Forest bioeconomy in the media discourse in Spain.

Media can play a key role in shaping public opinion and setting a policy agenda by conveying and influencing public discourse. This article evaluates how the Spanish media has covered the topic of the forest bioeconomy and what kind of discourse it has produced and reproduced around it. For this purpose, we analysed the content of 204 national and regional newspaper articles. The results reveal the scarce penetration of the forest bioeconomy in media and some weaknesses in the narrative production and communicative dimension. The discourse is mainly constructed by governments with a limited presence of multiple stakeholders and an absence of conflict and divergent or alternative views. In addition, the discourse only addresses regional or local problems within the framework of an extended and dominant paradigm of economic growth considering the forest bioeconomy as an opportunity to combat fire, rural abandonment, smallholdings, and poor forest management. We conclude that media is not using its strategic potential and capacity as a public space. To become agents of change, the media should reflect a forest bioeconomy based on successful experiences of innovation and valorization, and adopt a transformative social vision that gives relevance to the interconnection between multiple stakeholders, forest multifunctionality and rural development.

Vitamin D receptor gene is epigenetically altered and transcriptionally up-regulated in multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) and poor outcome. However, the specific role that vitamin D plays in MS still remains unknown. In order to identify potential mechanisms underlying vitamin D effects in MS, we profiled epigenetic changes in vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene to identify genomic regulatory elements relevant to MS pathogenesis. METHODS: Human T cells derived from whole blood by negative selection were isolated in a set of 23 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients and 12 controls matched by age and gender. DNA methylation levels were assessed by bisulfite cloning sequencing in two regulatory elements of VDR. mRNA levels were measured by RT-qPCR to assess changes in VDR expression between patients and controls. RESULTS: An alternative VDR promoter placed at exon 1c showed increased DNA methylation levels in RRMS patients (median 30.08%, interquartile range 19.2%) compared to controls (18.75%, 9.5%), p-value<0.05. Moreover, a 6.5-fold increase in VDR mRNA levels was found in RRMS patients compared to controls (p-value<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: An alternative promoter of the VDR gene shows altered DNA methylation levels in patients with multiple sclerosis, and it is associated with VDR mRNA upregulation. This locus may represent a candidate regulatory element in the genome relevant to MS pathogenesis.

Mechanochemical Activation of Covalent Bonds in Polymers with Full and Repeatable Macroscopic Shape Recovery.

Covalent mechanochemistry within bulk polymers typically occurs with irreversible deformation of the parent material. Here we show that embedding mechanophores into an elastomeric poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) network allows for covalent bond activation under macroscopically reversible deformations. Using the colorimetric mechanophore spiropyran, we show that bond activation can be repeated over multiple cycles of tensile elongation with full shape recovery. Further, localized compression can be used to pattern strain-induced chemistry. The platform enables the reversibility of a secondary strain-induced color change to be characterized. We also observe mechanical acceleration of a flex-activated retro-Diels-Alder reaction, allowing a chemical signal to be released in response to a fully reversible deformation.