Transpiration, photosynthetic responses, tissue water relations and dry mass partitioning in Callistemon plants during drought conditions

Callistemon is an Australian species used as ornamental plant in Mediterranean regions. The objective of this research was to analyse the ability of Callistemon to overcome water deficit in terms of adjusting its physiology and morphology. Potted Callistemon laevis Anon plants were grown in controlled environment and subjected to drought stress by reducing irrigation water by 40% compared to the control (irrigated to container capacity). The drought stress produced the smallest plants throughout the experiment. After three months of drought, the leaf area, number of leaves and root volume decreased, while root/shoot ratio and root density increased. The higher root hydraulic resistance in stressed plants caused decreases in leaf and stem water potentials resulting in lower stomatal conductance and indicating that water flow through the roots is a factor that strongly influences shoot water relations. The water stress affected transpiration (63% reduction compared with the control). The consistent decrease in gs suggested an adaptative efficient stomatal control of transpiration by this species, resulting in a higher intrinsic water use efficiency (Pn/gs) in drought conditions, increasing as the experimental time progressed. This was accompanied by an improvement in water use efficiency of production to maintain the leaf water status. In addition, water stress induced an active osmotic adjustment and led to decreases in leaf tissue elasticity in order to maintain turgor. Therefore, the water deficit produced changes in plant water relations, gas exchange and growth in an adaptation process which could promote the faster establishment of this species in gardens or landscaping projects in Mediterranean conditions.This work was supported by the projects: CICYT (AGL 2008-05258-C02-1-2), CDTI (IDI-20070868) and Fundación Seneca (05660/PI/07).Peer Reviewe

Novedades corológicas para la flora de la provincia de Córdoba

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Fund raising in the international capital markets in 2021

This paper analyses the main trends in the private sector’s issuance activity in international capital markets during 2021, a year in which, despite positive developments that resulted in volumes above pre-2020 levels, the record 2020 figures were not achieved. Thus, the total issuance volume of debt securities declined due to lower issuance in the non-financial corporate sector, which may have been driven by the large amount of funds raised during 2020, lower funding needs for precautionary reasons in view of the improved health situation and higher funding costs. However, bond issuance by the banking sector and other financial institutions increased; this growth was concentrated in the United States, on expectations of monetary policy tightening in that area and regulatory factors. High-yield bond issuance also increased, benefiting from lower risk aversion. By region, the sharpest declines were in the United States, followed by the United Kingdom and the euro area. Conversely, issuance in the equity markets was strong and surpassed the 2020 figures

International capital markets during the COVID-19 crisis

Artículo de revistaThis article analyses the main trends in securities issuance activity on international markets in 2020, a year in which capital markets were very buoyant despite the COVID-19 crisis. In 2020, record figures were posted for issues on fixed-income markets globally, driven by the measures adopted by governments and central banks to smooth financing and foment market liquidity. In terms of sectors, issuance by the public sector and non-financial corporations increased, while there were declines in the banking sector. By region, increases in issuance volumes were across the board, with notably greater dynamism in the United States and the United Kingdom. Finally, as regards time horizon, there was a strong increase in the second quarter of the year, with record figures posted. This may have been due to the fact that many issuers attempted to bring forward their issues in that quarter given the enormous uncertainty over the course of the pandemic and future financing conditions. Equity market issues were also notably buoyant, with figures not recorded since 2009

The Use of Video-Gaming Devices as a Motivation for Learning Embedded Systems Programming

As embedded systems are becoming prevalent in everyday life, many universities are incorporating embedded systems-related courses in their undergraduate curricula. However, it is not easy to motivate students in such courses, since they conceive of embedded systems as bizarre computing elements, different from the personal computers with which they are familiar. This problem has been overcome at the University of Granada, Spain, by taking advantage of the connection many students have with video games.Spanish CICYT Project SAF2010-20558University of Granada Innovative Teaching Project 04-03-0

Autofluorescence of stingray skeletal cartilage: hyperspectral imaging as a tool for histological characterization

Tessellated cartilage is a distinctive composite tissue forming the bulk of the skeleton of cartilaginous fishes (e.g. sharks and rays), built from unmineralized cartilage covered at the surface by a thin layer of mineralized tiles called tesserae. The finescale structure and composition of elasmobranch tessellated cartilage has largely been investigated with electron microscopy, micro-computed tomography and histology, but many aspects of tissue structure and composition remain uncharacterized. In our study, we demonstrate that the tessellated cartilage of a stingray exhibits a strong and diverse autofluorescence, a native property of the tissue which can be harnessed as an effective label-free imaging technique. The autofluorescence signal was excited using a broad range of wavelengths in confocal and light sheet microscopy, comparing several sample preparations (fresh; demineralized and paraffin-embedded; non-demineralized and plastic-embedded) and imaging the tissue at different scales. Autofluorescence varied with sample preparation with the signal in both plastic- and paraffin-embedded samples strong enough to allow visualization of finescale (=¿1 µm) cellular and matrix structures, such as cell nuclei and current and former mineralization fronts, identifiable by globular mineralized tissue. A defined pericellular matrix (PCM) surrounding chondrocytes was also discernible, described here for the first time in elasmobranchs. The presence of a PCM suggests similarities with mammalian cartilage regarding how chondrocytes interact with their environment, the PCM in mammals acting as a transducer for biomechanical and biochemical signals. A posterior analysis of hyperspectral images by an MCR-ALS unmixing algorithm allowed identification of several distinct fluorescence signatures associated to specific regions in the tissue. Some fluorescence signatures identified could be correlated with collagen type II, the most abundant structural molecule of cartilage. Other fluorescence signatures, however, remained unidentified, spotlighting tissue regions that deserve deeper characterization and suggesting the presence of molecules still unidentified in elasmobranch skeletal cartilage. Our results show that autofluorescence can be a powerful exploratory imaging tool for characterizing less-studied skeletal tissues, such as tessellated cartilage. The images obtained are largely comparable with more commonly used techniques, but without the need for complicated sample preparations or external staining reagents standard in histology and electron microscopy (TEM, SEM).Postprint (published version

Assessing site quality using the National Forest Inventory

A pre-print version of the same manuscript is also available, which entitles "Assessing site quality using the National Forest Inventory"Sustainable production of wood is one of the main services provided by forest systems. Site productivity in the case of forests is often evaluated through the site quality. However, most of the works addressing the site quality have been done at local or regional scale. In this work, we aim to develop site quality models for five dominant species in Spanish forests (Fagus sylvatica, Pinus pinaster atlantica, Quercus pyrenaica, Pinus nigra, Pinus sylvestris) and create site quality maps at a national-scale from these models. First, we develop site quality models using site form (height-diameter relationship) as the reference index and the Spanish National Forest Inventory as dataset. Then, we fit spatial additive models entering physiographic and climatic variables in order to predict the site quality over the whole country. Additionally, we plot site form maps for the five species in order to describe spatial pattern in site quality at a national scale. Altitude and aspect appeared to be fundamental variables in the assessment of site quality. The accuracy of the spatial additive models ranged from 38.2% to 47.9%. The correspondence between the predicted and observed maps of site qualities is clear. Our results provide a tool which could be used by forest managers in land use planning as well as in forest policy decision-making at a national scale. We suggest that this method could be used in other countries and that the maps could be expanded to the European scale to assessing the way in which site quality varies across Europe always considering that the relationships between forest productivity and environmental variables could vary among biogeoclimatic zonesMarie Sklodowska-Curie Action, Towards a worldwide quantification of forest degradation (QUAFORD) 699884 AEI/FEDER, UE, AGL, AGL2016-76769-C2-2-R AEI/FEDER, UE, IJCI-2014-20614S

Proteinuria-lowering effects of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors in chronic kidney disease patients : a real-world multicentric study

Control of dyslipidemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) is not always guaranteed with statins and/or ezetimibe. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors (PCSK9i) have opened up a new era in lipid control, but their effect on renal function and proteinuria in real life have not yet been evaluated. The aim of the present study was to analyze the evolution of renal function and proteinuria in a cohort of CKD patients treated with PCSK9i. This retrospective multicentric cohort study included CKD patients treated with PCSK9i. Baseline epidemiological data, comorbidities and laboratory findings (including estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR], proteinuria and lipid profile) were collected. The evolution of renal function, proteinuria and lipid profile was analyzed during the 1-year follow-up. The cohort included 76 patients (68% male, mean age 66 ± 10 years). The mean baseline creatinine was 1.55 ± 0.77 mg/dL, and the mean eGFR was 52 ± 22 mL/min/1.73 m2. Reductions in LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol and triglycerides during the first month were 51 ± 25%, 32 ± 25% and 11 ± 40%, respectively, levels that remained stable throughout the first year (p < 0.001 for LDL-cholesterol and total cholesterol trends and p = 0.002 for triglyceride trend). During follow-up, proteinuria improved from 57 (9-481) to 30 (7-520) mg/g (p = 0.021). In addition, eGFR remained stable, and no adverse events were reported. In our cohort, dyslipidemia treatment with PCSK9i was associated with decreased proteinuria in CKD patients, an effect that might be due to reduced lipid nephrotoxicity. Clinical trials are needed to further investigate whether this impact on proteinuria can significantly slow CKD progression in the long term