scholarly journals Elucidation of the Origin of the Monumental Olive Tree of Vouves in Crete, Greece

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2374
Author(s):  
Aureliano Bombarely ◽  
Andreas G. Doulis ◽  
Katerina K. Lambrou ◽  
Christos Zioutis ◽  
Evi Margaritis ◽  
...  

The olive tree of Vouves in Crete, is considered the oldest producing olive tree in the world with an estimated age exceeding 4000 years. In the present study, we sequenced two samples (from the bottom and the top of the tree) to elucidate the genetic relation of this ancient tree with other olive cvs as well as to gain some insights about its origin. Our results showed that both samples have different genetic origins, proving that this ancient tree has been grafted at least one time. On the basis of whole genome sequences the sample from the top of the Vouves tree showed relation of the same order than half-siblings to one accession corresponding to the present-day Greek cv ‘Mastoidis’. Nevertheless, in the framework of a microsatellite analysis it was found to cluster with the ‘Mastoidis’ samples. The Vouves rootstock (bottom sample) showed a clear grouping with the oleaster samples in a similar way to that of ‘Megaritiki’ Greek cv although it does not show any signal of introgression from them. The genomic analyses did not show a strong relation of this sample with the present-day Greek cvs analyzed in this study so it cannot be proved that it has been used as a source for cultivated olive tree populations represented by available genome sequences. Nevertheless, on the basis of microsatellite analyses, the Vouves rootstock showed affinity with two present-day Greek cvs, one “ancient” rootstock from continental Greece as well as monumental trees from Cyprus. The analysis of the impact of the variants in the gene space revealed an enrichment of genes associated to pathways related with carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism. This is in agreement with what has been found before in the sweep regions related with the process of domestication. The absence of oleaster gene flow, its old age and its variant profile, similar to other cultivated populations, makes it an excellent reference point for domestication studies.

2017 ◽  
Vol 126 (5) ◽  
pp. 540-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany Collins ◽  
Lauren Breithaupt ◽  
Jennifer E. McDowell ◽  
L. Stephen Miller ◽  
James Thompson ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Elma Blom ◽  
Adriana Soto-Corominas ◽  
Zahraa Attar ◽  
Evangelia Daskalaki ◽  
Johanne Paradis

Abstract Children who are refugees become bilingual in circumstances that are often challenging and that can vary across national contexts. We investigated the second language (L2) syntactic skills of Syrian children aged 6-12 living in Canada (n = 56) and the Netherlands (n = 47). Our goal was to establish the impact of the first language (L1 = Syrian Arabic) skills on L2 (English, Dutch) outcomes and whether L1–L2 interdependence is influenced by the length of L2 exposure. To measure L1 and L2 syntactic skills, cross-linguistic Litmus Sentence Repetition Tasks (Litmus-SRTs) were used. Results showed evidence of L1–L2 interdependence, but interdependence may only surface after sufficient L2 exposure. Maternal education level and refugee camp experiences differed between the two samples. Both variables impacted L2 outcomes in the Canadian but not in the Dutch sample, demonstrating the importance to examine refugee children’s bilingual language development in different national contexts.


2018 ◽  
Vol 618 ◽  
pp. A149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sol Alonso ◽  
Georgina Coldwell ◽  
Fernanda Duplancic ◽  
Valeria Mesa ◽  
Diego G. Lambas

Aims. With the aim of performing a suitable comparison of the internal process of galactic bars with respect to the external effect of interactions on driving gas toward the inner most region of the galaxies, we explored and compared the efficiency of both mechanisms on central nuclear activity in optically selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in spiral galaxies. Methods. We selected homogeneous samples of barred AGNs and active objects residing in pair systems, derived from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In order to carry out a reliable comparison of both samples (AGNs in barred hosts in isolation and in galaxy pairs), we selected spiral AGN galaxies with similar distributions of redshift, magnitude, stellar mass, color and stellar age population from both catalogs. With the goal of providing an appropriate quantification of the influence of strong bars and interactions on nuclear activity, we also constructed a suitable control sample of unbarred spiral AGNs without a companion and with similar host properties to the other two samples. Results. We found that barred optically selected AGNs show an excess of nuclear activity (as derived from the Lum[OIII]) and accretion rate onto a central black hole (ℛ) with respect to AGNs in pairs. In addition, both samples show an excess of high values of Lum[OIII] and ℛ with respect to unbarred AGNs in the control sample. We also found that the fractions of AGNs with powerful nuclear activity and high accretion rates increase toward more massive hosts with bluer colors and younger stellar populations. Moreover, AGNs with bars exhibit a higher fraction of galaxies with powerful Lum[OIII] and efficient ℛ with respect to AGN galaxies inhabiting pair systems, in bins of different galaxy properties. Regarding AGNs belonging to pair systems, we found that the central nuclear activity is remarkably dependent on the galaxy pair companion features. The Lum[OIII] for AGNs in pairs is clearly enhanced when the galaxy companion exhibits a bright and more massive host with high metallicity, blue color, efficient star formation activity and young stellar population. The results of this work reveal an important capacity of both mechanisms, bars and interactions, to transport material towards the galaxy central regions. In this context, it should also be noted that the internal process of the bar is more efficient at improving the central nuclear activity in AGN objects than that corresponding to the external mechanism of the galaxy–galaxy interactions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amirreza Salehipour ◽  
Abdollah Ah mand

Necessity of improving employees’ performance in ministry of education in Iran was the reason of conducting this research. Authors are focused on the impact of High Performance Work System (HPWS) and the culture of organization on employees’ performance in Iran ministry of education. By conducting specified study based on distributed survey questionnaire to 162 members of ministry of education in Iran, this study aims to provide answer to the given research questions of study. The outcome of hypotheses testing illustrate HPWS significantly effects ministry members’ performance and shows strong relation between variables. Likewise, organizational culture demonstrates significant affirmative impact on Iran ministry of education members and employees’ performance. Findings of current research indicate that the ministry of education in Iran requires immediate action toward improving performance of members to obtain desired outcome. Accordingly, to the result of present study, current research attempts to provide practical concepts and illustrate limitations, suggestions for improvement of ministry and future study in this field.


PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Gutiérrez-Preciado ◽  
Carlos Vargas-Chávez ◽  
Mariana Reyes-Prieto ◽  
Omar F. Ordoñez ◽  
Diego Santos-García ◽  
...  

We report the genome sequence ofExiguobacterium chiriqhuchastr. N139, isolated from a high-altitude Andean lake. Comparative genomic analyses of theExiguobacteriumgenomes available suggest that our strain belongs to the same species as the previously reportedE. pavilionensisstr. RW-2 andExiguobacteriumstr. GIC 31. We describe this species and propose thechiriqhuchaname to group them. ‘Chiri qhucha’ in Quechua means ‘cold lake’, which is a common origin of these three cosmopolitan Exiguobacteria. The 2,952,588-bpE. chiriqhuchastr. N139 genome contains one chromosome and three megaplasmids. The genome analysis of the Andean strain suggests the presence of enzymes that conferE. chiriqhuchastr. N139 the ability to grow under multiple environmental extreme conditions, including high concentrations of different metals, high ultraviolet B radiation, scavenging for phosphorous and coping with high salinity. Moreover, the regulation of its tryptophan biosynthesis suggests that novel pathways remain to be discovered, and that these pathways might be fundamental in the amino acid metabolism of the microbial community from Laguna Negra, Argentina.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Espetvedt Nordstrand ◽  
Christer Lunde Gjerstad ◽  
Odin Hjemdal ◽  
Are Holen ◽  
Tore Tveitstul ◽  
...  

This study examined the warzone stressors: killing in combat, experiencing personal threats, or traumatic witnessing during deployment in relation to psychological distress, alcohol consumption and quality of life at long-term follow-up. The study was conducted in two samples of Norwegian veterans who had served in Afghanistan (Study 1, N = 4,053) or in Lebanon (Study 2, N = 10,605), respectively. Data were collected through two postdeployment mental health surveys conducted by the Norwegian Armed Forces Joint Medical Services. Using linear regressions, we investigated the impact of warzone stressors on posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, anxiety, insomnia, alcohol use, and quality of life. In study 1 (Afghanistan veterans), killing was not a significant predictor of psychological distress, alcohol use, or quality of life, when controlling for Personal Threats and Witnessing exposure. In study 2 (Lebanon veterans) killing remained a significant predictor (p < .001) of symptoms of posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety, after controlling for other warzone stressors. However, killing was not a significant predictor of alcohol use or quality of life in Study 2. In summary, killing in combat may be associated with increased reports of psychological distress, but there were distinct results in the two studies. Differences in mission statements, rules of engagement, and mental states during combat could explain the diverging outcomes. The results indicate that it may be erroneous to ubiquitously regard killing in combat as a moral stressor, and highlight the importance of clear rules of engagements that accounts for the “on the ground” reality of soldiers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-63
Author(s):  
Achraf Haddad ◽  
Anis El Ammari ◽  
Abdelfattah Bouri

According to the literature of corporate governance, ownership structure is advanced as a non-dissociable mechanism of control intended to follow the stakeholders and especially used by shareholders to monitor the conflicts of interest and the opportunistic behavior of managers. Several previous studies have focused on the impact of ownership structure on financial performance separately in conventional or in Islamic banks. However, the comparative studies between these two impacts are non-existent. In this research, we compared the impacts of this governance mechanism on the financial performance in the two types of banks by using the Ordinary Least Squares method. Data relating to financial performance and ownership structure of banks come from 16 countries. Two samples were collected: the first one included 63 conventional banks, whereas the second one integrated 63 Islamic banks whose data are available over the period (2010-2018). Panel results showed that partial effect of each determinant of ownership structure on each measure of financial performance varied from one banks’ type to another and from one performance measure to another. Besides, the reconciliation of similar models revealed many differences between the same impacts’ signs. Therefore, we concluded that in both banks’ types the ownership structure has a positive impact on the financial performance. While, the negative part of the same impact is less significant in Islamic banks. JEL Classification:  F33, G20, G21, G24, G30.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. SCI-13-SCI-13
Author(s):  
Scott W. Lowe

p53 action and the consequences of p53 mutation in acute myeloid leukemia TP53 mutations are common in treatment associated myeloid neoplasia (tMN) and complex karyotype acute myeloid leukemia (CK-AML), where they are associated with chemoresistance and one of the worst prognoses of any leukemia genotype. To understand the impact of TP53 mutations on AML biology, we are performing arge scale genomic analyses of p53 mutant AML and have produced a series of animal models that appear to faithfully reflect molecular and biological features of the human disease. We have gone on to explore the biology of particular TP53 mutational configurations drive AML initiation and maintenance, and to identify and understanding the events that cooperate with p53 mutations during leukemogenesis. Disclosures Lowe: Blueprint Medicines: Consultancy, Equity Ownership; ORIC pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Equity Ownership; Mirimus: Consultancy, Equity Ownership; Constellation Pharma: Consultancy, Equity Ownership; Petra Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Equity Ownership; PMV Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Equity Ownership; Faeth Therapeutics: Consultancy, Equity Ownership.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaoyue Wen ◽  
Siyu Li ◽  
Jiaojiao Wang ◽  
Yimin Zhu ◽  
Xin Zong ◽  
...  

BackgroundHeat stress has negative effects on the intestinal health of humans and animals. However, the impact of heat stress on intestinal microbial and metabolic changes remains elusive. Here, we investigated the cecal microbial and metabolic profiles in mice in response to heat stress.MethodsThe mouse heat stress model was constructed by simulating a high-temperature environment. Twenty mice were randomly assigned to two groups, the control group (CON, 25°C) and the heat treatment group (HS, 40°C from 13:00 to 15:00 every day for 7 days). Serum and cecal contents were collected from the mice for serum biochemical analysis, 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing, and non-targeted metabolomics.ResultsBoth core body temperature and water intake were significantly increased in the HS group. Serum biochemical indicators were also affected, including significantly increased triglyceride and decreased low-density lipoprotein in the heat stress group. The composition and structure of intestinal microbiota were remarkably altered in the HS group. At the species level, the relative abundance of Candidatus Arthromitus sp. SFB-mouse-Japan and Lactobacillus murinus significantly reduced, while that of Lachnospiraceae bacterium 3-1 obviously increased after HS. Metabolomic analysis of the cecal contents clearly distinguished metabolite changes between the groups. The significantly different metabolites identified were mainly involved in the fatty acid synthesis, purine metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, cyanoamino acid metabolism, glyceride metabolism, and plasmalogen synthesis.ConclusionIn summary, high temperature disrupted the homeostatic balance of the intestinal microbiota in mice and also induced significant alterations in intestinal metabolites. This study provides a basis for treating intestinal disorders caused by elevated temperature in humans and animals and can further formulate nutritional countermeasures to reduce heat stress-induced damage.


New Medit ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppina Migliore ◽  
Cinzia Zinnanti ◽  
Emanuele Schimmenti ◽  
Valeria Borsellino ◽  
Giorgio Schifani ◽  
...  

This is the first study which explores the impact of climate change in Sicily, a small Mediterranean region of Southern Europe. According to research, Mediterranean area has shown large climate shifts in the last century and it has been identified as one of the most prominent “Hot-Spots” in future climate change projections. Since agriculture is an economic activity which strongly depends on climate setting and is particularly responsive to climate changes, it is important to understand how such changes may affect agricultural profitability in the Mediterranean region. The aim of the present study is to assess the expected impact of climate change on permanent crops cultivated in Sicilian region (Southern Italy). By using data from Farm Accountancy Data Network and Ensembles climatic projections for 2021-2050 period, we showed that the impact of climate change is prominent in this region. However, crops respond to climatic variations in a different manner, highlighting that unlike the strong reduction in profitability of grapevine and citrus tree, the predicted average Net Revenue of olive tree is almost the same as in the reference period (1961-1990).


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