Genetic analysis for sooty mold resistance and heart of palm yield in Archontophoenix.

Palmeiras do gênero Archontophoenix, utilizadas tanto como ornamentais quanto produtoras de palmito de qualidade, são susceptíveis à fumagina, doença associada à infestação por pulgões, que afeta a fotossíntese, o crescimento e a aparência das plantas. Foram avaliados a campo a resistência à fumagina conjuntamente com três caracteres associados ao crescimento em 24 famílias de meios-irmãos, 28 meses após o plantio, a fim de identificar a variabilidade genética para os caracteres resistência à fumagina, altura, diâmetro e número de folhas; estimar as correlações genotípicas e fenotípicas envolvendo esses quatro caracteres; e aplicar a estratégia de seleção usando o índice multiefeitos. Houve diferenças entre as famílias para os caracteres avaliados, sugerindo a possibilidade de seleção. O baixo coeficiente de variação observado para resistência à fumagina (9,48%) indica que o método de avaliação adotado, baseado em escala de notas após observação visual, foi eficiente e prático para comparar níveis de infestação do complexo fungo+pulgão em palmeiras do gênero Archontophoenix. As estimativas da herdabilidade no sentido restrito foram baixas a médias para os caracteres relacionados ao crescimento (0,10, 0,26 e 0,26 para número de folhas, diâmetro e altura da planta, respectivamente) e muito altas (0,91) para resistência à fumagina. Correlação genética positiva foi observada entre resistência à fumagina e altura da planta, indicando que a eliminação de plantas muito susceptíveis pode ser feita sem interferência na seleção indireta para produção de palmito. A estratégia de seleção pelo índice multiefeitos (com ganhos genéticos esperados variando de 6,23 a 11,83%) mostrou-se adequada para melhorar simultaneamente caracteres relacionados ao crescimento e à produção de palmito

The stability of the spectator, Dirac, and Salpeter equations for mesons

Mesons are made of quark-antiquark pairs held together by the strong force. The one channel spectator, Dirac, and Salpeter equations can each be used to model this pairing. We look at cases where the relativistic kernel of these equations corresponds to a time-like vector exchange, a scalar exchange, or a linear combination of the two. Since the model used in this paper describes mesons which cannot decay physically, the equations must describe stable states. We find that this requirement is not always satisfied, and give a complete discussion of the conditions under which the various equations give unphysical, unstable solutions

A Prospective Observational Study on the Role of Immunohistochemical Expression of Orphanin in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Recurrence

To date, histological biomarkers expressed by laryngeal cancer are poorly known. The identification of biomarkers associated with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), would help explain the tumorogenesis and prevent the possible recurrence of the lesion after treatment. For this reason, the aim of this study is to investigate, for the first time, the Orphanin expression in 48 human specimens of laryngeal SCC and evaluate its possible correlation with patients prognosis. We analyzed pathological specimens from 48 patients with laryngeal SCC to detect the presence of Orphanin by using an immunohistochemistry test. We compared the findings with healthy tissue acquired from patients who underwent surgery for mesenchymal benign tumours of the larynx. The specimens were stained with anti-Orphanin monoclonal antibodies. Results were processed through a computerised image analysis system to determine a scale of staining intensity. All the tumoural specimens examined showed a significant immunoreaction for Orphanin when compared with healthy tissues (p < 0.05) but with a different immune reactivity related to clinical-pathological features. A high Orphanin expression was not significantly related to Histological Grading (HG), TNM, and stage (p > 0.05). In the multivariate analysis, the Orphanin expression was significantly related only to the malignant recurrence (p < 0.05). Our study suggests that Orphanin could have a role in tumorigenesis by increasing the recurrence of cancer; therefore, it should be further explored as a possible biomarker for laryngeal cancer

Активное наблюдение опухолей почки, накапливающих рентгеноконтрастное вещество

Introduction: Prompt surgical excision remains the standard of care for clinically localized enhancing renal tumors, for this reason the natural history of untreated renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has not been established. In order to increase our understanding of the natural history of RCC we reviewed our experience with the active surveillance of enhancing renal tumors.Methods: We reviewed our renal cancer database for enhancing renal masses that were radiographically observed for a period of at least 12 months. Variables examined included patient age, gender, lesion size on presentation, radiographic tumor characteristics, duration of active surveillance, linear tumor growth rate, incidence, type of surgical intervention, and surgical pathology.Results: 109 patients with 124 sporadic enhancing renal tumors were identified undergoing a period of active surveillance of at least 12 months. Mean patient age was 69.8 years (median 73, range 35—87). Mean duration of active surveillance was 33.4 months (median 26, range 12—156). Multifocal disease was present in 9% (10/109) patients on presentation. Tumor size on presentation was a mean of 2.61 cm (median 2.0, range 0.4—12.0). Overall mean tumor growth rate was 0.28 cm/yr (median 0.21, range -1.4—2.47). Observed linear growth rates were independent of patient age, gender, tumor size on presentation, and radiographic characteristics (solid versus cystic), p > 0.05. Of the patients initiating a period of active surveillance 36% (39/109) eventually underwent definitive therapy. Extirpative and ablative therapies were used in 72% (28/39) and 28% (11/39) of the patients undergoing surgical intervention, respectively. Malignant pathology was present in 90% (35/39) of the patients undergoing treatment. Of the malignant tumors evaluated, 68% were clear cell RCC.Conclusions: Our current series reveals that the majority of small enhancing renal tumors show a slow interval growth and they are malignant. The investigation and development of clinical and radiographic predictors of future tumor growth would be of great benefit in order to avoid unnecessary intervention in selected patients.

The Science of Sungrazers, Sunskirters, and Other Near-Sun Comets

This review addresses our current understanding of comets that venture close to the Sun, and are hence exposed to much more extreme conditions than comets that are typically studied from Earth. The extreme solar heating and plasma environments that these objects encounter change many aspects of their behaviour, thus yielding valuable information on both the comets themselves that complements other data we have on primitive solar system bodies, as well as on the near-solar environment which they traverse. We propose clear definitions for these comets: We use the term near-Sun comets to encompass all objects that pass sunward of the perihelion distance of planet Mercury (0.307 AU). Sunskirters are defined as objects that pass within 33 solar radii of the Sun’s centre, equal to half of Mercury’s perihelion distance, and the commonly-used phrase sungrazers to be objects that reach perihelion within 3.45 solar radii, i.e. the fluid Roche limit. Finally, comets with orbits that intersect the solar photosphere are termed sundivers. We summarize past studies of these objects, as well as the instruments and facilities used to study them, including space-based platforms that have led to a recent revolution in the quantity and quality of relevant observations. Relevant comet populations are described, including the Kreutz, Marsden, Kracht, and Meyer groups, near-Sun asteroids, and a brief discussion of their origins. The importance of light curves and the clues they provide on cometary composition are emphasized, together with what information has been gleaned about nucleus parameters, including the sizes and masses of objects and their families, and their tensile strengths. The physical processes occurring at these objects are considered in some detail, including the disruption of nuclei, sublimation, and ionisation, and we consider the mass, momentum, and energy loss of comets in the corona and those that venture to lower altitudes. The different components of comae and tails are described, including dust, neutral and ionised gases, their chemical reactions, and their contributions to the near-Sun environment. Comet-solar wind interactions are discussed, including the use of comets as probes of solar wind and coronal conditions in their vicinities. We address the relevance of work on comets near the Sun to similar objects orbiting other stars, and conclude with a discussion of future directions for the field and the planned ground- and space-based facilities that will allow us to address those science topics

“I luoghi di Mercalli”: a travelling exhibition as a tool for scientists to dialogue with the public on volcanoes and earthquakes

On March 19, 1914 Giuseppe Mercalli, a seismologist and volcanologist, well-known around the world for the Intensity scale of earthquakes bearing his name, died tragically. A hundred years after, the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) has promoted a variety of activities and cultural events that will take place under the Patronage of the President of the Italian Republic within a year, the so called “Anno Mercalliano” (the Year of Mercalli). The opening ceremony took place in Naples, Italy, on March 19, 2014, in the Convitto Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele II. A scientific conference was held with the participation of experts from INGV and the university of Milano – Bicocca, and presentations of students. On that day the exhibition entitled “I luoghi di Mercalli” (Mercalli's places) was also inaugurated, at the presence of local authorities. The exhibition, organized by INGV, was realized in collaboration with the high school Vittorio Emanuele II, where Mercalli has been teaching for 19 years, and the Università degli Studi Suor Orsola Benincasa, where he was professor of natural sciences. A biographical and geographical description of the places where Mercalli operated introduces the exhibition, which is organized in sections: - Mercalli educator (he taught at high schools in Reggio Calabria and Naples); - Mercalli volcanologist (Mercalli studied Vesuvius volcanic activity for more than twenty years, he was a scientific witness of the Vesuvius 1906 eruption, and of the eruptions occurred at Vulcano (1888-90) and Stromboli (1891) islands. - Mercalli seismologist (Mercalli Intensity scale definition, based on his experience as witness of catastrophic earthquakes, such as Casamicciola in 1883 and Messina in 1908). Another section deals with the Vesuvius Observatory, directed by Mercalli between 1911 and 1914, and the description of the three active volcanoes of the Campania region (Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei and Ischia island), which have been the subject of studies by the well-known scientist. The exhibition is enriched by documents, manuscripts, photos and field notebooks of Mercalli. It is not intended to be only a celebratory exhibition; rather it is designed as a tool for dissemination of scientific culture and to raise awareness about seismic and volcanic hazards. In the exhibition path a continuous thread between the figure of Mercalli as a researcher and the role of an Earth Science researcher today is highlighted, pointing to the development of scientific knowledge in the past century. The goal is to improve the capability of learning from the disasters occurred in the past to implement preventive actions to safely deal with future events. The exhibition is travelling and will be provided on request to institutions and schools.PublishedMilano, Italia1V. Storia e struttura dei sistemi vulcaniciope