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In anthropic savanna ecosystems from the Iberian Peninsula (i.e. dehesa), complex interactions between climate change, pathogen outbreaks and human land use are presumed to be behind the observed increase in holm oak decline. These environmental disturbances alter the plant–soil microbial continuum, which can destabilize the ecological balance that sustains tree health. Yet, little is known about the underlying mechanisms, particularly the directions and nature of the causal–effect relationships between plants and soil microbial communities.In this study, we aimed to determine the role of plant–soil feedbacks in climate‐induced holm oak decline in the Iberian dehesa. Using a gradient of holm oak health, we reconstructed key soil biogeochemical cycles mediated by soil microbial communities. We used quantitative microbial element cycling (QMEC), a functional gene‐array‐based high‐throughput technique to assess microbial functional potential in carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur cycling.The onset of holm oak decline was positively related to the increase in relative abundance of soil microbial functional genes associated with denitrification and phosphorus mineralization (i.e. nirS3, ppx and pqqC; parameter value: 0.21, 0.23 and 0.4; p < 0.05). Structural equation model (χ2 = 32.26, p‐value = 0.73), moreover, showed a negative association between these functional genes and soil nutrient availability (i.e. mainly mineral nitrogen and phosphate). Particularly, the holm oak crown health was mainly determined by the abundance of phosphate (parameter value = 0.27; p‐value < 0.05) and organic phosphorus (parameter value = −0.37; p‐value < 0.5).Hence, we propose a potential tree–soil feedback loop, in which the decline of holm oak promotes changes in the soil environment that triggers changes in key microbial‐mediated metabolic pathways related to the net loss of soil nitrogen and phosphorus mineral forms. The shortage of essential nutrients, in turn, affects the ability of the trees to withstand the environmental stressors to which they are exposed. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic esophageal conditions (CEC) are associated with significant disease‐related burden, disability, and costs. Health‐related quality of life (HRQOL) constructs are intended to capture the physical, mental, social, and emotional aspects of a patient's life and how health status impacts these domains. The Northwestern Esophageal Quality of Life (NEQOL) can be used among esophageal diseases while maintaining sensitivity to specific conditions. We aimed to translate, cross‐cultural adapt, and validate the NEQOL into Spanish. Methods: After language and cross‐cultural adaptation, the NEQOL was applied to an outpatient clinic‐based population in a single tertiary center. We analyzed the internal consistency, construct, criterion validity, and test–retest reliability of the questionnaire. The criterion validity was tested against the SF‐12 questionnaire. Key Results: After completing the translation process, no item was considered problematic. A total of 385 patients were included in the validation study. The internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) for the total NEQOL‐S score was 0.89. The NEQOL‐S questionnaire showed moderate test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.828; 95% CI 0.755–0.881; p < 0.001). Criterion validity showed good coherence when correlated with the SF‐12 survey (R2 = 0.538; 95% CI 0.491–0.585, p < 0.001). Conclusions and Inferences: The translated and cross‐culturally adapted NEQOL‐S showed good psychometric properties that allow its use in Spanish‐speaking patients suffering from CEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Climate change and pathogen outbreaks are the two major causes of decline in Mediterranean holm oak trees (Quercus ilex L. subsp. ballota (Desf.) Samp.). Crown‐level changes in response to these stressful conditions have been widely documented but the responses of the root systems remain unexplored. The effects of environmental stress over roots and its potential role during the declining process need to be evaluated.We aimed to study how key morphological and architectural root parameters and nonstructural carbohydrates of roots are affected along a holm oak health gradient (i.e. within healthy, susceptible and declining trees).Holm oaks with different health statuses had different soil resource‐uptake strategies. While healthy and susceptible trees showed a conservative resource‐uptake strategy independently of soil nutrient availability, declining trees optimized soil resource acquisition by increasing the phenotypic plasticity of their fine root system.This increase in fine root phenotypic plasticity in declining holm oaks represents an energy‐consuming strategy promoted to cope with the stress and at the expense of foliage maintenance. Our study describes a potential feedback loop resulting from strong unprecedented belowground stress that ultimately may lead to poor adaptation and tree death in the Spanish dehesa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise: Non‐native plant species have been hypothesized to experience lower herbivory in novel environments as a function of their phylogenetic distance from native plant species. Although recent work has found support for this prediction, the plant traits responsible for such patterns have been largely overlooked. Methods: In a common garden experiment in northwestern Spain, we tested whether oak species (Quercus spp.) not native to this region that are phylogenetically more distantly related to native species exhibit less insect leaf herbivory. In addition, we also investigated plant traits potentially correlated with any such effect of phylogenetic distance. Results: As expected, phylogenetic distance from native species negatively predicted insect leaf herbivory on non‐native oaks. In addition, we found that the leaf traits, namely phosphorus and condensed tannins, were significantly associated with herbivory, suggesting that they are associated with the effect of phylogenetic distance on leaf herbivory on non‐native oak species. Conclusions: This study contributes to a better understanding of how evolutionary relationships (relatedness) between native and non‐native plant species determine the latter's success in novel environments via locally shared enemies, and encourages more work investigating the plant traits that mediate the effects of phylogenetic distance on enemy escape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To report the results of endoscopic ultrasound‐guided injection of coils with cyanoacrylate (CYA) using a less‐expensive coil with an emphasis on the roles of Doppler and endosonographic varicealography (EV) in identifying the feeder vessel in gastric varix treatment. Methods: An observational, descriptive study with prospectively collected data. Patients with gastric varices (GV) were included and were treated by endoscopic ultrasound‐guided injection of CYA and a less‐expensive coil. Technical success, complete and immediate variceal obliteration, rebleeding, complication and survival rates were evaluated. Results: Thirty patients with GV with a mean age of 62 years (range: 44–76 years) were treated. Median number of coils used was 2 (range: 1–3), and median volume of CYA was 1.8 mL (1.2–2.4 mL). Technical success rate was 100%. EV technical success was observed in 26/30 patients. Complete variceal obliteration was observed in 96.6% of patients, and immediate disappearance of the varix was observed in 24 (80%) patients. The complication rate was 6.7%. Conclusions: Endoscopic‐ultrasound guidance for gastric varix treatment with the addition of EV and the use of a less‐expensive coil is a safe and effective technique that results in the immediate disappearance of GV after targeting the feeding vessel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Castor oil was transesterified with pentaerythritol thereby introducing reactive hydroxyl groups. The method of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy was used to determine the components of the castor oil pentaerythritol alcoholysis products. Simultaneous interpenetrating polymer networks of pentaerythritol modified castor oil and diphenyl-methane 4-4′ diisocyanate polyurethane (P1-CO-PU) and polystyrene (PS) were synthesized using benzoyl peroxide as the initiator and divinyl benzene as the crosslinker. The effect of PU/PS composition on the morphology, miscibility and physical properties of the resulting IPNs was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, measurements of mechanical properties and resistance to chemical reagents. The patterns of the extent of the phase separation and the characteristics of the interpenetration reached as a function of the components were deduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]