3,134 publications from this institution
We studied sequence variation in 16S rDNA in 204 individuals from 37 populations of the land snail Candidula unifasciata (Poiret 1801) across the core species range in France, Switzerland, and Germany. Phylogeographic, nested clade, and coalescence analyses were used to elucidate the species evolutionary history. The study revealed the presence of two major evolutionary lineages that evolved in separate refuges in southeast France as result of previous fragmentation during the Pleistocene. Applying a recent extension of the nested clade analysis (Templeton 2001), we inferred that range expansions along river valleys in independent corridors to the north led eventually to a secondary contact zone of the major clades around the Geneva Basin. There is evidence supporting the idea that the formation of the secondary contact zone and the colonization of Germany might be postglacial events. The phylogeographic history inferred for C. unifasciata differs from general biogeographic patterns of postglacial colonization previously identified for other taxa, and it might represent a common model for species with restricted dispersal.
We review the available tools for analysing genetic diversity in conservation programmes of subdivided populations. Ways for establishing conservation priorities have been developed in the context of livestock populations, both from the classical population genetic analysis and from the more recent Weitzman's approach. We discuss different reasons to emphasize either within or between-population variation in conservation decisions and the methodology to establish some compromise. The comparison between neutral and quantitative variation is reviewed from both theoretical and empirical points of view, and the different procedures for the dynamic management of conserved subdivided populations are discussed.
Flavonoids are a large and diverse group of polyphenolic compounds with antioxidant effects. While the flavonoid content and composition profile clearly reflect the genetic background of the cultivar, environmental conditions and agronomic practices are also determinants for the composition of crops at harvest. Considerable research has been directed toward understanding the nature of polyphenols in different products and the factors influencing their accumulation. This review examines the flavonoids as a class of compounds, the role these compounds play in the plant, their contributions to product quality, and recent research on the impacts of environmental factors and cultural practices on flavonoid content in onions, highlighting how this knowledge may be used to modulate their polyphenolic composition at harvest or during post-harvest handling.
Objectives: Target organ damage and cardiovascular risk are more closely associated with ambulatory (ABPM) than with clinic blood pressure (BP). Moreover, it has been suggested that nighttime BP is a better predictor of risk than daytime or 24 h BP. All previous trials on the prognostic value of ABPM have relied only on a single baseline profile from each participant, without accounting for changes in BP during follow-up. We have compared to prognostic value of ABPM and clinic BP in the MAPEC study, where participants were systematically evaluated by repeated ABPM. Methods: This prospective study investigated 3344 subjects (1718 men), 52.6 ± 14.5 years of age. At baseline, BP was measured every 20-min from 07:00 to 23:00 h and every 30-min at night for 48 h. Just before starting ABPM, six clinic BP measurements were obtained with a validated oscillometric device. ABPM was scheduled yearly or more frequently (quarterly) if treatment adjustment was required. The Cox proportional-hazard model was used to estimate relative risks of cardiovascular events associated to clinic and ambulatory BP. Results: After a median follow-up time of 5.6 years, ambulatory BP predicted outcome better than clinic BP. Moreover, the asleep BP mean was consistently a stronger predictor than the awake or 24 h BP mean. Based on the baseline ABPM, with adjustment for gender, age, diabetes, antihypertensive treatment, and clinic BP, the relative hazard ratio (HR) for each 10-mmHg increase in systolic BP was 1.18 (1.09–1.28; P < 0.001) for awake mean and 1.29 (1.21–1.37; P < 0.001) for asleep mean. Cardiovascular morbidity was even more strongly associated with systolic asleep BP when data were analyzed on the basis of the ABPM profile closer to the event (1.30, 1.23–1.38, P < 0.001). Conclusions: ABPM is superior to clinic BP in predicting cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. After adjustment for relevant confounding risk factors, the asleep BP mean provides higher prognostic value than awake BP mean. Results further indicate that decreasing asleep BP reduces cardiovascular risk beyond 24h-mean BP lowering.
