Las comunidades del orden Helichryso-Santolinetalia Peinado & Martínez-Parras 1984 en la provincia corológica Bética

In this paper we study the chamaephitoc nitrophilic communitres on the chorological province Betica included in the Helichryso—Santolinetalia phytosociologic order. A new association is proposed Andryalo ragusinae— Artemisietum barrelieri. W ithin the silicicolous association Artemisio—Santolinetum rosmarinifoliaeCosta 1975 we recognize a new subassociation, helychrysetosum serotini. Finally, .a new association, included in the Salsolo—Peganetalia order, is described: Artemisio barrelieri—Salsoletum genistoidis.For each syntaxon, the chororogical, ecologic, dynamic and floristic aspects are discussed.Se estudian las comunidades de caméfitos subnitrófilos de la provincia corológica Bética, incluidos en el orden Helichryso—Santolinetalia. Se propone una nueva asociación: Andryalo ragusinae—Artemisietum barrelieri y, para la asociación silicífila Artemisio- Santolinetum rosmarinifoliae Costa 1975 reconocemos una nueva subasociación, helichrysetosum serotini. Por último, se describe una nueva asociación del orden Salsolo—Peganetalia: Artemisio barrelieri—Salsoletum genistoidis. Para cada sintaxon se discuten los aspectos corológicos, ecológicos, dinámicos y florísticos

Valoración naturalística del Corredor Verde del Río Guadiamar Andalucía, España)

En este trabajo aplicamos un método de valoración naturalística, concretamente el índice de interés para la conservación, a cada una de las unidades de un mapa de vegetación previamente realizado a escala 1:10.000. Para el cálculo de los distintos criterios de valoración se tienen en cuenta las comunidades vegetales (asociaciones) presentes en cada unidad, en vez de las especies como suele ser habitual. Las unidades del mapa están agrupadas en series de vegetación, por lo que también pueden extraerse conclusiones sobre el grado de conservación de cada una de ellas. Los resultados se plasman en un mapa de interés para la conservación. El escenario en el que se realizó el trabajo es el corredor verde del río Guadiamar, situado en el sur de España. La zona fue afectada por un vertido tóxico y lo que aquí mostramos son los resultados obtenidos tras una primera limpieza. Después se han iniciado trabajos de restauración, al cabo de los cuales podremos realizar un estudio comparativo con los resultados de este trabajo.In this paper we have applied a naturalistic evaluation strategy, more precisely, the conservation importance index, to each unit of a preplanned 1:10.000scale vegetation map. The estimation of the different evaluation criteria is based on the plant communities (associations) found in each unit rather than on species, as is usual. Since the map units are grouped in vegetation series, the conservation degree of each of them can also be assessed. The results are presented in a conservation interest map. The survey was undertaken in the Green Corridor of the Guadiamar River, in the south of Spain. The area was affected by a toxic spill and our data refl ect the results obtained after the fi rst stage of cleaning work. Subsequently, restoration work has been undertaken after which we will be able to carry out a comparative analysis with the results of this work.Junta de Andalucía. Consejería de Medio Ambiente

Long-COVID cognitive impairments and reproductive hormone deficits in men may stem from GnRH neuronal death

BACKGROUND: We have recently demonstrated a causal link between loss of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), the master molecule regulating reproduction, and cognitive deficits during pathological aging, including Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. Olfactory and cognitive alterations, which persist in some COVID-19 patients, and long-term hypotestosteronaemia in SARS-CoV-2-infected men are also reminiscent of the consequences of deficient GnRH, suggesting that GnRH system neuroinvasion could underlie certain post-COVID symptoms and thus lead to accelerated or exacerbated cognitive decline. METHODS: We explored the hormonal profile of COVID-19 patients and targets of SARS-CoV-2 infection in post-mortem patient brains and human fetal tissue. FINDINGS: We found that persistent hypotestosteronaemia in some men could indeed be of hypothalamic origin, favouring post-COVID cognitive or neurological symptoms, and that changes in testosterone levels and body weight over time were inversely correlated. Infection of olfactory sensory neurons and multifunctional hypothalamic glia called tanycytes highlighted at least two viable neuroinvasion routes. Furthermore, GnRH neurons themselves were dying in all patient brains studied, dramatically reducing GnRH expression. Human fetal olfactory and vomeronasal epithelia, from which GnRH neurons arise, and fetal GnRH neurons also appeared susceptible to infection. INTERPRETATION: Putative GnRH neuron and tanycyte dysfunction following SARS-CoV-2 neuroinvasion could be responsible for serious reproductive, metabolic, and mental health consequences in long-COVID and lead to an increased risk of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative pathologies over time in all age groups. FUNDING: European Research Council (ERC) grant agreements No 810331, No 725149, No 804236, the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program No 847941, the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM) and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche en Santé (ANRS) No ECTZ200878 Long Covid 2021 ANRS0167 SIGNAL, Agence Nationale de la recherche (ANR) grant agreements No ANR-19-CE16-0021-02, No ANR-11-LABEX-0009, No. ANR-10-LABEX-0046, No. ANR-16-IDEX-0004, Inserm Cross-Cutting Scientific Program HuDeCA, the CHU Lille Bonus H, the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and National Institute of Health and care Research (NIHR)

Effect of the acrylic acid content on the permeability and water uptake of latex films

Acrylic acid (AA) is a monomer commonly employed in emulsion polymerization to provide electrostatic colloidal stability and improve specific film performance. The addition of AA not only modifies the kinetics of the polymerization, but also it takes part in the interaction between colloidal particles, which has a strong influence on their packing and consequent latex film properties. In this contribution a theoretical modeling of the latex film formation is presented and compared to experimental results: water vapor permeability and latex film capacitance are studied as a function of AA content. It has been shown that water uptake is mainly affected by film morphology which in turn is defined by intercolloidal interaction and drying rate.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

The improbable transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi to human: the missing link in the dynamics and control of Chagas disease

Chagas disease has a major impact on human health in Latin America and is becoming of global concern due to international migrations. Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of the disease, is one of the rare human parasites transmitted by the feces of its vector, as it is unable to reach the salivary gland of the insect. This stercorarian transmission is notoriously poorly understood, despite its crucial role in the ecology and evolution of the pathogen and the disease. The objective of this study was to quantify the probability of T. cruzi vectorial transmission to humans, and to use such an estimate to predict human prevalence from entomological data. We developed several models of T. cruzi transmission to estimate the probability of transmission from vector to host. Using datasets from the literature, we estimated the probability of transmission per contact with an infected triatomine to be 5.8x10(-4) (95%CI: [2.6; 11.0] x 10(-4)). This estimate was consistent across triatomine species, robust to variations in other parameters, and corresponded to 900-4,000 contacts per case. Our models subsequently allowed predicting human prevalence from vector abundance and infection rate in 7/10 independent datasets covering various triatomine species and epidemiological situations. This low probability of T. cruzi transmission reflected well the complex and unlikely mechanism of transmission via insect feces, and allowed predicting human prevalence from basic entomological data. Although a proof of principle study would now be valuable to validate our models' predictive ability in an even broader range of entomological and ecological settings, our quantitative estimate could allow switching the evaluation of disease risk and vector control program from purely entomological indexes to parasitological measures, as commonly done for other major vector borne diseases. This might lead to different quantitative perspectives as these indexes are well known not to be proportional one to another

Data synthesis of multiple on-farm trials to generate regional variety recommendations: the case of common bean in Central America

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a main food crop in Central America. Several improved varieties have been developed and released by different crop improvement programs in the region but many of these varieties are not used widely by farmers. One limitation is the lack of information about which are the best adapted varieties for each area within the region, even though on-farm testing of varieties is widely done by different organizations. Data synthesis of existing on-farm trial data can help to predict the suitability of varieties to areas within the region where trials were not conducted. Data synthesis is facilitated by a new participatory on-farm testing approach, triadic comparison of technologies (tricot). This approach involves the participation of farmers as citizen scientists at scale and ensures data are collected digitally, facilitating data synthesis. From 2015 to 2018, more than 2,000 tricot trial plots were established in Central America by different organizations, including agricultural research centers, universities, NGOs, and farmer’s associations. The trials tested landraces, experimental lines, and improved varieties created with both conventional and participatory breeding approaches. We applied an innovative data synthesis method to analyze the tricot trial data jointly, including seasonal climate and soil covariates to assess environmental adaptation. The results showed that the method was able to predict farmers’ overall appreciation of varieties in unsampled areas.Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a main food crop in Central America. Several improved varieties have been developed and released by different crop improvement programs in the region but many of these varieties are not used widely by farmers. One limitation is the lack of information about which are the best adapted varieties for each area within the region, even though on-farm testing of varieties is widely done by different organizations. Data synthesis of existing on-farm trial data can help to predict the suitability of varieties to areas within the region where trials were not conducted. Data synthesis is facilitated by a new participatory on-farm testing approach, triadic comparison of technologies (tricot). This approach involves the participation of farmers as citizen scientists at scale and ensures data are collected digitally, facilitating data synthesis. From 2015 to 2018, more than 2,000 tricot trial plots were established in Central America by different organizations, including agricultural research centers, universities, NGOs, and farmer’s associations. The trials tested landraces, experimental lines, and improved varieties created with both conventional and participatory breeding approaches. We applied an innovative data synthesis method to analyze the tricot trial data jointly, including seasonal climate and soil covariates to assess environmental adaptation. The results showed that the method was able to predict farmers’ overall appreciation of varieties in unsampled areas

Assessment of the Public Administration Tools for the improvement of the Eco-efficiency of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) face barriers to the implementation and development of eco-efficiency that could be overcome taking advantage of the adequate stimuli and incentives. A previous research and a thorough literature analysis show Public Administration (PA) is a key stakeholder. PA could use better its tools to stimulate SME to improve their ecoefficiency. Among these tools it can be named well known command and control tools like legislation or taxes, but also price policies, green procurement, ecological education, eco-innovation support and others. This paper reviews these tools and how they contribute to overcome barriers to ecoefficiency by offering external and internal incentives for SME. The analysis is focused on the case of Venezuelan public administration and SME but it can be generalized to other case studies. In addition, a panel of experts validates the results and assesses the public administration tools by means of the policy Delphi method. The assessment is based on criteria like: market influence, capability of the public administration for controlling results, tool costs, impact on public administration image, timespan to get results, etc. The assessment, therefore, allows ranking and understanding the tools according to their effectiveness and efficiency to support SME to improve their ecoefficiency. Due to the specific characteristics of the case study: SME of Venezuela, the method shows the best mix of public administration tools includes mainly command and control tools. Also the mix includes certain new-approach tools like advertising about responsible consumption and eco-efficient products, or education/training in environmental responsibility. The method also allows understanding better how the tools will help accomplishing the objectives for ecoefficiency of the public administration. Therefore, this research provides a method for raising information to be used when planning the actions to improve eco-efficiency of the SME.Fernández-Viñé, MB.; Gómez-Navarro, T.; Capuz-Rizo, SF. (2013). Assessment of the Public Administration Tools for the improvement of the Eco-efficiency of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. Journal of Cleaner Production. 47:265-273. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.08.026S2652734

RyRCa2+ Leak Limits Cardiac Ca2+ Window Current Overcoming the Tonic Effect of Calmodulin in Mice

Ca2+ mediates the functional coupling between L-type Ca2+ channel (LTCC) and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release channel (ryanodine receptor, RyR), participating in key pathophysiological processes. This crosstalk manifests as the orthograde Ca2+-induced Ca2+-release (CICR) mechanism triggered by Ca2+ influx, but also as the retrograde Ca2+-dependent inactivation (CDI) of LTCC, which depends on both Ca2+ permeating through the LTCC itself and on SR Ca2+ release through the RyR. This latter effect has been suggested to rely on local rather than global Ca2+ signaling, which might parallel the nanodomain control of CDI carried out through calmodulin (CaM). Analyzing the CICR in catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) mice as a model of RyR-generated Ca2+ leak, we evidence here that increased occurrence of the discrete local SR Ca2+ releases through the RyRs (Ca2+ sparks) causea depolarizing shift in activation and a hyperpolarizing shift inisochronic inactivation of cardiac LTCC current resulting in the reduction of window current. Both increasing fast [Ca2+]i buffer capacity or depleting SR Ca2+ store blunted these changes, which could be reproduced in WT cells by RyRCa2+ leak induced with Ryanodol and CaM inhibition.Our results unveiled a new paradigm for CaM-dependent effect on LTCC gating and further the nanodomain Ca2+ control of LTCC, emphasizing the importance of spatio-temporal relationships between Ca2+ signals and CaM function

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]