The size and shape of organs depend on cellular processes such as cell proliferation, cell survival, and spatial arrangement of cells. In turn, all of these processes are a consequence of positional ...identity of individual cells in whole organs. Links of positional information with organ growth and pattern expression of genes is a little-addressed question. We show that differences in vestigial expression between neighboring cells of the wing blade autonomously and nonautonomously affect cell proliferation along the proximodistal axis. On the other hand, uniform expression of vestigial inhibits cell proliferation and also perturbs the shape of wing blade altering the preferential orientation of cell divisions. Our observations provide evidence that local cell interactions, triggered by differences in vestigial expression between neighboring cells, confer positional values operating in the control of growth and shape of the wing.
Grape skin color is among the most important qualitative traits on which selection is based in wine and table grape breeding programmes. Skin color is determined by the quantity and composition of ...anthocyanins. In prior work on cultivated forms, it was shown that polymorphisms in the grape transcription factor family VvMYBA are responsible for anthocyanin content variation in the berries of cultivated grapevine (Vitis vinifera subsp. vinifera). Wild grapevine (V. vinifera subsp. sylvestris) is the ancestor of the cultivated V. vinifera subsp. sativa and has black-colored berries. The purpose of this study was to determine how the VvmybA1 and VvmybA2 polymorphisms emerged and affected the genetic diversity of wild grapevines in the Mediterranean basin by examining samples from the Iberian Peninsula, Italian Peninsula and Caucasian region. Our observations provide evidence that variation in the two transcriptional regulators generated a novel allele series via length polymorphisms in VvmybA1 and a point mutation in VvmybA2, which is lacking in cultivated grapevine. Further, correlation was detected between allele composition and anthocyanin contents. According to polymorphisms in both VvMYBA genes at the color locus, we were able to identify several haplotypes. The most ancestral haplotype (HapN) was found in wild grapevine in the western Mediterranean region and corresponded to wine grape cultivars, whereas recent haplotypes were detected in eastern regions. These eastern zones showed the most diverse haplotypes, which appeared in table cultivars where intense breeding practices may have replaced the original haplotype diversity. These findings provide information about the evolution of grapes since their domestication and have direct implications for wine quality.
For the first time, functional data analysis (FDA) was used to assess the effects of different treatments on Protection Denomination of Origin Aloreña de Málaga table olive fermentations, focusing on ...the evolution of yeast population. The analysis of fermentation by a conventional approach led to scarce information. However, the transformation of microbial (and also physicochemical) data into smooth curves allowed the application of a new battery of statistical tools for the analysis of fermentations (functional pointwise estimation of the averages and standard deviations, maximum, minimum, first and second derivatives, functional regression, and functional F and t-tests). FDA showed that all the treatments assayed led to similar trends in yeast population while changes in pH and titratable acidity profiles led to several significant differences. Therefore, FDA represents a promising and valuable tool for studying table olive fermentations and for food microbiology in general.
•Functional data analysis (FDA) was used for the first time in food fermentations.•FDA led to the estimation of microbiological and physicochemical functional curves.•FDA also estimated the area under such curves and their means, minima, and maxima.•Yeast growth was not affected by treatments, according to functional ANOVA.•Changes in pH and acidity were affected by treatments, according to functional ANOVA.
Purpose
Primary aim of this study is to compare the postoperative outcomes of the laparoscopic intracorporeal rectus aponeuroplasty (LIRA) technique to the intraperitoneal onlay mesh closing the ...defect (IPOM plus), in terms of recurrence and bulging rates at one-year follow-up; secondary aim is to compare the postoperative complications, seroma and pain at 30 days and one-year after surgery.
Methods
Patients with midline ventral hernia of 4–10 cm in width were included. Computed tomography scan was performed before, 1 and 12 months after surgery. Pain was evaluated using the visual analogue scale.
Results
Forty-five and forty-seven consecutive patients underwent LIRA and IPOM plus, respectively. Preoperatively, smoke habits and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease rates were statistically significantly higher in the LIRA group (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.012, respectively). Two bulgings (4.4%) occurred in the LIRA group, while in the IPOM plus group occurred 10 bulgings (21.3%) and three recurrences (6.4%) (p = 0.017 and p = 0.085, respectively). Postoperatively, seven (15.6%, Clavien-Dindo I) and four complications (8.5%, two Clavien-Dindo I, two Clavien-Dindo III-b) occurred in the LIRA and in the IPOM plus group, respectively (p = 0.298). One month after surgery, clinical seroma, occurred in five (11.1%) and eight patients (17%) in the LIRA and in the IPOM plus group, respectively (p = 0.416). During follow-up, pain reduction occurred, without statistically significant differences.
Conclusions
In this study, even if we analysed a small series, LIRA showed lower bulging and recurrence rates in comparison to IPOM plus at one-year follow-up. Further prospective studies, with a large sample of patients and longer follow-up are required to draw definitive conclusions.
Notch signaling is involved in cell differentiation and patterning during morphogenesis. In the Drosophila wing, Notch activity regulates the expression of several genes at the dorsal/ventral ...boundary, and this is thought to elicit wing-cell proliferation. In this work, we show the effect of clones of cells expressing different forms of several members of the Notch signaling pathway, which result in an alteration of Notch activity. The ectopic expression in clones of activated forms of Notch or of its ligands (Delta or Serrate) in the wing causes outgrowths associated with the appearance of ectopic wing margins. These outgrowths consist of mutant territories and of surrounding wild-type cells. However, the ectopic expression of Delta, at low levels in ventral clones, causes large outgrowths that are associated neither with the generation of wing margin structures nor with the expression of genes characteristic of the dorsal/ventral boundary. These results suggest that Notch activity is directly involved in cell proliferation, independently of its role in the formation of the dorsal/ventral boundary. We propose that the nonautonomous effects (induction of extraproliferation and vein differentiation in the surrounding wild-type cells) result from pattern accommodation to positional values caused by the ectopic expression of Notch.
Apoptotic cell death in wing imaginal discs takes place in single cells or small clusters of neighboring cells. These cells are distributed throughout the anlage at early stages and in recognizable ...territories at late larval and pupal stages. Apoptotic cells remain in the epithelium 2-4 h, prior to being engulfed in place by hemolymph cells. Experimentally induced apoptosis in single cells or territories is accompanied by nonautonomous death of adjacent cells and of cells further away in adjacent territories. These effects are followed by changes in cell proliferation in both territories. Apogenetic mosaics in mutant discs show cell death throughout the anlage. Apoptosis provides a mechanism, in addition to cell proliferation control, for matching territories with different positional values or different genetic specifications
Purpose
To evaluate prospectively the feasibility and the duration of the plication of both aponeurosis through a totally endoscopic approach to the diastasis recti associated with midline hernias, ...correcting both pathologies simultaneously and objectively looking at their advantages and complications.
Methods
The prospective cohort study included patients suffering from midline hernias equal to or bigger than 2 cm size and associated diastasis recti, from April 2011 to October 2012. Full endoscopic subcutaneous approach is used to perform the surgery. An ultrasound scan was carried out to identify inter-rectus distances and recurrences in xiphoid, 3 cm supraumbilical and 2 cm subumbilical locations.
Results
A total of 21 patients were included in the study, with a mean follow-up of 20 months. The main complication was seroma. A significant reduction in the average distance between the rectus muscles was shown before surgery and at 1 month postoperative measures in all three locations (
p
< 0.001). No significant differences between the measured distances to the first and second year. A significant improvement at first postoperative year in cosmetic outcome compared with preoperative cosmetic condition (
p
< 0.001) was confirmed. Back pain improves significantly when diastasis recti is surgically corrected.
Conclusions
Totally endoscopic approach to diastasis recti associated with midline hernias is a feasible and reproducible method. It brings considerable esthetic advantages. Diastasis or hernia recurrences in medium term follow-up have not been observed. Diastasis greater than 6–7 cm or associated with severe musculoaponeurotic laxity of the abdominal wall could benefit from the use of reinforced prosthesis.
The pattern of cell proliferation in the Drosophila imaginal wing primordium is spatially and temporally heterogeneous. Direct visualization of cells in S, G2, and mitosis phases of the cell cycle ...reveals several features invariant throughout development. The fraction of cells in the disc in the different cell cycle stages is constant, the majority remaining in G1. Cells in the different phases of the cell cycle mainly appear in small synchronic clusters that are nonclonally derived but result from changing local cell-cell interactions. Cluster synchronization occurs before S and in the G2/M phases. Rates of cell division are neither constant nor clonal features. Cell cycle progression is linear rather than concentric. Clusters appear throughout the disc but with symmetries related to presumptive wing patterns, compartment boundaries, and vein clonal restrictions.
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•ET0 projection maps were calculated using a temperature-based approach up to 2100.•The models were trained using 122 Automated Weather Station from the RIA network.•The ET0 estimates ...were more accurate when using RCP8.5 compared to RCP4.5.•The ET0 is expected to increase from 1300 to 1600 mm to 1900 mm using the RCP8.5.•The highest Sen slopes from 2023 to 2100 are in Andalusia's south coast.
This study firstly examines the performance of temperature-based machine learning models for estimating reference evapotranspiration (ET0), an essential parameter for water management in agriculture, ecosystems, and hydrology. Data from 122 Automated Weather Stations (AWS) across different regions in Southern Spain has been studied and four machine learning models have been developed and assessed: Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Extreme Learning Machine (ELM), Random Forest (RF), and Support Vector Machine (SVM). The results indicate that all machine learning models outperform the traditional Hargreaves-Samani method in estimating ET0. Specifically, ELM performed, on average, as the best in terms of Global Performance Indicator (GPI) for those locations situated in the first region (GPI = 0.1860), while MLP outperformed the rest for those located in the second (GPI = 0,1162). Besides, the configuration using minimum, mean and maximum air temperature (Tx, Tm, Tn, respectively), the diurnal temperature range (DTR), and Extraterrestrial solar radiation features (Ra) was found to be the fittest for the second region (GPI = 0.0734) and that using Tx, Tn, Tm and Ra in the first one in (GPI = 0.1938). Once the models were validated, they were applied to future 5 km gridded projection datasets, using different Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios, in order to estimate ET0 up to the year 2100. In general, the projected ET0 was found to increase significantly in the future, with Mann Kendall Z values that ranged from 7.11 to 10.37 in the RCP4.5 scenario and from 10.84 to 12.57 in the RCP8.5 scenario. Thus, the ET0 is expected to increase from 1300 to 1600 mm to 1500–1700 mm using the RCP4.5 and to 1900 mm using the RCP8.5 in Andalusia, with the highest increase occurring in the south coastal region. This study provides important insights into the application of machine learning models to estimate ET0 and its implications for future water management strategies.
Accurate estimations of reference evapotranspiration (ET0) are crucial for determining crop water requirements and designing an adequate irrigation scheduling to optimize the use of water. In this ...work, a new clustering method to outperform the accuracy of ET0 estimations only using temperature variables has been developed and assessed, based on the multifractal properties of the Diurnal Temperature Range (DTR). Thus, a more accurate weather stations’ grouping method has been evaluated, regardless of their geographic location. All the datasets were collected from 89 automated weather stations in the period 2000–2018 and pooled into two main regions (1 and 2). In each region, an iterative procedure has been carried out: 1) selection of all the stations except the candidate one for the training procedure and 2) test procedure using the candidate station. The results showed that Machine Learning models (ML) highly outperformed Hargreaves-Samani (HS) in most of the cases, being Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) the most accurate over Extreme Learning Machine models (ELM). On average, the results obtained by MLP using the best configuration in the first region were better than those obtained in the second region. Specifically, the first region got an Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) = 0.657 mm/d, Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) = 0.897, Coefficient of Determination (R2) = 0.931 and Mean Bias Error (MBE) = |0.04|mm/d while the second region obtained an RMSE = 0.703 mm/d, NSE = 0.867, R2 = 0.897 and MBE = |0.045|mm/d. Regarding the seasonal performance, spring and autumn obtained the best NSE and R2 results, whereas winter carried out the lowest RMSE values. This study provides a new and more accurate methodology to improve ET0 estimations on a regional basis and only using temperature data in the whole process.
•Estimating ET0 on a regional scale only using temperature records in Southern Spain.•A new clustering based on the multifractal properties of the DTR is evaluated.•This ET0 regional model outperformed local-calibration in Málaga.•MLP and ELM significantly outperformed HS in most of the sites studied.
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