Doubled Haploid production in fruit crops.

The interest of fruit breeders in haploids and doubled haploids (DH), lies in the possibility of shortening the time needed to produce homozygous lines compared to conventional breeding. Haplo-diploidization through gametic embryogenesis allows single-step development of complete homozygous lines from heterozygous parents. In a conventional breeding programme, a pure line is developed after several generations of selfing. With fruit crops, characterized by a long reproductive cycle, a high degree of heterozygosity, large size, and, sometimes, self-incompatibility, there is no way to obtain haploidization through conventional methods. This paper reviews the current status of research on doubled haploid production in the main fruit crops: Citrus, Malus domestica, Pyrus communis, Pyrus pyrifolia, Prunus persica, Prunus avium, Prunus domestica, Prunus armeniaca, Vitis vinifera, Actinidia deliciosa, Olea europaea, Morus alba, Actinidia deliziosa, [Musa balbisiana (BB)], Carica papaya, Annona squamosa, Feijoa sellowiana, Opuntia ficus-indica, Eriobotrya japonica. © Springer 2006

Early modern period adobe in Sicily: recent finds

Earthen architecture in ancient Sicily can be linked to a technological continuity common to the whole Mediterranean basin. The island possesses numerous finds, dating back to periods from pre-history to the Hellenistic-Roman age, during which the adobe technique was common. Therefore the archaeological field had been the only one investigated, also due to the fact that more recent evidence of use of earth as a principal element in wall-building techniques was unknown in the Region. Recently traces of adobe were discovered in in the historical centre of Cefalù, on the northern coast of Sicily; these few portions are to be found in residential buildings made primarily of stone. Albeit modest in amount, these traces are important for historical knowledge and to reinforce the hypothesis of contemporary earthen architecture in Sicily

Le terre crude nel mezzogiorno. Dalla Sicilia nuovi sviluppi per un'architettura sostenibile

L’articolo riporta i principali argomenti trattati nel Convegno nazionale Architettura in terra cruda nell’Italia del Sud, tenuto a Palermo il 3 ottobre 2008, di cui l’Autrice è stata Responsabile Scientifico, rimarcando gli esiti positivi della collaborazione tra Università e Istituzioni preposte alla tutela del Patrimonio Architettonico

Recurrent pathologies in recently built schools in Palermo,

This topic concerns the most significant pathologies noticed in the facilities being used as schools, which were built in Palermo in the last three decades. Many among these facilities already have undergone major restoration works, while the others are in poor conditions, which remarkably compromise the quality of their utilization. Sober elegance and safety are particularly important whenever a facility is to function as a school, especially if we consider the type of users and the ways of utilization. In order to achieve such goal, it is fundamental to analyse the most frequent pathologies, relating them to their causes, so as to have the tools for correcting previous errors and prevent any future mistake. The results showed that some particular elements of the facilities presented the most severe pathologies, which in most cases could have been avoided if projects had been more attentive to the durability of the technical solutions

Hepatitis C virus relies on lipoproteins for its life cycle

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects over 150 million people worldwide. In most cases, HCV infection becomes chronic causing liver disease ranging from fibrosis to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Viral persistence and pathogenesis are due to the ability of HCV to deregulate specific host processes, mainly lipid metabolism and innate immunity. In particular, HCV exploits the lipoprotein machineries for almost all steps of its life cycle. The aim of this review is to summarize current knowledge concerning the interplay between HCV and lipoprotein metabolism. We discuss the role played by members of lipoproteins in HCV entry, replication and virion production

Current and Potential Use of Citrus Essential Oils.

Since the Middle Ages, citrus essential oils (EOs) have been widely used for their bactericidal, virucidal, fungicidal, antiparasitical, insecticidal, medicinal and cosmetic proprieties. Also nowadays, they find important applications in pharmaceutical, sanitary, cosmetic, agricultural and food industries. The best method to extract EOs from citrus plant tissue is steam distillation because of a variety of extracted volatile molecules such as terpenes and terpenoids, phenol-derived aromatic components and aliphatic components. In vitro physicochemical assays classify most of them as antioxidants

Layered dry envelope insulated with sheep wool-lime mix

This poster describes the results of a research aimed to design and assess a new layered envelope component that might be implemented on buildings of the Mediterranean area, in order to improve the energy efficiency and the environmental sustainability. These goals have been achieved by means of the use of local and natural building materials or arising from renewable resources. In particular, thermal insulating has been realize utilizing a mix of natural and mineral materials, obtaining a biocomposite with comparable building physics and mechanical properties to commonly used building materials. Among natural materials, the sheep wool was chosen since it is, on the hand, a waste to exploit and, on the other hand, it has a good behavior towards heat, moisture and indoor air pollution. Several sample have been realized mixing sheep wool, at different granulometry, with lime in different weight percentages. For each sample, thermal tests have been performed by means of a heat flow meter. The U value, Yie, mass and time lag have been evaluated for the whole designed system according to the Italian standards. In order to compare the environmental impact of the designed system with a similar commercial product, a Life Cycle Assessment has been carried out. Finally, thermal performance of the envelope system was evaluated by simulating its use in the retrofit of the old structure of a factory both in wall and in floor elements. The results was good in terms of energy balances of the building, while LCA results are contradictory, being one of the main issue the lack of data for local materials not directly investigated by authors