In the past few years, 3D electron microscopy (3DEM) has undergone a revolution in instrumentation and methodology. One of the central players in this wide-reaching change is the continuous ...development of image processing software. Here we present Scipion, a software framework for integrating several 3DEM software packages through a workflow-based approach. Scipion allows the execution of reusable, standardized, traceable and reproducible image-processing protocols. These protocols incorporate tools from different programs while providing full interoperability among them. Scipion is an open-source project that can be downloaded from http://scipion.cnb.csic.es.
Verticillium wilt (VW) caused by the soil-borne fungus Verticillium dahliae Kleb, is the most limiting disease in all traditional olive-growing regions worldwide. This pathogen colonizes the vascular ...system of plants, blocking water flow and eventually inducing water stress. The present study explored the use of high-resolution thermal imagery, chlorophyll fluorescence, structural and physiological indices (xanthophyll, chlorophyll a+b, carotenoids and blue/green/red B/G/R indices) calculated from multispectral and hyperspectral imagery as early indicators of water stress caused by VW infection and severity. The study was conducted in two olive orchards naturally infected with V. dahliae. Time series of airborne thermal, multispectral and hyperspectral imagery was acquired in three consecutive years and related to VW severity at the time of the flights. Concurrently to the airborne campaigns, field measurements conducted at leaf and tree-crown levels showed a significant increase in crown temperature (Tc) minus air temperature (Ta) and a decrease in leaf stomatal conductance (G) across VW severity levels, identifying VW-infected trees at early stages of the disease. Higher Tc−Ta and G values measured in the field were associated with higher VW severity levels. At leaf level, the reduction in G caused by VW infection was associated with a significant increase in the Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI570) and a decrease in chlorophyll fluorescence (F). The airborne flights enabled the early detection of VW by using canopy-level image-derived airborne Tc−Ta, Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) calculated from the thermal imagery, blue/blue–green/blue–red ratios (B/BG/BR indices) and chlorophyll fluorescence, confirming the results obtained in the field. Airborne Tc−Ta showed rising values with a significant increase of ~2K at low VW severity levels, and was significantly correlated with G (R2=0.76, P=0.002) and PRI570 (R2=0.51, P=0.032). Early stages of disease development could be differentiated based on a CWSI increase as VW developed, obtaining a strong correlation with G (R2=0.83, P<0.001). Likewise, the canopy-level chlorophyll fluorescence dropped at high VW severity levels, showing a significant increase as disease progressed. These results indicate the potentials of an early detection of V. dahliae infection and discrimination of VW severity levels using remote sensing. Indicators based on crown temperature such as CWSI, and visible ratios B/BG/BR as well as fluorescence were effective in detecting VW at early stages of disease development. In affected trees, the structural indices PRI, chlorophyll and carotenoid indices, and the R/G ratio were good indicators to assess the damage caused by the disease.
•Early detection of Verticillium wilt (VW) was investigated with remote sensing•Leaf data and airborne imagery correlated with physiology status due to the disease•Crown temperature (Tc-Ta, CWSI) were effective in detecting VW at early stages•Hyperspectral indices B, BG1, BR1 and fluorescence detected VW at early stages•Structural indices (NDVI) and pigment indices were good only to assess damage
Climate change threatens species with temperature-dependent sex determination as further warming could result in extremely biased sex ratios or offspring of only one sex. Among the possible ...adaptations of sea turtles to climate change, are behavioral responses toward nesting in cooler areas. We analyzed nesting patterns of East Pacific green turtles (
Chelonia mydas
) in Costa Rica to determine the occurrence of nest-site selection and how this could influence primary sex ratios (PSR). Green turtles exhibited nest-site repeatability. Nests placed by the same individual were generally closer (mean distance: 237.4 m) than other nests on the beach (mean distance: 411.0 m) and this repeatability was maintained in different nesting seasons. Additionally, turtles tended to place late nests closer to each other than their early nests, suggesting an adjusting nesting behavior throughout the nesting season. A great majority of nests were placed in the vegetation (80.9%) and within this zone, turtles preferred nesting under trees (78%) than in grass areas (28%), where temperatures were cooler and PSR were less female biased. Mean nest temperature (°C) during the thermosensitive period and mean PSR were 30.7 ± 1.2 °C and 79 ± 4%, respectively. Most years were female-biased or extremely female-biased but there was approximately one male-biased year in the decade. Although many nests produced 100% females, some male hatchlings were produced every year, even during the extreme 2015–2016 El Niño event. The preference of green turtles for nesting in shaded areas could help to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change unless temperatures in shaded areas rose above the male producing temperatures.
Recent research on aggressor profiles in child-to-parent violence (CPV) seems to provide promising results. However, this phenomenon has been poorly addressed in the adverse childhood experiences ...(ACEs) framework. This study aimed to explore the frequency of different types of ACEs and cumulative ACEs in adolescents who exert CPV, to analyze the differences between aggressors with different levels of cumulative ACEs in parental attachment, resilience, and emotional intelligence, and to evaluate the associations between these variables, as well as a possible mediational model.
A total of 3,142 Spanish adolescents (50.7% girls) aged between 12 and 18 years from educational centers participated.
Adolescents who exerted CPV presented higher rates of ACEs both independently and cumulatively than those without CPV. Aggressors with cumulative ACEs (88%) in general presented more insecure parental attachment, lower resilience, and lower emotional intelligence than those without cumulative ACEs, and, in turn, aggressors with high levels of cumulative ACEs than those with low levels of cumulative ACEs. Significant associations were identified between CPV, ACEs, insecure parental attachment, resilience, and emotional intelligence. The mediation model suggested that ACEs are related to CPV through preoccupied and traumatized parental attachment and also through low levels of emotional intelligence.
The findings provide a better understanding of CPV from the perspective of ACEs, especially of those cases that involve an accumulation of adverse experiences during childhood, and suggest greater professional attention to these cases with the design of specialized CPV intervention programs.
The use of non-
Saccharomyces
yeasts means a great source of biodiversity for the production of differentiated beer products. With this objective, five species of different genera have been selected ...in order to evaluate their influence on beer quality. Two different experiments were carried out with four non-
Saccharomyces strains
(
Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Torulaspora delbrueckii, Saccharomycodes ludwigii
and
Lachancea thermotolerans
) and
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
, as control. In the first experimental setup, the five strains were used to carry out the pure culture wort fermentation and to undertake bottle conditioning. In a second experimental setup, the wort was fermented with
S. cerevisiae
and the four non-
Saccharomyces
strains were used for bottle conditioning. Beers from the first experimental setup had low ethanol content due to the wort’s original gravity;
T. delbrueckii
produced a beer with the largest quantity of isoamyl acetate. In the second setup, the wort had higher original gravity; most of the fermentative volatiles were produced in larger amounts (1-propanol, isobutanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol) with all tested strains. The differences observed in the volatiles production were more pronounced when the yeast strains were used for the fermentation and the bottle conditioning than whey they were used just for the bottle conditioning. The species
S. pombe
produced a significantly higher ethanol concentration (%v/v) in both experimental setups; these beers also obtained the highest scores for the sensory attributes foam consistency and foam persistence. Beers produced with
T. delbrueckii
and
S. ludwigii
had low ethanol content in both experimental designs, in pure culture fermentation and in bottle conditioning.
Anthropogenic drivers and global warming are altering the occurrence of infectious marine diseases, some of which produce mass mortalities with considerable ecosystemic and economic costs. The ...Mediterranean Sea is considered a laboratory to examine global processes, and the fan mussel Pinna nobilis a sentinel species within it. Since September 2016, fan mussels suffer a die-off, very likely provoked by the protozoan Haplosporidium pinnae. Population dynamic surveys, rescue programmes, larvae collector installation and protection of infected adults from predators, have increased knowledge about the factors conditioning the spread of the die-off; previous model simulations indicate that water temperature and salinity seem to be related to the manifestation of the disease, which at the end are strongly influenced by climate change and anthropogenic actions. The absence of natural recruitment implies that fan mussel populations are not recovering, but the survival of populations living in paralic environments provides an opportunity to study the disease and its conditioning factors. The fan mussel disease outbreak provides a case example for how climate change may mediate host-protozoan dynamics and poses several questions: are we witnessing the potential extinction of a sentinel species? Can we avoid it by applying active measures? If so, which measures will be more effective? How many other more overlooked species might experience a massive and unnoticed die-off before it is too late to implement any preservation action? This is especially relevant because the loss of keystone species can drive to community effects that influence marine ecosystem processes.
•In two years a new Pinna nobilis pandemic has spread throughout the Mediterranean Sea•Urgent measures are proposed and need to be taken to avoid P. nobilis extinction•Paralic environments are the only natural refuge known for P. nobilis to date•Fan mussels from infected populations can be saved if isolated in indoor facilities•Low water temperatures slow down the spread and infectious capacity of the disease
Surgical menopause causes a sharp drop in estrogen levels in middle‐aged women, thus preventing the gradual physiological adaptation that is characteristic of the perimenopause. Previous studies ...suggest that surgical menopause might increase the risk of dementia later in life. In addition, the transition to motherhood entails long‐lasting endocrine and neuronal adaptations. We compared differences in whole‐brain cortical volume between women who reached menopause by surgery and a group of women who reached spontaneous non‐surgical menopause and determined whether these cortical differences were influenced by previous childbearing. Using surface‐based neuroimaging techniques, we investigated cortical volume differences in 201 middle‐aged women (134 women who experienced non‐surgical menopause, 78 of whom were parous women; and 67 women who experienced surgical menopause, 39 of whom were parous women). We found significant atrophy in the frontal and temporal regions in women who experienced surgical menopause. Nulliparous women with surgical menopause showed significant lower cortical volume in the left temporal gyrus extending to the medial temporal lobe cortex, as well as in the precuneus bilaterally compared to parous women with surgical menopause; whereas our results revealed no significant differences between parous women with surgical menopause and both parous and nulliparous women who reached a non‐surgical menopause. Furthermore, in the surgical menopause group, we found a negative correlation between cortical volume and age at first pregnancy in the temporal lobe. Our study suggests that the long‐term brain remodeling of parity may mitigate the neural impact of the sudden drop in estrogen levels that characterizes surgical menopause.
Premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy prevents women from undergoing the physiological adaptations of perimenopause provoking brain changes that increase the risk of dementia later in life. Preoperative childbearing may mitigate such oophorectomy‐related brain changes. Adaptive changes related to motherhood are crucial in coping with not experiencing the transition of menopause.
Nanobiomaterials (NBMs) are nanostructured materials for biomedical applications that can reach aquatic organisms. The short and long-term effects of these emerging contaminants are unknown in fish. ...The RTgill-W1 cell line has been proposed as a model to predict the acute toxicity of chemicals to fish (OECD Test Guideline nº 249). We assessed the applicability of this cell line to study the short and long-term toxicity of 15 NBMs based on hydroxyapatites (HA), lipid (LSNP/LNP), gold, iron oxide, carbon, poly l-Lactide acid (PLLA) fibers with Ag and poly (lactide-co-glycolide) acid. Two more rainbow trout cell lines (RTL-W1, from liver, and RTS-11, from spleen) were exposed, to identify possible sensitivity differences among cells. Exposures to a range of concentrations (0.78–100 μg/mL) lasted for 24 h. Additionally, the RTgill-W1 was used to perform long-term (28 d exposure) and recovery (14 d exposure/14 d recovery) assays. Cells were exposed to the 24 h-IC20 and/or to 100 μg/mL. A triple cytotoxicity assay was conducted. After 24 h, only PLLA Fibers-Ag showed cytotoxicity (IC50 < 100 μg/mL). However, the NBMs in general provoked concentration-dependent effects after long-term exposures, except the LSNPs. A recovery of viability was only observed for AuNPs, AuNRods, Fe3O4PEG-PLGA, MgHA-Collag_Scaffolds, Ti-HA and TiHA-Alg NPs.These results evidenced the need to test the long-term toxicity of NBMs and showed differences in cytotoxicity probably associated to different mechanisms of toxic action. The RTgill-W1 was useful to screen short and long-term toxicities of NBMs and appears as a promiseful model to assess possible toxicity of NBMs in fish.
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•The RTgill-W1 is useful to screen short- & long-term toxicities of nanobiomaterials.•NBMs are not acutely toxic but induced long-term effects.•Depending on the NBM tested, different patterns of recovery were observed.•Results indicated different mechanisms of toxic action for the fifteen NBMs.
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