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Genetically improved forest reproductive materials are now widely accessible in many European countries due to decades of continuous breeding efforts. Tree breeding does not only contribute to higher-value end products but allows an increase in the rate of carbon capture and sequestration, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change. The usefulness of breeding programmes depends on (i) the relevance of the set of selected traits and their relative weights (growth, drought tolerance, phenology, etc.); (ii) the explicit management of targeted and “neutral” diversity; (iii) the genetic gain achieved; and (iv) the efficiency of transferring diversity and gain to the plantation. Several biological factors limit both operational breeding and mass reproduction. To fully realise the potential of tree breeding, the introduction of new technologies and concepts is pivotal for overcoming these constraints. We reviewed several European breeding programmes, examining their current status and factors that are likely to influence tree breeding in the coming decades. The synthesis was based on case studies developed for the European Union-funded B4EST project, which focused on eight economically important tree species with breeding histories and intensities ranging from low-input breeding (stone pine, Douglas-fir and ash) to more complex programmes (eucalyptus, maritime pine, Norway spruce, poplar, and Scots pine). Tree breeding for these species is managed in a variety of ways due to differences in species’ biology, breeding objectives, and economic value. Most programmes are managed by governmental institutes with full or partial public support because of the relatively late return on investment. Eucalyptus is the only tree species whose breeding is entirely sponsored and managed by a private company. Several new technologies have emerged for both phenotyping and genotyping. They have the potential to speed up breeding processes and make genetic evaluations more accurate, thereby reducing costs and increasing genetic gains per unit of time. In addition, genotyping has allowed the explicit control of genetic diversity in selected populations with great precision. The continuing advances in tree genomics are expected to revolutionise tree breeding by moving it towards genomic-based selection, a perspective that requires new types of skills that are not always available in the institutions hosting the programmes. We therefore recognise the importance of promoting coordination and collaboration between the many groups involved in breeding. Climate change is expected to bring in new pests and diseases and increase the frequency of extreme weather events such as late frosts and prolonged droughts. Such stresses will cause slow growth and mortality, reducing forest productivity and resilience. Most of these threats are difficult to predict, and the time-consuming nature of conventional breeding does not allow for an adequate and timely reaction. We anticipate that most breeding programmes will need to revise their selection criteria and objectives to place greater emphasis on adaptive performance, tolerance to multiple environmental stresses, stability in different environments, and conservation of genetic diversity. Testing breeding materials in a variety of environments, including potentially contrasting climates, will become increasingly important. Climate change may also force the incorporation of new genetic resources that provide new useful adaptations, which may involve the use of new, previously unexplored gene pools or hybridisation, with the enormous challenge of incorporating useful alleles without adding along an unfavourable genetic background. Decision-support tools to help landowners and foresters select the best-performing forest reproductive material in each specific environment could also help reduce the impact of climate change.

The lack of homogeneity in the product (LHP) is defined as the lack of uniformity required by the customer in the products. The LHP appears in companies where the final products obtained are not homogeneous, leading to the existence of different references (subtypes) of the same product. This lack of homogeneity is a problem when the client needs to be served through homogeneous units of a product and commit orders are based on planned quantities, whose final homogeneity characteristics are unknown at the time of acquiring the customer commitments. The frequent discrepancies caused by the LHP between planned homogeneous amounts and those actually obtained and available, can prevent the delivery of committed orders. To solve this problem, we propose a mathematical programming model for the reallocation of inventory in Make to Stock (MTS) ceramic tile companies characterized by the LHP that combines multiple objectives. The proposed mathematical model has been validated by its application to a real case of a ceramic company. The analysis of the obtained results indicates significant improvements in the number of orders completed on time and in sales revenue achieved.La Falta de Homogeneidad en el Producto (FHP), se define como la carencia de la homogeneidad requerida por el cliente en los productos. La FHP aparece en empresas en las que los productos finales obtenidos no son homogéneos, dando lugar a la existencia de diferentes referencias (subtipos) de un mismo producto final. Esta falta de homogeneidad supone un problema cuando el cliente requiere ser servido a través de unidades homogéneas de un mismo producto y sus pedidos se comprometen en base cantidades planificadas, cuyas características de homogeneidad finales se desconocen en el momento de adquirir los compromisos con el cliente. Las constantes discrepancias provocadas por la FHP entre las cantidades planificadas y las realmente obtenidas y disponibles, pueden impedir servir pedidos comprometidos previamente. Para resolver este problema, se propone un modelo de programación matemática que permite reasignar el inventario en empresas caracterizadas por la FHP que fabrican contra almacén (Make to Stock: MTS) que combina varios objetivos. El modelo matemático propuesto se ha validado mediante su aplicación a un caso real de una empresa cerámica. El análisis de los resultados indica la obtención de mejoras considerables en la cantidad de pedidos completados a tiempo y en los ingresos por ventas.

The allocation of the product available- to-promise (ATP) in make-to-stock (MTS) contexts is of the utmost importance as it can influence customer satisfaction and profits of the company. However, a proper initial allocation may become inadequate for several reasons. In these case, it is necessary the reallocation of inventory, which will be more complex the more ambitious goals to achieve with it and increased the amount of information to use. In this regard, it is noteworthy that the lack of homogeneity in the product (LHP), present in different industrial sectors, causes the atomization of the inventory and increases the complexity of the reallocation, difficult to obtain optimal solutions. This paper describes the problems of the LHP, first under a generic perspective and then, particularized to MTS ceramic companies. Subsequently, situations in which a specific allocation of ATP can no longer be appropriate in this context are identified and the reassignment, as a way to search for new valid assignments, is proposed. Finally, through a case study of a ceramic company, the impact of the LHP in each of the situations identified is analyzed, noting that the LHP causes some of these situations and in all of them, complicates the reallocation of inventory to orders.La asignación del producto disponible a prometer (ATP) a pedidos en contextos de fabricación contra almacén (MTS) es de la máxima importancia ya que puede influir en la satisfacción del cliente y en los beneficios de la empresa. Sin embargo, una asignación inicial adecuada, puede pasar a ser inadecuada por diversas razones. En estos casos, es necesaria la reasignación del inventario, la cual será más compleja cuanto más ambiciosos sean los objetivos a alcanzar con ella y mayor el volumen de información a utilizar. En este sentido, cabe destacar que la falta de homogeneidad en el producto (FHP), presente en distintos sectores industriales, provoca la atomización del inventario y aumenta la complejidad de la reasignación, dificultando la obtención de soluciones óptimas. En el presente trabajo se describe la problemática de la FHP, primero de manera genérica, y luego, particularizada a empresas cerámicas MTS. Posteriormente, se identifican las situaciones en las que una determinada asignación de ATP puede dejar de ser adecuada en dicho contexto y se propone la reasignación como una forma de búsqueda de nuevas asignaciones válidas. Finalmente, mediante un caso de estudio de una empresa cerámica, se analiza el impacto de la FHP en cada una de las situaciones identificadas, observando que la FHP provoca alguna de éstas situaciones y complica, en todas ellas, la reasignación del inventario a pedidos.

The globalisation, the increasing pressure of far East tile ceramic industries and the changes in the preferences of the customers, have converted the customer satisfaction in a key aspect for the European tile sector. In order to increase the customer satisfaction it is necessary to improve drastically the delivery and commercialisation functions. Within this context, the concept of “Product Pack” (P-P) arises as a mean to achieve product differentiation based on integral design and customer orientation. A P-P can be defined as a group of products that are complementary in its function and can be commercialised jointly. A methodology is proposed for a three levels structured solution in order to face any scenario in a reliable and efficient way within the P-P order compromising process in an Extended Collaborative Selling Chain (ECOSELL) domain, to achieve the following objectives: 1) to solve any scenario with different kind of dependence on due date and delivery place of the P-P components, 2) to take in consideration any either customer or network preference (satisfaction function) regarding due date and delivery place for the P-P, 3) to reduce the complexity of the global problem by splitting it in various sub-problems, 4) to coordinate the different supply chains involved in a P-P delivery, and 5) to combine the calculation of different availability levels in the extended collaborative supply chain (Available-To-Promise (ATP), and/or Capable To Promise (CTP), and Deliver To Promise (DTP)).La globalización, la creciente presión de industrias cerámicas tan alejadas como la china y el cambio en el gusto de los consumidores, hace que una de las claves del futuro del sector cerámico en Europa sea la satisfacción del cliente. Para lograrlo es necesario potenciar las actividades relacionadas con la comercialización y el diseño. En este contexto, surge el concepto de paquete de productos (P-P) como un medio para conseguir una diferenciación basada en el diseño y en la orientación al cliente. Un P-P puede definirse como una serie de productos cuya funcionalidad es complementaria y que por tanto pueden venderse de forma conjunta. Pero para aumentar el nivel de servicio al cliente es necesario hacer frente de manera fiable y eficiente a cualquier escenario que pueda presentarse en el proceso de comprometer pedidos de un P-P en un dominio de cadenas de venta colaborativo extendido (Extended Collaborative Selling Chain: ECOSELL), se propone una metodología de solución estructurada en tres niveles con los siguientes objetivos: 1) abordar cualquier tipo de dependencia con respecto a la fecha y lugar de entrega entre las diferentes líneas de pedido integrantes de un P-P, 2) considerar cualquier tipo de función de satisfacción (preferencia) del cliente o de la red con respecto a la fecha y lugar de entrega, 3) reducir la complejidad del problema global a través de su división en varios subproblemas, 4) coordinar las diferentes cadenas de suministro implicadas en la entrega de un P-P y 5) combinar el cálculo de diferentes niveles de disponibilidad de cada cadena de suministro (Available-To-Promise (ATP) y/o Capable-To-Promise (CTP) y Deliver-To-Promise (DTP)).

The improvement of the customer service level is a key aspect in the competitive positioning of the ceramic sector companies. Within this context of improving the customer service level, the concept of “Product Pack” (P-P) arises as a mean to achieve product differentiation based on integral design and customer orientation. A P-P can be defined as a group of products that are complementary in its function and can be commercialised jointly. In order to increase the value perceived by the customer, it is necessary as well to give a rapid and reliable response to his/her order proposals. This article presents the problem description of the order promising process of a P-P in an Extended Collaborative Selling Chain (ECOSELL) domain, and develops a comparison with the traditional order promising process. Due to the absence of research about this topic, it is the objective of this article to define the starting point for future research by the characterization of all the possible scenarios that may appear in this context. On the basis of the aforementioned definition it is possible to design as well a generic methodology able to solve all the possible cases, to be exposed in a further work.La mejora del nivel de servicio al cliente se perfila clave como un arma competitiva y de posicionamiento de las empresas en el sector cerámico. En este contexto de mejorar el nivel de servicio al cliente surge el concepto de paquete de productos (P-P) como un medio para conseguir una diferenciación basada en el diseño y la orientación al cliente. Un P-P puede definirse como una serie de productos cuya funcionalidad es complementaria y que por tanto pueden venderse de forma conjunta. Para que el valor percibido por el cliente aumente, también es necesario proporcionar una respuesta rápida y fiable a las propuestas de pedido por él realizadas. El presente artículo describe la compleja problemática del proceso de comprometer pedidos de un paquete de productos (P-P) en un dominio de cadenas de venta colaborativo extendido (Extended Collaborative Selling Chain: ECOSELL), y la compara con el proceso de comprometer pedidos tradicional. Debido a la ausencia de trabajos en este tema, se pretende establecer el punto de partida para posteriores investigaciones a través de la caracterización de todos los posibles escenarios que pueden existir en este entorno. En base a esta definición de escenarios será posible diseñar una metodología de solución genérica, capaz de abarcar todos los posibles casos, que se expondrá en un trabajo posterior.

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Maritime pine ( Pinus pinaster Aiton) is a coniferous native of the Mediterranean basin. Because of its adaptability to a wide range of environmental conditions, the species have become a model for studies in coniferous forest management and functional genomics. Somatic embryogenesis (SE) has been so far, the preferred biotechnological strategy for maritime pine breeding programs initiated at the middle-end of the 20th century. To overcome the limitations of the induction and maturation phases in maritime pine SE, we analyzed the possible maternal influence on the embryogenic capability of megagametophytes from controlled crosses, as well as the effect of the temperature and water availability during SE process on the production of plants. A strong maternal effect on the embryogenic potential of maritime pine megagametophytes was observed in our experiments using half-sib and full-sib progenies, while paternal effect was almost undetectable. Besides, it seems possible to improve somatic embryo production of maritime pine megagametophytes by adjusting optimal temperature throughout the process: 28°C during induction and proliferation, and 23°C during the maturation phase. Using induction and proliferation media with reduced water availability (6 g/L Gelrite) can also increase embryo production. Since other limitation of maritime pine SE is culture decline of embryogenic masses (EMs), that reduces embryo yield and germination, we assessed the profile of ABA and IAA and the expression of two embryogenesis-related genes ( LEC1 and WOX2 ) during maturation of EMs of two morphotypes that differed in their maturation capability. Spiky morphotype (SK), with high maturation capability, had a steady increase in both hormones along the 12 weeks of the maturation, whereas ABA content in smooth morphotype picked at the 4th week and dropped. EMs with this morphotype also had a higher IAA content at the beginning of the maturation. A decrease of LEC1 and WOX2 gene expression over the course of embryo development was found to be characteristic of the SK with high maturation capability.

Compared to natural selection, domestication implies a dramatic change in traits linked to fitness. A number of traits conferring fitness in the wild might be detrimental under domestication, and domesticated species typically differ from their ancestors in a set of traits known as the domestication syndrome. Specifically, trade-offs between growth and reproduction are well established across the tree of life. According to allocation theory, selection for growth rate is expected to indirectly alter life-history reproductive traits, diverting resources from reproduction to growth. Here we tested this hypothesis by examining the genetic change and correlated responses of reproductive traits as a result of selection for timber yield in the tree Pinus pinaster. Phenotypic selection was carried out in a natural population, and progenies from selected trees were compared with those of control trees in a common garden experiment. According to expectations, we detected a genetic change in important life-history traits due to selection. Specifically, threshold sizes for reproduction were much higher and reproductive investment relative to size significantly lower in the selected progenies just after a single artificial selection event. Our study helps to define the domestication syndrome in exploited forest trees and shows that changes affecting developmental pathways are relevant in domestication processes of long-lived plants.

Although dobutamine-atropine stress echocardiography (DASE) is an established method for evaluating patients who have coronary artery disease (CAD), it can increase test duration and a patient's exposure to large doses of dobutamine. New protocols, including the early injection of atropine during dobutamine stress echocardiography (EA-DSE), have been proposed to decrease test duration. This study compared the safety, efficacy, and accuracy of EA-DSE with those of DASE. We retrospectively evaluated 3,163 patients who underwent DASE and 1,664 patients who underwent EA-DSE over a period of 12 years. In EA-DSE, atropine at a dose 50% stenosis) was assessed in patients who underwent quantitative angiography