Water use of irrigated oil palm at three different arid locations in Peninsular India

The water requirement of irrigated oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, India, were estimated using the Penman-Monteith equation. Microclimate parameters measured using an automated weather station showed that the 3 geographically separated sites also had climatic differences. The temperature at the study sites ranged between 12 and 35°C and the vapour pressure deficit (VPD) of the atmosphere ranged between 0.3 and 4.5 kPa. Stomatal conductance measured on fully irrigated plants showed a maximum of 500 mmol m-2 s-1. The stomatal conductance was highly correlated with the VPD. Closure of stomata started when the VPD was greater than 1.0 kPa. The stomatal conductance was severely reduced when the VPD reached values >1.9 kPa. All the sites had a prolonged dry season. At none of the sites could oil palm be grown as a rainfed crop. Water loss by transpiration as estimated for a dry day (without rain) ranged from 2.0 to 5.5 mm. The transpiration/evaporation ratio was approximately 0.8 at all 3 locations

Use of gene expression profiling to identify candidate genes for pretherapeutic patient classification in acute appendicitis

Background: Phlegmonous and gangrenous appendicitis represent independent pathophysiological entities with different clinical courses ranging from spontaneous resolution to septic disease. However, reliable predictive methods for these clinical phenotypes have not yet been established. In an attempt to provide pathophysiological insights into the matter, a genomewide gene expression analysis was undertaken in patients with acute appendicitis. Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated and, after histological confirmation of PA or GA, analysed for genomewide gene expression profiling using RNA microarray technology and subsequent pathway analysis. Results: Samples from 29 patients aged 7–17 years were included. Genomewide gene expression analysis was performed on 13 samples of phlegmonous and 16 of gangrenous appendicitis. From a total of 56 666 genes, 3594 were significantly differently expressed. Distinct interaction between T and B cells in the phlegmonous appendicitis group was suggested by overexpression of T cell receptor α and β subunits, CD2, CD3, MHC II, CD40L, and the B cell markers CD72 and CD79, indicating an antiviral mechanism. In the gangrenous appendicitis group, expression of genes delineating antibacterial mechanisms was found. Conclusion: These results provide evidence for different and independent gene expression in phlegmonous and gangrenous appendicitis in general, but also suggest distinct immunological patterns for the respective entities. In particular, the findings are compatible with previous evidence of spontaneous resolution in phlegmonous and progressive disease in gangrenous appendicitis

Neuronal Activity and CaMKII Regulate Kinesin-Mediated Transport of Synaptic AMPARs

SummaryExcitatory glutamatergic synaptic transmission is critically dependent on maintaining an optimal number of postsynaptic AMPA receptors (AMPARs) at each synapse of a given neuron. Here, we show that presynaptic activity, postsynaptic potential, voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) and UNC-43, the C. elegans homolog of CaMKII, control synaptic strength by regulating motor-driven AMPAR transport. Genetic mutations in unc-43, or spatially and temporally restricted inactivation of UNC-43/CaMKII, revealed its essential roles in the transport of AMPARs from the cell body and in the insertion and removal of synaptic AMPARs. We found that an essential target of UNC-43/CaMKII is kinesin light chain and that mouse CaMKII rescued unc-43 mutants, suggesting conservation of function. Transient expression of UNC-43/CaMKII in adults rescued the transport defects, while optogenetic stimulation of select synapses revealed CaMKII’s role in activity-dependent plasticity. Our results demonstrate unanticipated, fundamentally important roles for UNC-43/CaMKII in the regulation of synaptic strength

Climate change impacts on banana yields around the world

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Nature Research via the DOI in this r4ecordData availability: All data used are publicly available and open access. All banana production data sources are listed in Supplementary Table 1. All climatic and topographic data sources are listed in the Methods.Nutritional diversity is a key element of food security1,2,3. However, research on the effects of climate change on food security has, thus far, focused on the main food grains4,5,6,7,8, while the responses of other crops, particularly those that play an important role in the developing world, are poorly understood. Bananas are a staple food and a major export commodity for many tropical nations9. Here, we show that for 27 countries—accounting for 86% of global dessert banana production—a changing climate since 1961 has increased annual yields by an average of 1.37 t ha−1. Past gains have been largely ubiquitous across the countries assessed and African producers will continue to see yield increases in the future. However, global yield gains could be dampened or disappear, reducing to 0.59 t ha−1 and 0.19 t ha−1 by 2050 under the climate scenarios for Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5, respectively, driven by declining yields in the largest producers and exporters. By quantifying climate-driven and technology-driven influences on yield, we also identify countries at risk from climate change and those capable of mitigating its effects or capitalizing on its benefits.Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)European Union Horizon 202

Tear fluid biomarkers in ocular and systemic disease: potential use for predictive, preventive and personalised medicine

In the field of predictive, preventive and personalised medicine, researchers are keen to identify novel and reliable ways to predict and diagnose disease, as well as to monitor patient response to therapeutic agents. In the last decade alone, the sensitivity of profiling technologies has undergone huge improvements in detection sensitivity, thus allowing quantification of minute samples, for example body fluids that were previously difficult to assay. As a consequence, there has been a huge increase in tear fluid investigation, predominantly in the field of ocular surface disease. As tears are a more accessible and less complex body fluid (than serum or plasma) and sampling is much less invasive, research is starting to focus on how disease processes affect the proteomic, lipidomic and metabolomic composition of the tear film. By determining compositional changes to tear profiles, crucial pathways in disease progression may be identified, allowing for more predictive and personalised therapy of the individual. This article will provide an overview of the various putative tear fluid biomarkers that have been identified to date, ranging from ocular surface disease and retinopathies to cancer and multiple sclerosis. Putative tear fluid biomarkers of ocular disorders, as well as the more recent field of systemic disease biomarkers, will be shown

Impact of chronic stress protocols in learning and memory in rodents: systematic review and meta-analysis

The idea that maladaptive stress impairs cognitive function has been a cornerstone of decades in basic and clinical research. However, disparate findings have reinforced the need to aggregate results from multiple sources in order to confirm the validity of such statement. In this work, a systematic review and meta-analyses were performed to aggregate results from rodent studies investigating the impact of chronic stress on learning and memory. Results obtained from the included studies revealed a significant effect of stress on global cognitive performance. In addition, stressed rodents presented worse consolidation of learned memories, although no significantly differences between groups at the acquisition phase were found. Despite the methodological heterogeneity across studies, these effects were independent of the type of stress, animals' strains or age. However, our findings suggest that stress yields a more detrimental effect on spatial navigation tests' performance. Surprisingly, the vast majority of the selected studies in this field did not report appropriate statistics and were excluded from the quantitative analysis. We have therefore purposed a set of guidelines termed PROBE (Preferred Reporting Orientations for Behavioral Experiments) to promote an adequate reporting of behavioral experiments.This work was funded by the European Commission (FP7) "SwitchBox" (Contract HEALTH-F2-2010-259772) project and co-financed by the Portuguese North Regional Operational Program (ON.2 - O Novo Norte) under the National Strategic Reference Framework (QREN), through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), and by Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian (Portugal) (Contract grant number: P-139977; project "Better mental health during ageing based on temporal prediction of individual brain ageing trajectories (TEMPO)"). PSM is supported by an FCT fellowship grant, from the PhD-iHES program, with the reference PDE/BDE/113601/2015.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio