Stress Memory and the Inevitable Effects of Drought: A Physiological Perspective

Plants grow and develop by adjusting their physiology to changes in their environment. Changes in the abiotic environment occur over years, seasons and days, but also over minutes and even seconds. In this ever-changing environment, plants may adjust their structure and function rapidly to optimize growth and reproduction. Plant responses to reiterated drought (i.e. repeated cycles of drought) differ from those to single incidences of drought; in fact, in nature, plants are usually exposed to repeated cycles of drought that differ in duration and intensity. Nowadays, there is increased interest in better understanding mechanisms of plant response to reiterated drought due, at least in part, to the discovery of epigenomic changes that trigger drought stress memory in plants. Beyond epigenomic changes, there are, however, other aspects that should be considered in the study of plant responses to reiterated drought: from changes in other omics approaches (transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics), to changes in plant structure; all of which may help us to better understand plant stress memory and its underlying mechanisms. Here, we present an example in which reiterated drought affects the pigment composition of leaves in the ornamental plant Silene dioica and discuss the importance of structural changes (in this case in the photosynthetic apparatus) for the plant response to reiterated drought; they represent a stress imprint that can affect plant response to subsequent stress episodes. Emphasis is placed on the importance of considering structural changes, in addition to physiological adjustments at the omics level, to understand stress memory i

Plataforma de desplegament de containers per perfils d'usuari

En aquesta memòria es presenta el desenvolupament del projecte Plataforma de desplegament de containers per perfils d'usuari. lataforma per poder gestionar containers segons perfils d'usuari d'una organització i la descàrrega d'aquests. El resultat és una plataforma web i executable Linux.This document presents the development of the project titled: "Platform for the deployment of containers based on user profiles". This work is the result of a collaboration with a PhD Project at the UPC. The project consists in the development of a platform to manage and download containers base

Influència de les comunitats bentòniques sobre el sediment al litoral del delta de l'ebre

La interacció dels organismes bentònics amb el sediment es relaciona, bàsicament, amb els processos de bioturbació i els de rugositat de fons. Els principals factors implicats en la mobilització de sediment a la plataforma interna són els corrents i l'onatge, però els organismes bentònics tenen un paper modulador destacat, ja que generen els majors impactes sobre les propietats geotècniques del sediment, controlen les taxes de bioturbació i són la principal font de generació de relleu en fons plans. El principal objectiu principal de la tesi és estudiar les interaccions entre els organismes bentònics i el sediment a la plataforma interna, focalitzant l'estudi en els processos de bioturbació i rugositat de fons associada a les comunitats bentòniques i les seves implicacions en la dinàmica sedimentària. Amb aquest finalitat s'han estudiat dues zones al Delta de l'Ebre (9 i 18 metres de fondària) i s'han realitzat 7 campanyes entre novembre 2001 i setembre 2002. Les condicions hidrodinàmiques s'han monitoritzat i l'anàlisi textural i geoquímic del sediment s'ha realitzat. Les comunitats i les seves abundàncies han segut mostrejades a diverses escales de mida d'organismes, amb dragues (macrofauna) i amb rastellers comercials (megafauna). A més, s'ha analitzat la distribució i abundància dels diversos taxons al perfil sedimentari. Finalment, s'ha enregistrat mitjançant tècniques audiovisuals l'activitat dels organismes i la micromorfologia superficial 9 m.La mida de gra mitjana presenta variacions temporals i en la vertical (de mitjana 110 µm a 9 m i 33 µm a 18 m), les quals estan influïdes, a més de les condicions hidrodinàmiques, per les tanatocenosis de mol·luscs i l'abundància i activitat bioturbadora de les comunitats. L'onatge controla a grans trets la distribució de les tres poblacions de mida de gra al perfil sedimentari i la mida de gra mitjana. A més, tanatocenosis de mol·luscs, amb mides superiors a 2 mm, es detecten a partir dels 6 cm de fondària al perfil. Les dues zones presenten una composició faunística diferent, però totes dues estan controlades per pocs taxons. Les comunitats presenten les màximes abundàncies a la primavera per a la macrofauna de les dues zones i per a la megafauna a 9 m. Els components biogènics representen un part significativa del sediment superficial a la zona litoral del delta de l'Ebre (entre 10 i 20 m, 1,1·106 m3) i, per tant, la contribució biogènica pot resultar un factor determinant per establir el balanç sedimentari a mitjà-llarg termini a la zona litoral del Delta de l'Ebre.Les activitats bioturbadores estan condicionades pels taxons més abundants (O. texturata, S. subtruncata, P. microtuberculatus i B. brandaris) i presenten les màximes activitats bioturbadores entre la primavera i la tardor a les dues zones. O. texturata és el principal responsable de la modificació de la micromorfologia superficial del fons. Per altra banda, l'abundància dels organismes i la taxa de bioturbació decreix al perfil vertical. Tenint en compte aquest aspecte, s'ha proposat un model hiperbòlic com a eina per poder quantificar més acuradament l'impacte de les comunitats sobre l'estructura del sediment. L'activitat bioturbadora és significativa fins els 6 primers centímetres. Els components de la rugositat de fons estudiats, rugositat biòtica (Kbio) i associada a ripples (Krip), són d'una magnitud semblant a la zona d'estudi. La Kbio està basada en els individus de O. texturata i en fragments de mol·luscs. Finalment, l'anàlisi de sensibilitat realitzat per testar l'efecte de la Kbio sobre la dissipació de l'onatge indica que l'increment de la Kbio origina una disminució de l'altura d'ona per fricció. Aquest resultat assenyala la influència que les comunitats bentòniques poden tenir sobre les condicions que faciliten la resuspensió i transport de sediment.Benthic organisms' interactions with sediment are basically related with processes of bioturbation and bottom roughness. The main factors involved in sediment mobility in the inner shelf are currents and waves, but organism have a modulator role because they impact over sediment geotechnical properties, they control bioturbation rates and because they are the most important source of roughness generation in flat bottoms. The aim of this paper is to study the interactions among benthic organisms and sediment in the inner shelf, focusing it in bioturbation processes and biological bottom roughness, and consequences for the sedimentary dynamics.Two areas in the Ebro Delta inner shelf have been studied (9 and 18 m depth) and 7 surveys, from November 2001 to September 2002, have been performed. Hydrodynamic conditions have been monitored. Sediment has been sampled and textural and geochemical analyses have been performed. Communities have been sampled at different scale sizes of organisms, with dredges (macrofauna) and with commercial beam trawl -rasteller- (megafauna). Moreover, taxa distribution and abundance through sedimentary profile have been analyzed. Finally, organisms' activity and superficial morphology at 9 m depth have been recorded with audiovisual techniques.Average sediment grain size show temporal and vertical variations (on average 110 µm at 9 m and 33 µm at 18 m depth), which are influenced by hydrodynamic conditions as well as molluscs' tanatocenosis and community's abundance and bioturbatory activity. Waves roughly control the distribution through sediment profile of the three grain size populations detected and the average sediment grain size. In addition to this, molluscs' tanatocenosis, with sizes bigger than 2 mm, are detected from 6 cm to depth. Both areas show a different faunistic composition, but, on the other hand, they are basically controlled by few taxa. Communities display the highest abundances in spring for the macrofauna in both areas and for the megafauna at 9 m station. Biogenic components constitute a significant part of the superficial sediment in the littoral area of the Ebro delta (between 10 and 20 m, 1,1·106 m3) and, in this sense, the biogenic contribution could be a determining factor to establish the sedimentary budget in a medium-long term in the littoral area of the Ebro delta.Bioturbatory activities are conditioned by the most abundant taxa (O. texturata, S. subtruncata, P. microtuberculatus and B. brandaris) and the maximum are displayed between spring and autumn in both areas. O. texturata is the main responsible of changes in the superficial micromorphology of the bottom. On the other hand, organisms' abundance and bioturbation rate decreases with depth. Taking into account this issue, it has been suggested a hyperbolic model as a tool for quantifying more accurately the impact of organisms over the sediment structure. Bioturbatory activity is significant for the upper 6 cm.Studied Bottom roughness components, biotic roughness (Kbio) and ripple roughness (Krip), show similar magnitudes in the studied area. Kbio is based on O. texturata individuals and molluscs pieces. Finally, a sensibility analysis used to test the Kbio effect over waves dissipation indicates that a Kbio increase makes a wave height decrease by friction. This result emphasizes the influence that benthic communities could have over conditions that facilitate resuspension and sediment transport

Plataforma de desplegament de containers per perfils d'usuari

En aquesta memòria es presenta el desenvolupament del projecte Plataforma de desplegament de containers per perfils d'usuari. lataforma per poder gestionar containers segons perfils d'usuari d'una organització i la descàrrega d'aquests. El resultat és una plataforma web i executable Linux.This document presents the development of the project titled: "Platform for the deployment of containers based on user profiles". This work is the result of a collaboration with a PhD Project at the UPC. The project consists in the development of a platform to manage and download containers base

Simulación y diseño del modelo de captación de energía en una planta termosolar con Solidworks

L’objecte del present treball es analitzar el funcionament d’una central solar termoelèctrica amb un sistema de captació amb concentradors cilíndrics parabòlics amb el propòsit de simular, mitjançant el programa Solidworks, el recorregut del fluid caloportador a través d’un tub absorbidor. A partir de les simulacions es realitza una comparativa entre els diferents fluids caloportadors que més es comercialitzen amb la finalitat de determinar quin és el més adequat per treballar en aquest tipus de central, estudiant a més l’ús de sals foses com a fluid caloportador. Finalment es porta a terme una comparativa econòmica entre els diferents fluids tèrmics i el seu impacte en el cost total d’una central termosolar

Influència de l'embaràs i la maternitat en les esportistes professionals i amateurs

L'embaràs i la maternitat ha sigut objecte de moltes notícies d'actualitat a causa d'alguns casos d'esportistes que han sigut mares, i també a causa de la nova firma del conveni col·lectiu al futbol. El present estudi té com a objecte conèixer de quina manera influeix el procés d'embaràs en la carrera esportiva tant de les esportistes professionals com de les esportistes amateurs. Per a la investigació s'han agafat un total de 12 esportistes, de les quals 6 d'elles són professionals i 6 són amateurs. La intervenció s'ha portat a terme mitjançant unes entrevistes semiestructurades on es diferencia depenent si les esportistes han sigut mares o no, o si són esportistes professionals o amateurs.Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deport

Evidence of drought stress memory in the facultative CAM, Aptenia cordifolia: Possible role of phytohormones

Although plant responses to drought stress have been studied in detail in several plant species, including CAM plants, the occurrence of stress memory and possible mechanisms for its regulation are still very poorly understood. In an attempt to better understand the occurrence and possible mechanisms of regulation of stress memory in plants, we measured the concentrations of phytohormones in Aptenia cordifolia exposed to reiterated drought, together with various stress indicators, including leaf water contents, photosynthesis and mechanisms of photo- and antioxidant protection. Results showed that plants exposed to drought stress responded differently if previously challenged with a first drought. Gibberellin levels decreased upon exposure to the first drought and remained lower in double-stressed plants compared with those exposed to stress for the first time. In contrast, abscisic acid levels were higher in double- than single-stressed plants. This occurred in parallel with alterations in hydroperoxide levels, but not with malondialdehyde levels, thus suggesting an increased oxidation state that did not result in oxidative damage in double-stressed plants. It is concluded that (i) drought stress memory occurs in double-stressed A. cordifolia plants, (ii) both gibberellins and abscisic acid may play a role in plant response to repeated periods of drought, and (iii) changes in abscisic acid levels in double-stressed plants may have a positive effect by modulating changes in the cellular redox state with a role in signalling, rather than cause oxidative damage to the cell

Stress memory and the inevitable effects of drought: A physiological perspective

Plants grow and develop by adjusting their physiology to changes in their environment. Changes in the abiotic environment occur over years, seasons, and days, but also over minutes and even seconds. In this ever-changing environment, plants may adjust their structure and function rapidly to optimize growth and reproduction. Plant responses to reiterated drought (i.e., repeated cycles of drought) differ from those to single incidences of drought; in fact, in nature, plants are usually exposed to repeated cycles of drought that differ in duration and intensity. Nowadays, there is increased interest in better understanding mechanisms of plant response to reiterated drought due, at least in part, to the discovery of epigenomic changes that trigger drought stress memory in plants. Beyond epigenomic changes, there are, however, other aspects that should be considered in the study of plant responses to reiterated drought: from changes in other 'omics' approaches (transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics), to changes in plant structure; all of which may help us to better understand plant stress memory and its underlying mechanisms. Here, we present an example in which reiterated drought affects the pigment composition of leaves in the ornamental plant Silene dioica and discuss the importance of structural changes (in this case in the photosynthetic apparatus) for the plant response to reiterated drought; they represent a stress imprint that can affect plant response to subsequent stress episodes. Emphasis is placed on the importance of considering structural changes, in addition to physiological adjustments at the 'omics' level, to understand stress memory in plants better

Screening of Relevant Metabolism-Disrupting Chemicals on Pancreatic β-Cells: Evaluation of Murine and Human In Vitro Models

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are chemical substances that can interfere with the normal function of the endocrine system. EDCs are ubiquitous and can be found in a variety of consumer products such as food packaging materials, personal care and household products, plastic additives, and flame retardants. Over the last decade, the impact of EDCs on human health has been widely acknowledged as they have been associated with different endocrine diseases. Among them, a subset called metabolism-disrupting chemicals (MDCs) is able to promote metabolic changes that can lead to the development of metabolic disorders such as diabetes, obesity, hepatic steatosis, and metabolic syndrome, among others. Despite this, today, there are still no definitive and standardized in vitro tools to support the metabolic risk assessment of existing and emerging MDCs for regulatory purposes. Here, we evaluated the following two different pancreatic cell-based in vitro systems: the murine pancreatic β-cell line MIN6 as well as the human pancreatic β-cell line EndoC-βH1. Both were challenged with the following range of relevant concentrations of seven well-known EDCs: (bisphenol-A (BPA), bisphenol-S (BPS), bisphenol-F (BPF), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), cadmium chloride (CdCl2), and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE)). The screening revealed that most of the tested chemicals have detectable, deleterious effects on glucose-stimulated insulin release, insulin content, electrical activity, gene expression, and/or viability. Our data provide new molecular information on the direct effects of the selected chemicals on key aspects of pancreatic β-cell function, such as the stimulus-secretion coupling and ion channel activity. In addition, we found that, in general, the sensitivity and responses were comparable to those from other in vivo studies reported in the literature. Overall, our results suggest that both systems can serve as effective tools for the rapid screening of potential MDC effects on pancreatic β-cell physiology as well as for deciphering and better understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie their action.This study received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant agreement no 825712 (OBERON) project. The author’s laboratory also holds grant PID2020-113112RB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. CIBERDEM is an initiative of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III