Caracterización e identificación de 449 accesiones de Vitis vinifera L. procedentes de dos colecciones ampelográficas

Vitis vinifera L. és una de les moltes espècies que està sotmesa a una important erosió genètica. Un primer pas per a la preservació d’aquesta espècie és conèixer bé la seva biodiversitat, és per això que el present treball aborda l’estudi de la caracterització molecular de 449 accessions de Vitis vinifera L. procedents de 23 països mitjançant la tècnica dels microsatèl•lits. Prèviament a la caracterització, es fonamental fer una bona extracció d’ADN, ja que sinó, es pot veure compromès el procés d’amplificació. En aquesta tesi s’han dissenyat dues metodologies d’extracció d’ADN. La més polivalent es caracteritza per poder extraure ADN pur de diferents tipus de mostres (tan de fulla jove com adulta, sarment (fusta) i de llavor) en unes 2 h 30 minuts (sent ràpida com un “kit” comercial, però aquest només pot extreure a partir de teixit foliar). La segona metodologia és més ràpida, donat que en només 90 minuts es realitza l’extracció d’ADN, però queda restringida per a mostres de fulla, tan jove com adulta. Posteriorment s’aborda l’estudi de caracterització varietal on s’han identificat 340 varietats diferents, quedant palesa la problemàtica dels errors comesos en denominació de les accessions. Aquests resultats han servit per establir els fonaments per a la creació d’una Base de Dades de Microsatèl•lits d’identificació varietal de Vitis vinifera L. de la Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Finalment, els resultats obtinguts en l’estudi de l’estructura genètica suggereixen l’existència de 4 nous centres de domesticació: 2 localitzats al nord-est i al centre sud-oest de la Península Ibèrica, i 2 més localitzats al sud-est i nord-est de França.La Vitis vinifera L. es una de las muchas especie que se encuentra sometida a una importante erosión genética. Un primer paso para la preservación de esta especie es conocer bien su biodiversidad, es por ello que el presente trabajo aborda el estudio de la caracterización molecular de 449 accesiones de Vitis vinifera L. procedentes de 23 países mediante la técnica de los microsatélites. Previamente a la caracterización, es fundamental realizar una buena extracción de ADN, ya que si no, se puede ver afectado el proceso de amplificación. En esta tesis se han diseñado dos metodologías de extracción de ADN. La más polivalente se caracteriza por poder extraer ADN puro de distintos tipos de muestra (tanto de hoja joven como adulta, sarmiento (madera) y de semilla) en unas 2 h y 30 minutos (siendo rápida como un “kit” comercial, pero éste sólo puede extraer a partir de tejido foliar). La segunda metodología es más rápida, dado que en sólo 90 minutos se realiza la extracción de ADN, pero queda restringida para muestra de hoja, tanto joven como adulta. Posteriormente se aborda el estudio de caracterización varietal donde se han identificado 340 variedades distintas, siendo clara la problemática de los errores en la denominación de las accesiones. Estos resultados han servido para sentar las bases para la creación de un Base de Datos de Microsatélites de identificación varietal de Vitis vinifera L. de la Universidad Rovira i Virgili. Finalmente, los resultados obtenidos en el estudio de la estructura genética sugieren la existencia de 4 nuevos centros de domesticación: 2 localizados al noreste y al centro suroeste de la Península Ibérica, y 2 más localizados al sureste y noreste de Francia.Vitis vinifera L. is one of the species which is subject to important genetic erosion. A first step for the preservation of this species is to know its biodiversity, for this reason this paper deals with the study of the molecular characterization of 449 accessions of Vitis vinifera L. from 23 countries by the microsatellites analysis. Prior the characterization, it is essential to carry out a good DNA extraction. In this thesis two methods of DNA extraction have been designed. The most versatile extracts pure DNA from different types of samples (both young and adult leaf, stem (wood) and seed) in about 2 hours and 30 minutes (fast like a commercial kit, but this only useful to extract DNA from leaf. The second method is faster, because in just 90 minutes the DNA extraction is performed, but is restricted to leaves, both young and adult. Subsequently, it is tackled the study of varietal characterization, 340 different varieties are identified; being present the problems of mislabeling. These results are the groundwork for the creation of a Vitis vinifera Microsatellite Database of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Finally, the results obtained in the study of the genetic structure suggest the existence of 4 new Centers of Domestication: 2 are located in the northeast and centre-southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, and 2 more are located in the southeast and northeast of France

Characterization of multiple sclerosis lesions with distinct clinical correlates through quantitative diffusion MRI

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging can reveal quantitative information about the tissue changes in multiple sclerosis. The recently developed multi-compartment spherical mean technique can map different microscopic properties based only on local diffusion signals, and it may provide specific information on the underlying microstructural modifications that arise in multiple sclerosis. Given that the lesions in multiple sclerosis may reflect different degrees of damage, we hypothesized that quantitative diffusion maps may help characterize the severity of lesions "in vivo" and correlate these to an individual's clinical profile. We evaluated this in a cohort of 59 multiple sclerosis patients (62% female, mean age 44.7 years), for whom demographic and disease information was obtained, and who underwent a comprehensive physical and cognitive evaluation. The magnetic resonance imaging protocol included conventional sequences to define focal lesions, and multi-shell diffusion imaging was used with b-values of 1000, 2000 and 3000 s/mm2 in 180 encoding directions. Quantitative diffusion properties on a macro- and micro-scale were used to discriminate distinct types of lesions through a k-means clustering algorithm, and the number and volume of those lesion types were correlated with parameters of the disease. The combination of diffusion tensor imaging metrics (fractional anisotropy and radial diffusivity) and multi-compartment spherical mean technique values (microscopic fractional anisotropy and intra-neurite volume fraction) differentiated two type of lesions, with a prediction strength of 0.931. The B-type lesions had larger diffusion changes compared to the A-type lesions, irrespective of their location (P < 0.001). The number of A and B type lesions was similar, although in juxtacortical areas B-type lesions predominated (60%, P < 0.001). Also, the percentage of B-type lesion volume was higher (64%, P < 0.001), indicating that these lesions were larger. The number and volume of B-type lesions was related to the severity of disease evolution, clinical disability and cognitive decline (P = 0.004, Bonferroni correction). Specifically, more and larger B-type lesions were correlated with a worse Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score, cerebellar function and cognitive performance. Thus, by combining several microscopic and macroscopic diffusion properties, the severity of damage within focal lesions can be characterized, further contributing to our understanding of the mechanisms that drive disease evolution. Accordingly, the classification of lesion types has the potential to permit more specific and better-targeted treatment of patients with multiple sclerosis

Brettanomyces bruxellensis yeasts: impact on wine and winemaking

Yeasts belonging to the Brettanomyces/Dekkera genus are non-conventional yeasts, which affect winemaking by causing wine spoilage all over the world. This mini-review focuses on recent results concerning the presence of Brettanomyces bruxellensis throughout the wine processing chain. Here, culture-dependent and independent methods to detect this yeast on grapes and at the very early stage of wine production are encompassed. Chemical, physical and biological tools, devised for the prevention and control of such a detrimental species during winemaking are also presented. Finally, the mini-review identifies future research areas relevant to the improvement of wine safety and sensory profiles

El ball de gralles a Catalunya

El treball de fi de grau El ball de gralles a Catalunya ha tingut per objectiu definir el concepte ball de gralles, descriure la formació instrumental, establir una relació històrica, fer‐ne una primera localització i analitzar la situació actual. S’ha partit d’un estat de la qüestió mitjançant la recerca arxivística i el buidatge d’informació a partir de llibres i d’articles publicats, un procés que s’ha completat amb entrevistes amb diversos grallers. El resultat de la recerca —a banda de captar en primera persona les vivències personals dels entrevistats—, ha permès definir i descriure el fenomen, i elaborar‐ne categories segons tres estats conceptuals i filosòfics diferenciats segons l’època, el repertori i els matisos d’ús.El trabajo de fin de grado El ball de gralles a Catalunya ha tenido por objetivo definir el concepto ball de gralles, describir la formación instrumental, establecer una relación histórica, realizar una primera localización y analizar la situación actual. Se ha partido de un estado de la cuestión mediante búsqueda archivística y vaciado de información a partir de libros y artículos publicados, un proceso que se ha completado con entrevistas a distintos grallers. El resultado de la búsqueda —a parte de recoger en primera persona las vivencias personales de los entrevistados— ha permitido definir y describir el fenómeno, y elaborar categorías según tres estados conceptuales y filosóficos diferenciados según la época, el repertorio y los matices de uso.The final year project entitled El ball de gralles a Catalunya aims to define the concept of the traditional Catalan “ball de gralles” concert, as well as to describe the instrumental formation, establish its historic background with society and trace the tradition back to its place of birth, while analysing its current place in culture today. To find the answers to these questions, my research involved archival searches and the consultation of books and published articles, as well as interviews with different gralla musicians. In addition to providing me with first-hand insight to the lives of these musicians, my research has enabled me to define and describe the gralla concert phenomenon and to create three categories in keeping with three conceptual and philosophical frames of use that can be distinguished by era, repertoire and sight differences in use

Concert de Primavera : L. van Beethoven. IX Simfonia : Orquestra Simfònica del Vallés; Orquestra Nacional d'Andorra i Orfeó Català. Pierre Cao, director

Programa del concert celebrat el 2 d'abril de 200

Contextual diffusion image post-processing aids clinical applications

Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging ( dMRI) and tractography have shown great potential for the investigation of the white mater architecture in-vivo, especially with the recent advancements by using higher order techniques to model the data. Many clinical applications ranging from neurodegenerative disorders, psychiatric disorders as well as pre-surgical planning employ diffusion imaging-based analysis as an addition to conventional MRI imaging. However, despite the promising outlook, dMRI tractography confronts many challenges that complicate its use in everyday clinical practice. Some of these challenges are low test-retest accuracy, poor quantification of tracts size, poor understanding of the biological basis of the dMRI parameters, inaccuracies in the geometry of the reconstructed streamlines (especially in complex areas with curvature, bifurcations, fanning, crossings), poor alignment with the neighboring diffusion profiles, among others. Recently developed contextual processing techniques including the one presented in this work, for enhancement and well-posed geometric sharpening, have shown to result in sharper and better aligned diffusion profiles. In this paper, we present a possibility in enabling HARDI tractography on the data acquired under limited diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) conditions and modeled by DTI. We enhance local features from the DTI field using operators that take ‘context’ information into account. Moreover, we demonstrate the potential of the contextual processing techniques in two important clinical applications: enhancing the streamlines in data acquired from patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and pre-surgical planning for tumor resection. For the latter, we explore the possibilities of using this framework for more accurate neurosurgical planning and evaluate our findings with a feedback from a neurosurgeon

Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The growing trend in the wine industry is the revaluation of the role of non-Saccharomyces yeasts, promoting the use of these yeasts in association with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Non-Saccharomyces yeasts contribute to improve wine complexity and organoleptic composition. However, the use of mixed starters needs to better understand the effect of the interaction between these species during alcoholic fermentation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of mixed starter cultures, composed by combination of different S. cerevisiae and Hanseniaspora uvarum strains, on wine characteristics and to investigate the role of cell-to-cell contact on the metabolites produced during alcoholic fermentation. In the first step, three H. uvarum and two S. cerevisiae strains, previously selected, were tested during mixed fermentations in natural red grape must in order to evaluate yeast population dynamics during inoculated fermentation and influence of mixed starter cultures on wine quality. One selected mixed starter was tested in a double-compartment fermentor in order to compare mixed inoculations of S. cerevisiae/H. uvarum with and without physical separation. Our results revealed that physical contact between S. cerevisiae and H. uvarum affected the viability of H. uvarum strain, influencing also the metabolic behaviour of the strains. Although different researches are available on the role of cell-to-cell contact-mediated interactions on cell viability of the strains included in the mixed starter, to our knowledge, very few studies have evaluated the influence of cell-to-cell contact on the chemical characteristics of wine

Microfracture-coagulation for the real robotic liver parenchymal transection

The use of the robotic approach in liver surgery is exponentially increasing. Although technically the robot introduces several innovative features, the instruments linked with the traditional laparoscopic approach for the liver parenchymal transection are not available, which may result in multiple technical variants that may bias the comparative analysis between the different series worldwide. A real robotic approach, minimally efficient for the liver parenchymal transection, with no requirement of external tool, available for the already existing platforms, and applicable to any type of liver resection, counting on the selective use of the plugged bipolar forceps and the monopolar scissors, or "microfracture-coagulation" (MFC) transection method, is described in detail. The relevant aspects of the technique, its indications and methodological basis are discussed

Effect of pure and mixed cultures of the main wine yeast species on grape must fermentations

10 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables.-- Printed version published June 2010.-- The original publication is available at www.springerlink.comMixed inoculation of non-Saccharomyces yeasts and S. cerevisiae is of interest for the wine industry for technological and sensory reasons. We have analysed how mixed inocula of the main non-Saccharomyces yeasts and S. cerevisiae affect fermentation performance, nitrogen consumption and volatile compound production in a natural Macabeo grape must. Sterile must was fermented in triplicates and under the following six conditions: three pure cultures of S. cerevisiae, Hanseniaspora uvarum and Candida zemplinina and the mixtures of H. uvarum:S. cerevisiae (90:10), C. zemplinina:S. cerevisiae (90:10) and H. uvarum:C. zemplinina:S. cerevisiae (45:45:10). The presence of non-Saccharomyces yeasts slowed down the fermentations and produced higher levels of glycerol and acetic acid. Only the pure H. uvarum fermentations were unable to finish. Mixed fermentations consumed more of the available amino acids and were more complex and thus better able to synthesise volatile compounds. However, the amount of acetic acid was well above the admissible levels and compromises the immediate application of mixed cultures.The present work has been financed by the projects AGL2007-66417-C02-02/ALI and AGL2007-65498-C02-02/ALI of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science.Peer reviewe