Background. Up to 75% of crop species benefit at least to some degree from animal pollination for fruit or seed set and yield. However, basic information on the level of pollinator dependence and ...pollinator contribution to yield is lacking for many crops. Even less is known about how insect pollination affects crop quality. Given that habitat loss and agricultural intensification are known to decrease pollinator richness and abundance, there is a need to assess the consequences for different components of crop production. Methods. We used pollination exclusion on flowers or inflorescences on a whole plant basis to assess the contribution of insect pollination to crop yield and quality in four flowering crops (spring oilseed rape, field bean, strawberry, and buckwheat) located in four regions of Europe. For each crop, we recorded abundance and species richness of flower visiting insects in ten fields located along a gradient from simple to heterogeneous landscapes. Results. Insect pollination enhanced average crop yield between 18 and 71% depending on the crop. Yield quality was also enhanced in most crops. For instance, oilseed rape had higher oil and lower chlorophyll contents when adequately pollinated, the proportion of empty seeds decreased in buckwheat, and strawberries' commercial grade improved; however, we did not find higher nitrogen content in open pollinated field beans. Complex landscapes had a higher overall species richness of wild pollinators across crops, but visitation rates were only higher in complex landscapes for some crops. On the contrary, the overall yield was consistently enhanced by higher visitation rates, but not by higher pollinator richness. Discussion. For the four crops in this study, there is clear benefit delivered by pollinators on yield quantity and/or quality, but it is not maximized under current agricultural intensification. Honeybees, the most abundant pollinator, might partially compensate the loss of wild pollinators in some areas, but our results suggest the need of landscape-scale actions to enhance wild pollinator populations.
•Honey bees favour oilseed rape and sunflower over native herbaceous flora.•Native flora is an irreplaceable resource for wild bees.•Flowering alfalfa fields are attractive floral resources for all ...bee groups.•Agri-environmental schemes will differentially benefit honey bees and wild bees.
Bees provide an essential pollination service for crops and wild plants. However, substantial declines in bee populations and diversity have been observed in Europe and North America for the past 50 years, partly due to the loss of natural habitats and reduction of plant diversity resulting from agricultural intensification. To mitigate the negative effects of agricultural intensification, agri-environmental schemes (AES) have been proposed to sustain bees and others pollinators in agrosystems. AES include the preservation of semi-natural habitats such as grasslands, fallows, woodlots, hedgerows or set-aside field margins. However, empirical evidence suggest that the use of those semi-natural habitats by bees may vary greatly among bee functional groups and may further be influenced by the presence of alternative foraging habitats such as mass-flowering crops. The present study sets out to investigate whether the three bee groups typically targeted by AES (honey bees, bumble bees and other wild bees) differ in the way they use those semi-natural habitats relative to common mass-flowering crops (oilseed rape, sunflower, alfalfa) in an intensive agricultural farming system. A clear segregation pattern in the use of floral resources appeared between honey bees and wild bees, with the former being tightly associated with mass-flowering crops and the latter with semi-natural habitats. Bumble bees had an intermediate strategy and behaved as habitat generalists. Therefore, it would be sensible to treat the three bee groups with distinct AES management strategies, and to further consider potential effects on AES efficiency of alternative foraging habitats in the surrounding. This study also stresses the importance of native floral resources, particularly in semi-natural herbaceous habitats, for sustaining wild bee populations.
The discharge of untreated tannery wastewater containing biotoxic substances of heavy metals in the ecosystem is one of the most important environmental and health challenges in our society. Hence, ...there is a growing need for the development of novel, efficient, eco-friendly, and cost-effective approach for the remediation of inorganic metals (Cr, Hg, Cd, and Pb) released into the environment and to safeguard the ecosystem. In this regard, recent advances in microbes-base heavy metal have propelled bioremediation as a prospective alternative to conventional techniques. Heavy metals are nonbiodegradable and could be toxic to microbes. Several microorganisms have evolved to develop detoxification mechanisms to counter the toxic effects of these inorganic metals. This present review offers a critical evaluation of bioremediation capacity of microorganisms, especially in the context of environmental protection. Furthermore, this article discussed the biosorption capacity with respect to the use of bacteria, fungi, biofilm, algae, genetically engineered microbes, and immobilized microbial cell for the removal of heavy metals. The use of biofilm has showed synergetic effects with many fold increase in the removal of heavy metals as sustainable environmental technology in the near future.
This meta‐analytic review of 232 effect sizes showed that, across five categories, attitudes were more negative toward older than younger adults. Perceived age differences were largest for age ...stereotypes and smallest for evaluations. As predicted by social role theory (Eagly, 1987), effect sizes were reduced when detailed information was provided about the person being rated. The double standard of aging emerged for evaluations and behavior/behavioral intentions, but was reversed for the competence category. Perceptions depended on respondent age also. Results demonstrated both the multi‐dimensionality and the complexity of attitudes toward older adults (Hummert, 1999; Kite & Wagner, 2002).
Quantitative radiomics features, extracted from medical images, characterize tumour-phenotypes and have been shown to provide prognostic value in predicting clinical outcomes. Stability of radiomics ...features extracted from apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC)-maps is essential for reliable correlation with the underlying pathology and its clinical applications. Within a multicentre, multi-vendor trial we established a method to analyse radiomics features from ADC-maps of ovarian (n = 12), lung (n = 19), and colorectal liver metastasis (n = 30) cancer patients who underwent repeated (<7 days) diffusion-weighted imaging at 1.5 T and 3 T. From these ADC-maps, 1322 features describing tumour shape, texture and intensity were retrospectively extracted and stable features were selected using the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC > 0.85). Although some features were tissue- and/or respiratory motion-specific, 122 features were stable for all tumour-entities. A large proportion of features were stable across different vendors and field strengths. By extracting stable phenotypic features, fitting-dimensionality is reduced and reliable prognostic models can be created, paving the way for clinical implementation of ADC-based radiomics.
We present the identification of 634 variable stars in the Milky Way dwarf spheroidal (dSph) satellite Sculptor based on archival ground-based optical observations spanning ∼24 yr and covering ...∼2.5 deg2. We employed the same methodologies as the ‘Homogeneous Photometry’ series published by Stetson. In particular, we have identified and characterized one of the largest (536) RR Lyrae samples so far in a Milky Way dSph satellite. We have also detected four Anomalous Cepheids, 23 SX Phoenicis stars, five eclipsing binaries, three field variable stars, three peculiar variable stars located above the horizontal branch – near to the locus of BL Herculis – that we are unable to classify properly. Additionally, we identify 37 long period variables plus 23 probable variable stars, for which the current data do not allow us to determine the period. We report positions and finding charts for all the variable stars, and basic properties (period, amplitude, mean magnitude) and light curves for 574 of them. We discuss the properties of the RR Lyrae stars in the Bailey diagram, which supports the coexistence of subpopulations with different chemical compositions. We estimate the mean mass of Anomalous Cepheids (∼1.5 M⊙) and SX Phoenicis stars (∼1 M⊙). We discuss in detail the nature of the former. The connections between the properties of the different families of variable stars are discussed in the context of the star formation history of the Sculptor dSph galaxy.
Primovist, Eovist: What to expect? Van Beers, Bernard E; Pastor, Catherine M; Hussain, Hero K
Journal of hepatology,
08/2012, Letnik:
57, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Summary Gadolinium ethoxybenzyl dimeglumine (Gd-EOB-DTPA, Primovist® in Europe and Eovist® in the USA) is a liver-specific magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent that has up to 50% hepatobiliary ...excretion in the normal liver. After intravenous injection, Gd-EOB-DTPA distributes into the vascular and extravascular spaces during the arterial, portal venous and late dynamic phases, and progressively into the hepatocytes and bile ducts during the hepatobiliary phase. The hepatocyte uptake of Gd-EOB-DTPA mainly occurs via the organic anion transporter polypeptides OATP1B1 and B3 located at the sinusoidal membrane and biliary excretion via the multidrug resistance-associated proteins MRP2 at the canalicular membrane. Because of these characteristics, Gd-EOB-DTPA behaves similarly to non-specific gadolinium chelates during the dynamic phases, and adds substantial information during the hepatobiliary phase, improving the detection and characterization of focal liver lesions and diffuse liver disease. This information is particularly relevant for the detection of metastases, and for the detection and characterization of nodular lesions in liver cirrhosis, including early hepatocellular carcinomas. Finally, GD-EOB-DTPA-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging may provide quantitative assessment regarding liver perfusion and hepatocyte function in diffuse liver diseases. The full potential of GD-EOB-DTPA-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging has to be established further. It is already clear that GD-EOB-DTPA-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging provides anatomic and functional information in the setting of focal and diffuse liver disease that is unattainable with magnetic resonance imaging enhanced with non-specific contrast agents.
SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes and cancer Biegel, Jaclyn A; Busse, Tracy M; Weissman, Bernard E
American journal of medical genetics. Part C, Seminars in medical genetics,
September 2014, Letnik:
166C, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Odprti dostop
The identification of mutations and deletions in the SMARCB1 locus in chromosome band 22q11.2 in pediatric rhabdoid tumors provided the first evidence for the involvement of the SWI/SNF chromatin ...remodeling complex in cancer. Over the last 15 years, alterations in more than 20 members of the complex have been reported in a variety of human tumors. These include germline mutations and copy number alterations in SMARCB1, SMARCA4, SMARCE1, and PBRM1 that predispose carriers to both benign and malignant neoplasms. Somatic mutations, structural abnormalities, or epigenetic modifications that lead to reduced or aberrant expression of complex members have now been reported in more than 20% of malignancies, including both solid tumors and hematologic disorders in both children and adults. In this review, we will highlight the role of SMARCB1 in cancer as a paradigm for other tumors with alterations in SWI/SNF complex members and demonstrate the broad spectrum of mutations observed in complex members in different tumor types.
Peach Prunus persica (L.) Batsch is self-compatible and largely self-fertile, but under greenhouse conditions pollinators must be introduced to achieve good fruit set and quality. Because little work ...has been done to assess the effectiveness of different pollinators on peach trees under greenhouse conditions, we studied 'Okubo' peach in greenhouse tunnels near Beijing between 2012 and 2014. We measured pollen deposition, pollen-tube growth rates, ovary development, and initial fruit set after the flowers were visited by either of two managed pollinators: bumblebees, Bombus patagiatus Nylander, and honeybees, Apis mellifera L. The results show that B. patagiatus is more effective than A. mellifera as a pollinator of peach in greenhouses because of differences in two processes. First, B. patagiatus deposits more pollen grains on peach stigmas than A. mellifera, both during a single visit and during a whole day of open pollination. Second, there are differences in the fertilization performance of the pollen deposited. Half of the flowers visited by B. patagiatus are fertilized 9-11 days after bee visits, while for flowers visited by A. mellifera, half are fertilized 13-15 days after bee visits. Consequently, fruit development is also accelerated by bumblebees, showing that the different pollinators have not only different pollination efficiency, but also influence the subsequent time course of fertilization and fruit set. Flowers visited by B. patagiatus show faster ovary growth and ultimately these flowers produce more fruit. Our work shows that pollinators may influence fruit production beyond the amount of pollen delivered. We show that managed indigenous bumblebees significantly outperform introduced honeybees in increasing peach initial fruit set under greenhouse conditions.
The assembly of the seed microbiota involves some early microbial seed colonizers that are transmitted from the maternal plant through the vascular system, while other microbes enter through the ...stigma. Thus, the seed microbiota consists of microbes not only recruited from the plant vascular tissues, but also from the flower. Flowers are known to be a hub for microbial transmission between plants and insects. This floral-insect exchange opens the possibility for insect-transmitted bacteria to colonize the ovule and, subsequently, the seed to pass then into the next plant generation. In this study, we evaluated the contribution of insect pollination to the seed microbiota through high-throughput sequencing. Oilseed rape (OSR) flowers were exposed to visits and pollination by honey bees (Apis mellifera), red mason bees (Osmia bicornis), hand pollinated or left for autonomous self-pollination (ASP). Sequence analyses revealed that honey bee visitation reduced bacterial richness and diversity in seeds, but increased the variability of seed microbial structure, and introduced bee-associated taxa. In contrast, mason bee pollination had minor effects on the seed microbiota. Our study provides the first evidence that insect pollination is an ecological process involved in the transmission of bacteria from flowers to seeds.
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