Metabolic control of tobacco pollination by sugars and invertases

Pollination in flowering plants is initiated by germination of pollen grains on stigmas followed by fast growth of pollen tubes representing highly energy-consuming processes. The symplastic isolation of pollen grains and tubes requires import of Suc available in the apoplast. We show that the functional coupling of Suc cleavage by invertases and uptake of the released hexoses by monosaccharide transporters are critical for pollination in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). Transcript profiling, in situ hybridization, and immunolocalization of extracellular invertases and two monosaccharide transporters in vitro and in vivo support the functional coupling in supplying carbohydrates for pollen germination and tube growth evidenced by spatiotemporally coordinated expression. Detection of vacuolar invertases in maternal tissues by these approaches revealed metabolic cross talk between male and female tissues and supported the requirement for carbohydrate supply in transmitting tissue during pollination. Tissue-specific expression of an invertase inhibitor and addition of the chemical invertase inhibitor miglitol strongly reduced extracellular invertase activity and impaired pollen germination. Measurements of (competitive) uptake of labeled sugars identified two import pathways for exogenously available Suc into the germinating pollen operating in parallel: direct Suc uptake and via the hexoses after cleavage by extracellular invertase. Reduction of extracellular invertase activity in pollen decreases Suc uptake and severely compromises pollen germination. We further demonstrate that Glc as sole carbon source is sufficient for pollen germination, whereas Suc is supporting tube growth, revealing an important regulatory role of both the invertase substrate and products contributing to a potential metabolic and signaling-based multilayer regulation of pollination by carbohydrate

The influence of motivations and barriers in the benefits. An empirical study of EMAS certified business in Spain

The main objective of this research is to analyze through a structured questionnaire, the influence of the motivations that lead companies to implement Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and the barriers found in the benefits perceived by companies, as well as, the degree of difficulty perceived for the implementation of the different requirements to be fulfilled, which are established in the regulation. An extensive review of the academic literature published on motivations, barriers, difficulties and benefits in environmental standards has been carried out in order to establish the working hypotheses which refer to the relationship between motivations, barriers with the benefits and degree of difficulty in implementing the requirements. The empirical investigation was carried out in a sample of 114 of the 255 companies of the Autonomous Community of Galicia (Spain) that have EMAS certification. The methodology used was the use of the application of a regression analysis to test the hypotheses; previously the measurement scales were validated and an exploratory factorial analysis was applied in order to determine the structure of the different variables considered in the study. The results show that the motivations affect the benefits positively and on the contrary, affect the barriers negatively (reduce them) and it was observed that the greater the barriers, the lower the benefits obtained from the implementation of EMAS (negative influence). The proposed regression models show the joint influence of the motivations and barriers on the benefits considered.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Relationship between Parenting Styles and Aggressiveness in Adolescents

Abstract Introduction. Physical and verbal aggressive behavior that children and adolescents sho

ASIC para sistemas de medidas ambientales

El circuito integrado que aquí se describe ha sido diseñado con tecnología puramente digital, y tiene como función servir como centro concentrador de datos en estaciones meteorológicas, aunque por su diseño genérico puede ser usado en cualquier otro campo. Su objetivo principal es la adquisición de medidas (condiciones ambientales como velocidad y dirección del viento, tempera-turas, humedades relativas,...) y la generación de señales analógicas y digitales telemandadas procedentes de un canal de radio o de un canal SPI. Esta realización se enmarca dentro del programa GAME y ha sido desarrollada en colaboración con la empresa SAINCO

Design of a multivariable robust controller to decrease the motion sickness incidence in fast ferries

This work serves as a pioneering contribution in the use of quantitative feedback theory methodology to the design of a controller for a high speed ship. We have improved the design of a multivariable robust controller so that it will be able to reduce incidences of motion sickness on high speed ferries. Motion sickness is caused by vertical accelerations associated with the heave and pitch motions induced by waves. Therefore we are dealing with regulation problems of a highly perturbed system. The design regulator has been validated in sea behaviour trials, using a scaled down replica 1/25 the size of a high-speed ferry. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Apoptosis in the trabecular meshwork of glaucomatous patients

We established and validated an in toto method to perform TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling to study apoptosis in human trabecular meshwork tissue obtained during trabeculectomy in glaucoma patients. In specimens from patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and primary angle-closure glaucoma, we detected a tendency for more apoptotic cells to accumulate in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. The utility of this method to study apoptosis in the trabecular meshwork is discussed, as well as its application as a tool in biologic samples

Identification and characterization of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus candidate protective antigens for the control of cattle tick infestations

The cattle ticks, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) spp., affect cattle production in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Tick vaccines constitute a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to tick control. The recombinant Rhipicephalus microplus Bm86 antigen has been shown to protect cattle against tick infestations. However, variable efficacy of Bm86-based vaccines against geographic tick strains has encouraged the research for additional tick-protective antigens. Herein, we describe the analysis of R. microplus glutathione-S transferase, ubiquitin (UBQ), selenoprotein W, elongation factor-1 alpha, and subolesin (SUB) complementary DNAs (cDNAs) by RNA interference (RNAi) in R. microplus and Rhipicephalus annulatus. Candidate protective antigens were selected for vaccination experiments based on the effect of gene knockdown on tick mortality, feeding, and fertility. Two cDNA clones encoding for UBQ and SUB were used for cattle vaccination and infestation with R. microplus and R. annulatus. Control groups were immunized with recombinant Bm86 or adjuvant/saline. The highest vaccine efficacy for the control of tick infestations was obtained for Bm86. Although with low immunogenic response, the results with the SUB vaccine encourage further investigations on the use of recombinant subolesin alone or in combination with other antigens for the control of cattle tick infestations. The UBQ peptide showed low immunogenicity, and the results of the vaccination trial were inconclusive to assess the protective efficacy of this antigen. These experiments showed that RNAi could be used for the selection of candidate tick-protective antigens. However, vaccination trials are necessary to evaluate the effect of recombinant antigens in the control of tick infestations, a process that requires efficient recombinant protein production and formulation systems

Memetic Evolutionary Multi-Objective Neural Network Classifier to Predict Graft Survival in Liver Transplant Patients

In liver transplantation, matching donor and recipient is a problem that can be solved using machine learning techniques. In this paper we consider a liver transplant dataset obtained from eleven Spanish hospitals, including the patient survival or the rejection in liver transplantation one year after the surgery. To tackle this problem, we use a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm for training generalized radial basis functions neural networks. The obtained models provided medical experts with a mathematical value to predict survival rates allowing them to come up with a right decision according to the principles of justice, efficiency and equit

Trends in hypertension control among the older population of Spain from 2000 to 2001 to 2008 to 2010: Role of frequency and intensity of drug treatment

This is the prepint version of the following article: Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes 8.1 (2015) , which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.114.001191Background—The use of antihypertensive medication and hypertension control has significantly increased during recent decades in some developed countries, but the impact of improved drug treatment on blood pressure (BP) control in the population is unknown. Methods and Results—Data were taken from 2 surveys representative of the population aged ≥60 years in Spain conducted with the same methodology in 2000 to 2001 and in 2008 to 2010. BP was measured 6×. The first BP reading was discarded, and the average of the remaining 3 to 5 BP readings was taken for analysis. Hypertension prevalence was 68.7% in 2000 to 2001 and 66.0% in 2008 to 2010. Between both time periods there was an improvement in hypertension awareness (63.6%–67.7%), drug treatment among those aware (84.5%–87.5%), and BP control among treated hypertensives (30.3%–42.9%). Overall, BP control among all hypertensives increased from 16.3% to 25.4%. After adjustment for age, sex, education, hypertension duration, smoking, alcohol consumption, body mass index, sedentary behavior, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and visits to the physician through logistic regression, ≈7% of the improvement in BP control among all hypertensives was explained by higher hypertension awareness, and 36.2% was explained by a higher treatment rate. Among the treated hypertensives, 22.6% of the progress in BP control was because of the increase in the number of BP medications used in each patient. Conclusions—BP control among the older hypertensive population in Spain has improved from 2000 to 2001 to 2008 to 2010 because of a higher treatment rate and more intense antihypertensive drug treatmentThis work has been supported by Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (FIS) grant PI13/02321 (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain) and “Cátedra Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) de Epidemiología y Control del Riesgo Cardiovascular”, Madrid, Spain