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Background: Flower load in peach is an important determinant of final fruit quality and is subjected to cost-effective agronomical practices, such as the thinning, to finely balance the sink-source relationships within the tree and drive the optimal amount of assimilates to the fruits. Floral transition in peach buds occurs as a result of the integration of specific environmental signals, such as light and temperature, into the endogenous pathways that induce the meristem to pass from vegetative to reproductive growth. The cross talk and integration of the different players, such as the genes and the hormones, are still partially unknown. In the present research, transcriptomics and hormone profiling were applied on bud samples at different developmental stages. A gibberellin treatment was used as a tool to identify the different phases of floral transition and characterize the bud sensitivity to gibberellins in terms of inhibition of floral transition. Results: Treatments with gibberellins showed different efficacies and pointed out a timeframe of maximum inhibition of floral transition in peach buds. Contextually, APETALA1 gene expression was shown to be a reliable marker of gibberellin efficacy in controlling this process. RNA-Seq transcriptomic analyses allowed to identify specific genes dealing with ROS, cell cycle, T6P, floral induction control and other processes, which are correlated with the bud sensitivity to gibberellins and possibly involved in bud development during its transition to the reproductive stage. Transcriptomic data integrated with the quantification of the main bioactive hormones in the bud allowed to identify the main hormonal regulators of floral transition in peach, with a pivotal role played by endogenous gibberellins and cytokinins. Conclusions: The peach bud undergoes different levels of receptivity to gibberellin inhibition. The stage with maximum responsiveness corresponded to a transcriptional and hormonal crossroad, involving both flowering inhibitors and inductors. Endogenous gibberellin levels increased only at the latest developmental stage, when floral transition was already partially achieved, and the bud was less sensitive to exogenous treatments. A physiological model summarizes the main findings and suggests new research ideas to improve our knowledge about floral transition in peach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recessive mutations in the Parkin gene (PRKN) are the most common cause of young-onset inherited parkinsonism. Parkin is a multifunctional E3 ubiquitin ligase that plays a variety of roles in the cell including the degradation of proteins and the maintenance of mitochondrial homeostasis, integrity, and biogenesis. In 2001, the R275W mutation in the PRKN gene was identified in two unrelated families with a multigenerational history of postural tremor, dystonia and parkinsonism. Drosophila models of Parkin R275W showed selective and progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neuronal clusters, mitochondrial abnormalities, and prominent climbing defects. In the Prkn mouse orthologue, the amino acid R274 corresponds to human R275. Here we described an age-related motor impairment and a muscle phenotype in R274W +/+ mice. In vitro, Parkin R274W mutation correlates with abnormal myoblast differentiation, mitochondrial defects, and alteration in mitochondrial mRNA and protein levels. Our data suggest that the Parkin R274W mutation may impact mitochondrial physiology and eventually myoblast proliferation and differentiation. [Display omitted] • Parkin R274W +/+ mice show age-related motor impairment. • Parkin R274W +/+ mice show age-related muscle defects. • Parkin R274W affects mitochondria in myoblasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apples (Malus domestica Borkh.) represent one of the most produced fruits worldwide, along with citrus and bananas. As high quality is an important trait for the consumer, many studies have focused on the research of new techniques to ensure and preserve the optimal organoleptic characteristics of this fruit. However, despite the huge number of studies on recent technological advances dealing with fruit final quality, less research has focused on the physiological aspects of apple development, including a variety of processes triggered after fertilization, such as photosynthesis, assimilation of carbohydrates, cell division, and cell enlargement, which determine apple final quality. In the present review, we summarize some of the most important changes and mechanisms linked to the primary metabolism of apples, as well as the effect of agronomic practices, such as fruit thinning, as key factors to improve apple quality and meet consumer demands, with the aim of amassing available information and suggesting future directions of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, cytological observations in the Rhinology field are being increasingly utilized. This development has taken place over the last two decades and has proven to be fundamental in defining new nosological entities and in driving changes in the previous classification of rhinitis. The simplicity of the technique and its low invasiveness make nasal cytology a practical diagnostic tool for all rhino-allergology services. Furthermore, since it allows the monitoring of responses to treatment, this method plays an important role in guiding a more effective and less expensive diagnostic program. Microscopic observation requires prolonged effort by a specialist, but the modern scanning systems for cytological preparations and the new affordable digital microscopes allow to design a software support system, based on deep learning techniques, to relieve specialist's tiring activity.Basic Procedure: By means of the system presented in this paper, it is possible to automatically identify and classify cells present on a nasal cytological preparation based on a digital image of the preparation itself. Thus, an interesting diagnostic support has been made available to the rhino-cytologist, who can quickly verify that the cells have been correctly classified by the software system: any few unclassified or incorrectly classified cells can be quickly sorted by the specialist itself, then one or more diagnosis can be suggested by this system, taking into consideration also the anamnesis of each patient. The final diagnosis can be defined by the specialist, also based on the result of the prick test and the observation of the nasal cavity.Findings: In the system presented herein, image processing and image segmentation techniques have been used to find images of cellular elements within the preparation. Cell classification is based on a convolutional neural network composed of three blocks of main layers. Cell identification (first step, image segmentation) exhibits sensitivity greater than 97%, while cell classification (second step, seven cytotypes) attained a mean accuracy of approximately 99% on the test set and 94% on the validation set.Conclusions: This complete system supports clinicians in the preparation of a rhino-cytogram report. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analyses of an Energy Storage System (ESS) for grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) systems, in order to harness the energy usually lost due to PV array oversizing. A real case of annual PV power generation analysis is presented to illustrate the existing problem and future solutions. Three PV modeling techniques have been applied to estimate non-measured non-harnessed PV power to provide an ESS energy and power sizing strategy. Moreover, a control strategy to store or release power from the DC-link, without modifying the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) strategy, is presented. The results show an estimation of the annual power loss caused by oversizing the PV array. The ESS sizing strategy gives insight into not only the energy requirements, but also the power requirements of the system. Simulation results show that the proposed ESS control strategy is capable of harnessing the extra power without modifying the existing power converter of the PV plant nor its control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]