Publications by authors named "Francisco Cano"

Understanding how crop varieties acclimate to elevated temperatures is key to priming them for future climates. Here, we exposed two genotypes of Sorghum bicolor (one sensitive to heat shock (Sen) and one tolerant (Tol)) from multiple growth temperatures to a six-day heat shock (reaching 45°C), carrying out a suite of measurements before and during heat shock. Sen consistently reduced photosynthetic functioning during heat shock, while Tol increased its photosynthetic rate.

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Article Synopsis
  • Environmental change necessitates increased crop production with limited water use to meet global food demands, presenting a challenge in balancing water use efficiency (iWUE) and carbon assimilation.
  • Sorghum, known for its drought tolerance, was studied using 89 genotypes with diverse genetic backgrounds to examine the physiological mechanisms behind iWUE and its inheritance.
  • Results indicated significant genetic variation influencing iWUE traits, highlighting the role of specific aquaporin alleles (SbPIP1.1 and SbTIP3.2) in improving water efficiency without sacrificing photosynthetic capacity, thus offering potential targets for breeding efforts in C4 crops.
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Infection-related complications remain the most significant cause for morbidity and technique failure in infants, children and adolescents who receive maintenance peritoneal dialysis (PD). The 2024 update of the Clinical Practice Guideline for the Prevention and Management of Peritoneal Dialysis Associated Infection in Children builds upon previous such guidelines published in 2000 and 2012 and provides comprehensive treatment guidance as recommended by an international group of pediatric PD experts based upon a review of published literature and pediatric PD registry data. The workgroup prioritized updating key clinical issues contained in the 2012 guidelines, in addition to addressing additional questions developed using the PICO format.

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Article Synopsis
  • Gram-negative peritonitis (GNP) significantly affects children on long-term peritoneal dialysis, with a study analyzing 379 cases from 308 children across 28 countries showing that 74% responded well to initial treatment.
  • Risk factors for treatment failure include severe abdominal pain and bacterial resistance, while monotherapy with cefazolin yielded similar recovery rates as broader-spectrum antibiotics.
  • The study advocates for personalized empiric treatment based on susceptibility data and suggests that narrowing antibiotic therapy does not compromise patient outcomes.
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Background: Congenital nephrotic syndrome (CNS) is a severe kidney disorder characterized by edema, massive proteinuria, and hypoalbuminemia that manifests or within three months after birth. CNS affects 1-3 per 100,000 children, primarily associated with genetic variants and occasionally with infections. Genetic analysis is the first-line method for diagnosis.

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Encapsulation of photovoltaic cells was carried out using a transparent glass fiber reinforced composite with enhanced chemical recyclability based on a matrix of an epoxy resin containing cleavable functional groups. The current-voltage curves showed a decrease of 6.3% on the short-circuit current (Isc) after encapsulation of the cell, lower than the one observed for the reference non-recyclable standard epoxy composite.

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Flow cytometry is a powerful tool for the analysis of cell samples formed of multipopulations, such as spermatozoa. In recent years, multiparametric cytometers have evolved, allowing the study of different cellular characteristics, such as protein expression, DNA analysis, or mitochondrial activity. Whether using traditional fluorescent dyes or fluorophore-conjugated antibodies, each cell or cellular component is individually stained, the sample is analyzed at high velocities, and then is displayed and interpreted in a dot-plot.

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Background: This retrospective real-world study used data from two registries, International Pediatric Peritoneal Dialysis Network (IPPN) and International Pediatric Hemodialysis Network (IPHN), to characterize the efficacy and safety of continuous erythropoietin receptor activator (C.E.R.

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Most studies assume midday gas exchange measurements capture the leaf's daytime performance. However, stomatal conductance (g ) and photosynthesis (A ) fluctuate diurnally due to endogenous and environmental rhythms, which can affect intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE). Six Sorghum lines with contrasting stomatal anatomical traits were grown in environmentally controlled conditions, and leaf gas exchange was measured three times a day.

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Background: Access to care for children with kidney disease is limited in less well-resourced regions of the world and paediatric nephrology (PN) workforce development with good practical skills is critical.

Methods: Retrospective review of a PN training program and trainee feedback from 1999 to 2021, based at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital (RCWMCH), University of Cape Town.

Results: A regionally appropriate 1-2-year training program enrolled 38 fellows with an initial 100% return rate to their country of origin.

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Chloroplasts movement within mesophyll cells in C4 plants is hypothesized to enhance the CO2 concentrating mechanism, but this is difficult to verify experimentally. A three-dimensional (3D) leaf model can help analyse how chloroplast movement influences the operation of the CO2 concentrating mechanism. The first volumetric reaction-diffusion model of C4 photosynthesis that incorporates detailed 3D leaf anatomy, light propagation, ATP and NADPH production, and CO2, O2 and bicarbonate concentration driven by diffusional and assimilation/emission processes was developed.

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Sustaining crop productivity and resilience in water-limited environments and under rising temperatures are matters of concern worldwide. We investigated the leaf anatomical traits that underpin our recently identified link between leaf width (LW) and intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE), as traits of interest in plant breeding. Ten sorghum lines with varying LW were grown under three temperatures to expand the range of variation of both LW and gas exchange rates.

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Elevated [CO2] (eCO2) and water stress reduce leaf stomatal conductance (gs), which may affect leaf thermoregulation during heat waves (heat stress). Two sorghum lines, with different leaf width were grown in a glasshouse at a mean day temperature of 30 °C, under different [CO2] and watering levels, and subjected to heat stress (43 °C) for 6 d at the start of the reproductive stage. We measured leaf photosynthetic and stomatal responses to light transients before harvesting the plants.

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Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome is the most frequent pediatric glomerular disease, affecting from 1.15 to 16.9 per 100,000 children per year globally.

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Background: Hemolytic uremic syndrome secondary to Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli infection (STEC-HUS) generally shows a favorable outcome. Few cases develop extra-renal complications, since neurological involvement is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. The role of complement in STEC-HUS has been recently highlighted, and the use of eculizumab in severe cases has been communicated.

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Background: Tubular damage has a role in Diabetic Kidney Disease (DKD). We evaluated the early tubulointerstitial damage biomarkers in type-1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) pediatric participants and studied the correlation with classical DKD parameters.

Methods: Thirty-four T1DM and fifteen healthy participants were enrolled.

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Despite its importance for crop water use and productivity, especially in drought-affected environments, the underlying mechanisms of variation in intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE = net photosynthesis/stomatal conductance for water vapour, g ) are not well understood, especially in C plants. Recently, we discovered that leaf width (LW) correlated negatively with iWUE and positively with g across several C grasses. Here, we confirmed these relationships within 48 field-grown genotypes differing in LW in Sorghum bicolor, a C crop adapted to dry and hot conditions.

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Background: Steroid use in renal transplant is related to multiple adverse effects. Long-term effects of early withdrawal steroids in pediatric renal transplant were assessed.

Methods: Renal transplant children with low immunological risk treated on basiliximab, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate with steroid withdrawal or steroid control were evaluated between 2003 and 2019.

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Our aim is to assess the efficacy of fecal calprotectin (fCP) and fecal eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (fEDN) as diagnostic markers of cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA) and for monitoring the infants' response to a non-IgE mediated cow's milk protein (CMP)-free diet. We prospectively recruited infants aged 0 to 9 months. Stool samples were taken from 30 infants with CMPA, 19 with mild functional gastrointestinal disorders, 28 healthy infants, and 28 children who presented mild infections.

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Adaptation to drought involves complex interactions of traits that vary within and among species. To date, few data are available to quantify within-species variation in functional traits and they are rarely integrated into mechanistic models to improve predictions of species response to climate change. We quantified intraspecific variation in functional traits of two Hakea species growing along an aridity gradient in southeastern Australia.

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Reference values of fecal calprotectin (fCP) have not been convincingly established in children. We aimed to investigate fCP concentrations in a larger population of healthy children aged 4-16 years to analyze more in depth the behavior of fCP in this age range and to determine if cut-off levels could be conclusively recommended. A prospective study was conducted to investigate fCP concentrations of healthy children aged 4-16 years.

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End-stage renal disease (ESRD) has an incidence of 5.5 to 9 pmp, and a prevalence of 23 to 65 pmp in children under 15 years of age. Chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD) represents the most widely used renal replacement therapy in children before kidney transplantation.

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Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome newly affects 1-3 per 100,000 children per year. Approximately 85% of cases show complete remission of proteinuria following glucocorticoid treatment. Patients who do not achieve complete remission within 4-6 weeks of glucocorticoid treatment have steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS).

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Background: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) remains the most widely used modality for chronic dialysis in children, particularly in younger children and in lower and middle income countries (LMICs). We present guidelines for dialysis initiation, modality selection, small solute clearance, and fluid removal in children on PD. A review of the literature and key studies that support these statements are presented.

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