Trends in consumer sentiment and spending

In 2008, personal consumption expenditures represented 70% of gross domestic product, or total spending on final goods and services, according to U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data. This article analyzes consumer sentiment and spending data to uncover differences across income and education level groups.Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index

Efectos del cloruro de cloro colina y el paclobutrazol sobre el crecimiento de plantas y la calidad de raíces tuberosas de mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz cv. Rocha)

The effects of chlorocholine chloride (CCC) and paclobutrazol (PBZ) foliar application on shoot and root parameters of cassava field-grown plants were studied (0, 45 and 90 mg active ingredient per plant). CCC and PBZ reduced total plant and first branch height, aerial fresh mass and tuberous root number. PBZ delayed branching and significantly decreased tuberous root fresh mass, while CCC caused no modifications in these parameters. In addition, CCC and PBZ treatments did not modify tuberous root diameter, while PBZ reduced tuberous root length significantly. Starch content was increased by both growth regulators at the lower dose, whereas dry matter content was increased only by CCC. In conclusion, CCC suppresses excessive vegetative growth, favours quality attributes and does not alter yield, hence improving harvest index. Although PBZ at a low dose increases the starch content and harvest index, its effects on other parameters are undesirable.Fil: Medina, Ricardo Daniel. 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; ArgentinaFil: Burgos, A.. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Difranco, V.. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste; ArgentinaFil: Mroginski, Luis Amado. 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; ArgentinaFil: Cenóz, P.. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste; Argentin

CORE: A Phylogenetically-Curated 16S rDNA Database of the Core Oral Microbiome

Comparing bacterial 16S rDNA sequences to GenBank and other large public databases via BLAST often provides results of little use for identification and taxonomic assignment of the organisms of interest. The human microbiome, and in particular the oral microbiome, includes many taxa, and accurate identification of sequence data is essential for studies of these communities. For this purpose, a phylogenetically curated 16S rDNA database of the core oral microbiome, CORE, was developed. The goal was to include a comprehensive and minimally redundant representation of the bacteria that regularly reside in the human oral cavity with computationally robust classification at the level of species and genus. Clades of cultivated and uncultivated taxa were formed based on sequence analyses using multiple criteria, including maximum-likelihood-based topology and bootstrap support, genetic distance, and previous naming. A number of classification inconsistencies for previously named species, especially at the level of genus, were resolved. The performance of the CORE database for identifying clinical sequences was compared to that of three publicly available databases, GenBank nr/nt, RDP and HOMD, using a set of sequencing reads that had not been used in creation of the database. CORE offered improved performance compared to other public databases for identification of human oral bacterial 16S sequences by a number of criteria. In addition, the CORE database and phylogenetic tree provide a framework for measures of community divergence, and the focused size of the database offers advantages of efficiency for BLAST searching of large datasets. The CORE database is available as a searchable interface and for download at http://microbiome.osu.edu

Effects of chlorocholine chloride and paclobutrazol on cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz cv. Rocha) plant growth and tuberous root quality

Se estudiaron los efectos de la aplicación foliar del cloruro de cloro colina (CCC) y del paclobutrazol (PBZ) sobre parámetros de crecimiento aéreo y radical de plantas de mandioca cultivadas a campo (0,45 y 90 mg de principio activo por planta). El CCC y el PBZ redujeron la altura total de las plantas y la altura de la primera ramificación, el peso fresco de los órganos aéreos y el número de raíces tuberosas por planta. El PBZ retrasó la ocurrencia de la ramificación y causó reducciones significativas del peso fresco de las raíces tuberosas, mientras que el CCC no afectó dichos parámetros. Los tratamientos con CCC y PBZ no modificaron el diámetro de las raíces tuberosas, aunque el PBZ redujo significativamente su longitud. El contenido de almidón de raíces tuberosas se incrementó por la aplicación de ambos reguladores del crecimiento en su dosis mínima; sin embargo, el contenido de materia seca de estas sólo fue aumentado por el tratamiento con CCC. En conclusión, el CCC evita el crecimiento vegetativo excesivo, favorece los atributos de calidad de raíces tuberosas sin afectar el rendimiento y mejora el índice de cosecha. Si bien el PBZ en bajas concentraciones incrementa el contenido de almidón de las raíces tuberosas y el índice de cosecha, sus efectos sobre otros parámetros son indeseables

Effects of chlorocholine chloride and paclobutrazol on cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz cv. Rocha) plant growth and tuberous root quality

Fil: Medina, Ricardo Daniel. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Medina, Ricardo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina.Fil: Burgos, Ángela María. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Difranco, V. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Mroginski, Luis Amado. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Mroginski, Luis Amado. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina.Fil: Cenóz, Pedro Jorge. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Se estudiaron los efectos de la aplicación foliar del cloruro de cloro colina (CCC) y del paclobutrazol (PBZ) sobre parámetros de crecimiento aéreo y radical de plantas de mandioca cultivadas a campo (0,45 y 90 mg de principio activo por planta). El CCC y el PBZ redujeron la altura total de las plantas y la altura de la primera ramificación, el peso fresco de los órganos aéreos y el número de raíces tuberosas por planta. El PBZ retrasó la ocurrencia de la ramificación y causó reducciones significativas del peso fresco de las raíces tuberosas, mientras que el CCC no afectó dichos parámetros. Los tratamientos con CCC y PBZ no modificaron el diámetro de las raíces tuberosas, aunque el PBZ redujo significativamente su longitud. El contenido de almidón de raíces tuberosas se incrementó por la aplicación de ambos reguladores del crecimiento en su dosis mínima; sin embargo, el contenido de materia seca de estas sólo fue aumentado por el tratamiento con CCC. En conclusión, el CCC evita el crecimiento vegetativo excesivo, favorece los atributos de calidad de raíces tuberosas sin afectar el rendimiento y mejora el índice de cosecha. Si bien el PBZ en bajas concentraciones incrementa el contenido de almidón de las raíces tuberosas y el índice de cosecha, sus efectos sobre otros parámetros son indeseables

The Genetic Basis of Pericentral Retinitis Pigmentosa—A Form of Mild Retinitis Pigmentosa

Pericentral retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an atypical form of RP that affects the near-peripheral retina first and tends to spare the far periphery. This study was performed to further define the genetic basis of this phenotype. We identified a cohort of 43 probands with pericentral RP based on a comprehensive analysis of their retinal phenotype. Genetic analyses of DNA samples from these patients were performed using panel-based next-generation sequencing, copy number variations, and whole exome sequencing (WES). Mutations provisionally responsible for disease were found in 19 of the 43 families (44%) analyzed. These include mutations in RHO (five patients), USH2A (four patients), and PDE6B (two patients). Of 28 putatively pathogenic alleles, 15 (54%) have been previously identified in patients with more common forms of typical RP, while the remaining 13 mutations (46%) were novel. Burden testing of WES data successfully identified HGSNAT as a cause of pericentral RP in at least two patients, suggesting it is also a relatively common cause of pericentral RP. While additional sequencing might uncover new genes specifically associated with pericentral RP, the current results suggest that genetically pericentral RP is not a separate clinical entity, but rather is part of the spectrum of mild RP phenotypes

AP evoked Ca²⁺ transients in fibers dissected from a healthy volunteer and a HF patient.

<p>Figures A and C are the APs and panels B and D are the corresponding Ca²⁺ transients. The insets in B and D are Ca²⁺ release fluxes (in μM/ms) calculated from the corresponding optical records. The fibers were equilibrated with an internal solution containing 30∶15 EGTA:Ca²⁺.</p

Fibers from healthy volunteers and HF patients have similar thresholds.

<p>Panels A and B show electrotonic responses (small depolarizations elicited by sub-threshold current pulses) and actions potentials (large autoregenerative depolarization elicited by suprathreshold current pulses) in a fiber from a healthy volunteer (A) and a HF patient (B). The inset in panel A shows the mean (±SD) threshold potentials for a population of fibers from healthy volunteers (n = 10 fibers) and HF patients (n = 10 fibers).</p

Action Potential-Evoked Calcium Release Is Impaired in Single Skeletal Muscle Fibers from Heart Failure Patients

<div><p>Background</p><p>Exercise intolerance in chronic heart failure (HF) has been attributed to abnormalities of the skeletal muscles. Muscle function depends on intact excitation-contraction coupling (ECC), but ECC studies in HF models have been inconclusive, due to deficiencies in the animal models and tools used to measure calcium (Ca²⁺) release, mandating investigations in skeletal muscle from HF patients. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that Ca²⁺ release is significantly impaired in the skeletal muscle of HF patients in whom exercise capacity is severely diminished compared to age-matched healthy volunteers.</p><p>Methods and Findings</p><p>Using state-of-the-art electrophysiological and optical techniques in single muscle fibers from biopsies of the locomotive <i>vastus lateralis</i> muscle, we measured the action potential (AP)-evoked Ca²⁺ release in 4 HF patients and 4 age-matched healthy controls. The mean peak Ca²⁺ release flux in fibers obtained from HF patients (10±1.2 µM/ms) was markedly (2.6-fold) and significantly (p<0.05) smaller than in fibers from healthy volunteers (28±3.3 µM/ms). This impairment in AP-evoked Ca²⁺ release was ubiquitous and was not explained by differences in the excitability mechanisms since single APs were indistinguishable between HF patients and healthy volunteers.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>These findings prove the feasibility of performing electrophysiological experiments in single fibers from human skeletal muscle, and offer a new approach for investigations of myopathies due to HF and other diseases. Importantly, we have demonstrated that one step in the ECC process, AP-evoked Ca²⁺ release, is impaired in single muscle fibers in HF patients.</p></div