Effect of seed mass and number of cotyledons on seed germination after heat treatment in Pinus sylvestris L. var. iberica Svob.

Aim of study: We investigated the combined effect of seed mass and number of cotyledons on the seed germination of Pinus sylvestris var. iberica (Iberian Scots pine) in simulated fire conditions.Material and Methods: We used 3,600 fresh seeds extracted from 158 cones obtained from 10 pine trees located at the Biological Station of the Complutense University (Guadarrama mountains, Madrid region). All the seeds were individually weighed and assigned to one of the two following seed mass classes: class I (1.6-12.5 mg) and class II (12.6-145.0 mg). Germination capacity (GC) and mean germination time (MGT) were studied in combined experiments of four different temperatures (100°, 125°, 150° and 175°C) and two exposure times (1 and 5 minutes) together with a control (no treatment). Four replicates of 50 seeds each were used for each treatment and hydrated daily for 14 days to germinate under constant illumination. The number of cotyledons was counted in seedlings.Main results: Germination was depressed at above 125°C for 5 min. GC and MGT were negatively related, and were influenced by temperature and exposure time. Seed mass was found to have a significant effect on GC at some moderate heat treatment but not on MGT. The number of cotyledons was positively correlated to seed mass but there was not found correlated with germination after seed heat treatments.Research highlights: In the case of the Iberian Scots pine, higher seed mass mitigate the negative effects of temperature on seed germination after moderate heat treatment simulating fire.Keywords: Fire disturbance; germination; Mediterranean mountains; Pinus sylvestris L. var. Iberica; temperature.

Merging plans with incomplete knowledge about actions and goals through an agent-based reputation system

Managing transition plans is one of the major problems of people with cognitive disabilities. Therefore, finding an automated way to generate such plans would be a helpful tool for this community. In this paper we have specifically proposed and compared different alternative ways to merge plans formed by sequences of actions of unknown similarities between goals and actions executed by several operator agents which cooperate between them applying such actions over some passive elements (node agents) that require additional executions of another plan after some time of use. Such ignorance of the similarities between plan actions and goals would justify the use of a distributed recommendation system that would provide an useful plan to be applied for a certain goal to a given operator agent, generated from the known results of previous executions of different plans by other operator agents. Here we provide the general framework of execution (agent system), and the different merging algorithms applied to this problem. The proposed agent system would act as an useful cognitive assistant for people with intelectual disabilities such as autism

Expression of the alpha-thionin gene from barley in tobacco confers enhanced resistance to bacterial pathogens

Thionins are cysteine-rich, 5 kDa polypeptides which are toxic to plant pathogens in vitro. Expression of the gene encoding alpha-thionin from barley endosperm, under the 35S promoter from cauliflower mosaic virus, conferred to transgenic tobacco enhanced resistance to the bacterial plant pathogens Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 153 and P. syringae pv. syringae. The barley alpha-thionin gene, which has two introns, was correctly spliced in tobacco. The alpha-thionin in transgenic plants had the expected mobility in the gradient, when separated by high- performance liquid chromatography, reacted with monospecific antibodies and showed the expected antibiotic properties in vitr

Effectiveness of Mechanical Horse-Riding Simulators on Postural Balance in Neurological Rehabilitation: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Mechanical horse-riding simulators consist of a device that mimics the movement of a real horse, generating between 50 and 100 three-dimensional physical movements (forward and back, left and right, up and down). The main objective of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of mechanical horse-riding simulators to improve postural balance in subjects with neurological disorders. The search was conducted during January-March 2019 in PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), Cochrane, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Scopus. The methodological quality of the studies was evaluated through the PEDro scale. A total of seven articles were included in this systematic review, of which four contributed information to the meta-analysis. Statistical analysis showed favorable results for balance in stroke patients, measured by the Berg Balance Scale (standardized mean difference (SMD) = 3.24; 95%; confidence interval (CI): 1.66-4.83). Not conclusive results were found in sitting postural balance, measured using the Gross Motor Function Measure-66 (GMFM-66) Sitting Dimension, in patients with cerebral palsy. Most studies have shown beneficial effects on postural balance compared with conventional physical therapy. However, due to the limited number of articles and their low methodological quality, no solid conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of this therapy

Wunderlich syndrome (spontaneous renal hematoma) as a cause of acute abdomen: a case report

Spontaneous renal hemorrhage, also known as Wünderlich syndrome, is a rare condition that can be life-threatening and consists of the onset of sudden hemorrhage into the subcapsular and perirenal spaces. It can be lethal as it goes unnoticed and requires aggressive treatment. The entity lies mainly in neoplasms, the malignant ones being the most common. We present the case of a 63-year-old female patient with acute abdomen clinic, a diagnostic laparoscopy was performed and renal hematoma was evidenced as the cause of the symptoms. It was managed conservatively without any complications. We emphasize the importance of keeping in mind Wünderlich syndrome as a differential diagnosis to instigate early treatment for a better outcome.

Development of novel microstructured lipid carriers for dissolution rate enhancement of albendazole

Objective: This study aimed to develop a microstructured lipid carrier that improves the rate of dissolution of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) Albendazole. Methods: A solvent diffusion method was used for the development of microstructured lipid carriers. The developed carriers were characterized by optical microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and dissolution testing. Results: The morphology of the carriers was irregular, and their size tends to decrease with the addition of modifiers. Furthermore, the diffractograms and the thermograms indicated a loss of crystallinity. The thermograms and infrared spectra showed that there are not chemical incompatibilities between the API and the excipients. When the lipid carrier particles were modified with Aerosil® 200 (specifically when using this excipient at a level of 6% w/w), dissolution was increased up to 85.96±1.17 % of the drug content as per USP test for Albendazole tablets in comparison with 36.13±0.52 % for a lipid carrier formulation without modifiers. Conclusion: It was demonstrated that it is possible to develop a modified lipid carrier that improves the dissolution rate of an API with a low solubility, which was related to the amorphization of the API crystalline structure.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias de la Salud::Instituto de Investigaciones Farmacéuticas (INIFAR