Tensor hypercontraction: A universal technique for the resolution of matrix elements of local, finite-range NN-body potentials in many-body quantum problems

Configuration-space matrix elements of N-body potentials arise naturally and ubiquitously in the Ritz-Galerkin solution of many-body quantum problems. For the common specialization of local, finite-range potentials, we develop the eXact Tensor HyperContraction (X-THC) method, which provides a quantized renormalization of the coordinate-space form of the N-body potential, allowing for a highly separable tensor factorization of the configuration-space matrix elements. This representation allows for substantial computational savings in chemical, atomic, and nuclear physics simulations, particularly with respect to difficult "exchange-like" contractions.Comment: Third version of the manuscript after referee's comments. In press in PRL. Main text: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 table; Supplemental material (also included): 14 pages, 2 figures, 2 table

Effect of phytoremediated port sediment as an agricultural medium for pomegranate cultivation: Mobility of contaminants in the plant

Although the dredging of ports is a necessary management activity, it generates immense quantities of sediments, that are defined by the European Union as residues. On the other hand, the relevant peat demand for plant cultivation compromises its availability worldwide. In this context, the present work wanted to find an alternative substrate in order to replace and/or reduce the use of peat in agriculture, through the study of the suitability, concerning the exchange of substrate–plant–water pollutants, of the dredged remediated sediments as a fruit-growing media. Forty-five pomegranate trees (Punica granatum L. cv “Purple Queen”) were cultivated in three types of substrates (100% peat as a control, 100% dredged remediated sediments and 50% both mixed). The metal ion content and pesticide residues were analysed in the different plant parts (root, stem, leaves and fruits) and in drainage water. The results showed a limited transfer of pollutants. All the pollutants were below the legal limits, confirming that the dredged sediments could be used as a growing media, alone or mixed with other substrates. Thus, the results point out the need to open a European debate on the reuse and reconsideration of this residue from a circular economy point of view

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of levansucrase (LsdA) from Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus SRT4

The endophytic bacterium Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus SRT4 secretes a constitutively expressed levansucrase (LsdA; EC 2.4.1.10), which converts sucrose to fructo-oligosaccharides and levan. Fully active LsdA was purified to high homogeneity by non-denaturing reversed-phase HPLC and was crystallized at room temperature by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method using ammonium sulfate and ethanol as precipitants. The crystals are extremely sensitive, but native data have been collected to 2.5 A under cryogenic conditions using synchrotron radiation. LsdA crystals belong to the orthorhombic space group P22(1)2(1) or P2(1)2(1)2, with unit-cell parameters a = 53.80, b = 119.39, c = 215.10 A

The role of antibiosis in the antagonism of different bacteria towards Helminthosporium solani, the causal agent of potato silver scurf

Bacterial antagonists of Helminthosporium solani were submitted to different tests in order to determine the role of antibiosis in their antagonistic interaction. Among the bacterial strains tested, seven (Alcaligenes piechaudii, Aquaspirillum autotrophicum, Cellulomonas fimi, Pseudomonas chlororaphis, Pseudomonas putida (strains 94-19 and E-30) and Streptomyces griseus) were shown to produce agar diffusible metabolites inhibiting H. solani mycelial growth and/or conidial germination. Differential activity was revealed when diffusible metabolites were extracted from either pure cultures of these antagonists or dual culture in the presence of H. solani. The results presented indicate that the methodology employed could be a decisive factor in whether or not antibiosis can be identified as a mode of action of biocontrol agents.Des antagonistes bactériens envers Helminthosporium solani ont été soumis à différents essais en vue de déterminer le rôle de l'antibiose dans l'antagonisme observé. Parmi les souches bactériennes évaluées, sept (Alcaligenes piechaudii, Aquaspirillum autotrophicum, Cellulomonas fimi, Pseudomonas chlororaphis, Pseudomonas putida (souches 94-19 et E-30) et Streptomyces griseus) ont produit dans le milieu gélosé des métabolites inhibant la croissance mycélienne et/ou la germination des conidies de H. solani. Les métabolites produits en culture pure et en culture mixte ont présenté une activité différente sur la croissance mycélienne de H. solani. Les résultats présentés indiquent que la méthodologie employée peut être un facteur déterminant dans l'identification de l'antibiose comme mode d'action d'un agent antagoniste

Application of lca methodology to the production of strawberry on substrates with peat and sediments from ports

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to identify the potential environmental impact of dredged sediments used as growing media for food crops. The dredged sediments used came from Livorno port and were previously phytoremediated. For the assay, strawberry plants (Fragaria x ananassa Duch vr. ‘San Andreas’) were used. The plants were cultivated on three different substrates (100% peat, 100% dredged sediment and 50% mix peat/sediment) to identify the real impact of the culture media on the growing process. LCA was calculated and analyzed according to ISO 14040:2006 by SimaPro software. ReCipe Midpoint (E) V1.13/Europe Recipe E method was applied. One kilogram of produced strawberry, for each crop media tested, was defined as the functional unit. Eighteen impact categories were selected where Marine Eutrophication (ME), Human Toxicity (HT) and Freshwater Ecotoxicity (FET) were identified as relevant impact categories. The LCA results showed an increase in the environmental impact of strawberry cultivation using 100% sediment against 100% peat, due to the decrease in fruit production caused by the sediment. Nevertheless, the decrease in the environmental impact and the fruit production increase identified when the sediment is used mixed (<50%) with other substrates. The appropriate use of these substrates would be justified within the context of the circular economy

The ISLAndS project II: The Lifetime Star Formation Histories of Six Andromeda dSphs

The Initial Star formation and Lifetimes of Andromeda Satellites (ISLAndS) project uses Hubble Space Telescope imaging to study a representative sample of six Andromeda dSph satellite companion galaxies. The main goal of the program is to determine whether the star formation histories (SFHs) of the Andromeda dSph satellites demonstrate significant statistical differences from those of the Milky Way, which may be attributable to the different properties of their local environments. Our observations reach the oldest main sequence turn-offs, allowing a time resolution at the oldest ages of ~ 1 Gyr, which is comparable to the best achievable resolution in the MW satellites. We find that the six dSphs present a variety of SFHs that are not strictly correlated with luminosity or present distance from M31. Specifically, we find a significant range in quenching times (lookback times from 9 to 6 Gyr), but with all quenching times more than ~ 6 Gyr ago. In agreement with observations of Milky Way companions of similar mass, there is no evidence of complete quenching of star formation by the cosmic UV background responsible for reionization, but the possibility of a degree of quenching at reionization cannot be ruled out. We do not find significant differences between the SFHs of the three members of the vast, thin plane of satellites and the three off-plane dSphs. The primary difference between the SFHs of the ISLAndS dSphs and Milky Way dSph companions of similar luminosities and host distances is the absence of very late quenching (< 5 Gyr ago) dSphs in the ISLAndS sample. Thus, models that can reproduce satellite populations with and without late quenching satellites will be of extreme interest.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables, submitted to the Ap

Genetic inhibition of flowering differs between juvenile and adult Citrus trees

[EN] Background and Aims In woody species, the juvenile period maintains the axillary meristems in a vegetative stage, unable to flower, for several years. However, in adult trees, some 1-year-old meristems flower whereas others remain vegetative to ensure a polycarpic growth habit. Both types of trees, therefore, have non-flowering meristems, and we hypothesize that the molecular mechanism regulating flower inhibition in juvenile trees is different from that in adult trees. Methods In adult Citrus trees, the main endogenous factor inhibiting flower induction is the growing fruit. Thus, we studied the expression of the main flowering time, identity and patterning genes of trees with heavy fruit load (not-flowering adult trees) compared to that of 6-month-old trees (not-flowering juvenile trees). Adult trees without fruits (flowering trees) were used as a control. Second, we studied the expression of the same genes in the meristems of 6-month, and 1-, 3-, 5-and 7-year-old juvenile trees compared to 10-year-old flowering trees. Key Results The axillary meristems of juvenile trees are unable to transcribe flowering time and patterning genes during the period of induction, although they are able to transcribe the FLOWERING LOCUS T citrus orthologue (CiFT2) in leaves. By contrast, meristems of not-flowering adult trees are able to transcribe the flowering network genes but fail to achieve the transcription threshold required to flower, due to CiFT2 repression by the fruit. Juvenile meristems progressively achieve gene expression, with age-dependent differences from 6 months to 7 years, FD-like and CsLFY being the last genes to be expressed. Conclusions During the juvenile period the mechanism inhibiting flowering is determined in the immature bud, so that it progressively acquires flowering ability at the gene expression level of the flowering time programme, whereas in the adult tree it is determined in the leaf, where repression of CiFT2 gene expression occurs.We thank Cristina Ferrandiz (IBMCP-UPV, Spain) and Fernando Andres (UMR AGAP, France) for useful comments on the manuscript. We thank D. Westall for her help in editing the manuscript. This work was supported by a grant from the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain (RTA2013-0024-C02-02)Muñoz Fambuena, N.; Nicolas-Almansa, M.; Martinez Fuentes, A.; Reig Valor, C.; Iglesias, DJ.; Primo-Millo, E.; Mesejo Conejos, C.... (2019). Genetic inhibition of flowering differs between juvenile and adult Citrus trees. Annals of Botany. 123(3):483-490. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcy179S4834901233Abe, M. (2005). 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Influence of harvest date on fruit yield and return bloom in ‘Marsh’ grapefruit trees (Citrus paradisiMacf.) grown under a tropical climate. The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, 89(4), 435-440. doi:10.1080/14620316.2014.11513103Blázquez, M. A., Ferrándiz, C., Madueño, F., & Parcy, F. (2006). How Floral Meristems are Built. Plant Molecular Biology, 60(6), 855-870. doi:10.1007/s11103-006-0013-zBlümel, M., Dally, N., & Jung, C. (2015). Flowering time regulation in crops — what did we learn from Arabidopsis? Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 32, 121-129. doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2014.11.023Castillo, M.-C., Forment, J., Gadea, J., Carrasco, J. L., Juarez, J., Navarro, L., & Ancillo, G. (2013). Identification of transcription factors potentially involved in the juvenile to adult phase transition in Citrus. Annals of Botany, 112(7), 1371-1381. doi:10.1093/aob/mct211Chica, E. J., & Albrigo, L. G. (2013). Expression of Flower Promoting Genes in Sweet Orange during Floral Inductive Water Deficits. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 138(2), 88-94. doi:10.21273/jashs.138.2.88Endo, T., Shimada, T., Fujii, H., Kobayashi, Y., Araki, T., & Omura, M. (2005). Ectopic Expression of an FT Homolog from Citrus Confers an Early Flowering Phenotype on Trifoliate Orange (Poncirus trifoliata L. Raf.). Transgenic Research, 14(5), 703-712. doi:10.1007/s11248-005-6632-3Haberman, A., Ackerman, M., Crane, O., Kelner, J.-J., Costes, E., & Samach, A. (2016). Different flowering response to various fruit loads in apple cultivars correlates with degree of transcript reaccumulation of a TFL1-encoding gene. The Plant Journal, 87(2), 161-173. doi:10.1111/tpj.13190Hanano, S., & Goto, K. (2011). Arabidopsis TERMINAL FLOWER1 Is Involved in the Regulation of Flowering Time and Inflorescence Development through Transcriptional Repression. The Plant Cell, 23(9), 3172-3184. doi:10.1105/tpc.111.088641Mafra, V., Kubo, K. S., Alves-Ferreira, M., Ribeiro-Alves, M., Stuart, R. M., Boava, L. P., … Machado, M. A. (2012). Reference Genes for Accurate Transcript Normalization in Citrus Genotypes under Different Experimental Conditions. PLoS ONE, 7(2), e31263. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031263Martínez-Fuentes, A., Mesejo, C., Reig, C., & Agustí, M. (2010). Timing of the inhibitory effect of fruit on return bloom of ‘Valencia’ sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 90(11), 1936-1943. doi:10.1002/jsfa.4038Michaels, S. D., & Amasino, R. M. (1999). FLOWERING LOCUS C Encodes a Novel MADS Domain Protein That Acts as a Repressor of Flowering. The Plant Cell, 11(5), 949-956. doi:10.1105/tpc.11.5.949Muñoz-Fambuena, N., Mesejo, C., Carmen González-Mas, M., Primo-Millo, E., Agustí, M., & Iglesias, D. J. (2011). Fruit regulates seasonal expression of flowering genes in alternate-bearing ‘Moncada’ mandarin. Annals of Botany, 108(3), 511-519. doi:10.1093/aob/mcr164Muñoz-Fambuena, N., Mesejo, C., González-Mas, M. C., Primo-Millo, E., Agustí, M., & Iglesias, D. J. (2012). Fruit load modulates flowering-related gene expression in buds of alternate-bearing ‘Moncada’ mandarin. Annals of Botany, 110(6), 1109-1118. doi:10.1093/aob/mcs190Nishikawa, F., Endo, T., Shimada, T., Fujii, H., Shimizu, T., Omura, M., & Ikoma, Y. (2007). Increased CiFT abundance in the stem correlates with floral induction by low temperature in Satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc.). Journal of Experimental Botany, 58(14), 3915-3927. doi:10.1093/jxb/erm246Peña, L., Martín-Trillo, M., Juárez, J., Pina, J. A., Navarro, L., & Martínez-Zapater, J. M. (2001). Constitutive expression of Arabidopsis LEAFY or APETALA1 genes in citrus reduces their generation time. Nature Biotechnology, 19(3), 263-267. doi:10.1038/85719Pillitteri, L. 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PLoS ONE, 7(10), e46930. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0046930Shalom, L., Samuels, S., Zur, N., Shlizerman, L., Doron-Faigenboim, A., Blumwald, E., & Sadka, A. (2014). Fruit load induces changes in global gene expression and in abscisic acid (ABA) and indole acetic acid (IAA) homeostasis in citrus buds. Journal of Experimental Botany, 65(12), 3029-3044. doi:10.1093/jxb/eru148Sohn, E. J., Rojas-Pierce, M., Pan, S., Carter, C., Serrano-Mislata, A., Madueno, F., … Raikhel, N. V. (2007). The shoot meristem identity gene TFL1 is involved in flower development and trafficking to the protein storage vacuole. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(47), 18801-18806. doi:10.1073/pnas.0708236104Spiegel-Roy, P., & Goldschmidt, E. E. (1996). The Biology of Citrus. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511600548Sussmilch, F. C., Berbel, A., Hecht, V., Vander Schoor, J. K., Ferrándiz, C., Madueño, F., & Weller, J. L. (2015). 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Revisiting left atrial volumetry by magnetic resonance imaging : the role of atrial shape and 3D angle between left ventricular and left atrial axis

Background Accurate measurement of left atrial (LA) volumes is needed in cardiac diagnostics and the follow up of heart and valvular diseases. Geometrical assumptions with 2D methods for LA volume estimation contribute to volume misestimation. In this study, we test agreement of 3D and 2D methods of LA volume detection and explore contribution of 3D LA axis orientation and LA shape in introducing error in 2D methods by cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging. Methods 30 patients with prior first-ever ischemic stroke and no known heart disease, and 30 healthy controls were enrolled (age 18-49) in a substudy of a prospective case-control study. All study subjects underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and were pooled for this methodological study. LA volumes were calculated by biplane area-length method from both conventional long axis (LAV(AL-LV)) and LA long axis-oriented images (LAV(AL-LA)) and were compared to 3D segmented LA volume (LAV(SAX)) to assess accuracy of volume detection. 3D orientation of LA long axis to left ventricular (LV) long axis and to four-chamber plane were determined, and LA 3D sphericity indices were calculated to assess sources of error in LA volume calculation. Shapiro-Wilk test, Bland-Altman analysis, intraclass and Pearson correlation, and Spearman's rho were used for statistical analysis. Results Biases were - 9.9 mL (- 12.5 to - 7.2) for LAV(AL-LV) and 13.4 (10.0-16.9) for LAV(AL-LA) [mean difference to LAV(SAX) (95% confidence interval)]. End-diastolic LA long axis 3D deviation angle to LV long axis was 28.3 +/- 6.2 degrees [mean +/- SD] and LA long axis 3D rotation angle to four-chamber plane 20.5 +/- 18.0 degrees. 3D orientation of LA axis or 3D sphericity were not correlated to error in LA volume calculation. Conclusions Calculated LA volume accuracy did not improve by using LA long axis-oriented images for volume calculation in comparison to conventional method. We present novel data on LA axis orientation and a novel metric of LA sphericity and conclude that these measures cannot be utilized to assess error in LA volume calculation.Peer reviewe

Membrane lipids and maximum lifespan in clownfish

The longevity-homeoviscous adaptation (LHA) theory of ageing states that lipid composition of cell membranes is linked to metabolic rate and lifespan, which has been widely shown in mammals and birds but not sufficiently in fish. In this study, two species of the genus Amphiprion (Amphiprion percula and Amphiprion clarkii, with estimated maximum lifespan potentials [MLSP] of 30 and 9–16&nbsp;years, respectively) and the damselfish Chromis viridis (estimated MLSP of 1–2&nbsp;years) were chosen to test the LHA theory of ageing in a potential model of exceptional longevity. Brain, livers and samples of skeletal muscle were collected for lipid analyses and integral part in the computation of membrane peroxidation indexes (PIn) from phospholipid (PL) fractions and PL fatty acid composition. When only the two Amphiprion species were compared, results pointed to the existence of a negative correlation between membrane PIn value and maximum lifespan, well in line with the predictions from the LHA theory of ageing. Nevertheless, contradictory data were obtained when the two Amphiprion species were compared to the shorter-lived C. viridis. These results along with those obtained in previous studies on fish denote that the magnitude (and sometimes the direction) of the differences observed in membrane lipid composition and peroxidation index with MLSP cannot explain alone the diversity in longevity found among fishes

Report Microsporidia Evolved from Ancestral Sexual Fungi

Summary Microsporidia are obligate, intracellular eukaryotic pathogens that infect animal cells, including human