Breeding for culinary and nutritional quality of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in intercropping systems with maize (Zea mays L.)

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is widely intercropped with maize (Zea mays L.) in the North of Spain. Breeding beans for multiple cropping systems is important for the development of a productive and sustainable agriculture, and is mainly oriented to minimize intercrop competition and to stabilize complementarity with maize. Most agricultural research on intercropping to date has focused on the agronomic and overall yield effects of the different species, but characters related with socio-economic and food quality aspects are also important. The effect of intercropping beans with maize on food seed quality traits was studied for thirty-five bush bean varieties under different environments in Galicia (Northwestern Spain). Parameters determining Asturian (Northern Spain) white bean commercial and culinary quality have also been evaluated in fifteen accessions. There are significant differences between varieties in the selected cropping systems (sole crop, intercrop with field maize and intercrop with sweet maize) for dry and soaked seed weight, coat proportion, crude protein, crude fat and moisture. Different white bean accessions have been chosen according to their culinary quality. Under these environmental conditions it appears that intercropping systems with sweet maize give higher returns than sole cropping system. It is also suggested that the culinary and nutritional quality potential of some white bean accessions could be the base material in a breeding programme the objectives of which are to develop varieties giving seeds with high food quality

Recurrent volcanic activity recorded in araucarian wood from the Lower Cretaceous Springhill Formation, Patagonia, Argentina: Palaeoenvironmental interpretations

This paper describes a petrified trunk collected from a conglomerate bed of the Springhill Formation (Berriasian– Valanginian) in the Estancia El Álamo locality, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. The fossil trunk is classified within the ubiquitous genus Agathoxylon and the wood anatomy shows a close affinity to that of Araucariaceae. This Patagonian wood has a distinct combination of anatomical characteristics unique among all known species from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of Western Gondwana allowing to diagnose a new fossil taxon Agathoxylon mendezii sp. nov. Sedimentological and megafloristic proxies of the Springhill Formation suggest that Agathoxylon mendezii sp. nov. grew under a warm and wet climate, which indicates a subtropical to temperate palaeoenvironment. However, the large number of frost rings in the earlywood of this araucarian tree suggests that the palaeoenvironment at Estancia El Álamo was subjected to recurrent disturbances, most likely caused by regional continuous volcanic activity originating from volcanoes located far away to the west. This activity would have produced periodic stratospheric veils that promoted rapid decreases in surface air temperature; the wood response to such stressful conditions would have been the formation of numerous (at least five) frost rings. Although recurrent eruptions in Patagonia during the Early Cretaceous are well recorded, this study is the first to register eruptions recorded in a coniferous wood

Asthma control in Spain. Do season and treatment pattern matter? The ESCASE study

SummaryThe aim of this study was to assess the degree of asthma control according to GINA criteria during two different seasons in Spain.An multicenter, longitudinal, epidemiological study with the participation of a sample of physicians in Spain was conducted. Consecutive asthma patients, 18 years of age and older, seeking primary and specialist care were included in the study. Patients were seen during the winter and spring 2004 and were asked about asthma control according to GINA control criteria (daytime and nighttime symptoms, asthma exacerbations, limitations of physical activity, and visits to the emergency department) during the 4 weeks prior to the visit. Control was defined according to daytime and nighttime symptoms.A total of 614 patients participated in the study. The proportion of patients reporting daytime symptoms “every day” or “most days” during the winter versus spring was 40.1% vs. 23% (P<0.01); 26.9% vs. 14.1% presented symptoms at night (P<0.01); 11.5% vs. 8.3% had severe exacerbations; 33.5% vs. 35.7% presented symptoms accompanying exercise, and 9.4% vs. 4.3% (P<0.01) had required emergency visits. The number of patients with inadequate control was slightly higher in winter than in spring (74.4% vs. 71%) (P<0.01). The most commonly prescribed treatment was ICS plus LABAs for both periods.Asthma is poorly controlled in Spain and strategies are needed to improve management of this illness

DNX-2401, an oncolytic virus, for the treatment of newly diagnosed diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas: a case report

Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPGs) are aggressive glial brain tumors that primarily affect children, for which there is no curative treatment. Median overall survival is only one year. Currently, the scientific focus is on expanding the knowledge base of the molecular biology of DIPG, and identifying effective therapies. Oncolytic adenovirus DNX-2401 is a replication-competent, genetically modified virus capable of infecting and killing glioma cells, and stimulating an anti-tumor immune response. Clinical trials evaluating intratumoral DNX-2401 in adults with recurrent glioblastoma have demonstrated that the virus has a favorable safety profile and can prolong survival. Subsequently, these results have encouraged the transition of this biologically active therapy from adults into the pediatric population. To this aim, we have designed a clinical Phase I trial for newly diagnosed pediatric DIPG to investigate the feasibility, safety, and preliminary efficacy of delivering DNX-2401 into tumors within the pons following biopsy. This case report presents a pediatric patient enrolled in this ongoing Phase I trial for children and adolescents with newly diagnosed DIPG. The case involves an 8-year-old female patient with radiologically diagnosed DIPG who underwent stereotactic tumor biopsy immediately followed by intratumoral DNX-2401 in the same biopsy track. Because there were no safety concerns or new neurological deficits, the patient was discharged 3 days after the procedures. To our knowledge, this is the first report of intratumoral DNX-2401 for a patient with DIPG in a clinical trial. We plan to demonstrate that intratumoral delivery of an oncolytic virus following tumor biopsy for pediatric patients with DIPG is a novel and feasible approach and that DNX-2401 represents an innovative treatment for the disease

The histone demethylase PHF8 is a molecular safeguard of the IFNgamma response

A precise immune response is essential for cellular homeostasis and animal survival. The paramount importance of its control is reflected by the fact that its non-specific activation leads to inflammatory events that ultimately contribute to the appearance of many chronic diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms preventing non-specific activation and allowing a quick response upon signal activation are not yet fully understood. In this paper we uncover a new function of PHF8 blocking signal independent activation of immune gene promoters. Affinity purifications coupled with mass spectrometry analysis identified SIN3A and HDAC1 corepressors as new PHF8 interacting partners. Further molecular analysis demonstrated that prior to interferon gamma (IFNγ) stimulation, PHF8 is bound to a subset of IFNγ-responsive promoters. Through the association with HDAC1 and SIN3A, PHF8 keeps the promoters in a silent state, maintaining low levels of H4K20me1. Upon IFNγ treatment, PHF8 is phosphorylated by ERK2 and evicted from the promoters, correlating with an increase in H4K20me1 and transcriptional activation. Our data strongly indicate that in addition to its well-characterized function as a coactivator, PHF8 safeguards transcription to allow an accurate immune response

The histone demethylase PHF8 is a molecular safeguard of the IFNgamma response

A precise immune response is essential for cellular homeostasis and animal survival. The paramount importance of its control is reflected by the fact that its non-specific activation leads to inflammatory events that ultimately contribute to the appearance of many chronic diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms preventing non-specific activation and allowing a quick response upon signal activation are not yet fully understood. In this paper we uncover a new function of PHF8 blocking signal independent activation of immune gene promoters. Affinity purifications coupled with mass spectrometry analysis identified SIN3A and HDAC1 corepressors as new PHF8 interacting partners. Further molecular analysis demonstrated that prior to interferon gamma (IFNγ) stimulation, PHF8 is bound to a subset of IFNγ-responsive promoters. Through the association with HDAC1 and SIN3A, PHF8 keeps the promoters in a silent state, maintaining low levels of H4K20me1. Upon IFNγ treatment, PHF8 is phosphorylated by ERK2 and evicted from the promoters, correlating with an increase in H4K20me1 and transcriptional activation. Our data strongly indicate that in addition to its well-characterized function as a coactivator, PHF8 safeguards transcription to allow an accurate immune response