Important losses in poplar productivity occur because of susceptibility to microbial pathogens. To enhance disease resistance in susceptible genotypes, the gene coding for D4E1, a synthetic antimicrobial peptide consisting of 17 amino acid residues, was introduced into poplar (Populus tremula L. x Populus alba L.) via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Four kanamycin-resistant transformants...

The Chaitophorinae is a bionomically diverse Holarctic subfamily of Aphididae. The current classification includes two tribes: the Chaitophorini associated with deciduous trees and shrubs, and Siphini that feed on monocotyledonous plants. We present the first phylogenetic hypothesis for the subfamily, based on molecular and morphological datasets. Molecular analyses were based on the mitochondr...

While recent techniques of digital sound synthesis have put numerous new sounds on the musician’s desktop, several artificial-intelligence (AI) techniques have also been applied to algorithmic composition. This article introduces Vox Populi, a system based on evolutionary computation techniques for composing music in real time. In Vox Populi, a population of chords codified according to MIDI pr...

Salicylate-containing herbs have been used as analgesic and anti-inflammatory remedies from ancient times. In this work we performed a comparative HPLC study of salicylic derivatives in three natural products: Salicis cortex, Populi gemmae and Ulmariae folium. We have identified and measured by a new, easy and fast HPLC method both salicylic acid and salicin, before and after acid hydrolysis, i...

Under certain conditions, groups of people may (collectively) make better judgments than experts. Galton connected this phenomenon to the phrase vox populi in a 1907 paper. Arguably, an example of the phenomenon may be found in recent stabilization of the frequency of antidepressant use, following decades of increases. There is no evidence that a change in physi-cian behaviour has caused this s...