Flat Peach SUBLOR and SUBLIM and Flat Nectarine PERLA Series

Flat peach and flat nectarine (Prunus persica L. Batsch.) production in Spain started from local cultivars at marginal sites, mainly in the Ebro Valley and Murcia regions. At the end of the 1990s, the introduction of improved cultivars from France and Italy, with more red skin color coverage and better regular shape, fruit size, and stylar cavity closure, together with superior handling and transport conditions led the Spanish peach sector to develop this fruit type on a commercial scale. Currently, Spain is the largest European producer and exporter of flat peach and nectarine, offering a wide range of cultivars covering the producing period from May to September. In 2020, a total of 10.200 ha for flat peach and 481 ha for flat nectarine together produced 263.651 t (20% of the total peach production) (MAPAMA, 2022). To guarantee adaptation to local growing conditions (Font i Forcada et al., 2021a), several national breeding programs started to develop new flat peach and flat nectarine cultivars. One of these breeding programs is the ASF-IRTA breeding program, which is located at Gimenells (Lleida) in the Ebro Valley (northeastern Spain), which is a major region of peach production in Spain (Batlle et al., 2012; Cantín et al., 2017). It was started in 2004, with the objective of developing new cultivars adapted to chilling between 1000 and 1500 chill units or between 42 and 75 chill portions and warm conditions similar to the Mediterranean area (32 °C mean daily summer temperature and 300–400 mm of annual rainfall). It aimed to produce high-quality fruits, both at harvest and after cold storage, with the ultimate goal of satisfying consumers (Font i Forcada et al., 2021a, 2021b). As a result of this collaborative effort, the ASF-IRTA scion peach breeding program has already released the SUBLOR (one flat yellow-fleshed peach), SUBLIM (six flat white-fleshed peach), and PERLA (two flat white-fleshed nectarine) series. These nine new flat peach and nectarine cultivars produce highly attractive yellow-fleshed or white-fleshed fruits with high coverage of red skin, a balanced or acid flavor, sweet taste, and good flesh firmness. The harvesting calendar of these series will be progressively completed with new future releases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mechanisms influencing the sex ratio in cattle.

peer reviewedLe sexe ratio (proportion de veaux mâles nés) peut varier sous l’effet de nombreux facteurs (voir l’article dans un numéro précédent). Les mécanismes d’action biologiques expliquant ces variations sont potentiellement nombreux. Tout d’abord l’origine des ovocytes (le sexe ratio varie entre l’ovaire droit et l’ovaire gauche), alors que l’influence de la corne qui héberge le fœtus ne semble pas avoir d’influence. Les spermatozoïdes porteurs du chromosome Y seraient plus rapides mais moins résistants que les spermatozoïdes porteurs du X, expliquant l’influence du moment de l’insémination par rapport à l’ovulation (influence néanmoins non systématiquement observée). La glycémie de la mère orienterait le sexe ratio par un impact sur la maturation ovocytaire et sur le début du développement embryonnaire, les embryons montrant des différences dans leur métabolisme et dans leur résistance au stress. Néanmoins, ces mécanismes restent hypothétiques et mal élucidés

Critical surfaces for general inhomogeneous bond percolation problems

We present a method of general applicability for finding exact or accurate approximations to bond percolation thresholds for a wide class of lattices. To every lattice we sytematically associate a polynomial, the root of which in $[0,1]$ is the conjectured critical point. The method makes the correct prediction for every exactly solved problem, and comparison with numerical results shows that it is very close, but not exact, for many others. We focus primarily on the Archimedean lattices, in which all vertices are equivalent, but this restriction is not crucial. Some results we find are kagome: $p_c=0.524430...$, $(3,12^2): p_c=0.740423...$, $(3^3,4^2): p_c=0.419615...$, $(3,4,6,4):p_c=0.524821...$, $(4,8^2):p_c=0.676835...$, $(3^2,4,3,4)$: $p_c=0.414120...$ . The results are generally within $10^{-5}$ of numerical estimates. For the inhomogeneous checkerboard and bowtie lattices, errors in the formulas (if they are not exact) are less than $10^{-6}$.Comment: Submitted to J. Stat. Mec

Critical manifold of the kagome-lattice Potts model

Any two-dimensional infinite regular lattice G can be produced by tiling the plane with a finite subgraph B of G; we call B a basis of G. We introduce a two-parameter graph polynomial P_B(q,v) that depends on B and its embedding in G. The algebraic curve P_B(q,v) = 0 is shown to provide an approximation to the critical manifold of the q-state Potts model, with coupling v = exp(K)-1, defined on G. This curve predicts the phase diagram both in the ferromagnetic (v>0) and antiferromagnetic (v<0) regions. For larger bases B the approximations become increasingly accurate, and we conjecture that P_B(q,v) = 0 provides the exact critical manifold in the limit of infinite B. Furthermore, for some lattices G, or for the Ising model (q=2) on any G, P_B(q,v) factorises for any choice of B: the zero set of the recurrent factor then provides the exact critical manifold. In this sense, the computation of P_B(q,v) can be used to detect exact solvability of the Potts model on G. We illustrate the method for the square lattice, where the Potts model has been exactly solved, and the kagome lattice, where it has not. For the square lattice we correctly reproduce the known phase diagram, including the antiferromagnetic transition and the singularities in the Berker-Kadanoff phase. For the kagome lattice, taking the smallest basis with six edges we recover a well-known (but now refuted) conjecture of F.Y. Wu. Larger bases provide successive improvements on this formula, giving a natural extension of Wu's approach. The polynomial predictions are in excellent agreement with numerical computations. For v>0 the accuracy of the predicted critical coupling v_c is of the order 10^{-4} or 10^{-5} for the 6-edge basis, and improves to 10^{-6} or 10^{-7} for the largest basis studied (with 36 edges).Comment: 31 pages, 12 figure

Risk of Vaccine-Preventable Infections in Swiss Adults with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

BACKGROUND Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a higher risk of infection and are frequently not up to date with their immunizations. OBJECTIVES This study aims to review vaccination status and evaluate whether age, disease type, or treatment regimen could predict the absence of seroprotection against selected vaccine-preventable infection in adults with IBD. METHODS Cross-sectional study using questionnaire, immunization records review, and assessment of tetanus-specific, varicella-specific, and measles-specific immunoglobulin G concentrations. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01908283. RESULTS Among the 306 adults assessed (median age 42.7 years old, 70% with Crohn's disease, 78% receiving immunosuppressive treatment), only 33% had an immunization record available. Absence of seroprotection against tetanus (6%) was associated with increasing age and absence of booster dose; absence of seroprotection against varicella (1%) or measles (3%) was exclusively observed in younger patients with Crohn's disease. There was no statistically significant difference in immunoglobulin concentrations among treatment groups. Although vaccinations are strongly recommended in IBD patients, the frequencies of participants with at least 1 dose of vaccine recorded were low for nearly all antigens: tetanus 94%, diphtheria 87%, pertussis 54%, poliovirus 22%, measles-mumps-rubella 47%, varicella-zoster 0%, Streptococcus pneumoniae 5%, Neisseria meningitidis 12%, hepatitis A 41%, hepatitis B 48%, human papillomavirus 5%, and tick-borne encephalitis 6%. CONCLUSIONS Although many guidelines recommend the vaccination of IBD patients, disease prevention through immunization is still often overlooked, including in Switzerland, increasing their risk of vaccine-preventable diseases. Serological testing should be standardized to monitor patients' protection during follow-up as immunity may wane faster in this population

Association of sex with outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: a subgroup analysis of the global leaders randomized clinical trial

Importance: Women experience worse ischemic and bleeding outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Objectives: To assess the association of sex with patient outcomes at 2 years after contemporary PCI and with the efficacy and safety of 2 antiplatelet strategies. Design, Setting, and Analysis: This study is a prespecified subgroup analysis of the investigator-initiated, prospective, randomized GLOBAL LEADERS study evaluating 2 strategies of antiplatelet therapy after PCI in an unselected population including 130 secondary/tertiary care hospitals in different countries. The main study enrolled 15 991 unselected patients undergoing PCI between July 2013 and November 2015. Patients had an outpatient clinic visit at 30 days and 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after the index procedure. Data were analyzed between January 1, 2019, and March 31, 2019. Interventions: Eligible patients were randomized to either the experimental or reference antiplatelet strategy. Experimental strategy consisted of 1 month of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) followed by 23 months of ticagrelor monotherapy, while the reference strategy comprised of 12 months of DAPT followed by 12 months of aspirin monotherapy. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary efficacy end point was the composite of all-cause mortality and new Q-wave myocardial infarction at 2 years. The secondary safety end point was Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 3 or 5 bleeding. Results: Of the 15 968 patients included in this study, 3714 (23.3%) were women. The risk of the primary end point at 2 years was similar between women and men (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.00; 95% CI, 0.83-1.20). Compared with men, women had higher risk of Bleeding Academic Research Consortium type 3 or 5 bleeding (adjusted HR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.04-1.67) and hemorrhagic stroke at 2 years (adjusted HR, 4.76; 95% CI, 1.92-11.81). At 2 years, there was no between-sex difference in the efficacy and safety of the 2 antiplatelet strategies. At 1 year, compared with DAPT, ticagrelor monotherapy was associated with a lower risk of bleeding in men (HR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.53-0.98) but not in women (HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 0.80-1.89; P for interaction = .045). Conclusions and Relevance: Compared with men, women experienced a higher risk of bleeding and hemorrhagic stroke after PCI. The effect of 2 antiplatelet strategies on death and Q-wave myocardial infarction following PCI did not differ between the sexes at 2 years. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01813435

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein deficiency in innate immune cells leads to mucosal immune dysregulation and colitis in mice

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Immunodeficiency and autoimmune sequelae, including colitis, develop in patients and mice deficient in Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASP), a hematopoietic-specific intracellular signaling molecule that regulates the actin cytoskeleton. Development of colitis in WASP-deficient mice requires lymphocytes; transfer of T cells is sufficient to induce colitis in immunodeficient mice. We investigated the interactions between innate and adaptive immune cells in mucosal regulation during development of T-cell-mediated colitis in mice with WASP-deficient cells of the innate immune system. METHODS: Naïve and/or regulatory CD4(+) T cells were transferred from 129 SvEv mice into RAG-2 deficient (RAG-2 KO) mice or mice lacking WASP and RAG-2 (WRDKO). Animals were observed for the development of colitis; effector and regulatory functions of innate immune and T cells were analyzed with in vivo and in vitro assays. RESULTS: Transfer of unfractionated CD4(+) T cells induced severe colitis in WRDKO, but not RAG-2 KO, mice. Naïve wild-type T cells had higher levels of effector activity and regulatory T cells had reduced suppressive function when transferred into WRDKO mice compared to RAG-2 KO mice. Regulatory T-cell proliferation, generation, and maintenance of FoxP3 expression were reduced in WRDKO recipients, and associated with reduced numbers of CD103(+) tolerogenic dendritic cells and levels of interleukin (IL)-10. Administration of IL-10 prevented induction of colitis following transfer of T cells into WRDKO mice. CONCLUSIONS: Defective interactions between WASP-deficient innate immune cells and normal T cells disrupt mucosal regulation, potentially by altering the functions of tolerogenic dendritic cells, production of IL-10, and homeostasis of regulatory T cells