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The deregulation of energy markets has created a framework for policy making, still under evolution, which is much more complex than the previous one. As a consequence, new requirements need to be met, concerning both technical design and financial management. This framework renders the use of multicriteria techniques attractive. Here, the investments in suppliers, depending on the policy implemented, are formulated as an integer programming problem, which consists of different sub-problems according to the assumptions made and the market’s regulations. The equivalent relaxed problem is a mixed integer programming problem that can represent the clearance of the energy market by considering several criteria besides price and quantity. Nonlinearities are reformulated by inserting additional binary variables so that the solution algorithms are more effective and efficient in most realistic cases. The feasible solutions and the optimal solution that maximizes every time the market regulator’s gain are obtained, after imposing some thresholds on the criteria used to evaluate the different energy technologies, thus creating a decision support system for the regulator.

Although epigenetic modifications have been intensely investigated over the last decade due to their role in crop adaptation to rapid climate change, it is unclear which epigenetic changes are heritable and therefore transmitted to their progeny. The identification of epigenetic marks that are transmitted to the next generations is of primary importance for their use in breeding and for the development of new cultivars with a broad-spectrum of tolerance/resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. In this review, we discuss general aspects of plant responses to environmental stresses and provide an overview of recent findings on the role of transgenerational epigenetic modifications in crops. In addition, we take the opportunity to describe the aims of EPI-CATCH, an international COST action consortium composed by researchers from 28 countries. The aim of this COST action launched in 2020 is: (1) to define standardized pipelines and methods used in the study of epigenetic mechanisms in plants, (2) update, share, and exchange findings in epigenetic responses to environmental stresses in plants, (3) develop new concepts and frontiers in plant epigenetics and epigenomics, (4) enhance dissemination, communication, and transfer of knowledge in plant epigenetics and epigenomics.

The present paper acknowledges the need for sustainable development education in Cuba, after a short review of their national health status and educational system. The environmental situation of the island is outlined, including the role played by environmental education (EE) in the current environment system. The-EE in Cuba is presented, and the problems related to its implementation are analyzed. Recommendations and possible solutions towards the use of education for sustainability as a tool for environmental management are presented, so as to prove the need for environmental awareness management in Cuba.

This study was designed to address the controversy related to the involvement of phospholipase C in the signalling pathway linked to CCKA receptor stimulation by the cholecystokinin analogue JMV‐180, a full agonist for amylase release, in rat pancreatic acini. JMV‐180 was shown to stimulate phospholipase C by measuring the incorporation of [32P]‐orthophosphoric acid ([32P]‐Pi) into phosphatidic acid (PtdOH) and phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns). Both responses elicited by JMV‐180 were time and concentration dependent. Maximal effects elicited by JMV‐180 were 39.08±0.72 and 8.02±0.40% for the labelling of [32P]‐PtdIns and [32P]‐PtdOH, respectively, as compared to the maximal effects of CCK‐8, a full agonist of the CCKA receptor. [32P]‐Pi incorporation into PtdOH and PtdIns was sensitive to lithium, demonstrating that both responses are a consequence of phospholipase C activation. However, since lithium blocks the phosphoinositide cycle by an uncompetitive mechanism, its effect was only apparent at high concentrations of CCK‐8 (>10 pM), which elicited stimuli above 20 and 60% of the maximal [32P]‐PtdOH and [32P]‐PtdIns labelling, respectively. JMV‐180 inhibited the incorporation of [32P]‐Pi into PtdOH and PtdIns as stimulated by CCK‐8, down to its own maximal effect. The estimated IC50 values for the inhibition curves were not significantly different from those calculated assuming the same single binding site for both agonists. These results indicated that the well established role of JMV‐180 as a partial agonist for CCKA receptor‐linked signalling responses, also applies for the stimulation of phospholipase C. The comparison of CCK‐8 and JMV‐180 dose‐response curves of amylase release to those of PtdIns and PtdOH labelling with [32P]‐Pi showed the existence of an amplification mechanism between phospholipase C and amylase release for both agonists. In conclusion, we show that JMV‐180, as well as CCK‐8, stimulate phospholipase C upon interaction with the same binding site at the CCKA receptor in rat pancreatic acini. British Journal of Pharmacology (2001) 133, 1227–1234; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0704190

This study was designed to address the controversy related to the involvement of phospholipase C in the signalling pathway linked to CCK A receptor stimulation by the cholecystokinin analogue JMV‐180, a full agonist for amylase release, in rat pancreatic acini. JMV‐180 was shown to stimulate phospholipase C by measuring the incorporation of [ 32 P]‐orthophosphoric acid ([ 32 P]‐Pi) into phosphatidic acid (PtdOH) and phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns). Both responses elicited by JMV‐180 were time and concentration dependent. Maximal effects elicited by JMV‐180 were 39.08±0.72 and 8.02±0.40% for the labelling of [ 32 P]‐PtdIns and [ 32 P]‐PtdOH, respectively, as compared to the maximal effects of CCK‐8, a full agonist of the CCK A receptor. [ 32 P]‐Pi incorporation into PtdOH and PtdIns was sensitive to lithium, demonstrating that both responses are a consequence of phospholipase C activation. However, since lithium blocks the phosphoinositide cycle by an uncompetitive mechanism, its effect was only apparent at high concentrations of CCK‐8 (>10 pM), which elicited stimuli above 20 and 60% of the maximal [ 32 P]‐PtdOH and [ 32 P]‐PtdIns labelling, respectively. JMV‐180 inhibited the incorporation of [ 32 P]‐Pi into PtdOH and PtdIns as stimulated by CCK‐8, down to its own maximal effect. The estimated IC 50 values for the inhibition curves were not significantly different from those calculated assuming the same single binding site for both agonists. These results indicated that the well established role of JMV‐180 as a partial agonist for CCK A receptor‐linked signalling responses, also applies for the stimulation of phospholipase C. The comparison of CCK‐8 and JMV‐180 dose‐response curves of amylase release to those of PtdIns and PtdOH labelling with [ 32 P]‐Pi showed the existence of an amplification mechanism between phospholipase C and amylase release for both agonists. In conclusion, we show that JMV‐180, as well as CCK‐8, stimulate phospholipase C upon interaction with the same binding site at the CCK A receptor in rat pancreatic acini. British Journal of Pharmacology (2001) 133 , 1227–1234; doi: 10.1038/sj.bjp.0704190

As has been previously described, tetanus toxin (TeTx) and its H(C) fragment inhibit the sodium-dependent 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) uptake in rat-brain synaptosomes, probably through a kinase mechanism affecting the 5-HT transporter. Now, the inhibition of 5-HT uptake in neurons in primary culture by TeTx in a dose-dependent manner is described in this work. This effect is also produced by the nontoxic C-terminal fragment of the TeTx heavy chain (H(C)-fragment), indicating that 5-HT uptake inhibition is a consequence of the toxin binding to the plasmatic membrane and not to its catalytic activity. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the 5-HT accumulation was not inhibited by the light chain of TeTx or the toxoid, and was even potentiated by botulinum neurotoxin A. These results correlate with the activation of phosphoinositide-phospholipase C activity in the cultures used in this study, this activity only being enhanced by TeTx and by its Hc-fragment. On the other hand, the use of tyrosine phosphorylation modulators indicates that both Na3VO4 and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) produce an enhancement of 5-HT uptake in this system, which is also sensitive to TeTx inhibition. On the other hand, genistein alone is able to reduce the 5-HT transport in cultured neurons, and this effect did not appear to be additive to that elicited by TeTx. This result suggests that TeTx and genistein may share some events in their respective mechanisms of action. Furthermore, the incubation at different concentrations of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) confirms the involvement of protein kinase C (PKC) in 5-HT transport modulation in rat-brain neuronal primary cultures. In summary, we shall demonstrate in this work that TeTx induces, through its Hc fragment, an inhibition of both basal and stimulated serotonin uptakes in primary neuronal cultures, in parallel to the activation of phosphoinositide-phospholipase C activity and PKC activation.

This paper examines the social structure and public services in Cyprus. It examines the need for an environmental awareness assessment of the citizens in order to determine how critical thinking and problem solving skills on issues of environmental significance could be promoted. An analysis of environmental health concerns existing in the island is conducted and the educational process taking place, the implemented environmental policy and the extent of citizen participation are studied. The challenge of environmental education in Cyprus is discussed in detail and the environmental awareness efforts are presented. The authors highlight the way in which Cyprus (pursuing membership into the European Union) has to adapt to and implement certain directives, where environmental awareness should be intensely promoted. The authors present the links between each enforced European directive and the relation to the Cypriot way of life. Finally, we discuss why Cyprus will need European aid to implement such policies and how the recommended environmental education program will contribute to a higher quality of life. Recommendations outline details on how to launch a successful non‐formal environmental education program.

The description of the dynamics of an electron in an external electromagnetic field of arbitrary intensity is one of the most fundamental outstanding problems in electrodynamics. Remarkably, to date, there is no unanimously accepted theoretical solution for ultrahigh intensities and little or no experimental data. The basic challenge is the inclusion of the self-interaction of the electron with the field emitted by the electron itself—the so-called radiation reaction force. We report here on the experimental evidence of strong radiation reaction, in an all-optical experiment, during the propagation of highly relativistic electrons (maximum energy exceeding 2 GeV) through the field of an ultraintense laser (peak intensity of4×1020W/cm2). In their own rest frame, the highest-energy electrons experience an electric field as high as one quarter of the critical field of quantum electrodynamics and are seen to lose up to 30% of their kinetic energy during the propagation through the laser field. The experimental data show signatures of quantum effects in the electron dynamics in the external laser field, potentially showing departures from the constant cross field approximation.