Syntaxonomy and Synecology of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Quercus coccifera</Emphasis> Mediterranean Shrublands in Greece

Quercus coccifera (kermes oak) is the most common species of the Mediterranean maquis with a wide distribution across the Mediterranean Basin. This paper presents a syntaxonomic overview of the Q. coccifera plant communities in the Mediterranean zone of Greece (Quercetea ilicis) based on the classification of 221 relevés from 34 (17 continental and 17 insular) mountainous areas throughout Greece. Two associations and eight sub-associations are described and presented in a synoptic constancy table. Querco cocciferae–Pistacietum lentisci is the most widespread, is found in the entire continental Greece and most islands, and is further subdivided into five sub-associations reflecting primarily local peculiarities in the disturbance regime and the influence of local floristic elements. Rhamno lycioidis–Cocciferetum (Rivas Goday & Rivas-Martínez 1954), on the other hand, is geographically confined on the island of Crete and is further subdivided into three sub-associations, reflecting differences in the annual precipitation, and they are characterized by the presence of many phryganic and grazing-resistant species. Climate and the anthropogenic pressure have been identified to be the most important factors determining the structure and the floristic composition of Q. coccifera Mediterranean shrublands of Greece.     

How Many 3D Structures Do We Need to Train a Predictor？

It has been shown that the progress in the determination of membrane protein structure grows exponentially, with approximately the same growth rate as that of the water-soluble proteins. In order to investigate the effect of this, on the performance of prediction algorithms for both α-helical and β-barrel membrane proteins, we conducted a prospective study based on historical records. We trained separate hidden Markov models with different sized training sets and evaluated their performance on topology pred...     

Choroidal eye metastases from (recurrent) primary peritoneal carcinoma: case report and review of the literature

Background

Choroidal metastases from gynaecological primary are extremely rare. There is no documented case in the literature of choroid metastasis in a patient with primary peritoneal carcinoma (PPC).

Methods & Results

We describe the first case of a 54-year-old woman with a history of borderline mucinous tumour who presented 17 months later with PPC and 21 months after with recurrent disease metastatic to the eye, and review pertinent literature.

Conclusion

High index of suspicion is warranted when patients with history of primary peritoneal carcinoma present with visual complaints in order to treat and/or relieve symptomatology from metastatic eye disease.

     

Genetic Variation in Healthy Oldest-Old

Individuals who live to 85 and beyond without developing major age-related diseases may achieve this, in part, by lacking disease susceptibility factors, or by possessing resistance factors that enhance their ability to avoid disease and prolong lifespan. Healthy aging is a complex phenotype likely to be affected by both genetic and environmental factors. We sequenced 24 candidate healthy aging genes in DNA samples from 47 healthy individuals aged eighty-five years or older (the ‘oldest-old’), to characterize genetic variation that is present in this exceptional group. These healthy seniors were never diagnosed with cancer, cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, diabetes, or Alzheimer disease. We re-sequenced all exons, intron-exon boundaries and selected conserved non-coding sequences of candidate genes involved in aging-related processes, including dietary restriction (PPARG, PPARGC1A, SIRT1, SIRT3, UCP2, UCP3), metabolism (IGF1R, APOB, SCD), autophagy (BECN1, FRAP1), stem cell activation (NOTCH1, DLL1), tumor suppression (TP53, CDKN2A, ING1), DNA methylation (TRDMT1, DNMT3A, DNMT3B) Progeria syndromes (LMNA, ZMPSTE24, KL) and stress response (CRYAB, HSPB2). We detected 935 variants, including 848 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 87 insertion or deletions; 41% (385) were not recorded in dbSNP. This study is the first to present a comprehensive analysis of genetic variation in aging-related candidate genes in healthy oldest-old. These variants and especially our novel polymorphisms are valuable resources to test for genetic association in models of disease susceptibility or resistance. In addition, we propose an innovative tagSNP selection strategy that combines variants identified through gene re-sequencing- and HapMap-derived SNPs.     

Diatrack particle tracking software: Review of applications and performance evaluation

Object tracking is an instrumental tool supporting studies of cellular trafficking. There are three challenges in object tracking: the identification of targets; the precise determination of their position and boundaries; and the assembly of correct trajectories. This last challenge is particularly relevant when dealing with densely populated images with low signal‐to‐noise ratios—conditions that are often encountered in applications such as organelle tracking, virus particle tracking or single‐molecule imaging. We have developed a set of methods that can handle a wide variety of signal complexities. They are compiled into a free software package called Diatrack. Here we review its main features and utility in a range of applications, providing a survey of the dynamic imaging field together with recommendations for effective use. The performance of our framework is shown to compare favorably to a wide selection of custom‐developed algorithms, whether in terms of localization precision, processing speed or correctness of tracks.      

Life History,Reproduction, Growth,Population Dynamics and Production of Gammarus aequicauda (Crustacea: Amphipoda) at Extremely Low Salinities in a Mediterranean Lagoon

Aspects of the biology of Gammarus aequicauda were studied at extremely low salinities (0.3–5.7 psu) in Monolimni Lagoon, N. Aegean Sea. Samples were collected monthly from February 1998 to February 1999. Breeding occurred continuously but peaked in late spring, late summer and autumn and three cohorts were produced. The spring and summer cohorts showed fast growth (0.15 mm d^–1), accelerated maturity and life span of about three and seven months respectively, while the overwintering cohort showed a life span of about nine months. The largest individual had a body length of 23.6 mm. Mean brood size was 54.5 early embryos, while the intramarsupial loss was 46%. Population density sharply increased in late spring, summer and autumn. Secondary production calculated by Hynes' method gave a mean annual density of 1077.4 ind. m^–2, a mean annual crop (B) of 2.93 g DW m^–2, an annual production (P) of 35.03 g DW m^–2 and a P: B ratio of 11.96. Gammarus aequicauda showed a life‐history pattern similar to those previously reported for this species at higher salinity environments with comparatively large final body length and high growth rate during summer, brood size and P: B ratio, but with high embryo loss as well. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Carbon dioxide balneotherapy and cardiovascular disease

Carbon dioxide (CO(2)) balneotherapy is a kind of remedy with a wide spectrum of applications which have been used since the Middle Ages. However, its potential use as an adjuvant therapeutic option in patients with cardiovascular disease is not yet fully clarified. We performed a thorough review of MEDLINE Database, EMBASE, ISI WEB of Knowledge, COCHRANE database and sites funded by balneotherapy centers across Europe in order to recognize relevant studies and aggregate evidence supporting the use of CO(2) baths in various cardiovascular diseases. The three main effects of CO(2) hydrotherapy during whole body or partial immersion, including decline in core temperature, an increase in cutaneous blood flow, and an elevation of the score on thermal sensation, are analyzed on a pathophysiology basis. Additionally, the indications and contra-indications of the method are presented in an evidence-based way, while the need for new methodologically sufficient studies examining the use of CO(2) baths in other cardiovascular substrates is discussed.     

The Coxiella burnetii cryptic plasmid is enriched in genes encoding type IV secretion system substrates

The intracellular bacterial pathogen Coxiella burnetii directs biogenesis of a phagolysosome-like parasitophorous vacuole (PV), in which it replicates. The organism encodes a Dot/Icm type IV secretion system (T4SS) predicted to deliver to the host cytosol effector proteins that mediate PV formation and other cellular events. All C. burnetii isolates carry a large, autonomously replicating plasmid or have chromosomally integrated plasmid-like sequences (IPS), suggesting that plasmid and IPS genes are critical for infection. Bioinformatic analyses revealed two candidate Dot/Icm substrates with eukaryotic-like motifs uniquely encoded by the QpH1 plasmid from the Nine Mile reference isolate. CpeC, containing an F-box domain, and CpeD, possessing kinesin-related and coiled-coil regions, were secreted by the closely related Legionella pneumophila Dot/Icm T4SS. An additional QpH1-specific gene, cpeE, situated in a predicted operon with cpeD, also encoded a secreted effector. Further screening revealed that three hypothetical proteins (CpeA, CpeB, and CpeF) encoded by all C. burnetii plasmids and IPS are Dot/Icm substrates. By use of new genetic tools, secretion of plasmid effectors by C. burnetii during host cell infection was confirmed using β-lactamase and adenylate cyclase translocation assays, and a C-terminal secretion signal was identified. When ectopically expressed in HeLa cells, plasmid effectors trafficked to different subcellular sites, including autophagosomes (CpeB), ubiquitin-rich compartments (CpeC), and the endoplasmic reticulum (CpeD). Collectively, these results suggest that C. burnetii plasmid-encoded T4SS substrates play important roles in subversion of host cell functions, providing a plausible explanation for the absolute maintenance of plasmid genes by this pathogen.