The Peach RGF/GLV Signaling Peptide pCTG134 Is Involved in a Regulatory Circuit That Sustains Auxin and Ethylene Actions

In vascular plants the cell-to-cell interactions coordinating morphogenetic and physiological processes are mediated, among others, by the action of hormones, among which also short mobile peptides were recognized to have roles as signals. Such peptide hormones (PHs) are involved in defense responses, shoot and root growth, meristem homeostasis, organ abscission, nutrient signaling, hormone crosstalk and other developmental processes and act as both short and long distant ligands. In this work, the function of CTG134, a peach gene encoding a ROOT GROWTH FACTOR/GOLVEN-like PH expressed in mesocarp at the onset of ripening, was investigated for its role in mediating an auxin-ethylene crosstalk. In peach fruit, where an auxin-ethylene crosstalk mechanism is necessary to support climacteric ethylene synthesis, CTG134 expression peaked before that of ACS1 and was induced by auxin and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) treatments, whereas it was minimally affected by ethylene. In addition, the promoter of CTG134 fused with the GUS reporter highlighted activity in plant parts in which the auxin-ethylene interplay is known to occur. Arabidopsis and tobacco plants overexpressing CTG134 showed abnormal root hair growth, similar to wild-type plants treated with a synthetic form of the sulfated peptide. Moreover, in tobacco, lateral root emergence and capsule size were also affected. In Arabidopsis overexpressing lines, molecular surveys demonstrated an impaired hormonal crosstalk, resulting in a re-modulated expression of a set of genes involved in both ethylene and auxin synthesis, transport and perception. These data support the role of pCTG134 as a mediator in an auxin-ethylene regulatory circuit and open the possibility to exploit this class of ligands for the rational design of new and environmental friendly agrochemicals able to cope with a rapidly changing environment

An Optimization-Based Method for High Order Gradient Calculation on Unstructured Meshes

A new implicit and compact optimization-based method is presented for high order derivative calculation for finite-volume numerical method on unstructured meshes. Highorder approaches to gradient calculation are often based on variants of the Least-Squares (L-S) method, an explicit method that requires a stencil large enough to accommodate the necessary variable information to calculate the derivatives. The new scheme proposed here is applicable for an arbitrary order of accuracy (demonstrated here up to 3rd order), and uses just the first level of face neighbors to compute all derivatives, thus reducing stencil size and avoiding stiffness in the calculation matrix. Preliminary results for a static variable field example and solution of a simple scalar transport (advection) equation show that the proposed method is able to deliver numerical accuracy equivalent to (or better than) the nominal order of accuracy for both 2nd and 3rd order schemes in the presence of a smoothly distributed variable field (i.e., in the absence of discontinuities). This new Optimization-based Gradient REconstruction (herein denoted OGRE) scheme produces, for the simple scalar transport test case, lower error and demands less computational time (for a given level of required precision) for a 3rd order scheme when compared to an equivalent L-S approach on a two-dimensional framework. For three-dimensional simulations, where the L-S scheme fails to obtain convergence without the help of limiters, the new scheme obtains stable convergence and also produces lower error solution when compared to a third order MUSCL scheme. Furthermore, spectral analysis of results from the advection equation shows that the new scheme is better able to accurately resolve high wave number modes, which demonstrates its potential to better solve problems presenting a wide spectrum of wavelengths, for example unsteady turbulent flow simulations

The brief life of the anthropoid animal: a collection of translated poems from Brief Life and The Anthropoid Animal

When Luiz Busatto finished writing his first book of poems, The anthropoid animal, he was forty-two years old. Not coincidentally, the book consists of forty-two poems divided into three thematic parts: The anthropoid animal (like the title of the book), The doors of the heart, and The invincible frontiers. The main theme of the poems in The anthropoid animal is the suffering and anguish of a man who feels trapped by iron bars (“The iron bars”), who cannot be romantic anymore (“Ideological position”), who feels humiliated and lonely in his comer (“Futile gesture”), and who has decided to silence himself (“Shadows engineer.”) The second part of the book, The doors of the heart, subdivides into two other sections. The lyric tone predominates in the first segment, with its main themes of passion, longing, life, and happy love. In contrast, the second segment of The doors of the heart focuses on death and unsuccessful love. The last division of the book, The invincible frontiers, subdivides into three sections. The first concentrates its themes on art and poetry. The second questions the poverty and the social division of classes. The third part is a synthesis of the whole book and comprises themes such as love, anguish, longing, and death, among others. As Oscar Gama Filho says on the leaf of the book, The anthropoid animal is structured in a triangular way with The anthropoid animal as its apex (with one subdivision), which branches to The doors of the heart (with two subdivisions), and The invincible frontiers (with three subdivisions.

Equity Rights Issue and Dilutive Effect: evidence from Italian Listed Company

This article studies the stock price reaction to Seasoned Equity Offerings (SEOs) through the right issue technique, for Italian listed companies in the period between 2007 and 2016. A few days before the starting date of the capital increase operation, investors are provided with a complete information set of the final characteristics of the equity offerings. The study investigates whether this further information is price sensitive. An event study analysis is performed around two price sensitive dates: the “announcement date” of the equity issue and the “communication date” of its final characteristics. It also focuses on the reasons underlying the offer and on the industry effect. The findings show a significant negative abnormal return at the communication date for the full sample and for companies collecting financial resources for “Corporate Finance Transaction”, for "Capital Adequacy" and for “Restructuring”. A negative market reaction for all sectors is observed as well. Eventually, the article examines the possible causes underlying the negative stock price reaction at the communication date. The results suggest that the dilutive effect is the main explanation to the stock price overreaction

Neuroimaging in Alzheimer's disease: current role in clinical practice and potential future applications

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia and its prevalence is expected to increase in the coming years. Therefore, accurate diagnosis is crucial for patients, clinicians and researchers. Neuroimaging techniques have provided invaluable information about Alzheimer's disease and, owing to recent advances, these methods will have an increasingly important role in research and clinical practice. The purpose of this article is to review recent neuroimaging studies of Alzheimer's disease that provide relevant information to clinical practice, including a new modality: in vivo amyloid imaging. Magnetic resonance imaging, single photon emission computed tomography and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography are currently available for clinical use. Patients with suspected Alzheimer's disease are commonly investigated with magnetic resonance imaging because it provides detailed images of brain structure and allows the identification of supportive features for the diagnosis. Neurofunctional techniques such as single photon emission computed tomography and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography can also be used to complement the diagnostic investigation in cases of uncertainty. Amyloid imaging is a non-invasive technique that uses positron emission tomography technology to investigate the accumulation of the β-amyloid peptide in the brain, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. This is a promising test but currently its use is restricted to very few specialized research centers in the world. Technological innovations will probably increase its availability and reliability, which are the necessary steps to achieve robust clinical applicability. Thus, in the future it is likely that amyloid imaging techniques will be used in the clinical evaluation of patients with Alzheimer's disease

Exosome-delivered microRNAs promote IFN-α secretion by human plasmacytoid DCs via TLR7

The excessive production of type I IFNs is a hallmark and a main pathogenic mechanism of many autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In these pathologies, the sustained secretion of type I IFNs is dependent on the improper activation of plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) by self-nucleic acids. However, the nature and origin of pDC-activating self-nucleic acids is still incompletely characterized. Here, we report that exosomes isolated from the plasma of SLE patients can activate the secretion of IFN-α by human blood pDCs in vitro. This activation requires endosomal acidification and is recapitulated by microRNAs isolated from exosomes, suggesting that exosome-delivered microRNAs act as self-ligands of innate single-stranded endosomal RNA sensors. By using synthetic microRNAs, we identified an IFN induction motif that is responsible for the TLR7-dependent activation, maturation, and survival of human pDCs. These findings identify exosome-delivered microRNAs as potentially novel TLR7 endogenous ligands able to induce pDC activation in SLE patients. Therefore, microRNAs may represent novel pathogenic mediators in the onset of autoimmune reactions and potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of type I IFN-mediated diseases

Gender differences and stereotype in spatial learning: a study on small-scale and large-scale abilities

openAttraverso un esperimento sulla navigazione spaziale e le differenze individuali è stata studiata la differenza tra maschi e femmine nelle abilità small-scale e large-scale nell'apprendimento spaziale e lo stereotipo di genere nelle stesse. Sono stati presi in considerazione il Questionario Stereotipo di genere nell’abilità di navigazione e le prove cognitive visuo-spaziali sMRT, sOPT, pointing allocentrico e pointing egocentrico. I risultati ottenuti nello studio suggeriscono la presenza di quello che viene definito stereotype threat a sfavore delle femmine nel compito sMRT e del compito di pointing egocentrico e uno stereotipo a favore dei maschi nel caso del compito di pointing allocentrico. Per quanto riguarda le differenze tra maschi e femmine, non ci sono differenze significative nelle risposte al questionario sullo stereotipo e nel compito di pointing egocentrico, mentre sono presenti delle differenze statisticamente significative nel compito di pointing egocentrico