An Intimate Relationship Between Eriophyoid Mites and Their Host Plants - A Review

Eriophyoid mites (Acari Eriophyoidea) are phytophagous arthropods forming intimate relationships with their host plants. These mites are associated with annual and perennial plants including ferns, and are highly specialized with a dominant monophagy. They can be classified in different ecological classes, i.e., vagrant, gall-making and refugeseeking species. Many of them are major pests and some of them are vectors of plant pathogens. This paper critically reviews the knowledge on eriophyoids of agricultural importance with emphasis on sources for host plant resistance to these mites. The role of species belonging to the family Eriophyidae as vectors of plant viruses is discussed. Eriophyoid-host plant interactions, the susceptibility within selected crops and main host plant tolerance/resistance mechanisms are discussed. Fundamental concepts, subjects, and problems emerged in this review are pointed out and studies are suggested to clarify some controversial points

Autism spectrum disorder and physical activity

Autism is a common developmental disorder characterized by difficulties with speech and behaviours, such as lack of social abilities and repetitive behaviours. Some studies have shown that after the intervention of physical activity, all of the social interaction ability, communication ability, stereotyped behaviour and sports skills of children and adolescents with autism have been improved, which can reduce the degree of autism. The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased dramatically and is currently estimated at 1 in 68 children. ASD is defined by two symptom dimensions including social impairments and circumscribed and repetitive behaviours and interests (American Psychiatric Association). One subgroup that has increased is those with ASD without intellectual disability who currently comprise 68% of those diagnosed. Current guidelines recommend that youth engage in ≥ 60 minutes of Physical Activity daily, with the majority being moderate-to-vigorous, and muscle strengthening activities ≥ 3 days per week. Despite the significant need, few exercise programs have been developed or adapted for children with ASD, and there is a lack of evidence-based exercise treatments. Recommendations for improving exercise intervention studies in ASD include testing of treatments in function-ally-homogeneous (narrower) subgroups with ASD using larger well-characterized samples. This is necessary as children with ASD have different tolerances for activities/tasks and functional heterogeneity will likely lead to variable treatment responsiveness. Additionally, group-based treatments will be more applicable for children with ASD without intellectual disability

Susceptibilidad a Fusarium verticillioides (Sacc.) Nirenberg en la población de maíz MPB-FCA 8561

Susceptibilidad a Fusarium verticillioides (Sacc.) Nirenberg en la población de maíz MPB-FCA 856. Se caracterizó la variabilidad genética de caracteres de la mazorca y susceptibilidad al desarrollo de la podredumbre de la mazorca (Fusarium verticillioides (Sacc.) Nirenberg) en la población de maíz MPB-FCA 856. En Córdoba, Argentina, durante la estación primavera verano 2004/2005, 120 medio hermanos, un híbrido resistente (HR) y otro susceptible (HS), fueron evaluados en un ensayo en bloques completos aleatorizados, con tres repeticiones. Las parcelas fueron dos surcos de 5 m de longitud a 57.000 plantas/ha. En fl oración, los estigmas de cinco plantas elegidas al azar en cada tratamiento, fueron inoculadas en dos oportunidades con el aislamiento P364 en solución conidial (1 x 10^6 ml-1). En madurez fi siológica se midieron seis caracteres de la mazorca. El daño de 96 progenies fue atribuido a F. verticillioides. Se calcularon las varianzas y covarianzas y se estableció la interrelación entre todas las variables. Entre los testigos, HR fue signifi cativamente menos dañado que el 76% de las familias. Los valores de heredabilidad fueron bajos, principalmente para el grado de susceptibilidad (h2=0,0675). Los coefi cientes de variación genética sugieren la selección por resistencia (14,98%) y por la longitud de las brácteas (26,13%). Una mayor longitud de las brácteas y el mayor volumen de los granos, disminuyó signifi cativamente (P < 0,01) el grado de susceptibilidad

A phase-III prevention trial of low-dose tamoxifen in postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy users: the HOT study

Abstract BACKGROUND: Postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) relieves menopausal symptoms and may decrease mortality in recently postmenopausal women, but increases breast cancer risk. Low-dose tamoxifen has shown retained activity in phase-II studies. METHODS: We conducted a phase-III trial in 1884 recently postmenopausal women on HRT who were randomly assigned to either tamoxifen, 5 mg/day, or placebo for 5 years. The primary end point was breast cancer incidence. RESULTS: After 6.2 ± 1.9 years mean follow-up, there were 24 breast cancers on placebo and 19 on tamoxifen (risk ratio, RR, 0.80; 95% CI 0.44-1.46). Tamoxifen showed favorable trends in luminal-A tumors (RR, 0.32; 95% CI 0.12-0.86), in HRT users <5 years (RR, 0.35; 95% CI 0.15-0.82) and in women completing at least 12 months of treatment (RR, 0.49; 95% CI 0.23-1.02). Serious adverse events did not differ between placebo and tamoxifen, including, respectively, coronary heart syndrome (6 versus 4), cerebrovascular events (2 versus 5), VTE (2 versus 5) and uterine cancers (3 versus 1). Vasomotor symptoms were 50% more frequent on tamoxifen. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of low-dose tamoxifen to HRT did not significantly reduce breast cancer risk and increased climacteric symptoms in recently postmenopausal women. However, we noted beneficial trends in some subgroups which may deserve a larger study

Maternal Stress and Coping Strategies in Developmental Dyslexia: An Italian Multicenter Study

BackgroundStudies about the impact of developmental dyslexia (DD) on parenting are scarce. Our investigation aimed to assess maternal stress levels and mothers’ copying styles in a population of dyslexic children.MethodsA total of 874 children (500 boys, 374 girls; mean age 8.32 ± 2.33 years) affected by DD was included in the study. A total of 1,421 typically developing children (789 boys, 632 girls; mean age 8.25 ± 3.19 years) were recruited from local schools of participating Italian Regions (Abruzzo, Calabria, Campania, Puglia, Umbria, Sicily) and used as control-children group. All mothers (of both DD and typically developing children) filled out an evaluation for parental stress (Parenting Stress Index—Short Form) and coping strategies [Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS)].ResultsNo statistical differences for mean age (p = 0.456) and gender (p = 0.577) were found between DD and control children. Mothers of children affected by DD showed an higher rate of all parental stress indexes (Parental Distress domain p &lt; 0.001, Difficult Child p &lt; 0.001, Parent–Child Dysfunctional Interaction p &lt; 0.001, and Total Stress subscale score p &lt; 0.001) than controls mothers. According to the CISS evaluation, mothers of DD children reported a significantly higher rate of emotion-oriented (p &lt; 0.001) and avoidance-oriented (p &lt; 0.001) coping styles than mothers of typical developing children. On the other hand, a lower representation of task-oriented coping style was found in mothers of DD children (p &lt; 0.001) in comparison to mothers of control-children.ConclusionOur study shows the clinical relevance of the burden carried by the mothers of children affected by DD and suggests the importance to assess parents, particularly mothers, to improve family compliance and clinical management of this disorder

Dietary resveratrol prevents alzheimer's markers and increases life span in SAMP8

Resveratrol is a polyphenol that is mainly found in grapes and red wine and has been reported to be a caloric restriction (CR) mimetic driven by Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) activation. Resveratrol increases metabolic rate, insulin sensitivity, mitochondrial biogenesis and physical endurance, and reduces fat accumulation in mice. In addition, resveratrol may be a powerful agent to prevent age-associated neurodegeneration and to improve cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Moreover, different findings support the view that longevity in mice could be promoted by CR. In this study, we examined the role of dietary resveratrol in SAMP8 mice, a model of age-related AD. We found that resveratrol supplements increased mean life expectancy and maximal life span in SAMP8 and in their control, the related strain SAMR1. In addition, we examined the resveratrol-mediated neuroprotective effects on several specific hallmarks of AD. We found that long-term dietary resveratrol activates AMPK pathways and pro-survival routes such as SIRT1 in vivo. It also reduces cognitive impairment and has a neuroprotective role, decreasing the amyloid burden and reducing tau hyperphosphorylation

ERA industrial technology roadmap for low-carbon technologies in energy intensive industries

The EU has to drastically accelerate the clean energy transition and increase Europe's energy independence from fossil fuels – and from Russia. This focus is not new: decarbonisation of industry is a key element on the EU’s path to achieving the objective of climate neutrality by 2050 and an intermediate target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, as laid down in the European Climate Law. However, bringing innovative low-carbon industrial technologies quickly to the market has become more urgent than ever. The European Research Area (ERA) industrial technology roadmap sketches out the key technologies and the means to transfer them to the industrial ecosystem for energy-intensive industries at EU and national level.Scaling up and deploying the – manageable – number of innovative low-carbon technologies currently at high technology readiness is needed to reach the 2030 emission objectives and to further reduce industry dependence on gas.In order to make best use of the public toolbox to leverage private R&I investment, to increase cross-sector cooperation and accelerate deployment, a number of opportunities for actions were identified, such as to intensify the cooperation with European standardisation organisations (e.g. CEN, CENELEC) and industrial partnerships to identify and fill main standardisation gaps for innovative low-carbon industrial technologies.https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/92567https://dx.doi.org/10.2777/92567KI-01-21-501-EN-NISBN 978-92-76-44692-7EUR 2021.5872 E

Growth of Critically Endangered annual fish Austrolebias wolterstorffi (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae) at different temperatures

Given the importance of knowledge of the biology of endangered species for the planning of conservation and management efforts, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of temperature on the growth of Austrolebias wolterstorffi (Ahl, 1924). To clarify the thermal influence on the growth of the species, temperatures of 16, 20, 24 , and 28°C were tested in triplicate. The present study showed that a water temperature of 28°C is detrimental to the growth of the species. Among the other tested temperatures, it was found that the optimum temperature for growth decreases as an individual ages and is slightly lower for females. It was demonstrated here that males reach a higher weight and length, and grow faster than females, reaching sexual maturity earlier. To optimize the growth of this species in captivity, the ideal temperature of the water during the initial life period is 24°C, until after puberty when the temperature should decrease to about 21°C.Devido à importância do conhecimento da biologia das espécies ameaçadas de extinção para o planejamento de ações de conservação e manejo, o objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a influência da temperatura sobre o crescimento de Austrolebias wolterstorffi (Ahl, 1924). Para verificar a influência da temperatura no crescimento da espécie, as temperaturas de 16, 20, 24 e 28° C foram testadas em triplicata. O presente estudo mostrou que a temperatura da água de 28° C é prejudicial para o crescimento da espécie. Entre as outras temperaturas testadas, verificou-se que a temperatura ótima para o crescimento diminui ao longo da vida e é ligeiramente menor para as fêmeas. Foi demonstrado aqui que os machos alcançam um maior peso e comprimento e crescem mais rápido do que as fêmeas, atingindo a maturidade sexual anteriormente. Para otimizar o crescimento da espécie em cativeiro, a temperatura ideal da água durante o período inicial de vida é de 24° C, já após a puberdade, a temperatura deverá diminuir para cerca de 21°C

Adapted Physical Activity for the Promotion of Health and the Prevention of Multifactorial Chronic Diseases: the Erice Charter

The Erice Charter was unanimously approved at the conclusion of the 47th Residential Course "Adapted Physical Activity in Sport, Wellness and Fitness: New Challenges for Prevention and Health Promotion", held on 20-24 April 2015 in Erice, Italy, at the "Ettore Majorana" Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture, and promoted by the International School of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine "G. D'Alessandro" and the Study Group on Movement Sciences for Health of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health. After an intense discussion the participants identified the main points associated with the relevance of physical activity for Public Health, claiming the pivotal role of the Department of Prevention in coordinating and managing preventive actions. The participants underlined the importance of the physicians specialized in Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health. The contribution of other operators such as physicians specialized in Sport Medicine was stressed. Further, the holders of the new degree in Human Movement and Sport Sciences were considered fundamental contributors for the performance of physical activity and their presence was seen as a promising opportunity for the Departments of Prevention. Primary prevention based on recreational physical activities should become easily accessible for the population, avoiding obstacles such as certification steps or complex bureaucracy. The Sport Doctor is recognized as the principal referent for preliminary physical evaluation and clinical monitoring in secondary and tertiary prevention actions based on adapted physical activities. Developing research in the field is essential as well as implementing higher education on physical activity management in Schools of Public Health