Genotypic influence in the juvenile to adult transition in olive seedlings.

Olive breeding is a long process and any improvement in shortening the juvenile phase is highly desirable. In the present study, the effect of olive tree parents in different agronomic characteristics have been evaluated during four years in 520 olive genotypes generated from three different crosses in three different experimental fields, all located in Andalusia region, Spain. The crosses evaluated are 'Arbosana' x 'Sikitita' and its reciprocal, whose parents are characterized by being early bearers; and 'Frantoio' free pollinated, whose mother variety is characterized by having a long unproductive period.

Pollen production in olive cultivars and its interannual variability.

Background And Aims: Olive (Olea europaea subsp. europaea var. europaea) is the most extensively cultivated fruit crop worldwide.

Use of fine capillaries for cryopreservation of Caenorhabditis elegans by vitrification.

Caenorhabditis elegans is an exceptional model organism. More than twenty thousand different strains have been developed, increasing knowledge on countless topics. However, the traditional method to cryopreserve this nematode, based on slow freezing, usually reaches recovery rates of around 35% for the L1 and L2 larval stages.

Efficiency of breeding olives for resistance to Verticillium wilt.

Olive trees are the most cultivated evergreen trees in the Mediterranean Basin, where they have deep historical and socioeconomic roots. The fungus develops inside the vascular bundles of the host, and there are no effective applicable treatments, making it difficult to control the disease. In this sense, the use of integrated disease management, specifically the use of resistant cultivars, is the most effective means to alleviate the serious damage that these diseases are causing and reduce the expansion of this pathogen.

Implementation of esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection in Spain: Results from the nationwide registry.

Introduction And Aims: The outcomes of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) in the esophagus have not been assessed in our country. Our primary aim was to analyze the effectiveness and safety of the technique.

Material And Methods: Analysis of the prospectively maintained national registry of ESD.

Long-term cryostorage does not negatively affect the recovery of Caenorhabditis elegans.

Cryostorage of Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes is important to maintain the many lines used for research. The standard method uses 15% of glycerol in M9-Buffer and a cooling rate of 1 °C/min; then worms can be stored in a -80 °C freezer or in liquid nitrogen. The recovery of C.

Opportunities of super high-density olive orchard to improve soil quality: Management guidelines for application of pruning residues.

Applying pruning residues in the lanes of olive groves has become a popular practice because it is economical and accrues benefits for soil and water management. This study presents an analysis of the impact of different rates of pruning residue on soil properties, in particular related with soil quality. Over 4 annual campaigns, chopped pruning residues used as a mulch were analyzed in terms of composition, coverage and moisture content to evaluate their effects on the amount of soil organic carbon (-10 cm and -20 cm) and CO emissions, temperature and moisture.

Influence of genetic and interannual factors on the phenolic profiles of virgin olive oils.

Phenolic compounds in virgin olive oil (VOO) contribute to its health properties, organoleptic features and oxidative stability. In this study, a total of 44 olive tree cultivars categorized by the International Olive Council to be among the most internationally widespread varieties were exhaustively and homogenously evaluated by analysis of the VOO phenolic profile during three consecutive crop seasons. Differences among cultivars resulted in up to 15-fold variations in the total phenol concentration.

Adjuvanted inactivated influenza Vaccine Quadrivalent for Older People.

Advanced age is associated with an increase in morbidity and mortality from influenza. Immunization is the best option to protect individuals against influenza and its complications. Older people are less likely than their younger counterparts to mount an appropriate immune response to influenza vaccines.

Avoiding sexual interference: herkogamy and dichogamy in style dimorphic flowers of (Amaryllidaceae).

Spatial (herkogamy) or temporal (dichogamy) separation of sex organs are mechanisms considered to restrict self-pollination and promote outcrossing. Additionally, avoidance of self-interference is proposed to be the driving force for the evolution of these mechanisms, particularly in self-incompatible species. However, species with anthers and stigmas at different levels may increase the rate of imprecise pollen transfer, resulting in pollen discounting.

Cultivar influence on variability in olive oil phenolic profiles determined through an extensive germplasm survey.

Despite the evident influence of the cultivar on olive oil composition, few studies have been devoted to exploring the variability of phenols in a representative number of monovarietal olive oils. In this study, oil samples from 80 cultivars selected for their impact on worldwide oil production were analyzed to compare their phenolic composition by using a method based on LC-MS/MS. Secoiridoid derivatives were the most concentrated phenols in virgin olive oil, showing high variability that was significantly due to the cultivar.

Cultivar and Tree Density As Key Factors in the Long-Term Performance of Super High-Density Olive Orchards.

Super high-density (SHD) olive orchards are rapidly expanding since the first plantation was set up in Spain in the 1990s. Because there are no long-term studies characterizing these systems, it is unknown if densities above a certain threshold could trigger competition among fully-grown trees, compromising their development. Over 14 years we have evaluated the performance of the major olive cultivars currently planted in SHD systems ("Arbequina," Arbequina IRTA-i·18, "Arbosana," "Fs-17," and "Koroneiki") and nine SHD designs ranging from 780 to 2254 trees ha(-1) for the cultivar "Arbequina.

Persistence of Long-Term Memory in Vitrified and Revived Caenorhabditis elegans.

Can memory be retained after cryopreservation? Our research has attempted to answer this long-standing question by using the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, a well-known model organism for biological research that has generated revolutionary findings but has not been tested for memory retention after cryopreservation. Our study's goal was to test C. elegans' memory recall after vitrification and reviving.

[Population study of seroprevalence of antibodies against hepatitis A virus in the Community of Madrid, 2008-2009].

Introduction: Seroprevalence surveys enable the level of endemicity of hepatitis A (HAV) to be assessed. The aim of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence (SP) antibody against HAV by age group, and compare it with those obtained in previous surveys.

Methods: Observational cross-sectional study.

Relative Susceptibility of New Olive Cultivars to Spilocaea oleagina, Colletotrichum acutatum, and Pseudocercospora cladosporioides.

The evaluation of the relative susceptibility of new cultivars to the main diseases of a crop is a key point to consider prior to their release to the nursery industry. This study provides a rigorous characterization of the resistance of 15 new olive cultivars and their genitors ('Arbequina,' 'Frantoio,' and 'Picual') to the three main aerial diseases, peacock spot, anthracnose, and cercosporiosis caused by Spilocaea oleagina, Colletotrichum acutatum, and Pseudocercospora cladosporioides, respectively. To do so, developing leaves and detached green-yellowish fruit were inoculated in laboratory tests with S.

Olive domestication and diversification in the Mediterranean Basin.

Olive (Olea europaea ssp. europaea) is the most important oil fruit crop in temperate areas, but the origin of the cultivated olive remains unclear. The existence of one or several domestication events in the Mediterranean Basin (MB) is still debated.

[Prevention of serogroup B meningococcal disease using a four-component vaccine].

Introduction: Meningococcal disease is an infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis, and those of serogroup B are currently the most predominant. It has been difficult to create effective vaccines for this serogroup in order to modify or reduce its morbidity. The aim of this study was to review existing data on the new vaccine 4CMenB and its potential contribution to the prevention of this infection.

Centennial olive trees as a reservoir of genetic diversity.

Background And Aims: Genetic characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the oldest trees could be a powerful tool both for germplasm collection and for understanding the earliest origins of clonally propagated fruit crops. The olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is a suitable model to study the origin of cultivars due to its long lifespan, resulting in the existence of both centennial and millennial trees across the Mediterranean Basin.

High Susceptibility of Olive Cultivar FS-17 to Alternaria alternata in Southern Spain.

Traditional olive orchards in Spain have been planted at a density of 70 to 80 trees per ha with three trunks per tree. During the last decade, the hedgerow orchard, in which planting density is approximately 2,000 trees per ha, was developed. In 2006 and 2007, we noted a severe outbreak of fruit rot in FS-17, a new cultivar from Italy, in an experimental hedgerow planting in Córdoba, southern Spain.

Seroprevalence of antibodies to varicella-zoster virus in Madrid (Spain) in the absence of vaccination.

Objective: to ascertain the seroprevalence of antibodies to varicella-zoster virus in the Madrid population prior to the introduction of vaccination.

Study Design: Cross-sectional antibody seroprevalence study.

Population: persons aged 2 to 40 years in Madrid.

Incidence trends in pertussis in the Autonomous Region of Madrid, Spain: 1982-2005.

The objective of this study was to describe the incidence (1982-2005) and epidemiologic characteristics of pertussis cases (1998-2005) in the Autonomous Region of Madrid using data drawn from the epidemiologic surveillance network and computerised hospital discharge data. In the 1990s, the trend in the pertussis incidence in the Autonomous Region of Madrid was clearly falling. The typical seasonal pattern of pertussis remained.

K(+) starvation inhibits water-stress-induced stomatal closure.

The effect of potassium starvation on stomatal conductance was studied in olive trees and sunflower plants, two major crops with greatly differing botanical characteristics. In both species, K(+) starvation inhibited water-stress-induced stomatal closure. In olive trees, potassium starvation favoured stomatal conductance and transpiration, as well as inhibiting shoot growth, in the three cultivars studied: 'Lechín de Granada', 'Arbequina' and 'Chetoui'.

Genetic diversity and population structure of wild olives from the North-Western Mediterranean assessed by SSR markers.

Background And Aims: This study examines the pattern of genetic variability and genetic relationships of wild olive (Olea europaea subsp. europaea var. sylvestris) populations in the north-western Mediterranean.

Selection of olive varieties for tolerance to iron chlorosis.

Under certain conditions, olive trees grown on calcareous soils suffer from iron chlorosis. In the present study several olive varieties and scion-rootstock combinations were evaluated for their tolerance to iron chlorosis. Plants were grown over several months in pots with a calcareous soil, under two fertilization treatments.