One year of pollen monitoring in an urban network,perugia, central italy

Pollen monitoring at three locations in the area of Perugia is reported for the period November 1988-October 1989. A meteorological station which automatically provided data (temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, direction and velocity of wind), was located beside each trap. The study was correlated with a phenological investigation in urban and rural areas surrounding the traps in order to test the validity of using the results as indicators in a monitoring network. The aerobiological data of the three monitoring stations allows the following conclusions: 1) no notable differences were recorded during the principal period of pollination considering the flowering trends of the local anemophilous flora are taking into account, 2) from a quantitative point of view, values from Central Perugia and West Perugia were higher than those from East Perugia, 3) from a qualitative point of view, the station located in the old city area was characterized by a significant presence of Urticaceae pollen, while pollen of the Gramineae was prevalent in the two stations located in the recently built areas.     

Late Triassic, Early and Middle Jurassic Radiolaria from ferromanganese-chert ‘nodules’ (Angelokastron, Argolis, Greece): evidence for prolonged radiolarite sedimentation in the Maliac-Vardar Ocean

In the Argolis, the Basal Sequence, constituting the eastern Pelagonian margin which bordered the Maliac-Vardar oceanic domain, includes shallow-water carbonates of Late Triassic-Early Jurassic, condensed pelagic limestones of Early-Middle Jurassic, radiolarian cherts of late Middle-Late Jurassic age and siliceous mudstones and sandstones rich in ophiolite fragments. Up-section, coarse breccias, including clasts of boninites derived from the ophiolite obducted onto the Pelagonian margin in Late Jurassic times crop out. Near Angelokastron a small quarry exposes pervasively sheared dark reddish-brown, radiolarian-bearing cherty shales with disrupted fragments of chert and chert nodules impregnated by ferro-manganese oxides. These shales occur in the footwall of a thrust bringing them into contact with the Pantokrator Limestone of the Basal Sequence. We collected more than 30 samples of the chert fragments and the shaly matrix. Thirteen nodules and one matrix sample yielded determinable radiolarians. Low to non-detectable concentrations of trace metals such as Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, and Pb indicate a hydrothermal origin of the ferro-manganese mineralization. The radiolarian taxa found indicate four age groups for the nodules that are embedded in the siliceous shale matrix that yielded a Middle Jurassic age (middle Bathonian). The first group includes a nodule of Late Triassic age (late Norian to Rhaetian); the second group nodules of Early Jurassic age (late early to late Pliensbachian and probably middle-late Toarcian); the third group nodules of early Middle Jurassic age (Aalenian–Bajocian); the last group finally includes nodules of late Middle Jurassic age (Bajocian–Bathonian). The presence of Upper Triassic to Middle Jurassic Mn-impregnated chert nodules in a Middle Jurassic matrix indicates a deep oceanic environment of deposition outside the Pelagonian realm (easternmost Adria Plate), which at that time was a shallow-water carbonate platform with a thin pelagic limestone cover. The chert nodules are with all certainty derived from the oceanic Maliac-Vardar domain and were, together with their host formation, tectonically emplaced onto the Pelagonian margin. We speculate that these nodules, more lithified than their matrix, were exhumed on the slope of an intra-oceanic accretionary wedge and were redeposited in the Middle Jurassic siliceous mudstones on the floor of the subducting Maliac-Vardar Ocean.     

Seed image analysis provides evidence of taxonomic differentiation within the Medicago L. sect. Dendrotelis (Fabaceae)

Morpho-colorimetric quantitative variables describing seed size, shape, colour and texture were analysed using image analysis techniques, in order to evaluate the variability among Medicago taxa sect. Dendrotelis and verify the current taxonomic treatment which divides this section into three species: M. arborea L., M. citrina (Font Quer) Greuter and M. strasseri Greuter, Matthäs & H. Risse. Further comparisons were conducted to discriminate among populations and regions of provenance. Data obtained were statistically analysed applying stepwise Linear Discriminant Analysis method (LDA), recording an overall cross-validated classification performance of 100% at species level. With regard to inter-population comparisons, percentages of correct discrimination above 98% were achieved and high performance was recorded in the discrimination among M. arborea taxa distinguished by region of provenance. For each of these statistical comparisons, the best discriminant variables chosen by the stepwise LDA were related to colour and textural information. Finally, the obtained results confirmed the validity of the proposed method to be highly diagnostic in the statistical assessment of the morpho-colorimetric traits variability of Medicago taxa seeds, both for the taxonomic differentiation at species level and regional and population groups.     

Human adipose CD34+CD90+ stem cells and collagen scaffold constructs grafted in vivo fabricate loose connective and adipose tissues

Stem cell based therapies for the repair and regeneration of various tissues are of great interest for a high number of diseases. Adult stem cells, instead, are more available, abundant and harvested with minimally invasive procedures. In particular, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multi‐potent progenitors, able to differentiate into bone, cartilage, and adipose tissues. Human adult adipose tissue seems to be the most abundant source of MSCs and, due to its easy accessibility; it is able to give a considerable amount of stem cells. In this study, we selected MSCs co‐expressing CD34 and CD90 from adipose tissue. This stem cell population displayed higher proliferative capacity than CD34^?CD90^? cells and was able to differentiate in vitro into adipocytes (PPARγ⁺ and adiponectin⁺) and endothelial cells (CD31⁺VEGF⁺Flk1⁺). In addition, in methylcellulose without VEGF, it formed a vascular network. The aim of this study was to investigate differentiation potential of human adipose CD34⁺/CD90⁺ stem cells loaded onto commercial collagen sponges already used in clinical practice (Gingistat) both in vitro and in vivo. The results of this study clearly demonstrate that human adult adipose and loose connective tissues can be obtained in vivo, highlighting that CD34⁺/CD90 ASCs are extremely useful for regenerative medicine. J. Cell. Biochem. 114: 1039–1049, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Comparative morphology and systematics of Chondrymenia lobata from the Mediterranean Sea and a phylogeny of the Chondrymeniaceae fam. nov. (Rhodophyta) based on rbcL sequence analyses

The Chondrymeniaceae Rodríguez-Prieto, G. Sartoni, S.-M. Lin & Hommersand, fam. nov., is proposed for Chondrymenia lobata. Analyses of rbcL sequences place the new family in a large gigartinalean assemblage that comprises the Cystocloniaceae–Solieriaceae complex. Plants are decumbent and growth takes place by division of multiple apical cells at the margin of the blade. Thalli consist of an outer cortex of subspherical to elongate cortical cells arranged in anticlinal rows, a subcortex of cells cross-linked by lateral arms, and a large central medulla composed of primary medullary filaments intermixed with numerous rhizoidal filaments. Male stages are reported in monoecious individuals. Inactive carpogonial branches consist of a two-celled filament that is directed inwards from the supporting cell. Functional carpogonial branches are oriented outwardly, with the carpogonia and trichogynes pointed towards the thallus surface. After presumed fertilization, the carpogonium fuses with the hypogynous cell and transfers the zygote nucleus. The hypogynous cell, in turn, fuses with the supporting cell which contains many haploid nuclei. The resulting fusion cell functions as an auxiliary cell that cuts off a single gonimoblast initial, which produces the gonimoblast filaments. Gametophytic cells close to the auxiliary cell unite with it to form a placental fusion network of variable size and outline, and a placental fusion cell. Proximal gonimoblast cells fuse with the placental fusion cell, while the distal cells differentiate into branched chains of subspherical carposporangia. The superficial similarity of the outwardly developed osteolate cystocarp is responsible for Kylin's (1956) placement of Chondrymenia in his family Sarcodiaceae; however, the manner in which the placenta is formed is more like that seen in the Cystocloniaceae–Solieriaceae complex.     

Whole Exome Sequencing Identifies a Troponin T Mutation Hot Spot in Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) commonly causes heart failure and shows extensive genetic heterogeneity that may be amenable to newly developed next-generation DNA sequencing of the exome. In this study we report the successful use of exome sequencing to identify a pathogenic variant in the TNNT2 gene using segregation analysis in a large DCM family. Exome sequencing was performed on three distant relatives from a large family with a clear DCM phenotype. Missense, nonsense, and splice variants were analyzed for segregation among the three affected family members and confirmed in other relatives by direct sequencing. A c.517T C>T, Arg173Trp TNNT2 variant segregated with all affected family members and was also detected in one additional DCM family in our registry. The inclusion of segregation analysis using distant family members markedly improved the bioinformatics filtering process by removing from consideration variants that were not shared by all affected subjects. Haplotype analysis confirmed that the variant found in both DCM families was located on two distinct haplotypes, supporting the notion of independent mutational events in each family. In conclusion, an exome sequencing strategy that includes segregation analysis using distant affected relatives within a family represents a viable diagnostic strategy in a genetically heterogeneous disease like DCM.     

Shoot age as a confounding factor on detecting the effect of human-induced disturbance on Posidonia oceanica growth performance

The response of orthotropic rhizome elongation and primary production of Posidonia oceanica to anthropogenic perturbations and potential confounding effects of shoot age were assessed using a Linear Multilevel Model (LMM). This model examined the confounding effect of age by comparing the estimates of impact and variance components obtained by excluding and including Age as an explanatory variable. Age had a negative effect on rhizome elongation and primary production with an annual decrease of 0.6 mm y^− 1 and 7 mg dw y^− 1 respectively. According to the LMM when age effect was omitted, the differences between disturbed and control locations in rhizome elongation and primary production were 2.62 mm y^− 1 and 0.044 g dw y^− 1 respectively. These effects were statistically not significant. On the contrary, when age effect was included in the statistical model, impacts became evident for both variables, with significant differences between disturbed and control locations of 5.85 mm y^− 1 and 0.081 g dw y^− 1 for rhizome elongation and primary production, respectively. Thus, particular attention should be paid to the potential confounding effect of shoots age in analyses of impacts on growth performance of P. oceanica.