BatNet: a 6LoWPAN-based sensors and actuators network

Improving energy efficiency in buildings is one of the goals of the Smart City initiatives and a challenge for the European Union. This paper presents a 6LoWPAN wireless transducer network (BatNet) as part of an open energy management system. This network has been designed to operate in buildings, to collect environmental information (temperature, humidity, illumination and presence) and electrical consumption in real time (voltage, current and power factor). The system has been implemented and tested in the Energy Efficiency Research Facility at CeDInt-UPM

Pepper Rootstock and Scion Physiological Responses Under Drought Stress

[EN] In vegetables, tolerance to drought can be improved by grafting commercial varieties onto drought tolerant rootstocks. Grafting has emerged as a tool that copes with drought stress. In previous results, the A25 pepper rootstock accession showed good tolerance to drought in fruit production terms compared with non-grafted plants and other rootstocks. The aim of this work was to study if short-term exposure to drought in grafted plants using A25 as a rootstock would show tolerance to drought now. To fulfill this objective, some physiological processes involved in roots (rootstock) and leaves (scion) of grafted pepper plants were analyzed. Pepper plants not grafted (A), self-grafted (A/A), and grafted onto a tolerant pepper rootstock A25 (A/A25) were grown under severe water stress induced by PEG addition (-0.55 MPa) or under control conditions for 7 days in hydroponic pure solution. According to our results, water stress severity was alleviated by using the A25 rootstock in grafted plants (A/A25), which indicated that mechanisms stimulated by roots are essential to withstand stress. A/A25 had a bigger root biomass compared with plants A and A/A that resulted in better water absorption, water retention capacity and a sustained CO2 assimilation rate. Consequently, plants A/A25 had a better carbon balance, supported by greater nitrate reductase activity located mainly in leaves. In the non-grafted and self-grafted plants, the photosynthesis rate lowered due to stomatal closure, which limited transpiration. Consequently, part of NO3- uptake was reduced in roots. This condition limited water uptake and CO2 fixation in plants A and A/A under drought stress, and accelerated oxidative damage by producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and H2O2, which were highest in their leaves, indicating great sensitivity to drought stress and induced membrane lipid peroxidation. However, drought deleterious effects were slightly marked in plants A compared to A/A. To conclude, the A25 rootstock protects the scion against oxidative stress, which is provoked by drought, and shows better C and N balances that enabled the biomass to be maintained under water stress for short-term exposure, with higher yields in the field.This work has funded by INIA (Spain) through Project RTA2017-00030-C02-00 and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). LL-S is a beneficiary of a doctoral fellowship (FPI-INIA).Lopez-Serrano, L.; Canet-Sanchis, G.; Selak, G.; Penella-Casañ, C.; San Bautista Primo, A.; López Galarza, SV.; Calatayud, A. (2019). Pepper Rootstock and Scion Physiological Responses Under Drought Stress. Frontiers in Plant Science. 10:1-13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.00038S11310. O. A., . N. O., & . Y. G. (2007). Effect of Grafting on Watermelon Plant Growth, Yield and Quality. 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NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 58(3-4), 193-205. doi:10.1016/j.njas.2010.04.001Lee, J.-M., Kubota, C., Tsao, S. J., Bie, Z., Echevarria, P. H., Morra, L., & Oda, M. (2010). Current status of vegetable grafting: Diffusion, grafting techniques, automation. Scientia Horticulturae, 127(2), 93-105. doi:10.1016/j.scienta.2010.08.003Lexa, M., & Cheeseman, J. M. (1997). Growth and nitrogen relations in reciprocal grafts of wild-type and nitrate reductase-deficient mutants of pea (Pisum sativumL. var. Juneau). Journal of Experimental Botany, 48(6), 1241-1250. doi:10.1093/jxb/48.6.1241LI, H., LIU, S., YI, C., WANG, F., ZHOU, J., XIA, X., … YU, J. (2014). Hydrogen peroxide mediates abscisic acid‐induced HSP 70 accumulation and heat tolerance in grafted cucumber plants. Plant, Cell & Environment, 37(12), 2768-2780. doi:10.1111/pce.12360Lillo, C., Meyer, C., Lea, U. S., Provan, F., & Oltedal, S. (2004). Mechanism and importance of post-translational regulation of nitrate reductase. Journal of Experimental Botany, 55(401), 1275-1282. doi:10.1093/jxb/erh132Liu, S., Li, H., Lv, X., Ahammed, G. J., Xia, X., Zhou, J., … Zhou, Y. (2016). Grafting cucumber onto luffa improves drought tolerance by increasing ABA biosynthesis and sensitivity. Scientific Reports, 6(1). doi:10.1038/srep20212Loggini, B., Scartazza, A., Brugnoli, E., & Navari-Izzo, F. (1999). Antioxidative Defense System, Pigment Composition, and Photosynthetic Efficiency in Two Wheat Cultivars Subjected to Drought. Plant Physiology, 119(3), 1091-1100. doi:10.1104/pp.119.3.1091Martı́nez-Ballesta, M. C., Martı́nez, V., & Carvajal, M. (2004). Osmotic adjustment, water relations and gas exchange in pepper plants grown under NaCl or KCl. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 52(2), 161-174. doi:10.1016/j.envexpbot.2004.01.012Martinez-Rodriguez, M. M., Estañ, M. T., Moyano, E., Garcia-Abellan, J. O., Flores, F. B., Campos, J. F., … Bolarín, M. C. (2008). The effectiveness of grafting to improve salt tolerance in tomato when an ‘excluder’ genotype is used as scion. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 63(1-3), 392-401. doi:10.1016/j.envexpbot.2007.12.007Munns, R., Husain, S., Rivelli, A. R., James, R. A., Condon, A. G. T., Lindsay, M. P., … Hare, R. A. (2002). Avenues for increasing salt tolerance of crops, and the role of physiologically based selection traits. Progress in Plant Nutrition: Plenary Lectures of the XIV International Plant Nutrition Colloquium, 93-105. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-2789-1_7Navarro, J. M., Garrido, C., Martínez, V., & Carvajal, M. (2003). Water relations and xylem transport of nutrients in pepper plants grown under two different salts stress regimes. Plant Growth Regulation, 41(3), 237-245. doi:10.1023/b:grow.0000007515.72795.c5Orsini, F., Sanoubar, R., Oztekin, G. B., Kappel, N., Tepecik, M., Quacquarelli, C., … Gianquinto, G. (2013). Improved stomatal regulation and ion partitioning boosts salt tolerance in grafted melon. Functional Plant Biology, 40(6), 628. doi:10.1071/fp12350Penella, C., Landi, M., Guidi, L., Nebauer, S. G., Pellegrini, E., Bautista, A. S., … Calatayud, A. (2016). Salt-tolerant rootstock increases yield of pepper under salinity through maintenance of photosynthetic performance and sinks strength. Journal of Plant Physiology, 193, 1-11. doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2016.02.007Penella, C., Nebauer, S. G., López-Galarza, S., Quiñones, A., San Bautista, A., & Calatayud, Á. (2017). Grafting pepper onto tolerant rootstocks: An environmental-friendly technique overcome water and salt stress. Scientia Horticulturae, 226, 33-41. doi:10.1016/j.scienta.2017.08.020Penella, C., Nebauer, S. G., López-Galarza, S., SanBautista, A., Rodríguez-Burruezo, A., & Calatayud, A. (2014). Evaluation of some pepper genotypes as rootstocks in water stress conditions. Horticultural Science, 41(No. 4), 192-200. doi:10.17221/163/2013-hortsciPenella, C., Nebauer, S. G., Bautista, A. S., López-Galarza, S., & Calatayud, Á. (2014). Rootstock alleviates PEG-induced water stress in grafted pepper seedlings: Physiological responses. Journal of Plant Physiology, 171(10), 842-851. doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2014.01.013Reddy, A. R., Chaitanya, K. V., & Vivekanandan, M. (2004). Drought-induced responses of photosynthesis and antioxidant metabolism in higher plants. Journal of Plant Physiology, 161(11), 1189-1202. doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2004.01.013Rivero, R. M., Ruiz, J. M., & Romero, L. (2003). Can grafting in tomato plants strengthen resistance to thermal stress? Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 83(13), 1315-1319. doi:10.1002/jsfa.1541Rivero, R. M., Ruiz, J. M., Sánchez, E., & Romero, L. (2002). Does grafting provide tomato plants an advantage against H2 O2 production under conditions of thermal shock? Physiologia Plantarum, 117(1), 44-50. doi:10.1034/j.1399-3054.2003.1170105.xColla, G., Rouphael, Y., Cardarelli, M., Massa, D., Salerno, A., & Rea, E. (2006). Yield, fruit quality and mineral composition of grafted melon plants grown under saline conditions. The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, 81(1), 146-152. doi:10.1080/14620316.2006.11512041Sade, N., Gebremedhin, A., & Moshelion, M. (2012). Risk-taking plants. Plant Signaling & Behavior, 7(7), 767-770. doi:10.4161/psb.20505Sairam, R. K., & Srivastava, G. C. (2001). Water Stress Tolerance of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.): Variations in Hydrogen Peroxide Accumulation and Antioxidant Activity in Tolerant and Susceptible Genotypes. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 186(1), 63-70. doi:10.1046/j.1439-037x.2001.00461.xSánchez-Rodríguez, E., Leyva, R., Constán-Aguilar, C., Romero, L., & Ruiz, J. M. (2014). How does grafting affect the ionome of cherry tomato plants under water stress? Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 60(2), 145-155. doi:10.1080/00380768.2013.870873Sánchez-Rodríguez, E., Romero, L., & Ruiz, J. M. (2013). Role of Grafting in Resistance to Water Stress in Tomato Plants: Ammonia Production and Assimilation. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, 32(4), 831-842. doi:10.1007/s00344-013-9348-2Sánchez-Rodríguez, E., Rubio-Wilhelmi, M. del M., Blasco, B., Leyva, R., Romero, L., & Ruiz, J. M. (2012). Antioxidant response resides in the shoot in reciprocal grafts of drought-tolerant and drought-sensitive cultivars in tomato under water stress. Plant Science, 188-189, 89-96. doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2011.12.019Savvas, D., Colla, G., Rouphael, Y., & Schwarz, D. (2010). Amelioration of heavy metal and nutrient stress in fruit vegetables by grafting. Scientia Horticulturae, 127(2), 156-161. doi:10.1016/j.scienta.2010.09.011Savvas, D., Savva, A., Ntatsi, G., Ropokis, A., Karapanos, I., Krumbein, A., & Olympios, C. (2010). Effects of three commercial rootstocks on mineral nutrition, fruit yield, and quality of salinized tomato. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 174(1), 154-162. doi:10.1002/jpln.201000099Scheurwater, I. (2002). The contribution of roots and shoots to whole plant nitrate reduction in fast- and slow-growing grass species. Journal of Experimental Botany, 53(374), 1635-1642. doi:10.1093/jxb/erf008Schwarz, D., Rouphael, Y., Colla, G., & Venema, J. H. (2010). Grafting as a tool to improve tolerance of vegetables to abiotic stresses: Thermal stress, water stress and organic pollutants. Scientia Horticulturae, 127(2), 162-171. doi:10.1016/j.scienta.2010.09.016Sharp, R. E., Wu, Y., Voetberg, G. S., Saab, I. N., & LeNoble, M. E. (1994). Confirmation that abscisic acid accumulation is required for maize primary root elongation at low water potentials. Journal of Experimental Botany, 45(Special_Issue), 1743-1751. doi:10.1093/jxb/45.special_issue.1743Silva, C., Martinez, V., & Carvajal, M. (2008). Osmotic versus toxic effects of NaCl on pepper plants. Biologia plantarum, 52(1), 72-79. doi:10.1007/s10535-008-0010-yTardieu, F. (1998). Variability among species of stomatal control under fluctuating soil water status and evaporative demand: modelling isohydric and anisohydric behaviours. Journal of Experimental Botany, 49(90001), 419-432. doi:10.1093/jexbot/49.suppl_1.419Urban, L., Aarrouf, J., & Bidel, L. P. R. (2017). Assessing the Effects of Water Deficit on Photosynthesis Using Parameters Derived from Measurements of Leaf Gas Exchange and of Chlorophyll a Fluorescence. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8. doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.02068Velikova, V., Yordanov, I., & Edreva, A. (2000). Oxidative stress and some antioxidant systems in acid rain-treated bean plants. Plant Science, 151(1), 59-66. doi:10.1016/s0168-9452(99)00197-1Westgate, M. E., & Boyer, J. S. (1985). Osmotic adjustment and the inhibition of leaf, root, stem and silk growth at low water potentials in maize. 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Hábito de fumar en embarazadas. Hospital de Clínicas de Asunción, 1999

Los objetivos de este estudio fueron: conocer laprevalencia de fumadoras y de expuestas al humo detabaco ambiental ajeno (fumadoras pasivas) entre lasembarazadas en una institución de salud, averiguar elgrado de conocimientos referente a las implicancias deltabaco sobre la salud, evaluar las molestias en un ambientecerrado con gente fumando, conocer la existencia defamiliares fumadores; y entre las fumadoras, conocer elgrado de dependencia a la nicotina, las causas del hábito,los consejos recibidos, los intentos para dejar de fumar.Material y métodos: el diseño de estudio fue el observacional,descriptivo, transversal. Se incluyeron en esteestudio 113 embarazadas (Intervalo de Confianza (IC) del95% ), que acudieron para sus controles en la MaternidadNacional del Hospital de Clínicas de Asunción, durante elaño 1 999. El método utilizado fue el de la encuesta y lainformación fue obtenida por medio de un cuestionario.Los resultados indican un 13,3% (IC95%: 7,0 a 19,6)de fumadoras y 64,6% (IC95%: 55,8 a 73,4) de fumadoraspasivas; entre todas las embarazadas, el 58,4% (IC95%:49,4 a 67,4) conocían el texto de la ley existente, 80,5%(IC95%: 73,2 a 87,8) refirieron sentir molestias en unambiente cerrado con gente fumando, el 53,1% (IC95%:43,9 a 62,3) conocían las enfermedades principales relacionadascon el hábito de fumar, 55,0% (IC95%: 45,8 a64,2) consideraron que el tabaquismo pasivo puede afectarla salud, y el 74,3% (IC95%: 66,3 a 82,3) de los familiaresfumaban; entre las fumadoras, las pruebas de dependenciaa la nicotina registraron dos casos con puntajes de siete yocho, una con cinco y las restantes con puntajes de cero ados, seis de ellas iniciaron el hábito imitando a alguien ycuatro por curiosidad, ocho recibieron consejos para dejarde fumar y 13 intentaron dejar de fumar en promedio endos oportunidades.En conclusión se observo una prevalencia importantede fumadoras activas y pasivas, en su mayoría tuvieronconocimientos sobre las implicancias del tabaco sobre lasalud; entre las fumadoras la alta dependencia a la nicotinafue escasa, en su mayoría intentaron dejar de fumar y recibieronpocos consejos para ello del personal de salud

Neural-Competent Cells of Adult Human Dermis Belong to the Schwann Lineage

SummaryResident neural precursor cells (NPCs) have been reported for a number of adult tissues. Understanding their physiological function or, alternatively, their activation after tissue damage or in vitro manipulation remains an unsolved issue. Here, we investigated the source of human dermal NPCs in adult tissue. By following an unbiased, comprehensive approach employing cell-surface marker screening, cell separation, transcriptomic characterization, and in vivo fate analyses, we found that p75NTR+ precursors of human foreskin can be ascribed to the Schwann (CD56+) and perivascular (CD56−) cell lineages. Moreover, neural differentiation potential was restricted to the p75NTR+CD56+ Schwann cells and mediated by SOX2 expression levels. Double-positive NPCs were similarly obtained from human cardiospheres, indicating that this phenomenon might be widespread

Sphaerodoridae (Annelida: Polychaeta) from the Bellingshausen Sea (Antarctica) with the description of two new species

The examination of polychaete collections obtained during the Spanish Bentart 2006expedition to the Bellingshausen Sea (Antarctica) revealed the presence of several sphaerodorid species. In this work, species belonging to the genera Sphaerodorum Örsted, 1843, Ephesiella Chamberlin, 1919, Clavodorum Hartman and Fauchald, 1971 and Sphaerephesia Fauchald, 1972 are reported including two new species belonging to Sphaerodorum and Sphaerephesia, respectively. A specimen identified as Ephesiella sp. might also represent a new species but, due to its poor state of preservation, a formal description is not possible yet. Furthermore, Sphaerodoropsis polypapillata Hartmann-Schröder and Rosenfeldt, 1988 is transferred to the genus Clavodorum Hartman and Fauchald, 1971 after examination of the type series and specimens obtained from the Bellingshausen Sea.Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología; REN 2001-1074/ANTComisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología; CGL2004-0185

Response to Novel Drugs before and after Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation in Patients with Relapsed Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) remains as an incurable disease and, although allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a potentially curative approach, most patients ultimately relapse, and their treatment remains challenging. Because allo-HSCT can modify not only the biology of the disease, but also the immune system and the microenvironment, it can potentially enhance the response to rescue therapies. Information on the efficacy and safety of novel drugs in patients relapsing after allo-HSCT is lacking, however. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of rescue therapies in patients with MM who relapsed after allo-HSCT, as well as to compare their efficacy before and after allo-HSCT. This retrospective multicenter study included 126 consecutive patients with MM who underwent allo-HSCT between 2000 and 2013 at 8 Spanish centers. All patients engrafted. The incidence of grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was 47%, and nonrelapse mortality within the first 100 days post-transplantation was 13%. After a median follow-up of 92 months, overall survival (OS) was 51% at 2 years and 43% at 5 years. The median progression-free survival after allo-HSCT was 7 months, whereas the median OS after relapse was 33 months. Patients relapsing in the first 6 months after transplantation had a dismal prognosis compared with those who relapsed later (median OS, 11 months versus 120 months; P <.001). The absence of chronic GVHD was associated with reduced OS after relapse (hazard ratio, 3.44; P <.001). Most patients responded to rescue therapies, including proteasome inhibitors (PIs; 62%) and immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs; 77%), with a good toxicity profile. An in-depth evaluation, including the type and intensity of PI- and IMiD-based combinations used before and after allo-HSCT, showed that the overall response rate and duration of response after allo-HSCT were similar to those seen in the pretransplantation period. Patients with MM who relapse after allo-HSCT should be considered candidates for therapy with new drugs, which can achieve similar response rates with similar durability as seen in the pretransplantation period. This pattern does not follow the usual course of the disease outside the transplantation setting, where response rates and time to progression decreases with each consecutive line of treatment

Physics and Applications of Laser Diode Chaos

An overview of chaos in laser diodes is provided which surveys experimental achievements in the area and explains the theory behind the phenomenon. The fundamental physics underpinning this behaviour and also the opportunities for harnessing laser diode chaos for potential applications are discussed. The availability and ease of operation of laser diodes, in a wide range of configurations, make them a convenient test-bed for exploring basic aspects of nonlinear and chaotic dynamics. It also makes them attractive for practical tasks, such as chaos-based secure communications and random number generation. Avenues for future research and development of chaotic laser diodes are also identified.Comment: Published in Nature Photonic

Differentiation stage of myeloma plasma cells: biological and clinical significance

[EN] The notion that plasma cells (PCs) are terminally differentiated has prevented intensive research in multiple myeloma (MM) about their phenotypic plasticity and differentiation. Here, we demonstrated in healthy individuals (n = 20) that the CD19 − CD81 expression axis identifies three bone marrow (BM)PC subsets with distinct age-prevalence, proliferation, replication-history, immunoglobulin-production, and phenotype, consistent with progressively increased differentiation from CD19+CD81+ into CD19 − CD81+ and CD19 − CD81 − BMPCs. Afterwards, we demonstrated in 225 newly diagnosed MM patients that, comparing to normal BMPC counterparts, 59% had fully differentiated (CD19 − CD81 −) clones, 38% intermediate-differentiated (CD19 − CD81+) and 3% less-differentiated (CD19+CD81+) clones. The latter patients had dismal outcome, and PC differentiation emerged as an independent prognostic marker for progression-free (HR: 1.7; P = 0.005) and overall survival (HR: 2.1; P = 0.006). Longitudinal comparison of diagnostic vs minimal-residual-disease samples (n = 40) unraveled that in 20% of patients, less-differentiated PCs subclones become enriched after therapy-induced pressure. We also revealed that CD81 expression is epigenetically regulated, that less-differentiated clonal PCs retain high expression of genes related to preceding B-cell stages (for example: PAX5), and show distinct mutation profile vs fully differentiated PC clones within individual patients. Together, we shed new light into PC plasticity and demonstrated that MM patients harbouring less-differentiated PCs have dismal survival, which might be related to higher chemoresistant potential plus different molecular and genomic profiles