Critical determinants of the optimum level of virulence in pathogens include the presence of competitors (i.e., multiple infections), their relatedness, and the effect of competitors on pathogen growth and disease development. Empirical data regarding the existence of competitive interactions and their impact on virulence remain very limited compared to theoretical studies. Here, we followed an...

Silene ciliata Pourr. (Caryophyllaceae) is a species with a highly disjunct distribution which inhabits the alpine mountains of the Mediterranean Basin. We investigated the phylogeny and phylogeography of the species to (a) clarify the long-suggested division of S. ciliata into two subspecies, (b) evaluate its phylogenetic origin and (c) assess whether the species' diversification patterns were...

The taxonomy of the closely related Silene capraria, S. neglecta and S. nocturna in Italy is investigated, by means of morphometric and karyological analyses. The chromosome numbers of S. capraria and S. neglecta (both diploid with 2n = 24) are here reported for the first time. On the basis of the morphological results, we propose the species rank for S. neglecta, and to consider S. capraria as...

Alpine plants often appear to have long life-spans as an adaptation to harsh and unpredictable environmental conditions, yet many lack reliable indicators of age that would make it possible to determine their true longevity. Their extended life-spans also pose problems for measuring lifetime reproductive success, a key component of breeding system evolution in species such as the gynodioecious ...

Tests of selective neutrality based on comparative and population genetic data target different time scales of selection. Investigating both time scales on the same genes has rarely been done and yet can provide insights into histories of selection. In pathogens, such a comparison can elucidate whether the same genes experience recurrent positive selection across specialization events onto nove...

Resistance to systemic diseases is often difficult to measure quantitatively because individuals can be scored only as either diseased or healthy. A technique is described for cloning individuals of Silene vulgaris plants using the tissue culture of seedling meristems. Inoculation of such clonally replicated genotypes within two families shows that segregation of resistance to anther-smut disea...

In this lecture, the early history of asymptotic freedom is discussed. The first completely correct derivation of β0 in non-abelian gauge theory (Khriplovich, 1969) was done in the Coulomb gauge; this derivation is reproduced (in modernized terms) in Sect. 2. A qualitative physical explanation of asymptotic freedom via chromomagnetic properties of vacuum (Nielsen, 1981) is discussed in Sect. 3.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are hollow, long cylinders with extremely large aspect ratios, made of one atomic sheet of carbon atoms in a honeycomb lattice. They possess extraordinary thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties and are considered as one of the most promising nanomaterials for applications and basic research. This chapter describes the structural, electronic, vibra...