Analysis of the mechanical properties of wood attacked by Xylotrechus arvicola (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) larvae, and its influence on the structural properties of the plant

Xylotrechus arvicola is an invasive insect on Vitis vinifera in the main wine-producing regions of the Iberian Peninsula. X. arvicola larvae bore into the grapevine wood and make galleries, which cause structural damages to the plant. The aim of this study was to investigate how grapevine wood infested by larvae affects the mechanical properties of the plant in comparation with those of uninfested wood. Samples of grapevine wood uninfested and infested by larvae were collected from vineyards. Compression and flexural strengths as well as simulated structures of grapevine wood in field, in relation to harvest weight by variety, were used to quantify the wood mechanical properties. Infested wood endured a lower strength and normal tension, and exhibited a reduction in the structural capacities in the simulation of harvest weight of 'Cabernet-Sauvignon' variety (up to 62.0 %). 'Tempranillo' (despite its high mechanical slenderness values) and 'Cabernet-Sauvignon', were the varieties that showed a higher resistance on trunks and branches, respectively. A lower bending moment was observed on the infested branches of all varieties. Changes in the mechanical properties of infested wood suggest a decrease in mechanical resistance of wood attacked by larvae that could contribute to the rupture of the infested grapevine over time. Grapevine wood attacked by X. arvicola larvae could be more sensitive to mechanical external factors in vineyards such as strong winds, harvest weight and vibration exerted by harvesting machines

Temperature changes in the root ecosystem affect plant functionality

18 Pág.Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme heat events that aggravate its negative impact on plant development and agricultural yield. Most experiments designed to study plant adaption to heat stress apply homogeneous high temperatures to both shoot and root. However, this treatment does not mimic the conditions in natural fields, where roots grow in a dark environment with a descending temperature gradient. Excessively high temperatures severely decrease cell division in the root meristem, compromising root growth, while increasing the division of quiescent center cells, likely in an attempt to maintain the stem cell niche under such harsh conditions. Here, we engineered the TGRooZ, a device that generates a temperature gradient for in vitro or greenhouse growth assays. The root systems of plants exposed to high shoot temperatures but cultivated in the TGRooZ grow efficiently and maintain their functionality to sustain proper shoot growth and development. Furthermore, gene expression and rhizosphere or root microbiome composition are significantly less affected in TGRooZ-grown roots than in high-temperature-grown roots, correlating with higher root functionality. Our data indicate that use of the TGRooZ in heat-stress studies can improve our knowledge of plant response to high temperatures, demonstrating its applicability from laboratory studies to the field.This research was supported by grants from the Spanish Government BIO2017-82209-R and PID2020-113479RB-I00 granted by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ to J.C.P and by the “Severo Ochoa Program for Centres of Excellence in R&D” from the Agencia Estatal de Investigación of Spain (grant SEV-2016-0672; 2017–2021) to the C.B.G.P. M.P.G.G. is supported by a postdoctoral contract associated with the “Severo Ochoa Program” and a UPM talent attraction contract. C.M.C. and M.S.-B. are supported by a predoctoral fellowship (BES-2017-082152 and PRE2019-088076 respectively) associated with the Severo Ochoa Program. V.B.G. is supported by the Ministry of Universities (predoctoral fellowship FPU20/07 453). G.C. was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the National Science Foundation (BBSRC-NSF), grant no. BB/V011294/1, and the Leverhulme Trust, grant no. RPG-2019-337.Peer reviewe

Long-term immune response accompanies clinical outcomes in severe asthmatics treated with anti-IL-5/IL-5R biologics

This work was supported by ISCIII - Instituto de Salud Carlos III, FIS (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria - Spanish Health Research Fund) grants PI21/00896 and FI19/00067; Ciber de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES); SEAIC grants 22A07; BASEAS STUDY (Basophils in EosinophilicAsthma) Study Code ESR-20-20764 AstraZeneca International; Comunidad de Madrid grant PEJ2021-AI_BMD-22320 and FEDER funds (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regiona

Estudio de la mejora de la durabilidad de hormigones reciclados con biopolímeros

Una de las mayores preocupaciones que surgen al trabajar con hormigónes reciclados es la de saber cómo garantizar su durabilidad para que sea tan buena como la del hormigón convencional. ¿Es posible hacerlo sin utilizar productos químicos insostenibles?En este estudio se han ensayado varios biopolímeros, considerados como productos naturales respetuosos con el medio ambiente. Los biopolímeros fueron obtenidos en la Universidad Nova de Lisboa (Portugal) mediante un proceso de generación de polihidroxialcanoatos (PHA) utilizando cultivos microbianos mixtos que han actuado sobre biomasa residual procedente de extracto de pino y glicerol. El ensayo, que se llevó a cabo en la Universidad de León, consistió en recubrir con los biopolímeros la cara superior de varias probetas cúbicas de hormigón y evaluar posteriormente la mejora de la durabilidad que los biotratamientos desarrollaban, efecto que se cuantificó mediante el ensayo de absorción de una gota de agua. Las probetas analizadas procedían de dos tipos de hormigón: un hormigón reciclado con 50% de árido grueso natural sustituido por árido reciclado mixto cerámico procedente de residuos de construcción y demolición, y un segundo hormigón, equivalente al anterior, pero en el que se sustituye además el cemento convencional por cemento reciclado. Este cemento reciclado es 75% cemento Portland y 25 % de residuo cerámico. Los resultados mostraron que hay una significativa disminución de la absorción de agua en el hormigón biotratado, siendo notablemente superior en las muestras de hormigón con cemento reciclado

The Wnt signaling receptor Fzd9 is essential for Myc-driven tumorigenesis in pancreatic islets

Zacarías-Fluck, et al identify and validate the Wnt receptor Fzd9 as a key effector of Myc-Wnt signaling cross-talk in a mouse model of Myc-driven pancreatic insulinomas. The huge cadre of genes regulated by Myc has obstructed the identification of critical effectors that are essential for Myc-driven tumorigenesis. Here, we describe how only the lack of the receptor Fzd9, previously identified as a Myc transcriptional target, impairs sustained tumor expansion and β-cell dedifferentiation in a mouse model of Myc-driven insulinoma, allows pancreatic islets to maintain their physiological structure and affects Myc-related global gene expression. Importantly, Wnt signaling inhibition in Fzd9-competent mice largely recapitulates the suppression of proliferation caused by Fzd9 deficiency upon Myc activation. Together, our results indicate that the Wnt signaling receptor Fzd9 is essential for Myc-induced tumorigenesis in pancreatic islets

Coastal upwelling in the Rías Bajas, NW Spain: Contrasting the benthic regimes of Rías de Arosa and de Muros

Versión del editor0,986

Serum micrornas as tool to predict early response to benralizumab in severe eosinophilic asthma

Severe eosinophilic asthma poses a serious health and economic problem, so new therapy approaches have been developed to control it, including biological drugs such as benralizumab, which is a monoclonal antibody that binds to IL-5 receptor alpha subunit and depletes peripheral blood eosinophils rapidly. Biomarkers that predict the response to this drug are needed so that microRNAs (miRNAs) can be useful tools. This study was performed with fifteen severe eosinophilic asthmatic patients treated with benralizumab, and serum miRNAs were evaluated before and after treatment by semi-quantitative PCR (qPCR). Patients showed a clinical improvement after benralizumab administration. Additionally, deregulation of miR-1246, miR-5100 and miR-338-3p was observed in severe asthmatic patients after eight weeks of therapy, and a correlation was found between miR-1246 and eosinophil counts, including a number of exacerbations per year in these severe asthmatics. In silico pathway analysis revealed that these three miRNAs are regulators of the MAPK signaling pathway, regulating target genes implicated in asthma such as NFKB2, NFATC3, DUSP1, DUSP2, DUSP5 and DUSP16. In this study, we observed an altered expression of miR-1246, miR-5100 and miR-338-3p after eight weeks of benralizumab administration, which could be used as early response markers.This manuscript was funded by Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria–FIS and FEDER (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional) [PI15/00803, PI18/00044, and FI16/00036], CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Merck Health Foundation funds, and Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (RTC-2017-6501-1

Estrés percibido y felicidad en adultos mexicanos según estado de salud-enfermedad

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar la relación entre el estrés percibido y la felicidad en adultos mexicanos, así como comparar ambas variables según el estado de salud-enfermedad. La muestra estuvo conformada por 762 adultos mexicanos con una media de edad de 44.96 años, de los cuales el 70.3 % reportó no padecer ninguna enfermedad. Se utilizó la Escala de Estrés Percibido y el Inventario de Felicidad Auténtica. Adicionalmente, los participantes reportaron si padecían alguna enfermedad y seleccionaron, posteriormente, en una lista de opciones. Mediante el SPSS v.24 se realizaron análisis de frecuencias, descriptivos, análisis de correlación y análisis de varianza de un factor. En los resultados se observó una correlación negativa y estadísticamente significativa entre el estrés percibido y la felicidad. Por su parte, solo se observaron diferencias significativas en la subescala de estrés percibido “sobre-pasado por la situación”; fue mayor en el grupo de personas con una enfermedad aguda en comparación con el grupo de personas sanas. Se discuten los principales hallazgos, así como las implicaciones para la práctica psicológica

Laparoscopic Video Analysis for Training and Image Guided Surgery

Automatic analysis of Minimally Invasive Surgical video has the potential to drive new solutions for alleviating needs of safe and reproducible training programs, objective and transparent evaluation systems and navigation tools to assist surgeons and improve patient safety. Surgical video is an always available source of information, which can be used without any additional intrusive hardware in the operating room. This paper is focused on surgical video analysis methods and techniques. It describes authors' contributions in two key aspects, the 3D reconstruction of the surgical field and the segmentation and tracking of tools and organs based on laparoscopic video images. Results are given to illustrate the potential of this field of research, like the calculi of the 3D position and orientation of a tool from its 2D image, or the translation of a preoperative resection plan into a hepatectomy surgical procedure using the shading information of the image. Research efforts are required to further develop these technologies in order to harness all the valuable information available in any video-based surgery