Decoding Gene Expression Signatures Underlying Vegetative to Inflorescence Meristem Transition in the Common Bean

The tropical common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an obligatory short-day plant that requires relaxation of the photoperiod to induce flowering. Similar to other crops, photoperiod-induced floral initiation depends on the differentiation and maintenance of meristems. In this study, the global changes in transcript expression profiles were analyzed in two meristematic tissues corresponding to the vegetative and inflorescence meristems of two genotypes with different sensitivities to photoperiods. A total of 3396 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, and 1271 and 1533 were found to be up-regulated and down-regulated, respectively, whereas 592 genes showed discordant expression patterns between both genotypes. Arabidopsis homologues of DEGs were identified, and most of them were not previously involved in Arabidopsis floral transition, suggesting an evolutionary divergence of the transcriptional regulatory networks of the flowering process of both species. However, some genes belonging to the photoperiod and flower development pathways with evolutionarily conserved transcriptional profiles have been found. In addition, the flower meristem identity genes APETALA1 and LEAFY, as well as CONSTANS-LIKE 5, were identified as markers to distinguish between the vegetative and reproductive stages. Our data also indicated that the down-regulation of the photoperiodic genes seems to be directly associated with promoting floral transition under inductive short-day lengths. These findings provide valuable insight into the molecular factors that underlie meristematic development and contribute to understanding the photoperiod adaptation in the common bean.MCIN/AEI PDI2020-114115RB-100MAPAERDF A way of making Europe European Commission European Union NextGenera-tionEU/PRT

Substrate-induced enhancement of the chemical reactivity in metal-supported graphene

Graphene is commonly regarded as an inert material. However, it is well known that the presence of defects or substitutional hetero-atoms confers graphene promising catalytic properties. In this work, we use first-principles calculations to show that it is also possible to enhance the chemical reactivity of a graphene layer by simply growing it on an appropriate substrate. Our comprehensive study demonstrates that, in strongly interacting substrates like Rh(111), graphene adopts highly rippled structures that exhibit areas with distinctive chemical behaviors. According to the local coupling with the substrate, we find areas with markedly different adsorption, dissociation and diffusion pathways for both molecular and atomic oxygen, including a significant change in the nature of the adsorbed molecular and dissociated states, and a dramatic reduction (∼60%) of the O2dissociation energy barrier with respect to free-standing graphene. Our results show that the graphene-metal interaction represents an additional and powerful handle to tailor the graphene chemical properties with potential applications to nano patterning, graphene functionalization and sensing devicesWe thank the financial support from the Spanish MINECO (projects MAT2014-54484-P, MDM-2014-0377, MAT2016-77852-C2-2-R (AEI/FEDER, UE) and MAT2017-83273-R (AEI/FEDER,UE)). Computer time provided by the Spanish Supercomputer Network (RES) at the Magerit (CesViMa, Madrid) and Altamira (IFCA, Santander) supercomputers. CRM is grateful to the FPI-UAM graduate scholarship program and to Fundación Universia for financial suppor

Informe de seguimiento de la actividad de los Ministerios en relación con los Programas del Marco General para la Mejora de la Calidad de la Administración General del Estado durante 2011: Real Decreto 951/2005, de 29 de julio, por el que se establece el Marco General para la Mejora de la Calidad en la AGE

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Optimización de sistemas de fabricación ciberfísicos en industria 4.0 con big data

El combustible de la cuarta revolución industrial, apodada como "Industria 4.0" por el Gobierno Alemán, será Big Data la cual estará disponible a través de Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). El objetivo es crear fábricas inteligentes, en las que las máquinas y los recursos se comuniquen como en una red social. Tal fábrica inteligente, estará diseñada para producir Smart Product (productos inteligentes) que sabrán cómo se han producido a la vez que recopilarán y transmitirán datos a medida que son utilizados; estas enormes cantidades de datos (Big Data) se recopilarán y analizarán en tiempo real. Para ello, desarrollaremos una visión holística para la aplicación de big data tanto del ciclo de vida del producto, el negocio que conlleva dicho producto, la infraestructura necesaria para su fabricación y el proceso productivo que lo materializa.The fuel of the four industrial revolution , called “Industry 4.0” by the German govern, will be Big Data which will be available through Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). The goal is create smart factories. In this factories the machines and the resources will be communicate like a social network. The smart factory will be design to produced smart product. This products will know how they have produced while they will collect and transmit data as they are used. This Big Data will be collected and will be analyzed in streaming. To do this, we will develop a holistic vision for the application of big data both in the life cycle of the product, the business that this product entails, the necessary infrastructure for its manufacture and the productive process that materializes it.Plan Propio de la Universidad de Sevilla Proyecto: 2017/0000096

Decreased antimony uptake and overexpression of genes of thiol metabolism are associated with drug resistance in a canine isolate of Leishmania infantum

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum, is one of the most important zoonotic diseases affecting dogs and humans in the Mediterranean area. The presence of infected dogs as the main reservoir host of L. infantum is regarded as the most significant risk for potential human infection. We have studied the susceptibility profile to antimony and other anti-leishmania drugs (amphotericin B, miltefosine, paromomycin) in Leishmania infantum isolates extracted from a dog before and after two therapeutic interventions with meglumine antimoniate (subcutaneous Glucantime®, 100 mg/kg/day for 28 days). After the therapeutic intervention, these parasites were significantly less susceptible to antimony than pretreatment isolate, presenting a resistance index of 6-fold to SbIII for promastigotes and >3-fold to SbIII and 3-fold to SbV for intracellular amastigotes. The susceptibility profile of this resistant L. infantum line is related to a decreased antimony uptake due to lower aquaglyceroporin-1 expression levels. Additionally, other mechanisms including an increase in thiols and overexpression of enzymes involved in thiol metabolism, such as ornithine decarboxylase, trypanothione reductase, mitochondrial tryparedoxin and mitochondrial tryparedoxin peroxidase, could contribute to the resistance as antimony detoxification mechanisms. A major contribution of this study in a canine L. infantum isolate is to find an antimony-resistant mechanism similar to that previously described in other human clinical isolates.This work was supported by the Spanish Grants Proyecto de Excelencia, Junta de Andalucía Ref. CTS-7282 (to F.G.), SAF2012-34267 (to F.G.), FEDER funds from the EU to S.C. and F.G., and by the University of Granada (CEI-Biotic project 2013/1/4 and Pilot Prototypes and Experiences PR/12/011)Peer reviewe

MiR-7 controls cholesterol biosynthesis through posttranscriptional regulation of DHCR24 expression

Dysregulation of cholesterol homeostasis is associated with several pathologies including cardiovascular diseases and neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key post-transcriptional regulators of cholesterol metabolism. We previously established the role of miR-7 in regulating insulin resistance and amyloidosis, which represents a common pathological feature between type 2 diabetes and AD. We show here an additional metabolic function of miR-7 in cholesterol biosynthesis. We found that miR-7 blocks the last steps of the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway in vitro by targeting relevant genes including DHCR24 and SC5D posttranscriptionally. Intracranial infusion of miR-7 on an adeno-associated viral vector reduced the expression of DHCR24 in the brain of wild-type mice, supporting in vivo miR-7 targeting. We also found that cholesterol regulates endogenous levels of miR-7 in vitro, correlating with transcriptional regulation through SREBP2 binding to its promoter region. In parallel to SREBP2 inhibition, the levels of miR-7 and hnRNPK (the host gene of miR-7) were concomitantly reduced in brain in a mouse model of Niemann Pick type C1 disease and in murine fatty liver, which are both characterized by intracellular cholesterol accumulation. Taken together, the results establish a novel regulatory feedback loop by which miR-7 modulates cholesterol homeostasis at the posttranscriptional level, an effect that could be exploited for therapeutic interventions against prevalent human diseases.This work was supported by the “Talento Program” from the Madrid Government, Spain (2017-T1/BMD-5333 and 2021-5A/BMD-20964), (RTI2018-095061-B-I00) and (PID2021-128264OB-I00) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and “ERDF A way of making Europe” by the European Union (to CMR); Consejería de Educación e Investigación from the Madrid Government, Spain: “Convocatoria de ayudas para la contratación de ayudantes de investigación” (PEJ-2018-AI/BMD-9724) (to CMR and MT-P); “Convocatoria de ayudas para la contratación de investigadores postdoctorales” (PEDJ-2018-POST/BDM-8900) (to CMR and AP-G) and “Convocatoria de ayudas para la contratación de investigadores predoctorales” (PEJD-2019-PRE/BMD-14499) (to CMR and YM-M) from the Madrid Government, Spain; (RTI2018-098113-B-I00) (to RB and DGC) and (PID2021-122766OB-I00) (to AMV) and (PID2020-112830RB-I00) (to MD-L) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and “ERDF A way of making Europe” by the European Union; (PI18/01152 and PI21/01173) funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III, (ISCIII) (to OP); Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERdem), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain (research contract of P-R) and 2021-5A/BMD-20964 (research contract of VP-M). We thank the Quantification and Molecular Characterization Unit and the Lipid and Lipoprotein Unit (IRYCIS) for support

Terminal restriction fragment length polimorphism (T-RFLP) : una herramienta útil para valorar la dinámica y la diversidad de la población microbiana en aves y cerdos

El ecosistema intestinal es un medio complejo y dinámico que puede verse afectado puntualmente por numerosos factores propios del individuo pero también por numerosos factores ambientales o externos (como puede ser la dieta). La necesidad de conocer de una forma rápida y reproducible cómo es la dinámica de la población bacteriana, así como su estructura está siendo posible gracias al desarrollo de técnicas moleculares aplicadas como DGGE (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis)1, TGGE (Temperatura Gradient Gel Electrophoresis)2, SSCP (Single Strand Conformation Polimorphism)3 y T-RFLP (Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polimorphism)4. Estas técnicas moleculares aprovechan la característica de universalidad del gen que codifica para el 16S ARNr, presente en prácticamente la totalidad de las especies bacterianas. La presencia de secuencias altamente conservadas hace posible el diseño de primers o cebadores que permitan la amplificación mediante PCR del total de la población bacteriana de la muestra. Son las regiones variables (polimórficas) del gen que codifica el 16S ARNr las que se aprovechan para la diferenciación. En el T-RFLP, estas diferencias entre especies o géneros bacterianos se ponen de manifiesto tras la digestión con endonucleasas de restricción del producto de PCR marcado. Únicamente el fragmento del extremo terminal será visible por electroforesis capilar gracias al mareaje fluorescente de uno de los cebadores. El perfil que se genera (electroferograma) nos permite obtener información del número de fragmentos (riqueza), de su tamaño en pares de bases (bp) (para una posible inferencia de la especie bacteriana presente) y de su altura (lo que puede orientar sobre la importancia de un determinado grupo bacteriano dentro de una muestra), siempre sin olvidar las desviaciones inherentes propias de la PCR. Es posible también calcular la frecuencia de detección de un determinado pico (especie) respecto al total de muestras así como construir con ayuda de programas informáticos matrices de similitud o dendogramas. Empleando herramientas disponibles en la red como: TAP-tRFLP del software Ribosomal Database Project II o ISPaR del software MiCA (Microbial Community Analysis) es posible hacer una asignación teórica de la especie o género bacteriano a cada uno de los picos en base a las secuencias depositadas por otros autores. Sin embargo un mismo pico puede tener su origen en distintas especies. Disponer alternativamente de secuencias propias obtenidas tras la clonación del 16S ARN de muestras de nuestros animales nos permite hacer una asignación teórica más firme, considerando únicamente aquellas especies mayoritarias encontradas

Effects of weight loss after bariatric surgery on pulmonary function tests and aobtructive sleep apnea in morbidly obese women

Introducción: la obesidad afecta a la función respiratoria e incrementa el riesgo de síndrome de apneas-hipopneas del sueño (SAHS). Objetivo: evaluar el efecto de la cirugía bariátrica, en mujeres con obesidad mórbida, sobre la función respiratoria y sobre el índice de apneas-hipopneas (IAH) tras dos años de seguimiento. Métodos: se incluyeron 15 mujeres (índice de masa corporal [IMC] medio 50,52 ± 12,71 kg.m-2, edad media 40,13 ± 10,06 años). Los enfermos fueron analizados en dos fases: previo a la cirugía bariátrica y tras dos años de la misma. En cada visita se valoraron las medidas antropométricas y se realizaron pruebas de función respiratoria consistentes en espirometría, pletismografía, medida de la presión inspiratoria máxima y del índice de tensión-tiempo de los músculos inspiratorios, así como análisis de gases arteriales. Por último, también se efectuó una poligrafía cardiorrespiratoria durante el sueño. Resultados: tras la cirugía bariátrica el IMC disminuyó en 44,07 kg.m-2 (IC 95% 38,32 – 49,81). De igual forma, se observaron incrementos significativos en el volumen espiratorio forzado al primer segundo (FEV1) (p < 0,01), la capacidad vital forzada (FVC) (p < 0,01), el volumen de reserva espiratorio (ERV) (p = 0,040), la capacidad funcional residual (FRC) (p = 0,009) y la resistencia de las vías aéreas (Raw) (p = 0,018). Por otra parte, el IAH (p = 0,001) y el índice de desaturación de oxígeno (p = 0,001) disminuyeron tras la cirugía. Se observó una correlación significativa entre el grado de pérdida de peso y el incremento del ERV (0,774, p = 0,024). Conclusiones: tras dos años desde la cirugía bariátrica se siguen observando mejorías significativas en la función respiratoria y en la gravedad del SAHS. La mejoría del ERV estaría en relación directa con los niveles de peso perdidoIntroduction: obesity impacts on respiratory function and also it acts as a risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Aims: to study the effects of bariatric surgery on pulmonary function tests and on OSA in morbidly obese women over 4 years. Methods: fifteen morbidly obese women (mean body mass index [BMI] 50.52 ± 12.71 kg.m-2, mean age 40.13 ± 10.06 years) underwent pulmonary function tests (PFT) in two opportunities (before and after weight loss surgery). PFT included spirometry, body plethysmography and measure of maximal inspiratory mouth pressure (PImax) and of tension-time index for inspiratory muscles. Also, in both opportunities, resting arterial blood gas tensions were evaluated and a full night sleep register was performed. Results: BMI significantly decreased after bariatric surgery (-44.07 kg.m-2 [CI 95% -38.32 – -49.81]). Also, there was a significantly increase in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) (p < 0.01), forced vital capacity (FVC) (p < 0.01), expiratory reserve volume (ERV) (p = 0.040), functional residual capacity (FRC) (p = 0.009) and a decline in airways resistance (Raw) (p = 0.018). Concerning sleep registers, apnea hypopnea index (p = 0.001) and desaturation index (p = 0.001) were also reduced after weight loss. Improve in ERV had a significant correlation with weight loss (r = 0.774, p = 0.024). Conclussions: pulmonary function tests and apnea hypopnea index improve after bariatric surgery in mor- bidly obese women. Improvement of ERV is well correlated with weight los

Compuestos perfluorados en equinodermos marinos: metodología analítica para su determinación y monitorización

Los disruptores endocrinos están en el punto de mira de estudios ambientales y ecotoxicológicos. Entre ellos destacan los compuestos perfluorados, tanto por su amplio uso industrial y doméstico como por su elevada actividad estrogénica. Se descargan al medio ambiente a través de efluentes industriales y de estaciones depuradoras de aguas residuales afectando principalmente a la biota donde pueden bioacumularse. En este trabajo se propone un método analítico para la determinación de seis compuestos perfluorados en organismos marinos (Holothuria tubulosa) y se lleva a cabo un programa de monitorización ambiental para el seguimiento de estos compuestos. El análisis de las muestras se realizó mediante extracción con disolventes, limpieza del extracto por extracción en fase sólida dispersiva y posterior determinación mediante cromatografía de líquidos con detección de espectrometría de masas en tándem. Las recuperaciones obtenidas se situaron en el rango de 84 a 101 % y límites de cuantificación inferior a 0,03 ng/g (peso seco (ps)). Todas las muestras dieron positivas en el análisis de los contaminantes con concentraciones entre 667 ng/g (ps) para el ácido perfluorooctanoico y 0,81 ng/g (ps) para el ácido perfluoropentanoico. Además, se observaron concentraciones más elevadas para los compuestos perfluorados de mayor cadena fluorocarbonada.In recent years endocrine disruptors have come into the spotlight of environmental and ecotoxicological studies. Among them, perfluorinated compounds stand out, both, for their wide industrial and domestic use and for their elevated estrogenic activity, showing adverse effects at trace level. They are released into the environment through industrial waste and wastewater discharges affecting to marine organisms, where they can accumulate. To contribute to this goal, this work proposes an analytical method for the simultaneous determination of six perfluorinated compounds in marine organisms (Holothuria tubulosa) and an environmental monitoring program is carried out in these organisms. The sample treatment involve steps of solvent extraction and clean-up of the extracts with dispersive sorbents prior to liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Recoveries between 84 and 101 %, precision (RSD < 9 %) and limits of quantification below 0.03 ng/g dry weight (d.w.) were achieved. All tested samples were positive in the analysis of contaminants with concentrations between 667 ng/g (dw) for perflorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and 0.81 ng/g (dw) for perfloropentanoic acid (PFPeA). In general, perfluorinated compounds of larger fluorocarbonated chain were quantified at higher concentration levels than those of shorter one.Plan Propio de la Universidad de Sevilla Proyecto: 2017/0000096

Results of a university experience, comparing face-toface, online and hybrid teaching in a context of Sarscov19

[EN] The irruption of sarscov19 in the spring of 2020 was a challenge for everyone, particularly university teaching, where solutions had to be improvised urgently. Technological resources and online teaching played a fundamental role, and the involvement of students, teachers and administration led to an acceptable outcome. After the first impact of the pandemic, new alternatives compatible with the protocols of social distancing and health security were proposed in the planning for the academic year 2020-2021. As in many other universities, a synchronous hybrid learning (SHL) model was offered at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), combining online learning and face-to-face (F2F) activities. In the SHL model, some students attended classes in-person (the room capacity limited the number according to the minimum distances between people required) and stream for the rest of the students, who followed the class simultaneously. In addition, the classes were recorded to enable their asynchronous use. SHL was only used when the conditions were favourable. Vulnerable teachers were teaching entirely online in their groups. When the number of students in a group was small enough, teaching was fully F2F, maintaining the online option only for vulnerable or confined students. The laboratory practices followed a similar hybrid scheme. The tutorials were attended by email or videoconference, and the exams were preferably in-person, with ad hoc solutions in the cases of confined or vulnerable students. Between February and June 2021, a pilot experience was carried out in the Electricity course of the degree in Electronic Engineering and Industrial Automation at the UPV. Three groups were taught with a different methodology: online, SHL and F2F teaching. Planning, academic resources, and evaluation were the same in the three groups. All three followed active flipped classroom methods. In this paper, the student's academic outcomes and the results of opinion surveys conducted on the activities are presented. Results are analysed in terms of the three groups/methodologies showing reasonable doubts about the SHL model where, the academic results and the student's opinions are significantly lower than the other two methodologies. These results could help to decide the best methodological solution if we had a similar situation in the future.Authors would like to thank the Institute of Education Sciences of the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain) for supporting the Teaching Innovation Group e-MACAFI and for the financial support through PIME Project PIME 20-21/220 and PIME Project PIME/2018/B25.Tort-Ausina, I.; Gómez-Tejedor, J.; Molina Mateo, J.; Riera Guasp, J.; Meseguer Dueñas, JM.; Martín-Cabezuelo, R.; Vidaurre, A. (2022). Results of a university experience, comparing face-toface, online and hybrid teaching in a context of Sarscov19. IATED. 896-905. https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2022.025889690