Abscisic acid promotes plant acclimation to the combination of salinity and high light stress.

Plants encounter combinations of different abiotic stresses such as salinity (S) and high light (HL). These environmental conditions have a detrimental effect on plant growth and development, posing a threat to agricultural production. Metabolic changes play a crucial role in enabling plants to adapt to fluctuations in their environment. Furthermore, hormones such as abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) have been previously identified as regulators of plant responses to different abiotic stresses. Here we studied the response of Arabidopsis wild type (Col and Ler) plants and mutants impaired in hormone biosynthesis (aba2-11 and aba1-1 in ABA, aos in JA and sid2 in SA) to the combination of S and HL (S + HL). Our findings showed that aba2-11 plants displayed reduced growth, impaired photosystem II (PSII) function, increased leaf damage, and decreased survival compared to Col when subjected to stress combination. However, aos and sid2 mutants did not display significant changes in response to S + HL compared to Col, indicating a key role for ABA in promoting plant tolerance to S + HL and suggesting a marginal role for JA and SA in this process. In addition, we revealed differences in the metabolic response of plants to S + HL compared to S or HL. The analysis of altered metabolic pathways under S + HL suggested that the accumulation of flavonoids is ABA-dependent, whereas the accumulation of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and proline is ABA-independent. Therefore, our study uncovered a key function for ABA in regulating the accumulation of different flavonoids in plants during S + HL.

Comparison of metabolomic reconfiguration between Columbia and Landsberg ecotypes subjected to the combination of high salinity and increased irradiance.

BACKGROUND: Plants growing in the field are subjected to combinations of abiotic stresses. These conditions pose a devastating threat to crops, decreasing their yield and causing a negative economic impact on agricultural production. Metabolic responses play a key role in plant acclimation to stress and natural variation for these metabolic changes could be key for plant adaptation to fluctuating environmental conditions. RESULTS: Here we studied the metabolomic response of two Arabidopsis ecotypes (Columbia-0 [Col] and Landsberg erecta-0 [Ler]), widely used as genetic background for Arabidopsis mutant collections, subjected to the combination of high salinity and increased irradiance. Our findings demonstrate that this stress combination results in a specific metabolic response, different than that of the individual stresses. Although both ecotypes displayed reduced growth and quantum yield of photosystem II, as well as increased foliar damage and malondialdehyde accumulation, different mechanisms to tolerate the stress combination were observed. These included a relocation of amino acids and sugars to act as potential osmoprotectants, and the accumulation of different stress-protective compounds such as polyamines or secondary metabolites. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings reflect an initial identification of metabolic pathways that differentially change under stress combination that could be considered in studies of stress combination of Arabidopsis mutants that include Col or Ler as genetic backgrounds.

Exogenous spermine alleviates the negative effects of combined salinity and paraquat in tomato plants by decreasing stress-induced oxidative damage.

Plants are frequently exposed to different combinations of soil constraints including salinity and different herbicides. These abiotic conditions negatively affect photosynthesis, growth and plant development resulting in limitations in agriculture production. To respond to these conditions, plants accumulate different metabolites that restore cellular homeostasis and are key for stress acclimation processes. In this work, we analyzed the role of exogenous spermine (Spm), a polyamine involved in plant tolerance to abiotic stress, in tomato responses to the combination of salinity (S) and the herbicide paraquat (PQ). Our findings showed that application of Spm reduced leaf damage and enhanced survival, growth, photosystem II function and photosynthetic rate of tomato plants subjected to the combination of S and PQ. In addition, we revealed that exogenous Spm reduced H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation in plants subjected to S+PQ, suggesting that the role of exogenous Spm in alleviating the negative effects of this stress combination could be attributed to a decrease in stress-induced oxidative damage in tomato plants. Taken together, our results identify a key role for Spm in improving plant tolerance to combined stress.

Climate change-associated multifactorial stress combination: A present challenge for our ecosystems.

Humans negatively influence Earth ecosystems and biodiversity causing global warming, climate change as well as man-made pollution. Recently, the number of different stress factors have increased, and when impacting simultaneously, the multiple stress conditions cause dramatic declines in plant and ecosystem health. Although much is known about how plants and ecosystems are affected by each individual stress, recent research efforts have diverted into how these biological systems respond to several of these stress conditions applied together. Studies of such "multifactorial stress combination" concept have reported a severe decrease in plant survival and microbiome biodiversity along the increasing number of factors in a consistent directional trend. In addition, these results are in concert with studies about how ecosystems and microbiota are affected by natural conditions imposed by climate change. Therefore, all this evidence should serve as an important warning in order to decrease pollutants, create strategies to deal with global warming, and increase the tolerance of plants to multiple stressful factors in combination. Here we review recent studies focused on the impact of abiotic stresses on plants, agrosystems and different ecosystems including forests and microecosystems. In addition, different strategies to mitigate the impact of climate change in ecosystems are discussed.

The need of an environmental justice approach for wastewater based epidemiology for rural and disadvantaged communities: A review in California.

Amid the 2019 coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19), the scientific community has a responsibility to provide accessible public health resources within their communities. Wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) has been used to monitor community spread of the pandemic. The goal of this review was to evaluate the need for an environmental justice approach for COVID-19 WBE starting with the state of California in the United States. Methods included a review of the peer-reviewed literature, government-provided data, and news stories. As of June 2021, there were twelve universities, nine public dashboards, and 48 of 384 wastewater treatment plants monitoring wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 within California. The majority of wastewater monitoring in California has been conducted in the urban areas of Coastal and Southern California (34/48), with a lack of monitoring in more rural areas of Central (10/48) and Northern California (4/48). Similar to the access to COVID-19 clinical testing and vaccinations, there is a disparity in access to wastewater testing which can often provide an early warning system to outbreaks. This research demonstrates the need for an environmental justice approach and equity considerations when determining locations for environmental monitoring.

Neurologic Music Therapy Improves Participation in Children With Severe Cerebral Palsy.

Positive effects after neurologic music therapy (NMT) have been described regarding the motor function of children with severe cerebral palsy (CP). This study aimed to quantify improvements in participation, as well as complexity on task-related manual activities in children with severe bilateral CP. This analytic quasi-experimental study exposed 17 children with severe cerebral palsy to 13 NMT sessions to improve motor learning through therapeutic instrumental music performance (TIMP), using principally percussion musical instruments. Hoisan software video recording was used to quantify participation involved in creating music. In addition, the number of active movements performed in each NMT session was quantified. Significant improvements were found in the participation variables "visual contact," "motor participation" and "motor participation repetitions." Significant differences were also found in the subcategory "reaching and stroke," "hitting with the hand" and "grasping and hitting." The use of therapeutic of TIMP in children with severe CP improves participation during manual activities utilizing percussion instruments, therefore increasing the intensity of the psychomotor intervention.

Tamizaje con oximetría de pulso en el diagnóstico de cardiopatías congénitas críticas en recién nacidos / Pulse oximetry screening in the diagnosis of critical congenital heart diseases in newborns

Resumen Objetivo Describir los resultados del tamizaje con oximetría de pulso en el diagnóstico de cardiopatías congénitas críticas en recién nacidos a término y asintomáticos, en una institución de salud de la ciudad de Cúcuta, durante el año 2018. Método: Se llevó a cabo un estudio de tipo descriptivo, de corte transversal, con recolección de información de manera prospectiva, en el cual se tomó oximetría de pulso a 438 recién nacidos a término, asintomáticos, que se encontraban en el quinto piso del Hospital Universitario Erasmo Meoz entre las 18 y las 48 horas de vida. Resultados El tamizaje fue negativo en un 99.1% de los recién nacidos y positivo en el 0.91%; este porcentaje corresponde a cuatro pacientes a quienes se les solicitó valoración por cardiología pediátrica y ecocardiograma transtorácico, de los cuales uno de ellos fue diagnosticado con transposición de grandes arterias y otro con hipertensión pulmonar moderada, y los dos pacientes restantes fueron sanos y dados de alta. Conclusiones La oximetría de pulso como prueba de tamizaje entre las 18 y las 48 horas de vida fue fundamental para diagnosticar una transposición de grandes arterias en un recién nacido asintomático, permitiéndole un tratamiento oportuno para una patología que representa un gran impacto en la morbimortalidad neonatal. Además, permitió el diagnóstico de hipertensión pulmonar en uno de los neonatos.

Abstract Objective To describe the results of pulse oximetry screening in the diagnosis of critical congenital heart diseases in newborns, in a health institution in Cucuta city, during 2018. Method A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted, with information collection prospectively, in which pulse oximetry was taken of 438 asymptomatic newborns at term who are on the fifth floor of the Erasmo Meoz University Hospital between 18 and 48 hours of life. Results Screening was negative in 99.1% of newborns and positive in 0.91%, this percentage corresponds to 4 patients who were asked for evaluation by pediatric cardiology and transthoracic echocardiogram; one of them was diagnosed with transposition of the great arteries, other with moderate pulmonary hypertension, the remaining two patients were healthy and discharged. Conclusions Pulse oximetry as a screening test between 18 and 48 hours of life was essential to diagnose a transposition of the great arteries in an asymptomatic newborn, allowing timely treatment for a pathology that represents a great impact on neonatal morbidity and mortality. Additionally, it allowed the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension in one of the neonates.

A customizable method to characterize Arabidopsis thaliana transpiration under drought conditions.

BACKGROUND: Characterization of the dynamic response of plant transpiration to decreasing soil water content in a reproducible way is required for the correct phenotyping of traits related to water saving strategies. Nowadays, an increasing number of automated high throughput platforms are available, but their development requires a great economic investment and it is not always desirable/feasible to outsource these analyses. We propose a medium-throughput protocol to characterize transpiration responses to decreasing soil moisture in a quantitative and highly reproducible way with a minimum investment of resources. RESULTS: The quantitative characterization of plant responses to a decreasing soil water content using our phenotyping platform has showed high reproducibility between different experiments. The proposed irrigation strategy allowed us to harvest plants ranging from a well-watered condition to the loss-of-turgor point in a predictable and controlled way. Coupling this protocol with hormone profiling allows investigation of hormonal responses (metabolite accumulation as well as plant sensitivity) to water stress. As a proof-of-concept, we have characterized the dynamic responses of leaf transpiration to decreasing soil water contents in an abscisic acid (ABA) deficient genotype (aba1-1) as well as in genotypes with altered sensitivity to ABA (abi1-1 and hab1-1abi1-1), which are insensitive and hypersensitive to ABA, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This protocol allows for assessment of quantitative differences in rosette transpiration responses to water depletion in both ABA biosynthesis mutants and genotypes with altered sensitivity to the hormone. Data indicate a correlation between ABA levels and/or hormone perception and growth rate and/or water content. The protocol guarantees the correct application of water stress to adult plants, which is essential to understand responses of mutants and/or natural accessions.

Neurologic music therapy in upper-limb rehabilitation in children with severe bilateral cerebral palsy: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: After receiving neurologic music therapy, functional improvements in children with severe bilateral cerebral palsy have not been found in the literature. Musical training with instruments allows interrelationships between movement, emotions and cognition for task-based learning, in order to improve motor control. AIM: To understand whether neurologic music therapy has an impact on the functionality of children with severe cerebral palsy. DESIGN: A randomized controlled assessor-blind trial was carried out. SETTING: Children were recruited and treated in their own community center. POPULATION: Eighteen children with severe bilateral cerebral palsy between 4 and 16 years old were studied. METHODS: The intervention group (N.=18) received music therapy for 16 weeks, in addition to its usual physiotherapy input. Two music therapists implemented a neurologic music therapy program of therapeutic instrumental music performance. The control group (N.=9) received its usual therapeutic input, similar to the intervention group, but not neurologic music therapy. Overall and specific "Chailey levels of Ability" were quantified, as well as the locomotor stages. RESULTS: Significant improvements in the overall and specific "arm and hand position" as well as "activities" from the Chailey Levels of Ability and the locomotor stages were observed (P<0.05) in the group which received the music therapy. All these improvements persisted after 4 months. The control group showed no improvements after a four-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Optimized intervention of neurologic music therapy can improve the functionality of children with severe bilateral cerebral palsy. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: Music therapy is a useful tool in rehabilitation and its positive effects remain four months after completing the treatment.

Pectinolytic enzymes secreted by yeasts from tropical fruits.

Three hundred yeasts isolated from tropical fruits were screened in relation to secretion of pectinases. Twenty-one isolates were able to produce polygalacturonase and among them seven isolates could secrete pectin lyase. None of the isolates was able to secrete pectin methylesterase. The pectinolytic yeasts identified belonged to six different genera. Kluyveromyces wickerhamii isolated from the fruit mangaba (Hancornia speciosa) secreted the highest amount of polygalacturonase, followed by K. marxianus and Stephanoascus smithiae. The yeast Debaryomyces hansenii produced the greatest decrease in viscosity while only 3% of the glycosidic linkages were hydrolysed, indicating that the enzyme secreted was an endo-polygalacturonase. The hydrolysis of pectin by polygalacturonase secreted by S. smithiae suggested an exo-splitting mechanism. The other yeast species studied showed low polygalacturonase activity.

Influencia del círculo de abuelos en la evolución de las enfermedades articulares / Influence of the grandparents' circle on the evolution of articular diseases

Se realizó un estudio longitudinal y prospectivo en 60 abuelos que tenían alguna enfermedad articular de un total de 70 dispensarizados en el consultorio del médico de la familia No. 50 del policlínico comunitario "Alberto Fernández Montes de Oca", San Luis, Santiago de Cuba. El objetivo del estudio fue valorar la influencia del circulo de abuelos, con su programa de actividades físicas y recreativas, sobre la salud de los ancianos y específicamente, en la evolución de las enfermedades articulares. La edad del grupo osciló entre 65 y 69 años, con predominio del sexo femenino, la osteoartritis fue la enfermedad más generalizada, la mayoría de los abuelos estaban deprimidos y pocos usaban el bastón. Después de la incorporación al circulo de abuelos, el grupo refirió mejoría en el estado de salud, fundamentalmente en sus dolencias articulares y el estado depresivo. La atención de enfermería se clasificó de buena por todos los pacientes. Se puede concluir que el círculo de abuelos desempeñó un importante papel en la recuperación de las capacidades físicas y psíquicas del adulto mayor(AU)

He/she was carried out a longitudinal and prospective study in 60 grandparents that had some illness to Not articulate of a total of 70 dispensarizados in the clinic of the doctor of the family. 50 of the community policlínico Alberto Fernández Mounts of Goose", San Luis, Santiago from Cuba. The objective of the study was to value the influence of the I circulate of grandparents, with its program of physical and recreational activities, about the health of the old ones and specifically, in the evolution of the illnesses articulares. The age of the group oscillated between 65 and 69 years, with prevalence of the feminine sex, the osteoartritis was the most widespread illness, most of the grandparents were depressed and few used the cane. After the incorporation to the I circulate of grandparents, the group referred improvement in the state of health, fundamentally in its ailments articulares and the depressive state. The infirmary attention was classified of good by all the patients. You can conclude that the circle of grandparents played an important part in the recovery of the biggest adult's physical and psychic capacities(AU)

Influencia del círculo de abuelos en la evolución de las enfermedades articulares / Influence of the grandparents' circle on the evolution of articular diseases

Se realizó un estudio longitudinal y prospectivo en 60 abuelos que tenían alguna enfermedad articular de un total de 70 dispensarizados en el consultorio del médico de la familia No. 50 del policlínico comunitario "Alberto Fernández Montes de Oca", San Luis, Santiago de Cuba. El objetivo del estudio fue valorar la influencia del circulo de abuelos, con su programa de actividades físicas y recreativas, sobre la salud de los ancianos y específicamente, en la evolución de las enfermedades articulares. La edad del grupo osciló entre 65 y 69 años, con predominio del sexo femenino, la osteoartritis fue la enfermedad más generalizada, la mayoría de los abuelos estaban deprimidos y pocos usaban el bastón. Después de la incorporación al circulo de abuelos, el grupo refirió mejoría en el estado de salud, fundamentalmente en sus dolencias articulares y el estado depresivo. La atención de enfermería se clasificó de buena por todos los pacientes. Se puede concluir que el círculo de abuelos desempeñó un importante papel en la recuperación de las capacidades físicas y psíquicas del adulto mayor(AU)