosis-induced cell cultures. Assessment of apoptosis was performed by DNA laddering, the Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) determination and the cytokeratin 18 cleavage analysis using immunofluorescence techniques. Results indicate a possible interference of EHV-1 with apoptotic cell death in the middle of its replication cycle, being increased by its end

Características biológicas de cepas de Herpesvirus bovino 1 y 5 utilizando el modelo experimental conejo

Los Herpesvirus bovinos (BoHV) pueden infectar tanto a mustélidos como a conejos y esta última especie ha sido utilizada como modelo de laboratorio para la infección por BoHV-1 y 5. El objetivo de este trabajo fue estudiar la patogenicidad de diferentes cepas argentinas de BoHV-1 y BoHV-5 utilizando el modelo experimental conejo. Se utilizaron conejos de raza neozelandesa que se inocularon por vía intranasal e intravaginal. Los animales inoculados por vía intranasal con cepas de BoHV-5 desarrollaron signos nerviosos en el 83% de los casos, mientras que BoHV-1.1 causó signos nerviosos en el 57% de los animales y BoHV-1.2 no provocó signos clínicos evidentes. El BoHV-5 causó síntomas nerviosos solo en los animales jóvenes mientras que BoHV-1 solo lo hizo ocasionalmente y también en individuos jóvenes. Los conejos inoculados por vía intravaginal no mostraron signos clínicos ni lesiones aparentes en los órganos estudiados; la infección se demostró por seroconversión serológica. El conejo resultó adecuado para estudiar la sintomatología y las lesiones producidas en los distintos órganos, fundamentalmente en el sistema nervioso central. El modelo resultó de utilidad por ser económico, de muy fácil manejo y permitió reconocer diferencias en el comportamiento biológico de las cepas de BoHV-1 y BoHV-5 estudiadas.Bovine Herpesvirus (BoHV) can infect both rabbits and mustelids. Rabbit has been used as a laboratory model for infection with BoHV-1 and 5. The objective of this research was to study the pathogenicity of different Argentinian BoHV-1 and BoHV-5 strains by using the rabbit experimental model. New Zealand rabbits were inoculated by intranasal and intravaginal ways. The animals inoculated intranasally with strains of BoHV-5 developed neurological signs in 83% of the cases. BoHV-1.1 caused neurological signs in 57% of the animals and BoHV-1.2 did not cause clear clinical signs. BoHV-5 caused nervous signs in young animals while BoHV-1 did so occasionally in young rabbits. Animales inoculated intravaginally showed no apparent clinical signs or apparent lesions in the studied organs. The infection was demonstrated by serological seroconversion. The rabbit was appropriate to study the clinical signs and the lesions produced in the different organs, primarily in the central nervous system. The model was useful for being inexpensive and very easy to use, and it enabled to identify differences in the biological behavior of the studied BoHV-1 and BoHV-5 strains

GC Insights: Lessons from participatory water quality research in the upper Santa River basin, Peru

Here we share four key lessons from an inter-disciplinary project (Nuestro Rio) that gathered community perspectives on local water quality in the Santa River basin (Peru) utilising a digital technological approach where we collected data via a novel photo elicitation app, supported by a field work campaign. The lessons explored in this article provide insights into challenges and opportunities for researchers considering developing technological tools for encouraging participation and engagement in marginalised communities

Correlation effects in MgO and CaO: Cohesive energies and lattice constants

A recently proposed computational scheme based on local increments has been applied to the calculation of correlation contributions to the cohesive energy of the CaO crystal. Using ab-initio quantum chemical methods for evaluating individual increments, we obtain 80% of the difference between the experimental and Hartree-Fock cohesive energies. Lattice constants corrected for correlation effects deviate by less than 1% from experimental values, in the case of MgO and CaO.Comment: LaTeX, 4 figure

Rotating Higher Spin Partition Functions and Extended BMS Symmetries

We evaluate one-loop partition functions of higher-spin fields in thermal flat space with angular potentials; this computation is performed in arbitrary space-time dimension, and the result is a simple combination of Poincar\'e characters. We then focus on dimension three, showing that suitable products of one-loop partition functions coincide with vacuum characters of higher-spin asymptotic symmetry algebras at null infinity. These are extensions of the bms_3 algebra that emerges in pure gravity, and we propose a way to build their unitary representations and to compute the associated characters. We also extend our investigations to supergravity and to a class of gauge theories involving higher-spin fermionic fields.Comment: 58 pages; clarifications and references added; version to be published in JHE