Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Busqueda de Agroquimicos y edicion de genomas para aumentar la resistencia de las plantas a la sequía

Drought is one of the most important causes of productivity loss in crops worldwide. For this reason it is of great importance to study the processes of adaptation and tolerance of plants to water stress, especially in plants with agronomic interest. Abscisic acid (ABA) regulates development and stress responses in plants, playing a fundamental role in the adaptation to water stress conditions. In order to improve drought tolerance in economically important crops, we have carried out a project aimed to identify ABA agonists and to implement genome editing techniques in the C4 model plant Setaria viridis. In this work, we have identified IRE1, a chemical compound capable of mimicking ABA in both in vitro tests and in vivo experiments on Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings. IRE1 binds to the S. viridis ABA receptor, SvPYL1, causing the inhibition of the phosphatase activity of dNHAB1. In addition, another compound has been identified, IRE2, which can act specifically as an inhibitor of the phosphatase dNHAB1 causing hypersensitivity to ABA in A. thaliana seedlings. This is the first specific inhibitor of a PP2C phosphatase identified to date. Likewise, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has been validated in S. viridis for the first time in this work. S. viridis is a plant with high agronomic interest since it is related to maize and sorghum, making this discoveries more relevant and eventually closer to be transferred to the field. The results obtained in this work represent an advance in the development of chemical molecules able to promote drought tolerance as well as in the editing of plant genomes with agronomic interest.La sequía es una de las causas más importantes de pérdida de productividad en los cultivos. Por este motivo es de gran importancia estudiar los procesos de adaptación y tolerancia de las plantas al estrés hídrico, sobre todo en plantas con interés agronómico. El ácido abscísico (ABA) regula numerosos procesos de desarrollo y respuestas a estrés en las plantas, ejerciendo un papel fundamental en la adaptación frente al estrés hídrico. Con el fin de mejorar la respuesta a la sequía en cultivos de interés en agricultura, se ha desarrollado un proyecto basado en la identificación de compuestos químicos agonistas del ABA, así como la edición genética de plantas de forma dirigida. En este trabajo, se ha logrado identificar IRE1, un compuesto químico sintético capaz de mimetizar al ABA tanto en ensayos in vitro como en experimentos in vivo en plántulas de Arabidopsis thaliana. IRE1 es capaz de unirse al receptor de ABA de Setaria viridis, SvPYL1, y provocar la inhibición de la actividad fosfatasa de dNHAB1. Además, se ha determinado otro compuesto, denominado IRE2, que puede actuar específicamente como inhibidor de la fosfatasa dNHAB1 provocando una hipersensibilidad a ABA en plántulas de A. thaliana. Se trata del primer inhibidor específico de dNHAB1 identificado hasta la fecha. Asimismo, se ha conseguido validar por primera vez el sistema CRISPR/Cas9 en S. viridis para la modificación del genoma de forma dirigida. S. viridis es una planta de alto interés agronómico puesto que está emparentada con maíz, y cuyos resultados podrían ser eventualmente trasladados a campo. Los resultados obtenidos en este trabajo suponen un avance en el desarrollo de moléculas químicas capaces de promover la tolerancia a la sequía, así como en la edición de genomas de plantas con interés agronómico.García Maquilón, I. (2018). Busqueda de Agroquimicos y edicion de genomas para aumentar la resistencia de las plantas a la sequía. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/97869TFG

Drug Discovery for Thirsty Crops

[EN] Following virtual screening and structure-based ligand optimization, researchers have developed opabactin (OP), an abscisic acid (ABA)-receptor agonist with tenfold greater in vivo activity than ABA. This new ligand surpasses previous agonists for its potency and bioactivity on staple crops. OP leads a new class of agrochemicals designed to protect crops from drought.We thank Laetitia Poidevin (IBMCP-UPV-CSIC) and Jessica Toth (UCR) for comments on the manuscript. The editor and four anonymous reviewers are also acknowledged for their constructive suggestions. We apologize to authors whose work could not be cited due to space limitations. We also acknowledge Universidad Politecnica de Valencia for the grant SP20180340 (PAID-06-18) to J.L-J. and Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades for the grant RTC-2017-6019-2 to P.L.R.Lozano Juste, J.; García-Maquilón, I.; Ruiz-Partida, R.; Rodríguez Egea, PL. (2020). Drug Discovery for Thirsty Crops. Trends in Plant Science. 25(9):844-846. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2020.07.001S84484625