Growth and development of five weed species of the Amaranthus genus

O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar o crescimento e o desenvolvimento de cinco plantas daninhas do gênero Amaranthus, em condições não-competitivas. As espécies estudadas foram: A. deflexus, A. hybridus, A. retroflexus, A. spinosus e A. viridis. Foram realizadas oito avaliações periódicas de crescimento, espaçadas em 10 dias, iniciando-se aos 20 dias após semeadura (DAS). As variáveis avaliadas por planta foram: área foliar, massa seca das raízes, ramos, folhas, flores + frutos e total; obtendo-se, a partir desta última, as taxas de crescimento absoluto e relativo. Também foram avaliadas as etapas fenológicas de desenvolvimento das plantas. A. deflexus foi a espécie com ciclo vegetativo mais curto, menor acúmulo de massa seca e área foliar. Por outro lado, A. retroflexus e A. hybridus foram as que alcançaram os maiores valores para essas variáveis. A. viridis foi a de melhor adaptabilidade ecológica para as condições em que o experimento foi desenvolvido, pois, além de acumular grande quantidade de massa seca e área foliar, observaram-se rápido desenvolvimento vegetativo e crescimento absoluto. Esses resultados sugerem que A. viridis é uma espécie com alto potencial de interferência nas culturas agrícolas, proporcionado pelo uso eficiente dos recursos de crescimento fornecidos pelo ambiente durante os estádios iniciais de crescimento.The aim of this work was to analyze the growth and the development of five weeds of the Amaranthus genus, under non-competitive conditions. The studied species were: A. deflexus, A. hybridus, A. retroflexus, A. spinosus and A. viridis. Eight periodic evaluations of growth were taken, every 10 days, starting at 20 Days After Seeding (DAS). The variables evaluated per plant were: leaf area; roots, stems, leaves, flowers + fruits and total dry weight; obtaining, from the last variable, the absolute and relative growth rates. The phenologyof the plants was also evaluated. A. deflexus was the species with the shortest vegetative cycle , and with the lowest accumulated dry weight and leaf area; whereas A. retroflexus and A. hybridus were the species which reached the highest values for these variables. A. viridis presented the best ecological adaptability for the conditions of the experiment: it showed fast vegetative development and absolute growth rate, and high accumulation of dry weight and leaf area. These results suggest that A. viridis is a species with high potential to interfere in the agricultural crops, due to the efficient use of the growth resources available by the ambient during its initial growth stages

Laboratorio de Bienestar Porcino: Primeros Resultados y Primeras Conclusiones

La puesta en marcha del Laboratorio de Bienestar Porcino comenzó con una iniciativa de un grupo de investigadores de la E.T.S.I. Agrónomos de Madrid (UPM) que, con el apoyo y financiación de la empresa Tragsa, desarrolló un modelo de alojamiento para cebo de cerdos que incluía un sistema patentado de separación in situ de heces y orina

Protocol to generate a patient derived xenograft model of acquired resistance to immunotherapy in humanized mice

Cancer; Cell isolation; Stem cellsCàncer; Aïllament cel·lular; Cèl·lules mareCáncer; Aislamiento celular; Células madreImmunotherapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, but preclinical models are required to understand immunotherapy resistance mechanisms underlying patient relapse. This protocol describes how to generate an acquired resistance humanized in vivo model to immunotherapies in patient-derived xenografts (PDX). We detail steps to inject human CD34+ cells into NSG mice, followed by generation of immunoresistant PDX in humanized mice. This approach recapitulates the human immune system, allowing investigators to generate preclinical resistance models to different immunotherapies for identifying the resistant phenotype. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Martínez-Sabadell et al., 2022 and Arenas et al. (2021).This work was supported by Asociación Española Contra el Cancer (GCAEC19017ARRI), Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF-21-008), and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI19/01181). A.M.S. was funded by the Spanish Government (PFIS FI20/00188). P.O.R. was funded by the BBVA. E.J.A. was funded by the AECC (POSTD211413AREN). VHIO would like to acknowledge the Cellex Foundation for providing research facilities and equipment and the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (CIBERONC) from the Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII) for their support on this research. Authors acknowledge financial support for the Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy (CAIMI-2) program funded by BBVA Foundation. The Graphical abstract was created with BioRender.com

An Overview of Alternative Splicing Defects Implicated in Myotonic Dystrophy Type I

Myotonic dystrophy type I (DM1) is the most common form of adult muscular dystrophy, caused by expansion of a CTG triplet repeat in the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of the myotonic dystrophy protein kinase (DMPK) gene. The pathological CTG repeats result in protein trapping by expanded transcripts, a decreased DMPK translation and the disruption of the chromatin structure, affecting neighboring genes expression. The muscleblind-like (MBNL) and CUG-BP and ETR-3-like factors (CELF) are two families of tissue-specific regulators of developmentally programmed alternative splicing that act as antagonist regulators of several pre-mRNA targets, including troponin 2 (TNNT2), insulin receptor (INSR), chloride channel 1 (CLCN1) and MBNL2. Sequestration of MBNL proteins and up-regulation of CELF1 are key to DM1 pathology, inducing a spliceopathy that leads to a developmental remodelling of the transcriptome due to an adult-to-foetal splicing switch, which results in the loss of cell function and viability. Moreover, recent studies indicate that additional pathogenic mechanisms may also contribute to disease pathology, including a misregulation of cellular mRNA translation, localization and stability. This review focuses on the cause and effects of MBNL and CELF1 deregulation in DM1, describing the molecular mechanisms underlying alternative splicing misregulation for a deeper understanding of DM1 complexity. To contribute to this analysis, we have prepared a comprehensive list of transcript alterations involved in DM1 pathogenesis, as well as other deregulated mRNA processing pathways implications

Utrophin modulator drugs as potential therapies for Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies

Utrophin is an autosomal paralogue of dystrophin, a protein whose deficit causes Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies (DMD/BMD). Utrophin is naturally overexpressed at the sarcolemma of mature dystrophin-deficient fibres in DMD and BMD patients as well as in the mdx Duchenne mouse model. Dystrophin and utrophin can co-localise in human foetal muscle, in the dystrophin-competent fibres from DMD/BMD carriers, and revertant fibre clusters in biopsies from DMD patients. These findings suggest that utrophin overexpression could act as a surrogate, compensating for the lack of dystrophin, and, as such, it could be used in combination with dystrophin restoration therapies. Different strategies to overexpress utrophin are currently under investigation. In recent years, many compounds have been reported to modulate utrophin expression efficiently in preclinical studies and ameliorate the dystrophic phenotype in animal models of the disease. In this manuscript, we discuss the current knowledge on utrophin protein and the different mechanisms that modulate its expression in skeletal muscle. We also include a comprehensive review of compounds proposed as utrophin regulators and, as such, potential therapeutic candidates for these muscular dystrophies.This work was supported by funding from Health Institute Carlos III (ISCIII, Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund, (ERDF/FEDER), `A way of making Europe': Grant PI15/00333; Basque Government (grants 2016111029, 2018222035 and 2020333012) and Duchenne Parent Project Spain (grant 05/2016). P. S--M holds a Rio Hortega Fellowship from ISCIII (CM19/00104). V.A--G holds a Miguel Servet Fellowship from the ISCIII (CPII17/00004), part-funded by ERDF/FEDER. A. L--M acknowledges funding by Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute (BC/I/DIV/19/001). V. A--G also acknowledges funding from Ikerbasque (Basque Foundation for Science). None of this funding represents a conflict of interest with the content of this review

Nuevo catalizador a base de un óxido metálico sulfatado, procedimiento para su preparación y aplicaciones

Referencia OEPM: P200100637.-- Fecha de solicitud: 19/03/2001.-- Titular: Compañía Española de Petróleos, S.A. (CEPSA).Dicho catalizador es un sólido fuertemente ácido que comprende esencialmente un soporte de un hidróxido sulfatado de un metal del grupo IV del Sistema Periódico de los Elementos, sobre el cual se encuentra soportado un metal del Grupo V y un metal del Grupo VIII. El procedimiento comprende: (a) sulfatación de dicho soporte, (b) incorporación del componente metálico del Grupo V al producto de (a); (c) incorporación del metal del Grupo VIII al producto de (b); (d) calcinación del producto de (c); (e) reducción del producto calcinado de (d). Uso en los procesos de isomerización de parafinas lineales o cíclicas.Peer reviewe

Modelo logístico para fitomassa e extração de nutrientes para a cultura de arroz

A variação temporal do acúmulo de fitomassa seca pode ser representada por curva de tipo sigmoidal e a variação temporal do acúmulo de nutrientes acompanha essa forma característica. Conseqüentemente, a modelagem da variação temporal do acúmulo de fitomassa seca permite estimar a extração de nutrientes ao longo do ciclo da cultura. O objetivo do trabalho foi propor um modelo senoidal para estimar a fitomassa seca e extração de macronutrientes pela cultura de arroz, bem como determinar a época de máxima taxa de extração de N e K. O experimento foi conduzido em Piracicaba, SP num Gleissolo Eutrófico, horizonte A chernozênico, textura média a argilosa. Foi utilizada a variedade IAC 103, caracterizada por ser de ciclo médio e de alto rendimento. As variáveis observadas foram a fitomassa seca em diferentes compartimentos da planta (raiz, folha e colmo e panícula) e os teores de macronutrientes por unidade de fitomassa seca. Propõe-se um modelo senoidal, cuja base matemática é fundamentada em eventos biológicos que acontecem ao longo do ciclo da cultura. Estimou-se a variação temporal da extração de nutrientes pela cultura, observando-se menor aderência na estimativa da extração de K. A máxima taxa de absorção de N e K foi observada a 56% do desenvolvimento relativo, equivalente a 60 DAE no estudo. O modelo proposto apresentou adequado desempenho para definir ordem de grandeza dos valores de fitomassa seca e extração de macronutrientes pela cultura de arroz, bem como para estimar a máxima taxa de absorção de N e K.The temporal variation of cumulative dry matter can be represented by a sigmoidal curve and the temporal variation of nutrient uptake follows this characteristic shape. Therefore, modeling the temporal variation of cumulative dry matter allows estimating nutrient uptake along the crop cycle. The objective of this study was to propose a sine model to estimate dry matter and macronutrient uptake, and to estimate the moments of maximum N and K uptake rates for the rice crop. The field experiment was carried out on a wetland area of Piracicaba, SP, Brazil, consisting of an Humic Haplaquept. The chosen rice variety was IAC 103, a middle season cycle and high yield. Observed variables were dry matter of different plant parts (root, leaf and stem, and panicle) and macronutrient contents per unit dry matter. A sine model was proposed for the cumulative variation of these variables, based on biological events that occurred during the crop cycle. The temporal variation of nutrient uptake was estimated and a lower accuracy was observed for K uptake. The maximum absorption rate for N and K was found at 56% of the relative development of the crop, corresponding to 60 days after emergence in this experiment. The proposed model presented a satisfactory behavior to define the order of magnitude of estimated dry matter and macronutrient uptake by the rice crop and maximum N and K uptake rates

CENTESIL: An independent Research Centre on Polysilicon

The tremendous expansion of the photovoltaic technology and its relative avidity for silicon is producing a dramatic change in the polysilicon industry structure, increasing the efforts to produce a low cost, high quality Solar Silicon. In this context, the Centro de Tecnología del Silicio Solar (CENTESIL) was founded in 2006 as a private-public partnership venture, and is currently building a 50 t/a pilot plant for silicon purification following the chlorosilane route. Although an advanced state of the art technology has been selected as first choice, the purpose is to be able to undertake developments in any topic that has the potential to reduce the cost effectively. Additionally, the project includes facilities for monocrystalline growth and wafering, and also the solar cell processing line of the Instituto de Energía Solar, so that it will cover the whole value chain from feedstock to solar cell

Gb3/cd77 Is a Predictive Marker and Promising Therapeutic Target for Head and Neck Cancer

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is the sixth leading cancer in the world. This cancer is difficult to treat and is characterized by recurrences that are often fatal. This cancer is generally removed surgically, but it often regrows from the edges of the lesion from where most recurrences reappear. In this study, we have investigated if the expression of GB3 in human cell lines, tissues from patient biopsies, and a murine animal model could be used as an early and determinant marker of HNC. We found that in all the investigated systems, this marker appears in neoplastic cells from the very early stages of their malignant transformation. Our conclusions support the hypothesis that GB3 is a reliable and independent target for HNC identification and selective delivery of treatments. Furthermore, we show that the level of expression of this marker correlates with the degree of malignancy of the tumor. These studies suggest that GB3 may provide the basis for the early identification and new targeted therapies for head and neck cancer.Funding: This research was funded by ISCIII Projects ref. PI19/00349, DTS19/00033, co-funded by ERDF/ESF, “Investing in your future”; NanoBioApp Research Network (MINECO-17-MAT2016-81955-REDT), COST action Nano2Clinic CA17140, and IDIVAL for the INNVAL 19/12 and INNVAL20/13 projects

Nuestra primera startup: El TFG en el Grado en Ingeniería Química

Se plantea constituir una compañía startup con un grupo de estudiantes del TFG del Grado en Ingeniería Química cuyo objetivo es el diseño de una planta química para la producción de fertilizantes