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The potential effect of preharvest environmental variation on the postharvest behaviour of apples (Malus domestica Borkh.) was assessed for ‘Cripps Pink’ variety apples grown in four different agroclimatic locations along the irrigated valley of Central Chile (Llancanao, Malloa, El Radal and El Parrón). The flesh firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), skin colour, internal ethylene concentration (IEC), internal browning (IB) and index of absorbance difference (IAD) were assessed in apples that had been stored at 0.5 and 2°C for 4 and 6 months and correlated with environmental parameters prior to harvest (February). There was notable variation in the IAD, percentage of red-coloured skin, TSS, firmness and IEC among the orchards at both storage temperatures, and both radial and diffuse IB were identified. Further analysis showed that the preharvest environmental conditions were correlated with the evaluated parameters, with five significant correlations (P < 0.05) being found and 63 of the 120 correlations examined having r values above 0.5. These findings indicate that preharvest environmental conditions affected fruit parameters during storage, which has implications under climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemodialysis adequately controls serum uric acid (UA) levels, making UA-lowering drugs unnecessary; scant data are available for peritoneal dialysis (PD). We analyzed blood, 24 h urine and dialysis fluid from twenty patients under PD, to assess UA levels and clearances, and factors associated with better performance and maintenance of target levels (<6mg/dL). Median serum UA was 5.4 mg/dL (p25–75 4.4–5.8), mainly achieved through peritoneal clearance (3.0 mL/min/1.73m2, 71.2% of total UA clearance); 75% of participants was on UA targets. Continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis showed highest UA clearance and target achievements. These findings may be of interest for end-stage renal patients with gout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canopy development and production efficiency variations were evaluated in four sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivars: 'Bing', 'Lapins', 'Sweetheart' and 'Regina', grafted on different vigor rootstocks: 'Colt', 'Cab-6P, 'Maxma-14' and 'Gisela-12', and conducted in two training systems: Central Leader (CL) and Kym Green Bush (KGB), growing in Chile. Leaf indicators were calculated after tree defoliation. A principal components analysis (PCA) was conducted to select indicators that explain the variation among the combinations. Results showed that leaf size and number varied between different cultivar/rootstock combinations and training systems. By means of two principal components, the model employed could explain 72% of the data variability. The most relevant indicators for the PC1 were: leaf weight per hectare (0.98) and leaf area index (0.97), with a significant training system effect, whereas for the PC2 they were: leaf weight per leaf area (0.85) and production per leaf area (0.72), mainly for productive efficiency. In 'Lapins'/'Colt', the KGB system presented a higher weight and leaf area than CL, with almost double the leaf weight per hectare and leaf area index, due mainly to a 37% leaf area per tree and 20% higher tree number/ha in KGB. However, average production per leaf area reached 0.49 kg m−2, without distinction between training systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the rapid rise of mobile-only users, we investigated the digital inclusion process through smartphones. By using Chile as a case study, a country that has strongly promoted mobile connections to address internet access gaps, we compared mobile-only and computer users in different dimensions of the digital inclusion process, including digital skills and differentiated uses of the web. By relying on a face-to-face national representative survey, the results showed that smartphones represent an opportunity to access the internet for those who traditionally lag behind. However mobile-only use does not necessarily lead to a more complete digital inclusion process because it was related to lower levels of skills and less diverse types of uses of the web compared to those people who also use the computer. Also, skills partially mediated the association between access device and types of uses of the web, which suggests that the differences by access device partly occur because people have greater chances to develop skills when accessing the web through computers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neoliberalism has had a profound impact on the relations between the state and citizens, namely in the enjoyment of their rights. In the context of European integration, citizenship is conceptualised and practiced as a multi-level attribute, posing both challenges and opportunities, for its fulfilment. The article engages with this multilevel and multifaceted nature of citizenship in the European Union, reflecting the contested role of the nation-state in a globalised neoliberal context, as well as the consequences at the local and individual levels. The impacts on the exercise of citizenship in this context is a central concern of this article, focusing on how neoliberal globalisation has affected state-citizen relations, particularly in the context of European integration. As European integration faces a critical moment, European civil society has engaged in citizen-based organisations and movements seeking to challenge the limits of the existing political structures and demand a more participative role in society and politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) shows variable clinical expression among different ethnic groups. Herein, we describe the clinical features, prevalence of organ involvement, and autoantibody profile in Mexican Mestizo SSc patients and we compare them with patients from other ethnic groups.We included 139 SSc patients. They underwent clinical evaluation and were tested for antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anticentromere antibodies (ACA), anti-topoisomerase I, anti-RNA polymerase III, anti-U1 RNP, anti-U3 RNP, anti-U11/U12 RNP, anti-Th/To, anti-PM-Scl, anti-Ku, antinucleosome, anti-double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), anti-Sm, anti-SSA, and anti-SSB antibodies. Female predominance (93.5%) was noted; 56.8% of patients had limited cutaneous SSc; 91% had peripheral vascular involvement; 70% had joint involvement; 27% had musculoskeletal damage; 66% had gastrointestinal involvement; 41% had interstitial lung disease; 32% had pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH); 11% had cardiac involvement; and in 1.4% renal involvement was observed. Our patients showed lower frequency of renal crisis and higher frequency of PAH than patients from other ethnic groups; also they showed higher frequency of ACA than Japanese and African American patients, higher frequency of anti-topoisomerase I than Caucasian and African American patients, higher frequency of anti-PM-Scl and anti-Ku and lower frequency of anti-RNA Pol III than the other ethnic groups. High frequencies of antinucleosome (41%) and anti-dsDNA (63%) were identified. SSc-specific autoantibody frequencies are different in our patients and in those from other ethnic groups; associations of autoantibodies with clinical manifestations are confirmed in our patients. Ethnicity and the interaction of gene and environmental factors may influence the clinical picture and autoantibody profile in SSc patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression and suicidal behavior are frequently observed in patients with schizophrenia. The serotonin transporter protein regulates serotonergic signaling at synapses and is encoded by a single gene (SLC6A4; Locus Link ID: 6532), located at 17q11.1-q12 with two polymorphic variants (the short and the long allele). The short allele of serotonin transporter gene has been associated with depression and suicidality in individuals who suffered negative life events and with depression in individuals with chronic psychosis.. Subjects were recruited from a genetic study of schizophrenia conducted in Costa Rica. The authors replicated their previous research, using a more narrow phenotype (only schizophrenic subjects) and a more ethnically homogenous sample (only Costa Rican schizophrenic individuals who were not included in the previous study). The authors hypothesized that subjects with at least one copy of the serotonin transporter promoter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) “s” allele would have a greater history of lifetime depression and suicidability rate than those who had an “l/l” genotype. The authors analyzed 155 subjects with a DSM-IV ( Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) diagnosis of schizophrenia (73% male, age at interview 38.3, SD = 11.23). The genotype distribution was “ss” 58 (37%), “sl” 69 (45%), and “ll” 28 (18%). In the secondary analysis, the authors explored association of the “s” allele with lifetime history of suicide behavior in 173 subjects (18 more subjects than primary analysis because schizophrenic individuals were included regardless of history of depression). The authors found that subjects carrying at least one short allele had a significant increased lifetime risk for depressive syndromes (χ2 = 5.4, df = 1, P = 0.02; odds ratio [OR] = 2.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.15–6.3). No association was found for suicidal behavior in the same sample (χ2 = 0.928, P = 0.629). In conclusion, the genotype at the 5-HTTLPR promoter polymorphic locus increases the risk of developing major depression but not suicidal behavior during the course of the schizophrenia in these patients. Due to the small sample size, these results should be followed by definitive replication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A successful experience to train power producers on pool-based electricity markets presented. Trainees are arranged in groups and assigned, at random, a set of generators. They play the role of power producers and compete against each other with the target of maximizing their own profits. They have to bid in terms of price and quantity to try to sell energy to the consumers through the market. The trainer plays the role of the market operator. A market simulator and a computer communication network make it possible to simulate the actual functioning of a pool-based electricity market. The simulator is based on the widely used software package MATLAB, and a computer communication net, which can be replaced by the WWW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]