Domains of expansin gene expression define growth regions in the shoot apex of tomato

Expansins are members of a multigene family of extracellular proteins, which increase cell wall extensibility in vitro and thus are thought to be involved in cell expansion. The major significance of the presence of this large gene family may be that distinctly expressed genes can independently regulate cell expansion in place and time. Here we report on LeExp9, a new expansin gene from tomato, and compare its expression in the shoot tip with that of LeExp2 and LeExp18. LeExp18 gene is expressed in very young tissues of the tomato shoot apex and the transcript levels are upregulated in the incipient primordium. LeExp2 mRNA accumulated in more mature tissues and transcript levels correlated with cell elongation in the elongation zone. In situ hybridization experiments showed a uniform distribution of LeExp9 mRNA in submeristematic tissues. When gibberellin-deficient mutant tomatoes that lacked elongation of the internodes were treated with gibberellin, the phenotypic rescue was correlated with an increase in LeExp9 and LeExp2, but not LeExp18 levels. We propose that the three expansins define three distinct growing zones in the shoot tip. In the meristem proper, gibberellin-independent LeExp18 mediates the cell expansion that accompanies cell division. In the submeristematic zone, LeExp9 mediates cell expansion at a time that cell division comes to a halt. LeExp9 expression requires gibberellin but the hormone is not normally limiting. Finally, LeExp2 mediates cell elongation in young stem tissue. LeExp2 expression is limited by the available gibberellin. These data suggest that regulation of cell wall extensibility is controlled, at least in part, by differential regulation of expansin genes.

Rethinking science for sustainable development: Reflexive interaction for a paradigm transformation

If we postulate a need for the transformation of society towards sustainable development, we also need to transform science and overcome the fact/value split that makes it impossible for science to be accountable to society. The orientation of this paradigm transformation in science has been under debate for four decades, generating important theoretical concepts, but they have had limited impact until now. This is due to a contradictory normative science policy framing that science has difficulties dealing with, not least of all because the dominant framing creates a lock-in. We postulate that in addition to introducing transdisciplinarity, science needs to strive for integration of the normative aspect of sustainable development at the meta-level. This requires a strategically managed niche within which scholars and practitioners from many different disciplines can engage in a long-term common learning process, in order to become a “thought collective” (Fleck) capable of initiating the paradigm transformation. Arguing with Piaget that “decentration” is essential to achieve normative orientation and coherence in a learning collective, we introduce a learning approach—Cohn's “Theme-Centred Interaction”—which provides a methodology for explicitly working with the objectivity and subjectivity of statements and positions in a “real-world” context, and for consciously integrating concerns of individuals in their interdependence with the world. This should enable a thought collective to address the epistemological and ethical barriers to science for sustainable development.

Protocol for a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial investigating sacral neuromodulation for neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction

BACKGROUND Sacral neuromodulation has become a well-established and widely accepted treatment for refractory non-neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction, but its value in patients with a neurological cause is unclear. Although there is evidence indicating that sacral neuromodulation may be effective and safe for treating neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction, the number of investigated patients is low and there is a lack of randomized controlled trials. METHODS AND DESIGN This study is a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind multicenter trial including 4 sacral neuromodulation referral centers in Switzerland. Patients with refractory neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction are enrolled. After minimally invasive bilateral tined lead placement into the sacral foramina S3 and/or S4, patients undergo prolonged sacral neuromodulation testing for 3-6 weeks. In case of successful (defined as improvement of at least 50% in key bladder diary variables (i.e. number of voids and/or number of leakages, post void residual) compared to baseline values) prolonged sacral neuromodulation testing, the neuromodulator is implanted in the upper buttock. After a 2 months post-implantation phase when the neuromodulator is turned ON to optimize the effectiveness of neuromodulation using sub-sensory threshold stimulation, the patients are randomized in a 1:1 allocation in sacral neuromodulation ON or OFF. At the end of the 2 months double-blind sacral neuromodulation phase, the patients have a neuro-urological re-evaluation, unblinding takes place, and the neuromodulator is turned ON in all patients. The primary outcome measure is success of sacral neuromodulation, secondary outcome measures are adverse events, urodynamic parameters, questionnaires, and costs of sacral neuromodulation. DISCUSSION It is of utmost importance to know whether the minimally invasive and completely reversible sacral neuromodulation would be a valuable treatment option for patients with refractory neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction. If this type of treatment is effective in the neurological population, it would revolutionize the management of neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction. TRIAL REGISTRATION TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER http://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Identifier: NCT02165774.

The legacy of Israel : essays

by Sir George Adam Smith ... ; planned by ... Israel Abrahams and ed. by Edwyn R. Bevan ... With an introduction by the master of Balliol

A Country Big Enough to Disappear in

Essay on the work of documentary photographer Katrin Koenning and a meditation on the interplay of memory, place and self in everyday life.

[Ventricular assist device – Possibilities of long-term mechanical circulatory support]

In Switzerland 200’000 people suffer from congestive heart failure. Approximately 10’000 patients find themselves in an advanced state of the disease. When conservative treatment options are no longer available heart transplantation is the therapy of choice. Should this not be an option due to long waiting lists or medical issues assist device therapy becomes an option. Assist device therapy is separated in short-term and long-term support. Long-term support is nowadays performed with ventricular assist devices (VADs). The native heart is still in place and supported in parallel to the remaining function of the heart. The majority of patients are treated with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). The right ventrical alone (RVAD) as well as bi-ventricular support (BiVAD) is rarely needed. The modern VADs are implantable and create a non-pulsative bloodflow. A percutaneous driveline enables energy supply and pump-control. Indication strategies for VAD implantations include bridge to transplant (short term support), bridge to candidacy and bridge to transplant. VADs become more and more a definite therapeutic option (destination therapy). VAD therapy might be a realistic alternative to organ transplantation in the near future.

English Dialect App

Do you pronounce the /r/ in 'arm'? Do you call a shelf a 'sheuf'? And what on earth is a 'hoddy-doddy'? There is extensive variation in English dialects: this is why your answers to such questions will allow this app to localize your broader dialect region on a map of England. Did your home dialect change over time? Our algorithm is based on historical data from the Survey of English Dialects. If it guesses where you are from correctly, your home dialect has probably remained stable over the past decades. If the guess is far off, however, it is probably because of dialect change. - Can we localize your dialect based on your pronunciation of 26 words? - Record your dialect and listen to recordings of other users and to historical dialect recordings! - Choose a pronunciation variant, e.g. 'sheuf', and discover where in England it is used...or choose a place and explore its dialect!

Pregnancy Outcomes in Subjects Exposed to Certolizumab Pegol.

OBJECTIVE To provide information on pregnancy outcomes in women receiving certolizumab pegol (CZP). METHODS The UCB Pharma safety database was searched for pregnancies through to September 1, 2014. Reports for maternal and paternal CZP exposure were included and outcomes examined, and data on CZP exposure, pregnancy, comorbidities, and infant events were extracted by 2 independent reviewers. Concomitant medications and disease activity were reviewed for clinical trial patients. RESULTS Of 625 reported pregnancies, 372 (59.5%) had known outcomes. Paternal exposure pregnancies (n = 33) reported 27 live births, 4 miscarriages, 1 induced abortion, and 1 stillbirth. Maternal exposure pregnancies (n = 339) reported 254 live births, 52 miscarriages, 32 induced abortions, and 1 stillbirth. Almost all reported pregnancies had exposure to CZP in the first trimester, when organogenesis takes place, and a third of them continued the drug into the second and/or third trimesters. The most frequent indications for maternal CZP use were Crohn disease (192/339) and rheumatic diseases (118/339). Twelve cases of congenital malformation and a single neonatal death were reported. CONCLUSION Analysis of pregnancy outcomes after exposure to CZP supports previous reports, suggesting a lack of harmful effect of maternal CZP exposure on pregnancy outcomes. However, additional data from a larger number of outcomes after exposure and studies including an unexposed comparison group are required to fully evaluate CZP safety and tolerability in pregnancy.

Perdón o condena : discurso y subjetividad en la obra de Isolda María Calzadilla

Siguiendo los pasos de la narrativa latinoamericana del siglo XIX, en los años 30 y 40 en Venezuela, la literatura canónica propuso un trazado más o menos claro de los lugares de heroísmo y villanía involucrados en la refundación nacional. La apuesta iniciada por la intelectualidad del país, desde diciembre de 1935, se dirigía a la construcción de una nación moderna cuya imagen se solidificaba no sólo por medio de la narrativa de ficción, sino también en los registros masivos fundamentados en la oralidad, en los medios de comunicación en general y, particularmente, en fotografías e imágenes reproducidas por revistas de alta circulación, periódicos e, inclusive, en proyecciones audiovisuales. Como ocurre en estos ejercicios de organización nacional, inevitablemente, salieron a la luz por entonces, ciertas subjetividades nómades que generaron su propia discursividad ética y estéticamente ajena a las demandas del canon. Escrituras que crearon, en su interior un espacio de resistencia frente a todos los esfuerzos de normatización propuestos desde el poder. Aquí se inscribe el texto Mujeres (1943), de Isolda Calzadilla, una suerte de novela guión cinematográfico donde se deja en evidencia no sólo la conciencia en el uso del lenguaje de parte de la autora, sino además, la necesidad de replantearse los márgenes del centro urbano, de abrir las posibilidades de desarrollo subjetivo a las mujeres y de mostrar el envés de un mapa modernizante que llega a borrarse por completo detrás de la fachada.

El CIFOT como apoyo a la gestión gubernamental : efectos socioeconómicos frente a la construcción de la presa Potrerillos.

El objetivo de este estudio es conocer la realidad de los pobladores y su entorno en el área que ahora ocupa el embalse de Potrerillos y su zona de influencia, con diferentes niveles de detalle, para minimizar los efectos negativos sobre la población y conseguir la información imprescindible para la planificación de la zona. Además de la villa de Potrerillos, Cacheuta y Alto Potrerillos se vieron afectadas en su situación social y económica por los cambios originados a partir de la creación del espejo de agua. El CIFOT firma convenio con el Ministerio de Ambiente y Obras Públicas del Gobierno de Mendoza para realizar un trabajo de relevamiento (Junio-Noviembre 1998) para conocer los factores físicos del lugar - aptitudes y susceptibilidades-, la realidad socioeconómica de los pobladores, actividades recreativo – turísticas, infraestructura y equipamiento, como también las relaciones entre localidades, datos que se tienen en cuenta al momento de buscar soluciones para relocalizar la población de la Villa Potrerillos.

Teatro x la identidad : "A propósito de la deuda" y "El piquete" : reflexiones en torno de las representaciones, el pasado reciente y lo político

El artículo consiste en la comparación de dos textos dramáticos y su análisis desde el enfoque de la interrelación del Análisis Automático del Discurso (Escuela Francesa) y conceptos provenientes del encuentro entre el marxismo y el psicoanálisis, a partir de la incorporación de conceptos de este último a la problematización general de las significaciones propias del mundo social que sugiere Louis Althusser en los años '60. En tanto que las obras de Teatro x la Identidad hacen referencia a la construcción de una memoria social, resulta imprescindible dar cuenta del concepto de memoria en tanto "la memoria se refiere a las maneras en que la gente construye un sentido del pasado, y cómo relacionan ese pasado con el presente en el acto de rememorar o recordar" (Jelin, 2002: 248). Es decir que se trata de observar qué sentidos configuran estas obras del pasado dictatorial que buscan representar.

Ilusiones territoriales : las imágenes en la construcción del territorio costero santafesino

En este trabajo se intenta un abordaje histórico-geográfico de un caso relacionado con los estudios de la historia reciente y de la geografía cultural. Se pretende una aproximación a cuestiones relativas a la construcción de los territorios, particularmente el fenómeno de suburbanización, que en el caso santafesino comenzó a evidenciarse en la década del 90, con una intensidad creciente hacia la primera década del siglo XXI. Considerando que en los últimos años la imagen visual, ya sea desde los ámbitos publicitarios, la prensa u otros campos, se ha convertido en un poderoso instrumento de construcción de realidad, es objetivo, por tanto, indagar a partir de un enfoque cultural, en los procesos que han construido la imagen del lugar y los imaginarios sobre éste, y cómo dichas imágenes son parte activa en la construcción de ese territorio. ¿Qué muestran? ¿Qué ocultan? Más aún, ¿cómo operan las imágenes que construyen el lugar?

Rousseau o la irrupción de la autoconciencia

La comprensión historiográfica del lugar y de la significación del pensamiento rousseauniano en el desarrollo general de la Filosofía Moderna no deja de ser problemática: por un lado, debe considerarse la relación polémica de Rousseau con el llamado “Enciclopedismo", por otro, sus acuerdos y desacuerdos con el liberalismo político de la época. Sin embargo, la comprensión logotectónica de la cosa propia del saber “filo-sófico" pone en evidencia que con la posición histórica del pensamiento rousseauniano irrumpe un saber fundamental acerca de la libertad, que resulta de una importancia decisiva para el desenvolvimiento de la filosofía kantiana y de sus consecuencias.

El ordenamiento del sistema jurídico ateniense a partir del vocabulario de la legalidad en Antígona de Sófocles

Abordamos en Antígona la voz nómos utilizada por la protagonista en su último discurso (vv. 908 y 914). Con ese término califica la razón de su proceder, que justifica contraponiendo su condición como hermana del muerto a una potencial situación como esposa o madre de un difunto. Pese al uso de nómos, observa Etxabe (2009: 61), tales palabras no han sido articuladas con un argumento legal; no obstante, a un estudio con tales propósitos pareciera poder objetarse el hecho de que el léxico jurídico implica ante todo generalidad, lo que entraría en contradicción con la particularidad y excepcionalidad que caracteriza aquello que Antígona califica como nómos. Revisamos entonces qué implica para Antígona el entierro de su hermano y luego abordamos el asunto desde los estudios más recientes sobre la legalidad griega, atendiendo especialmente al ordenamiento del sistema jurídico que tiene lugar en el siglo V a.C., y que implica un cambio de actitud con respecto a las leyes no escritas frecuentemente asociadas a Antígona