Unraveling the genetic origin of 'Glera', 'Ribolla Gialla' and other autochthonous grapevine varieties from Friuli Venezia Giulia (northeastern Italy)

'Glera' and 'Ribolla Gialla' are the most economically relevant local grapevine cultivars of Friuli Venezia Giulia region (north-eastern Italy). 'Glera' is used to produce the world-renowned Prosecco wine. 'Ribolla Gialla' cultivation is constantly increasing due to the strong demand for sparkling wine and is the most important variety in Brda (Slovenia). Knowledge of local varieties history in terms of migration and pedigree relationships has scientific and marketing appeal. Following prospections, genotyping and ampelographic characterization of minor germplasm in Friuli Venezia Giulia, a further research was developed to understand the parentage relationships among the grapevine varieties grown in this region. An integrated strategy was followed combining the analysis of nuclear and chloroplast microsatellites with the Vitis 18k SNP chip. Two main recurrent parents were found, which can be regarded as "founders": 'Vulpea', an Austrian variety parent-offspring related with at least ten Friuli Venezia Giulia cultivars, among them 'Glera', and 'Refosco Nostrano', first degree related with other six Friuli Venezia Giulia varieties. 'Ribolla Gialla' was shown to be another member of the impressively long list of offspring derived from the prolific 'Heunisch Weiss'. Combining molecular markers and historical references was a high-performance strategy for retracing and adjusting the history of cultivars

Ampelographic characterisation of grapevine accessions denominated 'Refošk', 'Refosco', 'Teran' and 'Terrano' (Vitis vinifera L.) from Slovenia, Croatia and Italy

Grapevines denominated 'Refošk', 'Refosco', 'Teran' and 'Terrano have been cultivated in the area of western Slovenia, north-western Croatia and north-eastern Italy for centuries. Despite historical documents reporting the longstanding tradition of grapevine cultivation and winemaking, the denomination and origin of these varieties is still questionable. The aims of this work were to study the genetic identity and relationship of the grapevine accessions denominated 'Refošk', 'Refosco', 'Teran' and 'Teranno' that have been traditionally cultivated in Slovenia, Croatia and Italy. For this purpose, 9 SSR loci were analysed to fingerprint 53 accessions with denominations or similar true-to-type morphologies of 'Refošk' and 'Teran'. The grapevine variety 'Refošk' cultivated in Slovenia and most accessions denominated 'Teran' in Croatia showed identical genotypes in all analysed SSR markers, and can therefore be used as synonyms. Five accessions showed identical genotypes to 'Refosco dal peduncolo rosso' variety, however five other genotyped accessions suggested individual profiles, and can be characterized as clonal mutants of true-to-type 'Refošk'/'Teran'. Accessions 'Sladki Teran' and 'Ref5/31' shared 56 % and 61 % of the alleles with true-to-type profiles of 'Refošk'/'Teran' and their parentage analysis strongly suggested a full-siblings relationship. Obtained results contribute to the understanding of the genetic diversity of grapevine varieties cultivated in this part of Europe

Microglial activation in Parkinson’s disease using [18F]-FEPPA

BACKGROUND: Neuroinflammatory processes including activated microglia have been reported to play an important role in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Increased expression of translocator protein (TSPO) has been observed after brain injury and inflammation in neurodegenerative diseases. Positron emission tomography (PET) radioligand targeting TSPO allows for the quantification of neuroinflammation in vivo. METHODS: Based on the genotype of the rs6791 polymorphism in the TSPO gene, we included 25 mixed-affinity binders (MABs) (14 PD patients and 11 age-matched healthy controls (HC)) and 27 high-affinity binders (HABs) (16 PD patients and 11 age-matched HC) to assess regional differences in the second-generation radioligand [(18)F]-FEPPA between PD patients and HC. FEPPA total distribution volume (V (T)) values in cortical as well as subcortical brain regions were derived from a two-tissue compartment model with arterial plasma as an input function. RESULTS: Our results revealed a significant main effect of genotype on [(18)F]-FEPPA V (T) in every brain region, but no main effect of disease or disease × genotype interaction in any brain region. The overall percentage difference of the mean FEPPA V (T) between HC-MABs and HC-HABs was 32.6% (SD = 2.09) and for PD-MABs and PD-HABs was 43.1% (SD = 1.21). CONCLUSIONS: Future investigations are needed to determine the significance of [(18)F]-FEPPA as a biomarker of neuroinflammation as well as the importance of the rs6971 polymorphism and its clinical consequence in PD

Carbohydrate, phenolic and antioxidant level in relation to chlorophyll a content in oilseed winter rape (Brassica napus L.) inoculated with Leptosphaeria maculans

Syftet med föreliggande studien var att undersöka om sjuksköterskors egna rökvanor påverkar attityden till tobakspreventivt arbete på sjukhuset, både till tobakspreventivt arbete med patienterna och attityden till rökfritt sjukhus. Studien är empirisk och utfördes genom kvalitativa intervjuer med sex sjuksköterskor på en vårdavdelning på ett sjukhus i södra Sverige. Data från intervjuerna analyserades och resulterade i sju olika teman: Preventiva rollen, Kunskap om prevention, Vem skall leda det preventiva arbetet, Rökkontroll, Utbildningsnivå och rökning, Sjuksköterskan, en förebild?, Vem ska hjälpa patienten vid rökstopp på sjukhuset?, Är det någon skillnad mellan icke rökande och rökande vad avser rökpreventionen?. Den preventiva rollen hamnade i fokus och skillnader fanns mellan rökande och icke rökande sjuksköterskor både vad gäller preventivt omvårdnasarbete och kontrollThe aim of the present study is to investigate whether nurses smoking habits influence their attitude to tobacco prevention in hospitals, both in their work with patients and regarding their attitude to hospital smoking bans. The following question was posed: is there a difference between smoking and non-smoking nurses in patient-care activities regarding smoking prevention and control? The study is qualitative, based on qualitative interviews with six nurses at a ward of a hospital in Sweden. Interview data were analyzed and eight themes emerged: the role in prevention work knowledge of prevention who is to lead prevention work smoking control smoking and education levels the nurse as a role model who is to help the patient give up smoking possible differences between nonsmoking and smoking nurses regarding smoking prevention. The role in prevention work turned out to be central. Smoking nurses had greater difficulties in connection with preventive work and control, due to their personal experience of how hard it can be to give up smoking habits

Test-retest variability of high resolution positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of cortical serotonin (5HT2A) receptors in older, healthy adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Position emission tomography (PET) imaging using [¹⁸F]-setoperone to quantify cortical 5-HT_2Areceptors has the potential to inform pharmacological treatments for geriatric depression and dementia. Prior reports indicate a significant normal aging effect on serotonin 5HT_2Areceptor (5HT_2AR) binding potential. The purpose of this study was to assess the test-retest variability of [¹⁸F]-setoperone PET with a high resolution scanner (HRRT) for measuring 5HT_2AR availability in subjects greater than 60 years old. Methods: Six healthy subjects (age range = 65–78 years) completed two [¹⁸F]-setoperone PET scans on two separate occasions 5–16 weeks apart.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The average difference in the binding potential (BP_ND) as measured on the two occasions in the frontal and temporal cortical regions ranged between 2 and 12%, with the lowest intraclass correlation coefficient in anterior cingulate regions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that the test-retest variability of [¹⁸F]-setoperone PET in elderly subjects is comparable to that of [¹⁸F]-setoperone and other 5HT_2AR radiotracers in younger subject samples.</p

Analysis of Variance in Neuroreceptor Ligand Imaging Studies

Radioligand positron emission tomography (PET) with dual scan paradigms can provide valuable insight into changes in synaptic neurotransmitter concentration due to experimental manipulation. The residual t-test has been utilized to improve the sensitivity of the t-test in PET studies. However, no further development of statistical tests using residuals has been proposed so far to be applied in cases when there are more than two conditions. Here, we propose the residual f-test, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and examine its feasibility using simulated [11C]raclopride PET data. We also re-visit data from our previously published [11C]raclopride PET study, in which 10 individuals underwent three PET scans under different conditions. We found that the residual f-test is superior in terms of sensitivity than the conventional f-test while still controlling for type 1 error. The test will therefore allow us to reliably test hypotheses in the smaller sample sizes often used in explorative PET studies

Age- and season-dependent pattern of flavonol glycosides in Cabernet Sauvignon grapevine leaves

Flavonols play key roles in many plant defense mechanisms, consequently they are frequently investigated as stress sensitive factors in relation to several oxidative processes. It is well known that grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) can synthesize various flavonol glycosides in the leaves, however, very little information is available regarding their distribution along the cane at different leaf levels. In this work, taking into consideration of leaf position, the main flavonol glycosides of a red grapevine cultivar (Cabernet Sauvignon) were profiled and quantified by HPLC–DAD analysis. It was found that amount of four flavonol glycosides, namely, quercetin-3-O-galactoside, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, kaempferol-3-O-glucoside and kaempferol-3-O-glucuronide decreased towards the shoot tip. Since leaf age also decreases towards the shoot tip, the obtained results suggest that these compounds continuously formed by leaf aging, resulting in their accumulation in the older leaves. In contrast, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide (predominant form) and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside were not accumulated significantly by aging. We also pointed out that grapevine boosted the flavonol biosynthesis in September, and flavonol profile differed significantly in the two seasons. Our results contribute to the better understanding of the role of flavonols in the antioxidant defense system of grapevine

Seeking organisational excellence by using the information coming from the EFQM excellence model as starting point: application to a real case

This paper describes how to use the information coming from applying the EFQM excellence model to analyse the perception that the members of an organisation have of it regarding their business vision. Such an analysis is made on the basis of the EFQM excellence model criteria and by applying statistical data analysis techniques. With this study, besides detecting both the strong and weak areas of actuation on which an organisation should focus and act, it is also possible to detect the relationships between the personal characteristics of members of the organisation and their business vision. The main goal is that organisations are able to reach excellence by jointly using an assessment method (the EFQM excellence model) and posterior statistical data analysis techniques (uni-variant and multi-variant). These techniques enable one to complement and enlarge the potential of the EFQM excellence model. Finally, the procedure is illustrated by presenting the main results of applying it to a real case of the Permanent Training Centre of the Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.Alfaro Saiz, JJ.; Carot Sierra, JM.; Rodríguez Rodríguez, R.; Jabaloyes Vivas, JM. (2011). Seeking organisational excellence by using the information coming from the EFQM excellence model as starting point: application to a real case. Total Quality Management and Business Excellence. 22(8):853-868. doi:10.1080/14783363.2011.597595S853868228Carlos Bou‐Llusar, J., Escrig‐Tena, A. B., Roca‐Puig, V., & Beltrán‐Martín, I. (2005). To what extent do enablers explain results in the EFQM excellence model? International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 22(4), 337-353. doi:10.1108/02656710510591192Calvo‐Mora, A., Leal, A., & Roldán, J. L. (2006). Using enablers of the EFQM model to manage institutions of higher education. Quality Assurance in Education, 14(2), 99-122. doi:10.1108/09684880610662006Dale, B. G., Zairi, M., Van der Wiele, A., & Williams, A. R. T. (2000). Quality is dead in Europe – long live excellence ‐ true or false? Measuring Business Excellence, 4(3), 4-10. doi:10.1108/13683040010377737Eskildsen, J. K., Kristensen, K., & Jørn Juhl, H. (2001). The criterion weights of the EFQM excellence model. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 18(8), 783-795. doi:10.1108/eum0000000006033Farrar, M. (2000). Structuring success: A case study in the use of the EFQM Excellence Model in school improvement. Total Quality Management, 11(4-6), 691-696. doi:10.1080/09544120050008084Hides, M. T., Davies, J., & Jackson, S. (2004). Implementation of EFQM excellence model self‐assessment in the UK higher education sector – lessons learned from other sectors. The TQM Magazine, 16(3), 194-201. doi:10.1108/09544780410532936Li, M., & Yang, J. B. (2003). A decision model for self‐assessment of business process based on the EFQM excellence model. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 20(2), 164-188. doi:10.1108/02656710310456608Martín‐Castilla, J. I., & Rodríguez‐Ruiz, Ó. (2008). EFQM model: knowledge governance and competitive advantage. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 9(1), 133-156. doi:10.1108/14691930810845858McAdam, R., & Welsh, W. (2000). A critical review of the business excellence quality model applied to further education colleges. Quality Assurance in Education, 8(3), 120-130. doi:10.1108/09684880010372716Ruiz-Carrillo, J. I. C., & Fernández-Ortiz, R. (2005). Theoretical foundation of the EFQM model: the resource-based view. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 16(1), 31-55. doi:10.1080/1478336042000309857Rusjan, B. (2005). Usefulness of the EFQM excellence model: Theoretical explanation of some conceptual and methodological issues. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 16(3), 363-380. doi:10.1080/14783360500053972José Tarí, J. (2006). An EFQM model self‐assessment exercise at a Spanish university. Journal of Educational Administration, 44(2), 170-188. doi:10.1108/09578230610652051Wongrassamee, S., Simmons, J. E. L., & Gardiner, P. D. (2003). Performance measurement tools: the Balanced Scorecard and the EFQM Excellence Model. Measuring Business Excellence, 7(1), 14-29. doi:10.1108/13683040310466690Yang, J. B., Dale, B. G., & Siow, C. H. R. (2001). Self-assessment of excellence: An application of the evidential reasoning approach. International Journal of Production Research, 39(16), 3789-3812. doi:10.1080/0020754011006907