Editorial: Eliciting plant defense responses: From basic to applied science for sustainable agriculture

Plants constantly face a diversity of pathogens and insects that affect food production. Synthetic agrochemicals are often use to overcome these challenges. However, current demands for stringent worldwide regulatory policies led to the development of sustainable agriculture strategies, including naturally-derived molecules that elicit plant defense responses (Scariotto et al., 2021). The commercial use of these molecules is still limited, mostly due to poor knowledge on the molecular mechanisms producing their effects on plant metabolism. In recent decades, efforts have been directed toward understanding how individual molecules, such as immune receptors or microbial effectors, enable plants to perceive and respond to pathogens, insects, and other stresses. Furthermore, recent research on plant immunity has revealed high levels of complexity, including regulation mediated by micro-peptides and miRNA. Such knowledge opens the opportunity to link basic and applied science to facilitate using natural elicitors as a sustainable option for crop protection

Electrochemical synthesis of peroxomonophosphate using boron-doped diamond anodes

A new method for the synthesis of peroxomonophosphate, based on the use of boron-doped diamond electrodes, is described. The amount of oxidant electrogenerated depends on the characteristics of the supporting media (pH and solute concentration) and on the operating conditions (temperature and current density). Results show that the pH, between values of 1 and 5, does not influence either the electrosynthesis of peroxomonophosphate or the chemical stability of the oxidant generated. Conversely, low temperatures are required during the electrosynthesis process to minimize the thermal decomposition of peroxomonophosphate and to guarantee significant oxidant concentration. In addition, a marked influence of both the current density and the initial substrate is observed. This observation can be explained in terms of the contribution of hydroxyl radicals in the oxidation mechanisms that occur on diamond surfaces. In the assays carried out below the water oxidation potential, the generation of hydroxyl radicals did not take place. In these cases, peroxomonophosphate generation occurs through a direct electron transfer and, therefore, at these low current densities lower concentrations are obtained. On the other hand, at higher potentials both direct and hydroxyl radical-mediated mechanisms contribute to the oxidant generation and the process is more efficient. In the same way, the contribution of hydroxyl radicals may also help to explain the significant influence of the substrate concentration. Thus, the coexistence of both phosphate and hydroxyl radicals is required to ensure the generation of significant amounts of peroxomonophosphoric acid

Impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on non-COVID inpatient care in southern Spain

We assessed the impact of the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic on non-COVID hospital admissions, non-COVID mortality, factors associated with non-COVID mortality, and changes in the profile of non-COVID patients admitted to hospital. We used the Spanish Minimum Basic Data Set with diagnosis grouped according to the Diagnostic Related Groups. A total of 10,594 patients (3% COVID-19; 97% non-COVID) hospitalised during the first wave in 2020 (27-February/07-June) were compared with those hospitalised within the same dates of 2017-2019 (average annual admissions: 14,037). We found a decrease in non-COVID medical (22%) and surgical (33%) hospitalisations and a 25.7% increase in hospital mortality among non-COVID patients during the first pandemic wave compared to pre-pandemic years. During the officially declared sub-period of excess mortality in the area (17-March/20-April, in-hospital non-COVID mortality was even higher (58.7% higher than the pre-pandemic years). Non-COVID patients hospitalised during the first pandemic wave (compared to pre-pandemic years) were older, more frequently men, with longer hospital stay and increased disease severity. Hospitalisation during the first pandemic wave in 2020, compared to hospitalisation during the pre-pandemic years, was an independent risk factor for non-COVID mortality (HR 1.30, 95% CI 1.07-1.57, p = 0.008), reflecting the negative impact of the pandemic on hospitalised patients

In vivo inhibition of c-MYC in myeloid cells impairs tumor-associated macrophage maturation and pro-tumoral activities

Although tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are involved in tumor growth and metastasis, the mechanisms controlling their pro-tumoral activities remain largely unknown. The transcription factor c-MYC has been recently shown to regulate in vitro human macrophage polarization and be expressed in macrophages infiltrating human tumors. In this study, we exploited the predominant expression of LysM in myeloid cells to generate c-Myc(fl/fl) LysM(cre/+) mice, which lack c-Myc in macrophages, to investigate the role of macrophage c-MYC expression in cancer. Under steady-state conditions, immune system parameters in c-Myc(fl/fl) LysM(cre/+) mice appeared normal, including the abundance of different subsets of bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells, precursors and circulating cells, macrophage density, and immune organ structure. In a model of melanoma, however, TAMs lacking c-Myc displayed a delay in maturation and showed an attenuation of pro-tumoral functions (e.g., reduced expression of VEGF, MMP9, and HIF1α) that was associated with impaired tissue remodeling and angiogenesis and limited tumor growth in c-Myc(fl/fl) LysM(cre/+) mice. Macrophage c-Myc deletion also diminished fibrosarcoma growth. These data identify c-Myc as a positive regulator of the pro-tumoral program of TAMs and suggest c-Myc inactivation as an attractive target for anti-cancer therapy

Efectos sobre la autopercepción en personas mayores de 60 años de un programa de actividad física en el agua

Introduction: the incidence of the aging process is observed on the physical, mental and social capacities and their relationship with the quality of life, hence the importance of the practice of physical activity in the elderly. The aquatic environment is an ally in physical activity with adults for applying a low joint impact. Objective: to check the evolution of the mood of the participants in a program of aquatic physical activity. Method: 98 adults (69,08 ±7,39years) performed a program of aquatic physical activity with two sessions (60 min) per week for 20 weeks. There were three evaluations: pre-intervention, during and post-intervention, using the POMS scale and the SF-36 scale. Results: significant differences were found, with increased vigor, reduction of tension, fatigue, depression and hostility, perceiving an improvement in health. Conclusion: aquatic physical activity improves the perception of the mood of the participants, both in the physical component and in the mental.Introducción: se observa la incidencia del proceso de envejecimiento sobre las capacidades físicas, mentales y sociales y su relación con la calidad de vida, de ahí la importancia de la práctica de actividad física en mayores. El medio acuático es un aliado en la actividad física con mayores por aplicar un bajo impacto articular. Objetivo: comprobar la evolución del estado de ánimo de los participantes en un programa de actividad física acuática. Método: 98 adultos (69,08 ± 7,39 años) realizaron un programa de actividad física acuática con dos sesiones (60 min) semanales durante 20 semanas. Hubo tres evaluaciones: pre-intervención, durante y post-intervención, mediante la escala POMS y el cuestionario SF-36. Resultados: se encontraron diferencias significativas, con aumento del vigor, reducción de la tensión, fatiga, depresión y hostilidad, percibiendo una mejora de salud. Conclusión: la actividad física acuática mejora la percepción del estado de ánimo de los participantes, tanto en el componente físico como en el mental

Simulation of the evolution of floor covering ceramic tiles during the firing

In the context of the firing of ceramic tiles the problem of simulating the final shape of the body is relevant because several defects can occur and the tile can be rejected if the conditions of the firing are inadequate for the geometry and materials of the tile -- The existing literature on this problem indicates that previous works present limitations in aspects such as not using a model characteristic of ceramics at high temperatures and oversimplifying the problem -- As a response to such shortcomings, this article presents a simulation with a 3-dimensional Norton’s model, which overcomes the difficulties because it is characteristic of ceramics at high temperatures -- The results of our simulated experiments show advantages with respect to the identification of the mechanisms that contribute to the final shape of the body -- Our work is able to divide the history of temperatures in stages where the evolution of the thermal, elastic and creep deformations is simplified and meaningful -- That is achieved because our work found that curvature is the most descriptive parameter of the simulation, the most important contribution of this article -- Future work is to be realized in the creation of a model that takes into account that the shrinkage is dependent on the history of temperatures -- The main shortcoming of the paper is the lack of physical experiments to corroborate the simulation

A measure of individual role in collective dynamics

Identifying key players in collective dynamics remains a challenge in several research fields, from the efficient dissemination of ideas to drug target discovery in biomedical problems. The difficulty lies at several levels: how to single out the role of individual elements in such intermingled systems, or which is the best way to quantify their importance. Centrality measures describe a node's importance by its position in a network. The key issue obviated is that the contribution of a node to the collective behavior is not uniquely determined by the structure of the system but it is a result of the interplay between dynamics and network structure. We show that dynamical influence measures explicitly how strongly a node's dynamical state affects collective behavior. For critical spreading, dynamical influence targets nodes according to their spreading capabilities. For diffusive processes it quantifies how efficiently real systems may be controlled by manipulating a single node.Comment: accepted for publication in Scientific Report

Erasing Sensorimotor Memories via PKMζ Inhibition

Sensorimotor cortex has a role in procedural learning. Previous studies suggested that this learning is subserved by long-term potentiation (LTP), which is in turn maintained by the persistently active kinase, protein kinase Mzeta (PKMζ). Whereas the role of PKMζ in animal models of declarative knowledge is established, its effect on procedural knowledge is not well understood. Here we show that PKMζ inhibition, via injection of zeta inhibitory peptide (ZIP) into the rat sensorimotor cortex, disrupts sensorimotor memories for a skilled reaching task even after several weeks of training. The rate of relearning the task after the memory disruption by ZIP was indistinguishable from the rate of initial learning, suggesting no significant savings after the memory loss. These results indicate a shared molecular mechanism of storage for declarative and procedural forms of memory

Sexual Size Dimorphism and Body Condition in the Australasian Gannet

Funding: The research was financially supported by the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment. Acknowledgments We thank the Victorian Marine Science Consortium, Sea All Dolphin Swim, Parks Victoria, and the Point Danger Management Committee for logistical support. We are grateful for the assistance of the many field volunteers involved in the study.Peer reviewedPublisher PD