Calidad inicial y daños ocurridos durante la cosecha, transporte y lavado en batatas cultivadas en el partido de San Pedro

La batata es considerada un cultivo rústico, comparada con otras hortalizas. Sin embargo, cuando hablamos de calidad, hay muchos aspectos de manejo que deben mejorar para lograr un producto sin defectos. Un estudio previo determino que tan solo el 3,11 % de las batatas procedentes de San Pedro, no poseen ningún tipo de defecto. Como parte de las actividades realizadas en la Plataforma Herramientas de Gestión de la Calidad y del proyecto Local “Batata de calidad sampedrina”, se monitoreó la calidad de las batatas producidas en el territorio. Se plantearon dos objetivos: a) determinar la calidad inicial de la batata producida en San Pedro relevando: daños por insectos, pudriciones y defectos presentes en precosecha y b) relevar los daños ocurridos durante la cosecha, y poscosecha (transporte y lavado). Las muestras de raíces, se recolectaron en cuatro momentos: Antes de cosecha, luego de cosecha, a la llegada al galpón de acondicionado y después del lavado. En la evaluación de precosecha, o calidad inicial, se analizaron las 400 batatas (100 de cada momento de muestreo) se relevaron: daños por insectos, deformaciones, heridas cicatrizadas, brotes, venas, raicillas, batatines y otros defectos, generalmente asociados a factores genéticos y otros como heridas cicatrizadas, debido a condiciones ambientales y de manejo. Los daños poscosecha (roturas, heridas abiertas, peladuras y abrasiones se relevaron sobre 100 batatas correspondientes a cada momento de muestreo. Los defectos y daños en las raíces se relevaron según lo especificado en la Resolución SAyG Nº 297/1983 y en bibliografía existente. Los resultados mostraron que todas las raíces presentaron daños por insectos, el 46 % de las batatas presentó algún grado de deformación, la presencia de venas y batatines, fue menor. Y en cuanto a heridas abiertas, en cosecha se observaron un mínimo de 18% y un máximo de 32 % de heridas abiertas, y el 70 % de las batatas analizadas luego del lavado, presentaron heridas abiertas. Se observó que no aumentan las roturas luego de la evaluación pos cosecha, por lo que aparentemente, es durante la cosecha en el que se producen la mayor parte de ellas. A modo de conclusión se pueden agrupar los problemas de calidad según tres orígenes. De origen genético: constricciones, deformaciones, surcos, venas y batatines, estaban presentes en el 63,75 % de la muestra. Así, partiendo de material seleccionado podemos disminuir estos defectos. Daños originados por insectos: El 100 % de las batatas analizadas presento daños por insectos. Combinando prácticas de manejo, se podría reducir el ataque de las principales plagas del cultivo. Los daños originados en poscosecha: las heridas sin cicatrizar acumuladas luego del lavado, representaron el 70% de las raíces, mientras que las abrasiones fueron en su mayoría en el momento de cosecha, posiblemente asociado a la “madurez” de las raíces y a las condiciones de poca humedad del suelo

VST: the telescope progress toward stars

The VST telescope is in an advanced stage of integration in Chile, after a period of work spent mainly on the active optics system, started in mid-2007. We present the results of the recent work on the primary and secondary mirror support systems and on the mirror cell auxiliary units

Author Correction: Accurate detection of circulating tumor DNA using nanopore consensus sequencing

The Data Availability statement in the original version of the paper reads: “The sequencing datasets generated during the current study are available upon request at EGA, under accession number EGAS00001003759”. However, as this data upload was not successful, the authors reuploaded the data under a different accession number and have amended the Data Availability statement to read “The sequencing datasets generated during the current study are available upon request at EGA, under accession number EGAS00001007090”. The original article has been corrected.</p

Accurate detection of circulating tumor DNA using nanopore consensus sequencing

Levels of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in liquid biopsies may serve as a sensitive biomarker for real-time, minimally-invasive tumor diagnostics and monitoring. However, detecting ctDNA is challenging, as much fewer than 5% of the cell-free DNA in the blood typically originates from the tumor. To detect lowly abundant ctDNA molecules based on somatic variants, extremely sensitive sequencing methods are required. Here, we describe a new technique, CyclomicsSeq, which is based on Oxford Nanopore sequencing of concatenated copies of a single DNA molecule. Consensus calling of the DNA copies increased the base-calling accuracy ~60×, enabling accurate detection of TP53 mutations at frequencies down to 0.02%. We demonstrate that a TP53-specific CyclomicsSeq assay can be successfully used to monitor tumor burden during treatment for head-and-neck cancer patients. CyclomicsSeq can be applied to any genomic locus and offers an accurate diagnostic liquid biopsy approach that can be implemented in clinical workflows

Perrault Aux Prises Avec la Fontaine: Imitation, Compétition et Correction Dans Les Fables de Faërne (1699)

Known especially for his fairy tales, Charles Perrault is also the author of the Fables de Faërne (1699). In this French translation of the Neo-Latin volume Fabulae Centum (1564), written by the Italian humanist Gabriel Faerno, Perrault had to position himself against his renowned predecessor Jean de La Fontaine, who had been dominating fable literature for decades. Perrault could either imitate his famous example, or evade it, due to anxiety of influence. To illustrate this inner struggle, we systematically compare both authors’ fables, concentrating our analysis on versification (metre and rhyme), vocabulary and apostrophe. In our comparison, we constantly verify whether any of the resemblances could be attributable to other French, versified fable books read by both Perrault and La Fontaine. Occasionally, this seems to be the case for the anonymous collection L’Esbatement moral des animaux (1578).Vakpublicati

Desmoglein 2 is a substrate of kallikrein 7 in pancreatic cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In a previous report we have demonstrated that the chymotryptic-like serine protease kallikrein 7 (<it>KLK7</it>/hK7) is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer. In normal skin, hK7 is thought to participate in skin desquamation by contributing in the degradation of desmosomal components, such as desmogleins. Thus, the ability of hK7 to degrade desmogleins was assessed and the effect of hK7 expression on desmoglein 2 was examined in cultured pancreatic cancer cells.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The expression of Dsg1, Dsg2, and Dsg3 in pancreatic tissues was examined by immunohistochemistry and their expression in two pancreatic cancer cell lines, BxPC-3 and Panc-1, was determined by western blot analysis. The ability of hK7 to degrade Dsg1 and Dsg2 was investigated using <it>in vitro </it>degradation assays. BxPC-3 cells stably transfected to overexpress hK7 were used to examine the effect of hK7 on cell-surface resident Dsg2.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The levels of immunoreactive Dsg1 and Dsg2 were reduced in pancreatic adenocarcinomas compared with both normal pancreatic and chronic pancreatitis tissues. Among the desmosomal proteins examined, Dsg2 exhibited robust expression on the surface of BxPC-3 cells. When hK7 was overexpressed in this cell line, there was a significant increase in the amount of soluble Dsg2 released into the culture medium compared with vector-transfected control cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A reduction in the amount of the cell adhesion components Dsg1 and Dsg2 in pancreatic tumors suggests that loss of these desmosomal proteins may play a role in pancreatic cancer invasion. Using <it>in vitro </it>degradation assays, both Dsg1 and Dsg2 could be readily proteolyzed by hK7, which is overexpressed in pancreatic adenocarcinomas. The enforced expression of hK7 in BxPC-3 cells that express significant amounts of Dsg2 resulted in a marked increase in the shedding of soluble Dsg2, which is consistent with the notion that aberrant expression of hK7 in pancreatic tumors may result in diminished cell-cell adhesion and facilitate tumor cell invasion.</p

Restoration of plakoglobin expression in bladder carcinoma cell lines suppresses cell migration and tumorigenic potential

The reduction or loss of plakoglobin expression in late-stage bladder cancer has been correlated with poor survival where upregulation of this catenin member by histone deacetylase inhibitors has been shown to accompany tumour suppression in an in vivo model. In this study, we directly addressed the question of the role of plakoglobin in bladder tumorigenesis following restoration, or knockdown of expression in bladder carcinoma cell lines. Restoration of plakoglobin expression resulted in a reduction in migration and suppression of tumorigenic potential in vivo. Immunocytochemistry revealed cytoplasmic and membranous localisation of plakoglobin in transfectants with <1% of cells displaying detectable nuclear localisation of plakoglobin. siRNA knockdown experiments targeting plakoglobin, revealed enhanced migration in all cell lines in the presence and absence of E-cadherin expression. In bladder cell lines expressing low levels of plakoglobin and desmoglein-2, elevated levels of desmoglein-2 were detected following restoration of plakoglobin expression in transfected cell lines. Analysis of wnt signalling revealed no activation event associated with plakoglobin expression in the bladder model. These results show that plakoglobin acts as a tumour suppressor gene in bladder carcinoma cells and the silencing of plakoglobin gene expression in late-stage bladder cancer is a primary event in tumour progression

Comparison of “IN-REC-SUR-E” and LISA in preterm neonates with respiratory distress syndrome: a randomized controlled trial (IN-REC-LISA trial)

Background: Surfactant is a well-established therapy for preterm neonates affected by respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). The goals of different methods of surfactant administration are to reduce the duration of mechanical ventilation and the severity of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD); however, the optimal administration method remains unknown. This study compares the effectiveness of the INtubate-RECruit-SURfactant-Extubate (IN-REC-SUR-E) technique with the less-invasive surfactant administration (LISA) technique, in increasing BPD-free survival of preterm infants. This is an international unblinded multicenter randomized controlled study in which preterm infants will be randomized into two groups to receive IN-REC-SUR-E or LISA surfactant administration. Methods: In this study, 382 infants born at 24+0–27+6&nbsp;weeks’ gestation, not intubated in the delivery room and failing nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) or nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) during the first 24&nbsp;h of life, will be randomized 1:1 to receive IN-REC-SUR-E or LISA surfactant administration. The primary outcome is a composite outcome of death or BPD at 36&nbsp;weeks’ postmenstrual age. The secondary outcomes are BPD at 36&nbsp;weeks’ postmenstrual age; death; pulse oximetry/fraction of inspired oxygen; severe intraventricular hemorrhage; pneumothorax; duration of respiratory support and oxygen therapy; pulmonary hemorrhage; patent ductus arteriosus undergoing treatment; percentage of infants receiving more doses of surfactant; periventricular leukomalacia, severe retinopathy of prematurity, necrotizing enterocolitis, sepsis; total in-hospital stay; systemic postnatal steroids; neurodevelopmental outcomes; and respiratory function testing at 24&nbsp;months of age. Randomization will be centrally provided using both stratification and permuted blocks with random block sizes and block order. Stratification factors will include center and gestational age (24+0 to 25+6&nbsp;weeks or 26+0 to 27+6&nbsp;weeks). Analyses will be conducted in both intention-to-treat and per-protocol populations, utilizing a log-binomial regression model that corrects for stratification factors to estimate the adjusted relative risk (RR). Discussion: This trial is designed to provide robust data on the best method of surfactant administration in spontaneously breathing preterm infants born at 24+0–27+6&nbsp;weeks’ gestation affected by RDS and failing nCPAP or NIPPV during the first 24&nbsp;h of life, comparing IN-REC-SUR-E to LISA technique, in increasing BPD-free survival at 36&nbsp;weeks’ postmenstrual age of life. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05711966. Registered on February 3, 2023

The desmosome and pemphigus

Desmosomes are patch-like intercellular adhering junctions (“maculae adherentes”), which, in concert with the related adherens junctions, provide the mechanical strength to intercellular adhesion. Therefore, it is not surprising that desmosomes are abundant in tissues subjected to significant mechanical stress such as stratified epithelia and myocardium. Desmosomal adhesion is based on the Ca2+-dependent, homo- and heterophilic transinteraction of cadherin-type adhesion molecules. Desmosomal cadherins are anchored to the intermediate filament cytoskeleton by adaptor proteins of the armadillo and plakin families. Desmosomes are dynamic structures subjected to regulation and are therefore targets of signalling pathways, which control their molecular composition and adhesive properties. Moreover, evidence is emerging that desmosomal components themselves take part in outside-in signalling under physiologic and pathologic conditions. Disturbed desmosomal adhesion contributes to the pathogenesis of a number of diseases such as pemphigus, which is caused by autoantibodies against desmosomal cadherins. Beside pemphigus, desmosome-associated diseases are caused by other mechanisms such as genetic defects or bacterial toxins. Because most of these diseases affect the skin, desmosomes are interesting not only for cell biologists who are inspired by their complex structure and molecular composition, but also for clinical physicians who are confronted with patients suffering from severe blistering skin diseases such as pemphigus. To develop disease-specific therapeutic approaches, more insights into the molecular composition and regulation of desmosomes are required