Shade delays flowering in Medicago sativa

Shade intolerant plants respond to the decrease in the red (R) to far-red light (FR) ratio (R:FR) occurring under shade by elongating stems and petioles and re-positioning leaves, in a race to out-compete neighbors for the sunlight resource. In some annual species, these shade-avoidance responses (SAS) are accompanied by the early induction of flowering. Anticipated flowering is viewed as a strategy to set seeds before the resources become severely limiting. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms of SAS in perennial forage crops like alfalfa (Medicago sativa). To study SAS in alfalfa, we exposed alfalfa plants to simulated shade by supplementing with FR. Low R:FR produced a classical SAS, such as increased internode and petiole length but, unexpectedly, delayed flowering. To understand the molecular mechanisms involved in uncoupling SAS from early flowering, we used a transcriptomic approach. SAS were likely mediated by increased expression of msPIF3 and msHB2 in low R:FR. Constitutive expression of these genes in Arabidopsis led to SAS, including early flowering, strongly suggesting their roles are conserved. Delayed flowering was likely to be mediated by the downregulation of msSPL3, which promotes flowering in both Arabidopsis and alfalfa. Shade-delayed flowering in alfalfa may be important to extend the vegetative phase under sub-optimal light conditions and thus assure the accumulation of reserves necessary to resume growth after the next season. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Fil: Lorenzo, Christian Damián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Iserte, Javier Alonso. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez Lamas, Maximiliano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Antonietti, Mariana Sofía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Garcia Gagliardi, Pedro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Hernando, Carlos Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Dezar, Carlos Alberto Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Rosario. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Vazquez, Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Rosario. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Casal, Jorge José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Yanovsky, Marcelo Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Cerdan, Pablo Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Embolic strokes of undetermined source: prevalence and patient features in the ESUS Global Registry

Background: Recent evidence supports that most non-lacunar cryptogenic strokes are embolic. Accordingly, these strokes have been designated as embolic strokes of undetermined source (ESUS). Aims: We undertook an international survey to characterize the frequency and clinical features of ESUS patients across global regions. Methods: Consecutive patients hospitalized for ischemic stroke were retrospectively surveyed from 19 stroke research centers in 19 different countries to collect patients meeting criteria for ESUS. Results: Of 2144 patients with recent ischemic stroke, 351 (16%, 95% CI 15% to 18%) met ESUS criteria, similar across global regions (range 16% to 21%), and an additional 308 (14%) patients had incomplete evaluation required for ESUS diagnosis. The mean age of ESUS patients (62 years; SD = 15) was significantly lower than the 1793 non-ESUS ischemic stroke patients (68 years, p ≤ 0.001). Excluding patients with atrial fibrillation (n = 590, mean age = 75 years), the mean age of the remaining 1203 non-ESUS ischemic stroke patients was 64 years (p = 0.02 vs. ESUS patients). Among ESUS patients, hypertension, diabetes, and prior stroke were present in 64%, 25%, and 17%, respectively. Median NIHSS score was 4 (interquartile range 2–8). At discharge, 90% of ESUS patients received antiplatelet therapy and 7% received anticoagulation. Conclusions: This cross-sectional global sample of patients with recent ischemic stroke shows that one-sixth met criteria for ESUS, with additional ESUS patients likely among those with incomplete diagnostic investigation. ESUS patients were relatively young with mild strokes. Antiplatelet therapy was the standard antithrombotic therapy for secondary stroke prevention in all global regions

Improvement of alfalfa forage quality and management through the down-regulation of MsFTa1

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most important forage crops worldwide. As a perennial, alfalfa is cut several times each year. Farmers face a dilemma: If cut earlier, forage nutritive value is much higher but regrowth is affected and the longevity of the stand is severely compromised. On the other hand, if alfalfa is cut later at full flower, stands persist longer, more biomass may be harvested, but the nutritive value diminishes. Alfalfa is a strict long‐days plant. We reasoned that by manipulating the response to photoperiod, we could delay flowering to improve forage quality and widen each harvesting window, facilitating management. With this aim, we functionally characterised the FLOWERING LOCUS T family of genes, represented by five members: MsFTa1, MsFTa2, MsFTb1, MsFTb2 and MsFTc. The expression of MsFTa1 correlated with photoperiodic flowering and its downregulation led to severe delayed flowering. Altogether, with late flowering, low expression of MsFTa1 led to changes in plant architecture resulting in increased leaf to stem biomass ratios and forage digestibility. By manipulating photoperiodic flowering we were able to improve the quality of alfalfa forage and management, which may allow farmers to cut alfalfa of high nutritive value without compromising stand persistence.Fil: Lorenzo, Christian Damián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Gagliardi, Raul Pedro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Antonietti, Mariana Sofía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez Lamas, Maximiliano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Mancini, Estefania. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Dezar, Carlos Alberto Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Rosario. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Vazquez, Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Rosario. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Watson, Geronimo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Rosario. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Yanovsky, Marcelo Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Cerdan, Pablo Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentin

Global survey of the frequency of atrial fibrillation-associated stroke: embolic stroke of undetermined source global registry

Background and Purpose—Atrial fibrillation (AF) is increasingly recognized as the single most important cause of disabling ischemic stroke in the elderly. We undertook an international survey to characterize the frequency of AF-associated stroke, methods of AF detection, and patient features. Methods—Consecutive patients hospitalized for ischemic stroke in 2013 to 2014 were surveyed from 19 stroke research centers in 19 different countries. Data were analyzed by global regions and World Bank income levels. Results—Of 2144 patients with ischemic stroke, 590 (28%; 95% confidence interval, 25.6–29.5) had AF-associated stroke, with highest frequencies in North America (35%) and Europe (33%) and lowest in Latin America (17%). Most had a history of AF before stroke (15%) or newly detected AF on electrocardiography (10%); only 2% of patients with ischemic stroke had unsuspected AF detected by poststroke cardiac rhythm monitoring. The mean age and 30-day mortality rate of patients with AF-associated stroke (75 years; SD, 11.5 years; 10%; 95% confidence interval, 7.6–12.6, respectively) were substantially higher than those of patients without AF (64 years; SD, 15.58 years; 4%; 95% confidence interval, 3.3–5.4; P<0.001 for both comparisons). There was a strong positive correlation between the mean age and the frequency of AF (r=0.76; P=0.0002). Conclusions—This cross-sectional global sample of patients with recent ischemic stroke shows a substantial frequency of AF-associated stroke throughout the world in proportion to the mean age of the stroke population. Most AF is identified by history or electrocardiography; the yield of conventional short-duration cardiac rhythm monitoring is relatively low. Patients with AF-associated stroke were typically elderly (>75 years old) and more often women

dbar/ubar Asymmetry and the Origin of the Nucleon Sea

The Drell-Yan cross section ratios, $\sigma(p+d)/\sigma(p+p)$, measured in Fermilab E866, have led to the first determination of $\bar d(x) / \bar u(x)$, $\bar d(x) - \bar u(x)$, and the integral of $\bar d(x) - \bar u(x)$ for the proton over the range $0.02 \le x \le 0.345$. The E866 results are compared with predictions based on parton distribution functions and various theoretical models. The relationship between the E866 results and the NMC measurement of the Gottfried integral is discussed. The agreement between the E866 results and models employing virtual mesons indicates these non-perturbative processes play an important role in the origin of the $\bar d$, $\bar u$ asymmetry in the nucleon sea.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, ReVTe

Measurement of the Light Antiquark Flavor Asymmetry in the Nucleon Sea

A precise measurement of the ratio of Drell-Yan yields from an 800 GeV/c proton beam incident on hydrogen and deuterium targets is reported. Over 140,000 Drell-Yan muon pairs with dimuon mass M_{mu+ mu-} >= 4.5 GeV/c^2 were recorded. From these data, the ratio of anti-down (dbar) to anti-up (ubar) quark distributions in the proton sea is determined over a wide range in Bjorken-x. A strong x dependence is observed in the ratio dbar/ubar, showing substantial enhancement of dbar with respect to ubar for x<0.2. This result is in fair agreement with recent parton distribution parameterizations of the sea. For x>0.2, the observed dbar/ubar ratio is much nearer unity than given by the parameterizations.Comment: REVTeX, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Implementing health research through academic and clinical partnerships : a realistic evaluation of the Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC)

Background: The English National Health Service has made a major investment in nine partnerships between higher education institutions and local health services called Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC). They have been funded to increase capacity and capability to produce and implement research through sustained interactions between academics and health services. CLAHRCs provide a natural ‘test bed’ for exploring questions about research implementation within a partnership model of delivery. This protocol describes an externally funded evaluation that focuses on implementation mechanisms and processes within three CLAHRCs. It seeks to uncover what works, for whom, how, and in what circumstances. Design and methods: This study is a longitudinal three-phase, multi-method realistic evaluation, which deliberately aims to explore the boundaries around knowledge use in context. The evaluation funder wishes to see it conducted for the process of learning, not for judging performance. The study is underpinned by a conceptual framework that combines the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services and Knowledge to Action frameworks to reflect the complexities of implementation. Three participating CLARHCS will provide indepth comparative case studies of research implementation using multiple data collection methods including interviews, observation, documents, and publicly available data to test and refine hypotheses over four rounds of data collection. We will test the wider applicability of emerging findings with a wider community using an interpretative forum. Discussion: The idea that collaboration between academics and services might lead to more applicable health research that is actually used in practice is theoretically and intuitively appealing; however the evidence for it is limited. Our evaluation is designed to capture the processes and impacts of collaborative approaches for implementing research, and therefore should contribute to the evidence base about an increasingly popular (e.g., Mode two, integrated knowledge transfer, interactive research), but poorly understood approach to knowledge translation. Additionally we hope to develop approaches for evaluating implementation processes and impacts particularly with respect to integrated stakeholder involvement

Program FFlexCom — High frequency flexible bendable electronics for wireless communication systems

Today, electronics are implemented on rigid substrates. However, many objects in daily-life are not rigid — they are bendable, stretchable and even foldable. Examples are paper, tapes, our body, our skin and textiles. Until today there is a big gap between electronics and bendable daily-life items. Concerning this matter, the DFG Priority Program FFlexCom aims at paving the way for a novel research area: Wireless communication systems fully integrated on an ultra-thin, bendable and flexible piece of plastic or paper. The Program encompasses 13 projects led by 25 professors. By flexibility we refer to mechanical flexibility, which can come in flavors of bendability, foldability and, stretchability. In the last years the speed of flexible devices has massively been improved. However, to enable functional flexible systems and operation frequencies up to the sub-GHz range, the speed of flexible devices must still be increased by several orders of magnitude requiring novel system and circuit architectures, component concepts, technologies and materials