Pitch-Luminance Crossmodal Correspondence in the Baby Chick: An Investigation on Predisposed and Learned Processes.

Our senses are constantly reached by a multitude of stimuli from all different sensory modalities. To create a coherent representation of the environment, we must integrate the various unimodal inputs that refer to the same object into a single multimodal representation. In some cases, however, we tend to bind certain properties of the stimuli without any apparent reason, which is a phenomenon named crossmodal correspondence. For instance, we match a spiky or a rounded shape with the sound "Kiki" or "Bouba", respectively. Similarly, we associate the left hemispace with low luminance and the right one with high luminance. Instances of crossmodal correspondences were described also in other mammals, and recently, a case of space-luminance crossmodal correspondence was reported in birds (i.e., domestic chicks). Here, we investigate the presence of pitch-luminance crossmodal correspondence in three-day-old chicks, employing experimental methods that exploit either predisposed or learned processes. While failing to report evidence for this phenomenon, we discuss the difference between statistical and structural crossmodal correspondences and the possible role of environmental factors in determining their emergence. Moreover, we discuss the importance of the different experimental methodologies to investigate distinct aspects of this perceptual phenomenon to reach a deeper understanding and unveil the role of innate vs. learned mechanisms

Response to 'No evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection by polymerase chain reaction or serology in children with pseudo-chilblain'. Reply from the authors

Dear Editor, Recalcati et al. conclude that chilblain-like lesions (CLLs) are part of the spectrum of COVID-19 based on reports of SARS-CoV-2 in endothelial cells of skin biopsies assessed by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy (EM).1 Nevertheless, the conclusion does not seem to be adequately supported by the data. Recalcati et al. expand their previously reported case series to include 32 patients with CLLs. In 21 of 32 cases, no nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) was tested for SARS-CoV-2. Two of 11 patients subjected to molecular testing were positive for SARS-CoV-2, but no serological test was performed to verify the seroconversion. Three patients tested positive for IgM and negative for IgG antibodies without any confirmation of infection through NPS

Principali patogeni e difesa

Olive as other woody perennial crops can be affected by several systemic pathogens, including bacteria, fungi and several vector-borne viruses. The most important olive diseases, caused by different pathogens, are described in this text. Pathogen biology, diagnostic technique and control strategies are reported for each disease. The main and widespread bacterial disease, caused by Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi, is the olive knot. As concerns the most important and widespread fungal diseases, in this text are described the olive leaf spot, Verticillum wilt, cercosporiosis, anthracnose, fruit rot, parasitic brusca, root rot, sooty mold and wood rot. Infections caused by viruses are generally symptomless and do not result in diseased plants. Although, viruses do not cause detrimental disease on olive varieties, the infected olive trees represent a reservoir of virus inoculum for other crops, where these viruses are known to cause severe disease. Detection of these viruses represent an important critical step in the sanitary improvement of this crop. Recently, molecularbased assays have been effectively implemented to detect at least 8 of the 15 viruses known to infect this crop. Sanitation program using in vitro culture of shoot tip and thermotherapy have been recently described to recover virus-free plantlets.Realizzato nell'ambito del progetto "Ricerca ed Innovazione per l'Olivicoltura Meridionale", finanziato dal MiPAAFMiPAAF - Ministero delle politiche agricole alimentari e forestal

Lateralized declarative-like memory for conditional spatial information in domestic chicks (Gallus gallus)

Declarative memory is an explicit, long-term memory system, used in generalization and categorization processes and to make inferences and to predict probable outcomes in novel situations. Animals have been proven to possess a similar declarative-like memory system. Here, we investigated declarative-like memory representations in young chicks, assessing the roles of the two hemispheres in memory recollection. Chicks were exposed for three consecutive days to two different arenas (blue/yellow), where they were presented with two panels, each depicting a different stimulus (cross/square). Only one of the two stimuli was rewarded, i.e., it hid a food reward. The position (left/right) of the rewarded stimulus remained constant within the same arena, but it differed between the two arenas (e.g., reward always on the left in the blue context and on the right in the yellow one). At test, both panels depicted the rewarded stimulus, thus chicks had to remember food position depending on the previously experienced contextual rule. Both binocular and right-eye monocularly-tested chicks correctly located the reward, whereas left-eye monocularly-tested chicks performed at the chance level. We showed that declarative-like memory of integrated information is available at early stages of development, and it is associated with a left hemisphere dominance

Presence of viruses in croatian olive groves

Tijekom 2005. i 2006. godine, prvi puta u Hrvatskoj je provedeno testiranje biljnog materijala masline na prisutnost virusa. Uzorci za testiranje su sakupljani na tradicionalnim maslinarskim područjima iz komercijalnih nasada masline, na dvadeset i pet lokaliteta. Uzorci su testirani na prisutnost osam vrsta virusa: ArMV, CMV, CLRV, OLV-1, OLV-2, OLRV, OLYaV i SLRV. Rezultati analiza provedenih primjenom RT-PCR metode, potvrdili su nazočnost virusa na oko 25 % uzoraka, a ukupno je potvrđena nazočnost četiri vrste virusa: OLYaV - Olive leaf yellowing-associated virus, CMV - Cucumber mosaic virus, OLV-2 - Olive latent virus 2 i SLRV – Strawberry latent ringspot virus. Nazočnost virusa CMV je utvrđena na uzorcima sorata Istarska bjelica i Lastovka, SLRV na sortama Levantinka i Oblica, OLV-2 na sorti Lastovka, te OLYaV na sortama Bjelica, Istarska bjelica, Lastovka i Levantinka. Uzorci sorata Buža, Perišićeva mastrinka i Rosulja bili su negativni na nazočnost virusa.During the years 2005 and 2006, testing of the olive plant material on the presence of olive viruses was conducted for the first time in Croatia. The samples for testing were collected from twenty five locations in commercial olive orchards, from traditional olive growing areas. All samples were teseted on the presence of eight virus types: ArMV, CMV, CLRV, OLV-1, OLV-2, OLRV, OLYaV and SLRV. The results of analyses conducted by using the RT-PCR method, confirmed the presence of viruses in 25% of samples, and four virus types were confirmed: OLYaV - Olive leaf yellowing-associated virus, CMV - Cucumber mosaic virus, OLV-2 - Olive latent virus 2 and SLRV – Strawberry latent ringspot virus. Presence of CMV was confirmed on Istarska bjelica and Lastovka samples, SLRV was confirmed on Levantinka and Oblica samples, OLV-2 was confirmed on Lastovka samples, OLYaV was confirmed on Bjelica, Istarska bjelica, Lastovka and Levantinka samples. Samples of Buža, Perišićeva mastrinka and Rosulja cultivars were free from tested viruses

Next-generation sequencing and metagenomic analysis advances plant virus diagnosis and discovery

The advent of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies dramatically advanced our ability to comprehensively investigate diseases of unknown etiology and expedited the entire process of virus discovery, identification, viral genome sequencing and, subsequently, the development of routine assays for new viral pathogens. Unlike traditional techniques, these novel approaches require no preliminary knowledge of the suspected virus(es). Currently, the RNA-Seq approach has been widely used to identify new viruses in infected plants, by analyzing virus-derived small interfering RNA populations, single- and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules extracted from infected plants. The method generates sequence in an unbiased fashion, likely allowing to detect all viruses that are present in a sample. We applied the Illumina NGS, coupled with metagenomic analysis, to generate large sequence dataset in different woody crops affected by diseases of unknown origin or infected with uncharacterized viruses or new strains. This approach allowed the identification of five novel viral species and, in addition, the sequencing of the whole genome of several viruses and viroids infecting Citrus spp., Prunus spp., grapes, fig, hazelnut, olive, persimmon and mulberry. Combined analysis of the datasets generated by using either siRNA fractions and dsRNA templates, enhanced the characterization of the whole virus-derived sequences in the infected tissues. Furthermore, profiling small RNAs from virus-infected plants led to a better understanding of host-plant response to virus and viroid infections in perennial plants. A general bioinformatic pipeline and an experimental validation strategy were developed and its application illustrated

Intercepted isolates of Xylella fastidiosa in Europe reveal novel genetic diversity

After the first confirmed outbreak of Xylella fastidiosa in the European Union (EU), associated with an olive disease denoted olive quick decline syndrome, mandatory surveys are now carried out in the member States and inspections increased at EU entry points such as ports. Such activities led to the interception of X. fastidiosa-infected coffee plants in consignments originating from Central America. Similarly, the geographic expansion of the olive decline epidemic area of the Apulia region (southern Italy) prompted investigations to identify new host plants. Here we report the interception of three novel bacterial sequence types in Italy, based on multi-locus sequence typing, that cluster with different X. fastidiosa subspecies, illustrating the risk of the introduction of additional pathogen genetic diversity into Europe. In the epidemic area of Apulia, new foci as well as host plant species positive with X. fastidiosa, including cherry, myrtleleaf and rosemary, were found to be all infected with the same sequence type of this bacterium (ST53, or CoDiRO strain). This work highlights the limited knowledge of X. fastidiosa phylogenetic and phenotypic diversity, the risk of novel X. fastidiosa introductions via contaminated plant material, and corroborates other studies indicating that the Apulia epidemic emerged from a single introduction of this pathogen into the region