Fructan metabolism in tall fescue calli under different environmental condition

Several grasses usually accumulate high levels of fructans at low temperature or in the presence of high sugar supply. Fructans enhance plant resistance in adverse environmental conditions thanks to their vacuolar  localization which allow osmotic adjustments. Tall fescue calli do not show mature vacuoles due to its  anatomic characteristics, and these in vitro cultures can provide more knowledge about the fructan rule in  unspecialized tissues especially during stress conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sugar  metabolism in embryogenic calli of tall fescue fed with different sucrose concentrations (0, 50 or 100 mM)  during growth culture, kept at “control” or “cold” temperatures (23 or 4°C, respectively). In the presence of  sucrose (50 or 100 mM), embryogenic calli accumulated fructans under control conditions. On the other hand,  the accumulation is inhibited by the simultaneously sugar supply and cold treatment while invertase activity  increased. From our data, cold temperature and high sucrose concentration seemed to be negatively  correlated in the fructans biosynthetic pathway in tall fescue in vitro cultures.Key words: Cold, Festuca arundinacea, invertase, sucrose:sucrose fructosyltransferase (SST), sugars

Salinity in Autumn-Winter Season and Fruit Quality of Tomato Landraces

Tomato landraces, originated by adaptive responses to local habitats, are considered a valuable resource for many traits of agronomic interest, including fruit nutritional quality. Primary and secondary metabolites are essential determinants of fruit organoleptic quality, and some of them, such as carotenoids and phenolics, have been associated with beneficial proprieties for human health. Landraces' fruit taste and flavour are often preferred by consumers compared to the commercial varieties' ones. In an autumn-winter greenhouse hydroponic experiment, the response of three Southern-Italy tomato landraces (Ciettaicale, Linosa and Corleone) and one commercial cultivar (UC-82B) to different concentrations of sodium chloride (0 mM, 60 mM or 120 mM NaCl) were evaluated. At harvest, no losses in marketable yield were noticed in any of the tested genotypes. However, under salt stress, fresh fruit yield as well as fruit calcium concentration were higher affected in the commercial cultivar than in the landraces. Furthermore, UC-82B showed a trend of decreasing lycopene and total antioxidant capacity with increasing salt concentration, whereas no changes in these parameters were observed in the landraces under 60 mM NaCl. Landraces under 120 mM NaCl accumulated more fructose and glucose in the fruits, while salt did not affect hexoses levels in UC-82B. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis revealed differential accumulation of glycoalkaloids, phenolic acids, flavonoids and their derivatives in the fruits of all genotypes under stress. Overall, the investigated Italian landraces showed a different behaviour compared to the commercial variety UC-82B under moderate salinity stress, showing a tolerable compromise between yield and quality attributes. Our results point to the feasible use of tomato landraces as a target to select interesting genetic traits to improve fruit quality under stress conditions

Consensus Panel Recommendations for the Pharmacological Management of Pregnant Women with Depressive Disorders

Introduction: The initiative of a consensus on the topic of antidepressant and anxiolytic drug use in pregnancy is developing in an area of clinical uncertainty. Although many studies have been published in recent years, there is still a paucity of authoritative evidence-based indications useful for guiding the prescription of these drugs during pregnancy, and the data from the literature are complex and require expert judgment to draw clear conclusions. Methods: For the elaboration of the consensus, we have involved the scientific societies of the sector, namely, the Italian Society of Toxicology, the Italian Society of Neuropsychopharmacology, the Italian Society of Psychiatry, the Italian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Italian Society of Drug Addiction and the Italian Society of Addiction Pathology. An interdisciplinary team of experts from different medical specialties (toxicologists, pharmacologists, psychiatrists, gynecologists, neonatologists) was first established to identify the needs underlying the consensus. The team, in its definitive structure, includes all the representatives of the aforementioned scientific societies; the task of the team was the evaluation of the most accredited international literature as well as using the methodology of the "Nominal Group Technique" with the help of a systematic review of the literature and with various discussion meetings, to arrive at the drafting and final approval of the document. Results: The following five areas of investigation were identified: (1) The importance of management of anxiety and depressive disorders in pregnancy, identifying the risks associated with untreated maternal depression in pregnancy. (2) The assessment of the overall risk of malformations with the antidepressant and anxiolytic drugs used in pregnancy. (3) The evaluation of neonatal adaptation disorders in the offspring of pregnant antidepressant/anxiolytic-treated women. (4) The long-term outcome of infants' cognitive development or behavior after in utero exposure to antidepressant/anxiolytic medicines. (5) The evaluation of pharmacological treatment of opioid-abusing pregnant women with depressive disorders. Conclusions: Considering the state of the art, it is therefore necessary in the first instance to frame the issue of pharmacological choices in pregnant women who need treatment with antidepressant and anxiolytic drugs on the basis of data currently available in the literature. Particular attention must be paid to the evaluation of the risk/benefit ratio, understood both in terms of therapeutic benefit with respect to the potential risks of the treatment on the pregnancy and on the fetal outcome, and of the comparative risk between the treatment and the absence of treatment; in the choice prescription, the specialist needs to be aware of both the potential risks of pharmacological treatment and the equally important risks of an untreated or undertreated disorder

Fructan metabolism in tall fescue calli under different environmental condition

Several grasses usually accumulate high levels of fructans at low temperature or in the presence of high sugar supply. Fructans enhance plant resistance in adverse environmental conditions thanks to their vacuolar localization which allow osmotic adjustments. Tall fescue calli do not show mature vacuoles due to its anatomic characteristics, and these in vitro cultures can provide more knowledge about the fructan rule in unspecialized tissues especially during stress conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sugar metabolism in embryogenic calli of tall fescue fed with different sucrose concentrations (0, 50 or 100 mM) during growth culture, kept at “control” or “cold” temperatures (23 or 4°C, respectively). In the presence of sucrose (50 or 100 mM), embryogenic calli accumulated fructans under control conditions. On the other hand, the accumulation is inhibited by the simultaneously sugar supply and cold treatment while invertase activity increased. From our data, cold temperature and high sucrose concentration seemed to be negatively correlated in the fructans biosynthetic pathway in tall fescue in vitro culture

Taxonomy of prickly juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus group): a crucial contribution at the meeting point of two cryptospecies

Based on different. essential oil composition paralleling different genotypes, Juniperus deltoides was recently segregated from Juniperus oxycedrus. Despite a clear phytochemical and molecular differentiation, J. deltoides resulted not clearly morphologically discernible from J. oxycedrus, so that it was defined as a cryptospecies. Italy represents the contact zone of their distribution, but the ranges of the two species are not sufficiently known, due to unsatisfactory morphological characterisation. To further complicate the picture, a third closely related species (ecotype), J. macrocarpa, occurs all across the Mediterranean coasts. After a preliminary phytochemical analysis to ascertain the (chemo-)identities of the studied populations, we performed a morphometric investigation to test the degree of morphological distinctiveness among the taxa. According to our analysis, some character (e.g. leaf mucro length, leaf width, seed-cone size and seed size) resulted useful to discriminate these cryptic taxa. Finally, based on these characters, an extensive revision of herbarium specimens allowed us to redefine the distribution pattern of the investigated species in the Central Mediterranean area. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Flower bouquet variation in four species of Crocus ser. Verni (Iridaceae)

Flowering plants employ a wide variety of signals, including scent, to attract pollinators. The aim of this work was to examine whether flower volatiles in four closely related Crocus species are linked to species divergence and to the current knowledge on their pollination syndromes. Fragrances of freshly opened flowers in Crocus etruscus, C. ilvensis, C. neglectus, and C. vernus, all belonging to ser. Verni, were analyzed using GC/MS. Results coincide with present knowledge about systematic relationships among taxa. The four species fall into two main fragrance types, based on similarities of their volatile compounds. In C. etruscus, C. ilvensis, and C. neglectus, oxygenated monoterpenes (lilac aldehyde B and A) are most abundant, while C. vernus has a fragrance rich in monoterpene hydrocarbons (α-pinene and limonene). Our results point towards outcrossing mating strategies for C. etruscus, C. ilvensis, and C. neglectus, whose volatile compounds are known as pollinator attractants. This is in line with their flower architecture, showing a style of variable height, often overtopping stamens. On the other hand, a self-pollination strategy was repeatedly suggested in the literature for C. vernus, marked by flowers with the style deeply inserted in the stamens and also by a completely different flower bouquet

Raven coloured progressive matrices in migraine without aura patients

Conflicting results emerged from studies investigating cognitive performances in migraine patients. Based on clinical and neuroradiological aspects, the possible involvement of executive functions has been especially taken into consideration. The aim of this study was to evaluate, in a population of subjects affected by migraine without aura (MwoA), frontal lobe cognitive functions. We enrolled all the consecutive patients affected by MwoA referred to our headache centre for a first evaluation. Each patient underwent a neuropsychological evaluation including Raven coloured progressive matrices (CPM). We collected variables as age, education, years of migraine, frequency of attacks and CPM scores. Relationship between continuous variables was explored with multiple regression lines, selecting the best-fitting trendline for each relationship. We obtained a final sample of 36 subjects (females: 62.5%; mean age: 42.25\uc2\ua0\uc2\ub1\uc2\ua010.21\uc2\ua0years). Patients had mean length of migraine history of 12.25\uc2\ua0\uc2\ub1\uc2\ua011.00\uc2\ua0years and a mean frequency of attacks of 8.06\uc2\ua0\uc2\ub1\uc2\ua07.15 per month. Linear regression underlines a progressive decrease of CPM score with the increase of the migraine history\ue2\u80\u99s length (R2\uc2\ua0=\uc2\ua00.8871; p\uc2\ua0<\uc2\ua00.001), and the frequency of migraine attacks (R2\uc2\ua0=\uc2\ua00.3122; p\uc2\ua0<\uc2\ua00.05). Our findings suggest that pathological CPM scores can be associated with the severity of migraine. These data seem to confirm the hypothesis of an impairment of executive functions in MwoA. Different hypotheses to explain cognitive impairment in migraine have been postulated including the impact of the typical white matter lesions and a long history of drug abuse. The possible relevant clinical consequence of a full comprehension of this particular aspect related to migraine deserves further attention and consideration

Identification of a subgroup of non cystic fibrosis (CF) bronchiectasis patients with asthmatic traits

Background: Asthma, bronchiectasis, and COPD are the 3 most prevalent chronic airway diseases. They overlap with a higher frequency than expected. Although the overlapping relationship is not clear, the term "overlap syndrome" is well accepted. Many studies were performed in subjects with severe asthma and bronchiectasis, rarely "non severe" asthma was investigate in bronchiectasis subjects. Aims: To evaluate several tools to express asthma traits in bronchiectasis. Methods: Outpatient subjects with non-CF bronchiectasis, attending for the Pneumology Unit of Pisa, were evaluated. Baseline spirometry, reversibility test with salbutamol and/or methacholine challenge tests were performed. FeNO and/or induce sputum were collected too. Subjects known for primarily severe asthma are excluded. Results: Out of 208 subjects, 51 showed reversibility test and/or methacholine challenge test positive for asthma trait (24,5%). They don't differ from the others patients in terms of age, gender, detection of microbes in airways, but the pulmonary function (FEV1, RV expressed in % of predicted), the percentage of cells on sputum or blood (neutrophils, eosinophils) and FeNO values were different significally. Conclusion: The main tools to detect asthma, reversibility and methacholine challenge tests, are able to identify subjects with concomitant asthma and bronchiectasis. The identified group is significantly characterized with asthma traits, including probable eosinophilic trait. In the point of view of precision medicine, the treatment should be addressed on treatable traits and our results could have some implications to choice the treament in bronchiectasis with concomitant asthma features

Day-length is involved in flooding tolerance response in wild type and variant genotypes of rootstock Prunus cerasifera L.

Current and predicted climate changes scenarios require crops with an improved adaptability to mutable environmental features, such as, hypoxia for the root system. In order to overcome the reduction of oxygen, plants activate coping mechanisms and strategies. Prunus spp. are hypoxia-sensitive woody species and although many information has been gathered over the last decades, many physiological mechanisms remain unclear. To verify whether anoxic plant responses are also regulated by photoperiod, plants of Mr.S.2/5-WT plum, and its variant genotypes S.4 tolerant (plus) and S.1 sensitive (minus) to flooding, were grown in a greenhouse and were submitted to natural photoperiod (NP) and to constant photoperiod (CP) from mid-July until the first 10 days of October. From mid-September plants from each genotype, grown under the two photoperiods, were divided into two groups, and one of them underwent long-term flooding. Gas exchange parameters, energetic and biochemical activities, leaf chlorophyll contents, and stress symptoms were measured at different times, whereas soluble sugars were quantified in leaves and roots 14 days after flooding, when stress symptoms in WT and S.1 became prominent. Seasonal changes in the photoperiod played a role in the adaptability to anoxia, although flooding stress response differed among the three genotypes. Anoxia affected leaf gas exchange and S.4 flooded-leaves retained higher ACO2 under conditions of NP and CP. Leaf soluble sugar concentration differed among genotypes. Regardless the photoperiod, S.4 anoxic-leaf sugar concentration was the lowest, except for sorbitol. S.4 anoxic-roots under CP accumulated the highest levels of sucrose and sorbitol. Influences of the photoperiod were observed in WT and S.1 anoxic-leaves, whereas S.1 anoxic roots accumulated the lowest concentration of sugars, regardless of photoperiod. Leaf and root respiratory activity in flooded-plants was highest in S.4, and ADH activity increased in all flooded plants under CP but the highest activity was observed only in S.1 under NP during flooding. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that the S.4 genotype has a plastic adaptability to flooding stress, escaping from the photoperiod regulatory cross-talk system, and can better cope with the new scenarios generated by climate changes