Signal signature of aboveground-induced resistance upon belowground herbivory in maize

Plants activate local and systemic defence mechanisms upon exposure to stress. This innate immune response is partially regulated by plant hormones, and involves the accumulation of defensive metabolites. Although local defence reactions to herbivores are well studied, less is known about the impact of root herbivory on shoot defence. Here, we examined the effects of belowground infestation by the western corn rootworm Diabrotica virgifera virgifera on aboveground resistance in maize. Belowground herbivory by D. v. virgifera induced aboveground resistance against the generalist herbivore Spodoptera littoralis, and the necrotrophic pathogen Setosphaeria turcica. Furthermore, D. v. virgifera increased shoot levels of 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one (DIMBOA), and primed the induction of chlorogenic acid upon subsequent infestation by S. littoralis. To gain insight into the signalling network behind this below- and aboveground defence interaction, we compiled a set of 32 defence-related genes, which can be used as transcriptional marker systems to detect activities of different hormone-response pathways. Belowground attack by D. v. virgifera triggered an ABA-inducible transcription pattern in the shoot. The quantification of defence hormones showed a local increase in the production of oxylipins after root and shoot infestation by D. v. virgifera and S. littoralis, respectively. On the other hand, ABA accumulated locally and systemically upon belowground attack by D. v. virgifera. Furthermore, D. v. virgifera reduced the aboveground water content, whereas the removal of similar quantities of root biomass had no effect. Our study shows that root herbivory by D. v. virgifera specifically alters the aboveground defence status of a maize, and suggests that ABA plays a role in the signalling network mediating this interaction.

Prognostic and diagnostic value of EEG signal coupling measures in coma.

OBJECTIVE Our aim was to assess the diagnostic and predictive value of several quantitative EEG (qEEG) analysis methods in comatose patients. METHODS In 79 patients, coupling between EEG signals on the left-right (inter-hemispheric) axis and on the anterior-posterior (intra-hemispheric) axis was measured with four synchronization measures: relative delta power asymmetry, cross-correlation, symbolic mutual information and transfer entropy directionality. Results were compared with etiology of coma and clinical outcome. Using cross-validation, the predictive value of measure combinations was assessed with a Bayes classifier with mixture of Gaussians. RESULTS Five of eight measures showed a statistically significant difference between patients grouped according to outcome; one measure revealed differences in patients grouped according to the etiology. Interestingly, a high level of synchrony between the left and right hemisphere was associated with mortality on intensive care unit, whereas higher synchrony between anterior and posterior brain regions was associated with survival. The combination with the best predictive value reached an area-under the curve of 0.875 (for patients with post anoxic encephalopathy: 0.946). CONCLUSIONS EEG synchronization measures can contribute to clinical assessment, and provide new approaches for understanding the pathophysiology of coma. SIGNIFICANCE Prognostication in coma remains a challenging task. qEEG could improve current multi-modal approaches.

Time-varying signal analysis to detect high-altitude periodic breathing in climbers ascending to extreme altitude.

This work investigates the performance of cardiorespiratory analysis detecting periodic breathing (PB) in chest wall recordings in mountaineers climbing to extreme altitude. The breathing patterns of 34 mountaineers were monitored unobtrusively by inductance plethysmography, ECG and pulse oximetry using a portable recorder during climbs at altitudes between 4497 and 7546 m on Mt. Muztagh Ata. The minute ventilation (VE) and heart rate (HR) signals were studied, to identify visually scored PB, applying time-varying spectral, coherence and entropy analysis. In 411 climbing periods, 30-120 min in duration, high values of mean power (MP(VE)) and slope (MSlope(VE)) of the modulation frequency band of VE, accurately identified PB, with an area under the ROC curve of 88 and 89%, respectively. Prolonged stay at altitude was associated with an increase in PB. During PB episodes, higher peak power of ventilatory (MP(VE)) and cardiac (MP(LF)(HR) ) oscillations and cardiorespiratory coherence (MP(LF)(Coher)), but reduced ventilation entropy (SampEn(VE)), was observed. Therefore, the characterization of cardiorespiratory dynamics by the analysis of VE and HR signals accurately identifies PB and effects of altitude acclimatization, providing promising tools for investigating physiologic effects of environmental exposures and diseases.