Spanish Spelt Wheat: From an Endangered Genetic Resource to a Trendy Crop

Spelt wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ssp. spelta Thell.) is an ancient wheat that was widely cultivated in the past. This species derived from a cross between emmer wheat (T. turgidum spp. dicoccum Schrank em. Thell.) and Aegilops tauschii Coss. Its main origin was in the Fertile Crescent (Near East), with a secondary center of origin in Europe due to a second hybridization event between emmer and hexaploid wheat. This species has been neglected in most of Europe; however, the desire for more natural foods has driven a revival in interest. Iberian spelt is classified as a geographical group differing to the rest of European spelt. In this review, the particularities, genetic diversity and current situation of Spanish spelt, mainly for quality traits, are discussed.

Touch me carefully: a step towards understanding morphological diversity in the South American spiny sunflowers (Compositae, Barnadesioideae)

The subfamily Barnadesioideae (Compositae) is endemic to South America, comprising 10 genera and 80 species of mostly spiny herbs, subshrubs, shrubs, trees, or woody vines distributed from Venezuela to Argentina. Three genera, Dasyphyllum (27 species), Chuquiraga (22 spp.) and Barnadesia (19 spp.) contain 85% of the species, while the other seven genera (Archidasyphyllum, Arnaldoa, Doniophyton, Duseniella, Fulcaldea, Huarpea, and Schlechtendalia) are represented by up to three species each. Most species are found in xeric areas in the Andean and Patagonian regions—as in the Páramos, Puna and Patagonian steppe vegetation—with a secondary center of diversity in eastern South America. Previous phylogenetic hypotheses have clarified the relationships within the subfamily, showing that there are many non-monophyletic groups in different taxonomic ranks. As a result, taxonomic changes have been proposed over recent decades in order to reflect classifications comprising only monophyletic groups. In the present study, we provide a generic synopsis of the subfamily Barnadesioideae based on the most recent generic circumscriptions, including a key, expanded morphological descriptions, information on geographical distribution and habitat, photographs and taxonomic notes for all genera.

Assessment and management of the SARS-CoV-2 infection: A secondary center experience

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the management and outcomes of the patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in a secondary hospital. Methods: A total of 699 hospitalized patients who had positive rRT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 and/or typical findings of COVID-19 at chest computed tomography (CT) were enrolled in this study. Demographics, comorbities, initial laboratory tests on admission, treatment modalities, complications and outcomes were evaluated retrospectively. Results: The mean age was 57.0±15.6 (range:16-94 years), and male:female ratio was 1.24. 58.7% of the patients had at least one underlying comorbidity, the most common was hypertension. 72.8% of the patients had positive RT-PCR. 18.1% of the patients had lymphopenia, 35.7% hyperferritinemia, 58.3% increased lactate dehydrogenase, and 58.5% increased D-dimer. Chest CT revealed moderate and severe stage in 57.9% of the patients, and bilateral lung involvement in 78.7%. Hydroxychloroquine was given to 37.2% and favipiravir 67.1% of the patients. No significant difference was observed between treatment groups in terms of mortality (P=0.487). 5.8% of the patients were transferred to the ICU, of whom 75.6% were needed non-invasive and 36.5% invasive mechanical ventilation. The overall case fatality rate was 0.9. Conclusions: Older age, male sex, low lymphocyte count, CT findings including bilateral involvement and severe stage were significantly associated with poor prognosis and mortality.

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON SURGICAL ACTIVITY OF AN ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY AND TRAUMATOLOGY SERVICE IN A SECONDARY HOSPITAL

INTRODUCTION COVID-19 has changed the behavior of health care in the world, and consequently, it has affected surgical activity. Related to orthopedic surgery and traumatology, a decrease of up to a third has been observed according to published series. But a secondary center may need more adjustments than a first level one. MATERIAL AND METHODS Retrospective study, comparing data from the first Sate of Alarm (03/14/20 – 06/21/20) with the same period of 2019. The number of surgeries, hospitalizations and diagnoses were selected as primary outcomes, and injury mechanisms, kind of surgeries and differences in time to surgery as secondary outcomes. RESULTS Surgical activity went from 462 cases in 2019 to 190 cases in 2020 (59% less). The main reason for intervention during the State of Alarm was fractures, with 129 cases out of the total (compared to 167 in 2019); being orthopedics in 2019 (178 cases compared to 40).The most frequent fracture in both groups was the hip fracture, with 71 cases in 2019 compared to 59 in 2020.Accidents on public places, associated with sports practice and related to traffic, were reduced by 1/3. CONCLUSIONS A more striking reduction in surgical activity is observed than that reflected in other series, probably due to the case of programmed surgery. Perhaps in centers with greater capacity this measure is not that necessary. In the same circumstances, up to 50% of the ORTR staff could be used to treat other pathologies safely.

Applications of Microsatellite Markers for the Characterization of Olive Genetic Resources of Tunisia

Among the countries of the Mediterranean Basin, Tunisia is located at the crossroad for the immigration of several civilizations over the last two millennia, becoming a strategic place for gene flow, and a secondary center of diversity for olive species. Olive is one of the principal crop species in Tunisia and now it strongly characterizes the rural landscape of the country. In recent years, collecting missions on farm and in situ were carried out by various institutes, with special emphasis given to ex situ collections serving as a reference for the identification of olive germplasm. Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs) represent the easiest and cheapest markers for olive genetic fingerprinting and have been the tool of choice for studying the genetic diversity of this crop in Tunisia, to resolve cases of homonymy and synonymy among the commercialized varieties, to identify rare cultivars, to improve knowledge about the genetic variability of this crop, to identify a hot spot of olive biodiversity in the Tunisian oasis of Degache, and to enrich the national reference collection of olive varieties. The present review describes the state of the art of the genetic characterization of the Tunisian olive germplasm and illustrate the progress obtained through the SSR markers, in individuating interesting genotypes that could be used for facing incoming problems determined by climate changes.

Out of Colchis: The Colonization of Europe by Primula vulgaris Huds. (Primulaceae)

In the cold periods of Quaternary climatic fluctuations, many temperate species underwent severe range contractions, and their survival during these periods was associated with climatically more favorable regions, so-called glacial refugia, from which subsequent range expansions took place. In this regard, the relative roles of the Southern (“main”), Northern (i.e., cryptic northern), and Eastern European (e.g., Colchis) refugia in shaping the evolutionary history of European temperate plants should be evaluated. In this study, we investigated the phylogeographic structure of <em>Primula vulgaris</em>, a European mesophilous species, by comparing DNA sequences derived from the nuclear (nrITS) and the plastid (<em>trn</em>L-<em>trn</em>F and <em>rpl</em>32-<em>trn</em>L) genomes of specimens covering the entire distribution range of the species. The variability in flower morphology was also studied on an area-wide scale with geometric morphometry. Our results clearly show the importance of the northern and eastern refugia (the Carpathian Basin and Colchis) as sources of genetic variation among European mesophilous plant species. <em>Primula vulgaris </em>spread initially from the Colchis refugium westwards, and a proportion of the colonists survived during the last glacial period in the Carpathian Basin, which may have served as a secondary center of diversity from which all Europe was subsequently populated.