We review observational, experimental, and model results on how plants respond to extreme climatic conditions induced by changing climatic variability. Distinguishing between impacts of changing mean ...climatic conditions and changing climatic variability on terrestrial ecosystems is generally underrated in current studies. The goals of our review are thus (1) to identify plant processes that are vulnerable to changes in the variability of climatic variables rather than to changes in their mean, and (2) to depict/evaluate available study designs to quantify responses of plants to changing climatic variability. We find that phenology is largely affected by changing mean climate but also that impacts of climatic variability are much less studied, although potentially damaging. We note that plant water relations seem to be very vulnerable to extremes driven by changes in temperature and precipitation and that heatwaves and flooding have stronger impacts on physiological processes than changing mean climate. Moreover, interacting phenological and physiological processes are likely to further complicate plant responses to changing climatic variability. Phenological and physiological processes and their interactions culminate in even more sophisticated responses to changing mean climate and climatic variability at the species and community level. Generally, observational studies are well suited to study plant responses to changing mean climate, but less suitable to gain a mechanistic understanding of plant responses to climatic variability. Experiments seem best suited to simulate extreme events. In models, temporal resolution and model structure are crucial to capture plant responses to changing climatic variability. We highlight that a combination of experimental, observational, and/or modeling studies have the potential to overcome important caveats of the respective individual approaches.
Lipofilling has been indicated for postmastectomy and postlumpectomy breast reconstruction. The clinical literatures underline its technical efficacy but experimental studies raise important ...questions about the potential detrimental effect of adipocytes on the stimulation of cancer growth and reappearance.
We collected 321 consecutive patients operated for a primary breast cancer between 1997 and 2008 who subsequently underwent lipofilling for reconstructive purpose. For each patient, we selected two matched patients with similar characteristics who did not undergo a lipofilling.
Eighty-nine percent of the tumors were invasive. Median follow-up was 56 months from the primary surgery and 26 months from the lipofilling. Eight and 19 patients had a local event in the lipofilling and control group, respectively, leading to comparable cumulative incidence curves P = 0.792; Hazard RatioLipovs No lipo = 1.11 (95% confidence interval 0.47–2.64). These results were confirmed when patients undergoing quadrantectomy and mastectomy were analyzed separately and when the analysis was limited to invasive tumors. Based on 37 cases, the lipofilling group resulted at higher risk of local events when the analysis was limited to intraepithelial neoplasia.
Lipofilling seems to be a safe procedure in breast cancer patients. Longer follow-up and further experiences from oncological series are urgently required to confirm these findings.
Background When the conservative treatment is not recommended, Nipple Sparing Mastectomy (NSM) is proposed more and more frequently for the surgical treatment of breast cancer. The risk of local ...recurrence behind the nipple areolar complex (NAC) is the main limiting factor of the NSM procedure. To minimize such risk, we proposed in 2002 a intraoperative radiotherapy of the preserved NAC. Patients and methods From March 2002 to November 2006, 579 cases (in 570 patients) of NSM were performed for carcinoma. The median follow up time was 19 months (Range: 1-60). The subcutaneous mastectomy was performed through an incision removing a portion of the skin overlying the tumour. An extemporaneous histological examination was performed on the retroareolar glandular tissue. If the histology was positive the patient was not considered eligible. Then an intraoperative radiotherapy with electrons (ELIOT) of 16 Gy in one shot was delivered on the NAC area. An immediate breast reconstruction was done using implants in most cases and in several cases a musculocutaneous flaps, usually in large breast. The number of local recurrences was recorded and the correlation between their occurrence and the clinical and histological criteria were analysed using the Gray test statistical method in a competing framework. Results In 516 cases the negative retroareolar frozen section biopsy was confirmed by the final histology, while in 63 cases, the final histology showed foci of carcinoma. Seven out of these 63 cases underwent a secondary NAC removal. In the 56 cases which preserved areolas we did not observe any local recurrence after 19 months follow up. The probability of retro areola positive histology increases with the tumour size. and was not related to the nodal status. The rate of local relapses was 0.9% per year. We didn't find any significant difference in the local relapse rate according to different patient's and tumour's features. Most relapses were located close to the tumour bed but never in the NAC area. Conclusion Our study confirms that the local recurrence rate in the NSM completed with local radiotherapy on the NAC is not higher than the usual rate observed in the literature and the preservation of the NAC does not increase the risk. The absence of local recurrence in the region where a portion of glandular tissue has been purposely preserved is a good argument in favour of ELIOT.
In order to reduce mutilation, nipple-areola complex (NAC) conservation can be proposed for the treatment of breast cancer when mastectomy is indicated. To reduce the risk of retro areolar ...recurrence, a novel radiosurgical treatment combining subcutaneous mastectomy with intraoperative radiotherapy (ELIOT) is proposed. One thousand and one nipple sparing mastectomies (NSM) were performed from March 2002 to November 2007 at the European institute of oncology (EIO), for invasive carcinoma in 82% of the patients and in situ carcinoma in 18%. Clinical complications, aesthetic results, oncological and psychological results were recorded. A comparison was performed between the 800 patients who received ELIOT and the 201 who underwent delayed one-shot radiotherapy on the days following the operation. The median follow up time was 20 months (range 1-69) for a follow up performed in 83% of the patients. The NAC necrosed totally in 35 cases (3.5%) and partially in 55 (5.5%) and was removed in 50 (5%). Twenty infections (2%) were observed and 43 (4.3%) prostheses removed. The median rate of the patients for global cosmetic result on a scale ranging from 0 (worst) to 10 (excellent) was 8. Evaluation by the surgeon in charge of the follow-up gave a similar result. Only 15% of the patients reported a partial sensitivity of the NAC. Of the fourteen (1.4%) local recurrences, ten occurred close to the tumour site, all far from the NAC corresponding to the field of radiation. No recurrences were observed in the NAC. In a group of patients characterized by a very close free margin under the areola, no local recurrence was observed. Overall, 36 cases of metastases and 4 deaths were observed. No significant outcome difference was observed between the 800 patients receiving intraoperative radiotherapy (ELIOT) and the 201 patients receiving delayed irradiation.
The evapotranspiration (
E) of an irrigated citrus (Clementine) orchard in the Mediterranean region was measured throughout a growing season. Transpiration (
T) was determined by the sap flow method. ...Since the measurement took place on several selected branches of the citrus trees, a statistical analysis for determining the “mean tree” has been carried out before the set up of the sap gauges. In this study the daily
T measured by the sap flow method has been compared with
E measured by the eddy covariance method, with very good results. In addition a model of the citrus
E using a Penman–Monteith-type model is presented, where the canopy surface resistance is determined from standard microclimatic variables. The calibration coefficients of the proposed model depend only on the crop and they have general validity with respect to the site.
The model's performance was evaluated by comparison with the sap flow data. The results were satisfactory and therefore this simple model allows determination the
E of a Clementine orchard grown under a Mediterranean climate.
In contrast to reports by the FAO no. 56 paper, and this has practical implications, the crop growth coefficient of this Clementine orchard was not constant throughout the growing season. The highest values occurred during the vegetative stage.
Fat grafting is widely carried out in breast cancer patients to improve quality in breast reconstruction. Recently, in vitro and animal studies have questioned the role of adipose tissues in cancer ...development.
Matched-cohort study. We analysed: (i) 59 intraepithelial neoplasia patients who had undergone lipofilling, with no recurrence between primary surgery and lipofilling. (ii) A control group of 118 matched patients (two controls per lipofilling patient) with the corresponding recurrence-free intervals. Both groups were also matched for main cancer criteria. A local event (LE) was the primary end point, with follow-up starting from the baseline.
Median follow-up was 63 and 66 months from surgery, and 38 and 42 from baseline, for the lipofilling and control groups, respectively; the 5-year cumulative incidence of LE was 18% and 3% (P = 0.02). Ki-67 was the significant factor in univariate survival analysis. A subgroup analysis showed that lipofilling increased the risk of LE in women <50 years, with high grade neoplasia, Ki-67 ≥ 14 or who had undergone quadrantectomy.
Higher risk of LE was observed in intraepithelial neoplasia patients following lipofilling. Although further studies are required to validate our conclusions, patients belonging to this subgroup should be informed of these results and the potential risks.
We present new planetary nebulae (PNe) positions, radial velocities and magnitudes for six early-type galaxies obtained with the Planetary Nebulae Spectrograph (PNS), along with derived ...two-dimensional velocity and velocity dispersion fields, and the α parameters (i.e. the number of PNe per unit luminosity). We also present new deep absorption-line long-slit kinematics for three galaxies in the sample, obtained with the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS2) at the Very Large Telescope (VLT).
We extend this study to include additional 10 early-type galaxies with PNe radial velocity measurements available from the literature, including previous PNS studies, in order to obtain a broader description of the outer-halo kinematics in early-type galaxies. These data extend the information derived from stellar absorption-line kinematics to typically several and up to 8 effective radii.
The combination of photometry, absorption-line and PNe kinematics shows (i) a good agreement between the PNe number density distribution and the stellar surface brightness in the region where the two data sets overlap; (ii) a good agreement between PNe and absorption-line kinematics; (iii) that the mean rms velocity profiles fall into two groups, with part of the galaxies characterized by slowly decreasing profiles and the remainder having steeply falling profiles; (iv) a larger variety of velocity dispersion radial profiles; (v) that twists and misalignments in the velocity fields are more frequent at large radii, including some fast rotator galaxies; (vi) that outer haloes are characterized by more complex radial profiles of the specific angular momentum-related λR parameter than observed within 1 R
e; (vii) that many objects are more rotationally dominated at large radii than in their central parts and (viii) that the halo kinematics are correlated with other galaxy properties, such as total B band and X-ray luminosity, isophotal shape, total stellar mass, V/σ and α parameter, with a clear separation between fast and slow rotators.
Oncoplastic surgery is a well-established discipline that combines conserving treatment for breast cancer with immediate plastic reconstruction. Although widely practiced, the oncologic outcomes of ...this combined approach are reported only in small series. The aim of the present paper is to assess the safety of oncoplastic surgery for invasive primary breast cancer.
We compared 454 consecutive patients who underwent an oncoplastic approach between 2000 and 2008 for primary invasive breast tumors (study group) with twice the number of patients who received conservation alone in the same interval time (control group). Disease free survival and overall survival were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The log-rank test was used to assess differences between groups.
The median follow-up was 7.2 years. The overall survival is similar within the two groups, being 91.4% and 91.3% at 10-yr in the study group and in the control group respectively. The disease free survival is slightly lower in the oncoplastic group (69 vs.73.1% at 10-yr). The difference is not statistically significant.
We have compared a large series of primary breast cancer patients that have undergone oncoplastic surgery (454) with a control group (908) and they were followed for a prolonged period of time. It provides the best available evidence to suggest that oncoplastic surgery is a safe and reliable treatment option for the managing of invasive breast cancer.
Adaptation to climate change is a major challenge facing the agricultural sector worldwide. Olive (
Olea europaea L.
) is a global, high value crop currently cultivated in 28 countries worldwide. ...Global data to assess the vulnerability of the crop to climate variability are scarce, and in some notable cases, such the United Nations Food and Agricutlure Organization database (FAO,
2006
), qualitative assessments rather than quantitative indicators are provided. The aim of this study is to demonstrate a new approach to help overcome these constraints toward a globally applicable method to assess the adaptability of olive cultivars. The adaptability of 11 cultivars, widely used in 11 countries worldwide, was studied using a new generic approach based on the evaluation of soil hydrological regime against cultivar-specific hydrological requirements. The approach requires local data, notably on soil hydrological properties, but it is easily transferable to other countries and regions. We applied an agrohydrological model in 60 soil units to determine hydrological indicators both in a reference (1961–1990) and a future (2021–2050) climate case. We compared indicators with cultivar-specific requirements to achieve the target yield; requirements were established using experimental yield response curves. We estimated the probability of adaptation, i.e., the probability that a given cultivar attains the target yield, and we used it to evaluate the cultivar potential distribution in the study area. At the locations where soil hydrological conditions were favorable, the probabilities of adaptation of the cultivars were high in both climate cases. The results show that the area with suitable conditions for the target yield (area of adaptability) decreased under future climate for all the cultivars, with higher reduction for Frantoio and Maiatica and smaller reduction for Itrana, Nocellara, Ascolana, and Kalamata. These cultivars are currently grown in Argentina, United States (US), Australia, France, Greece, and Italy. Our results indicate also that these cultivars require higher available soil water to attain the target yield, i.e., we may expect similar vulnerability in other parts of the world. Based on these findings, we provide some specific recommendations for enrichment of global databases and for further developments of our approach, to increase its potential for global application.
Nipple- and areola-sparing mastectomy is a novel surgical approach that preserves the nipple–areolar complex. Patients with moderate and/or severe breast ptosis are usually not eligible for this ...surgical approach. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of nonconventional surgical approaches for nipple-sparing mastectomy.
One hundred consecutive patients diagnosed with primary breast cancer (BC) were enrolled in this study. Clinical and pathological data such as body mass index, smoking status, breast ptosis, complications, and aesthetic satisfaction (Breast-Q test) were collected. According to different types of breast ptosis, surgical procedures were classified as (a) hemi-periareolar, (b) round block, (c) vertical pattern, and (d) wise pattern skin incisions. We performed statistical analysis to assess the correlation with complications, degree of ptosis, and breast-Q scores.
Among the 117 surgical procedures performed in 100 patients with BC, no significant associations are verified considering clinical and pathological data, complications, pre- and postsurgery satisfactions, and other parameters.
Different surgical approaches represent the evolution of “classic” nipple-sparing mastectomy, thus meeting the cosmetic and oncological results. These procedures are safe and also indicated in cases conventionally considered as not eligible for nipple–areola preservation.
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