Interspecific Hybridization in Leucaena Bentham

Thirteen Leucaena species and subspecies were studied from 1982-1987. Their valid species status was previously determined from chromosome numbers, geographical distributions, ecology and morphology. Present studies include self-incompatibility, interspecific hybridization, and morphological analyses of FI interspecific hybrids. Self-incompatibility (SI) was tested by hand pollinating 184 flower heads (2/805 florets). Two tetraploid species (4x=104) were self-fertile of the three tetraploid and eight diploid species selfed. Selfed progenies of L. esculenta (2x=52) were discovered. L. retusa (2x=56) was weakly self-fertile. Possible selfed progenies of four other diploid species were grown. None of the species hybrids grown were self-compatible except those derived from mating self-compatible species. A refined emasculation technique helped in hand pollinating 1420 inter- and sub-specific crosses (22/193 florets)/ thereby testing 135 of the 156 (86.5 %) species combinations in a 13 x 13 diallel. The genus was largely interfertile as 55 of the 64 species combinations (64/135 or 47.4 %) producing viable-appearing seed were grown and verified. In vitro techniques were used to grow two species hybrids from semi-abortive seeds. With reciprocal crosses combined/ 73 of the possible 78 (93.6 %) combinations in the diallel were tested/ and 47 (64.4 %) produced viable-appearing seed. Fourteen species combinations (14/135 or 10.4 %) produced abortive seeds. Two tetraploid hybrids resulted from the mating of a diploid (2x=56) x tetraploid (4x=104) mating. These tetraploid hybrids probably resulted from the union of a normal pollen of a tetraploid species (n=52) with an unreduced egg of a diploid species (2n=56), resulting in novel 4x=108-chromosome species hybrids. Growth rates rates of 50 species hybrids were determined. The fastest mean growth rate was 4.3 m/yr by L. divecigifolia X L. pallida (4x=104). Seven hybrids had mean growth rates greater than 3 la/yr, and 23 hybrids had mean growth rates greater than 2 m/yr. Thirty hybrids had at least one tree which increased in height faster than 3 m/yr. The fastest growth rate of any tree was 6.2 m/yr by L. diversifolia x L. collinsii (2x=54). Psyllid resistance to Heteropsylla cubana Crawford in the interspecific FI hybrids was better than most L. leucocephala. Five hybrids had no observable damage from psyllids. One appeared to be heterotic for psyllid resistance, and one appeared to have poorer resistance than either parent. Glands were observed on pinnae rachises of L. esculenta leaves, and appear to be producing mucilage which was implicated in psyllid resistance. Forty-one species hybrids reached sexual maturity/ but 14 (34.1 %) failed to produce any viable seeds from open-pollination. Mean viable seed per pod production of the 27 hybrids setting pods was 37.4 %. Yellow and red floral color, gland shape and number per leaf, floral bract shape, and inflorescence diameter were useful markers for identifying species hybrids. All appeared to be inherited additively in the FI, and all appeared to exhibit dosage effects except for gland and bract shape. Red flower color was recessive to yellow in matings of yellow x red flowers. Numbers of leaflets per pinna and pinnae per leaf and leaflet lengths and widths in 50 interspecific hybrids and their parents were counted or measured. Parental and FI hybrid data for leaf characteristics were linearized when plotted as the natural log of the data. Dosage effects occurred in triploid hybrids. Most (148/200 or 74 %) predicted hybrid leaf traits were predicted within 20 % of actual hybrid measurements; predictability would have been higher if data were used only from healthy mature trees. Only L. retusa x L. collinsii had leaflets which were not intermediate in size between than of the parental species. Leaf trait analysis was helpful in determination of parents of an open-pollinated species hybrid. Meiotic chromosomes were studied in two species hybrids and one species. L. collinsii K450 had 28 II, L. retusa K280 X L. collinsii K450 had 4 II + 48 I and L. diversifolia ssp. trichandra K399 x L. collinsii had 26 II + 2 I

Impacts of Greenhouse and Local Gases Mitigation Options on Air Pollution in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area: Valuation of Human Health Effects

The objective of this work is to assess through the "avoided health cost method" what would be the economic benefits of undertaking greenhouse (and local) gases mitigation policies in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area. To do so, we have developed six steps: Mitigation Scenarios (which policies to undertake), Emissions Inventory according to those, an Ambient Air Pollution Model to calculate the physical impacts, Health Effects Estimation to assess the health consequences of reducing air pollution, and Economic Valuation of those health impacts. The mitigation measures valued have to do with the transportation sector (greater penetration of compressed natural gas, consumption improvements, and some mode substitution) and the energy sector (the introduction of new dams and the rational use of energy by reducing energy consumption in residential, commercial and public buildings). There are three scenarios: a Baseline or Business-as-Usual scenario, a scenario that considers GHG mitigation options for Argentina with impacts in terms of local pollution, and an Integrated scenario which in addition to GHG mitigation includes policies related to local air quality and rational use of energy programs. All scenarios were built up to the year 2012. Particulate matter is the pollutant whose impact is valued.

Wood Properties of Twenty Highly Ranked Radiata Pine Seed Production Parents Selected for Growth and Form

Twenty highly ranked radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) seed production parent trees, grown under a commercial sawlog regime, were destructively assessed at rotation age (27 years) for wood quality traits significant to solid-wood and veneer products, including: juvenile-wood density, density variation, juvenile-wood spiral grain, compression wood, and appearance characteristics such as within-ring internal checking and resin pockets. Traits varied considerably among parents, which is reasonable since breeding efforts in New Zealand have, until recently, focused primarily on stem productivity and form. Parental information is useful for many wood properties owing to their high heritabilities in radiata pine (usually 50-80%); thus production forests established using advanced-generation genetic materials can also be expected to be variable in wood properties. Like other fastgrown pines, much of the radiata pine crop is juvenile wood, and an important challenge for tree improvement is to ensure that juvenile wood properties meet processor and end-user requirements

Long-term impact of postconditioning on infarct size and left ventricular ejection fraction in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction

Background: Ischemic postconditioning (PostC), reperfusion in brief cycles, is known to induce short-term reduction in infarct size in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), especially among those with large myocardium at risk (MaR). The aim of the present study was to investigate the long-term effect of PostC on infarct size and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Methods: Sixty-eight patients with a first STEMI were randomised to primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) (n = 35) or PCI followed by PostC (n = 33). MaR was determined as abnormally contracting segments on left ventricular angiogram. Cardiac magnetic resonance was performed at 3 and 12 months for the determination of infarct size and LVEF. Results: Overall there was no difference in infarct size expressed in percentage of MaR between patients randomised to the control (31%; 23, 41) and PostC (31%; 23, 43) groups at 12 months. Likewise there was no difference in LVEF between control (49%; 41, 55) and PostC (52%; 45, 55). In contrast, patients in the PostC group with MaR in the upper quartile had a significantly smaller infarct size (29%; 18, 38) than those in the control group (40%; 34, 48; p < 0.05) at 12 months. In these patients LVEF was higher in the PostC (47%; 43, 50) compared to the control group (38%; 34, 42; p < 0.01). Conclusions: In this long-term follow-up study PostC did not reduce infarct size in relation to MaR or improved LVEF in the overall study population. However, the present data suggest that PostC exerts long-term beneficial effects in patients with large MaR thereby extending previously published short-term observations

Myocardium at risk by magnetic resonance imaging: head-to-head comparison of T2-weighted imaging and early gadolinium enhanced steady state free precession

AIMS: To determine the myocardial salvage index, the extent of infarction needs to be related to the myocardium at risk (MaR). Thus, the ability to assess both infarct size and MaR is of central clinical and scientific importance. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between T2-weighted cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and contrast-enhanced steady-state free precession (CE-SSFP) CMR for the determination of MaR in patients with acute myocardial infarction. METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty-one prospectively included patients with first-time ST-elevation myocardial infarction underwent CMR 1 week after primary percutaneous coronary intervention. For the assessment of MaR, T2-weighted images were acquired before and CE-SSFP images were acquired after the injection of a gadolinium-based contrast agent. For the assessment of infarct size, late gadolinium enhancement images were acquired. The MaR by T2-weighted imaging and CE-SSFP was 29 ± 11 and 32 ± 12% of the left ventricle, respectively. Thus, the MaR with T2-weighted imaging was slightly smaller than that by CE-SSFP (-3.0 ± 4.0%; P < 0.01). There was a significant correlation between the two MaR measures (r(2)= 0.89, P < 0.01), independent of the time after contrast agent administration at which the CE-SSFP was commenced (2-8 min). CONCLUSION: There is a good agreement between the MaR assessed by T2-weighted imaging and that assessed by CE-SSFP in patients with reperfused acute myocardial infarction 1 week after the acute event. Thus, both methods can be used to determine MaR and myocardial salvage at this point in time

Simulación de clima presente (1989-2008) sobre la Península Ibérica con el modelo regional de clima PROMES forzado por el reanálisis ERA-INTERIM

Ponencia presentada en: XXXI Jornadas Científicas de la AME y el XI Encuentro Hispano Luso de Meteorología celebrado en Sevilla, del 1 al 3 de marzo de 2010

Visualización y análisis de la humedad del suelo en superficie medida in situ y estimada por satelites en un sitio de la Llanura Pampeana

PosterEl agua almacenada en el suelo es una variable que controla múltiples procesos y circuitos de retroalimentación dentro del sistema climático, mediando los ciclos del agua y la energía (Seneviratne et al., 2010). En los últimos años se han logrado avances significativos en la caracterización de la humedad de suelo (HS) a escala regional, a través de estimaciones mediante teledetección y la puesta en funcionamiento de nuevas redes de medición in situ. Cada una de estas fuentes de información presenta características intrínsecas, como el rango dinámico de HS, los periodos de disponibilidad de datos y la frecuencia temporal de adquisición de los mismos. Por lo expuesto, resulta de suma importancia elaborar metodologías de visualización de la HS que nos permitan evaluar las cualidades de cada fuente de información previniendo la aplicación de supuestos y filtros adicionales sobre la dinámica natural de la HS que cada una de estas fuentes brinda. En el presente trabajo se proponen estrategias para explorar la HS de estaciones in situ y de los sistemas satelitales SMOS y SMAP. El estudio se enfoca en un sector de la llanura Pampeana de Argentina que ofrece como ventajas, además de contar con mediciones de HS in situ, paisajes relativamente homogéneos en cuanto a tipos y usos del suelos y un relieve extremadamente plano, que junto con un clima subhúmedo ofrecen un laboratorio natural de condiciones de HS.Fil: Cappelletti, L.M. Universidad de Buenos Aires - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera (CIMA/UBA-CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Institut Franco-Argentin d'Études sur le Climat et ses Impacts, Unité Mixte Internationale (UMI-IFAECI/CNRS-IRD-CONICET-UBA), Argentina.Fil: Sorensson, A. Universidad de Buenos Aires - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera (CIMA/UBA-CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Institut Franco-Argentin d'Études sur le Climat et ses Impacts, Unité Mixte Internationale (UMI-IFAECI/CNRS-IRD-CONICET-UBA), ArgentinaFil: Jobbágy, Esteban G. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada San Luis. Grupo de Estudios Ambientales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaRuscica, R. Universidad de Buenos Aires - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera (CIMA/UBA-CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Institut Franco-Argentin d'Études sur le Climat et ses Impacts, Unité Mixte Internationale (UMI-IFAECI/CNRS-IRD-CONICET-UBA), Argentina.Fil: Salvia, Maria Mercedes. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciónes Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio. - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio; ArgentinaFil: Fernández Long, M. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina.Fil: Gattinoni, Natalia N. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Clima y Agua; ArgentinaFil: Spennemann, P.C. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Servicio Meteorológico Nacional; Argentina Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero; Argentin

The Potential Role of ORM2 in the Development of Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common malignancy in the world. The risk of death is closely correlated to the stage of CRC at the time of primary diagnosis. Therefore, there is a compelling need for the identification of blood biomarkers that can enable early detection of CRC. We used a quantitative proteomic approach with isobaric labeling (iTRAQ) to examine changes in the plasma proteome of 10 patients with CRC compared to healthy volunteers. Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbnent Assay (ELISA) and Western blot were used for further validation. In our quantitative proteomics analysis, we detected 75 human plasma proteins with more than 95% confidence using iTRAQ labeling in conjunction with microQ-TOF MS. 9 up-regulated and 4 down-regulated proteins were observed in the CRC group. The ORM2 level in plasma was confirmed to be significantly elevated in patients suffering from CRC compared with the controls. ORM2 expression in CRC tissues was significantly increased compared with that in corresponding adjacent normal mucous tissues (P<0.001). ITRAQ together with Q-TOF/MS is a sensitive and reproducible technique of quantitative proteomics. Alteration in expression of ORM2 suggests that ORM2 could be used as a potential biomarker in the diagnosis of CRC

Translating cardioprotection for patient benefit: Position paper from the Working Group of Cellular Biology of the Heart of the European Society of Cardiology

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Despite current therapy, the morbidity and mortality for patients with CHD remains significant. The most important manifestations of CHD arise from acute myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in terms of cardiomyocyte death and its long-term consequences. As such, new therapeutic interventions are required to protect the heart against the detrimental effects of acute IRI and improve clinical outcomes. Although a large number of cardioprotective therapies discovered in pre-clinical studies have been investigated in CHD patients, few have been translated into the clinical setting, and a significant number of these have failed to show any benefit in terms of reduced myocardial infarction and improved clinical outcomes. Because of this, there is currently no effective therapy for protecting the heart against the detrimental effects of acute IRI in patients with CHD. One major factor for this lack of success in translating cardioprotective therapies into the clinical setting can be attributed to problems with the clinical study design. Many of these clinical studies have not taken into consideration the important data provided from previously published pre-clinical and clinical studies. The overall aim of this ESC Working Group Cellular Biology of the Heart Position Paper is to provide recommendations for optimizing the design of clinical cardioprotection studies, which should hopefully result in new and effective therapeutic interventions for the future benefit of CHD patients