LiDAR Is Effective in Characterizing Vine Growth and Detecting Associated Genetic Loci.

The strong societal demand to reduce pesticide use and adaptation to climate change challenges the capacities of phenotyping new varieties in the vineyard. High-throughput phenotyping is a way to obtain meaningful and reliable information on hundreds of genotypes in a limited period. We evaluated traits related to growth in 209 genotypes from an interspecific grapevine biparental cross, between IJ119, a local genitor, and Divona, both in summer and in winter, using several methods: fresh pruning wood weight, exposed leaf area calculated from digital images, leaf chlorophyll concentration, and LiDAR-derived apparent volumes.

Application of high resolution melting combined with DNA-based markers for quantitative analysis of olive oil authenticity and adulteration.

A plethora of biotechnological methodologies is used to authenticate quality olive oils. Among the DNA-based approaches, SNPs and SSRs combined with high resolution melting (HRM) provide certain advantages such as speed, simplicity and reliability. SNP-HRM and SSR-HRM were used for the authentication of monovarietal olive oils as well as the quantification of varietal composition in olive oil DNA admixtures and olive oil blends of two different cultivars.

Operational challenges in delivery of a charity care program for diabetic retinopathy screening in an urban setting.

Introduction: The University of Chicago Medicine (UCM) partners with Chicago Family Health Center (Chicago Family) in the Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Program (DRP), a charity care program to screen uninsured and underinsured patients with diabetes for diabetic retinopathy, which is a leading cause of preventable vision loss in the US. The DRP faced operational challenges throughout its pilot year: a high number of ungradable retinal images, slow turnaround time for reading retinal images and sending results, incomplete referrals, and a high rate of no-shows for diagnostic appointments.

Approach: Chicago Family recalled patients with ungradable images for repeat imaging, and regular training was provided to staff taking the images.

The Complex Trial Protocol (CTP): a new, countermeasure-resistant, accurate, P300-based method for detection of concealed information.

A new P300-based concealed information test is described. A rare probe or frequent irrelevant stimulus appears in the same trial in which a target or nontarget later appears. One response follows the first stimulus and uses the same button press regardless of stimulus type.

Autosomal recessive deficiency of combined pituitary hormones (except ACTH) in a consanguineous Brazilian kindred.

Familial hypopituitarism represents a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder. In a subset of these families, defects in Pit-I, a transcription factor essential for proper pituitary development have been identified as underlying molecular cause. These patients present extreme short stature, GH, PRL and TSH deficiency but intact ACTH, LH and FSH secretion.