Inter- and Intra-Varietal Genetic Variability in Vitis vinifera L.

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is the most economically important and widely cultivated fruit crop in the world and its domestication produced cultivars suited to a wide diversity of climates and tastes In effect this genus shows a wide morphological and genetic variability that is causing confusions and ambiguity for biotypes and clones identification, in particular considering varieties that are widely distributed and cultivated for centuries. Ampelography, ampelometry, and biochemical traits analysis have been traditionally employed to identify the different biotypes in viticulture. However, these analyses are based on phenotypic characteristics which can be affected by environmental conditions The DNA molecular analyses are essential for internationally accepted grapevine identification and the investigation of genetic differences among the Vitis vinifera L. clones. Methods based on DNA analysis have been used with varying degrees of success. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers are universally used for the identification of the grape varieties. A molecular strategy to obtain DNA polymorphisms of Vitis vinifera genotypes from the same cultivar to study the intra- and inter- varietal genetic variability, to discriminate accessions, clones, and biotypes of a same grape variety, and to analyze the relationships between molecular profiles and some environmental parameters (i.e., geographic site) or morphological traits is described. This approach uses four different molecular marker systems (i.e., AFLP amplified fragment length polymorphism, SAMPL selective amplification of microsatellite polymorphic loci, M-AFLP microsatellites amplified fragment length polymorphism, and ISSR inter simple sequenced repeat)

Spatial genetic structure in the saddled sea bream (Oblada melanura [Linnaeus, 1758]) suggests multi-scaled patterns of connectivity between protected and unprotected areas in the Western Mediterranean Sea

Marine protected areas (MPAs) and networks of MPAs are advocated worldwide for the achievement of marine conservation objectives. Although the knowledge about population connectivity is considered fundamental for the optimal design of MPAs and networks, the amount of information available for the Mediterranean Sea is currently scarce. We investigated the genetic structure of the saddled sea bream ( Oblada melanura) and the level of genetic connectivity between protected and unprotected locations, using a set of 11 microsatellite loci. Spatial patterns of population differentiation were assessed locally (50-100 km) and regionally (500-1000 km), considering three MPAs of the Western Mediterranean Sea. All values of genetic differentiation between locations (Fst and Jost's D) were non-significant after Bonferroni correction, indicating that, at a relatively small spatial scale, protected locations were in general well connected with non-protected ones. On the other hand, at the regional scale, discriminant analysis of principal components revealed the presence of a subtle pattern of genetic heterogeneity that reflects the geography and the main oceanographic features (currents and barriers) of the study area. This genetic pattern could be a consequence of different processes acting at different spatial and temporal scales among which the presence of admixed populations, large population sizes and species dispersal capacity, could play a major role. These outcomes can have important implications for the conservation biology and fishery management of the saddled sea bream and provide useful information for genetic population studies of other coastal fishes in the Western Mediterranean Sea.This research was supported by the European project ‘InitialTraining Network for Monitoring Mediterranean Marine ProtectedAreas’ (MMMPA: FP7-PEOPLE-2011-ITN) [grant number 290056].Irene Mu˜noz was supported by Fundación Séneca (Murcia, Spain)through the Post-doctoral fellowship 19149/PD/13-N and CarlosVergara-Chen was partially supported by the “Sistema Nacionalde Investigación (SNI) of the Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tec-nología e Innovación (SENACYT)” of Panama. Authors wish to thankDr. Josep Lloret (Univeristy of Girona), Prof. Patrice Francour, Prof.Patricia Pierson, Pierre Vandenbussche and Guillaume Spennato(University of Nice), Serge Moreau and Gilles Garnier (Port-Crosand Porquerolles National Park) and Chiara Adamuccio for assis-tance during field works. Authors wish to thank the editor andtwo anonymous reviewers for their useful comments which havehelped us to improve the manuscript.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Spatial genetic structure in the saddled sea bream (Oblada melanura [Linnaeus, 1758]) suggests multi-scaled patterns of connectivity between protected and unprotected areas in the Western Mediterranean Sea

Marine protected areas (MPAs) and networks of MPAs are advocated worldwide for the achievement of marine conservation objectives. Although the knowledge about population connectivity is considered fundamental for the optimal design of MPAs and networks, the amount of information available for the Mediterranean Sea is currently scarce. We investigated the genetic structure of the saddled sea bream (Oblada melanura) and the level of genetic connectivity between protected and unprotected locations, using a set of 11 microsatellite loci. Spatial patterns of population differentiation were assessed locally (50–100 km) and regionally (500–1000 km), considering three MPAs of the Western Mediterranean Sea. All values of genetic differentiation between locations (Fst and Jost’s D) were non-significant after Bonferroni correction, indicating that, at a relatively small spatial scale, protected locations were in general well connected with non-protected ones. On the other hand, at the regional scale, discriminant analysis of principal components revealed the presence of a subtle pattern of genetic heterogeneity that reflects the geography and the main oceanographic features (currents and barriers) of the study area. This genetic pattern could be a consequence of different processes acting at different spatial and temporal scales among which the presence of admixed populations, large population sizes and species dispersal capacity, could play a major role. These outcomes can have important implications for the conservation biology and fishery management of the saddled sea bream and provide useful information for genetic population studies of other coastal fishes in the Western Mediterranean Sea.Marine protected areas (MPAs) and networks of MPAs are advocated worldwide for the achievement of marine conservation objectives. Although the knowledge about population connectivity is considered fundamental for the optimal design of MPAs and networks, the amount of information available for the Mediterranean Sea is currently scarce. We investigated the genetic structure of the saddled sea bream (Oblada melanura) and the level of genetic connectivity between protected and unprotected locations, using a set of 11 microsatellite loci. Spatial patterns of population differentiation were assessed locally (50–100 km) and regionally (500–1000 km), considering three MPAs of the Western Mediterranean Sea. All values of genetic differentiation between locations (Fst and Jost’s D) were non-significant after Bonferroni correction, indicating that, at a relatively small spatial scale, protected locations were in general well connected with non-protected ones. On the other hand, at the regional scale, discriminant analysis of principal components revealed the presence of a subtle pattern of genetic heterogeneity that reflects the geography and the main oceanographic features (currents and barriers) of the study area. This genetic pattern could be a consequence of different processes acting at different spatial and temporal scales among which the presence of admixed populations, large population sizes and species dispersal capacity, could play a major role. These outcomes can have important implications for the conservation biology and fishery management of the saddled sea bream and provide useful information for genetic population studies of other coastal fishes in the Western Mediterranean Sea

Local support for conservation is associated with perceptions of good governance, social impacts, and ecological effectiveness

Local support is important for the longevity of conservation initiatives. The literature suggests that perceptions of ecological effectiveness, social impacts, and good gov- ernance will influence levels of local support for conservation. This paper examines these relationships using data from a survey of small-scale fishermen in 11 marine pro- tected areas from six countries in the Mediterranean Sea. The survey queried small- scale fishermen regarding perceptions and support for conservation. We constructed composite scores for three categories of perceptions—ecological effectiveness, social impacts, and good governance—and tested the relationship with levels of support using ordinal regression models. While all three factors were positively correlated with support for conservation, perceptions of good governance and social impacts were stronger predictors of increasing support. These findings suggest that employ- ing good governance processes and managing social impacts may be more important than ecological effectiveness for maintaining local support for conservation

Hereditary ovarian cancer

Apoptosis is a form of cell death that permits the removal of damaged, senescent or unwanted cells in multicellular organisms, without damage to the cellular microenvironment. Defective apoptosis represents a major causative factor in the development and progression of cancer. The majority of chemotherapeutic agents, as well as radiation, utilize the apoptotic pathway to induce cancer cell death. Resistance to standard chemotherapeutic strategies also seems to be due to alterations in the apoptotic pathway of cancer cells. Recent knowledge on apoptosis has provided the basis for novel targeted therapies that exploit apoptosis to treat cancer. These new target include those acting in the extrinsic/intrinsic pathway, proteins that control the apoptosis machinery such as the p53 and proteosome pathway. Most of these forms of therapy are still in preclinical development because of their low specifity and susceptibility to drug resistance, but several of them have shown promising results. In particular, this review specifically aims at providing an update of certain molecular players that are already in use in order to target apoptosis (such as bortezomib) or which are still being clinically evaluated (such ONYX-015, survivin and exisulind/aptosyn) or which, following preclinical studies, might have the necessary requirements for becoming part of the anticancer drug programs (such as TRAIL/ Apo2L, apoptin/VP3). Key words: apoptosis, TRAIL/Apo2L, apoptin/VP3, ONYX015, Bortezomib, exisulind, survivi

Laparoscopic management of isolated nodal recurrence in gynecological malignancies is safe and feasible even for large metastatic nodes up to 8 cm: A prospective case series

The surgical treatment of isolated lymph node recurrence (ILNR) of gynecological malignancies is still debated. The feasibility and effectiveness of minimally invasive lymphadenectomy have been reported by few studies; however, it remains unclear what the upper tumor size limit is for a minimally invasive approach. We prospectively analyzed cases of ILNR treated by laparoscopy in our unit while focusing on the safety and feasibility of resecting large tumors suspected of recurrence using a minimally invasive approach

The Clinical Significance of Unknown Sequence Variants in BRCA Genes

Abstract: Germline mutations in BRCA1/2 genes are responsible for a large proportion of hereditary breast and/or ovarian cancers. Many highly penetrant predisposition alleles have been identified and include frameshift or nonsense mutations that lead to the translation of a truncated protein. Other alleles contain missense mutations, which result in amino acid substitution and intronic variants with splicing effect. The discovery of variants of uncertain/unclassified significance (VUS) is a result that can complicate rather than improve the risk assessment process. VUSs are mainly missense mutations, but also include a number of intronic variants and in-frame deletions and insertions. Over 2,000 unique BRCA1 and BRCA2 missense variants have been identified, located throughout the whole gene (Breast Cancer Information Core Database (BIC database)). Up to 10–20% of the BRCA tests report the identification of a variant of uncertain significance. There are many methods to discriminate deleterious/high-risk from neutral/low-risk unclassified variants (i.e., analysis of the cosegregation in families of the VUS, measure of the influence of the VUSs on the wild-type protein activity, comparison of sequence conservation across multiple species), but only an integrated analysis of these methods can contribute to a real interpretation of the functional and clinical role of the discussed variants. The aim of our manuscript is to review the studies on BRCA VUS in order to clarify their clinical relevance

Local support for conservation is associated with perceptions of good governance, social impacts, and ecological effectiveness

Local support is important for the longevity of conservation initiatives. The literature suggests that perceptions of ecological effectiveness, social impacts, and good governance will influence levels of local support for conservation. This paper examines these relationships using data from a survey of small-scale fishermen in 11 marine protected areas from six countries in the Mediterranean Sea. The survey queried small-scale fishermen regarding perceptions and support for conservation. We constructed composite scores for three categories of perceptions-ecological effectiveness, social impacts, and good governance-and tested the relationship with levels of support using ordinal regression models. While all three factors were positively correlated with support for conservation, perceptions of good governance and social impacts were stronger predictors of increasing support. These findings suggest that employing good governance processes and managing social impacts may be more important than ecological effectiveness for maintaining local support for conservation

Elderly patient: which vascular access? Choice and management of vascular access in the elderly patient:

The optimal vascular access for elderly patients remains a challenge due to the difficult balance between risks and benefits in a population with increased comorbidity and decreased survival. Long dependence to central vein catheter, patient comorbidities, life expectancy, and complication rates are important influencing the indications for arteriovenous fistula or an arteriovenous graft. Although central vein catheters are simpler way to start a hemodialysis treatment, elderly patients are also at higher risk of death from infection or other complications associated with them more than for younger patients. The discussion revolves around the following key questions: What are the limiting factors for a vascular access in the elderly patients? Central venous catheter—is it still an option for elderly patients? Is still the autologous arteriovenous fistula playing a pivotal role as hemodialysis access in the elderly patients? Are there any real surgical contraindication to perform a vascular access in elderly patients? Is the old age a limiting factor for the vascular access management