Volatile compounds other than CO2 emitted by different microorganisms promote distinct post-transcriptionally regulated responses in plants

Resumen de la conferenciaUsing a “box-in-box” co-cultivation system we have investigated plant responses to microbial volatile compounds (VCs), and evaluated the contributions of organic and inorganic VCs (VOCs and VICs, respectively) to these responses. Arabidopsis plants were exposed to VCs emitted by adjacent Alternaria alternata and Penicillium aurantiogriseum cultures, with and without charcoal filtration. No VOCs were detected in the headspace of growth chambers containing fungal cultures with charcoal filters. However, these growth chambers exhibited elevated CO2 and bioactive CO and NO headspace concentrations. Independently of charcoal filtration, VCs from both fungal phytopathogens promoted growth and distinct developmental changes. Plants cultured at CO2 levels observed in growth boxes containing fungal cultures were identical to those cultured at ambient CO2. Plants exposed to charcoal-filtered fungal VCs, non-filtered VCs, or super-elevated CO2 levels exhibited transcriptional changes resembling those induced by increased irradiance. Thus, in the “box-in-box” system, (a) fungal VICs other than CO2 and/or VOCs not detected by our analytical systems strongly influence the plants´ responses to fungal VCs, (b) different microorganisms release VCs with distinct action potentials, (c) transcriptional changes in VC-exposed plants are mainly due to enhanced photosynthesis signaling, and (d) regulation of some plant responses to fungal VCs is primarily posttranscriptional.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech Esta conferencia cuenta con la financiación de una ayuda a conferenciantes de los fondos de los que dispone el Departamento de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica (UMA) para tal fin

De la ciudad pictórica a la ciudad digital

La representación de la ciudad en las artes plásticas, y más concretamente en la pintura, ha ido evolucionando a lo largo de la historia, tanto por la incorporación de las nuevas técnicas pictóricas, ópticas, cinematográficas y digitales, como por la importancia creciente que el espacio urbano ha ido adquiriendo en la vida del hombre. Desde las ciudades que aparecían en la lejanía o a través de una ventana en los cuadros de los flamencos primitivos hasta la gran metrópolis en las que se desarrollan los videojuegos actuales, la imagen de la ciudad ha ido haciéndose más compleja y artificial.The representation of the city in the arts, and specifically in painting, has evolved throughout history, both because of the incorporation of new pictorial, optical, cinematographic and digital techniques as because of the growing importance of urban space in human life. From the cities appearing in the distance or through a window in the paintings of the early Flemish school to the great metropolis in which contemporary videogames take place, the image of the city has become more complex and artificial

Tirso de Molina, La Huerta de Juan Fernández.

Sin resume

Los espacios compartidos ("Shared space")

El concepto de Espacio Compartido, traducción literal de "Shared Space", nace formalmente con la puesta en marcha del proyecto europeo así titulado, que forma parte del programa IIIB, del Mar del Norte. "Shared Space" se inició en 2004 y su duración como proyecto financiado en parte por la Unión Europea finalizará en 2008, tras haber promovido siete proyectos piloto en Alemania, Bélgica, Dinamarca, Holanda e Inglaterra. Sin embargo, "Shared Space" no es sino una nueva denominación para una técnica con décadas de historia, desarrollada fundamentalmente en Holanda y que puso en práctica nuevos criterios para la regulación del tráfico y el diseño del espacio público, basados en la eliminación de toda señalización reguladora, en resaltar el contexto urbano del espacio vial y en la coexistencia e integración espacial de los diferentes usuarios. Analizar la experiencia existente de construcción y funcionamiento de espacios compartidos y evaluar la posibilidad de aplicar sus criterios a algunas de las calles o áreas de los centros de las ciudades españolas es el objeto del trabajo que se presenta a continuación

Roman Jakobson.

Sin resume

Criterios para la rehabilitacion sostenible del espacio público en la ciudad de bloque abierto : Criteria for the sustainable rehabilitation of public space in the open-block city

El articulo desarrolla una nueva metodologia de analisis, diagnosis y propuestas para la rehabilitacion sostenible del espacio público que aparece generosamente en los conjuntos residenciales de bloque abierto en muchas ciudades europeas. El espacio público, abandonado durante décadas, se convierte ahora en un espacio de oportunidad que sostiene acciones mediambientales, de nuevos usos, de ahorro de agua, de gestion de residuos, de movilidad ediciente y de organizacion de espacios con multiactividad, imprescindibles para la nueva vision de sostenibilidad de la ciudad consolidada. Este objetivo integrado se articula mediante el Plan Especial de Mejora de la Calidad Ambiental del Espacio Público en Moratalaz, en Madrid, España

Plantas transgénicas con alto rendimiento en peso seco y almidón cuyos órganos de reserva presentan elevada textura, elevado contenido en almidón y elevado rendimiento en peso seco

Plantas transgénicas con alto rendimiento en peso seco y almidón cuyos órganos de reserva presentan elevada textura, elevado contenido en almidón y elevado rendimiento en peso seco. La presente invención proporciona plantas transgénicas con alto rendimiento en peso seco y almidón cuyos órganos de reserva presentan elevada textura, elevado contenido en almidón y elevado rendimiento en peso seco.Peer reviewedUniversidad Pública de Navarra OTRI, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España)B1 Patente sin examen previ

HPLC-MS/MS Analyses Show That the Near-Starchless aps1 and pgm Leaves Accumulate Wild Type Levels of ADPglucose: Further Evidence for the Occurrence of Important ADPglucose Biosynthetic Pathway(s) Alternative to the pPGI-pPGM-AGP Pathway

In leaves, it is widely assumed that starch is the end-product of a metabolic pathway exclusively taking place in the chloroplast that (a) involves plastidic phosphoglucomutase (pPGM), ADPglucose (ADPG) pyrophosphorylase (AGP) and starch synthase (SS), and (b) is linked to the Calvin-Benson cycle by means of the plastidic phosphoglucose isomerase (pPGI). This view also implies that AGP is the sole enzyme producing the starch precursor molecule, ADPG. However, mounting evidence has been compiled pointing to the occurrence of important sources, other than the pPGI-pPGM-AGP pathway, of ADPG. To further explore this possibility, in this work two independent laboratories have carried out HPLC-MS/MS analyses of ADPG content in leaves of the near-starchless pgm and aps1 mutants impaired in pPGM and AGP, respectively, and in leaves of double aps1/pgm mutants grown under two different culture conditions. We also measured the ADPG content in wild type (WT) and aps1 leaves expressing in the plastid two different ADPG cleaving enzymes, and in aps1 leaves expressing in the plastid GlgC, a bacterial AGP. Furthermore, we measured the ADPG content in ss3/ss4/aps1 mutants impaired in starch granule initiation and chloroplastic ADPG synthesis. We found that, irrespective of their starch contents, pgm and aps1 leaves, WT and aps1 leaves expressing in the plastid ADPG cleaving enzymes, and aps1 leaves expressing in the plastid GlgC accumulate WT ADPG content. In clear contrast, ss3/ss4/aps1 leaves accumulated ca. 300 fold-more ADPG than WT leaves. The overall data showed that, in Arabidopsis leaves, (a) there are important ADPG biosynthetic pathways, other than the pPGI-pPGM-AGP pathway, (b) pPGM and AGP are not major determinants of intracellular ADPG content, and (c) the contribution of the chloroplastic ADPG pool to the total ADPG pool is low.This research was partially supported by the grants [BIO2010-18239] from the Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (Spain) and [IIM010491.RI1] from the Government of Navarra, and by Iden Biotechnology. This research was also supported by Scientific Research on Innovative Areas [22114507] and Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) [22380186] from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.Peer Reviewe

Interact & aspire high: Contextual conditions of acculturation and educational aspirations

Although education is central for minorities’ integration, there are large achievement gaps between minority and majority students as a result of pervasive educational inequalities. Efforts to advance the educational outcomes of minority children have identified that parental beliefs about the education of their children are significantly influential on the children’s attainment. Given that these beliefs are dependent on the acculturation of the parents; improvements in intergroup contact, described as an antecedent of acculturation, could potentially produce beneficial educational outcomes for the children. This study aims to understand the educational aspirations Roma parents have for their children, drawing on intergroup contact and acculturation theories. The Roma is the largest minority in Europe and subject to many educational inequalities, so this approach could potentially help to improve their situation. Specifically, we examined how Roma parents’ frequency and quality of interaction with non-Roma individuals are related to their educational aspirations, and to what extent can this relationship be explained by their psychological process of acculturation. 242 Roma parents in Portugal participated in a survey study. Overall results revealed that an increase in intergroup contact frequency of the parents is related to higher educational aspirations for their children, and this positive effect is mediated by a decrease in their preference for culture maintenance. Moreover, the gender of the child and the socioeconomic status of parents were important predictors of parental educational aspirations. Implications for research and policy are discussed