Identification of Paddy Croplands and Its Stages Using Remote Sensors: A Systematic Review.

Rice is a staple food that feeds nearly half of the world's population. With the population of our planet expected to keep growing, it is crucial to carry out accurate mapping, monitoring, and assessments since these could significantly impact food security, climate change, spatial planning, and land management. Using the PRISMA systematic review protocol, this article identified and selected 122 scientific articles (journals papers and conference proceedings) addressing different remote sensing-based methodologies to map paddy croplands, published between 2010 and October 2022. This analysis includes full coverage of the mapping of rice paddies and their various stages of crop maturity. This review paper classifies the methods based on the data source: (a) multispectral (62%), (b) multisource (20%), and (c) radar (18%). Furthermore, it analyses the impact of machine learning on those methodologies and the most common algorithms used. We found that MODIS (28%), Sentinel-2 (18%), Sentinel-1 (15%), and Landsat-8 (11%) were the most used sensors. The impact of Sentinel-1 on multisource solutions is also increasing due to the potential of backscatter information to determine textures in different stages and decrease cloud cover constraints. The preferred solutions include phenology algorithms via the use of vegetation indices, setting thresholds, or applying machine learning algorithms to classify images. In terms of machine learning algorithms, random forest is the most used (17 times), followed by support vector machine (12 times) and isodata (7 times). With the continuous development of technology and computing, it is expected that solutions such as multisource solutions will emerge more frequently and cover larger areas in different locations and at a higher resolution. In addition, the continuous improvement of cloud detection algorithms will positively impact multispectral solutions.

Emotions and reading: When reading is the best way to improve skills in adolescents.

In recent years much research on reading competence in different languages has been published in parallel with the interest generated by the results of the PISA and PIRLS reports which were disseminated in the media and which have subsequently garnered the attention of public authorities. Studies that relate reading competence with emotional intelligence, however, are less frequent. This study aims to deepen the relationship between both constructs, using a quasi-experimental longitudinal approach that observes the evolution of 389 high school students in Spain from 16 to 18 years old. Evidence of a direct relationship between reading competence and emotional intelligence was obtained, particularly in the experimental group in which reading habits were stimulated.

Multiplexed methylation profiles of tumor suppressor genes in bladder cancer.

Changes in DNA methylation of tumor suppressors can occur early in carcinogenesis and are potentially important early indicators of cancer. The objective of this study was to assess the methylation of 25 tumor suppressor genes in bladder cancer using a methylation-specific (MS) multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification assay (MLPA). Initial analyses in bladder cancer cell lines (n = 14) and fresh-frozen primary bladder tumor specimens (n = 31) supported the panel of genes selected being altered in bladder cancer. The process of MS-MLPA was optimized for its application in body fluids using two independent training and validation sets of urinary specimens (n = 146), including patients with bladder cancer (n = 96) and controls (n = 50). BRCA1 (71.0%), WT1 (38.7%), and RARB (38.7%) were the most frequently methylated genes in bladder tumors, with WT1 methylation being significantly associated with tumor stage (P = 0.011). WT1 and PAX5A were identified as methylated tumor suppressors. In addition, BRCA1, WT1, and RARB were the most frequently methylated genes in urinary specimens. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses revealed significant diagnostic accuracies in both urinary sets for BRCA1, RARB, and WT1. The novelty of this report relates to applying MS-MLPA, a multiplexed methylation technique, for tumor suppressors in bladder cancer and body fluids. Methylation profiles of tumor suppressor genes were clinically relevant for histopathological stratification of bladder tumors and offered a noninvasive diagnostic strategy for the clinical management of patients affected with uroepithelial neoplasias.

Maternal exposure to cadmium during gestation perturbs the vascular system of the adult rat offspring.

Several cardiovascular diseases (CVD) observed in adulthood have been associated with environmental influences during fetal growth. Here, we show that maternal exposure to cadmium, a ubiquitously distributed heavy metal and main component of cigarette smoke is able to induce cardiovascular morpho-functional changes in the offspring at adult age. Heart morphology and vascular reactivity were evaluated in the adult offspring of rats exposed to 30ppm of cadmium during pregnancy. Echocardiographic examination shows altered heart morphology characterized by a concentric left ventricular hypertrophy. Also, we observed a reduced endothelium-dependent reactivity in isolated aortic rings of adult offspring, while endothelium-independent reactivity remained unaltered. These effects were associated with an increase of hem-oxygenase 1 (HO-1) expression in the aortas of adult offspring. The expression of HO-1 was higher in females than males, a finding likely related to the sex-dependent expression of the vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), which was lower in the adult female. All these long-term consequences were observed along with normal birth weights and absence of detectable levels of cadmium in fetal and adult tissues of the offspring. In placental tissues however, cadmium levels were detected and correlated with increased NF-κB expression--a transcription factor sensitive to inflammation and oxidative stress--suggesting a placentary mechanism that affect genes related to the development of the cardiovascular system. Our results provide, for the first time, direct experimental evidence supporting that exposure to cadmium during pregnancy reprograms cardiovascular development of the offspring which in turn may conduce to a long term increased risk of CVD.

Galectin-3 expression is associated with bladder cancer progression and clinical outcome.

Galectin-3 belongs to a family of carbohydrate-binding proteins whose function is not fully characterized. However, it is believed to play a role in adhesion, proliferation and apoptosis in solid tumors. We aimed at investigating galectin-3 expression in bladder cancer. Galectin-3 expression was assessed by transcript profiling (U133A arrays) in a series or frozen bladder tumors (n = 105). Immunohistochemistry was performed on tissue arrays containing bladder tumors (n = 389) to evaluate associations of protein expression patterns of galectin-3 with proliferation (Ki67), apoptosis (apopdetek), bcl-2, and clinicopathologic variables. Galectin-3 protein levels were then quantified in 160 urinary specimens of bladder cancer patients and controls by enzymeimmunoanalysis. Galectin-3 gene expression levels increased in invasive tumours as compared with non-muscle invasive lesions (p = 0.001) and were associated with poor survival in patients with advanced disease (p = 0.03). Protein expression patterns also correlated galectin-3 with tumor stage (p < 0.001), grade (p = 0.03), Ki67 and apopdetek (p < 0.001), and overall survival in patients with T1G3 tumors (p < 0.001). Furthermore, galectin-3 urinary levels segregated bladder cancer patients from controls with high diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.7). Independent series of bladder tumors showed that transcript and protein levels of galectin-3 were differentially expressed along bladder cancer progression. Urinary protein levels served to identify bladder cancer patients. These observations suggest a role for galectin-3 as a biomarker for bladder cancer diagnostics, staging, and outcome prognosis.

Citoqueratinas (UBC y CYFRA 21-1) y proteínas de la matriz nuclear (NMP22) como marcadores tumorales en la orina en el diagnóstico del cáncer vesical / Cytokeratins (UBC and CYFRA 21-1) and molecular protein matrix as urinary tumor markers in the diagnosis of bladder cancer

Fundamento: Los marcadores tumorales en orina como UBC, CYFRA 21-1 y NMP22 son una alternativa no invasiva para el diagnóstico del cáncer vesical. Se comparó la sensibilidad individual y combinada de los marcadores urinarios en la detección del cáncer vesical con respecto a los métodos diagnósticos convencionales. Pacientes y métodos: Se recogieron consecutivamente las orinas precistoscopia de 237 individuos: 44 pacientes con sospecha de cáncer vesical primario y 193 pacientes en seguimiento de cáncer vesical. UBC y NMP22 se cuantificaron por enzimoinmunoanálisis, CYFRA 21-1 por electroquimioluminiscencia. Resultados: Tomando como puntos de corte 9,7 µg/l para UBC, 5,4 ng/ml para CYFRA 21-1 y 10,0 U/ml para NMP22 se encontraron unas sensibilidades del 70, del 69 y del 67 por ciento, para unas especificidades del 95, del 94 y del 80 por ciento, respectivamente. Todos los marcadores tumorales urinarios presentaron sensibilidades superiores a la de la citología urinaria (7 por ciento), la presencia de microhematuria (62 por ciento) y hematuria franca (10 por ciento), cuyas especificidades fueron del 99, del 78 y del 99 por ciento, respectivamente. La determinación conjunta CYFRA 21-1 y NMP22 fue la combinación que alcanzó la mayor sensibilidad (79 por ciento), ligeramente inferior a la determinación simultánea de los tres marcadores (80 por ciento). Conclusiones: La sensibilidad de los marcadores tumorales UBC, CYFRA 21-1 y NMP22 en orina para el diagnóstico de cáncer vesical puede justificar su determinación en sustitución de la citología urinaria. La similitud diagnóstica de las citoqueratinas individualmente y en cada tipo de pacientes en estudio desaconsejaría su determinación simultánea. La determinación conjunta de NMP22 y un marcador de citoqueratinas (CYFRA 21-1 o UBC) se presenta como la más aconsejable. (AU)