Genetic variability and incidence of systemic diseases in wild vines (Vitis vinifera ssp. silvestris) along the Danube

In the riparian woods of Danube and March east of Vienna 87 wild specimens of Vitis vinifera ssp. silvestris were genetically analysed and compared. The silvestris population can be split into 6 distinct groups, but this clustering cannot be explained solely by the geographical distance. The unique genetic variability observed represents a strong case for preservation of wild grapevines.The incidence of bacterioses, viroses and nematodes transmitting nepoviruses to these vines were registered. None of the analysed specimens suffered from Agrobacterium vitis-induced crown gall. Only some vines were infected by viral pathogens such as GLRaV I and SLRV. Thus the wild vines do not constitute a risk for the surrounding commercial vineyards. On the other hand, diseases spread from cultivated grapevines may seriously harm the wild vine population. Four species of nematodes transmitting nepoviruses were registered. Samples of Xiphinema vuittenezi and Longidorus attenuatus from the Lobau (natural forests, north of the Danube in the area of Vienna) differ morphometrically from others found on arable soils or isolated from the research area.

Freilanduntersuchungen zum Einfluss von 31 Unterlagsrebsorten auf Ertrag und ausgewählte Qualitätsparameter der Rebsorte “Zweigelt”

Auf einem Standort mit carbonathältiger Braunerde auf Flyschmergel wurde bei der Sorte “Zweigelt” der Einfluss von 31 Unterlagsrebsorten auf die Parameter Mostgewicht, Säuregehalt des Mosts, Ertrag, Traubengewicht und Schnittholzgewicht ermittelt. Im Durchschnitt der zwölf Versuchsjahre bewirkten die Unterlagen 41 B, Ru 140 und G 9 eine signifikante Reduktion des Mostgewichts um 0.47∘ KMW, 0.26∘ KMW und 1.13∘ KMW im Vergleich zu K 5BB. Bei den Unterlagen 1616 C und 3309 C war das Mostgewicht mit + 0.4∘ KMW und + 0.34∘ KMW hingegen signifikant höher. Die Jahresmittelwerte des Mostgewichtes lagen zwischen einem Minimum von 16.6∘ KMW und einem Maximum von 19.1∘ KMW. Der Säuregehalt des Mostes war bei den Unterlagen 41 B, Binova und G 9 um 0.49 g/l, 0.64 g/l und 0.5 g/l im Vergleich zu K 5BB erhöht. Der geringste Jahresmittelwert des Säuregehalts im Most lag bei 5.4 g/l und der höchste Wert bei 7.8 g/l. Der Ertrag war bei den Unterlagen SO4, Cosmo 10.99 R, G 9, Aripa, 101–14 MG, 1616 C, 3309 C und Riparia portalis signifikant verringert. Binova und 225 Ru A2 bewirkten eine signifikante Ertragssteigerung um 0.5 kg/Stock beziehungsweise 0.41 kg/Stock im Vergleich zu K 5BB. Die Jahresmittelwerte des Ertrages lagen zwischen 0.58 kg/Stock im ersten Ertragsjahr und 1.97 bis 5.96 kg/Stock in den Folgejahren. Das Traubengewicht wies ebenfalls einen signifikanten Zusammenhang mit der verwendeten Unterlage auf. Im Durchschnitt aller Beobachtungsjahre wurde das Traubengewicht durch K 125AA, G 26, 41 B und Binova positiv beeinflusst. Hingegen führten die Unterlagen G 9, 99 R, 101–14 MG und 3309 C im Vergleich zu K 5BB zu einer Verringerung des Traubengewichts. Die Jahresmittelwerte lagen zwischen einem Minimum von 149 g und einem Maximum von 318 g. Das Schnittholzgewicht wurde signifikant durch die Unterlage beeinflusst, wobei die Unterlagen K 125AA, Binova, 225 Ru A2, 1103 P und Fercal im Vergleich zu K 5BB zu Erhöhungen zwischen 0.014 kg/m2 und 0.03 kg/m2 führten; die Unterlagen G 9, Riparia portalis, 101–14 MG, 1616 C und Aripa bewirkten hingegen eine Reduktion des Schnittholzgewichts. Die Jahresmittelwerte betrugen 0.03 kg/m2 und 0.094 kg/m2 in den ersten beiden Ertragsjahren und lagen in den Folgejahren zwischen 0.112 kg/m2 und 0.243 kg/m2. Mikrovinifikation und

Genetic Variants in Arhgef11 Are Associated With Kidney Injury in the Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rat

A previous genetic analysis comparing the Dahl salt-sensitive (S) rat to the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) identified a major locus on chromosome 2 that influences proteinuria in the S rat. In the present study, blood pressure, proteinuria, and renal hemodynamics were evaluated in congenic strains with small segments of the protective SHR genome on the S background. Proteinuria and renal function were significantly improved in the congenic strains compared to the S. The causative locus interval was narrowed to Arhgef11, Pear1, and Sh2d2 were identified as important candidate genes that may be linked to kidney injury in the S rat. In particular, Arhgef11 plays an important role in the activation of the Rho-ROCK signaling pathway. Inhibition of this pathway using fasudil resulted in a significant reduction of proteinuria in treated S rats (compared to untreated S). However, no difference was observed between treated or untreated SHR or congenic strains. The homologous region in humans was found to be associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in the Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe) population. In summary, these findings demonstrate that allelic variants in Arhgef11, acting through the Rho-ROCK pathway, could influence kidney injury in the S as well as provide insight into human kidney disease

Universal Rights and Wrongs

This paper argues for the important role of customers as a source of competitive advantage and firm growth, an issue which has been largely neglected in the resource-based view of the firm. It conceptualizes Penrose’s (1959) notion of an ‘inside track’ and illustrates how in-depth knowledge about established customers combines with joint problem-solving activities and the rapid assimilation of new and previously unexploited skills and resources. It is suggested that the inside track represents a distinct and perhaps underestimated way of generating rents and securing long-term growth. This also implies that the sources of sustainable competitive advantage in important respects can be sought in idiosyncratic interfirm relationships rather than within the firm itself

A multi-omic single-cell landscape of human gynecologic malignancies

Deconvolution of regulatory mechanisms that drive transcriptional programs in cancer cells is key to understanding tumor biology. Herein, we present matched transcriptome (scRNA-seq) and chromatin accessibility (scATAC-seq) profiles at single-cell resolution from human ovarian and endometrial tumors processed immediately following surgical resection. This dataset reveals the complex cellular heterogeneity of these tumors and enabled us to quantitatively link variation in chromatin accessibility to gene expression. We show that malignant cells acquire previously unannotated regulatory elements to drive hallmark cancer pathways. Moreover, malignant cells from within the same patients show substantial variation in chromatin accessibility linked to transcriptional output, highlighting the importance of intratumoral heterogeneity. Finally, we infer the malignant cell type-specific activity of transcription factors. By defining the regulatory logic of cancer cells, this work reveals an important reliance on oncogenic regulatory elements and highlights the ability of matched scRNA-seq/scATAC-seq to uncover clinically relevant mechanisms of tumorigenesis in gynecologic cancers

Simulation of dimensionality effects in thermal transport

The discovery of nanostructures and the development of growth and fabrication techniques of one- and two-dimensional materials provide the possibility to probe experimentally heat transport in low-dimensional systems. Nevertheless measuring the thermal conductivity of these systems is extremely challenging and subject to large uncertainties, thus hindering the chance for a direct comparison between experiments and statistical physics models. Atomistic simulations of realistic nanostructures provide the ideal bridge between abstract models and experiments. After briefly introducing the state of the art of heat transport measurement in nanostructures, and numerical techniques to simulate realistic systems at atomistic level, we review the contribution of lattice dynamics and molecular dynamics simulation to understanding nanoscale thermal transport in systems with reduced dimensionality. We focus on the effect of dimensionality in determining the phononic properties of carbon and semiconducting nanostructures, specifically considering the cases of carbon nanotubes, graphene and of silicon nanowires and ultra-thin membranes, underlying analogies and differences with abstract lattice models.Comment: 30 pages, 21 figures. Review paper, to appear in the Springer Lecture Notes in Physics volume "Thermal transport in low dimensions: from statistical physics to nanoscale heat transfer" (S. Lepri ed.

The beneficial effect of hydroxyapatite lasts: A randomized radiostereometric trial comparing hydroxyapatite-coated, uncoated, and cemented tibial components for up to 16 years

Analysis and Stochastic

Killing of Targets by CD8+ T Cells in the Mouse Spleen Follows the Law of Mass Action

It has been difficult to correlate the quality of CD8 T cell responses with protection against viral infections. To investigate the relationship between efficacy and magnitude of T cell responses, we quantify the rate at which individual CD8 effector and memory T cells kill target cells in the mouse spleen. Using mathematical modeling, we analyze recent data on the loss of target cells pulsed with three different peptides from the mouse lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) in mouse spleens with varying numbers of epitope-specific CD8 T cells. We find that the killing of targets follows the law of mass-action, i.e., the death rate of individual target cells remains proportional to the frequency (or the total number) of specific CD8 T cells in the spleen despite the fact that effector cell densities and effector to target ratios vary about a 1000-fold. The killing rate of LCMV-specific CD8 T cells is largely independent of T cell specificity and differentiation stage. Our results thus allow one to calculate the critical T cell concentration at which growth of a virus with a given replication rate can be prevented from the start of infection by memory CD8 T cell response