1,721,004 research outputs found
FIGURE 2 in Untangling the Evolution of American Wild Grapes: Admixed Species and How to Find Them
No full textFIGURE 2 | (A) The Maximum Likelihood (ML)-tree inferred by TreeMix under the strictly bifurcating model. The scale bar shows ten times the average standard error (s.e.) of the entries in the sample covariance matrix. Drift parameter is shown on the x-axis. (B) Scaled residuals from the fit of the model to the data. Without migration events 91.7% of the variance in relatedness between taxa was explained by the tree. Colors are described in the palette on the right.Published as part of Zecca, Giovanni, Labra, Massimo & Grassi, Fabrizio, 2020, Untangling the Evolution of American Wild Grapes: Admixed Species and How to Find Them, pp. 1-17 in Frontiers in Plant Sciences (1814) 10 on page 6, DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01814, http://zenodo.org/record/788902
Biodiversity and planetary health: a call for integrated action
Full text linkIn the face of escalating biodiversity
loss, the imperative role of comprehensive
research and conservation
strategies has never been more
pressing. The National Biodiversity
Future Centre (NBFC) in Italy
stands at the forefront of tackling
biodiversity loss, pioneering
innovative approaches within the
Mediterranean’s biodiversity hotspot.
In this Correspondence,
we aim
to highlight the pressing need for
synchronised efforts in protecting
our
planet’s biological wealth, which is
fundamental to sustaining life as we
know it
From DNA barcoding to personalized nutrition: the evolution of food traceability
No full textA genuine nutritional product is pivotal for getting proper health benefits and preventing pathologies. However, with the increase in global trading of raw and processed food products, reliable authentication is essential for correct labelling to ensure consumer safety. The use of DNA-based tools has become a prospective solution in the near future to solve this problem. Currently, technologies exploiting DNA polymorphism between species are able to characterize the food composition of pure (DNA barcoding) or multi-species (DNA metabarcoding) food items, and the application of this technology has started entering into food regulations. Here, we provide a brief overview of the history, success, and forthcoming applications of such approaches, while also considering the influence of food on human microbiota and the emerging trends toward the adoption of a ‘personalized nutrition’
Bioactive compounds in legumes: Implications for sustainable nutrition and health in the elderly population
No full text
Potential role of neglected and underutilized plant species in improving women’s empowerment and nutrition in areas of sub-Saharan Africa
No full textTHE PROBLEM OF MISIDENTIFICATION BETWEEN A WILD EDIBLE PLANT AND A POISONOUS ONE: THE CASE OF BORAGE
No full textAt present, in many European countries people is looking for wild edible plants to experience new tastes and
flavors, by following the new trend of being green and environmentally friendly (1). Borago officinalis L.
(borage) is an annual herb originating in the Mediterranean region but naturalized and widely cultivated
throughout most of Europe, traditionally used for culinary and medicinal purposes. Its leaves are mixed in
salads and used as a vegetable in different European countries, such as Germany, Spain, Greece, and Italy
(2), especially in Liguria as a stuff of traditional ravioli and pansoti (3). However, young borage leaves can
be easily confused by inexpert pickers with those of other plants, including poisonous ones, such as
Mandragora autumnalis (mandrake), common in Southern Italy and Sicily, or Digitalis purpurea (foxglove),
in Northern Italy. Patients who turn to Italian Poison Control Centers or Hospital Emergency Rooms after
accidental ingestion of these plants, show anticholinergic symptoms due to unintentional ingestion of the
leaves of mandrake (most commonly) or foxglove (less frequently). In the period 1995-2007, 50 cases of
intoxication by accidental ingestion of mandrake and 6 cases after ingestion of foxglove have been reported
in Italy (1). In the present work we show the pharmacognostic characterization of young leaves from B.
officinalis (Boraginaceae), M. autumnalis (Solanaceae), and D. purpurea (Scrophulariaceae). Micromorphological,
phytochemical and molecular identification techniques were used. Fresh leaf samples were
analyzed by optical and scanning electron microscopy, highlighting main anatomical and histological
features, such as stomata and trichome types and distribution (Fig 1, A-C). DNA barcoding sequences (using
a region of the plastidial RbcL as DNA marker), analyzed using a bioinformatics tool (MEGA v. 7.0),
allowed to determine the intra- and inter-genetic variability (K2P distance) among the three taxa. No genetic
variation was detected within species, while consistent genetic distances were observed among species:
borage vs foxglove K2P = 7.46%, foxglove vs. mandrake K2P = 7.46% and borage vs mandrake K2P =
7.46%. GC-MS analysis of fresh leaves pentane/hexane extract (5:1, v/v) revealed a typical chemical
fingerprint of each plant analyzed and a particularly interesting difference between poisonous and nonpoisonous
plants. In fact, M. autumnalis and D. purpurea leaf extract contain vitamin E, while in B.
officinalis this metabolite is absent. Therefore, the authors conclude that, in this case, the presence of this
metabolite is discriminant among poisonous and edible plants and could be used as a phytochemical marker,
while among the poisonous ones becomes useful analyze the discriminant wax alkanes to differentiate them.
This study provides a multi-disciplinary approach to the problem of misidentification between wild edible
plants and poisonous species. The reported protocols provide fast and reliable determination of species
causing poisoning, allowing a quick management of poisoned patients
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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