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Non/minimally irradiated Cadaveric Costal Cartilage (NCCC) is commonly used for grafts in nasal reconstruction; however, no information exists on its use in total ear reconstruction for type III microtia. In this case series we describe preliminary results from the novel use of NCCC for auricular framework construction in 7 ear reconstructions.Patients requiring total ear reconstruction from August 2020 to October 2021 were eligible and underwent ear reconstruction using NCCC from MTF Biologics (Edison, NJ). Patients were evaluated for surgical site infection, skin necrosis, cartilage exposure, warping, and resorption during regular follow up visits.Seven ears were reconstructed using NCCC across 5 patients with type III microtia. Patients ranged from 5 to 51 years old at the time of surgery. Follow up time ranged from 12 to 78 weeks (mean: 46 wk). No patients experienced surgical site infections or significant cartilage resorption. All procedures were done outpatient, total time under anesthesia was90 minutes in 5/7 cases and postoperative narcotics for pain management were not needed in 5/7 cases. Complications included minor skin necrosis that was repaired via primary closure, construct exposure in the immediate postoperative period, which was successfully salvaged with a local flap, and explantation of one construct after reconstruction for a complicated revision surgery involving a previous temporoparietal fascial flap.NCCC serves as an immediately available alternative to alloplastic and autologous materials for construction of auricular frameworks during ear reconstruction. Longer follow up times and a larger sample size will further elucidate long-term efficacy.

After 3 weeks of age, studies show ear molding to be unsuccessful due to increased regression rates. Studies have not differentiated success rates based on regression severity; partial regressions may be deemed successful and satisfactory by parents. We examined successful ear molding at different ages of presentation by measuring regression severity and parental satisfaction.Patients who presented to [blinded for review] for ear molding from January 2017 to October 2018 were eligible for inclusion. Molds were applied on the initial visit and monitored biweekly. Treatment length was based on age, deformity type, and severity. One month after treatment completion, parents completed a satisfaction survey where they assessed regression on a 3-point severity scale.A total of 165 patients were included in this study. Sixty-seven were younger than 3 weeks of age and had an overall correction rate of 95%. The complete correction rate was 80% and only 5% saw complete regression. In the remaining 98, the overall correction rate was 94%, with a 63% complete correction rate. Only 6% saw complete regression. There was no statistical significance in parental satisfaction, perceived improvement, or likelihood to recommend ear molding between age groups.Regression rates are higher in children older than 3 weeks although not statistically significant. Most regressions were partial and ear molding still significantly corrected most deformities. We suggest that ear molding be offered past 3 weeks of age, with maximum age being dependent on deformity type, as it still leads to high parental satisfaction.

Weaknesses in public procurement in Latin America are responsible for a large share of waste and inefficiency in government spending. This document presents a tool developed by the IDB that governments can use to evaluate the efficiency of public procurement spending and to identify critical points to improve it. The application of the practices embedded in the toolkit should significantly increase the impact of government spending on citizen welfare in the region.

Natural killer (NK) cells are emerging as unique players in the immune response against cancer; however, only limited data are available on tumor infiltrating NK cells in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), one of the most common cancer. Occurrence of HNSCC is closely related to the immune microenvironment, and immunotherapy is increasingly being applied to this setting. However, the limited success of this type of treatment in this tumor calls for further investigation in the field.Surgical HNSSC specimens of 32 consecutive patients were mechanically and enzymatically dissociated. Tumor cells were separated from infiltrating cells by short centrifugation and infiltrating NK cells were phenotypically and functionally characterized by multiple antibody staining and flow cytometry. Tumor infiltrating NK cells in HNSCC showed a peculiar phenotype predominantly characterized by increased NKG2A and reduced Siglec-7, NKG2D, NKp30 and CD16 expression. This phenotype was associated with a decreased ability to perform antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). However, NK, CD4 and CD8 shared an increment of glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor-related (GITR) costimulatory receptor which could be exploited for immunotherapy with agonistic anti-GITR antibodies combined with checkpoint inhibitors.

SummarySchwann cells respond to acute axon damage by transiently transdifferentiating into specialized repair cells that restore sensorimotor function. However, the molecular systems controlling repair cell formation and function are not well defined and consequently it is unclear whether this form of cellular plasticity has a role in peripheral neuropathies. Here we identify Mitf as a transcriptional sensor of axon damage under the control of Nrg-ErbB-PI3K-PI5K-mTorc2 signaling. Mitf regulates a core transcriptional program for generating functional repair Schwann cells following injury and during peripheral neuropathies caused by CMT4J and CMT4D. In the absence of Mitf, core genes for epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, metabolism and dedifferentiation are misexpressed and nerve repair is disrupted. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that Schwann cells monitor axonal health using a phosphoinositide signaling system that controls Mitf, which is critical for activating cellular plasticity and counteracting neural disease.HighlightsMitf-induced Schwann cell plasticity is triggered by peripheral neuropathy.Nrg-ErbB signaling activates Mitf via cytoplasmic-to-nuclear translocation.Mitf restores sensorimotor function following axonal breakdown.Mitf regulates a core repair program across both injury and neurodegeneration.

Latin American and Caribbean countries have made efforts to ensure that fiscal policies do not cause biases toward women. However, depending on where the tax burden falls, taxes do create gender biases. This technical note has two purposes. First, it provides evidence of how womens economic participation, care responsibilities, and consumption patterns enter into a countrys tax systems, generating invisible biases. Second, it summarizes the main lessons learned through cross-country comparisons that analyze the impact of direct and indirect taxes on gender equality, the progressivity of the tax systems using both income and expenditure as welfare measures, and the impact of tax systems and tax reforms on households depending on their composition and across the income distribution. The note also provides policy recommendations and good practices that will add to the regions efforts to strengthen fiscal policy taking a gender perspective into account. There is no unique approach to achieving gender equity only through gender-sensitive fiscal policies; rather, the path to change will likely be highly dependent on the balance struck between differing political and economic factors and interests. However, should Latin American and the Caribbean countries take on this challenge, not only could they generate more revenue in the future, but the changes should contribute to sustained and inclusive growth, with greater gender equality.

G-protein-coupled receptor-regulated cAMP production from endosomes can specify signaling to the nucleus by moving the source of cAMP without changing its overall amount. How this is possible remains unknown because cAMP gradients dissipate over the nanoscale, whereas endosomes typically localize micrometers from the nucleus. We show that the key location-dependent step for endosome-encoded transcriptional control is nuclear entry of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) catalytic subunits. These are sourced from punctate accumulations of PKA holoenzyme that are densely distributed in the cytoplasm and titrated by global cAMP into a discrete metastable state, in which catalytic subunits are bound but dynamically exchange. Mobile endosomes containing activated receptors collide with the metastable PKA puncta and pause in close contact. We propose that these properties enable cytoplasmic PKA to act collectively like a semiconductor, converting nanoscale cAMP gradients generated from endosomes into microscale elevations of free catalytic subunits to direct downstream signaling.

Sexuality and apomixis are interconnected plant reproductive routes possibly behaving as polyphenic traits under the influence of the environment. In the subtropical grass

There is scant empirical economic research regarding the way that Latin American governments efficiently allocate their spending across different functions to achieve higher growth. While most papers restrict their analysis to the size of government, much less is known about the composition of spending and its implications for long-term growth. This paper sheds light on how allocating expenditures to investment in quality human and physical capital, and avoiding waste on inefficient expenditures, enhance growth in Latin America. This paper uses a novel dataset on physical and human capital and detailed public spending that includes -for the first time- Latin American countries, which is categorized by a cross-classification that provides the breakdown of government expenditure, both, by economic and by functional heads. The database covers 42 countries of the OECD and LAC between 1985 and 2017. There are five main results. First, the estimated growth equations show significant positive effects of the factors of production on growth and plausible convergence rates (about 2 percent). The estimated effect of the physical investment rate is positive and significant with a long-run elasticity of 1.2. Second, while the addition of years of education as a proxy for human capital tends to have no effect on growth, the addition of a new variable that measures quality-adjusted years of schooling as a proxy for human capital turns out to have a positive and significant effect across all specifications with a long-run elasticity of 1.1. However, if public spending on education (excluding infrastructure spending) is added to the factor specification, growth is not affected. This is mainly because, once quality is considered, spending more on teacher salaries has no effect on student outcomes. Therefore, the key is to increase quality, not just school performance or education spending. Third, both physical and human capital are equally important for growth: the effect of increasing one standard deviation of physical capital or human capital statistically has the same impact on economic growth. Fourth, increasing public investment spending (holding public spending constant) is positive and significant for growth (a 1% increase in public investment would increase the long-term GDP per capita by about 0.3 percent), in addition to the effect of the private investment rate. However, the effect of public spending on payroll, pensions and subsidies does not contribute to economic growth. Fifth, the overall effect of the size of public spending on economic growth is negative in most specifications. An increase in the size of government by about 1 percentage point would decrease 4.1 percent the long-run GDP per capita, but the more effective the government is, the less harmful the size of government is for long-term growth.

Este documento discute cómo la transformación digital de la gestión fiscal puede contribuir para fortalecer la sostenibilidad de las finanzas públicas, impulsar el crecimiento, económico y fomentar un desarrollo equitativo y sostenible en América Latina y el Caribe. Específicamente, el documento discute cinco áreas de trasformación digital de las finanzas públicas y soluciones digitales fiscales, integrales y contextuales, que el Banco ha desarrollado para apoyar a los gobiernos de la región en la modernización de su gestión fiscal. Las cinco oportunidades de transformación digital discutidas en la publicación son: fiscalidad digital, administración tributaria digital, ecosistema fiscal inteligente, inversión y compras y contrataciones públicas. Para cada área, el documento presenta los posibles beneficios al desarrollo de la región, cómo trabaja el BID con los países y las soluciones específicas que ofrece el banco en términos de financiamiento y asistencia técnica.

Frente a beneficios previsionales de los regímenes de capitalización en niveles mucho más bajos que los previstos, los gobiernos de la región de América Latina han logrado garantizar pensiones mínimas a sus beneficiarios; sin embargo, carecen de estimaciones robustas de los pasivos fiscales contingentes asociados a las garantías. Sobre la base de un modelo de microsimulación, en este documento se llevan a cabo proyecciones hasta el año 2100 para Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, México, Perú y República Dominicana. Del análisis realizado, se desprende que asumiendo que no se producen cambios de política estos gobiernos deberían destinar, en promedio, alrededor de 1,2% del PIB para financiar los sistemas de capitalización a partir de 2050, y alrededor de 2,7% del PIB hacia el año 2100. Se destacan los casos de El Salvador, Colombia y Bolivia, cuyos gastos resultarían entre 70% y 120% superiores a la media. A su vez, el porcentaje de pensionados que cobrará la pensión mínima garantizada por parte del Estado se sitúa en la mayor parte de los países entre 75% y 98%. Para concluir, se postulan lineamientos de política que contribuirían a hacer frente a estos desafíos sobre la base de diversos ejercicios de sensibilidad que permiten evaluar los resultados de aplicar reformas paramétricas tendientes a mejorar la sostenibilidad de los regímenes.

Introduction Indications for prophylactic antibiotic therapy in nonoperative, closed fractures of the orbit and zygoma remain controversial and are based on anecdotal data. The purpose of this study was to report the incidence of infectious sequelae among patients who presented to our institution with stated fractures and who were not administered prophylactic antibiotic therapy. The authors hypothesized that an increase in infectious complications would not be seen in these patients. Methods The authors conducted a prospective single site study from October 2015 to December 2019. Patients with closed, nonoperative fractures involving the orbit and/or zygoma were included. These patients did not receive prophylactic antibiotic therapy for their fracture patterns, and infectious complications including orbital cellulitis, meningitis, and bacterial sinusitis were noted if present during follow-up. Results Of 301 patients with closed, nonoperative orbital and/or zygomatic fractures, 268 were included in the study and 33 were excluded because of administration of antibiotics. The average age was 60 years, and the most common mechanism of injury was a traumatic fall. Fracture types included 100 orbital wall, 133 orbital floor, 15 orbital rim, 23 orbital roof, 48 zygoma, and 44 zygomaticomaxillary compound fractures. Infectious sequelae were not identified in any patient. Conclusions Of the 268 patients included in the study, no infectious complications were identified during the follow-up period. This outcome further supports that the use of prophylactic antibiotics is not indicated for closed, nonoperative fractures involving the orbital and/or zygoma. Prospective randomized control studies would be useful to support this outcome and better guide clinical antibiotic prescribing practices.

The major histocompatibility complex-class I chain related proteins A and B (MICA/B) is upregulated because of cellular stress and MICA/B shedding by cancer cells causes escape from NKG2D recognition favoring the emergence of cancers. Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a relatively rare, though increasingly prevalent, primary liver cancer characterized by a late clinical presentation and a dismal prognosis. We explored the NKG2D-MICA/B axis in NK cells from 41 patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA). The MICA/B-specific 7C6 mAb was used for

Skull deformities may be seen in patients years after craniosynostosis correction. These deformities cause psychosocial distress in affected patients. In this series, the authors describe the use of patient specific polyether ether ketone (PEEK) implants for correction of skull deformities after cranial vault remodeling for craniosynostosis.A chart review was conducted for 3 revision procedures performed by 1 plastic surgeon in collaboration with 1 neurosurgeon, both affiliated with Northwell Health. Preoperative computed tomography scans were used to design three-dimensional (3D) printed PEEK implants manufactured by KLS Martin. Implants were used to correct frontal and orbital asymmetry and skull deformities in each patient. Outcomes were assessed at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months post-operation.Two males and 1 female, ages 13, 17, and 19, underwent revision cranioplasty or orbital rim reconstruction using a custom, single piece 3D printed PEEK implant. All 3 patients underwent cranial vault remodeling in infancy; 1 was treated for coronal craniosynostosis and 2 were treated for metopic craniosynostosis. Revision cranioplasty operative times were 90, 105, and 147 minutes, with estimated blood loss of 45 mL, 75 mL, and 150 mL, respectively. One patient went home on post op day 1 and 2 patients went home on post op day 2. All patients had an immediate improvement in structural integrity and cranial contour, and all patients were pleased with their aesthetic results.Custom 3D printed PEEK implants offer a single piece solution in revision cranioplasty surgery to correct skull deformities after cranial vault remodeling for craniosynostosis.

The capacity for apomixis in

International audience; Sexuality and apomixis are interconnected plant reproductive routes possibly behaving as polyphenic traits under the influence of the environment. In the subtropical grass Paspalum notatum, one of the controllers of apospory, a main component of gametophytic apomixis reproduction, is TRIMETHYLGUANOSINE SYNTHASE 1 (TGS1), a multifunctional gene previously associated with RNA cleavage regulation (including mRNA splicing as well as rRNA and miRNA processing), transcriptional modulation and the establishment of heterochromatin. In particular, the downregulation of TGS1 induces a sexuality decline and the emergence of aposporous-like embryo sacs. The present work was aimed at identifying TGS1 target RNAs expressed during reproductive development of Paspalum notatum. First, we mined available RNA databases originated from spikelets of sexual and apomictic plants, which naturally display a contrasting TGS1 representation, to identify differentially expressed mRNA splice variants and miRNAs. Then, the role of TGS1 in the generation of these particular molecules was investigated in antisense tgs1 sexual lines. We found that CHLOROPHYLL A-B BINDING PROTEIN 1B-21 (LHC Ib-21, a component of the chloroplast light harvesting complex), QUI-GON JINN (QGJ, encoding a MAP3K previously associated with apomixis) and miR2275 (a meiotic 24-nt phasi-RNAs producer) are directly or indirectly targeted by TGS1. Our results point to a coordinated control exercised by signal transduction and siRNA machineries to induce the transition from sexuality to apomixis.

Background Apomixis, an asexual mode of plant reproduction, is a genetically heritable trait evolutionarily related to sexuality, which enables the fixation of heterozygous genetic combinations through the development of maternal seeds. Recently, reference floral transcriptomes were generated from sexual and apomictic biotypes of Paspalum notatum, one of the most well-known plant models for the study of apomixis. However, the transcriptome dynamics, the occurrence of apomixis vs. sexual expression heterochronicity across consecutive developmental steps and the orientation of transcription (sense/antisense) remain unexplored. Results We produced 24 Illumina TruSeq®/ Hiseq 1500 sense/antisense floral transcriptome libraries covering four developmental stages (premeiosis, meiosis, postmeiosis, and anthesis) in biological triplicates, from an obligate apomictic and a full sexual genotype. De novo assemblies with Trinity yielded 103,699 and 100,114 transcripts for the apomictic and sexual samples respectively. A global comparative analysis involving reads from all developmental stages revealed 19,352 differentially expressed sense transcripts, of which 13,205 (68%) and 6147 (32%) were up- and down-regulated in apomictic samples with respect to the sexual ones. Interestingly, 100 differentially expressed antisense transcripts were detected, 55 (55%) of them up- and 45 (45%) down-regulated in apomictic libraries. A stage-by-stage comparative analysis showed a higher number of differentially expressed candidates due to heterochronicity discrimination: the highest number of differential sense transcripts was detected at premeiosis (23,651), followed by meiosis (22,830), postmeiosis (19,100), and anthesis (17,962), while the highest number of differential antisense transcripts were detected at anthesis (495), followed by postmeiosis (164), meiosis (120) and premeiosis (115). Members of the AP2, ARF, MYB and WRKY transcription factor families, as well as the auxin, jasmonate and cytokinin plant hormone families appeared broadly deregulated. Moreover, the chronological expression profile of several well-characterized apomixis controllers was examined in detail. Conclusions This work provides a quantitative sense/antisense gene expression catalogue covering several subsequent reproductive developmental stages from premeiosis to anthesis for apomictic and sexual P. notatum, with potential to reveal heterochronic expression between reproductive types and discover sense/antisense mediated regulation. We detected a contrasting transcriptional and hormonal control in apomixis and sexuality as well as specific sense/antisense modulation occurring at the onset of parthenogenesis.

Additional file 7. Comparative analysis of antisense transcript representation in apomictic and sexual libraries. Volcano comparative plots were constructed globally and at each developmental stage. Red dots indicate DEATs at p-adjust ǀ3ǀ. Positive Log2FCs indicate overexpression in apomictic plants. Negative Log2FCs indicate overexpression in sexual plants.

Additional file 10. KEGG pathways for DETs and DEATs regulated at different stages of sexual and apomictic developments. DETs: several pathways show a differential representation only at a given developmental stage (i. e., the bottom nine molecular routes change only at anthesis). DEATs: Spliceosome and endocytosis DEATs are expressed exclusively at meiosis and anthesis. Several pentose/glucuronate interconversion transcripts are expressed as DEATs only at anthesis.

Additional file 5. Heatmap of sense and antisense transcripts showing differential expression between apomictic and sexual libraries at four developmental stages (premeiosis, meiosis, postmeiosis, anthesis). (A): sense transcripts. (B) antisense transcripts. AP1, AP2, AP3: triplicate samples of apomictic premeiotic libraries. AM1, AM2, AM3: triplicate samples of apomictic meiotic libraries. APo1, APo2, APo3: triplicate samples of apomictic postmeiotic libraries. AA1, AA2, AA3: triplicate samples of apomictic anthesis libraries. SP1, SP2, SP3: triplicate samples of sexual premeiotic libraries. SM1, SM2, SM3: triplicate samples of sexual meiotic libraries. SPo1, SPo2, SPo3: triplicate samples of sexual postmeiotic libraries. SA1, SA2, SA3: triplicate samples of sexual anthesis libraries. Repd: reproductive mode.P: premeiosis. M: meiosis. Po: postmeiosis. A: Anthesis.

Additional file 2 GO and KEGG analysis of P. notatum GTA. (A-C): 30 most representative GO terms for each category. CC: cellular component. BP: Biological Process. MF: Molecular Function. (D): 30 most represented KEGG pathways. TRPN stands for Trinity Paspalum notatum Assembly (Global Assembly).

Additional file 4. Comparative analysis of sense transcript representation in apomictic and sexual libraries. Volcano comparative plots were constructed both globally and separately for each developmental stage. Red dots correspond to DETs at p-adjust ǀ3ǀ. Positive Log2FCs indicate overexpression in apomictic plants. Negative Log2FCs indicate overexpression in sexual plants.

Additional file 11 GO classification and KEGG pathways of common DETs that are differentially expressed across all stages of sexual or apomictic development. (A): cellular components (CC). (B): biological process (BP). (C): molecular function (MF). (D): KEGG pathways: ribosome, carbon metabolism and spliceosome are represented by numerous members at a p-value

Additional file 14 Classification and expression analysis of transcription factors (TFs) expressed during P. notatum floral development. (A): Relative abundance of the identified TF families. (B): Heat map representing the number of upregulated members corresponding to each TF family at four developmental stages in apomictic and sexual genotypes of P. notatum. AP: apomixis, premeiosis. AM: apomixis, meiosis. APo: apomixis, postmeiosis. AA; apomixis, anthesis. SP: sexual, premeiosis. SM: sexual, meiosis. SPo: sexual, postmeiosis. SA; sexual, anthesis.

International audience; The capacity for apomixis in Paspalum notatum is controlled by a single-dominant genomic region, which shows strong synteny to a portion of rice chromosome 12 long arm. The locus LOC_Os12g40890, encoding the Auxin/Indole-3-Acetic Acid (Aux/IAA) family member OsIAA30, is located in this rice genomic segment. The objectives of this work were to identify transcripts coding for Aux/IAA proteins expressed in reproductive tissues of P. notatum, detect the OsIAA30 putative ortholog and analyze its temporal and spatial expression pattern in reproductive organs of sexual and apomictic plants. Thirty-three transcripts coding for AUX/IAA proteins were identified. Predicted protein alignment and phylogenetic analysis detected a highly similar sequence to OsIAA30 (named as PnIAA30) present in both sexual and apomictic samples. The expression assays of PnIAA30 showed a significant down-regulation in apomictic spikelets compared to sexual ones at the stages of anthesis and post-anthesis, representation levels negatively correlated with apospory expressivity and different localizations in sexual and apomictic ovules. Several PnIAA30 predicted interactors also appeared differentially regulated in the sexual and apomictic floral transcriptomes. Our results showed that an auxin-response repressor similar to OsIAA30 is down-regulated in apomictic spikelets of P. notatum and suggests a contrasting regulation of auxin signaling during sexual and asexual seed formation.

In the past decades, the grasses of the Paspalum genus have emerged as a versatile model allowing evolutionary, genetic, molecular, and developmental studies on apomixis as well as successful breeding applications. The rise of such an archetypal system progressed through integrative phases, which were essential to draw conclusions based on solid standards. Here, we review the steps adopted in Paspalum to establish the current body of knowledge on apomixis and provide model breeding programs for other agronomically important apomictic crops. In particular, we discuss the need for previous detailed cytoembryological and cytogenetic germplasm characterization; the establishment of sexual and apomictic materials of identical ploidy level; the development of segregating populations useful for inheritance analysis, positional mapping, and epigenetic control studies; the development of omics data resources; the identification of key molecular pathways via comparative gene expression studies; the accurate molecular characterization of genomic loci governing apomixis; the in-depth functional analysis of selected candidate genes in apomictic and model species; the successful building of a sexual/apomictic combined breeding scheme.

Apomixis is a clonal mode of reproduction via seeds, which results from the failure of meiosis and fertilization in the sexual female reproductive pathway. In previous transcriptomic surveys, we identified a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (N46) displaying differential representation in florets of sexual and apomictic Paspalum notatum genotypes. Here, we retrieved and characterized the N46 full cDNA sequence from sexual and apomictic floral transcriptomes. Phylogenetic analyses showed that N46 was a member of the YODA family, which was re-named QUI-GON JINN (QGJ). Differential expression in florets of sexual and apomictic plants was confirmed by qPCR. In situ hybridization experiments revealed expression in the nucellus of aposporous plants’ ovules, which was absent in sexual plants. RNAi inhibition of QGJ expression in two apomictic genotypes resulted in significantly reduced rates of aposporous embryo sac formation, with respect to the level detected in wild type aposporous plants and transformation controls. The QGJ locus segregated independently of apospory. However, a probe derived from a related long non-coding RNA sequence (PN_LNC_QGJ) revealed RFLP bands cosegregating with the Paspalum apospory-controlling region (ACR). PN_LNC_QGJ is expressed in florets of apomictic plants only. Our results indicate that the activity of QGJ in the nucellus of apomictic plants is necessary to form non-reduced embryo sacs and that a long non-coding sequence with regulatory potential is similar to sequences located within the ACR. Fil: Mancini, Micaela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina Fil: Permingeat, Hugo Raúl. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina Fil: Colono, Carolina Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina Fil: Siena, Lorena Adelina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina Fil: Pupilli, Fulvio. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Italia Fil: Azzaro, Celeste Antonela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina Fil: Alencar Dusi, Diva Maria de. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; Brasil Fil: Campos Carneiro, Vera Tavares de. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; Brasil Fil: Podio, Maricel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina Fil: Seijo, José Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura; Argentina Fil: González, Ana María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina. Université Montpellier; Francia Fil: Felitti, Silvina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina Fil: Ortiz, Juan Pablo Amelio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina Fil: Leblanc, Olivier. Université Montpellier II; Francia Fil: Pessino, Silvina Claudia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Agrarias de Rosario; Argentina

G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are increasingly recognized to operate from intracellular membranes as well as the plasma membrane. The β2-adrenergic GPCR can activate Gs-linked cyclic AMP (Gs-cAMP) signaling from endosomes. We show here that the homologous human β1-adrenergic receptor initiates an internal Gs-cAMP signal from the Golgi apparatus. By developing a chemical method to acutely squelch G-protein coupling at defined membrane locations, we demonstrate that Golgi activation contributes significantly to the overall cellular cAMP response. Golgi signaling utilizes a preexisting receptor pool rather than receptors delivered from the cell surface, requiring separate access of extracellular ligands. Epinephrine, a hydrophilic endogenous ligand, accesses the Golgi-localized receptor pool by facilitated transport requiring the organic cation transporter 3 (OCT3), whereas drugs can access the Golgi pool by passive diffusion according to hydrophobicity. We demonstrate marked differences, among both agonist and antagonist drugs, in Golgi-localized receptor access and show that β-blocker drugs currently used in the clinic differ markedly in ability to antagonize the Golgi signal. We propose 'location bias' as a new principle for achieving functional selectivity of GPCR-directed drug action.

The use of virtual surgical planning and computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing has gained popularity in the surgical correction of craniosynostosis. This study expands the use of virtual surgical planning and computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing in cranial vault reconstruction by using these methods to reconstruct the anterior vault using a single endocortically-plated unit constructed from the posterior calvarium. This technique was designed to reduce the risk of undesirable contour deformities that can occur when multiple bone grafts are used to reconstruct the anterior vault and fronto-orbital rim. Six patients were included in this study, all of which had nonsyndromic craniosynostosis. Excellent aesthetic outcomes were obtained in all patients, without complication. Additionally, the placement of a single reconstructive unit constructed from the posterior calvarium was efficient, aesthetically pleasing, and minimized postoperative contour deformities secondary to bone gaps, resorption, and often palpable resorbable plates.

Large head and neck arteriovenous malformations are notoriously difficult to manage given their location and propensity for extreme hemorrhage. We propose a unique approach utilizing a Hyperform balloon and percutaneous Surgiflo sclerotherapy to provide intraoperative hemostatic stability during the excision of a left-sided scalp arteriovenous malformation. In a hybrid operating room a microcatheter balloon was fed into the left external carotid artery for occlusion of the malformation's main blood supply, and subsequently followed with digital subtraction angiography guided sclerotherapy of selective vessels. A split thickness graft was used to reconstruct the site of excision. This method offered optimal hemostatic control with a blood loss less than 120 cc. Our approach may offer safety advantages over traditional modalities and allow resection of head and neck lesions previously thought to be inoperable.

We designed an epi-illumination SPIM system that uses a single objective and has a sample interface identical to that of an inverted fluorescence microscope with no additional reflection elements. It achieves subcellular resolution and single-molecule sensitivity, and is compatible with common biological sample holders, including multi-well plates. We demonstrated multicolor fast volumetric imaging, single-molecule localization microscopy, parallel imaging of 16 cell lines and parallel recording of cellular responses to perturbations.

Spectral imaging is a powerful technique used to simultaneously study multiple fluorophore labels with overlapping emissions. Here, we present a computational spectral imaging method, which uses sample spatial fluorescence information as a reconstruction constraint. Our method addresses both the under-sampling issue of compressive spectral imaging and the low throughput issue of scanning spectral imaging. With simulated and experimental data, we have demonstrated the reconstruction precision of our method in two and three-color imaging. We have experimentally validated this method for differentiating cellular structures labeled with two red-colored fluorescent proteins, tdTomato and mCherry, which have highly overlapping emission spectra. Our method has the advantage of totally free wavelength choice and can also be combined with conventional filter-based sequential multi-color imaging to further improve multiplexing capability.

Phylogenetic analysis of miRNA sequences. Phylogenetic analysis by maximum likelihood method of mature miRNA sequences expressed in the P. notatum floral transcriptome. (PDF 53 kb)

Folding analysis of miRNA putative precursors. Secondary structures derived from folding 8 predicted miRNA precursors. (PDF 667 kb)

Eragrostis curvula (Schrad) Nees (weeping lovegrass) represents important cultivated forage in semiarid regions, and the most useful cultivars are tetraploid and reproduce by pseudogamous diplosporous apomixis. We previously produced a series of genetically related E. curvula lines that provide a suitable system for the identification of gene(s) involved in diplosporous apomixis and ploidy, including a natural apomictic tetraploid (T), a diploid sexual line (D), and a tetraploid sexual plant (C). A collection of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) was generated from cDNA libraries obtained from panicles of the D, T, and C, and leaves of the T. The present study aimed to analyze the repetitive content of these four cDNA libraries and further identify and characterize transposable element (TE)-related ESTs. Repetitive sequences were identified through the interface RepeatMasker (RM) using the database Repbase Update and further classification of TEs was performed manually from the RM output. The different contribution of ESTs with identity to TEs among libraries was further evaluated, and such differences were validated through RT-qPCR. We found that the percentage of repetitive content in the leaf cDNA library was almost double than in inflorescence libraries, with retrotransposons contributing mostly in all libraries. The expression of TE-related ESTs was compared in cDNA samples extracted from D, T, and C leaves or inflorescences revealing that seven mRNAs containing MuDR-like DNA transposons, Gypsy-like, and Copia-like retrotransposons were differentially represented according to tissue, reproductive mode, or ploidy. The euploid series of Eragrostis curvula is a useful model to the study of epigenomic changes produced after changes in ploidy. The present work constitutes the first detailed report on repetitive sequences of Eragrostis curvula at the transcriptome level. Fil: Romero, José Rodolfo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina Fil: Selva, Juan Pablo. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina Fil: Pessino, Silvina Claudia. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Echenique, Carmen Viviana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Agronomía; Argentina Fil: Garbus, Ingrid. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentina

Hyperspectral imaging is a powerful technique to simultaneously study multiple fluorophore labels with overlapping emissions. Here we present a computational hyperspectral imaging method, which uses the sample spatial fluorescence information as a reconstruction constraint. Our method addresses both the under-sampling issue of compressive hyperspectral imaging and the low throughput issue of scanning hyperspectral imaging. With simulated and experimental data, we have demonstrated the superior reconstruction precision of our method in two and three-color imaging. We have experimentally validated this method in differentiating cellular structures labeled with two red-colored fluorescent proteins, tdTomato and mCherry, which have highly overlapping emission spectra. Our method has the advantage of totally free wavelength choice and can also be combined with conventional filter-based sequential multi-color imaging to further expand the choices of probes.