The exploration of potato-associated bacteria in the Central Andean Highlands and their application in integrated crop management systems

Potato is the most important food crop after wheat and rice. A changing climate, coupled with a heightened consumer awareness of how food is produced and legislative changes governing the usage of agrochemicals, means that alternative more integrated and sustainable approaches are needed for crop management practices. Bioprospecting in the Central Andean Highlands resulted in the isolation and in vitro screening of 600 bacterial isolates. The best performing isolates, under in vitro conditions, were field trialled in their home countries. Six of the isolates, Pseudomonas sp. R41805 (Bolivia), Pseudomonas palleroniana R43631 (Peru), Bacillus sp. R47065, R47131, Paenibacillus sp. B3a R49541, and Bacillus simplex M3-4 R49538 (Ecuador), showed significant increase in the yield of potato. Using – omic technologies (i.e. volatilomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic), the influence of microbial isolates on plant defence responses was determined. Volatile organic compounds of bacterial isolates were identified using GC/MS. RT-qPCR analysis revealed the significant expression of Ethylene Response Factor 3 (ERF3) and the results of this study suggest that the dual inoculation of potato with Pseudomonas sp. R41805 and Rhizophagus irregularis MUCL 41833 may play a part in the activation of plant defence system via ERF3. The proteomic analysis by 2-DE study has shown that priming by Pseudomonas sp. R41805 can induce the expression of proteins related to photosynthesis and protein folding in in vitro potato plantlets. The metabolomics study has shown that the total glycoalkaloid (TGA) content of greenhouse-grown potato tubers following inoculation with Pseudomonas sp. R41805 did not exceed the acceptable safety limit (200 mg kg-1 FW). As a result of this study, a number of bacteria have been identified with commercial potential that may offer sustainable alternatives in both Andean and European agricultural settings.

ESL teacher profiles of ICT integration in their classroom practices and assessment activities : a portrait viewed through the lens of some Quebec teachers’ social representations

Abstract : Information and communication technologies (ICTs, henceforth) have become ubiquitous in our society. The plethora of devices competing with the computer, from iPads to the Interactive whiteboard, just to name a few, has provided teachers and students alike with the ability to communicate and access information with unprecedented accessibility and speed. It is only logical that schools reflect these changes given that their purpose is to prepare students for the future. Surprisingly enough, research indicates that ICT integration into teaching activities is still marginal. Many elementary and secondary schoolteachers are not making effective use of ICTs in their teaching activities as well as in their assessment practices. The purpose of the current study is a) to describe Quebec ESL teachers’ profiles of using ICTs in their daily teaching activities; b) to describe teachers’ ICT integration and assessment practices; and c) to describe teachers’ social representations regarding the utility and relevance of ICT use in their daily teaching activities and assessment practices. In order to attain our objectives, we based our theoretical framework, principally, on the social representations (SR, henceforth) theory and we defined most related constructs which were deemed fundamental to the current thesis. We also collected data from 28 ESL elementary and secondary school teachers working in public and private sectors. The interview guide used to that end included a range of items to elicit teachers’ SR in terms of ICT daily use in teaching activities as well as in assessment practices. In addition, we carried out our data analyses from a textual statistics perspective, a particular mode of content analysis, in order to extract the indicators underlying teachers’ representations of the teachers. The findings suggest that although almost all participants use a wide range of ICT tools in their practices, ICT implementation is seemingly not exploited to its fullest potential and, correspondingly, is likely to produce limited effects on students’ learning. Moreover, none of the interviewees claim that they use ICTs in their assessment practices and they still hold to the traditional paper-based assessment (PBA, henceforth) approach of assessing students’ learning. Teachers’ common discourse reveals a gap between the positive standpoint with regards to ICT integration, on the one hand, and the actual uses of instructional technology, on the other. These results are useful for better understanding the way ESL teachers in Quebec currently view their use of ICTs, particularly for evaluation purposes. In fact, they provide a starting place for reconsidering the implementation of ICTs in elementary and secondary schools. They may also be useful to open up avenues for the development of a future research program in this regard.

The impact of denture related disease on the oral microbiome of denture wearers

Advances in healthcare over the last 100 years has resulted in an ever increasing elderly population. This presents greater challenges for adequate systemic and oral healthcare delivery. With increasing age there is a natural decline in oral health, leading to the loss of teeth and ultimately for some having to wear denture prosthesis. It is currently estimated that approximately one fifth of the UK and US populations have some form of removable prosthesis. The microbiology of denture induced mucosal inflammation is a pivotal factor to consider in denture care management, similar to many other oral diseases of microbial influence, such as caries, gingivitis and periodontitis. Dentures support the growth of microbial biofilms, structures commonly known as denture plaque. Microbiologically, denture stomatitis (DS) is a disease primarily considered to be of yeast aetiology, with the literature disproportionately focussed on Candida spp. However, the denture surface is capable of carrying up to 1011 microbes per milligram, the majority of which are bacteria. Thus it is apparent that denture plaque is more diverse than we assume. There is a fundamental gap in our understanding of the bacterial composition of denture plaque and the role that they may play in denture related disease such as DS. This is categorised as inflammation of the oral mucosa, a disease affecting around half of all denture wearers. It has been proposed that bacteria and fungi interact on the denture surface and that these polymicrobial interactions lead to synergism and increased DS pathogenesis. Therefore, understanding the denture microbiome composition is the key step to beginning to understand disease pathogenesis, and ultimately help improve treatments and identify novel targets for therapeutic and preventative strategies. A group of 131 patients were included within this study in which they provided samples from their dentures, palatal mucosa, saliva and dental plaque. Microbes residing on the denture surface were quantified using standard Miles and Misra culture technique which investigated the presence of Candida, aerobes and anaerobes. These clinical samples also underwent next generation sequencing using the Miseq Illumina platform to give a more global representation of the microbes present at each of these sites in the oral cavity of these denture wearers. This data was then used to compare the composition and diversity of denture, mucosal and dental plaque between one another, as well as between healthy and diseased individuals. Additional comparisons included denture type and the presence or absence of natural teeth. Furthermore, microbiome data was used to assess differences between patients with varying levels of oral hygiene. The host response to the denture microbiome was investigated by screening the patients saliva for the presence and quantification of a range of antimicrobial peptides that are associated with the oral cavity. Based on the microbiome data an in vitro biofilm model was developed that reflected the composition of denture plaque. These biofilms were then used to assess quantitative and compositional changes over time and in response to denture cleansing treatments. Finally, the systemic implications of denture plaque were assessed by screening denture plaque samples for the presence of nine well known respiratory pathogens using quantitative PCR. The results from this study have shown that the bacterial microbiome composition of denture wearers is not consistent throughout the mouth and varies depending on sample site. Moreover, the presence of natural dentition has a significant impact on the microbiome composition. As for healthy and diseased patients the data suggests that compositional changes responsible for disease progression are occurring at the mucosa, and that dentures may in fact be a reservoir for these microbes. In terms of denture hygiene practices, sleeping with a denture in situ was found to be a common occurrence. Furthermore, significant shifts in denture microbiome composition were found in these individuals when compared to the denture microbiome of those that removed their denture at night. As for the host response, some antimicrobial peptides were found to be significantly reduced in the absence of natural dentition, indicating that the oral immune response is gradually impaired with the loss of teeth. This study also identified potentially serious systemic implications in terms of respiratory infection, as 64.6% of patients carried respiratory pathogens on their denture. In conclusion, this is the first study to provide a detailed understanding of the oral microbiome of denture wearers, and has provided evidence that DS development is more complex than simply a candidal infection. Both fungal and bacterial kingdoms clearly play a role in defining the progression of DS. The biofilm model created in this study demonstrated its potential as a platform to test novel actives. Future use of this model will aid in greater understanding of host: biofilm interactions. Such findings are applicable to oral health and beyond, and may help to identify novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of DS and other biofilm associated diseases.

Relationship between sport commitment and sport consumer behavior

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between sport commitment and three types of sport consumer behaviors: participation frequency, sporting goods and media consumption. A survey was conducted among sport participants of both individual and team sports, fitness and outdoor activities (n= 900). The survey included questions related to demographic information, measures of sport commitment and sport consumption behavior. The results analyzed trough structural equation modeling showed that the sport commitment influences positively the participation frequency, sporting goods consumption and media consumption. Implications of these results are discussed and suggestions for future research on sport consumers are provided.

Mercadeo farmacéutico de productos bajo prescripción: efectos de las estrategias Direct-to-Consumer-Advertising en el comportamiento de los consumidores y de prescripción de los médicos

Este proyecto se origina en el interés de analizar las estrategias actuales de promoción de productos farmacéuticos, en el marco del debate sobre el efecto persuasivo o informativo que la publicidad directa tiene sobre los consumidores. El objetivo es determinar el efecto de las estrategias de promoción directa para consumidores (Direct to Consumer Advertising [DTCA]) sobre el comportamiento de compra de pacientes y las prescripciones que formulan los médicos en el mercado de productos bajo receta en Estados Unidos. Para tal fin se propuso realizar una monografía que incluyera una revisión de literatura de carácter argumentativo, consultando información de nivel secundario en bases de datos científicas cuyos contenidos obedecieran a criterios metodológicos determinados por la naturaleza argumentativa del estudio. Adicionalmente, se analizó el debate sobre estos anuncios a la luz de dos estudios realizados a pacientes con cáncer de seno, próstata y colon, liderados por el Pennsylvania Cancer Registry con los productos biofarmacéuticos Avodart® y Flomax®. Finalmente, la investigación se fundamentó en la relación del mercado farmacéutico en Estados Unidos con cada uno de los agentes que interactúan en él; consumidores, médicos prescriptores y empresas farmacéuticas, así como el valor que estos comparten través de dichas interacciones. Se concluye que el comportamiento de compra de los consumidores está determinado por la naturaleza de la patología que padecen y el comportamiento de los profesionales que prescriben a sus pacientes se ve influenciado por los anuncios DTCA.

Reciclaje de residuos sólidos domésticos y conductas pro-ambientales en una comunidad residencial de Bogotá, Colombia

Introducción: La implicación social dentro de la problemática ambiental, establece una relación causal entre hábitos e impacto ambiental; aspectos del comportamiento humano tales como la conveniencia, familiaridad, presión social y actitud, nos permiten realizar un acercamiento acerca de la decisión de reciclar o no en un hogar. Objetivo: identificar los factores ambientales asociados con el manejo de residuos domésticos entre los miembros de una comunidad residencial en la ciudad de Bogotá. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio transversal realizado a 200 personas de una comunidad residencial. La evaluación de la conducta pro-ambiental se llevó a cabo por medio de la utilización de la Escala del Comportamiento Pro-ambiental desarrollada por Corral-Verdugo unida a la escala de Reciclaje de Sidique. Para el tratamiento estadístico se empleó el análisis de regresión lineal múltiple. Resultados: La mayoría de los encuestados fueron hombres (55%), con una mediana de edad de 37,5 años. Más de la mitad tenía por lo menos formación en pregrado (53%), el 55,5% contaban con un empleo al momento de la entrevista, cerca del 50% de las personas refirieron tener casa propia y la mediana del tamaño de las mismas fue de 80 m2. De los aspectos sociodemográficos, el tipo de vivienda, sexo y edad, estuvieron relacionados con los factores ambientales pro reciclaje. Mientras que las conductas proambientales relacionadas fueron: altruismo, frugalidad, conducta ecológica general, indignación y aprecio por la naturaleza. Conclusiones: Las conductas proambientales Altruismo, Frugalidad, Conducta Ecológica, Indignación y Aprecio por lo natural, están relacionadas con la intención de reciclar. Para futuras investigaciones es necesario constatar la realización del comportamiento proambiental, para aseverar de manera irrebatible que las dimensiones analizadas pueden soportar una acción real y no un auto reporte de una conducta.

Exploration of polymetallic nodules in the Area: Reporting practices, data management and transparency

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) regulates the activities related with the exploration and exploitation of seabed mineral resources in the Area, which are considered as the "common heritage of mankind" under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.The ISA has also the mandate to ensure the protection of the marine environment.The development of good practices for the annual reporting and data submission by Contractors is crucial for the ISA to comply with the sustainable development of the mineral marine resources. In 2015,the ISA issued a new template for reporting on exploration activities, which includes the definition of the format for all geophysical, geological and environmental data to be collected and analysed during exploration. The availability of reliable data contributes to improve the assessment of the ISA on the activities in the Area while promoting transparency, which is considered as a major principle of industry bestpractices.

Creative Practices Around the Production of Cork

Cork, as a natural product provided by the bark of the cork oak tree, is an important staple of the Portuguese economy and important to Portuguese culture. It is a sustainable product with a positive ecological footprint, from harvesting to industrial production, with the advantage of creating a local economic model through regional labour activity and distribution. Within the balance between nature-human-economy to create a sustainable system, cork production in Portugal represents a human and social dimension. By focusing on that dimension and by creating an awareness of the cultural and social impact of the activity and by re-appraising the meaning of the material within the culture, the study reframes a consideration of the actual place of labour and production. The human, geophysical, historical, social, economic, ecological and cultural aspects of the place are observed as regards their relation to work or labour in that physical space. A pilot study is being developed in the village of Azaruja in the district of Évora, Portugal. In this small locality, cork is very important in terms of the relationships between the physical subsistence of their residents and the local natural resources, because it structures the place in its cultural, social and economical dimensions. This paper outlines the theoretical foundations, the process and the outcomes of the participatory ecodesign project titled Creative Practices Around the Production of Cork which was initiated by a Portuguese artist/design researcher and developed further through the collaboration with the other two authors, one a Portuguese visual artist/researcher and the other a Turkish fashion designer/theorist. The investigation focuses on questions that expand the notion of place for artists and designers, filtered through the lenses of manual labourers in order to understand their physical, social, cultural and economic relationship with the environment. To create the process of interaction with the place and the people, a creative collaborative dynamic is developed between the authors with their range of artistic sensibilities and the local population. To adopt a holistic notion of sustainability and cultural identity a process of investigation is designated to: (1) analyse, test and interpret - through the dissemination of life stories, visual representation of the place and the creation of cork objects - the importance of culture related to the labour activity of a local natural resource that determines and structures the region; (2) to give public recognition to those involved, taking into account their sense of belonging to the place and in order to show the value of their sustainable labour activities related to local natural resources; (3) to contribute to the knowledge of the place and to its dynamism through an aesthetic approach to labour activities. With reference to fields of knowledge such as anthropology, the social arts and sustainable design, a practice-based research is conducted with collaborative and participatory design methods to create an open model of interaction which involves local people in the realization of the project. Outcomes of this research will be presented in the paper as a survey analysis with theoretical conclusions.

Wheat proteins evolution and environmental triggers of Wheat-related diseases

Cereals, and in particular wheat, have always been recognized as a fundamental food worldwide. In particular, the success of wheat is linked with unique properties of the gluten protein fraction used in bread making process to obtain products that are widely used in traditional and modern diets. The rapid increase in the world population let to a parallel increases in food production, particularly of wheat. Increasing yield potential and selection of cultivars much more resistant to plant disease and to environmental factors could have negatively affected the quality of the grain. Moreover, the “green revolution” was characterized by a widespread use of agricultural chemicals and by industrialization of food production that led to a huge rise in the consumption of refined products. Modern baking practices have shortened bread leavening, increased the use of chemical/yeast leavening agents and there is well-documented scientific evidence of the negative effects of ultra-processed food in human healthy. All this changes profoundly modified the human diet and, as a result, may have affected Gluten-related disease (GRDs) that has arisen in the whole word populations. Gluten-related diseases (GRDs) are multifactorial pathologies in which environmental factors and genetic background contribute to a low-grade chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Here, I investigated the potential pro-inflammatory effect of different wheat varieties and whether bread making processing are involved in the onset or worsening of gut inflammation. In vitro, ex vivo and in vivo studies conducted throughout my Phd period have shown a pro-inflammatory effect of wheat especially marked in modern varieties and a higher inflammatory response linked to the use of common raising agent as Saccharomyces Cerevisiae and to the addiction of chemical bakery improver substances.

How do Firms ask for Consumers’ Data Permission? The Value of Companies Data Practices.

On May 25, 2018, the EU introduced the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that offers EU citizens a shelter for their personal information by requesting companies to explain how people’s information is used clearly. To comply with the new law, European and non-European companies interacting with EU citizens undertook a massive data re-permission-request campaign. However, if on the one side the EU Regulator was particularly specific in defining the conditions to get customers’ data access, on the other side, it did not specify how the communication between firms and consumers should be designed. This has left firms free to develop their re-permission emails as they liked, plausibly coupling the informative nature of these privacy-related communications with other persuasive techniques to maximize data disclosure. Consequently, we took advantage of this colossal wave of simultaneous requests to provide insights into two issues. Firstly, we investigate how companies across industries and countries chose to frame their requests. Secondly, we investigate which are the factors that influenced the selection of alternative re-permission formats. In order to achieve these goals, we examine the content of a sample of 1506 re-permission emails sent by 1396 firms worldwide, and we identify the dominant “themes” characterizing these emails. We then relate these themes to both the expected benefits firms may derive from data usage and the possible risks they may experience from not being completely compliant to the spirit of the law. Our results show that: (1) most firms enriched their re-permission messages with persuasive arguments aiming at increasing consumers’ likelihood of relinquishing their data; (2) the use of persuasion is the outcome of a difficult tradeoff between costs and benefits; (3) most companies acted in their self-interest and “gamed the system”. Our results have important implications for policymakers, managers, and customers of the online sector.

Abusing data dominance in the digital market. The application of merger control and article 102 TFEU to data-related conducts.

The internet and digital technologies revolutionized the economy. Regulating the digital market has become a priority for the European Union. While promoting innovation and development, EU institutions must assure that the digital market maintains a competitive structure. Among the numerous elements characterizing the digital sector, users’ data are particularly important. Digital services are centered around personal data, the accumulation of which contributed to the centralization of market power in the hands of a few large providers. As a result, data-driven mergers and data-related abuses gained a central role for the purposes of EU antitrust enforcement. In light of these considerations, this work aims at assessing whether EU competition law is well-suited to address data-driven mergers and data-related abuses of dominance. These conducts are of crucial importance to the maintenance of competition in the digital sector, insofar as the accumulation of users’ data constitutes a fundamental competitive advantage. To begin with, part 1 addresses the specific features of the digital market and their impact on the definition of the relevant market and the assessment of dominance by antitrust authorities. Secondly, part 2 analyzes the EU’s case law on data-driven mergers to verify if merger control is well-suited to address these concentrations. Thirdly, part 3 discusses abuses of dominance in the phase of data collection and the legal frameworks applicable to these conducts. Fourthly, part 4 focuses on access to “essential” datasets and the indirect effects of anticompetitive conducts on rivals’ ability to access users’ information. Finally, Part 5 discusses differential pricing practices implemented online and based on personal data. As it will be assessed, the combination of an efficient competition law enforcement and the auspicial adoption of a specific regulation seems to be the best solution to face the challenges raised by “data-related dominance”.

Sustainable futuring. Learning and unlearning the past A critical discourse study of ‘fashion sustainability’-related discursive formations in Vogue Italia (1965-2021)

Recent scholarly works on the relationship between ‘fashion’ and ‘sustainability’ have identified a need for a systemic transition towards fashion media ‘for sustaianbility’. Nevertheless, the academic research on the topic is still limited and rather circumscribed to the analysis of marketing practices, while only recently some more systemic and critical analyses of the symbolic production of sustainability through fashion media have been undertaken. Responding to this need for an in-depth investigation of ‘sustainability’-related media production, my research focuses on the ‘fashion sustainability’-related discursive formations in the context of one of the most influential fashion magazines today – Vogue Italia. In order to investigate the ways in which the ‘sustainability’ discourse was formed and has evolved, the study considered the entire Vogue Italia archive from 1965 to 2021. The data collection was carried out in two phases, and the individualised relevant discursive units were then in-depth and critically analysed to allow for a grounded assessment of the media giant’s position. The Discourse-Historical Approach provided a methodological base for the analysis, which took into consideration the various levels of context: the immediate textual and intertextual, but also the broader socio-cultural context of the predominant, over-production oriented and capital-led fashion system. The findings led to a delineation of the evolution of the ‘fashion sustainability’ discourse, unveiling how despite Vogue Italia’s auto-determination as attentive to ‘sustainability’-related topics, the magazine is systemically employing discursive strategies which significantly mitigate the meaning of the ‘sustainable commitment’ and thus the meaning of ‘fashion sustainability’.

Lung Age Is Related To Carotid Structural Alterations In Hypertensive Subjects.

Hypertensive patients exhibit higher cardiovascular risk and reduced lung function compared with the general population. Whether this association stems from the coexistence of two highly prevalent diseases or from direct or indirect links of pathophysiological mechanisms is presently unclear. This study investigated the association between lung function and carotid features in non-smoking hypertensive subjects with supposed normal lung function. Hypertensive patients (n = 67) were cross-sectionally evaluated by clinical, hemodynamic, laboratory, and carotid ultrasound analysis. Forced vital capacity, forced expired volume in 1 second and in 6 seconds, and lung age were estimated by spirometry. Subjects with ventilatory abnormalities according to current guidelines were excluded. Regression analysis adjusted for age and prior smoking history showed that lung age and the percentage of predicted spirometric parameters associated with common carotid intima-media thickness, diameter, and stiffness. Further analyses, adjusted for additional potential confounders, revealed that lung age was the spirometric parameter exhibiting the most significant regression coefficients with carotid features. Conversely, plasma C-reactive protein and matrix-metalloproteinases-2/9 levels did not influence this relationship. The present findings point toward lung age as a potential marker of vascular remodeling and indicate that lung and vascular remodeling might share common pathophysiological mechanisms in hypertensive subjects.

Diet Carotenoid Lutein Modulates The Expression Of Genes Related To Oxygen Transporters And Decreases Dna Damage And Oxidative Stress In Mice.

Lutein (LT) is a carotenoid obtained by diet and despite its antioxidant activity had been biochemically reported, few studies are available concerning its influence on the expression of antioxidant genes. The expression of 84 genes implicated in antioxidant defense was quantified using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction array. DNA damage was measured by comet assay and glutathione (GSH) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were quantified as biochemical parameters of oxidative stress in mouse kidney and liver. cDDP treatment reduced concentration of GSH and increased TBARS, parameters that were ameliorated in treatment associated with LT. cDDP altered the expression of 32 genes, increasing the expression of GPx2, APC, Nqo1 and CCs. LT changed the expression of 37 genes with an induction of 13 mainly oxygen transporters. In treatments associating cDDP and LT, 30 genes had their expression changed with a increase of the same genes of the cDDP treatment alone. These results suggest that LT might act scavenging reactive species and also inducing the expression of genes related to a better antioxidant response, highlighting the improvement of oxygen transport. This improved redox state of the cell through LT treatment could be related to the antigenotoxic and antioxidant effects observed.

Bisphosphonate-related Osteonecrosis Of The Jaw: A Review Of The Literature.

Bisphosphonates (BPs) are a class of drugs used to treat osteoporosis and malignant bone metastasis. BPs show high binding capacity to the bone matrix, especially in sites of active bone metabolism. The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research defines BRONJ as an area of exposed bone in the maxillofacial region that has not healed within 8 weeks after identification by a healthcare provider in a patient who is receiving or has been exposed to a bisphosphonate and has not had radiation therapy to the craniofacial region. Bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) can adversely affect quality of life, as it may produce significant morbidity. The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) considers as vitally important that information on BRONJ be disseminated to other dental and medical specialties. The purpose of this work is to offer a perspective on how dentists should manage patients on BPs, to show the benefits of accurately diagnosing BRONJ, and to present diagnostic aids and treatments strategies for the condition.