Muscular effort increases hand-blink reflex magnitude.

Defensive motor responses elicited by sudden environmental stimuli are finely modulated by their behavioural relevance to maximise the organism's survival. One such response, the blink reflex evoked by intense electrical stimulation of the median nerve (Hand-Blink Reflex; HBR), has been extensively used to derive fine-grained maps of defensive peripersonal space. However, as other subcortical reflexes, the HBR might also be modulated by lower-level factors that do not bear direct relevance to the defensive value of blinking, thus posing methodological and interpretive problems. Here, we tested whether HBR magnitude is affected by the muscular effort present when holding the hand in certain postures. We found that HBR magnitude increases with muscular effort, an effect most likely mediated by the increased corticospinal drive. However, we found strong evidence that this effect is substantially smaller than the well-known effect of eye-hand proximity on HBR magnitude. Nonetheless, care should be taken in future experiments to avoid erroneous interpretations of the effects of muscular effort as indicators of behaviour relevance

Ultralow-frequency neural entrainment to pain

Nervous systems exploit regularities in the sensory environment to predict sensory input, adjust behavior, and thereby maximize fitness. Entrainment of neural oscillations allows retaining temporal regularities of sensory information, a prerequisite for prediction. Entrainment has been extensively described at the frequencies of periodic inputs most commonly present in visual and auditory landscapes (e.g., >0.5 Hz). An open question is whether neural entrainment also occurs for regularities at much longer timescales. Here, we exploited the fact that the temporal dynamics of thermal stimuli in natural environment can unfold very slowly. We show that ultralow-frequency neural oscillations preserved a long-lasting trace of sensory information through neural entrainment to periodic thermo-nociceptive input as low as 0.1 Hz. Importantly, revealing the functional significance of this phenomenon, both power and phase of the entrainment predicted individual pain sensitivity. In contrast, periodic auditory input at the same ultralow frequency did not entrain ultralow-frequency oscillations. These results demonstrate that a functionally significant neural entrainment can occur at temporal scales far longer than those commonly explored. The non-supramodal nature of our results suggests that ultralow-frequency entrainment might be tuned to the temporal scale of the statistical regularities characteristic of different sensory modalities

Saliency Detection as a Reactive Process: Unexpected Sensory Events Evoke Corticomuscular Coupling.

Survival in a fast-changing environment requires animals not only to detect unexpected sensory events, but also to react. In humans, these salient sensory events generate large electrocortical responses, which have been traditionally interpreted within the sensory domain. Here we describe a basic physiological mechanism coupling saliency-related cortical responses with motor output. In four experiments conducted on 70 healthy participants, we show that salient substartle sensory stimuli modulate isometric force exertion by human participants, and that this modulation is tightly coupled with electrocortical activity elicited by the same stimuli. We obtained four main results. First, the force modulation follows a complex triphasic pattern consisting of alternating decreases and increases of force, time-locked to stimulus onset. Second, this modulation occurs regardless of the sensory modality of the eliciting stimulus. Third, the magnitude of the force modulation is predicted by the amplitude of the electrocortical activity elicited by the same stimuli. Fourth, both neural and motor effects are not reflexive but depend on contextual factors. Together, these results indicate that sudden environmental stimuli have an immediate effect on motor processing, through a tight corticomuscular coupling. These observations suggest that saliency detection is not merely perceptive but reactive, preparing the animal for subsequent appropriate actions.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Salient events occurring in the environment, regardless of their modalities, elicit large electrical brain responses, dominated by a widespread "vertex" negative-positive potential. This response is the largest synchronization of neural activity that can be recorded from a healthy human being. Current interpretations assume that this vertex potential reflects sensory processes. Contrary to this general assumption, we show that the vertex potential is strongly coupled with a modulation of muscular activity that follows the same pattern. Both the vertex potential and its motor effects are not reflexive but strongly depend on contextual factors. These results reconceptualize the significance of these evoked electrocortical responses, suggesting that saliency detection is not merely perceptive but reactive, preparing the animal for subsequent appropriate actions

Bioactive compound profiling of olive fruit: the contribution of genotype

The health, therapeutic, and organoleptic characteristics of olive oil depend on functional bioactive compounds, such as phenols, tocopherols, squalene, and sterols. Genotype plays a key role in the diversity and concentration of secondary compounds peculiar to olive. In this study, the most important bioactive compounds of olive fruit were studied in numerous international olive cultivars during two consecutive seasons. A large variability was measured for each studied metabolite in all 61 olive cultivars. Total phenol content varied on a scale of 1–10 (3831–39,252 mg kg1) in the studied cultivars. Squalene values fluctuated over an even wider range (1–15), with values of 274 to 4351 mg kg1. Total sterols ranged from 119 to 969 mg kg1, and total tocopherols varied from 135 to 579 mg kg1 in fruit pulp. In the present study, the linkage among the most important quality traits highlighted the scarcity of cultivars with high content of at least three traits together. This work provided sound information on the fruit metabolite profile of a wide range of cultivars, which will facilitate the studies on the genomic regulation of plant metabolites and development of new olive genotypes through genomics-assisted breeding.EEA San JuanFil: Mousavi, Soraya. National Research Council. Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources; ItaliaFil: Stanzione, Vitale. National Research Council. Institute for Agricultural and Forest Systems of the Mediterranean; ItaliaFil: Mariotti, Roberto. National Research Council. Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources; ItaliaFil: Mastio, Valerio.Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Juan; Argentina.Fil: Mastio, Valerio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Azariadis, Aristotelis. Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania. Department of Horticultural Genetics and Biotechnology; GreciaFil: Passeri, Valentina. National Research Council. Institute for Agricultural and Forest Systems of the Mediterranean; ItaliaFil: Valeri, Maria Cristina. National Research Council. Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources; ItaliaFil: Baldoni, Luciana. National Research Council. Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources; ItaliaFil: Bufacchi, Marina. National Research Council. Institute for Agricultural and Forest Systems of the Mediterranean; Itali

Exploring olive genetic diversity in the Maltese Islands

comprehensive effort was devoted to exploring, collecting and characterizing the local Maltese olive germplasm, often represented by ancient, monumental trees and by plants of uncertain origin. SSR and cp-SSR analysis of all samples enabled the identification of 46 genotypes and establishment of the correspondence between ancient trees, main local varieties and other Mediterranean cultivars. The application of plastid markers enabled identification of two lineages among Maltese genotypes, with more than 50% represented by lineage E2. Twenty-nine cases of grafting were identified among the various genotypes and lineages. In most cases, E1 canopies were grafted on E2 rootstocks, but reverse cases were also observed. The phylogenetic study of Maltese genotypes, together with hundreds of cultivars from the Mediterranean Basin and beyond, highlights the richness of Maltese olive diversity and drawing attention to the genetic similarity of some Maltese olive genotypes with neighboring Italian and Algerian varieties. These results underline the long-lasting presence of the olive in the country, contributing to the reconstruction of its phylogeny and demonstrating a possible autochthonous origin of many samples. Some still-living ancient trees are at serious risk of extinction due to abandonment, urban expansion and environmental threats. This study supports the preservation of the Maltese olive germplasm and highlights its importance as a rich genetic source to face new agronomical challenges and future climatic constraints.This research was funded by GAL XLOKK of Malta as a part of Measure 19.3 of the EU LEADER Program 2014–2020.peer-reviewe

The ancient olive trees (Olea europaea L.) of the Maltese Islands : a rich and unexplored patrimony to enhance oliviculture

A prospecting campaign in the Maltese Islands has ensured the survival of several ancient olive trees (Olea europaea L.), genetically distant from known cultivars. Most of these plants were abandoned or partially cultivated. A two-year evaluation of fruit characteristics and compositions was performed on samples collected from the main representatives of these indigenous genotypes. Analyses were carried out using Gas Chromatography, High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Near Infrared Spectrometry. Among the fruit samples, a wide range of variations was observed. Some of the genotypes showed fruit traits suitable for table olive production. This is the case of samples with a pulp/pit ratio higher than four, such as 1Wardija, 1Caritas, 1Plattini, 1Bingemma Malta and 3Loretu, whilst 1Bidni, 1Mellieha, 2Qnotta, 3Loretu, 1Bingemma Malta and 1Caritas were suitable for dual purpose. The total phenol content ranged from 6.3 (1Wardija) to 117.9 (2Mtarfa) g/kg of fresh pulp. The average percentage of MUFA was quite low for most of the varieties. These genotypes, which presumably originated in the Maltese Islands and are well adapted to the local pedo-climatic conditions, are being propagated for the following evaluation of their bio-agronomical performance (production, suitability to intensive cultivation, environmental sustainability, product quality, etc.). The purpose is to select, among these local genotypes, the most outstanding varieties, in terms of phenolic and FA profile and agronomical potential, to spread into cultivation, thereby contributing to an increase in the quality of the local table and olive oil production, strongly linked to the territory.peer-reviewe

Plasticity of fruit and oil traits in olive among diferent environments

Olive is a long-living perennial species with a wide geographical distribution, showing a large genetic and phenotypic variation in its growing area. There is an urgent need to uncover how olive phenotypic traits and plasticity can change regardless of the genetic background. A two-year study was conducted, based on the analysis of fruit and oil traits of 113 cultivars from fve germplasm collections established in Mediterranean Basin countries and Argentina. Fruit and oil traits plasticity, broad‐sense heritability and genotype by environment interaction were estimated. From variance and heritability analyses, it was shown that fruit fresh weight was mainly under genetic control, whereas oleic/(palmitic+linoleic) acids ratio was regulated by the environment and genotype by environment interaction had the major efect on oil content. Among the studied cultivars, diferent level of stability was observed, which allowed ranking the cultivars based on their plasticity for oil traits. High thermal amplitude, the diference of low and high year values of temperature, negatively afected the oil content and the oleic acid percentage. Information derived from this work will help to direct the selection of cultivars with the highest global ftness averaged over the environments rather than the highest ftness in each environment separately.EEA San JuanFil: Mousavi, Soraya. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources; ItaliaFil: Mousavi, Soraya. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Institute for Agricultural and Forest Systems of the Mediterranean; ItaliaFil: De la Rosa, Raúl. Instituto Andaluz de Investigación y Formación Agraria, Pesquera, Alimentaria y de la Producción Ecológica (IFAPA). - Centro Alameda del Obispo; EspañaFil: Moukhli, Abdelmajid. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA). Centre Régional de la Recherche Agronomique( CRRA); MarruecosFil: El Riachy, Milad. Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI); LíbanoFil: Mariotti, Roberto. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources; ItaliaFil: Torres, Myriam Mariela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Juan; Argentina.Fil: Torres, Myriam Mariela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pierantozzi, Pierluigi. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Juan; Argentina.Fil: Pierantozzi, Pierluigi. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Stanzione, Vitale. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Institute for Agricultural and Forest Systems of the Mediterranean; ItaliaFil: Mastio, Valerio. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Institute for Agricultural and Forest Systems of the Mediterranean; ItaliaFil: Zaher, Hayat. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA). Centre Régional de la Recherche Agronomique; MarruecosFil: El Antari, Abderraouf. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA). Centre Régional de la Recherche Agronomique; MarruecosFil: Ayoub, Salam. National Agricultural Research Center (NARC); JordaniaFil: Dandachi, Faten. Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI); LíbanoFil: Youssef, Hiyam. Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI); LíbanoFil: Aggelou, Nikolas. Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICh). Department of Horticultural Genetics and Biotechnology; GreciaFil: Contreras Valetín, Ana Cibeles. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Juan; Argentina.Fil: Contreras Valetín, Ana Cibeles. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Maestri, Damián. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBV); ArgentinaFil: Maestri, Damián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Belaj, Angjelina. Instituto Andaluz de Investigación y Formación Agraria, Pesquera, Alimentaria y de la Producción Ecológica (IFAPA). - Centro Alameda del Obispo; EspañaFil: Bufacchi, Marina. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Institute for Agricultural and Forest Systems of the Mediterranean; ItaliaFil: Baldoni, Luciana. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche. Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources; ItaliaFil: León, Lorenzo. Instituto Andaluz de Investigación y Formación Agraria, Pesquera, Alimentaria y de la Producción Ecológica (IFAPA). - Centro Alameda del Obispo; Españ

The effect of salient stimuli on neural oscillations, isometric force, and their coupling.

Survival in a suddenly-changing environment requires animals not only to detect salient stimuli, but also to promptly respond to them by initiating or revising ongoing motor processes. We recently discovered that the large vertex brain potentials elicited by sudden supramodal stimuli are strongly coupled with a multiphasic modulation of isometric force, a phenomenon that we named cortico-muscular resonance (CMR). Here, we extend our investigation of the CMR to the time-frequency domain. We show that (i) both somatosensory and auditory stimuli evoke a number of phase-locked and non-phase-locked modulations of EEG spectral power. Remarkably, (ii) some of these phase-locked and non-phase-locked modulations are also present in the Force spectral power. Finally, (iii) EEG and Force time-frequency responses are correlated in two distinct regions of the power spectrum. An early, low-frequency region (∼4 Hz) reflects the previously-described coupling between the phase-locked EEG vertex potential and force modulations. A late, higher-frequency region (beta-band, ∼20 Hz) reflects a second coupling between the non-phase-locked increase of power observed in both EEG and Force. In both time-frequency regions, coupling was maximal over the sensorimotor cortex contralateral to the hand exerting the force, suggesting an effect of the stimuli on the tonic corticospinal drive. Thus, stimulus-induced CMR occurs across at least two different types of cortical activities, whose functional significance in relation to the motor system should be investigated further. We propose that these different types of corticomuscular coupling are important to alter motor behaviour in response to salient environmental events

Description of olive morphological parameters by using open access software

Abstract Background The morphological analysis of olive leaves, fruits and endocarps may represent an efficient tool for the characterization and discrimination of cultivars and the establishment of relationships among them. In recent years, much attention has been focused on the application of molecular markers, due to their high diagnostic efficiency and independence from environmental and phenological variables. Results In this study, we present a semi-automatic methodology of detecting various morphological parameters. With the aid of computing and image analysis tools, we created semi-automatic algorithms applying intuitive mathematical descriptors that quantify many fruit, leaf and endocarp morphological features. In particular, we examined quantitative and qualitative characters such as size, shape, symmetry, contour roughness and presence of additional structures such as nipple, petiole, endocarp surface roughness, etc.. Conclusion We illustrate the performance and the applicability of our approach on Greek olive cultivars; on sets of images from fruits, leaves and endocarps. In addition, the proposed methodology was also applied for the description of other crop species morphologies such as tomato, grapevine and pear. This allows us to describe crop morphologies efficiently and robustly in a semi-automated way

Biochemical and molecular profiling of unknown olive genotypes from central Italy: determination of major and minor components

The phenotypic and genetic variability of local olives in a perspective of diversity conservation should be maintained and preserved. Fourteen unknown olive genotypes were selected from abandoned and isolated plants in Umbria region and characterized by ten SSR markers. The molecular analysis led to identify ten previously unknown genotypes within the patrimony of the region, made up by about 10 main cultivars and more than 100 minor ones. Fruit samples were randomly collected from the selected plants during two growing seasons and oil was extracted from each sample. Analyses of fatty acid composition, phenolic profile (flavonoids, phenolic acids, phenolic alcohols and lignans), tocopherols, squalene and sterols were performed on these oils. Significant differences were observed in terms of main fatty acids (e.g. oleic acid from 71.83 to 76.73%), but not for the minor ones. The important differences were instead obtained on the amount of α-tocopherol, ranging from 149 to 583 mg kg−1, and on squalene, spanning from 1059 to 5447 mg kg−1. Evaluation of major and minor compounds with the principal component analysis of the main oil quality parameters revealed differentiation according to the genotypes. The analysis of neglected olive genotypes from a small area of cultivation has led to the identification of a promising source of variability for most sought-after traits, which could be exploited for new olive plantations and to magnify the spectrum of local olive oils