Atherosclerotic Pre-Conditioning Affects the Paracrine Role of Circulating Angiogenic Cells Ex-Vivo

In atherosclerosis, circulating angiogenic cells (CAC), also known as early endothelial progenitor cells (eEPC), are thought to participate mainly in a paracrine fashion by promoting the recruitment of other cell populations such as late EPC, or endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFC), to the injured areas. There, ECFC replace the damaged endothelium, promoting neovascularization. However, despite their regenerative role, the number and function of EPC are severely affected under pathological conditions, being essential to further understand how these cells react to such environments in order to implement their use in regenerative cell therapies. Herein, we evaluated the effect of direct incubation ex vivo of healthy CAC with the secretome of atherosclerotic arteries. By using a quantitative proteomics approach, 194 altered proteins were identified in the secretome of pre-conditioned CAC, many of them related to inhibition of angiogenesis (e.g., endostatin, thrombospondin-1, fibulins) and cell migration. Functional assays corroborated that healthy CAC released factors enhanced ECFC angiogenesis, but, after atherosclerotic pre-conditioning, the secretome of pre-stimulated CAC negatively affected ECFC migration, as well as their ability to form tubules on a basement membrane matrix assay. Overall, we have shown here, for the first time, the effect of atherosclerotic factors over the paracrine role of CAC ex vivo. The increased release of angiogenic inhibitors by CAC in response to atherosclerotic factors induced an angiogenic switch, by blocking ECFC ability to form tubules in response to pre-conditioned CAC. Thus, we confirmed here that the angiogenic role of CAC is highly affected by the atherosclerotic environment

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation

Clustering COVID-19 ARDS patients through the first days of ICU admission. An analysis of the CIBERESUCICOVID Cohort

Background Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can be classified into sub-phenotypes according to different inflammatory/clinical status. Prognostic enrichment was achieved by grouping patients into hypoinflammatory or hyperinflammatory sub-phenotypes, even though the time of analysis may change the classification according to treatment response or disease evolution. We aimed to evaluate when patients can be clustered in more than 1 group, and how they may change the clustering of patients using data of baseline or day 3, and the prognosis of patients according to their evolution by changing or not the cluster.Methods Multicenter, observational prospective, and retrospective study of patients admitted due to ARDS related to COVID-19 infection in Spain. Patients were grouped according to a clustering mixed-type data algorithm (k-prototypes) using continuous and categorical readily available variables at baseline and day 3.Results Of 6205 patients, 3743 (60%) were included in the study. According to silhouette analysis, patients were grouped in two clusters. At baseline, 1402 (37%) patients were included in cluster 1 and 2341(63%) in cluster 2. On day 3, 1557(42%) patients were included in cluster 1 and 2086 (57%) in cluster 2. The patients included in cluster 2 were older and more frequently hypertensive and had a higher prevalence of shock, organ dysfunction, inflammatory biomarkers, and worst respiratory indexes at both time points. The 90-day mortality was higher in cluster 2 at both clustering processes (43.8% [n = 1025] versus 27.3% [n = 383] at baseline, and 49% [n = 1023] versus 20.6% [n = 321] on day 3). Four hundred and fifty-eight (33%) patients clustered in the first group were clustered in the second group on day 3. In contrast, 638 (27%) patients clustered in the second group were clustered in the first group on day 3.Conclusions During the first days, patients can be clustered into two groups and the process of clustering patients may change as they continue to evolve. This means that despite a vast majority of patients remaining in the same cluster, a minority reaching 33% of patients analyzed may be re-categorized into different clusters based on their progress. Such changes can significantly impact their prognosis

Cartografía de frutales de hueso y pepita [de Joaquín Herrero et al.]

1 Fichero .pdf reproducción (en tamaño a3) del póster original presentado en la XIII Feria Estatal de la Biodiversidad Agrícola (Daroca, 21-23 septiembre 2012).Uno de los principales problemas a la hora de prospectar es que con frecuencia no sólo se erosionan las variedades y los genes, sino también los nombres. Y se desconoce qué es lo que se esta prospectando. En los años 50-60 se llevo a cabo un trabajo cartográfico de frutales en el que se recogieron, caracterizaron y evaluaron en colecciones varietales las principales variedades frutales en cultivo en nuestro país. Se prospectaron todas las provincias españolas y se describieron 1433 variedades: 81 de albaricoquero, 153 de cerezo, 175 de ciruelo, 244 de melocotonero, 360 de peral y 420 de manzano. El trabajo consta de cinco volúmenes mecanografiados que en la actualidad se están digitalizando y sin duda constituirán un sustrato sólido en la recuperación de recursos fitogenéticos de frutales en nuestro país.Peer reviewe

Efectos de distintas temperaturas en otoño y en invierno sobre dos variedades de manzano

[EN] The behaviour of apple varieties Golden Delicious and Rome Beauty grafted on M 9 was studied, after submitting them to various temperatures in autumn and winter, keeping them in pots in greenhouses for different periods of time. In Golden Delicious there were marked symptoms of insufficient winter chilling in all the treatments at temperatures below 7º C for less than 600 hours but they did not occur whenever the trees were submitted to treatments lasting over 800 hours. In some cases of treatments at temperatures below 7ª C for 600 to 800 hours the trees presented either no symptoms or very moderate ones. In Rome Beauty there were marked symptoms of winter chilling deficiencies in trees belonging to every treatment at temperatures below 7º C for lees than 800 hours, but there were none whenever they were submitted to more than 1100 hours. Trees included in treatments below 7ª C for 800 to 1100 hours were damaged in some cases, and in other they were either scarcely damaged or undamaged. Delays in flowering as a result of insufficient winter chilling were longer in Golden Delicious than in Rome Beauty. The decrease in vegetative growth was greater in Rome Beauty. Floral initation in both varieties was positively related to the number of hours below 7º C to which the trees had submitted in the previous winter. Both Golden Delicious and Rome Beauty blossom and reach maturity earlier when the number of hours below 7ªC to which they have been submitted does not exceed their winter chilling requirements much, and later when chilling is prolonged in spring.[ES] Se estudia el comportamiento de las variedades de manzano Golden Delicious y Belleza de Roma, injertadas sobre M 9, después de someterlas en el otoño e invierno a diversas temperaturas, teniéndolas en macetas en invernadero durante tiempos más o menos prolongados. En Golden Delicious ha habido síntomas acusados de falta de frío invernal en todos los tratamientos que han estado menos de 6oo horas bajo 7º y no los ha habido cuando han estado sometidos a más de 800 horas. En algunos casos de árboles pertenecientes a tratamientos que han estado entre 600 y 800 horas bajo 7º o no ha habido síntomas o han sido muy leves. En Belleza de Roma ha habido síntomas acusados de falta de frío invernal en árboles de todos los tratamientos que han tenido menos de 800 horas bajo 7º y no los ha habido en los casos en que han estado sometidos a más de 1100 horas. Arboles pertenecientes a tratamientos que han estado entre 800 y 1100 horas bajo 7º, en unos casos han sido dañados y en otros apenas han sido afectados o no lo han sido. Los retrasos en la floración que han tenido como causa el insuficiente frío invernal, han sido mayores en Golden Delicious que en Belleza de Roma.La disminución del crecimiento vegetativo ha sido mayor en Belleza de Roma. La iniciación floral en ambas variedades ha estado positivamente relacionada con el número de horas bajo 7º a que han estado sometidos los árboles durante el invierno anterior. Tanto Golden Delicious como Belleza de Roma florecen y maduran antes cuando el número de horas bajo 7ª a que han sido sometidas no sobrepasa en mucho a sus necesidades de frío invernal, retrasándose cuando el frío se prolonga en primavera.Peer reviewe

Comparison of different rootstocks for cherries grafted with Sunburst sweet cherry

7 Pags.- 4 Cuadrs.- 3 Grafcs.- Fots.[ES] Se estudia el comportamiento de diez patrones de cerezo: CAB 6P, CAB 11 E, Masto de Montañana 9 (MM 9),MaxMa 14, MaxMa 97, GM 9 (Inmil), GM 61/1 (Damil), GM 79 (Camil), colt y Santa Lucía GF 64 (SL 64), injertados con la variedad Sunburst. El ensayo se estableció en 1989, en la Estación Experimental de Aula Dei (Zaragoza), en un suelo calizo, con textura franco-arcillosa y en condiciones de regadío. En el período considerado, no se han observado árboles muertos sobre los patrones CAB 6P, MM 9, Damil y MaxMa 97. Por el contrario, murieron la mayoría de los árboles sobre Inmil y Cami1. El menor vigor correspondió al patrón Damil, donde los árboles presentaron un desarrollo muy reducido. También sobre este patrón se observaron las producciones y productividad más bajas. Los patrones Colt, CAB 6P y MM 9 fueron los más vigorosos aunque las diferencias no fueron significativas con CAB 1lE y SL 64. En general, se obtuvieron las mayores producciones y, por ello, una mayor producción acumulada sobre los patrones de la especieP. ceraslIs: CAB 6P, CAB llE y MM 9. Al final del ensayo, la productividad fue mayor sobre CAB 11 E, aunque no difirió significativamente de la obtenida sobre los patrones MM 9, CAB 6P, MaxMa 97 y MaxMa 14. La ausencia de diferencias significativas en productividad entre los patrones MaxMa y P. cerasus se debe. principalmente al mayor v.igor de estos últimos. En 1997, cuando la producción fue más abundante, el peso medio del fruto fue mayor sobre los patrones más vigorosos.[EN] The field perfonnance of CAB 6P, CAB I1E, Masto de Montañana 9 (MM 9), MaxMa 14, MaxMa 97, GM 9 (Inmil), GM 61/1 (Damil), GM 79 (Camil), Colt and Sainte Lucie GF 64 (SL 64) rootstocks grafted with one sweet cherry cultivar (Prunus avium, cv. Sunburst), were tested. The trial was planted in 1989 at the Estación Experimental de Aula Dei (Zaragoza), on a calcareous clay-Ioam soil, which was flood irrigated. While no trees of CAS 6P, MM 9, Damil and MaxMa 97 rootstocks died, most of the trees on Inmil and Camil died. Damil has proved so far to be the most dwarfing and low-yielding rootstock. Colt, CAB 6P and MM 9 were the most invigorating rootstocks, although thc differences from CAB ¡lE and SL 64 were nol significant. In general, P. ceraslIs rootstocks: CAB 6P, CAB 11 E and MM 9 promoted greater yields and cumulative production than the other rootstocks. By the 8th year after planting, yield efficiency was greater on CAB 11 E, although differences were not significant when compared to MM 9, CAB 6P, MaxMa 97 and MaxMa 14. Differences in yield efficiency between MaxMa and P. cerasus rootstocks were not detected due to the greater vigour of the latter. The most vigorous rootstocks induced higher mean fruit weight in 1997, when yield was more abundant.Este trabajo ha sido financiado sucesivamente por los Proyectos CICYT AGR 88/0074, AGR 91/0434, AGF 94- 1030-C03-01 y AGF 97-1138-C02-01.Peer reviewe

Caracterización y diversidad genética de variedades autóctonas de cerezo mediante SSRs

Trabajo presentado en el IV Congreso de Mejora Genética de Plantas, celebrado en Córdoba (España), del 14 al 16 de octubre de 200

Caracterización y diversidad genética de variedades autóctonas de cerezo mediante SSRs

La constante renovación varietal en el cultivo del cerezo unida al descenso del cultivo de las variedades tradicionales amenaza con la pérdida de material vegetal local.Peer reviewe