Plant architecture of Paspalum vaginatum schwartz modified by nitrate and ammonium nutrition

Paspalum vaginatum Schwartz plants were grown under greenhouse conditions in a continuous-flow hydroponic culture, containing NO3- or NH4+or NH4NO3 as nitrogen source. After 30 days, the size of aerial biomass and root system decreased significantly when plants were supplied with NH4+as exclusive nitrogen source. Compared to NO3- treatment, reducing and non-reducing sugars were decreasing together with a significant increase in amino acids content. NH4+-nutrition caused tillers to grow toward an orthogravitropic position (average angle of 68° with respect to the horizontal), and with NO3--nutrition, tillers tended to become diagravitropic (average angle of 23°). With NH4NO3 all the parameters measured had values in between those of the other two sources. Thus, the morphologic differences among plants growing in NO3- or NH4+ nutrition confirm the hypothesis that nitrogen source determines the growth habit of tillers in P. vaginatum by modulating the endogenous levels of reducing-non-reducing sugars.

Combined Serum Creatinine and Cystatin C Schwartz Formula Predicts Kidney Function Better than the Combined CKD-EPI Formula in Children.

Background: The combined serum creatinine (SCreat) and cystatin C (CysC) CKD-EPI formula constitutes a new advance for glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimation in adults. Using inulin clearances (iGFRs), the revised SCreat and the combined Schwartz formulas, this study aims to evaluate the applicability of the combined CKD-EPI formula in children. Method: 201 iGFRs for 201 children were analyzed and divided by chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages (iGFRs ≥90 ml/min/1.73 m(2), 90 > iGFRs > 60, and iGFRs ≤59), and by age groups (<10, 10-15, and >15 years). Medians with 95% confidence intervals of bias, precision, and accuracies within 30% of the iGFRs, for all three formulas, were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: For the entire cohort and for all CKD and age groups, medians of bias for the CKD-EPI formula were significantly higher (p < 0.001) and precision was significantly lower than the solely SCreat and the combined SCreat and CysC Schwartz formulas. We also found that using the CKD-EPI formula, bias decreased and accuracy increased while the child age group increased, with a better formula performance above 15 years of age. However, the CKD-EPI formula accuracy is 58% compared to 93 and 92% for the SCreat and combined Schwartz formulas in this adolescent group. Conclusions: The performance of the combined CKD-EPI formula improves in adolescence compared with younger ages. Nevertheless, the CKD-EPI formula performs more poorly than the SCreat and the combined Schwartz formula in pediatric population. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Estudio de la cultura, sus manifestaciones y efectos en una Red Inter-Organizacional

El presente trabajo tiene como propósito el estudio de la cultura, y el impacto que tiene esta en una red inter-organizacional. Para esto se realizó un estudio documental en el cual se hizo una revisión bibliográfica de los principales conceptos relacionados con la cultura y el enfoque de trabajo en red. Asimismo para dar cumplimiento al objetivo de la investigación, se realizó el análisis de varios estudios empíricos que muestran las relaciones entre cultura y redes y que a su vez reflejan las diferentes formas que existen de comprobar la efectividad de una red. Los resultados mostraron que variables de la cultura como la confianza, la comunicación y la similitud de las prácticas culturales influyen en el desempeño y la duración de la red inter-organizacional, de igual forma, se demostró que al momento de escoger un enfoque de trabajo en red, es importante tener en cuenta las diferencias entre las culturas organizacionales de los miembros de la red ya que es necesario hacer un ajuste cultural para garantizar el éxito de la misma.

¿Unha oase de paz en Israel? : Nevé-Shalom-Wahat as Salam : unha escola para a paz. '¿Un oasis de paz en Israel? : Nevé-Shalom-Wahat as Salam : una escuela para la paz'.

Resumen tomado de la revista. Este artículo pertenece al tema monográfico Educación y Derechos Humanos

Schwartz-Jampel Syndrome: a paediatric dentistry approach

Schwartz-Jampel syndrome (SJS) is a rare recessive disorder characterized mainly by myotonia. As the clinical signs and symptoms are manifested in the oromaxillofacial region, paediatric dentists may be first choice of parents that seek information and assistance to their children. A female patient diagnosed with SJS was brought to our clinic for dental treatment with main complain of difficulty on oral hygiene and mastication due to tooth crowding. The treatment included preventive measures, extraction of a supernumerary tooth and the maxillary primary second molars. Furthermore, the patient was referred to orthodontic treatment for correction of tooth crowding. When dealing with children with confirmed diagnosis of SSJ, paediatric dentists should be understand the need of planning the dental treatment considering the characteristics and possible complications associated with the syndrome in order to reduce the risks to patients, especially when surgical procedures are necessary.

A mouse model of Schwartz-Jampel syndrome reveals myelinating Schwann cell dysfunction with persistent axonal depolarization in vitro and distal peripheral nerve hyperexcitability when perlecan is lacking

Congenital peripheral nerve hyperexcitability (PNH) is usually associated with impaired function of voltage-gated K(+) channels (VGKCs) in neuromyotonia and demyelination in peripheral neuropathies. Schwartz-Jampel syndrome (SJS) is a form of PNH that is due to hypomorphic mutations of perlecan, the major proteoglycan of basement membranes. Schwann cell basement membrane and its cell receptors are critical for the myelination and organization of the nodes of Ranvier. We therefore studied a mouse model of SJS to determine whether a role for perlecan in these functions could account for PNH when perlecan is lacking. We revealed a role for perlecan in the longitudinal elongation and organization of myelinating Schwann cells because perlecan-deficient mice had shorter internodes, more numerous Schmidt-Lanterman incisures, and increased amounts of internodal fast VGKCs. Perlecan-deficient mice did not display demyelination events along the nerve trunk but developed dysmyelination of the preterminal segment associated with denervation processes at the neuromuscular junction. Investigating the excitability properties of the peripheral nerve suggested a persistent axonal depolarization during nerve firing in vitro, most likely due to defective K(+) homeostasis, and excluded the nerve trunk as the original site for PNH. Altogether, our data shed light on perlecan function by revealing critical roles in Schwann cell physiology and suggest that PNH in SJS originates distally from synergistic actions of peripheral nerve and neuromuscular junction changes.