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Climate change in the Mediterranean area is making summers warmer and dryer. Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is mostly important for wine production in Mediterranean countries, and the variety Tempranillo is one of the most cultivated in Spain and Portugal. Drought decreases yield and quality and causes important economic losses. As full irrigation has negative effects on quality and water is scarce in this region, deficit irrigation is often applied. In this research, we studied the effects of two deficit irrigation treatments, Sustained Deficit Irrigation (SDI) and Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI), on the transcriptome of grape berries at full maturation, through RNAseq. The expression of differentially regulated genes (DEGs) was also monitored through RT-qPCR along berry development. Most transcripts were regulated by water stress, with a similar distribution of up- and down-regulated transcripts within functional categories (FC). Primary metabolism was the more severely affected FC under water stress, followed by signaling and transport. Almost all DEGs monitored were significantly up-regulated by severe water stress at veraison. The modulation of an auxin response repression factor, AUX22D, by water stress indicates a role of this gene in the response to drought. Further, the expression of WRKY40, a TF that regulates anthocyanin biosynthesis, may be responsible for changes in grape quality under severe water stress.

An astonishing range of morphologies and life strategies has arisen across the vast diversity of protists, allowing them to thrive in most environments. In model protists, like Tetrahymena, Dictyostelium, or Trypanosoma, life cycles involving multiple life stages with different morphologies have been well characterized. In contrast, knowledge of the life cycles of free‐living protists, which primarily consist of uncultivated environmental lineages, remains largely fragmentary. Various life stages and lineage‐specific cellular innovations have been observed in the field for uncultivated protists, but such innovations generally lack functional characterization and have unknown physiological and ecological roles. In the actual state of knowledge, evidence of sexual processes is confirmed for 20% of free‐living protist lineages. Nevertheless, at the onset of eukaryotic diversification, common molecular trends emerged to promote genetic recombination, establishing sex as an inherent feature of protists. Here, we review protist life cycles from the viewpoint of life cycle transitions and genetics across major eukaryotic lineages. We focus on the scarcely observed sexual cycle of free‐living protists, summarizing evidence for its existence and describing key genes governing its progression, as well as, current methods for studying the genetics of sexual cycles in both cultivable and uncultivated protist groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blooms of the coccolithophore Gephyrocapsa huxleyi (formerly Emiliania huxleyi) are routinely infected by a specific lytic virus (EhV) that kills host cells and drives bloom termination. However, the impact of EhV on nutrient retention and stoichiometric ratios of particulate organic matter remains unknown, limiting our current understanding of the biogeochemical significance of the G. huxleyi–EhV interaction. To tackle this knowledge gap, we surveyed both nitrate, phosphate, and alkalinity consumption by the cells, as well as the elemental composition (C : N : P) of particulate organic matter during infections in culture. We found that within 24 h of infection, alkalinity concentration in the solution stabilized, and nutrient uptake declined to low levels. In parallel, the molar ratio of carbon to nitrogen in particulate organic matter increased by 10–17% and the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio declined by 5–12% relative to the noninfected algal cultures. These variations likely resulted from intracellular lipid accumulation as part of viral infection as well as the differential retention of phosphorus‐rich macromolecular pools in decaying cells, respectively. After infection, as most host cells lysed, we detected a progressive enrichment in phosphorus and nitrogen relative to carbon in the remaining particulate organic matter, which could be attributed to the accumulation of colonizing heterotrophic bacteria with a distinct elemental composition. This study indicate that marine viruses influence the elemental stoichiometry and fate of phytoplankton‐born organic materials in the oceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Gastric cancer is a disease with a high rate of morbidity and mortality in the world. Objective: To determine which clinical inflammatory biomarkers are associated with the tumor stage of gastric cancer of the oncology service of the Hospital María Auxiliadora in Lima, Peru, during the years 2018-2020. Methodology: Observational, analytical, cross-sectional and retrospective study. There was a sample of 110 patients. The PR values were obtained from the absolute frequencies of the variables: serum albumin, Platelet-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) and Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR). Results: The average age was 63,727±13.85. 55.45% were female. The most frequent histopathological type was intestinal adenocarcinoma with 62.73%. In the bivariate analysis, an association was found between INL (PR:6.88 CI95% 2.36-20 p Conclusion: INL is an independent predictive factor in relation to the clinical stage of gastric cancer in this study.

El implante percutáneo de un electrodo de estimulación ventricular izquierdo a través del seno coronario para resincronización cardiaca siempre ha implicado un reto y más aún en pacientes con anatomía venosa coronaria compleja. Este caso demuestra cómo una técnica de doble canulación del seno coronario con uso de catéter multi-snare permite la colocación exitosa de un electrodo de estimulación ventricular izquierdo mediante acceso retrógrado a una vena posterolateral estenótica.

La dextrocardia es una anomalía congénita rara que puede o no asociarse a otras malformaciones congénitas; los adultos con esta condición pueden presentar enfermedad sinusal o trastornos de la conducción auriculoventricular. Se debe analizar la configuración visceroatrial asociada a la dextrocardia para definir las herramientas necesarias (ultrasonido vascular, angiograma venoso, proyecciones fluoroscópicas modificadas, etc.) para la realización exitosa del implante de dispositivos transvenosos en estos pacientes. A continuación, se presenta el caso de una paciente con dextrocardia y situs inversus en quien, por disfunción sinusal, se realizó el implante de un marcapaso bicameral definitivo.

Se presenta el caso de un paciente de 68 años con aleteo auricular perimitral recurrente a terapia antiarrítmica en el seguimiento de ablación de venas pulmonares por fibrilación auricular. En este caso no se logra el control de la arritmia a pesar de una aproximación usual; se aplica radiofrecuencia endoepicárdica del istmo mitral. En vista de lo anterior, se decide realizar alcoholización de la vena de Marshall; una técnica rápida, útil y efectiva en el control de esta arritmia. A continuación, se describe el paso a paso con el objetivo de familiarizar a los cardiólogos intervencionistas con esta técnica. A la fecha, el paciente se encuentra en ritmo sinusal y sin recurrencia de la arritmia en el seguimiento.

Abstract Legius syndrome is characterized by numerous café‐au‐lait macules and intertriginous freckling, but typically lacks the distinctive tumor manifestations of neurofibromatosis type 1. We report two siblings with Legius syndrome and Lisch nodules illustrating the importance of eye surveillance in these patients.

Resumen: La taquicardia por reentrada nodal es la arritmia más frecuente entre las taquicardias supraventriculares paroxísticas; la variedad lenta-rápida es la más común. En muchos casos la ablación de la vía lenta es el tratamiento definitivo y puede llegar a tener alta tasa de éxito y baja frecuencia de complicaciones. La presencia de una vena cava superior izquierda y la ausencia de vena cava superior derecha con drenaje venoso sistémico superior al seno coronario es una malformación congénita poco frecuente, la cual genera alteraciones anatómicas que dificultan el abordaje tradicional para la ablación de esta arritmia. Se presenta el caso de una paciente con esta condición en la que fue exitosa la ablación mediante ecocardiografía intracardiaca y reconstrucción tridimensional. Abstract: Nodal re-entrant tachycardia is the most common arrhythmia among the paroxysmal atrioventricular tachycardias, with the slow-fast variant being the most common. In many cases, the ablation of the slow pathway is the definitive treatment in many cases, often with a high rate of success and low frequency of complications. The presence of a left superior vena cava and the absence of a right superior vena cava with systematic venous drainage above the coronary sinus is a rare congenital malformation that leads to anatomical anomalies. These make it difficult to use the traditional approach for the ablation of this arrhythmia. The case is presented of a patient with this condition in which the ablation was successful using intracardiac echocardiography and three-dimensional reconstruction.

Abstract Background Studies suggest that acute decreases in lung hyperinflation at rest improves cardiac function and increases lung vascular perfusion from decompression of a compromised heart. In those studies, changes in resting oxygen uptake induced by medications, an alternative explanation for compensatory increased cardiac function, were not explored. Methods This double-blind, multicenter, double-crossover study enrolled adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, resting hyperinflation, and > 10% improvement in inspiratory capacity after 2 inhalations of budesonide/formoterol 160/4.5 μg. Metabolic, cardiac, and ventilatory function were measured 60 min pre−/post-dose at each visit. Primary endpoint was change in resting oxygen uptake for budesonide/formoterol versus placebo. Results Fifty-one patients (median age: 63 years) received treatment. Compared with placebo, budesonide/formoterol significantly increased resting oxygen uptake (mean change from baseline: 1.25 vs 11.37 mL/min; P = 0.007) as well as tidal volume and minute ventilation. This occurred despite improvements in the inspiratory capacity, forced vital capacity, and expiratory volume in 1 s. No significant treatment differences were seen for oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, and resting dyspnea. There was a numerical increase in oxygen pulse (oxygen uptake/heart rate). Correlations between inspiratory capacity and oxygen pulse were weak. Conclusions Budesonide/formoterol treatment in resting hyperinflated patients with COPD results in significant deflation. The increase in oxygen uptake and minute ventilation at lower lung volumes, without changes in heart rate and with minimal improvement in oxygen pulse, suggests increased oxygen demand as a contributor to increased cardiac function. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02533505.

Abstract Background There is a clinical need to identify diagnostic parameters that objectively quantify and monitor the effective visual ability of patients with homonymous visual field defects (HVFDs). Visual processing speed (VPS) is an objective measure of visual ability. It is the reaction time (RT) needed to correctly search and/or reach for a visual stimulus. VPS depends on six main brain processing systems: auditory-cognitive, attentional, working memory, visuocognitive, visuomotor, and executive. We designed a new assessment methodology capable of activating these six systems and measuring RTs to determine the VPS of patients with HVFDs. Methods New software was designed for assessing subject visual stimulus search and reach times (S-RT and R-RT respectively), measured in seconds. Thirty-two different everyday visual stimuli were divided in four complexity groups that were presented along 8 radial visual field positions at three different eccentricities (10o, 20o, and 30o). Thus, for each HVFD and control subject, 96 S- and R-RT measures related to VPS were registered. Three additional variables were measured to gather objective data on the validity of the test: eye-hand coordination mistakes (ehcM), eye-hand coordination accuracy (ehcA), and degrees of head movement (dHM, measured by a head-tracker system). HVFD patients and healthy controls (30 each) matched by age and gender were included. Each subject was assessed in a single visit. VPS measurements for HFVD patients and control subjects were compared for the complete test, for each stimulus complexity group, and for each eccentricity. Results VPS was significantly slower (p

Introduction: Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a promising immunotherapy for the treatment of refractory hematopoietic malignancies. Adverse events are common, and neurotoxicity is one of the most important. However, the physiopathology is unknown and neuropathologic information is scarce. Materials and methods: Post-mortem examination of 6 brains from patients that underwent CAR T-cell therapy from 2017 to 2022. In all cases, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in paraffin blocks for the detection of CAR T cells was performed. Results: Two patients died of hematologic progression, while the others died of cytokine release syndrome, lung infection, encephalomyelitis, and acute liver failure. Two out of 6 presented neurological symptoms, one with extracranial malignancy progression and the other with encephalomyelitis. The neuropathology of the latter showed severe perivascular and interstitial lymphocytic infiltration, predominantly CD8+, together with a diffuse interstitial histiocytic infiltration, affecting mainly the spinal cord, midbrain, and hippocampus, and a diffuse gliosis of basal ganglia, hippocampus, and brainstem. Microbiological studies were negative for neurotropic viruses, and PCR failed to detect CAR T -cells. Another case without detectable neurological signs showed cortical and subcortical gliosis due to acute hypoxic-ischemic damage. The remaining 4 cases only showed a mild patchy gliosis and microglial activation, and CAR T cells were detected by PCR only in one of them. Conclusions: In this series of patients that died after CAR T-cell therapy, we predominantly found non-specific or minimal neuropathological changes. CAR T-cell related toxicity may not be the only cause of neurological symptoms, and the autopsy could detect additional pathological findings.

BackgroundIn the context of COVID-19 pandemic in Catalonia (Spain), the present study analyses respiratory samples collected by the primary care network using Acute Respiratory Infections Sentinel Surveillance System (PIDIRAC) during the 2019-2020 season to complement the pandemic surveillance system in place to detect SARS-CoV-2. The aim of the study is to describe whether SARS-CoV-2 was circulating before the first confirmed case was detected in Catalonia, on February 25th, 2020.MethodsThe study sample was made up of all samples collected by the PIDIRAC primary care network as part of the Influenza and Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) surveillance system activities. The study on respiratory virus included coronavirus using multiple RT-PCR assays. All positive samples for human coronavirus were subsequently typed for HKU1, OC43, NL63, 229E. Every respiratory sample was frozen at-80°C and retrospectively studied for SARS-CoV-2 detection. A descriptive study was performed, analysing significant differences among variables related to SARS-CoV- 2 cases comparing with rest of coronaviruses cases through a bivariate study with Chi-squared test and statistical significance at 95%.ResultsBetween October 2019 and April 2020, 878 respiratory samples from patients with acute respiratory infection or influenza syndrome obtained by PIDIRAC were analysed. 51.9% tested positive for influenza virus, 48.1% for other respiratory viruses. SARS-CoV-2 was present in 6 samples. The first positive SARS-CoV-2 case had symptom onset on 2 March 2020. These 6 cases were 3 men and 3 women, aged between 25 and 50 years old. 67% had risk factors, none had previous travel history nor presented viral coinfection. All of them recovered favourably.ConclusionSentinel Surveillance PIDIRAC enhances global epidemiological surveillance by allowing confirmation of viral circulation and describes the epidemiology of generalized community respiratory viruses' transmission in Catalonia. The system can provide an alert signal when identification of a virus is not achieved in order to take adequate preparedness measures.

Most existing exoplanets are discovered using validation techniques rather than being confirmed by complementary observations. These techniques generate a score that is typically the probability of the transit signal being an exoplanet ( y ( x ) = exoplanet) given some information related to that signal (represented by x ). Except for the validation technique in Rowe et al. (2014), which uses multiplicity information to generate these probability scores, the existing validation techniques ignore the multiplicity boost information. In this work, we introduce a framework with the following premise: given an existing transit-signal vetter (classifier), improve its performance using multiplicity information. We apply this framework to several existing classifiers, which include vespa , Robovetter , AstroNet , ExoNet , GPC and RFC , and ExoMiner , to support our claim that this framework is able to improve the performance of a given classifier. We then use the proposed multiplicity boost framework for ExoMiner V1.2, which addresses some of the shortcomings of the original ExoMiner classifier, and validate 69 new exoplanets for systems with multiple Kepler Objects of Interests from the Kepler catalog.

Throughout the evolution of software systems, empirical methodologies have been used in their development process, even in the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm, to develop IoT-based systems (IoTS). In this paper, we review the fundamentals included in the manifesto for agile software development, especially in the Scrum methodology, to determine its use and role in IoTS development. Initially, 4303 documents were retrieved, a number that was reduced to 186 after applying automatic filters and by the relevance of their titles. After analysing their contents, only 60 documents were considered. Of these, 38 documents present the development of an IoTS using some methodology, 8 present methodologies focused on the construction of IoTS software, and 14 present methodologies close to the systems life cycle (SLC). Finally, only one methodology can be considered SLC-compliant. Out of 38 papers presenting the development of some IoTS following a methodology for traditional information systems (ISs), 42.1% have used Scrum as the only methodology, while 10.5% have used Scrum combined with other methodologies, such as eXtreme Programming (XP), Kanban and Rapid Prototyping. In the analysis presented herein, the existing methodologies for developing IoTSs have been grouped according to the different approaches on which they are based, such as agile, modelling, and service oriented. This study also analyses whether the different proposals consider the standard stages of the development process or not: planning and requirements gathering, solution analysis, solution design, solution coding and unit testing (construction), integration and testing (implementation), and operation and maintenance. In addition, we include a review of the automated frameworks, platforms, and tools used in the methodologies analysed to improve the development of IoTSs and the design of their underlying architectures. To conclude, the main contribution of this work is a review for IoTS researchers and developers regarding existing methodologies, frameworks, platforms, tools, and guidelines for the development of IoTSs, with a deep analysis framed within international standards dictated for this purpose.

The risk of tip-over is a common problem in agile, lightweight mobile manipulators. An easy-to-implement and reliable stabilization strategy plays a key role for the wide operation of these highly dynamic systems in the industrial sector. This study addresses a method in which mobile manipulators independently detect instabilities and trigger countermeasures to prevent them from tilting. A tip-over detection algorithm was implemented based on the Moment Height Stability method, whose main advantage is the examination of all dynamical influences affecting the mobile manipulator to indicate how stable/unstable the system is during its operation. Consequently, the theoretical workspace of the robot manipulator was redefined using a certain critical boundary surface subjected to the analysis of the stability value. This workspace optimization was complemented with an additional algorithm in which the robot manipulator joints adopt an appropriate configuration to compensate in real-time detected instabilities. During repositioning of the robot manipulator’s arm, the initial orientation of its tool center point is maintained to avoid a workpiece mishandle. The simulation and experimental results suggest that the system is stable and safe to operate in changing environments, thus providing a universal approach to avoid the inherent stability problems of agile and lightweight mobile manipulators.

More than 24 pathogenic hantaviruses that are known to be pathogenic to humans have been identified worldwide (1). The diseases these viruses have caused have been traditionally divided into 2 [...]