Assessing diversity among traditional Greek and foreign eggplant cultivars using molecular markers and morphometrical descriptors

Eggplant is a widely cultivated vegetable crop of great economic importance. Its long lasting history of domestication, selection and breeding has led to the development of numerous cultivars with variable traits. In the present study, we assessed the diversity levels within and among eleven Greek and foreign cultivars, using 22 morphological descriptors and two different classes of molecular markers (retrotransposon microsatellite amplified polymorphism-REMAP markers and nuclear microsatellites). Our results, in accordance with other studies in the field showed: a) the limited levels of genetic polymorphism within the cultivars; b) the high morphological and genetic divergence existing among them as indicated by the genetic distance values calculated, which could be attributed to selection, inbreeding and bottleneck effects; and c) the lack of concordance among morphological descriptors and molecular markers. Despite these, our analysis showed that the utilization of combinations of markers is an effective method for the characterization of plant material providing also useful diagnostic tools for the identification and authentication of the selected Greek cultivars

Massive Uterine Leiomyoma in a Patient with Friedreich's Ataxia: Is There a Possible Association?

A possible association between Friedreich's ataxia (FA) and neoplastic development has been recognized. FA patients have low frataxin levels and insufficient response to oxidative stress. In these patients fibroblasts are characterized by a high rate of mutations. Herein, a case of a 39-year-old woman with FA tetraplegia, who was admitted in our department with intestinal obstruction due to a huge uterine tumor, is described. An abdominal CT revealed a huge intra-abdominal mass originating from the right cornu of the uterus. Tumor excision and adhesionlysis were performed. The histological examination of the tumor revealed a leiomyoma. FA patients seem to present with a variety of neoplasms uncommon for their young age. This is the first report of a leiomyoma originating from the genital system in a female patient with FA tetraplegia. Therefore it is important to identify neoplasms at an early stage in patients with FA and start immediate therapy

Improved estimation of extreme quantiles in the multivariate Lomax (Pareto II) distribution

Estimation of a quantile of the common marginal distribution in a multivariate Lomax (Pareto II) distribution with unknown location and scale parameters is considered. For quadratic loss and specified extreme quantiles, it is established that the best affine equivariant procedure is inadmissible by constructing a better estimator. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2004Decision theory, Stein technique for the estimation of a scale parameter, Quantile estimation, Lomax (Pareto II) distributions, 62C99, 62F10,

Estimation of an Exponential Quantile under a General Loss and an Alternative Estimator under Quadratic Loss

Decision theory, Stein technique, Brewster and Zidek technique, equivariant estimation,

Assessing diversity among traditional Greek and foreign eggplant cultivars using molecular markers and morphometrical descriptors

Eggplant is a widely cultivated vegetable crop of great economic importance. Its long lasting history of domestication, selection and breeding has led to the development of numerous cultivars with variable traits. In the present study, we assessed the diversity levels within and among eleven Greek and foreign cultivars, using 22 morphological descriptors and two different classes of molecular markers (retrotransposon microsatellite amplified polymorphism-REMAP markers and nuclear microsatellites). Our results, in accordance with other studies in the field showed: a) the limited levels of genetic polymorphism within the cultivars; b) the high morphological and genetic divergence existing among them as indicated by the genetic distance values calculated, which could be attributed to selection, inbreeding and bottleneck effects; and c) the lack of concordance among morphological descriptors and molecular markers. Despite these, our analysis showed that the utilization of combinations of markers is an effective method for the characterization of plant material providing also useful diagnostic tools for the identification and authentication of the selected Greek cultivars

Cyclic stroke mortality variations follow sunspot patterns.

BACKGROUND: Mapping time-structures is a burgeoning scientific field enriching the (P4) medicine models. Local evidence in Mediterranean populations is underinvestigated. METHODS: The Censused stroke-related death events (D) in the largest East-Mediterranean port (Piraeus), during (1985-1989), when local population had diet (low fat/sugar, proteins and vegetables/fruits daily, and pure olive oil almost exclusively) and genetic homogeneity-later interrupted by the immigration into Greece in 1990; and Sunspot numbers were indexed by Wolf numbers (Rz) (1944-2004), and evaluated using Fast Fourier Analysis and Singular Spectrum Analysis in MATLAB. RESULTS: D were turned with fluctuations >35% in Rz. A non-anthropogenic 6.8 days cycle was recognized. CONCLUSIONS: This study may be taken into consideration in future public health planning and chronotherapy evaluations

Nutritional Value of Eggplant Cultivars and Association with Sequence Variation in Genes Coding for Major Phenolics

Eggplant is a widely consumed vegetable, with significant nutritional value and high antioxidant content, mainly due to its phenolic constituents. Our goal was to determine the levels of carbohydrates, proteins, total phenolics, anthocyanins, flavonoids, chlorogenic acid, and the antioxidant capacity in thirteen eggplant cultivars cultivated in Greece and to identify sequence polymorphisms in key regulating genes of the phenylpropanoid pathway (C4H, HCT, HQT, C3H, F3H, ANS, MYB1), which might relate to the phytochemical content of those cultivars. The carbohydrates’ content differs among and within cultivars, while the rest of the phytochemicals differ only among cultivars. The cultivars ‘EMI’ and ’Lagkada’ scored higher than the rest in phenolics, anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, caffeoylquinic acid, and antioxidant capacity. Moreover, significant correlations were observed between various ingredients and the antioxidant capacity (FRAP and DPPH). Sequence analysis revealed several SNPs in C4H, HQT, F3H, ANS, and MYB1 among the cultivars studied. According to chi-square and logistic regression analyses, the missense mutation C4H4-108 correlates significantly with flavonoids, anthocyanins, and proteins; the synonymous mutation HQT-105 correlates with anthocyanins and ascorbic acid; the missense mutation HQT-438 correlates with flavonoids and chlorogenic acid, while the missense mutation ANS1-65 correlates with anthocyanins and sugars. These polymorphisms can be potentially utilized as molecular markers in eggplant breeding, while our data also contribute to the study of eggplant’s secondary metabolism and antioxidant properties