Transpiration in plants: A thermodynamic imperative

In this article we determine the importance of transpiration in plants at three different levels of organization: the plant itself, the ecosystem, and the biosphere, all in terms of entropy production due to transpiration. We propose that transpiration is a thermodynamic imperative rather than a physiological burden for the plant. Plants have not replaced their prevalent metabolism C3 with those of less loss of water, C4 or CAM. We argue that the fact that plants retain higher rates of transpiration along evolution could be explained using thermodynamic criteria.
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Spiritual Immigration

The thesis presents my personal and external interpretations of people who have been directly or indirectly involved with the immigration process. First, each migration consists of unique elements based on the culture and circumstances of the immigrant. Personal experiences are important to the development of this theme. Individual perceptions of the sea as a migratory vehicle are used to interpret these unique elements. Second, the theme is developed from a humanistic viewpoint. Finally, theories such as the search for Utopia and historical events like the Cuban mass migration to the US are utilized to help understand the immigration process. These paintings were created to expose the viewer to this social issue, which continues to affect our society, as seen from my spiritual and humanistic perspective. My Technique pursues expressiveness through light, figurative forms, and color. Inspirations are expressed through integrating my use of the vocabulary of color with the representation of different immigrant experiences. The canvas measurements expand the vision of the theme, which is complemented by color iconography, and the specific sensitivity of each painting. These techniques help me explore and interpret a major socio-political issue of our society, immigration

Dementia Knowledge Among Hispanic Family Caregivers

The Health Projects Center (HPC) was established in 1980 as a non-profit corporation serving Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties. HPC offers programs to health and social service professionals, older adults, and family caregivers. At HPC many caregivers experience health problems associated with caregiving distress. To address this concern, “Dementia Knowledge Among Hispanic Caregivers” was implemented, to determine the effectiveness of the Caregiver Support Group at HPC. This group consisted of caregivers of Mexican descent, whose primary language is Spanish, who are caring for a loved one who suffers from dementia or a cognitive disorder. In order to assess caregivers’ knowledge of dementia and stress, a questionnaire was used. The expected outcome was for all participants to recognize the symptoms of dementia and to recognize when they are under stress. The questions were read aloud for the participants to ensure there were no language barriers. The findings were that 66.67% recognize symptoms of Alzheimer’s and even though, 83.33% recognized when they were under stress, only 50% practiced self-care. There are three recommendations for the agency, including implementing a session in the support group that focuses more on enhancing the caregiver’s knowledge on different stages of dementia. Additionally, it is recommended to have two groups, one for experienced caregivers and the other for new caregivers. Finally, all caregivers could use more support on how to actually practice self-care

Electrochemical determination of an antitumour platinum(IV) complex: trans-[PtCl2(OH)2(dimethylamine)(isopro­pylamine)]. Application to biological samples

A differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) method has been applied for the first time for determination of trans-Pt[Cl2(OH)2(dimethylamine)(isopropylamine)]. To this end, all chemical and instrumental variables affecting the determination of trans-Pt[Cl2(OH)2(dimethylamine)(isopropylamine)] were optimized. From studies of the mechanisms governing the electrochemical response of trans-Pt[Cl2(OH)2(dimethylamine)(isopropylamine)], it was concluded that it is an electrochemically irreversible system with a reduc­tion under diffusion control, with a reduction potential of -425 mV. Under optimal conditions, the variation in the analytical signal (Ip) with trans-Pt[Cl2(OH)2(dimethylamine)(isopropylamine)] concentration is linear in the 0.8 µg mL-1 to 20 µg mL-1 range, with an LOD of 97 ng mL-1 and a LOQ of 323 ng mL-1, RSD = 1.58 % and Er = 0.83 %. The optimized method was applied to the determination of trans-Pt[Cl2(OH)2(di-methylamine)(isopropylamine)] in biological fluids, human urine and synthetic urin

Desarrollo del pensamiento matemático en niños con discapacidad cognitiva

En este trabajo se presenta el resultado de la investigación la cual está orientada a elaborar estrategias didácticas para desarrollar el pensamiento numérico elemental de estudiantes con discapacidad cognitiva leve, de la Institución Educativa Técnica "Valle de Tenza". Se realizó un estudio aplicando la metodología de investigación-acción y como instrumentos de información se ha utilizado, la reflexividad como herramienta de investigación cualitativa, siguiendo el pensamiento ilustrado por John Elliot, que consiste en cambiar las modalidades de la relación enseñanza-aprendizaje a partir de la escuela y desde las propias aulas

El Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos ante las nuevas formas de reproducción humana

La gestación médica asistida ha supuesto un avance importante en materia de reproducción, pero también un cambio trascendental para la familia. Práctica siempre rodeada de una fuerte polémica atendiendo a sus modalidades, la más reciente es la que se presenta como consecuencia de la gestación por sustitución. Aceptada o no es una realidad fáctica establecida generadora de conflictos a los que en la actualidad se le ofrecen dos soluciones diferentes según se trate de una gestación nacional o internacional. Frente a esa dualidad una misma realidad en la que los intereses en conflicto coinciden: gestante, menor y padres comitentes son los elementos personales que deben ser objeto de protección con independencia del lugar y la forma de concepción. La respuesta dispar ante el común problema de la inscripción o no de nacidos mediante esta técnica en España y, en determinados países extranjeros, mantiene abierto el debate en torno a su posible regulación en nuestro país, en el que ha adquirido especial relevancia la jurisprudencia del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos. En el presente trabajo se lleva a cabo un replanteamiento de la situación actual con el ánimo de ofrecer unas bases para la regulación de la gestación por sustitución en España, sin olvidar la necesaria iniciativa internacional.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Facultad de Derecho de Lisboa Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Málaga Proyecto DER2015-67512-P Instituto de Direito Penal e Ciências Criminai

Desarrollo Empresarial

Antologí

Information System for Environmental Technologies

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) play an important role in environmental management solutions, and they are being used with increasing frequency in environmental studies. The use of GIS technology in environmental studies provides a better way to manage, analyze, display and share the information. In this thesis, I automated a process for constructing GIS maps of odor complaints and inspections that have been used to study odor complaints in the vicinity of three landfills in Jefferson Parish. I provided an application that integrates daily environmental observation and monitoring data into a GIS and publishes the resulting maps through the Internet. The user\u27s interaction with the web-based maps does not require any GIS expertise. A Webapplication was also implemented for managing the list of the constructed maps. The maps are deleted or updated through the manager application, a friendly interface application that does not require users to have any GIS technology knowledge

New Insights into the Nucleolar Localization of a Plant RNA Virus-Encoded Protein That Acts in Both RNA Packaging and RNA Silencing Suppression: Involvement of Importins Alpha and Relevance for Viral Infection

[EN] Despite the fact that replication of plus-strand RNA viruses takes place in the cytoplasm of host cells, different proteins encoded by these infectious agents have been shown to localize in the nucleus, with high accumulation at the nucleolus. In most cases, the molecular determinants or biological significance of such subcellular localization remains elusive. Recently, we reported that protein p37 encoded by Pelargonium line pattern virus (family Tombusviridae) acts in both RNA packaging and RNA silencing suppression. Consistently with these functions, p37 was detected in the cytoplasm of plant cells, although it was also present in the nucleus and, particularly, in the nucleolus. Here, we searched for further insights into factors influencing p37 nucleolar localization and into its potential relevance for viral infection. Besides mapping the protein region containing the nucleolar localization signal, we have found that p37 interacts with distinct members of the importin alpha familymain cellular transporters for nucleo-cytoplasmic traffic of proteins-and that these interactions are crucial for nucleolar targeting of p37. Impairment of p37 nucleolar localization through downregulation of importin alpha expression resulted in a reduction of viral accumulation, suggesting that sorting of the protein to the major subnuclear compartment is advantageous for the infection process.This work was supported by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO, Spain) Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) (grant BFU2015-70261 to C. Hernandez). M. Perez-Canamas was the recipient of a predoctoral contract from MINECO-FEDER.Perez-Cañamas, M.; Hernandez Fort, C. (2018). New Insights into the Nucleolar Localization of a Plant RNA Virus-Encoded Protein That Acts in Both RNA Packaging and RNA Silencing Suppression: Involvement of Importins Alpha and Relevance for Viral Infection. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions. 31(11):1134-1144. https://doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-02-18-0050-RS11341144311

Analysis of the subcellular targeting of the smaller replicase protein of Pelargonium flower break virus

[EN] Replication of all positive RNA viruses occurs in association with intracellular membranes. In many cases, the mechanism of membrane targeting is unknown and there appears to be no correlation between virus phylogeny and the membrane systems recruited for replication. Pelargonium flower break virus (PFBV, genus Carmovirus, family Tombusviridae) encodes two proteins, p27 and its read-through product p86 (the viral RNA dependent-RNA polymerase), that are essential for replication. Recent reports with other members of the family Tombusviridae have shown that the smaller replicase protein is targeted to specific intracellular membranes and it is assumed to determine the subcellular localization of the replication complex. Using in vivo expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusions in plant and yeast cells, we show here that PFBV p27 localizes in mitochondria. The same localization pattern was found for p86 that contains the p27 sequence at its N-terminus. Cellular fractionation of p27GFP-expressing cells confirmed the confocal microscopy observations and biochemical treatments suggested a tight association of the protein to membranes. Analysis of deletion mutants allowed identification of two regions required for targeting of p27 to mitochondria. These regions mapped toward the N- and C-terminus of the protein, respectively, and could function independently though with distinct efficiency. In an attempt to search for putative cellular factors involved in p27 localization, the subcellular distribution of the protein was checked in a selected series of knockout yeast strains and the outcome of this approach is discussed. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This research was supported by grant BFU2006-11230 and BFU2009-11699 from MEC and MICINN (Spain), respectively, and by grants ACOM/2006/210 and ACOMP/2009/040 (Generalitat Valenciana, GV) to C.H. S.M.-T. was the recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from GV and of a predoctoral contract from MEC.Martínez Turiño, S.; Hernandez Fort, C. (2012). Analysis of the subcellular targeting of the smaller replicase protein of Pelargonium flower break virus. Virus Research. 163(2):580-591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virusres.2011.12.011S580591163