0000000000177273
AUTHOR
L. Martorana
Foraging behaviour of a scelionid egg parasitoid exploiting chemical footprints from associated and non-associated host
Chemical footprints deposited by herbivorous pentatomid host bugs hosts when walking on the plant are adsorbed by leaf surfaces and perceived as substrate borne semiochemicals by scelionid egg parasitoids during host selection process. They act as indirect host-related cues, as they are not able to “promise” to parasitoid females the presence of the suitable host stage, but they drive them in the areas where their hosts are potentially present. Once in contact with host chemical footprints, scelionid wasps evidence an innate arrestment response characterized by an intense searching behaviour on host-contaminated areas. Exploiting of these cues allows the parasitoids to optimize their search…
The effects of meta-Topolin and benzyladenine on in vitro organogenesis from epicotyl cuttings of Troyer citrange (Citrus sinensis[L.] Osbeck ×Poncirus trifoliata[L.] Raf.)
Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), worldwide considered as one of the worst disease affecting Citrus plants, produced great changes in citriculture, mainly because it made mandatory the turnover of the sensitive sour orange rootstock with virus resistant ones. Among them, Troyer citrange has become one of the most employed rootstocks, due to its CTV tolerance and to the positive characteristics induced to the scion fruit production. Unfortunately, in Italy, there is a scarcity of seed mother plants. Micropropagation can be a solution for this problem. Among the in vitro techniques allowing the production of good quality true-to-type plants, the regeneration from seedling epicotyl cuttings general…
Leisure-time physical activity for health promotion in elderly: initial evidence from the ‘‘Passiata Day’’ model
Purpose: Falls prevention interventions are a priority for public health systems in order to reduce falls-related high costs. The University Hospital of Palermo promoted the ‘‘Passiata Day’’ model, an initiative of the Department of Geriatrics that provided a 1-h walk for once a week in a park of Palermo. It was guided by a graduate in physical education and a medical doctor. The aim of this study was to evaluate posturographic parameters in a sample of elderly including a group of subjects that had been walking regularly in the ‘‘Passiata Day’’ model for 6 months and a group of sedentary elderly subjects. Methods: A number of 109 older people were recruited at the University Hospital of Pa…