The management of forest ecosystems is inextricably related to the evolution of climate change due to the strong interaction between them. According to this assumption, sweet chestnut forest management strategies as well as carbon estimation are analyzed in terms of adaptation to climate change and reducing the adverse effects of climate change. Along with the management of sweet chestnut forests and the way it affects or is affected by the phenomenon of climate change in the European area, dendrochronology and genetic diversion are two crucial aspects whose interaction with the climate change is studied in this work. The contribution of chestnut dendrochronology to the study of climate changes and environmental ecology, referred to recent and distant past periods, is investigated through the latest literature. The information obtained by dendrochronological assessments can be potentially used in predicting the future effects of the climate change phenomenon which is ongoing nowadays. Additionally, as genetic diversity serves as a way for populations to adapt to changing environments, some data regarding the genetic diversity of chestnut, which have derived from recent scientific publications, are presented in this paper.

In the present study we investigated whether the single‐strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) method could be employed to identify (rather than simply detect) the four most common β‐globin gene mutations in the Greek population: IVS‐I‐110, Cd39, IVS‐I‐1, and IVS‐I‐6. Using DNA from 50 β‐thalassemic patients and carriers, we amplified by PCR the appropriate 238‐bp region of the human β‐globin gene, analyzed the reaction products by nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and visualized the bands by silver staining. Single‐stranded DNA (ssDNA) fragments showed a reproducible pattern of bands that was characteristic of the mutations present. With the use of control samples containing six of the 10 possible combinations of the four most common β‐globin gene mutations, we were able to predict the mutations present in a quarter of the patients studied. Our predictions were confirmed independently by the amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) method. We conclude that this non‐radioactive PCR‐SSCP method can be used to reliably identify mutations in patients, provided that suitable controls are available. Moreover, the method is easy to apply to the identification of mutations in carriers, which makes it particularly useful for population screening. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 20:1–7, 2006.

Measurements of several mechanical and physical properties were carried out to detect possible variations between ring shaken and non-ring shaken logs or between different areas of wood from the same log (i.e., ring shaken log). Mature wood from the ring shake area had lower axial compression and hardness strength compared to mature wood away from ring shakes. Wood from ring shakes area had lower tangential swelling and precisely at the position of the shakes, the wood had a higher coefficient of anisotropy than the surrounding wood. The juvenile wood’s density from the ring shaken logs was higher compared to that of mature wood, as well as proportional limit and hardness strength. From comparisons between ring shaken and non-ring shaken log properties, the following results were determined: mature wood from any area (independent of the presence of shakes) of ring shaken logs had lower Modulus of Rupture, proportional limits, modulus of elasticity under static bending, axial compression, toughness, and ha... On a effectué différentes mesures des propriétés mécaniques et physiques afin de tenter de trouver des différences entre les billes avec des roulures et celles qui n’en avaient pas de même qu’entre le bois pris à différents endroits sur la même bille (sur une bille avec des roulures). Le bois mature d’une partie affectée par la roulure montrait un niveau résistance axiale à la compression et une dureté inférieures à ceux du bois mature loin des zones de roulure. Le bois des zones roulées présentait un moins grand gonflement tangentiel et, au site de la roulure, le bois avait un plus fort coefficient d’anisotropie que le bois environnant. La densité du bois juvénile des billes roulées avait une densité supérieure à celle du bois mûr et une résistance à la rupture et une dureté proportionnelle. La comparaison des bois provenant de billes roulées et non roulées nous permet d’en arriver aux conclusions suivantes : le bois mûr, peu importe d’où il venait (indépendamment de la présence de roulures) sur les bill...