El cultivo de la uchuva Physalis peruviana L.

Uchuva-Physalis peruviana L

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Propuesta de un centro de excelencia para el síndrome de hidrocefalia normotensiva

8 páginasNormal pressure hydrocephalus syndrome, characterized by ventriculomegaly and the classic triad of symmetric gait disturbance, cognitive decline, and urinary incontinence, is the most common cause of hydrocephalus in the adult population and a significant cause of reversible dementia among older adults. The only effective treatment for this syndrome, to date, is a cerebrospinal fluid shunting procedure, commonly a ventriculoperitoneal, ventriculoatrial, or lumboperitoneal shunt. The shunting success rate ranges between 73 and 96%. Hence, early identification, proper diagnosis, and treatment are paramount. We designed a protocol-based program supported on the best available evidence for an integral approach of patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus syndrome. The protocol consists of a series of patient-centered tests and interventions performed on adults with clinical suspicion, leading to optimized and sustainable outcomes for patients living with this condition. The program obtained the recognition of the Joint Commission International as an accredited center of excellence. The objectives of our center are increasing awareness and knowledge of normal pressure hydrocephalus syndrome within the community, delivering optimized interdisciplinary care, mitigating risks, improving quality of life to patients and their families, and ultimately saving from oblivion a significant number of patients who would be otherwise condemned.El síndrome de hidrocefalia de presión normal, caracterizado por ventriculomegalia y la tríada clásica de alteración de la marcha simétrica, deterioro cognitivo e incontinencia urinaria, es la causa más común de hidrocefalia en la población adulta y una causa importante de demencia reversible entre los adultos mayores. El único tratamiento eficaz para este síndrome, hasta la fecha, es un procedimiento de derivación de líquido cefalorraquídeo, comúnmente una derivación ventriculoperitoneal, ventriculoauricular o lumboperitoneal. La tasa de éxito de la derivación oscila entre el 73 y el 96%. Por lo tanto, la identificación temprana, el diagnóstico y el tratamiento adecuados son primordiales. Diseñamos un programa basado en protocolos apoyado en la mejor evidencia disponible para un abordaje integral de los pacientes con síndrome de hidrocefalia normotensiva. El protocolo consta de una serie de pruebas e intervenciones centradas en el paciente realizadas en adultos con sospecha clínica, lo que lleva a resultados optimizados y sostenibles para los pacientes que viven con esta afección. El programa obtuvo el reconocimiento de la Joint Commission International como centro de excelencia acreditado. Los objetivos de nuestro centro son aumentar la conciencia y el conocimiento del síndrome de hidrocefalia normotensiva en la comunidad, brindar una atención interdisciplinaria optimizada, mitigar riesgos, mejorar la calidad de vida de los pacientes y sus familias y, en última instancia, salvar del olvido a un número significativo de pacientes que serían condenado de otro modo

Role of AMPK signalling pathway during compensatory growth in pigs

Abstract Background The molecular basis of compensatory growth in monogastric animals has not yet been fully explored. Herewith, in this study we aim to determine changes in the pig skeletal muscle transcriptome profile during compensatory growth following a feed restriction period. A RNA-Seq experiment was performed with a total of 24 females belonging to a Duroc commercial line. Half of the animals received either a restricted (RE) or ad libitum (AL) diet during the first fattening period (60–125 d of age). After that, all gilts were fed ad libitum for a further ~30 d until the age of ~155 d, when animals were slaughtered and samples of gluteus medius muscle were harvested to perform RNA-Seq analyses and intramuscular fat content determination. Results During the period following food restriction, RE animals re-fed ad libitum displayed compensatory growth, showed better feed conversion rate and tended to deposit more subcutaneous fat than AL fed animals. Animals were slaughtered in the phase of accelerated growth, when RE animals had not completely compensated the performance of AL group, showing lower live and carcass weights. At intramuscular level, RE gilts showed a higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids during the compensatory growth phase. The comparison of RE and AL expression profiles allowed the identification of 86 (ǀlog2Fold-Changeǀ > 1, padj < 0.05) differentially expressed (DE) genes. A functional categorization of these DE genes identified AMPK Signaling as the most significantly enriched canonical pathway. This kinase plays a key role in the maintenance of energy homeostasis as well as in the activation of autophagy. Among the DE genes identified as components of AMPK Signaling pathway, five out of six genes were downregulated in RE pigs. Conclusions Animals re-fed after a restriction period exhibited a less oxidative metabolic profile and catabolic processes in muscle than animals fed ad libitum. The downregulation of autophagy observed in the skeletal muscle of pigs undergoing compensatory growth may constitute a mechanism to increase muscle mass thus ensuring an accelerated growth rate. These results reveal that the downregulation of AMPK Signaling plays an important role in compensatory growth in pigs