Genome-wide identification and characterization of aquaporin gene family in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Plant aquaporins are a large and diverse family of water channel proteins that are essential for several physiological processes in living organisms. Numerous studies have linked plant aquaporins with a plethora of processes, such as nutrient acquisition, CO2 transport, plant growth and development, and response to abiotic stresses. However, little is known about this protein family in common bean. Here, we present a genome-wide identification of the aquaporin gene family in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), a legume crop essential for human nutrition. We identified 41 full-length coding aquaporin sequences in the common bean genome, divided by phylogenetic analysis into five sub-families (PIPs, TIPs, NIPs, SIPs and XIPs). Residues determining substrate specificity of aquaporins (i.e., NPA motifs and ar/R selectivity filter) seem conserved between common bean and other plant species, allowing inference of substrate specificity for these proteins. Thanks to the availability of RNA-sequencing datasets, expression levels in different organs and in leaves of wild and domesticated bean accessions were evaluated. Three aquaporins (PvTIP1;1, PvPIP2;4 and PvPIP1;2) have the overall highest mean expressions, with PvTIP1;1 having the highest expression among all aquaporins. We performed an EST database mining to identify drought-responsive aquaporins in common bean. This analysis showed a significant increase in expression for PvTIP1;1 in drought stress conditions compared to well-watered environments. The pivotal role suggested for PvTIP1;1 in regulating water homeostasis and drought stress response in the common bean should be verified by further field experimentation under drought stress

Mortality after surgery in Europe: a 7 day cohort study

Background: Clinical outcomes after major surgery are poorly described at the national level. Evidence of heterogeneity between hospitals and health-care systems suggests potential to improve care for patients but this potential remains unconfirmed. The European Surgical Outcomes Study was an international study designed to assess outcomes after non-cardiac surgery in Europe.Methods: We did this 7 day cohort study between April 4 and April 11, 2011. We collected data describing consecutive patients aged 16 years and older undergoing inpatient non-cardiac surgery in 498 hospitals across 28 European nations. Patients were followed up for a maximum of 60 days. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcome measures were duration of hospital stay and admission to critical care. We used χ² and Fisher’s exact tests to compare categorical variables and the t test or the Mann-Whitney U test to compare continuous variables. Significance was set at p<0·05. We constructed multilevel logistic regression models to adjust for the differences in mortality rates between countries.Findings: We included 46 539 patients, of whom 1855 (4%) died before hospital discharge. 3599 (8%) patients were admitted to critical care after surgery with a median length of stay of 1·2 days (IQR 0·9–3·6). 1358 (73%) patients who died were not admitted to critical care at any stage after surgery. Crude mortality rates varied widely between countries (from 1·2% [95% CI 0·0–3·0] for Iceland to 21·5% [16·9–26·2] for Latvia). After adjustment for confounding variables, important differences remained between countries when compared with the UK, the country with the largest dataset (OR range from 0·44 [95% CI 0·19 1·05; p=0·06] for Finland to 6·92 [2·37–20·27; p=0·0004] for Poland).Interpretation: The mortality rate for patients undergoing inpatient non-cardiac surgery was higher than anticipated. Variations in mortality between countries suggest the need for national and international strategies to improve care for this group of patients.Funding: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, European Society of Anaesthesiology