Quality of Living Perceived of the Young People of the Vale do Sinos / RS/Brazil

The objective of this study was to identify the Quality of Life level of young people from Vale do Sinos / RS. The methodology was observational, descriptive and transversal. The sample had 391 young people. The data collection instruments were the WHOQOL-Bref and a socioeconomic questionnaire. Resulting in a total average score of 52.37 points, the highest for the Social Relations Domain and the lowest for the Environment. When compared to the variables "Sex", "Income" and "Age", the one with the highest statistically significant association among the domains was "Income", followed by "Sex" and "Age". It was concluded that the QoL of young people is smaller when compared with other studies, being relevant investments in public policies

Comparative analysis of methods for estimating genetic parameters of fruit-quality traits in apple breeding program

Apples, originating from Central Asia, are widely cultivated worldwide, with China producing 47.6 million tonnes annually. Despite their global importance, breeding programs often focus on a limited number of high-quality cultivars, potentially threatening genetic diversity. To mitigate this risk, advanced statistical methods could be employed to improve selection strategies. For example, the multi-trait BLUP method, which accounts for genetic correlations among traits, can reduce selection bias but increases computational complexity due to the model’s intricacy and slow convergence of the REML process. Bayesian methods, like Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), offer a solution to these challenges. This study compares single-trait and multi-trait approaches using REML/BLUP and MCMC/BLUP to estimate variance components and predict genetic values. Over two seasons, phenotypic data from 304 seedlings and 16 parents were analyzed using an animal model to predict their genetic values related to fruit quality traits. Significant progress was made in estimating genetic parameters and selecting parents for traits such as fruit weight, flesh firmness, and soluble solids content in the University of Udine’s apple breeding program. The multi-trait BLUP method improved the accuracy of predicted breeding values, particularly for fruit weight, polar diameter, flesh firmness, and soluble solids content. The multivariate repeated measures model, despite low correlations between some trait pairs, was recommended for integrating multi-season results and accounting for trait correlations. The Bayesian MCMC approach proved superior in genetic evaluations, offering higher heritabilities and genetic gains compared to Fisherian methods (REML). It effectively handles small sample sizes, captures more genetic variance, and enhances breeding value predictions, recommending traits like fruit size, firmness, and sweetness for selecting superior parents

Floristic changes of vascular flora in the city of Rome through grid-cell census over 23 years

Cities are considered important areas for biodiversity and host a high plant species richness. However, many factors, such as urbanisation or changes in land use, can affect the presence of spontaneous flora and, consequently, represent a threat for biodiversity. How species respond to these factors of change in cities over time is a relevant and current issue and spatiotemporal analyses represent an essential step forward to better understand these dynamic systems and to fill gaps of knowledge. In this paper we present a comparison between a floristic survey carried out in 1995 on a grid-cell for the city of Rome and a new survey, performed between 2015 and 2018, in order to verify if the species composition significantly changed over time and to which drivers this change was related to. For 76 grid-cells of the raster, each of which of 1.6 km(2), we recorded all spontaneous vascular species. We analysed the differences between the two surveys by means of statistical tests on species richness, by species turnover, by generalised linear models (GLMs) and by Ellenberg indicator values. The patterns of species richness are similar between the two surveys, although an increase in the number of species per grid-cell, on average, was observed. This increase regarded both native and alien richness, with significant differences only for aliens. Many species significantly reduced or increased their frequencies, comparing the two surveys. A set of environmental variables, among which the presence of protected areas, are relevant for explaining the pattern of species' frequencies and its change over time. Our results suggest that the flora of the city, notwithstanding the steady human pressure and the increase in alien species, maintained a high level of heterogeneity

Pyramiding resistance genes and widening the genetic base of the apple (Malus 7 domestica Borkh.) crop

Apple breeding is active worldwide and yet the apple crop is in a precarious state as it relies on few dominant cultivars and only the Rvi6 (formerly Vf) gene, that confers resistance to scab, has been extensively exploited in the cultivars entered the market in recent years. However, there are some 20 disease resistance genes described in apple and the apple germplasm includes thousands of accessions in the repositories. In this paper, a breeding programme is described, whereby 36 genotypes, including ancient and contemporary apple cultivars, were crossed to produce a new set of selections that combine extensive genetic resources with pyramided resistance genes to several apple diseases, such as scab and powdery mildew. The 110 cross combinations carried out successfully, of the 260 initially planned, produced 7,876 offsprings, reduced to 2,969 after screening with molecular markers associated with five resistance genes. Selections with three or two resistance genes and good agronomic characteristics were kept for further field observations with the aims of creating new cultivars for the market and new parents for future breeding projects

Targeted mutagenesis of the female-suppressor sygi gene in tetraploid kiwifruit by crispr/cas9

Kiwifruit belong to the genus Actinidia with 54 species apparently all functionally dioecious. The sex-determinants of the type XX/XY, with male heterogametic, operate independently of the ploidy level. Recently, the SyGI protein has been described as the suppressor of female development. In the present study, we exploited the CRISPR/Cas9 technology by targeting two different sites in the SyGI gene in order to induce a stable gene knock-out in two tetraploid male accessions of Actinidia chinensis var. chinensis. The two genotypes showed a regenerative efficiency of 58% and 73%, respectively. Despite not yet being able to verify the phenotypic effects on the flower structure, due to the long time required by tissue-cultured kiwifruit plants to flower, we obtained two regenerated lines showing near fixation of a unique modification in their genome, resulting in both cases in the onset of a premature stop codon, which induces the putative gene knock-out. Evaluation of gRNA1 locus for both regenerated plantlets resulted in co-amplification of a minor variant differing from the target region for a single nucleotide. A genomic duplication of the region in proximity of the Y genomic region could be postulated

Grapevine fingerprinting using microsatellite repeats

Five different microsatellite loci have been amplified through PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) in order to find polymorphisms useful for identification of 16 cvs and 42 clones or populations of Vitis vinifera L. No genetic variability was detected among clones and populations. Ail the cultivars have been identified, except those derived from bud mutations involving the colour of the berries, as the Pinot group (P. noir, P. blanc, P. gris), or those thought to be closely correlated or synonymous, such as 'Refosco di Faedis' and 'Refoscone'. One locus (VVS2) showed a high polymorphism with 12 alleles detected on high resolution agarose gel

Simulations reveal climate and legacy effects underlying regional beta diversity in alpine vegetation

This work was supported by US National Science Foundation award 1853665 to GM, by funding from LifeWatchPLUS (CIR-01_00028) to RT, and from the Marie Curie Clarín-COFUND programme of the Principality of Asturias-EU (ACB17-26) and Spain’s Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI/10.13039/501100011033) to BJ-A. The funders supported independent research

Area, environmental heterogeneity, scale and the conservation of alpine diversity

This research was supported by: US NSF award 1853665 to GPM; ongoing support of RT has been provided by LifeWatch Italy through the project LifeWatchPLUS (CIR- 01_00028), and by the following grants to BJ-A: Gobierno del Principado de Asturias IDI/2018/000151, Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovación AEI/10.13039/501100011033, and Clarín COFUND ACB17-26