Studio Del Ritmo Vegetativo Di Olea Europaea L. in Messina Negli Anni 1952–54

Summary

The vegetative growth of the olive tree in Messina is described. The growth period begins at the end of March and prosecutes without interruption as late as November. The secondary wood tissue producted during summer time (from Yuly to August) is abnormal being of a parenchimatoide type. During winter there is a well defined rest period.

The cambium produces secondary wood and bark with an alternate rythm, so that in spring the wood production prevails on the liber and in autumn the opposite condition is realized.

Each phase of production of secondary conducting tissues (wood as well as bark) is followed by a phase of starch storing.

In the stem several false wood rings are produced during one year, while in the young branches each wood ring corresponds to one year.

The longitudinal growth and cork formation on the branches of the year are particularly pronounced during spring (March-May).

Cambium cells swell in a characteristic way before they start dividing and collapse during the resting periods, thickening evidently their walls, so that in winter it is difficult to distinguish a cambial cell from a parenchimatic one.

The behaviour of the vegetative growth of the olive tree in Messina is discussed on the base of the climatic characters of the region.     

Ciclo Di Accrescimento E Differenziazione Delle Gemme in Piante Perenni Nel Territorio Di Bari

Abstract

The secondary wood of the fig tree is characterized by a remarcable degree of dimorphism and the concentric rings d o not correspond to yearly recurring growth periods. These false rings are formed by alternating tangential strips of fibers and wood parenchima. During each vegetative season three or four of these strips arc laid down by the cambium.

During the year the cambium undergoes a period of activity and a period of rest, but there is no histological difference between the early wood and the late one, differentiated just before the restring period. In consequence the so-called annual wood rings do not exist in the fig tree stem.     

Morpho-anatomical differentiation of the balkan populations of the species Teucrium flavum L. (Lamiaceae)

Ecological plasticity, i.e., inter-population differentiation of the species Teucrium flavum was analyzed on the basis of morpho-anatomical variability of its five populations from the maquis (Cisto-Ericetea and Cisto-Micromerietea), rocky grounds (Festuco-Brometea) and rocky crevices (Asplenietea rupestris) in the Eumediterranean and sub-Mediterranean region. Univariate statistic analysis included 22 quantitative characters related to the leaf and stem anatomy and morphology. In order to establish the variability and significance of morpho-anatomical differentiation, principal component analyses (PCA), multivariate analyses of variances (MANOVA), discriminant components analysis (DCA) and clustering, according to the UPMGA method based on Mahalanobius’ distances, have been done.The morpho-anatomical analysis of plants from the five distant populations confirmed that the species T. flavum belongs to malacophyllous xeromorphic species. It was established that the plants from all the five populations analyzed are distinguished by stable conservative xeromorphic characteristics. There is a difference between the pronounced xeromorphic plants belonging to Eumediterranean populations and the subxeromorphic sub-Mediterranean ones.     

Osservazioni Preliminari Sulla Struttura Submicroscopica dei Granuli di Amido dell'endosperma Maturo di Triticum Durum Desf

Abstract

Preliminary observations on the submicroscopic structure of the endospermic starch granules in TRITICUM DURUM desf. (The electronic transparency of the starch granules). — The starch granules of Triticum durum Desf. kernels have been examined by electron microscopy.

The high degree of transparency of the granules appears to depend upon the regular disposition of the structural units, while their opacity probably is in relation with their orderless arrangement. The opacity of amorphous portions of the layers, of the median fissure and of the black bands seems to be in relation with the amorphous condition of such formations.

The black bands and the bubbles which have been considered respectively as protein layers and as the result of enzymes action, are only artifacts. The bubbles are interpreted as pyrodestrines.     

Reazioni delle piante di Ricinus communis a incisioni sperimentali

Summary

The author has produced wounds in the stem of Ricinus communis, studing the regeneration and cicatrization processes.

The rapidity of the surface cicatrization is in relation with the water loss of the waunded cells.

Both in the stems woumded let free and in those in which an extra tissue has been introduced, the cicatrization processes tacke place. They only take place with different velocity. The healing process lead to the reconstruction of the cortical and the conducting tissues.

The whole reconstruction of the stele may occur, when the flow of the assimilated stuffs is slowed. Sothat it is probable that the regeneration depends more upon the tissue nutrition tham on a specifical properti of the tissues.     

Ricerche Anatomiche Su “Dianthus Arboreus L. Verus„ (= D. aciphyllus Sieb.)

Riassunto

L'A. studia l'anatomia del Dianthus arboreus L. verus (= D. acyphyllus Sieb.), endemico dell'isola di Creta, illustrandone lo sviluppo della plantula, le formazioni primarie e secondarie della radice, del caule e delle foglie. Pone particolarmente in evidenza la precoce differenziazione di un anello meristematico continuo, la mancanza di raggi midollari, la formazione di zone anulari di legno compatto e di parenchima tangenziale con elementi legnosi sparsi, e infine la frammentazione del corpo legnoso per opera di zone di parenchima radiale di riempimento. Discute queste particolarità di evoluzione delle Cariophyllaceae verso un abito erbaceo.     

淮北相山恢复演替群落优势树种叶片的生态解剖

对淮北相山混交林5个优势种叶片的生态解剖学观察表明,其叶片结构具有一定的旱生特征:表皮具发达的表皮毛或角质层,全栅等面叶或具发达的栅栏组织,维管组织发达。牡荆(Vitex negundo var. cannabifolia)和酸枣(Ziziphus jujuba var. spinosa)作为两个广布优势树种,叶片结构表现出很大的可塑性:1)同一群落环境(混交林)中,叶片结构随着季节的变化表现出发育可塑性(5月初的叶片比9月中旬更具有阳生叶的特点);2)不同恢复演替阶段的群落中,叶片结构随着群落环境的变化表现出环境可塑性,其变化趋势为:灌草丛(旱生/阳生)-灌丛(旱生/阳生)-落叶疏林(中生/阳生)-人工侧柏(Platycladus orientalis)林(中生/阴生)。这种可塑性既是植物适应其异质生境的一种重要机制,同时又是不同群落环境的反映。非参数相关分析表明,牡荆和酸枣的叶片结构受多个生态因子综合影响,其中水分和风速是影响叶片结构的主导因子。叶片的上表皮角质层厚度、气孔器密度、栅栏组织厚度、叶片厚度、木质部厚度、韧皮部厚度、维管束厚度等性状均与土壤含水量和空气相对湿度呈显著负相关,与风速呈显著正相关。     

Evoluzione Della Cerchia Legnosa in Quercus Aegilops L. a Tricase

Abstract

The author has examined the cambial activity and the formation of the annual ring in Quercus aegilops from February 1954 to February 1955. Material was collected at Tricase (Lecce) the only Italian locality where this oriental species grows although it is doubtful whether it is spontaneous.

Cambial activity starts in the middle of April both in the main stem and in the branches following flowering and bud development. It goes on for about five months until the second half of August forming a complete growth ring. This annual ring shows the normal sequence of early wood with wide vessels formed during the second half of April and the whole of May, intermediate wood with medium and small size vessels, parenchima, and fibres formed in June-July, and late wood with few small size vessels, parenchima, and fibres formed from the end of July to middle August.

There is no reawakening of cambial activity in autumn even if the climatic conditions are favourable. Tylosis are very easily formed in the wood vessels and by this process the plant can withstand the drought of the Apulian summer.     

L'evoluzione della cerchia legnosa in Arbutus Andrachnoides Link. in Firenze,dal luglio 1946 al Giugno 1947

Summary

The evolution of the wood ring in arbutus andrachnoides link, in florence (from July 1946 to June 1947).

The anatomical characters of the wood ring of the stem and of the young branch of Arbutus andrachnoides Link have been studied in Florence.

The results are the following: the cambial tissue in the stem starts dividing at the end of April and continues during the summer months, ending completely in September.

In the branch the cambium differentiates almost a month earlier, namely at the beginning of April.

In both cases the only wood ring produced is completed at the end of September. Comparing the evolution of this wood with the climatic factors it can be seen that the cambium activity starts in a period of remarkable rainfall and of regular increase of temperature and presents a remarkable activity still at the end of August.

Arbutus andrachnoides Link. is a spontaneous hybrid between A. Unedo and A. Andrachne and its distribution (in Greece and in the gréek islands) shows that A. Unedo and A. Andrachne had the possibility to overlap in this area and to produce this hybrid.     

Cytokinin-like activity in green islands formed around infection spots ofAlternaria brassicicola on mustard leaves in nature and their role in pathogenesis

Green islands were observed around infection spots ofAlternaria brassicicola on mustard leaves in nature. These green islands had higher cytokinin-like substances as compared to surrounding yellowed tissue and healthy tissue. Presence of starch in green islands has been correlated with formation of metabolic sinks in green islands, because of higher cvtokinin-like substances in them.     

Clinical implication of pretreatment neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in soft tissue sarcoma

Introduction: Elevated neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio has been identified as a prognostic indicator in malignancies whereas; its association with extremity and trunk soft tissue sarcoma remain unclear. The aim of this study is to determine the utility of full blood neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in preoperative diagnosis and its predictive value for survival in patients managed for soft tissue sarcoma of the trunk and extremities.

Method: 223 patients who presented with a soft tissue tumor were retrospectively reviewed. The study period was from January 2002–December 2009. Preoperative NLR as well as demographics, clinical and histopathological data were analysed.

Results: Full blood NLR was significantly higher in patient with a soft tissue sarcoma compared to benign soft tissue tumors (p < 0.001). Cox regression analysis demonstrated that elevated NLR >5 (p < 0.05) may be an adverse prognostic factor for Overall Survival.

Conclusion: The preoperative NLR is a simple, investigation predicting the preoperative diagnosis of a soft tissue sarcoma and a predictor of worse overall survival for patient with a soft tissue sarcoma.     

Mineralization of Alvinella polychaete tubes at hydrothermal vents

Alvinellid polychaete worms form multilayered organic tubes in the hottest and most rapidly growing areas of deep‐sea hydrothermal vent chimneys. Over short periods of time, these tubes can become entirely mineralized within this environment. Documenting the nature of this process in terms of the stages of mineralization, as well as the mineral textures and end products that result, is essential for our understanding of the fossilization of polychaetes at hydrothermal vents. Here, we report in detail the full mineralization of Alvinella spp. tubes collected from the East Pacific Rise, determined through the use of a wide range of imaging and analytical techniques. We propose a new model for tube mineralization, whereby mineralization begins as templating of tube layer and sublayer surfaces and results in fully mineralized tubes comprised of multiple concentric, colloform, pyrite bands. Silica appeared to preserve organic tube layers in some samples. Fine‐scale features such as protein fibres, extracellular polymeric substances and two types of filamentous microbial colonies were also found to be well preserved within a subset of the tubes. The fully mineralized Alvinella spp. tubes do not closely resemble known ancient hydrothermal vent tube fossils, corroborating molecular evidence suggesting that the alvinellids are a relatively recent polychaete lineage. We also compare pyrite and silica preservation of organic tissues within hydrothermal vents to soft tissue preservation in sediments and hot springs.     

Gravitropism in Higher Plant Shoots : III. Cell Dimensions during Gravitropic Bending; Perception of Gravity

Cross and longitudinal sections were prepared for light microscopy from vertical control plants (Xanthium strumarium L. Chicago strain), free-bending horizontal stems, plants restrained 48 hours in a horizontal position, and plants restrained 48 hours and then released, bending immediately about 130°. Top cells of free-bending stems shrink or elongate little; bottom cells continue to elongate. In restrained stems, bottom cells elongate some and increase in diameter; top cells elongate about as much but decrease in diameter. Upon release, bottom cells elongate more and decrease in diameter, while top cells shorten and increase in diameter, accounting for the bend. During restraint, bottom cells take up water while tissue pressures increase; top cells fail to take up water although tissue pressures are decreasing.

Settling of amyloplasts was observed in cells of the starch sheath.

Removal of different amounts of stem (Xanthium; Lycopersicon esculentum Miller, cv Bonny Best; Ricinus communis L. cv Yolo Wonder) showed that perception of gravity occurs in the bending (elongation) zone, although bending of fourth and fifth internodes from the top was less than in uncut controls. Uniform application of 1% indoleacetic acid in lanolin to cut stem surfaces partially restored bending. Reversing the gradient in tension/compression in horizontal stems (top under compression, bottom under tension) did not affect gravitropic bending.

     

Block-Surface Staining for Differentiation of Starch and Cell Walls in Wheat Endosperm

A staining technique for differentiating starch granules and cell walls was developed for computer-assisted studies of starch granule distribution in cells of wheat [Triticum aestivum L.] caryopses. Blocks of embedded caryopses were sectioned, exposing the endosperm tissue, and stained with iodine potassium iodide (IKI) and Calcofluor White. Excessive tissue hydration during staining was avoided by using stains prepared in 80% ethanol and using short staining times. The IKI quenched background fluorescence which facilitated the use of higher concentrations of Calcofluor White. Cell wall definition was improved with the IKI-Calcofluor staining combination compared to Calcofluor alone. The high contrast between darkly stained starch granules and fluorescent cell walls permitted computer assisted analysis of data from selected hard and soft wheat varieties. The ratio of starch granule area to cell area was similar for both wheat classes. The starch granule sizes ranged from 2.1 μm³ to 22,000 μm³ with approximately 90% of the granules measuring less than 752 μm³ (ca. 11 μm in diameter). Hard wheat samples had a greater number of small starch granules and a lower mean starch granule area compared to the soft wheat varieties tested. The starch size distribution curve was bimodal for both the hard and soft wheat varieties. Three-dimensional starch size distribution was measured for four cells near the central cheek region of a single caryopsis. The percentage of small granules was higher at the ends than at the mid-section of the cells.     

Coordination in physonectid siphonophores

Intracellular and extracellular recordings from the stem, gastrozooids, palpons, tentacles and nectophores of physonectid siphonophores are presented. The stem organization previously described for Nanomia applies with only minor differences to Forskalia and Agalma. The endodermal epithelium of the stem is shown to be the pathway for slow potentials.

Pumping cycles and feeding activities are organized locally in gastrozooids and palpons. Protective retractions are coordinated, probably through a direct nervous link with the stem. This is also true of tentacles. The ectoderm of bracts is a conducting epithelium; excitation in it can induce nervous activity in the stem, but the mechanism is unknown.

Impulse traffic between stem and zooids is erratic and breaks down rapidly with repeated stimulation. The motor centres of the nectophores are connected to the stem by a labile nervous link, but an alternative epithelial pathway exists.     

旱生植物刺山柑不同种群茎叶的解剖学研究

刺山柑常分布于极端干旱的戈壁与砾石山坡,然而其适应干旱环境的解剖学机理却未见报道.对分布于新疆石河子、新疆库尔勒以及西藏札达的3个刺山柑种群茎、叶材料进行了比较解剖学研究.结果表明:不同种群材料均具有适应旱生环境的典型结构特征:茎表皮有表皮毛和发达的角质层,皮层较厚,维管组织发达,髓明显;叶为双栅型等面叶,上、下表皮均...     

Effect of Day Length and Night Temperature on Starch Accumulation and Degradation in Soybean

The effect of the day length on the accumulation and the degradationof the starch in leaf, stem and root tissues of prefloweringsoybean plants was determined by growing plants under a 7 or14 h light regime. As has been reported previously, the rateof starch accumulation by leaves was inversely related to daylength. High sucrose content was associated with a high rateof starch accumulation. Stem tissue showed diurnal fluctuationsin starch content and the rate of accumulation was also inverselyrelated to day length. This starch resulted from photosynthesiswithin the stem itself. A negligible amount of starch was foundin root tissue of both sets of plants. The rate of starch breakdown in leaves of 7 h plants was significantlyless than that in 14 h plants. Nevertheless, leaf starch inshort day length plants was depleted at least 4 h prior to theend of the dark period. In both sets of plants, degradationof stem starch started simultaneously with that in the leavesand continued throughout the dark period, although at a muchlower rate than that of leaves. Thus, stem starch acted as abuffer once leaf starch was depleted, providing carbohydratesto the plant, although in small quantities. To determine if soybean leaves adjust their rate of starch accumulationduring the light period to different dark period temperatures,plants were grown under temperature regimes of 30/20 ^°Cand 30/30 ^°C. Plants did not differ in rate of starch accumulationor CO₂ exchange rate, but did show large differences in growthcharacteristics. High temperature plants had significantly greaterleaf area and tended to have greater leaf area ratio. Thus,despite similar rates of starch accumulation on a leaf areabasis, high temperature plants accumulated greater amounts ofstarch on a per plant basis. Glycine max(L.)Merr., soybean reserve carbohydrates, remobilization, source-sink realtionships