One of the most striking aspects of plant plasticity is the modulation of development in response to environmental changes. Plant growth and development largely depend on the phytohormone auxin that ...exerts its function through a partially redundant family of F-box receptors, the TIR1-AFBs. We have previously reported that the Arabidopsis double mutant tir1 afb2 is more tolerant to salt stress than wild-type plants and we hypothesized that down-regulation of auxin signaling might be part of Arabidopsis acclimation to salinity. In this work, we show that NaCl-mediated salt stress induces miR393 expression by enhancing the transcription of AtMIR393A and leads to a concomitant reduction in the levels of the TIR1 and AFB2 receptors. Consequently, NaCl triggers stabilization of Aux/IAA repressors leading to down-regulation of auxin signaling. Further, we report that miR393 is likely involved in repression of lateral root (LR) initiation, emergence and elongation during salinity, since the mir393ab mutant shows reduced inhibition of emergent and mature LR number and length upon NaCl-treatment. Additionally, mir393ab mutant plants have increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in LRs, and reduced ascorbate peroxidase (APX) enzymatic activity compared with wild-type plants during salinity. Thus, miR393 regulation of the TIR1 and AFB2 receptors could be a critical checkpoint between auxin signaling and specfic redox-associated components in order to coordinate tissue and time-specific growth responses and tolerance during acclimation to salinity in Arabidopsis.
As a consequence of COVID-19, millions of households have suffered mobility restrictions and changes in their lifestyle over several months. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of ...COVID-19 home confinement on the food habits, lifestyle and emotional balance of the Spanish population. This cross-sectional study used data collected via an anonymous online questionnaire during the month before lockdown finished in Spain, with a total of 675 participants. 38.8% of the respondents experienced weight gain while 31.1% lost weight during confinement. The increase in body weight was positively correlated with age (Rs = 0.14,
< 0.05) and BMI (Rs = 0.20,
< 0.05). We also identified that 39.7% reported poorer quality sleep, positively correlated with BMI (Rs = -0.18,
< 0.05) and with age (Rs = -0.21,
< 0.05). 44.7% of the participants had not performed physical exercise during confinement with differences by sex (
< 0.05), by age (
< 0.05), by BMI (
< 0.05) and by sleep quality (
< 0.05). According to an emotional-eater questionnaire, 21.8% and 11% were classified as an emotional eater or a very emotional eater, respectively. We emphasize the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle, as the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing.
Enzymes have emerged in recent decades as ideal catalysts for synthetic transformations under mild reaction conditions. Their capacity to accelerate a myriad of biotransformations with high levels of ...selectivity and broad substrate specificity including excellent atom economy has led to a current full recognition. The six classes of enzymes (oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, isomerases and ligases) possess outstanding abilities to perform specific modifications in target molecules. Nevertheless, in the last fifteen years, novel examples have appeared related to nonconventional processes catalyzed by various classes of biocatalysts. Amongst these, hydrolases have received special attention since they display remarkable activities in initially unexpected reactions such as carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond-formation reactions, oxidative processes and novel hydrolytic transformations. In this review, the main findings in this area will be disclosed, highlighting the catalytic properties of hydrolases not only to catalyze single processes but also multicomponent and tandem nonconventional reactions.
Previous studies have demonstrated that auxin (indole‐3‐acetic acid) and nitric oxide (NO) are plant growth regulators that coordinate several plant physiological responses determining root ...architecture. Nonetheless, the way in which these factors interact to affect these growth and developmental processes is not well understood. The Arabidopsis thaliana F‐box proteins TRANSPORT INHIBITOR RESPONSE 1/AUXIN SIGNALING F‐BOX (TIR1/AFB) are auxin receptors that mediate degradation of AUXIN/INDOLE‐3‐ACETIC ACID (Aux/IAA) repressors to induce auxin‐regulated responses. A broad spectrum of NO‐mediated protein modifications are known in eukaryotic cells. Here, we provide evidence that NO donors increase auxin‐dependent gene expression while NO depletion blocks Aux/IAA protein degradation. NO also enhances TIR1‐Aux/IAA interaction as evidenced by pull‐down and two‐hybrid assays. In addition, we provide evidence for NO‐mediated modulation of auxin signaling through S‐nitrosylation of the TIR1 auxin receptor. S‐nitrosylation of cysteine is a redox‐based post‐translational modification that contributes to the complexity of the cellular proteome. We show that TIR1 C140 is a critical residue for TIR1–Aux/IAA interaction and TIR1 function. These results suggest that TIR1 S‐nitrosylation enhances TIR1–Aux/IAA interaction, facilitating Aux/IAA degradation and subsequently promoting activation of gene expression. Our findings underline the importance of NO in phytohormone signaling pathways.
Objective
To determine how mental disorders and psychopharmacological treatments before and during COVID‐19 hospital admissions are related to mortality.
Methods
Subjects included in the study were ...all adult patients with a diagnosis of COVID‐19, confirmed clinically and by PCR, who were admitted to a tertiary university hospital in Badalona (Spain) between March 1 and November 17, 2020. Data were extracted anonymously from computerized clinical records.
Results
2,150 subjects were included, 57% males, mean age 61 years. History of mental disorders was registered in 957 (45%). Throughout admission, de novo diagnosis of mood or anxiety, stress, or adjustment disorder was made in 12% of patients without previous history. Delirium was diagnosed in 10% of cases. 1011 patients (47%) received a psychotropic prescription during admission (36% benzodiazepines, 22% antidepressants, and 21% antipsychotics). Mortality rate was 17%. Delirium during admission and history of mood disorder were independently associated with higher mortality risk (hazard ratios, 1.39 and 1.52 respectively), while previous year's treatments with anxiolytics/hypnotics and antidepressants were independently associated with lower mortality risk (hazard ratios, 0.47 and 0.43, respectively).
Conclusion
Mental symptoms are very common in patients hospitalized for COVID‐19 infection. Detecting, diagnosing, and treating them is key to determining the prognosis of the disease and functional recovery.
We investigated the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components and risk of prostate cancer (PCa) in a cohort of men enrolled in the UK Biobank. Our study cohort included 220 622 ...PCa‐free men with baseline measurements of triglycerides (TGs), HDL‐cholesterol (HDL), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), blood pressure (BP), and waist circumference (WC). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to analyze associations with PCa for: individual metabolic components (TG, HDL, HbA1c, BP, WC), combinations of two and three components, and MetS overall (three or more components). We conducted mediation analyses to examine potential hormonal and inflammatory pathways (total testosterone TT, C‐reactive protein CRP, insulin‐like growth factor 1 IGF‐1) through which MetS components may influence PCa risk. A total of 5409 men in the study developed PCa during a median follow‐up of 6.9 years. We found no significant association between MetS and PCa risk (hazard ratio HR = 0.99, 95% confidence interval CI = 0.92‐1.06). No associations were found with PCa risk and individual measurements of TG, HDL, BP, or WC. However, an inverse association was observed with elevated HbA1c (≥42 mmol/mol) (HR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.79‐0.98). Consistent inverse associations were observed between HbA1c and risk of PCa. Mediation analysis revealed TT, CRP, and IGF‐1 as potential mediating factors for this association contributing 10.2%, 7.1%, and 7.9% to the total effect, respectively. Overall MetS had no association with PCa risk. However, a consistent inverse association with PCa risk was found for HbA1c. This association may be explained in part through hormonal and inflammatory pathways.
What's new?
Risk of prostate cancer is variously linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and other components of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Evidence for a clear association between prostate cancer and MetS and its components, however, remains elusive. In this large, prospective study, the authors found that MetS is not significantly associated with risk of prostate cancer. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), however, was found to be inversely associated with risk. Analyses examining potential hormonal and inflammatory pathways identified total testosterone, C‐reactive protein, and insulin‐like growth factor 1 as potential mediating factors for the association between HbA1c and prostate cancer.
The role of oral vitamin D3 supplementation for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 remains to be determined. The study was aimed to evaluate whether vitamin D3 supplementation could prevent ...respiratory worsening among hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
We designed a multicentre, randomized, double-blind, sequential, placebo-controlled clinical trial. The study was conducted in 17 second and third level hospitals, located in four provinces of Argentina, from 14 August 2020 to 22 June 2021. We enrolled 218 adult patients, hospitalized in general wards with SARS-CoV-2 confirmed infection, mild-to-moderate COVID-19 and risk factors for disease progression. Participants were randomized to a single oral dose of 500 000 IU of vitamin D3 or matching placebo. Randomization ratio was 1:1, with permuted blocks and stratified for study site, diabetes and age (≤60 vs >60 years). The primary outcome was the change in the respiratory Sepsis related Organ Failure Assessment score between baseline and the highest value recorded up to day 7. Secondary outcomes included the length of hospital stay; intensive care unit admission; and in-hospital mortality. Overall, 115 participants were assigned to vitamin D3 and 105 to placebo (mean SD age, 59.1 10.7 years; 103 47.2% women). There were no significant differences in the primary outcome between groups (median IQR 0.0 0.0-1.0 vs 0.0 0.0-1.0, for vitamin D3 and placebo, respectively; p = 0.925). Median IQR length of hospital stay was not significantly different between vitamin D3 group (6.0 4.0-9.0 days) and placebo group (6.0 4.0-10.0 days; p = 0.632). There were no significant differences for intensive care unit admissions (7.8% vs 10.7%; RR 0.73; 95% CI 0.32 to 1.70; p = 0.622), or in-hospital mortality (4.3% vs 1.9%; RR 2.24; 95% CI 0.44 to 11.29; p = 0.451). There were no significant differences in serious adverse events (vitamin D3 = 14.8%, placebo = 11.7%).
Among hospitalized patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 and risk factors, a single high oral dose of vitamin D3 as compared with placebo, did not prevent the respiratory worsening.
ClincicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04411446.
Cellulose nanomaterial (CNM) and polyethylenimine (PEI) composites have attracted growing attention due to their multifunctional characteristics, which have been applied in different fields. In this ...work, soybean hulls were valorized into carboxyl cellulose nanofibrils (COOH-CNFs), and composited into hydrogels with PEI by combining them with cationic chelating and physical adsorption strategies. Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) were produced from soybean hulls prior to oxidation by a TEMPO mediated reaction to obtain COOH–CNFs; then drops of zinc chloride were added to 1.5% aqueous COOH–CNF dispersions, which were left for 24 h to form COOH-CNF hydrogels. Finally, the hydrogels were functionalized using different concentration of PEI solutions over a range of pH values. Elemental analysis results showed that 20% aq. PEI at pH 11.6 is the optimum condition to synthesize the COOH–CNF/PEI hydrogels. Additionally, the adsorption efficiency for the removal of anionic methyl blue dyes and Cu(II) ions from water was tested, reaching 82.6% and 69.8%, respectively, after 24 h. These results demonstrate the great potential of COOH–CNF/PEI hydrogels as adsorbent materials for water remediation.
Graphical abstract
The coevolutionary process among free-living mutualists with extremely long matching traits may favor the formation of mutualistic interaction networks through coevolutionary escalation, ...complementarity and convergence. These networks may be geographically structured; the links among the species of a local network are shaped by the biotic composition of the community, thus creating selection mosaics at broader geographical scales. Therefore, to fully understand a coevolutionary process, it is crucial to visualize the geographical structure of the interaction network across the landscape. In this study we focused on the poorly known interaction system between Ensifera ensifera and its guild of long-flowered plant species. We combined occurrence data and environmental variables to predict E. ensifera distribution, in addition to range polygons available for plant species in order to evaluate the geographical variation in bill length and plant species richness. A positive relationship between bill length and plant species richness within the E. ensifera range suggests a geographical structuring of the interaction networks. At mid-latitude locations of E. ensifera range, where hummingbirds attained the longest bills, richness of long-flowered plant species was higher than at low latitude locations. These locations likely represent coevolutionary vortices where long-lasting reciprocal selection probably drove the evolution of long traits, consequently drawing new plant species into the coevolutionary network. Conversely, areas where the sword-billed hummingbird was absent or had shorter bills probably represent coevolutionary coldspots. Our results provide a first insight into this phenotypically specialized plant-pollinator network across the landscape and show candidate areas to test the predictions of the coevolutionary hypothesis, such as reciprocal selection.
Feedbacks between plants and soil microbes are critical for ecosystem regulation and restoration. Soil microbial diversity is largely dependent on plant diversity, yet these relationships have ...received little attention at the landscape scale. In agricultural landscapes, the presence of different plant cover types (landscape elements) can modulate these feedbacks by adding spatial heterogeneity through changes in the amount and composition of plant residues. Furthermore, it can also influence the soil biota. Therefore, the more diverse the landscape elements of farmlands, the higher the increase of their heterogeneity. We investigated the microbial catabolic profiles and respiration rates of soils from different plant cover types through the manipulation of plant residues and microbial communities. In individual microcosms, we incubated sterilized soils sampled from five different cover types of a temperate agricultural landscape: Soybean Monocropping, two crop rotations (Rotation and Intensified Rotation) and two uncropped margins: Herbaceous and Woody spontaneous vegetation. We amended them with each of two plant residues: wheat stubble (Wheat) and a mix of spontaneous vegetation (Mix). Soils were also inoculated with each of two soil microbial communities: Soybean Monocropping and Woody margins. We predict that soils treated with the Mix residue and the Woody margins community will show higher catabolic diversity and respiration than those treated with Wheat stubble and Soybean Monocropping community. In turn, we predict that soils from Woody margins, with higher carbon content, will respire more and amplify the effects of plant residue and microbial community. The microbial catabolic profile changed with plant residue and microbial community whereas the microbial respiration changed with cover type. After 30 days of incubation, soils inoculated with Woody margin community sustained higher diversity than those inoculated with Soybean Monocropping community. Conversely, Wheat stubble increased microbial diversity with respect to the Mix, particularly in soils from Woody margins while Mix residue increased the microbial diversity of soils from Soybean Monocropping. Finally, microbial respiration of soils from Woody margins showed the greatest respiration and Soybean Monocropping the lowest, in correlation with their carbon contents. Despite the complex interactions between soil carbon contents and plant residue composition, our results suggest that internal transfers of soil and plant residue between the different landscape elements might contribute to increasing the resilience of agricultural landscapes.
•The microbial catabolic profiles changed with plant residues and microbial community.•Wheat residues increased microbial diversity of soils from woody margins.•Mix residue increased microbial diversity of soils from soybean monocropping.•Soil microbes from woody margins had the highest diversity across all soils.•Soil microbial respiration was only affected by cover type.
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