Automatic Voice Disorder Detection from a Practical Perspective.

Voice disorders, such as dysphonia, are common among the general population. These pathologies often remain untreated until they reach a high level of severity. Assisting the detection of voice disorders could facilitate early diagnosis and subsequent treatment. In this study, we address the practical aspects of automatic voice disorders detection (AVDD). In real-world scenarios, data annotated for voice disorders is usually scarce due to various challenges involved in the collection and annotation of such data. However, some relatively large datasets are available for a reduced number of domains. In this context, we propose the use of a combination of out-of-domain and in-domain data for training a deep neural network-based AVDD system, and offer guidance on the minimum amount of in-domain data required to achieve acceptable performance. Further, we propose the use of a cost-based metric, the normalized expected cost (EC), to evaluate performance of AVDD systems in a way that closely reflects the needs of the application. As an added benefit, optimal decisions for the EC can be made in a principled way given by Bayes decision theory. Finally, we argue that for medical applications like AVDD, the categorical decisions need to be accompanied by interpretable scores that reflect the confidence of the system. Even very accurate models often produce scores that are not suited for interpretation. Here, we show that such models can be easily improved by adding a calibration stage-trained with just a few minutes of in-domain data. The outputs of the resulting calibrated system can then better support practitioners in their decision-making process.

Enzymes Involved in Antioxidant and Detoxification Processes Present Changes in the Expression Levels of Their Coding Genes under the Stress Caused by the Presence of Antimony in Tomato.

Currently, there is an increasing presence of heavy metals and metalloids in soils and water due to anthropogenic activities. However, the biggest problem caused by this increase is the difficulty in recycling these elements and their high permanence in soils. There are plants with great capacity to assimilate these elements or make them less accessible to other organisms. We analyzed the behavior of Solanum lycopersicum L., a crop with great agronomic interest, under the stress caused by antimony (Sb). We evaluated the antioxidant response throughout different exposure times to the metalloid. Our results showed that the enzymes involved in the AsA-GSH cycle show changes in their expression level under the stress caused by Sb but could not find a relationship between the NITROSOGLUTATHIONE REDUCTASE (GSNOR) expression data and nitric oxide (NO) content in tomato roots exposed to Sb. We hypothesize that a better understanding of how these enzymes work could be key to develop more tolerant varieties to this kind of abiotic stress and could explain a greater or lesser phytoremediation capacity. Moreover, we deepened our knowledge about Glutathione S-transferase (GST) and Glutathione Reductase (GR) due to their involvement in the elimination of the xenobiotic component.

Deep Learning for chaos detection.

In this article, we study how a chaos detection problem can be solved using Deep Learning techniques. We consider two classical test examples: the Logistic map as a discrete dynamical system and the Lorenz system as a continuous dynamical system. We train three types of artificial neural networks (multi-layer perceptron, convolutional neural network, and long short-term memory cell) to classify time series from the mentioned systems into regular or chaotic. This approach allows us to study biparametric and triparametric regions in the Lorenz system due to their low computational cost compared to traditional techniques.

Effect of a low versus intermediate tidal volume strategy on pulmonary complications in patients at risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome-a randomized clinical trial.

Introduction: There is no consensus on whether invasive ventilation should use low tidal volumes (VT) to prevent lung complications in patients at risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The purpose of this study is to determine if a low VT strategy is more effective than an intermediate VT strategy in preventing pulmonary complications. Methods: A randomized clinical trial was conducted in invasively ventilated patients with a lung injury prediction score (LIPS) of >4 performed in the intensive care units of 10 hospitals in Spain and one in the United States of America (USA) from 3 November 2014 to 30 August 2016. Patients were randomized to invasive ventilation using low VT (≤ 6 mL/kg predicted body weight, PBW) (N = 50) or intermediate VT (> 8 mL/kg PBW) (N = 48). The primary endpoint was the development of ARDS during the first 7 days after the initiation of invasive ventilation. Secondary endpoints included the development of pneumonia and severe atelectases; the length of intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay; and ICU, hospital, 28- and 90-day mortality. Results: In total, 98 patients [67.3% male], with a median age of 65.5 years [interquartile range 55-73], were enrolled until the study was prematurely stopped because of slow recruitment and loss of equipoise caused by recent study reports. On day 7, five (11.9%) patients in the low VT group and four (9.1%) patients in the intermediate VT group had developed ARDS (risk ratio, 1.16 [95% CI, 0.62-2.17]; p = 0.735). The incidence of pneumonia and severe atelectasis was also not different between the two groups. The use of a low VT strategy did neither affect the length of ICU and hospital stay nor mortality rates. Conclusions: In patients at risk for ARDS, a low VT strategy did not result in a lower incidence of ARDS than an intermediate VT strategy.Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT02070666.

Isomeric Aromatic Polyimides Containing Biphenyl Moieties for Gas Separation Applications.

An optimized synthesis of the monomer 2,2'3,3'-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride, iBPDA, was performed to obtain high molecular weight polymers. This monomer has a contorted structure that produces a non-linear shape, hindering the packing of the polymer chain. Aromatic polyimides of high molecular weight were obtained by reaction with the commercial diamine 2,2-bis(4-aminophenyl) hexafluoropropane, 6FpDA, which is a very common monomer in gas separation applications. This diamine has hexafluoroisopropylidine groups which introduce rigidity in the chains, hindering efficient packing. The thermal treatment of the polymers processed as dense membranes had two targets: on the one hand, to achieve the complete elimination of the solvent used, which could remain occluded in the polymeric matrix, and on the other hand to ensure the complete cycloimidization of the polymer. A thermal treatment exceeding the glass transition temperature was performed to ensure the maximum degree of imidization at 350 °C. The good mechanical properties of these materials allow for their use in high-pressure gas purification applications. Moreover, models of the polymers exhibited an Arrhenius-like behavior characteristic of secondary relaxations, normally associated with local motions of the molecular chain. The gas productivity of these membranes was high.

Effect of Thallium(I) on Growth, Nutrient Absorption, Photosynthetic Pigments, and Antioxidant Response of Dittrichia Plants.

Dittrichia plants were exposed to thallium (Tl) stress (10, 50, and 100 µM) for 7 days. The Tl toxicity altered the absorption and accumulation of other nutrients. In both the roots and the leaves, there was a decline in K, Mg, and Fe content, but an increase in Ca, Mn, and Zn. Chlorophylls decreased, as did the photosynthetic efficiency, while carotenoids increased. Oxidative stress in the roots was reflected in increased lipid peroxidation. There was more production of superoxide (O2.-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and nitric oxide (NO) in the roots than in the leaves, with increases in both organs in response to Tl toxicity, except for O2.- production in the roots, which fluctuated. There was increased hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production, especially in the leaves. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR), and glutathione reductase (GR) showed increased activities, except for APX and MDHAR in the roots and GR in the leaves. The components of the ascorbate-glutathione cycle were affected. Thus, ascorbate (AsA) increased, while dehydroascorbate (DHA), reduced glutathione (GSH), and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) decreased, except for in the roots at 100 µM Tl, which showed increased GSH. These Tl toxicity-induced alterations modify the AsA/DHA and GSH/GSSG redox status. The NO and H2S interaction may act by activating the antioxidant system. The effects of Tl could be related to its strong affinity for binding with -SH groups, thus altering the functionality of proteins and the cellular redox state.

Unsupervised Anomaly Detection Applied to Φ-OTDR.

Distributed acoustic sensors (DASs) based on direct-detection Φ-OTDR use the light-matter interaction between light pulses and optical fiber to detect mechanical events in the fiber environment. The signals received in Φ-OTDR come from the coherent interference of the portion of the fiber illuminated by the light pulse. Its high sensitivity to minute phase changes in the fiber results in a severe reduction in the signal to noise ratio in the intensity trace that demands processing techniques be able to isolate events. For this purpose, this paper proposes a method based on Unsupervised Anomaly Detection techniques which make use of concepts from the field of deep learning and allow the removal of much of the noise from the Φ-OTDR signals. The fact that this method is unsupervised means that no human-labeled data are needed for training and only event-free data are used for this purpose. Moreover, this method has been implemented and its performance has been tested with real data showing promising results.

Physiological and Molecular Responses of Vitis vinifera cv. Tempranillo Affected by Esca Disease.

Esca is a multi-fungal disease affecting grapevines. The objective of the study was to evaluate the physiological and molecular response of the grapevine cv. Tempranillo to esca disease, carried out in a vineyard under Mediterranean climatic conditions in western Spain. The photosynthetic pigments in the leaves decreased, with a strong decrease in the photosynthetic efficiency. The proline content increased significantly in the early stages of affected leaves, being possibly involved in the maintenance of lipid peroxidation levels in leaves, which do not increase. The phenol, flavonoid, and phenylpropanoid content decreased in esca-affected leaves, as does the total antioxidant capacity (FRAP), while the polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity suffers a strong increase with the development of the disease. In affected grapes, the lipid peroxidation and the total phenol content decrease, but not the anthocyanin content. The ascorbate pool decreases with the disease and with time. On the other hand, pool GSH + GSSG is lower in affected leaves, but increases with time. These alterations show a clear change in the redox homeostasis. The expression of genes phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and chalcone synthase (ChaS1 and ChaS3) become considerably higher in response to esca, being even higher when the infection time increases. The alteration of AsA and GSH levels, phenolic compounds, PPO activity, proline content, and FRAP, together with the increase of the PAL, PPO, SOD,ChaS1, and ChaS3 gene expression, are clearly implicated in the esca response in plants. The expression of these genes, similar to the PPO activity, can be used as markers of state in the development of the disease.

Free Volume and Permeability of Mixed Matrix Membranes Made from a Terbutil-M-terphenyl Polyamide and a Porous Polymer Network.

A set of thermally rearranged mixed matrix membranes (TR-MMMs) was manufactured and tested for gas separation. These membranes were obtained through the thermal treatment of a precursor MMM with a microporous polymer network and an o-hydroxypolyamide,(HPA) created through a reaction of 2,2-bis(3-amino-4-hydroxyphenyl)-hexafluoropropane (APAF) and 5'-terbutil-m-terfenilo-3,3″-dicarboxylic acid dichloride (tBTmCl). This HPA was blended with different percentages of a porous polymer network (PPN) filler, which produced gas separation MMMs with enhanced gas permeability but with decreased selectivity. The thermal treatment of these MMMs gave membranes with excellent gas separation properties that did not show the selectivity decreasing trend. It was observed that the use of the PPN load brought about a small decrease in the initial mass losses, which were lower for increasing PPN loads. Regarding the glass transition temperature, it was observed that the use of the filler translated to a slightly lower Tg value. When these MMMs and TR-MMMs were compared with the analogous materials created from the isomeric 5'-terbutil-m-terfenilo-4,4″-dicarboxylic acid dichloride (tBTpCl), the permeability was lower for that of tBTmCl, compared with the one from tBTpCl, although selectivity was quite similar. This fact could be attributed to a lower rigidity as roughly confirmed by the segmental length of the polymer chain as studied by WAXS. A model for FFV calculation was proposed and its predictions compared with those evaluated from density measurements assuming a matrix-filler interaction or ideal independence. It turns out that permeability as a function of FFV for TR-MMMs follows an interaction trend, while those not thermally treated follow the non-interaction trend until relatively high PPN loads were reached.

Red blood cell distribution width as prognostic factor in sepsis: A new use for a classical parameter.

PURPOSE: To evaluate Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) as a sepsis prognostic biomarker. METHODS: 203 septic patients admitted to the ICU. Analysis of RDW dynamics, hospital mortality discrimination ability and the added value when incorporated to the SOFA, LODS, SAPS-II and APACHE-II scores using the AUC-ROC. RESULTS: Non-survivors presented higher RDW values during the first week after ICU admission (p = 0.048). Only SOFA and RDW were independently associated with mortality when adjusted by Charlson, immunosuppression, nosocomial infection, NEWS2, SAPS-II, septic shock and haemoglobin (p < 0.05). After adjustment, AUC-ROC was 0.827, 0.822, 0.824, 0.834 and 0.812 for each model including admission, 24, 48 and 72-h and 7-days RDW, respectively. When added to the scores, 24-h RDW and admission RDW improved their discrimination ability (SOFA AUC-ROC = 0.772 vs 0.812 SOFA + admission RDW, p = 0.041; LODS AUC-ROC = 0.687 vs 0.710, p = 0.002; SAPS-II AUC-ROC = 0.734 vs 0.785, p = 0.021; APACHE-II AUC-ROC = 0.672 vs 0.755, p = 0.003). Admission RDW with SOFA presented the better discrimination ability for mortality. CONCLUSION: RDW is an independent prognostic marker of death in septic patients admitted in the ICU that improves SOFA, LODS, APACHE-II and SAPS-II discrimination ability. This parameter could be incorporated to the prognostic scores as a marker of systemic dysfunction and dysregulated inflammatory response.

Early Tracheostomy for Managing ICU Capacity During the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Propensity-Matched Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, shortages of ventilators and ICU beds overwhelmed health care systems. Whether early tracheostomy reduces the duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU stay is controversial. RESEARCH QUESTION: Can failure-free day outcomes focused on ICU resources help to decide the optimal timing of tracheostomy in overburdened health care systems during viral epidemics? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included consecutive patients with COVID-19 pneumonia who had undergone tracheostomy in 15 Spanish ICUs during the surge, when ICU occupancy modified clinician criteria to perform tracheostomy in Patients with COVID-19. We compared ventilator-free days at 28 and 60 days and ICU- and hospital bed-free days at 28 and 60 days in propensity score-matched cohorts who underwent tracheostomy at different timings (≤ 7 days, 8-10 days, and 11-14 days after intubation). RESULTS: Of 1,939 patients admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia, 682 (35.2%) underwent tracheostomy, 382 (56%) within 14 days. Earlier tracheostomy was associated with more ventilator-free days at 28 days (≤ 7 days vs > 7 days [116 patients included in the analysis]: median, 9 days [interquartile range (IQR), 0-15 days] vs 3 days [IQR, 0-7 days]; difference between groups, 4.5 days; 95% CI, 2.3-6.7 days; 8-10 days vs > 10 days [222 patients analyzed]: 6 days [IQR, 0-10 days] vs 0 days [IQR, 0-6 days]; difference, 3.1 days; 95% CI, 1.7-4.5 days; 11-14 days vs > 14 days [318 patients analyzed]: 4 days [IQR, 0-9 days] vs 0 days [IQR, 0-2 days]; difference, 3 days; 95% CI, 2.1-3.9 days). Except hospital bed-free days at 28 days, all other end points were better with early tracheostomy. INTERPRETATION: Optimal timing of tracheostomy may improve patient outcomes and may alleviate ICU capacity strain during the COVID-19 pandemic without increasing mortality. Tracheostomy within the first work on a ventilator in particular may improve ICU availability.

Better prognostic ability of NEWS2, SOFA and SAPS-II in septic patients. / Mejor capacidad pronóstica de NEWS2, SOFA y SAPS-II en pacientes con sepsis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To compare the ability of qSOFA, NEWS2, SOFA, LODS, SIRS, APACHE-II and SAPS-II scores. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Analysis of in-hospital mortality of 203 patients admitted to the ICU because of sepsis. The scores were compared according to their application. Discrimination was evaluated with AUC-ROC curve and performance with the Akaike's (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC). RESULTS: In-hospital mortality was 31.53%. NEWS2 showed better mortality discrimination ability and better performance considering the AIC/BIC criterion for mortality tan qSOFA (AUC-ROC=.615 and .536; P=.039). SOFA presented higher performance and AUC-ROC tan LODS (.776 vs .693; P=.01) and both showed higher discrimination ability than SIRS (AUC-ROC=.521; P<.003). Finally, SAPS-II was able to predict mortality with better performance than APACHE-II and presented higher discrimination capacity but without statistical significance compared (AUROC=.738 for SAPS-II and AUROC=.673 for APACHE-II; P=.08). CONCLUSION: NEWS2 is a better predictor of mortality than qSOFA and its implementation for the early recognition of the septic patient or the patient with higher risk in the emergency and hospitalization wards should be addressed. In addition, given that SOFA and SAPS-II showed better performance and are simpler than LODS and APACHE-II, respectively, both should be considered the scores of choice in this setting.

Hydrogen Recovery by Mixed Matrix Membranes Made from 6FCl-APAF HPA with Different Contents of a Porous Polymer Network and Their Thermal Rearrangement.

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) consisting of a blend of a hydroxypolyamide (HPA) matrix and variable loads of a porous polymer network (PPN) were thermally treated to induce the transformation of HPA to polybenzoxazole (ß-TR-PBO). Here, the HPA matrix was a hydroxypolyamide having two hexafluoropropyilidene moieties, 6FCl-APAF, while the PPN was prepared by reacting triptycene (TRP) and trifluoroacetophenone (TFAP) in a superacid solution. The most probable size of the PPN particles was 75 nm with quite large distributions. The resulting membranes were analyzed by SEM and AFM. Up to 30% PPN loads, both SEM and AFM images confirmed quite planar surfaces, at low scale, with limited roughness. Membranes with high hydrogen permeability and good selectivity for the gas pairs H2/CH4 and H2/N2 were obtained. For H2/CO2, selectivity almost vanished after thermal rearrangement. In all cases, their hydrogen permeability increased with increasing loads of PPN until around 30% PPN with ulterior fairly abrupt decreasing of permeability for all gases studied. Thermal rearrangement of the MMMs resulted in higher permeabilities but lower selectivities. For all the membranes and gas pairs studied, the balance of permeability vs. selectivity surpassed the 1991 Robeson's upper bound, and approached or even exceeded the 2008 line, for MMMs having 30% PPN loads. In all cases, the HPA-MMMs before thermal rearrangement provided good selectivity versus permeability compromise, similar to their thermally rearranged counterparts but in the zone of high selectivity. For H2/CH4, H2/N2, these nonthermally rearranged MMMs approach the 2008 Robeson's upper bound while H2/CO2 gives selective transport favoring H2 on the 1991 Robeson's bound. Thus, attending to the energy cost of thermal rearrangement, it could be avoided in some cases especially when high selectivity is the target rather than high permeability.

Response to Antimony Toxicity in Dittrichia viscosa Plants: ROS, NO, H2S, and the Antioxidant System.

Dittrichia viscosa plants were grown hydroponically with different concentrations of Sb. There was preferential accumulation of Sb in roots. Fe and Cu decreased, while Mn decreased in roots but not in leaves. Chlorophyll content declined, but the carotenoid content increased, and photosynthetic efficiency was unaltered. O2●- generation increased slightly, while lipid peroxidation increased only in roots. H2O2, NO, ONOO-, S-nitrosothiols, and H2S showed significant increases, and the enzymatic antioxidant system was altered. In roots, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDAR) activities declined, dehydroscorbate reductase (DHAR) rose, and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), peroxidase (POX), and glutathione reductase (GR) were unaffected. In leaves, SOD and POX increased, MDAR decreased, and APX was unaltered, while GR increased. S-nitrosoglutathione reductase (GSNOR) and l-cysteine desulfhydrilase (l-DES) increased in activity, while glutathione S-transferase (GST) decreased in leaves but was enhanced in roots. Components of the AsA/GSH cycle decreased. The great capacity of Dittrichia roots to accumulate Sb is the reason for the differing behaviour observed in the enzymatic antioxidant systems of the two organs. Sb appears to act by binding to thiol groups, which can alter free GSH content and SOD and GST activities. The coniferyl alcohol peroxidase activity increased, possibly to lignify the roots' cell walls. Sb altered the ROS balance, especially with respect to H2O2. This led to an increase in NO and H2S acting on the antioxidant system to limit that Sb-induced redox imbalance. The interaction NO, H2S and H2O2 appears key to the response to stress induced by Sb. The interaction between ROS, NO, and H2S appears to be involved in the response to Sb.

Gas Separation by Mixed Matrix Membranes with Porous Organic Polymer Inclusions within o-Hydroxypolyamides Containing m-Terphenyl Moieties.

A hydroxypolyamide (HPA) manufactured from 2,2-bis(3-amino-4-hydroxy phenyl)-hexafluoropropane (APAF) diamine and 5'-terbutyl-m-terphenyl-4,4''-dicarboxylic acid chloride (tBTpCl), and a copolyimide produced by stochiometric copolymerization of APAF and 4,4'-(hexafluoroisopropylidene) diamine (6FpDA), using the same diacid chloride, were obtained and used as polymeric matrixes in mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) loaded with 20% (w/w) of two porous polymer networks (triptycene-isatin, PPN-1, and triptycene-trifluoroacetophenone, PPN-2). These MMMs, and also the thermally rearranged membranes (TR-MMMs) that underwent a thermal treatment process to convert the o-hydroxypolyamide moieties to polybenzoxazole ones, were characterized, and their gas separation properties evaluated for H2, N2, O2, CH4, and CO2. Both TR process and the addition of PPN increased permeability with minor decreases in selectivity for all gases tested. Excellent results were obtained, in terms of the permeability versus selectivity compromise, for H2/CH4 and H2/N2 separations with membranes approaching the 2008 Robeson's trade-off line. The best gas separation properties were obtained when PPN-2 was used. Finally, gas permeation was characterized in terms of chain intersegmental distance and fraction of free volume of the membrane along with the kinetic diameters of the permeated gases. The intersegmental distance increased after TR and/or the addition of PPN-2. Permeability followed an exponential dependence with free volume and a quadratic function of the kinetic diameter of the gas.

YODA Kinase Controls a Novel Immune Pathway of Tomato Conferring Enhanced Disease Resistance to the Bacterium Pseudomonas syringae.

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) play pivotal roles in transducing developmental cues and environmental signals into cellular responses through pathways initiated by MAPK kinase kinases (MAP3K). AtYODA is a MAP3K of Arabidopsis thaliana that controls stomatal development and non-canonical immune responses. Arabidopsis plants overexpressing a constitutively active YODA protein (AtCA-YDA) show broad-spectrum disease resistance and constitutive expression of defensive genes. We tested YDA function in crops immunity by heterologously overexpressing AtCA-YDA in Solanum lycopersicum. We found that these tomato AtCA-YDA plants do not show developmental phenotypes and fitness alterations, except a reduction in stomatal index, as reported in Arabidopsis AtCA-YDA plants. Notably, AtCA-YDA tomato plants show enhanced resistance to the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 and constitutive upregulation of defense-associated genes, corroborating the functionality of YDA in tomato immunity. This function was further supported by generating CRISPR/Cas9-edited tomato mutants impaired in the closest orthologs of AtYDA [Solyc08g081210 (SlYDA1) and Solyc03g025360 (SlYDA2)]. Slyda1 and Slyda2 mutants are highly susceptible to P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 in comparison to wild-type plants but only Slyda2 shows altered stomatal index. These results indicate that tomato orthologs have specialized functions and support that YDA also regulates immune responses in tomato and may be a trait for breeding disease resistance.

Effects of Antimony on Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species (ROS and RNS) and Antioxidant Mechanisms in Tomato Plants.

This research studies the effects that Sb toxicity (0.0, 0.5, and 1.0 mM) has on the growth, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and antioxidant systems in tomato plants. Sb is accumulated preferentially in the roots, with little capacity for its translocation to the leaves where the concentration is much lower. The growth of the seedlings is reduced, with alteration in the content in other nutrients. There is a decrease in the content of Fe, Mg, and Mn, while Cu and Zn increase. The contents in chlorophyll a and b decrease, as does the photosynthetic efficiency. On the contrary the carotenoids increase, indicating a possible action as antioxidants and protectors against Sb. The phenolic compounds do not change, and seem not to be involved in the defense response of the tomato against the stress by Sb. The water content of the leaves decreases while that of proline increases in response to the Sb toxicity. Fluorescence microscopy images and spectrofluorometric detection showed increases in the production of O2.-, H2O2, NO, and ONOO-, but not of nitrosothiols. The Sb toxicity induces changes in the SOD, POX, APX, and GR antioxidant activities, which show a clear activation in the roots. In leaves, only the SOD and APX increase. The DHAR activity is inhibited in roots but undergoes no changes in the leaves, as is also the case for the POX and GR activities. Ascorbate increases while GSH decreases in the roots. The total AsA + DHA content increases in the roots, but the total GSH + GSSG content decreases, while neither is altered in the leaves. Under Sb toxicity increases the expression of the SOD, APX, and GR genes, while the expression of GST decreases dramatically in roots but increases in leaves. In addition, an alteration is observed in the pattern of the growth of the cells in the elongation zone, with smaller and disorganized cells. All these effects appear to be related to the ability of the Sb to form complexes with thiol groups, including GSH, altering both redox homeostasis and the levels of auxin in the roots and the quiescent center.

Manuel Piti Fajardo Rivero: padre, hijo, un doctor de verde olivo / Manuel Piti Fajardo Rivero: father, son and a warrior doctor

Introducción: los médicos han estado vinculados al proceso revolucionario en cada etapa histórica del pueblo cubano, como demuestra la incorporación de numerosos galenos a las filas insurrectas mambisas y más contemporáneamente a las tropas rebeldes, constituyendo el Cuerpo de Sanidad Militar. Una muestra fehaciente de ello lo constituye la figura de Manuel Fajardo Rivero, Piti, más cariñosamente. Objetivo: valorar a Manuel Piti Fajardo Rivero a partir de su dimensión personal y labor como médico guerrillero y revolucionario convencido, desde el testimonio de quienes lo conocieron. Método: se realizó un análisis documental por vía manual y también automatizada, empleando buscadores de confianza como Google académico y SciELO, sobre el médico rebelde Manuel Piti Fajardo Rivero. Se consultaron 25 fuentes bibliográficas en idioma español, de las cuales el 60 % correspondió a los últimos cinco años. Desarrollo: se presenta al joven alegre, inquieto, hijo devoto y padre amoroso, al médico de vocación y al audaz combatiente en los días de clandestinidad y guerrilla, que brindó su aporte a la curación de heridos y enfermos, pero también al logro de la victoria definitiva tras la cual desempeñó tareas de impacto en la construcción de la sociedad soñada por los cubanos. Consideraciones finales: Piti Fajardo fue un excepcional revolucionario y ser humano, noble, de principios firmes y con alto sentido de la justicia y amor al prójimo, como expresaran con enfoque anecdótico quienes lo conocieron. Su nombre será siempre llevado con cariño

Introduction: doctors have been connected with the revolutionary process in every historical stage of the Cuban people, demonstrated by the incorporation of several of them to the Cuban independence fighters, named Mambises, and closer in the time to the rebel troops (guerrillas), constituting the Military Health Corps. An example of this is Manuel Fajardo Rivero, more affectionately called Piti. Objective: to value the personal dimension, work as a doctor in the (guerrilla) and as a great revolutionary of Manuel Piti Fajardo Rivero, from the testimony of those who knew him. Method: a manual and automated documentary analysis was carried out about the warrior doctor Manuel Piti Fajardo Rivero, using reliable search engines such as academic Google and SciELO. Twenty-five Spanish-language bibliographic sources were consulted, 60% of them corresponded to the last five years. Development: is presented the happy and restless young man, devoted son and loving father, the doctor by vocation and the daring warrior in the days of clandestinely and the guerrilla warfare, who contributed to the healing of the wounded and sick people from the battle, but also contributed to the achievement of the definitive victory after which he carried out tasks of impact in the construction of the society dreamed by the Cuban people. Final considerations: Piti Fajardo was an exceptional revolutionary and human being, with good feelings, a principles person and with a high sense of justice and love for others, as expressed with anecdotal focus by those who knew him. His name will always be carried with affection

The Tomato Genome Encodes SPCH, MUTE, and FAMA Candidates That Can Replace the Endogenous Functions of Their Arabidopsis Orthologs.

Stomatal abundance determines the maximum potential for gas exchange between the plant and the atmosphere. In Arabidopsis, it is set during organ development through complex genetic networks linking epidermal differentiation programs with environmental response circuits. Three related bHLH transcription factors, SPCH, MUTE, and FAMA, act as positive drivers of stomata differentiation. Mutant alleles of some of these genes sustain different stomatal numbers in the mature organs and have potential to modify plant performance under different environmental conditions. However, knowledge about stomatal genes in dicotyledoneous crops is scarce. In this work, we identified the Solanum lycopersicum putative orthologs of these three master regulators and assessed their functional orthology by their ability to complement Arabidopsis loss-of-function mutants, the epidermal phenotypes elicited by their conditional overexpression, and the expression patterns of their promoter regions in Arabidopsis. Our results indicate that the tomato proteins are functionally equivalent to their Arabidopsis counterparts and that the tomato putative promoter regions display temporal and spatial expression domains similar to those reported for the Arabidopsis genes. In vivo tracking of tomato stomatal lineages in developing cotyledons revealed cell division and differentiation histories similar to those of Arabidopsis. Interestingly, the S. lycopersicum genome harbors a FAMA-like gene, expressed in leaves but functionally distinct from the true FAMA orthologue. Thus, the basic program for stomatal development in S. lycopersicum uses key conserved genetic determinants. This opens the possibility of modifying stomatal abundance in tomato through previously tested Arabidopsis alleles conferring altered stomata abundance phenotypes that correlate with physiological traits related to water status, leaf cooling, or photosynthesis.