Food sustainability perception at universities: Education and demographic features effects

The 2030 Agenda of the United Nations merged in 17 goals the strong need to change the pattern of human life on the planet in a path of strengthening sustainability especially in an era that is widely defined as Anthropocene. The Global Action Program (GAP) on Education and Sustainable Development was adopted based on the power of education and knowledge with the idea of 'green universities' aimed at improving the perception of sustainability for future policy decisions. Based on a Best-Worst (BW) scaling methodological approach, in this study we quantified the preferences of generation Y at University of Turin as they relate to issues explicitly connected to the ordinary consumption of food and the relationship between this and the perception of a sustainable approach. Data show that sustainability definitions belonging to the environmental and policy dimensions were the most closely related to the sustainability concept by the students interviewed while the economic and socio-cultural spheres were the least appreciated. In relation to food issues, students generally don't attribute high value to the assessment of local production. Few but significant differences were found in some specific topics between male and female groups with women perceiving sustainability consistently linked to the concept of local/territory and to the protection of the environment

REM34 and REM35 control female and male gametophyte development in Arabidopsis thaliana

The REproductive Meristem (REM) gene family encodes for transcription factors belonging to the B3 DNA binding domain superfamily. In Arabidopsis thaliana the REM gene family is composed of 45 members, preferentially expressed during flower, ovule and seed development. Only a few members of this family have been functionally characterized: VERNALIZATION1 (VRN1) and most recently TARGET OF FLC AND SVP1 (TFS1) regulate flowering time and VERDANDI (VDD), together with VALKYRIE (VAL) control the death of the receptive synergid cell in the female gametophyte. We investigated the role of REM34, REM35 and REM36, three closely related and linked genes similarly expressed in both female and male gametophytes. Simultaneous silencing by RNA interference (RNAi) caused about 50% of the ovules to remain unfertilized. Careful evaluation of both ovule and pollen development showed that this partial sterility of the transgenic RNAi lines was due to a post meiotic block in both female and male gametophytes. Furthermore, protein interaction assays revealed that REM34 and REM35 interact, which suggests that they work together during the first stages of gametogenesis

The RNA-dependent DNA methylation pathway is required to restrict SPOROCYTELESS/NOZZLE expression to specify a single female germ cell precursor in Arabidopsis

In higher plants, the female germline is formed from the megaspore mother cell (MMC), a single cell in the premeiotic ovule. Previously, it was reported that mutants in the RNA-dependent DNA methylation (RdDM) pathway might be involved in restricting the female germline to a single nucellus cell. We show that the DRM methyltransferase double mutant drm1drm2 also presents ectopic enlarged cells, consistent with supernumerary MMC-like cells. In wild-type ovules, MMC differentiation requires SPOROCYTELESS/NOZZLE (SPL/NZZ), as demonstrated by the spl/nzz mutant failing to develop an MMC. We address the poorly understood upstream regulation of SPL/NZZ in ovules, showing that the RdDM pathway is important to restrict SPL/NZZ expression. In ago9, rdr6 and drm1drm2 mutants, SPL/NZZ is expressed ectopically, suggesting that the multiple MMC-like cells observed might be attributable to the ectopic expression of SPL/NZZ. We show that the ovule identity gene, SEEDSTICK, directly regulates AGO9 and RDR6 expression in the ovule and therefore indirectly regulates SPL/NZZ expression. A model is presented describing the network required to restrict SPL/NZZ expression to specify a single MMC.Marta A. Mendes, Rosanna Petrella, Mara Cucinotta, Edoardo Vignati, Stefano Gatti, Sara C. Pinto, Dayton C. Bird, Veronica Gregis, Hugh Dickinson, Matthew R. Tucker and Lucia Colomb

Identification and Characterization of RcMADS1, an AGL24 Ortholog from the Holoparasitic Plant Rafflesia cantleyi Solms-Laubach (Rafflesiaceae)

10.1371/journal.pone.0067243PLoS ONE86-POLN

Transcriptomic Characterization of a Synergistic Genetic Interaction during Carpel Margin Meristem Development in Arabidopsis thaliana

In flowering plants the gynoecium is the female reproductive structure. In Arabidopsis thaliana ovules initiate within the developing gynoecium from meristematic tissue located along the margins of the floral carpels. When fertilized the ovules will develop into seeds. SEUSS (SEU) and AINTEGUMENTA (ANT) encode transcriptional regulators that are critical for the proper formation of ovules from the carpel margin meristem (CMM). The synergistic loss of ovule initiation observed in the seu ant double mutant suggests that SEU and ANT share overlapping functions during CMM development. However the molecular mechanism underlying this synergistic interaction is unknown. Using the ATH1 transcriptomics platform we identified transcripts that were differentially expressed in seu ant double mutant relative to wild type and single mutant gynoecia. In particular we sought to identify transcripts whose expression was dependent on the coordinated activities of the SEU and ANT gene products. Our analysis identifies a diverse set of transcripts that display altered expression in the seu ant double mutant tissues. The analysis of overrepresented Gene Ontology classifications suggests a preponderance of transcriptional regulators including multiple members of the REPRODUCTIVE MERISTEMS (REM) and GROWTH-REGULATING FACTOR (GRF) families are mis-regulated in the seu ant gynoecia. Our in situ hybridization analyses indicate that many of these genes are preferentially expressed within the developing CMM. This study is the first step toward a detailed description of the transcriptional regulatory hierarchies that control the development of the CMM and ovule initiation. Understanding the regulatory hierarchy controlled by SEU and ANT will clarify the molecular mechanism of the functional redundancy of these two genes and illuminate the developmental and molecular events required for CMM development and ovule initiation

Combinations of QT-prolonging drugs: towards disentangling pharmacokinetic and pharmaco-dynamic effects in their potentially additive nature.

Background: Whether arrhythmia risks will increase if drugs with electrocardiographic (ECG) QT-prolonging properties are combined is generally supposed but not well studied. Based on available evidence, the Arizona Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (AZCERT) classification defines the risk of QT prolongation for exposure to single drugs. We aimed to investigate how combining AZCERT drug categories impacts QT duration and how relative drug exposure affects the extent of pharmacodynamic drug–drug interactions. Methods: In a cohort of 2558 psychiatric inpatients and outpatients, we modeled whether AZCERT class and number of coprescribed QT-prolonging drugs correlates with observed rate-corrected QT duration (QTc) while also considering age, sex, inpatient status, and other QTc-prolonging risk factors. We concurrently considered administered drug doses and pharmacokinetic interactions modulating drug clearance to calculate individual weights of relative exposure with AZCERT drugs. Because QTc duration is concentration-dependent, we estimated individual drug exposure with these drugs and included this information as weights in weighted regression analyses. Results: Drugs attributing a ‘known’ risk for clinical consequences were associated with the largest QTc prolongations. However, the presence of at least two versus one QTc-prolonging drug yielded nonsignificant prolongations [exposure-weighted parameter estimates with 95% confidence intervals for ‘known’ risk drugs + 0.93 ms (–8.88;10.75)]. Estimates for the ‘conditional’ risk class increased upon refinement with relative drug exposure and coadministration of a ‘known’ risk drug as a further risk factor. Conclusions: These observations indicate that indiscriminate combinations of QTc-prolonging drugs do not necessarily result in additive QTc prolongation and suggest that QT prolongation caused by drug combinations strongly depends on the nature of the combination partners and individual drug exposure. Concurrently, it stresses the value of the AZCERT classification also for the risk prediction of combination therapies with QT-prolonging drugs