Micro-CT imaging of tomato seeds: Predictive potential of 3D morphometry on germination

The relationship between seed physical characteristics and seed quality is widely investigated by using X-ray based imaging techniques. Recently the use of X-ray micro-tomography (micro-CT) is increasingly used for more accurate characterisation of the internal seed morphology. In this work a germination test was carried out along with the morphometric characterisation of tomato seed internal structure by means of X-ray micro-CT and 3D image analysis. The aim was to accurately evaluate the predictive potential of internal seed 3D morphology for germination outcomes. The visual assessment allowed the relationship between specific internal seed abnormalities and the different germination outcomes to be demonstrated experimentally. Univariate analysis of morphometric seed traits allowed 3D free space % and Sauter diameter, among the most discriminant parameters, to be identified as the most effective for the prediction of germination outcomes. Discriminant Analysis (DA) of 3D morphometric dataset correctly classified 96.3% of normal seedlings, 83.3% of ungerminated seeds and 63.6% of abnormal seedlings, providing a high overall prediction potential of 91.9%. The above analyses have also been performed referring to the germination at 5 days after sowing. As a side effect of the applied technique, an increase of abnormal seedlings was observed at increasing X-ray exposure level. Overall, X-ray micro-CT coupled with DA of internal morphometric traits has proved to be an effective tool to investigate the relationship between tomato seed 3D morphology and seed physiology, although attention has to be paid to possible consequences of X-ray exposure

Direct and Indirect Bonding Techniques: A Systematic Review

Objective: To assess the scientific evidence on direct and indirect bonding techniques to analyse the differences related to treatment time, number of appointments and number of bracket detachments. Material and Methods: The MEDLINE and Cochrane Library databases were searched through to March 2021. Reference lists from the retrieved publications were also examined. The following article types that described data on the different types of direct and indirect bonding techniques in orthodontics were included: prospective and retrospective cohort studies, case-control studies and randomized controlled clinical trials (RCCTs). Two review authors independently assessed eligibility, extracted data, and ascertained the quality of the studies. Results: The search strategy initially resulted in 824 articles, and after a careful selection comprising the inclusion criteria, 12 articles were picked for the final review, specifically 2 cohort studies, 4 case-control studies and 6 RCCTs. The methodological quality was low in 4 studies, medium in 2, and high in 6 articles. Conclusion: The evidence currently available suggests that the use of computer-aided bonding is related to a reduction in treatment time and the number of appointments compared to direct and manual indirect bonding. However, the total bonding time for computer-aided bonding technique, including digital bracket placement, was longer than for direct bonding. Further high-quality RCTs on the differences between direct and indirect bonding are necessary to determine more precise data, as well as additional advantages and disadvantages

"Looking at What One Believies". Indagine sulla Relazione tra Movimenti Oculari e Associazioni Implicite

Social information processing involves embodiment, i.e. thoughts comprise mental simulations of bodily experiences, and, at the same time, cognition directly affects the content of sensory-motor systems. We investigate whether it is possible to observe a top-down effect of implicit association on eye gaze behaviour by means of eye-tracking methods and techniques. We assume that if attitudes, social perception, and emotion are the outcome of embodied processes, then people with different kinds of mental attributes (e.g. racial prejudices) must perform different kinds of eye gaze movements when they explore the visual content of implicit association tasks. The relationship between the eye movements –recorded by the open-source ITU Gaze Tracker eye tracking system– and implicit associations occurring during an Implicit Association Test (IAT) on hidden ethnic biases of about 80 Caucasian participants was investigated in two experiments with the same experimental paradigm. Both total times of fixations and total number of fixations emerged as significant predictors of IAT scores. The analysis carried out on the number of fixations showed that subjects implicitly watch what they believe, i.e. the association according to their psychological attributes. Eye-tracking methodology hence seems to be a promising approach to obtain objective measures to investigate the unintended characteristics underlying behaviour in ecological settings and could be applicable to different research contexts such as studies on stereotypes, implicit attitudes, self-esteem, and self-concept

Cholesterol and fatty acids oxidation in meat from three muscles of Massese suckling lambs slaughtered at different weights

Eighteen Massese male lambs fed mainly with maternal milk were slaughtered at 11, 14 and 17 kg. Samples of Longissimus dorsi (LD), Triceps brachii (TB) and Semimembranosus (Sm) muscles were collected. Total intramus- cular lipids were extracted by means of a mix- ture of chloroform methanol 2/1. Cholesterol content and its oxidation product (COP) were determined by a gas chromatography appara- tus equipped with an apolar 30 m column. Fatty acid oxidation was evaluated by means of thio- barbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) extracting the sample with aqueous acidic solution. The effect of slaughter weight on oxi- dation of intramuscular lipids was found only in TB muscles. In this muscle the cholesterol content showed a decreasing trend, while the content of COPs significantly increased with the age of animals. Among the COPs, the 7- ketocholesterol and 7β-hydroxycholesterol were the most abundant, followed by α- and β- epoxy-cholesterol and cholestan-triol. The con- tent of TBARS did not vary owing to a similar fatty acid composition of intramuscular fat across weight of slaughter. In any case, the val- ues of TBARS did not reach the threshold of the detection of off-flavour in meat

Detection of GAD65 Autoreactive T-Cells by HLA Class I Tetramers in Type 1 Diabetic Patients

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease, in which pancreatic β cells are destroyed in genetically predisposed individuals. While the direct contribution of autoantibodies to the disease pathogenesis is controversial, it is generally recognised that the mechanism of β cell destruction is mediated by autoreactive T cells that had escaped the thymic selection. We aimed to design a method to detect circulating CD8+ T cells autoreactive against an epitope of the glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantigen, isoform 65 (GAD65) ex vivo in T1D patients by using HLA class I tetramers. Low frequencies of GAD65 peptide-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes were detected in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBMC) of normal controls after GAD65 peptide-specific stimulation. Conversely, their frequencies were significantly higher than in controls in PBMC of T1D patients after GAD65 peptide stimulation. These preliminary data are encouraging in order to develop a reliable assay to be employed in large-scale screening studies

Vascular dysfunction caused by loss of Brn-3b/POU4F2 transcription factor in aortic vascular smooth muscle cells is linked to deregulation of calcium signaling pathways

Phenotypic and functional changes in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) contribute significantly to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) but factors driving early adverse vascular changes are poorly understood. We report on novel and important roles for the Brn-3b/POU4F2 (Brn-3b) transcription factor (TF) in controlling VSMC integrity and function. Brn-3b protein is expressed in mouse aorta with localisation to VSMCs. Male Brn-3b KO aortas displayed extensive remodelling with increased extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, elastin fiber disruption and aortic coarctation. RNA sequencing analysis showed that these effects were linked to deregulation of genes required for calcium (Ca2+) signaling, vascular contractility, sarco-endoplasmic reticulum (S/ER) stress responses and immune function in Brn-3b KO aortas and validation studies confirmed changes in Ca2+ signalling genes linked to increased intracellular Ca2+ and S/ER Ca2+ depletion [e.g. increased, Cacna1d Ca2+ channels; ryanodine receptor 2, (RyR2) and phospholamban (PLN) but reduced ATP2a1, encoding SERCA1 pump and chaperone proteins, Hspb1, HspA8, DnaJa1 linked to increased S/ER stress, which also contributes to contractile dysfunction. Accordingly, vascular rings from Brn-3b KO aortas displayed attenuated contractility in response to KCl or phenylephrine (PE) while Brn-3b KO-derived VSMC displayed abnormal Ca2+ signalling following ATP stimulation. This data suggests that Brn-3b target genes are necessary to maintain vascular integrity and contractile function and deregulation upon loss of Brn-3b will contribute to contractile dysfunction and CVD

Effect of different doses of cracked whole soybean on milk fatty acid composition in buffalo

In order to improve the health characteristics of buffalo milk and Mozzarella, the effect of two concentrates differing in linoleic acid (LA) content on milk fatty acid (FA) composition was con- sidered. Dietary LA supplementation, in fact, is the most effec- tive strategy to increase milk content of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which has potentially positive effects on human health. Thirty-two buffaloes were randomly allotted in two groups: exper- imental (EG) and control (CG). During the first period (P1, from 26 to 82 days in milk) EG fed a total mixed ratio (TMR) composed by barley silage, alfalfa and grass hay, maize meal and 3 kg of a concentrate composed by 30% cracked whole soybean (WS) and 70% horse bean (HB), which provided 12.6 g/kg DM of LA. During the second period, (P2, from 97 to 152 days in milk), the experi- mental concentrate was 70/30 WS/HB that provided 25.4 g/kg DM of LA. During both periods CG fed a diet based on the same for- age than EG and a concentrate composed by maize meal, soybean meal, and cotton seeds (7.2 g/kg DM of LA). Individual milk sam- ples were weekly collected and data of milk FA composition were analysed by a repeated measures model. At the end of each peri- od, milk from each group was separately processed and six Mozzarella cheese for group were sampled. During P1, LA con- tent of milk from EG was significantly higher than milk from CG (1.85 vs. 1.52% of TL), whereas CLA and vaccenic acid (VA) con- tent did not differ between groups. During P2, the LA content in EG milk was more than two times higher than that in CG milk (3.91 vs. 1.59% of TL). Also CLA (0.59% of TL vs. 0.38% of TL for EG and GC respectively) and VA (1.67%of TL vs. 1.25% of TL for EG and CG, respectively) milk content significantly differed between groups. Oleic acid (OA) content significantly differed between treatments, being higher in milk from EG (+17%). Interestingly, differences were observed also in the substrate/product ratio related to stearoil-CoA desaturase enzyme (SCD). This enzyme acts either on C18:0, that is con- verted in OA, and on C14:0, C16:0 and VA, which are converted in cis9 unsaturated FA. Results suggested a higher affinity of SCD for C18:0. The desaturation index of C18:0, in fact, was more than ten times higher than that of other substrates. The FA com- position of mozzarella reflected that observed in milk, confirm- ing that cheesemaking did not affect the transfer of FA from milk to cheese

Evaluating the impact of a resident research program in general surgery

Background: Programs of resident research have been found to improve research productivity. However, evidence of the success of these programs is lacking in a Canadian context. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of the introduction of a formal program of resident research at a single Canadian academic centre.Methods: Resident research activities were tracked over a 10-year period (Resident Research Day (RRD) presentations, abstract presentations, published articles). Activities were divided into pre (2002-2007) and post (2007-2012) resident research program implementation time frames. Differences in research productivity were compared between time frames. Surveys of resident attitudes towards research were administered prior to the program’s implementation in 2007, and following introduction of the resident research program in 2009 and 2015.Results: Overall, research productivity (abstracts, publications, and RRD presentations) increased between pre and post resident research program time periods, with a statistically significant increase in mean number of published abstracts. Resident attitudes towards research changed somewhat over time, with fewer residents supporting mandatory research in recent years.Conclusion: Implementation of a resident program of research resulted in a significant increase in research productivity. The setting of clear, modifiable, and achievable goals, as well as providing tools for research success, have contributed to the success of this program

Histological Characteristics, Fatty Acid Composition of Lipid Fractions, and Cholesterol Content of Semimembranosus and Triceps Brachii Muscles in Maremmana and Limousine Bovine Breeds

This study examined the histological properties of Semimembranosus and Triceps brachii muscle in two different bovine breeds, Maremmana (an autochthonous breed from Tuscany, Italy) and Limousine. The animals were grazed in two adjoining pastures, received the same feed supplementation and were weighed monthly. The experimental period lasted from weaning (six months old) to slaughter (19 months old). Muscle samples were collected immediately after slaughter, before carcass cooling. Regarding the histological properties, the number of fibres (TNF), mean sarcolemma perimeter (MSP), cross section area (CSA), and total sarcolemma perimeter (TSP) were determined. Samples were also analysed for proximate composition, fatty acid profile of total lipids, phospholipids and neutral lipids and for total cholesterol content. Breed was a significant variation factor for the performance parameter and histological muscle fibre properties. Interestingly, despite that Maremmana being a less extensively genetically improved breed than Limousine, it showed higher weight at slaughter (+18%) and daily weight gain (+19%). Maremmana also showed smaller muscle fibres than Limousine and, consequently, the TSP was higher. This difference affected the lipid fraction distribution (Limousine was higher in phospholipids and lower in neutral lipids than Maremmana) and, consequently, the fatty acid composition of total lipids (Limousine was high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, while Maremmana was high in monounsaturated fatty acids). The results of this experiment highlight the importance of environmental and management conditions on the full expression of genotypic potentia