Lecciana, a new low-vigour olive cultivar suitable for super high density orchards and for nutraceutical evoo production

Cultivar is the key factor for sustainability of the olive super high density planting system (SHD). ‘Lecciana’ is a new olive cultivar for oil production obtained in 1998 by a controlled cross between cv. Arbosana (♀) and cv. Leccino (♂) in a breeding program as part of an international research agreement between Agromillora Iberia S.L.U. and University of Bari. ‘Lecciana’ is the first olive cultivar of Italian descent suitable for SHD, featuring all the vegetative and productive traits required for efficient, sustainable olive growing intensification. Thanks to low vigor, early bearing (3rd year after planting), high yield efficiency (about 0.5 kg of fruits cm−2 of trunk section area) and good fruit size (3.5 g), ‘Lecciana’ could be planted with tree densities over 1,200 trees per hectare for an efficient continuous mechanical harvesting. High frost resistance, very low pistil abortion (3%), high fruit set (3%), oil content (over 19% fw) and, above all, good unsaturated fatty acids profile, polyphenols content (over 450 mg kg−1 ) and fruitiness median are the main distinctive characters of this new cultivar. The oils of ‘Lecciana’ fall into the category ‘nutraceutical EVOOs’ which can benefit from the specific functional health claim

<b><i>Topoisomerase 1</i></b> Promoter Variants and Benefit from Irinotecan in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients

Objective: Topoisomerase 1 (topo-1) is an important target for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the correlation between topo-1 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and clinical outcome in metastatic CRC (mCRC) patients. Methods: With the use of specific software (PROMO 3.0), we performed an in silico analysis of topo-1 promoter SNPs; the rs6072249 and rs34282819 SNPs were included in the study. DNA was extracted from 105 mCRC patients treated with FOLFIRI ± bevacizumab in the first line. SNP genotyping was performed by real-time PCR. Genotypes were correlated with clinical parameters (objective response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival). Results: No single genotype was significantly associated with clinical variables. The G allelic variant of rs6072249 topo-1 SNP is responsible for GC factor and X-box-binding protein transcription factor binding. The same allelic variant showed a nonsignificant trend toward a shorter progression-free survival (GG, 7.5 months; other genotypes, 9.3 months; HR 1.823, 95% CI 0.8904-3.734; p = 0.1). Conclusion: Further analyses are needed to confirm that the topo-1 SNP rs6072249 and transcription factor interaction could be a part of tools to predict clinical outcome in mCRC patients treated with irinotecan-based regimens

Sprouts seasonal elongation of two olive cultivars in a high-density orchard

The new high-density cropping systems (>1200 trees ha-1) represent a very interesting proposal for olive orchard profitability. It is crucial to know the morphology and the dynamics of sprout elongation of a cultivar in order to fully assess its suitability for a high-density olive orchard. For this reason we planned a research on two cultivars, Coratina and Arbequina, in a high-density orchard. The apical sprouts elongation of Arbequina early stopped at fruit set without a further step, while Coratina showed a little growth flux after pit hardening. Similar trends showed the lateral proleptic sprouts. Only the sylleptic sprouts of both cultivars had a second period of activity. In all cases, the sprouts elongation finished at the end of summer, when oil accumulation started. Coratina showed higher apical shoot growth and internodes mean length than Arbequina. On the contrary, Coratina showed lower lateral proleptic shoot growth and nodes number than Arbequina, but the same internodes mean length. No significant differences were observed between cultivars for growth, nodes number and internodes mean length of sylleptic shoots. The differences observed between the two cultivars could be explained considering their different vigour. The introduction of this innovative cropping system is allowed to register a considerable reduction of production costs. The result is a considerable increase in the economic performance of the olive grove and a consequent reduction in the unit cost for kg of oil. These data are very useful for varietal choice and field management in high-density orchards and then for new olive breeding programs

Treated Unconventional Waters Combined with Different Irrigation Strategies Affect 1 H NMR Metabolic Profile of a Monovarietal Extra Virgin Olive Oil

none8noThe agricultural sector is facing a decrease in water supply and water quality at a global level and this is a problem that strictly affects all the Mediterranean olive growing areas. The aim of this work was to evaluate, for the first time, by NMR Spectroscopy and multivariate data analysis the metabolic profiling of the oils produced under different irrigation schemes. Arbosana olive oils were obtained from the use of saline reclaimed water (RW) and treated municipal wastewater (DW), combined with: full irrigation (FI) and regulated deficit irrigation (RDI). The results show a higher relative content of saturated fatty acids in EVOOs obtained from RDI strategy, regardless of the water source. Moreover, an increase in unsaturated fatty acids, a ω6/ω3 ratio content was observed in EVOOs obtained from RW when compared with DW water. Furthermore, the RW–RDI showed an increase in secoiridoid derivatives and hydroperoxides with respect to DW–RDI. A sustainable irrigation management, by combining a deficit irrigation strategy and saline reclaimed water source, could be crucial in order to overcome the problem of water scarcity and to guarantee the olive oil nutraceutical properties. The1 H NMR-based metabolomic approach proved a powerful and versatile tool for this specific investigation.openAngile F.; Vivaldi G.A.; Girelli C.R.; Del Coco L.; Caponio G.; Lopriore G.; Fanizzi F.P.; Camposeo S.Angile, F.; Vivaldi, G. A.; Girelli, C. R.; Del Coco, L.; Caponio, G.; Lopriore, G.; Fanizzi, F. P.; Camposeo, S

Deepfield connect, an innovative decision support system for crops irrigation management under Mediterranean conditions

The irrigation management, in the Mediterranean region, represents an important technique useful to reach sustainable yield and improve the quality of the crop. The use of decision support systems and water saving techniques has gained importance during the last decades mainly in arid and semiarid countries where water is considered a precious resource. DeepField Connect by BOSCH is an innovative tool able to support farmers in irrigation management and consists of three main parts: hardware (sensors, device-to-web-data logger and thermo-hygrometer), algorithm and graphic use interface (app). This system is based on GIS analysis, which represents the most innovative and functional tool for such studies, which provides a mapping of soil hydrological characteristics at the regional level. We used, as a reference, soil data analysis obtained at Regional level from the ACLA II Project. In this way, the system creates an interactive mapping system, matching each point of the Apulian surface, in particular, the texture composition of the soil and the values of the hydrological constants (wilting point, WP and field capacity FC), for irrigation planning. These data are integrated with the recharging point (RP) a value calculated for the main regional irrigated crop which represents the level of soil moisture that, together with FC, represent the range of plant-available water. Besides, this tool provides different irrigation strategies such as deficit irrigation or complete restitution of evapotranspiration losses, according to farmer needs. DeepField Connect by BOSCH transmits the data via the Bosch Cloud to the smartphone. This allows to keep track of fields at any given time and to provide assistance in: when to irrigate and which irrigation volumes to use. This intelligent system can be considered as the application of one of the best practices that the agricultural sector can implement to improve its environmental performance and contribute to sustainable food production

A combinatorial model for reversible rational maps over finite fields

We study time-reversal symmetry in dynamical systems with finite phase space, with applications to birational maps reduced over finite fields. For a polynomial automorphism with a single family of reversing symmetries, a universal (i.e., map-independent) distribution function R(x)=1-e^{-x}(1+x) has been conjectured to exist, for the normalized cycle lengths of the reduced map in the large field limit (J. A. G. Roberts and F. Vivaldi, Nonlinearity 18 (2005) 2171-2192). We show that these statistics correspond to those of a composition of two random involutions, having an appropriate number of fixed points. This model also explains the experimental observation that, asymptotically, almost all cycles are symmetrical, and that the probability of occurrence of repeated periods is governed by a Poisson law.Comment: LaTeX, 19 pages with 1 figure; to be published in Nonlinearit

Geometric representation of interval exchange maps over algebraic number fields

We consider the restriction of interval exchange transformations to algebraic number fields, which leads to maps on lattices. We characterize renormalizability arithmetically, and study its relationships with a geometrical quantity that we call the drift vector. We exhibit some examples of renormalizable interval exchange maps with zero and non-zero drift vector, and carry out some investigations of their properties. In particular, we look for evidence of the finite decomposition property: each lattice is the union of finitely many orbits.Comment: 34 pages, 8 postscript figure

Quantum Computing of Poincare Recurrences and Periodic Orbits

Quantum algorithms are built enabling to find Poincar\'e recurrence times and periodic orbits of classical dynamical systems. It is shown that exponential gain compared to classical algorithms can be reached for a restricted class of systems. Quadratic gain can be achieved for a larger set of dynamical systems. The simplest cases can be implemented with small number of qubits.Comment: revtex, 5 pages, research at Quantware MIPS Center (see http://www.quantware.ups-tlse.fr); minor changes and references adde