Response of the rat spinal cord to X-ray microbeams

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To quantify the late dose-related responses of the rat cervical spinal cord to X-ray irradiations by an array of microbeams or by a single millimeter beam. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Necks of anesthetized rats were irradiated transversely by an 11mm wide array of 52 parallel, 35μm wide, vertical X-ray microbeams, separated by 210μm intervals between centers. Comparison was made with rats irradiated with a 1.35mm wide single beam of similar X-rays. Rats were killed when paresis developed, or up to 383days post irradiation (dpi). RESULTS: Microbeam peak/valley doses of ≈357/12.7Gy to 715/25.4Gy to an 11mm long segment of the spinal cord, or single beam doses of ≈146-454Gy to a 1.35mm long segment caused foreleg paresis and histopathologically verified spinal cord damage; rats exposed to peak/valley doses up to 253/9Gy were paresis-free at 383dpi. CONCLUSIONS: Whereas microbeam radiation therapy [MRT] for malignant gliomas implanted in rat brains can be safe, palliative or curative, the high tolerance of normal rat spinal cords to similar microbeam exposures justifies testing MRT for autochthonous malignancies in the central nervous system of larger animals with a view to subsequent clinical applications.

Clinical, laboratory and pathological findings in dogs experimentally infected with Angiostrongylus vasorum

The aim of this comparative study was to investigate the development of clinical signs and accompanying haematological, coproscopic and pathological findings as a basis for the monitoring of health condition of Angiostrongylus vasorum infected dogs. Six beagles were orally inoculated with 50 (n=3) or 500 (n=3) A. vasorum third stage larvae (L3) obtained from experimentally infected Biomphalaria glabrata snails. Two dogs were treated with moxidectin/imidacloprid spot-on solution and two further dogs with an oral experimental compound 92 days post infection (dpi), and were necropsied 166 dpi. Two untreated control dogs were necropsied 97 dpi. Prepatency was 47-49 days. Dogs inoculated with 500 L3 exhibited earlier (from 42 dpi) and more severe respiratory signs. Clinical signs resolved 12 days after treatment and larval excretion stopped within 20 days in all four treated dogs. Upon necropsy, 10 and 170 adult worms were recovered from the untreated dogs inoculated with 50 and 500 L3, respectively. Adult worms were also found in two treated dogs, in the absence of L1 or eggs. Despite heavy A. vasorum infection load and severe pulmonary changes including vascular thrombosis, only mild haematological changes were observed. Eosinophilia was absent but the presence of plasma cells was observed. Neutrophilic leucocytes showed a transient increase but only after treatment. Signs for coagulopathies were slight; nevertheless coagulation parameters were inoculation dose dependent. Ten weeks after treatment pulmonary fibrosis was still present. Infections starting from 50 L3 of A. vasorum had a massive impact on lung tissues and therefore on the health of affected dogs, particularly after prepatency, although only mild haematological abnormalities were evident.

Inhibition by interferon-gamma of human mononuclear cell-mediated low density lipoprotein oxidation. Participation of tryptophan metabolism along the kynurenine pathway

In this study we examined the potential inhibition by interferon-gamma (IFN gamma) of the early stages of low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation mediated by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) in Ham's F-10 medium supplemented with physiological amounts of L-tryptophan (Trp). We assessed LDL oxidation by measuring the consumption of LDL's major antioxidant (i.e., alpha-tocopherol) and targets for oxidation (cholesteryllinoleate and cholesterylarachidonate), together with the accumulation of cholesterylester hydroperoxides and the increase in relative electrophoretic mobility of the lipoprotein particle. Exposure of PBMC or MDM to IFN gamma induced the degradation of extracellular Trp with concomitant accumulation of kynurenine, anthranilic and 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid (3HAA) in the culture medium. Formation of 3HAA, but neither Trp degradation nor formation of kynurenine and anthranilic acid, was inhibited by low amounts of diphenylene iodonium (DPI) in a concentration-dependent manner. In contrast to oxidative Trp metabolism, exposure of human PBMC or MDM to IFN gamma failed to induce degradation of arginine, and nitrite was not detected in the cell supernatant, indicating that nitric oxide synthase was not induced under these conditions. Incubation of LDL in Trp-supplemented F-10 medium resulted in a time-dependent oxidation of the lipoprotein that was accelerated in the presence of PBMC or MDM but inhibited strongly in the presence of both cells and IFN gamma, i.e., when Trp degradation and formation of 3HAA were induced. In contrast, when IFN gamma was added to PBMC or MDM in F-10 medium that was virtually devoid of Trp, inhibition of cell-accelerated LDL oxidation was not observed. Exogenous 3HAA added to PBMC or purified monocytes in the absence of IFN gamma also strongly and in a concentration-dependent manner inhibited LDL oxidation. Selective inhibition of IFN gamma-induced formation of 3HAA by DPI caused reversion of the inhibitory action of this cytokine on both PBMC- and MDM-mediated LDL oxidation. These results show that IFN gamma treatment of human PBMC or MDM in vitro attenuates the extent of LDL oxidation caused by these cells, and indicate that Trp degradation with formation of 3HAA is a major contributing factor to this inhibitory activity.

Prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy of nitazoxanide against Cryptosporidium parvum in experimentally challenged neonatal calves

Diarrhoea caused by Cryptosporidium parvum is a major problem in calves younger than 4 weeks of age. To date only a few compounds have been approved for prophylactic and none for therapeutic use. Nitazoxanide (NTZ) has proven its efficacy in vitro against C. parvum and is approved by FDA for the treatment of human cryptosporidiosis. In a first experimental study, 3 uninfected calves were treated with NTZ and pharmacokinetics was followed through blood samples. Serum samples of uninfected treated calves contained both NTZ metabolites (tizoxanide and tizoxanide glucuronide) and oral administration at 12 h intervals was considered as optimal. Three groups of three calves (1-3 days old) were then each inoculated with 1x10(7) oocysts of C. parvum (cattle genotype): the prophylactic group received 15 mg/kg body weight NTZ twice daily orally in milk from 1 day before to 8 days postinoculation (dpi). The therapeutic group received the same dosage of NTZ for 10 days from the appearance of diarrhoea (between 1 and 5 dpi). The control group was left untreated. All calves were monitored daily from day -1 to 28 dpi and faecal samples were collected for evaluation of consistency and for determination of oocyst numbers per gram (OPG) of faeces. Diarrhoea was observed in all calves within the first week. Neither prophylactic nor therapeutic use of NTZ improved the clinical appearance and calves of the therapeutic showed a longer diarrheic episode (p<0.05) with strong altered faecal consistency compared to the untreated control group. The number of days with oocyst excretion did not differ significantly between the groups. In 5 out of 6 infected and treated calves oocyst excretion stopped only after discontinuation of treatment. In the prophylactic and in the control group mean values of the sum of the daily OPG per calf (8.5x10(6) and 8.0x10(6), respectively) and of the mean daily number of OPG (0.3x10(6) and 0.3x10(6), respectively) were similar, while the therapeutic group showed significantly lower values (1.9x10(6) and 0.06x10(6), respectively, p<0.05). However oocyst determinations in this group may have been altered by the severe diarrhoea, diluting oocyst densities in the analysed faecal samples. In conclusion, these preliminary results about the first prophylactic and therapeutic use of NTZ in calves did not show the expected positive effect on the course of the Cryptosporidium-infection, neither on reducing the clinical severity, nor on oocyst excretion.

Measurement of the cross-section for W boson production in association with b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper reports a measurement of the W+b-jets (W+b+X and W+b (b) over bar +X) production cross-section in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV at the LHC. These results are based on data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1), collected with the ATLAS detector. Cross-sections are presented as a function of jet multiplicity and of the transverse momentum of the leading b-jet for both the muon and electron decay modes of the W boson. The W+b-jets cross-section, corrected for all known detector effects, is quoted in a limited kinematic range. Combining the muon and electron channels, the fiducial cross-section for W+b-jets is measured to be 7.1 +/- 0.5 (stat) +/- 1.4 (syst) pb, consistent with the next-to-leading order QCD prediction, corrected for non-perturbative and double-parton interactions (DPI) contributions, of 4.70 +/- 0.09 (stat) (+0.60)(-0.49) (scale) +/- 0.06 (PDF) +/- 0.16 (non-pert) (+0.52)(-0.38) (DPI) pb.

Mitochondrial dysfunction leads to NOX activation: A novel mechanism to maintain high glycolysis in cancer cells

Increased glycolysis and oxidative stress are common features of cancer cells. These metabolic alterations are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and can be caused by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations, oncogenic signals, loss of tumor suppressor, and tumor tissue hypoxia. It is well established that mitochondria play central roles in energy metabolism, maintenance of redox balance, and regulation of apoptosis. However, the biochemical and molecular mechanisms that maintain high glycolysis in cancer cells (the Warburg effect) with mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress remain to be determined. The major goals of this study were to establish a unique experimental system in which the mitochondrial respiratory function can be regulated as desired, and to use this system to investigate the mechanistic link between mitochondrial dysfunction and the Warburg effect along with oxidative stress in cancer cells. To achieve these goals, I have established a tetracycline-inducible system in which a dominant negative form of mitochondrial DNA polymerase y (POLGdn) expression could be regulated by tetracycline; thus controlling mitochondrial respiratory function. Using this cell system, I demonstrated that POLGdn expression resulted in mitochondrial dysfunction through decreasing mtDNA content, depletion of mtDNA encoded mRNA and protein expression. This process was mediated by TFAM proteasome degradation. Mitochondrial dysfunction mediated by POLGdn expression led to a significant increase in cellular glycolysis and oxidative stress. Surprisingly, mitochondrial dysfunction also resulted in increased NAD(P)H oxidase (NOX) enzyme activity, which was shown to be essential for maintaining high glycolysis. Chemical Inhibition of NOX activity by diphenyliodonium (DPI) preferentially impacted the survival of mitochondrial defective cells. The colon cancer HCT116-/- cells that have lost transcriptional regulation of the mitochondrial assembling enzyme SCO2, leading to compromised mitochondrial respiratory function, were found to have increased NOX activity and were highly sensitive to DPI treatment. Ovarian epithelial cells with Ras transformation also exhibited an increase in NOX gene expression and NOX enzyme activity, rendering the cells sensitive to DPI inhibition especially under hypoxic condition. These data together suggest that NOX plays a novel role in maintaining high glycolysis in cancer cells with mitochondrial defects, and that NOX may be a potential target for cancer therapy. ^

Proposal of a dynamic performance index to analyze driving pattern effect on car emissions

The contributions of driver behaviour as well as surrounding infrastructure are decisive on pollutant emissions from vehicles in real traffic situations. This article deals with the preliminary study of the interaction between the dynamic variables recorded in a vehicle (driving pattern) and pollutant emissions produced over a given urban route. It has been established a “dynamic performance index”-DPI, which is calculated from some driving pattern parameters, which in turn depends on traffic congestion level and route characteristics, in order to determine whether the driving has been aggressive, normal or calm. Two passenger cars instrumented with a portable activity measurement system -to record dynamic variables- and on-board emission measurement equipment have been used. This study has shown that smooth driving patterns can reduce up to 80% NOX emissions and up to 20% of fuel in the same route

Control of a Nonlinear Teleoperation System by State Convergence

In this work, we proposes a control strategy that allows the remote manipulator follow the local manipulator through the state convergence even if it has a delay in the communication channel. The bilateral control of the teleoperator system considers the case were the human operator applies a constant force on the local manipulator and when the interaction of the remote manipulator with the environment is considered passive. The stability analysis was performed using Lyapunov- Krasovskii functional, it showed for the case with constant delay, that using a proposed control algorithm by state convergence resulted in asymptotically stable, local and remote the nonlinear teleoperation system.

Control of a Teleoperation System by State Convergence with Variable Time Delay

In this paper, we propose a novel control scheme for bilateral teleoperation of n degree-of-freedom (DOF) nonlinear robotic systems with time-varying communication delay. We consider that the human operator contains a constant force on the local manipulator. The local and remote manipulators are coupled using state convergence control scheme. By choosing a Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, we show that the local-remote teleoperation system is asymptotically stable. It is also shown that, in the case of reliable communication protocols, the proposed scheme guarantees that the remote manipulator tracks the delayed trajectory of the local manipulator. The time delay of communication channel is assumed to be unknown and randomly time varying, but the upper bounds of the delay interval and the derivative of the delay are assumed to be known.

Stability Analysis of Teleoperation System by State Convergence with Variable Time Delay

We propose a novel control scheme for bilateral teleoperation of n degree-of-freedom (DOF) nonlinear robotic systems with time-varying communication delay. A major contribution from this work lies in the demonstration that the structure of a state convergence algorithm can be also applied to nth-order nonlinear teleoperation systems. By choosing a Lyapunov Krasovskii functional, we show that the local-remote teleoperation system is asymptotically stable. The time delay of communication channel is assumed to be unknown and randomly time varying, but the upper bounds of the delay interval and the derivative of the delay are assumed to be known.

Effects of radiation losses on very lean methane/air flames propagating upward in a vertical tube

The stationary upward propagation of a very lean methane/air flame in a long vertical tube open at the bottom and closed at the top is simulated numerically using a single overall chemical reaction to model combustion and assuming an optically thin gas and a transparent or non-reflecting tube wall to approximately account for radiation losses from CO2CO2 and H2OH2O. Buoyancy plays a dominant role in the propagation of these flames and causes a large region of low velocity of the burnt gas relative to the flame to appear below the flame front when the equivalence ratio is decreased. The size of this region scales with the radius of the tube, and its presence enhances the effect of radiation losses, which would be otherwise negligible for a standard flammability tube, given the small concentration of radiating species. Heat conduction is found to be important in the low velocity region and to lead to a conduction flux from the flame to the burnt gas that causes extinction at the flame tip for a value of the equivalence ratio near the flammability limit experimentally measured in the standard tube. The effect of radiation losses decreases with the radius of the tube. Numerical results and order-of-magnitude estimates show that, in the absence of radiation, a very lean flame front fails to propagate only after recirculation of the burnt gas extends to its reaction region and drastically changes its structure. This condition is not realized for the standard flammability tube, but it seems to account for the flammability limit measured in a tube of about half the radius of the standard tube.

Expresión de la resistencia en plantas de tomate a nematodos formadores de nódulos (Meloidogyne javanica)

La resistencia genética mediada por los genes R es uno de los sistemas de defensa de las plantas frente a patógenos y se activa una vez que los patógenos han superado la defensa basal que otorgan la cutícula y pared celular. Los mecanismos de resistencia genética se inician a su vez, por el reconocimiento de productos derivados de genes de avirulencia de los patógenos (avr) por parte de las proteínas R. Tanto la respuesta de defensa basal como la respuesta de defensa por genes R están influenciadas por patrones de regulación hormonal, que incluye a las principales hormonas vegetales ácido salicílico (SA), ácido jasmónico (JA) y etileno (ET). En tomate (Solanum lycopersicum) uno de los genes R es el gen MiG1, que confiere resistencia a nematodos formadores de nódulos (Meloidogyne javanica, M. incognita y M. arenaria). Uno de los eventos más importantes que caracterizan a la respuesta de resistencia es la reacción hipersensible (HR), que está mediada por la activación temprana de una serie de sistemas enzimáticos, entre los que destaca el de las peroxidasas (PRXs) Clase III. Su función es importante tanto para limitar el establecimiento y expansión del nematodo, al generar ambientes altamente tóxicos por su contribución en la producción masiva de ROS, como por su implicación en la síntesis y depósito de lignina generando barreras estructurales en el sitio de infección. Además de estos mecanismos de defensa asociados a la resistencia constitutiva, las plantas pueden desarrollar resistencia sistémica adquirida (SAR) que en la naturaleza ocurre, en ocasiones, en una fase posterior a que la planta haya sufrido el ataque de un patógeno. Así mismo hay diferentes productos de origen químico como el benzotiadiazol o BTH (ácido S-metil benzol-(1,2,3)-tiadiozole-7-carbónico ester) que pueden generar esta misma respuesta SAR. Como resultado, la planta adquiere resistencia sistémica frente a nuevos ataques de patógenos. En este contexto, el presente trabajo aborda en primer lugar el análisis comparativo, mediante microarrays de oligonucleótidos, de los transcriptomas de los sistemas radicales de plantas de tomate de 8 semanas de edad de dos variedades, una portadora del gen de resistencia MiG1 (Motelle) y otra carente del mismo y, por tanto, susceptible (Moneymaker), antes y después de la infección por M. javanica. Previo a la infección se observó que la expresión de un gran número de transcritos era más acusada en la variedad resistente que en la susceptible, entre ellos el propio gen MiG1 o los genes PrG1 (o P4), LEJA1 y ER24, lo que indica que, en ausencia de infección, las rutas hormonales del SA, JA y ET están más activas en la raíz de la variedad resistente. Por el contrario, un número mucho menor de transcritos presentaban su expresión más reducida en Motelle que en Moneymaker, destacando un gen de señalización para sintetizar la hormona giberelina (GA). La infección por M. javanica causa importantes cambios transcripcionales en todo el sistema radical que modifican sustancialmente las diferencias basales entre plantas Motelle y Moneymaker, incluida la sobreexpresión en la variedad resistente de los transcritos de MiG1, que se reduce parcialmente, mientras que las rutas hormonales del SA y el JA continuan más activas que en la susceptible (evidente por los genes PrG1 y LEJA1). Además, los cambios asociados a la infección del nematodo se evidencian por las grandes diferencias entre los dos tiempos post-infección considerados, de tal forma que en la fase temprana (2 dpi) de la interacción compatible predomina la sobreexpresión de genes de pared celular y en la tardía (12 dpi) los relacionados con el ARN. En el análisis de la interacción incompatible, aunque también hay muchas diferencias entre ambas fases, hay que destacar la expresión diferencial común de los genes loxA y mcpi (sobrexpresados) y del gen loxD (reprimido) por su implicación en defensa en otras interacciones planta-patógeno. Cabe destacar que entre las interacciones compatible e incompatible hubo muy pocos genes en común. En la etapa temprana de la interacción compatible destacó la activación de genes de pared celular y la represión de la señalización; en cambio, en la interacción incompatible hubo proteínas principalmente implicadas en defensa. A los 12 días, en la interacción compatible los genes relacionados con el ARN y la pared celular se sobreexpresaban principalmente, y se reprimían los de proteínas y transporte, mientras que en la incompatible se sobreexpresaron los relacionados con el estrés, el metabolismo secundario y el de hormonas y se reprimieron los de ARN, señalización, metabolismo de hormonas y proteínas. Por otra parte, la técnica de silenciamiento génico VIGS reveló que el gen TGA 1a está implicado en la resistencia mediada por el gen MiG1a M. javanica. Así mismo se evaluó el transcriptoma de todo el sistema radical de la variedad susceptible tras la aplicación del inductor BTH, y se comparó con el transcriptoma de la resistente. Los resultados obtenidos revelan que el tratamiento con BTH en hojas de Moneymaker ejerce notables cambios transcripcionales en la raíz; entre otros, la activación de factores de transcripción Myb (THM16 y THM 27) y del gen ACC oxidasa. Las respuestas inducidas por el BTH parecen ser de corta duración ya que no hubo transcritos diferenciales comunes a las dos fases temporales de la infección comparadas (2 y 12 dpi). El transcriptoma de Moneymaker tratada con BTH resultó ser muy diferente al de la variedad resistente Motelle, ambas sin infectar, destacando la mayor expresión en el primero del gen LeEXP2, una expansina relacionada con defensa frente a nematodos. Las respuestas inducidas por los nematodos en Moneymaker-BTH también fueron muy distintas a las observadas previamente en la interacción incompatible mediada por MiG1, pues sólo se detectaron 2 genes sobreexpresados comunes a ambos eventos. Finalmente, se abordó el estudio de la expresión diferencial de genes que codifican PRXs y su relación con la resistencia en la interacción tomate/M. javanica. Para ello, se realizó en primer lugar el estudio del análisis del transcriptoma de tomate de la interacción compatible, obtenido en un estudio previo a partir de tejido radical infectado en distintos tiempos de infección. Se han identificado 16 unigenes de PRXs con expresión diferencial de los cuales 15 se relacionan por primera vez con la respuesta a la infección de nematodos. La mayoría de los genes de PRXs identificados, 11, aparecen fuertemente reprimidos en el sitio de alimentación, en las células gigantes (CG). Dada la implicación directa de las PRXs en la activación del mecanismo de producción de ROS, la supresión de la expresión génica local de genes de PRXs en el sitio de establecimiento y alimentación pone de manifiesto la capacidad del nematodo para modular y superar la respuesta de defensa de la planta de tomate en la interacción compatible. Posteriormente, de estos genes identificados se han elegido 4: SGN-U143455, SGN-U143841 y SGN-U144042 reprimidos en el sitio de infección y SGN-U144671 inducido, cuyos cambios de expresión se han determinado mediante análisis por qRT-PCR y de hibridación in situ en dos tiempos de infección (2 dpi y 4 dpi) y en distintos tejidos radicales de tomate resistente y susceptible. Los patrones de expresión obtenidos demuestran que en la interacción incompatible la transcripción global de los 4 genes estudiados se dispara en la etapa más temprana en el sitio de infección, detectándose la localización in situ de transcritos en el citoplasma de las células corticales de la zona meristemática afectadas por el nematodo. A 4 dpi se observó que los niveles de expresión en el sitio de infección cambian de tendencia y los genes SGN-U144671 y SGN-U144042 se reprimen significativamente. Los diferentes perfiles de expresión de los genes PRXs en los dos tiempos de infección sugieren que su inducción en las primeras 48 horas es crucial para la respuesta de defensa relacionada con la resistencia frente a la invasión del nematodo. Por último, al analizar el tejido radical sistémico, se detectó una inducción significativa de la expresión en la fase más tardía de la infección del gen SGN-U144042 en el genotipo susceptible y del SGN-U143841 en ambos genotipos. En este estudio se describe por primera vez la inducción de la expresión sistémica de genes de PRXs en tomate durante la interacción compatible e incompatible con M. javanica lo que sugiere su posible implicación funcional en la respuesta de defensa SAR activada por la infección previa del nematodo. ABSTRACT Plants defend themselves from pathogens by constitutive and/or induced defenses. A common type of induced defense involves plant resistance genes (R), which are normally activated in response to attack by specific pathogen species. Typically, a specific plant R protein recognizes a specific pathogen avirulence (avr) compound. This initiates a complex biochemical cascade inside the plant that results in synthesis of antipathogen compounds. This response can involve chemical signaling, transcription, translation, enzymes and metabolism, and numerous plant hormones such as salicylic acid (SA), jasmonates (JA) and ethylene (ET). Induced plant defense can also activate Class III peroxidases (PRXs), which produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), regulate extracellular H2O2, and play additional roles in plant defense. R-gene activation and the resulting induced defense often remain localized in the specific tissues invaded by the plant pathogen. In other cases, the plant responds by signaling the entire plant to produce defense compounds (systemic induction). Plant defense can also be induced by the exogenous application of natural or synthetic elicitors, such as benzol-(1,2,3)-thiadiazole-7-carbothionic acid. There is much current scientific interest in R-genes and elicitors, because they might be manipulated to increase agricultural yield. Scientists also are interested in systemic induction, because this allows the entire plant to be defended. In this context, one of the aims of this investigation was the transcriptoma analysis of the root systems of two varieties of tomato, the resistant variety (Motelle) that carrier MiG1 and the susceptible (Moneymaker) without MiG1, before and after infection with M. javanica. The overexpression was more pronounced in the transcriptoma of the resistant variety compared with susceptible, before infection, including the MiG1 gene, PrG1 (or P4) genes, LEJA1 and ER24, indicating that hormone SA, JA and ET are active in the resistant variety. Moreover, GA hormone presents an opposite behavior. M. javanica infection causes significant transcriptional changes in both compatible (Moneymaker-M. javanica) and incompatible (Motelle-M. javanica) interaction. In the incompatible transcriptome root system, was notably reduced the expression of the MiG1 gene, and a continuity in the expression of the hormonal pathways of SA and JA. In other hand, transcriptional profile changes during compatible interaction were associated with nematode infection. The large differences between the two times point infection considered (2 dpi and 12 dpi) indicates an overexpression of cell wall related genes in the first phase, and conversely an overexpression of RNA genes in the late phase. Transcriptoma analysis of incompatible interaction, although there were differences between the two phases, should be highlighted the common differential gene expression: loxA and mcpi (overexpressed) and loxD gene (suppressed), as they are involved in defenses in other plant-pathogen interactions. The VIGS tool has provided evidence that TGA 1a is involved in MiG1 mediated resistance to M. javanica. Likewise, the systemic application of BTH was assessed and compared with susceptible and resistant variety. Root system transcriptoma of BTH treatment on leaves showed the activation of Myb transcription factors (THM16 and THM27), the ACC oxidase gene. and the LeEXP2 gene, encoding for an expansin enzyme, related with defense against nematodes. The activation appears to be reduced by subsequent infection and establishment of nematodes. To assist in elucidate the role of tomato PRXs in plant defence against M. javanica, the transcriptome obtained previously from isolated giant cells (GC) and galls at 3 and 7 dpi from the compatible interaction was analysed. A total of 18 different probes corresponding to 16 PRX encoding genes were differentially expressed in infection site compared to the control uninfected root tissues. Most part of them (11) was down-regulated. These results yielded a first insight on 15 of the PRX genes responding to tomato–Meloidogyne interaction and confirm that repression of PRX genes might be crucial for feeding site formation at the initial stages of infection. To study the involvement of PRX genes in resistance response, four genes have been selected: SGN-U143455, SGN-U143841 and SGN-U144042 consistently down-regulated and SGN-U144671 consistently up-regulated at infection site in compatible interaction. The expression changes were determined by qRT-PCR and in situ location at 2 dpi and 4 dpi, and in different root tissues of resistant and susceptible plants. Early upon infection (2 dpi), the transcripts levels of the four genes were strongly increased in infected tissue of resistant genotype. In situ hybridization showed transcript accumulation of them in meristem cortical cells, where the nematode made injury. The results obtained provide strong evidence that early induction of PRX genes is important for defence response of the resistance against nematode invasion. Moreover, the induction patterns of SGN-U144042 gene observed at 4 dpi in distal noninfected root tissue into the susceptible genotype and of SGN-U143841 gene in both genotypes suggest a potential involvement of PRX in the systemic defence response.

A continuum damage model characterization based on the soft tissue mesostructure

Material properties of soft tissues are highly conditioned by the hierarchical structure of this kind of composites. These collagen-based tissues present a complex framework of fibres, fibrils, tropocollagen molecules and amino-acids. As the structural mechanisms that control the degradation of soft tissues are related with the behaviour of its fundamental constituents, the relationship between the molecular and intermolecular properties and the tissue behaviour needs to be studied.

Cuantificación de incertidumbres en el trasvase de tráfico de mercancías en ejes de transporte

El objetivo del trabajo es el desarrollo de un simulador del proceso de trasvase de mercancías de la carretera al ferrocarril en ejes de transporte seleccionados, con la estimación de la incertidumbre en cada una de las etapas en las que se descompone el proceso con el horizonte del año 2020. Las etapas son: estimación del tráfico terrestre -carretera y ferrocarril- de mercancías (total y por tipos) y en los ejes de transporte seleccionados, estimación de los factores de ocupación en ambos modos, estimación de las proporciones de trasvase modal (total y por tipos) en cada eje y finalmente la estimación del impacto medioambiental de las toneladas trasvasadas, en términos de emisiones contaminantes en toneladas de CO, CO2, NOx, CH4, NH3, etc. Cada una de estas estimaciones presenta incertidumbre, que debe ser cuantificada a través de un enfoque estadístico, de forma que la incertidumbre de la variable final o respuesta del proceso (emisiones) recoja la propagación de las incertidumbres a través de las etapas, para las que se proporcionan horquillas. El cálculo de la propagación de las incertidumbres no es factible analíticamente y por ello se recurre a la simulación estocástica de Monte Carlo. En este trabajo se presenta la metodología para la cuantificación de incertidumbre de los factores que intervienen en el proceso de trasvase de mercancías de la carretera a otro modo (ferrocarril).

Flota de vehículos aéreos para fotografía de alta resolución en aplicaciones de agricultura de precisión. Proyecto RHEA.

El proyecto RHEA se basa en la cooperación entre vehículos autónomos de tierra y aire con el objetivo de realizar ciertas tareas asociadas al ámbito de la agricultura de precisión. En concreto, la eliminación selectiva de malas hierbas a partir de su identificación basada en fotografía aérea de alta resolución y baja altura. El objetivo del presente trabajo es el de describir la flota de vehículos aéreos encargados de la adquisición de las imágenes, tanto desde el punto de vista de las unidades específicamente desarrolladas para este proyecto como de la aplicación software desarrollada para tal efecto.