Resistance of Some Vitis Rootstocks to Xiphinema index

Thirty-eight grapevine (Vitis spp.) rootstocks were screened in pots for resistance to the dagger nematode, Xiphinema index, from 1979 to 1981. Resistance ratings were based on visible root symptoms and on changes in the nematode populations over 16 months. Nineteen of the 23 Californian hybrid rootstocks tested were resistant, as were ''Harmony'','' ''Freedom,'' ''Schwarzmann,'' and ''3309.'' Two hybrids of V. rufotomentosa, ''171-52'' and ''176-9,'' were possibly immune to X. index. The rootstocks ''ARG 1,'' '' 110 R,'' ''1202,'' and ''1616,'' which are used commercially for phylloxera resistance were susceptible.     

Understanding physicians' response to AIDS.

Attempts to comprehend physicians'' extreme reaction to AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) have met with great difficulty since the disease brings into question traditional norms and assumptions. As the medical profession struggles to develop guidelines and policies to help it deal with this disease, it can draw on very little systematic research on the effect of AIDS on physicians'' attitudes and practices. We suggest a framework developed from the literature on physicians'' and society''s response to other disorders that would provide a basis for organizing the ever-increasing amount of information on physicians and AIDS and would guide systematic research aimed at understanding and predicting physicians'' participation in the prevention and management of AIDS. Within this framework we consider how characteristics of the disease, elements of the health care system and physicians'' attitudes interact to influence clinical and personal practices. AIDS had led to new delineations of physicians'' responsibility, modification of prevailing beliefs about physician autonomy and thus a redefinition of the role of the physician in North America.     

Mucin 1 (MUC1) signalling contributes to increase the resistance to cell death in human bronchial epithelial cells exposed to nickel acetate

We have previously reported that nickel acetate (Ni²⁺), a well-known human carcinogenic agents, differentially affected apoptosis in two different airway epithelial cell lines derived from the human respiratory tract (A549 and Beas-2B, respectively), suggesting a potential involvement of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/Neu receptors in mediating this effect. Since ErbBs are closely associated to Mucin 1 (MUC1), a glycoprotein component of airway mucus that is overexpressed in lung tumors, we have investigated the role of this signaling system in the survival response of airway epithelial cells against Ni²⁺-induced cell death. We found that A549 cells exposed to Ni²⁺ do not show any significant increase of MUC1 levels. Conversely, Beas-2B cells exposed to equivalent concentrations of Ni²⁺ showed increased expression of MUC1 levels and this correlated with increased phosphorylation of both EGFR and of the extracellular-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and increase resistance to apoptosis, as indicated by cell viability assessments and DNA damage. Interestingly, suppression of MUC1 by small interfering RNA inhibited the EGFR activation in Beas-2B cells, leading to a significant decrease of survival and enhancement of DNA fragmentation and cleaved Caspase-3 expression. These results strongly suggest a role for MUC1 in Ni²⁺-induced neoplastic transformation, which likely involves the activation of the EGFR-mediated cell survival pathway, highlighting new avenues in the molecular approach to lung cancer prevention.     

Calcium Nutrition and Resistance of Alfalfa to Ditylenchus dipsaci

Stem nematode-susceptible ''Atlantic'' and resistant ''Lahontan'' alfalfa seedlings, grown in sand and watered with complete nutrient solutions containing 0.75, 1.5, 3.0, 6.0, or 12.0 mM Ca⁺⁺/liter, were inoculated with Ditylenchus dipsaci (the stem nematode) 5-6 days after emergence. Approximately equal numbers of nematodes entered the tissues of each variety/Ca⁺⁺ concentration within 2 days. Penetration was reduced at 12 mM Ca⁺⁺/liter. Reproduction during 21 days following inoculation yielded 3-fold, or greater, nematode increases in ''Atlantic'' buds at all Ca⁺⁺ concentrations, in ''Atlantic'' cotyledons at the four lower concentrations, in ''Lahontan'' buds at the lowest concentration and in ''Lahontan'' cotyledons at the two lowest concentrations. Reproduction was lower at the higher Ca⁺⁺ concentrations.Increased nutrient Ca⁺⁺ concentrations resulted in increased Ca⁺⁺ content, decreased Na⁺ and K⁺ content, and unchanged Mg⁺⁺ content of buds and cotyledons. Accordingly, increased nutrient Ca⁺⁺ resulted in increased divalent/monovalent cation ratios (Ca⁺⁺ + Mg⁺⁺/Na⁺ + K⁺ ). Resistance to reproduction was correlated more closely with the divalent/monovalent cation ratio than with Ca⁺⁺ content of tissue, At the four higher nutrient Ca⁺⁺ concentrations, ''Lahontan'' buds had higher ratios than ''Atlantic,'' and infected buds had higher ratios than noninfected buds. Although cation balance modifies disease expression, the basic resistance mechanism remains unknown.     

A Clinical Index to Predict Progression from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Dementia Due to Alzheimer's Disease

Background

Mild cognitive impairment is often a precursor to dementia due to Alzheimer''s disease, but many patients with mild cognitive impairment never develop dementia. New diagnostic criteria may lead to more patients receiving a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment.

Objective

To develop a prediction index for the 3-year risk of progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia relying only on information that can be readily obtained in most clinical settings.

Design and Participants

382 participants diagnosed with amnestic mild cognitive impairment enrolled in the Alzheimer''s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), a multi-site, longitudinal, observational study.

Main Predictors Measures

Demographics, comorbid conditions, caregiver report of participant symptoms and function, and participant performance on individual items from basic neuropsychological scales.

Main Outcome Measure

Progression to probable Alzheimer''s disease.

Key Results

Subjects had a mean (SD) age of 75 (7) years and 43% progressed to probable Alzheimer''s disease within 3 years. Important independent predictors of progression included being female, resisting help, becoming upset when separated from caregiver, difficulty shopping alone, forgetting appointments, number of words recalled from a 10-word list, orientation and difficulty drawing a clock. The final point score could range from 0 to 16 (mean [SD]: 4.2 [2.9]). The optimism-corrected Harrell''s c-statistic was 0.71(95% CI: 0.68–0.75). Fourteen percent of subjects with low risk scores (0–2 points, n = 124) converted to probable Alzheimer''s disease over 3 years, compared to 51% of those with moderate risk scores (3–8 points, n = 223) and 91% of those with high risk scores (9–16 points, n = 35).

Conclusions

An index using factors that can be obtained in most clinical settings can predict progression from amnestic mild cognitive impairment to probable Alzheimer''s disease and may help clinicians differentiate between mild cognitive impairment patients at low vs. high risk of progression.     

Using Pattern Classification to Measure Adaptation to the Orientation of High Order Aberrations

Background

The image formed by the eye''s optics is blurred by the ocular aberrations, specific to each eye. Recent studies demonstrated that the eye is adapted to the level of blur produced by the high order aberrations (HOA). We examined whether visual coding is also adapted to the orientation of the natural HOA of the eye.

Methods and Findings

Judgments of perceived blur were measured in 5 subjects in a psychophysical procedure inspired by the “Classification Images” technique. Subjects were presented 500 pairs of images, artificially blurred with HOA from 100 real eyes (i.e. different orientations), with total blur level adjusted to match the subject''s natural blur. Subjects selected the image that appeared best focused in each random pair, in a 6-choice ranked response. Images were presented through Adaptive Optics correction of the subject''s aberrations. The images selected as best focused were identified as positive, the other as negative responses. The highest classified positive responses correlated more with the subject''s Point Spread Function, PSF, (r = 0.47 on average) than the negative (r = 0.34) and the difference was significant for all subjects (p<0.02). Using the orientation of the best fitting ellipse of angularly averaged integrated PSF intensities (weighted by the subject''s responses) we found that in 4 subjects the positive PSF response was close to the subject''s natural PSF orientation (within 21 degrees on average) whereas the negative PSF response was almost perpendicularly oriented to the natural PSF (at 76 degrees on average).

Conclusions

The Classification-Images inspired method is very powerful in identifying the internally coded blur of subjects. The consistent bias of the Positive PSFs towards the natural PSF in most subjects indicates that the internal code of blur appears rather specific to each subject''s high order aberrations and reveals that the calibration mechanisms for normalizing blur also operate using orientation cues.     

A method to find palindromes in nucleic acid sequences

Various types of sequences in the human genome are known to play important roles in different aspects of genomic functioning. Among these sequences, palindromic nucleic acid sequences are one such type that have been studied in detail and found to influence a wide variety of genomic characteristics. For a nucleotide sequence to be considered as a palindrome, its complementary strand must read the same in the opposite direction. For example, both the strands i.e the strand going from 5'' to 3'' and its complementary strand from 3'' to 5'' must be complementary. A typical nucleotide palindromic sequence would be TATA (5'' to 3'') and its complimentary sequence from 3'' to 5'' would be ATAT. Thus, a new method has been developed using dynamic programming to fetch the palindromic nucleic acid sequences. The new method uses less memory and thereby it increases the overall speed and efficiency. The proposed method has been tested using the bacterial (3891 KB bases) and human chromosomal sequences (Chr-18: 74366 kb and Chr-Y: 25554 kb) and the computation time for finding the palindromic sequences is in milli seconds.     

The road to Wisconsin

In this article Lynne Sears Williams of Calgary describes her family''s decision to leave for the US, where her husband, Dr. Jim Williams, will pursue his career in family medicine. The decision was not made easily, she writes, but eventually a love for Canada was outweighed by her husband''s desire to practise medicine without the financial and other constraints facing physicians in Canada.     

Relative Susceptibility of Selected Cultivars,of Potato to Pratylenchus penetrans

Pratylenchus penetrans suppressed the tuber yields of potato cultivars ''Katahdin'', ''Kennebec'', and ''Superior'', but did not affect yields of ''Russet Burbank''. In comparison with noninfested controls, all initial nematode densities (P_i) of P. penetrans (P_i = 38, 81, 164, 211/ 100 cm³ of soil) suppressed yields of Superior; a moderate P_i (81/100 cm³ soil) suppressed yields of Kennebec; and on Katahdin, a moderate P_i enhanced yields, but higher P_i''s caused a marked loss. In general, yields were related to the tolerance of the cultivars to nematode colonization. Highest nematode densities were found in the roots of Russet Burbank; the next highest, in succeeding order, were found in roots of Kennebec, Katahdin, and Superior. Symptoms of nematode invasion were confined to losses of tuber yield and root weight.     

I - insulin transfer to mitochondria

The aim of this study was to determine if insulin is transferred to mitoplasts by insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE). Hepatic mitochondria were isolated and controlled by electron microscopy. IDE was obtained from rats muscle by successive chromatography steps. Insulin accumulation in mitoplasts and outer membrane + intermembrane space (OM + IMS) was studied with ¹²⁵I-insulin. Mitochondrial insulin accumulation and degradation was assayed with Sephadex G50 chromatography, insulin antibody and 5 % TCA. Mitoplasts and OM + IMS were isolated with digitonin. Insulin accumulation was studied at 25 °C at different times, without or with IDE, Bacitracin, 2,4-dinitrophenol, apyrase or sodium succinate + adenosine diphosphate. Insulin accumulation in mitoplasts and OM + IMS after mitochondrial cross-linking was studied with electrophoresis in SDS-PAGE, immunoblots of IDE, insulin or TIM23 (inner mitochondrial transporter) and autoradiography. The studies showed that addition of IDE increased insulin transfer from OM + IMS to mitoplasts, and the insulin accumulation in mitoplast was IDE dependent. Bacitracin and 2,4-dinitrophenol decreased this transfer. The [Insulin-IDE] complex and [Mitoplasts] was studied as a bimolecular reaction following a second order reaction. The constant “k” (liter.mol^?1 s^?1) showed that IDE increased and Bacitracin or 2,4-dinitrophenol decreased the velocity of insulin transfer. SDS-PAGE and immunoblots studies showed bands and radioactivity coincident with IDE, insulin and TIM23. Non degraded insulin was demonstrated in immunoblot after IDE immunoprecipitation from mitoplasts. Confocal studies showed mitochondrial colocalization of IDE and insulin. The results showed that insulin at 25 °C were transferred from OM + IMS to mitoplasts by IDE or that the enzyme facilitates this transfer, and they reach the matrix together.     

Conditional targeting of MAD1 to kinetochores is sufficient to reactivate the spindle assembly checkpoint in metaphase

Fidelity of chromosome segregation is monitored by the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). Key components of the SAC include MAD1, MAD2, BUB1, BUB3, BUBR1, and MPS1. These proteins accumulate on kinetochores in early prometaphase but are displaced when chromosomes attach to microtubules and/or biorient on the mitotic spindle. As a result, stable attachment of the final chromosome satisfies the SAC, permitting activation of the anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) and subsequent anaphase onset. SAC satisfaction is reversible, however, as addition of taxol during metaphase stops cyclin B1 degradation by the APC/C. We now show that targeting MAD1 to kinetochores during metaphase is sufficient to reestablish SAC activity after initial silencing. Using rapamycin-induced heterodimerization of FKBP-MAD1 to FRB-MIS12 and live monitoring of cyclin B1 degradation, we show that timed relocalization of MAD1 during metaphase can stop cyclin B1 degradation without affecting chromosome-spindle attachments. APC/C inhibition represented true SAC reactivation, as FKBP-MAD1 required an intact MAD2-interaction motif and MPS1 activity to accomplish this. Our data show that MAD1 kinetochore localization dictates SAC activity and imply that SAC regulatory mechanisms downstream of MAD1 remain functional in metaphase.     

Plant genomics: from weed to wheat

A report on the first ''Plant Genomics Congress'' meeting, held in London, UK, 12-13 May 2013.     

New approaches to measuring nausea

Valid measures of nausea are needed to evaluate the various treatments used to counter the nausea produced by chemotherapy. The overall nausea intensity (ONI) produced by 17 chemotherapy drugs was estimated by 17 physicians and 8 nurses, and 25 patients undergoing chemotherapy described the subjective qualities and ONI of their nausea on a modified form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire. The scores for the affective and miscellaneous categories of words in the questionnaire were found to correlate significantly with the physicians'' and nurses'' ONI estimates. The results formed the basis for the Nausea Questionnaire, which provided three indices of nausea: a nausea rating index (NRI), ONI and intensity of nausea according to a visual analogue scale (VAS). All three indices correlated significantly with the physicians'' and nurses'' ONI estimates and were significantly intercorrelated. All three also provided significant differences when the scores of patients who had received cisplatin or 5-fluorouracil were compared. The results indicate that the Nausea Questionnaire provides three valid indices of the subjective experience of nausea.     

Using Manipulated Photographs to Identify Features of Streetscapes That May Encourage Older Adults to Walk for Transport

Experimental evidence of environmental features important for physical activity is challenging to procure in real world settings. The current study aimed to investigate the causal effects of environmental modifications on a photographed street''s appeal for older adults'' walking for transport. Secondly, we examined whether these effects differed according to gender, functional limitations, and current level of walking for transport. Thirdly, we examined whether different environmental modifications interacted with each other. Qualitative responses were also reported to gain deeper insight into the observed quantitative relationships. Two sets of 16 panoramic photographs of a streetscape were created, in which six environmental factors were manipulated (sidewalk evenness, traffic level, general upkeep, vegetation, separation from traffic, and benches). Sixty older adults sorted these photographs on appeal for walking for transport on a 7-point scale and reported qualitative information on the reasons for their rankings. Sidewalk evenness appeared to have the strongest influence on a street''s appeal for transport-related walking. The effect of sidewalk evenness was even stronger when the street''s overall upkeep was good and when traffic was absent. Absence of traffic, presence of vegetation, and separation from traffic also increased a street''s appeal for walking for transport. There were no moderating effects by gender or functional limitations. The presence of benches increased the streetscape''s appeal among participants who already walked for transport at least an hour/week. The protocols and methods used in the current study carry the potential to further our understanding of environment-PA relationships. Our findings indicated sidewalk evenness as the most important environmental factor influencing a street''s appeal for walking for transport among older adults. However, future research in larger samples and in real-life settings is needed to confirm current findings.     

Legal obligation of physicians to disclose information to patients.

Obtaining a patient''s consent is a routine daily process for physicians, although many are unaware of the scope of this legal obligation. In 1980 the Supreme Court of Canada changed the law relating to informed consent; promotion of patient autonomy shifted the focus from a standard of professional disclosure to one of a "reasonable patient." Physicians have a legal obligation to disclose to patients specific information, the scope of which is determined by a court on the basis of a reasonable patient''s expectation and the circumstances of the case. This gives rise to many controversies in the practice of clinical medicine. It is difficult for physicians to know which treatment risks require disclosure, since this is decided by a court in a retrospective analysis of the evidence. Will the court recognize exceptions to the duty of disclosing information? If several health care professionals are involved in a patient''s care who has the duty to disclose information? Can this duty be delegated? This paper provides physicians with guidelines that are consistent with the promotion of patient autonomy and comply with the doctrine of informed consent. In addition, it suggests ways of improving awareness of the doctrine and procedures to ease its application.     

Nature of Sweet Potato Resistance to Meloidogyne incognita and the Effects of Temperature on Parasitism

Penetration, rate of development, and total population of Meloidogyne incognita in roots of susceptible ''Allgold'' and resistant ''Nemagold'' sweet potatoes increased with temperature 24-32 C. Rate of larval penetration in ''Allgold'' was significantly higher than in ''Nemagold'' after 48 hr of root exposure at 24, 28, and 32 C. At 24, 28, and 32 C (16 hr) day and 20 C (8 hr) night temperature the life cycle of M. incognita required 42, 32, and 28 days in ''Allgold'', and 44, 33, and 31 days in ''Nemagold''; mature females in the first generation were 40, 40, 40, and 10, 22, 20 respectively. The correlation between the length of time roots were allowed to grow in the soil prior to inoculation and number of larvae recovered from the roots after inoculation was positive for ''Allgold'' and negative for ''Nemagold''. Therefore, a root exudate repellent to M. incognita larvae is proposed as a hypothetical basis for resistance to M. incognita in sweet potatoes.     

The Relationship of Meloidogyne incognita acrita to the Incidence of Cabbage Yellows

Three inoculum level combinations of Meloidogyne incognita acrita and Fusariurn oxysporurn f. conglutinans did not affect the incidence of cabbage yellows in the moderately-resistant ''Greenback'' or the highly-resistant ''Marion Market'' varieties. The susceptible ''Early Round Dutch'' variety was more susceptible to low levels of fungus inoculum in the presence of the nematode.     

Mitofusin 2 deficiency leads to oxidative stress that contributes to insulin resistance in rat skeletal muscle cells

Mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) is a dynamin-like protein anchored in the outer mitochondrial membrane that plays a crucial role in ensuring optimal mitochondrial morphological homeostasis. It has been shown that reduced expression of Mfn2 is associated with insulin resistance, but the mechanism is still unclear. We investigated whether Mfn2 deficiency leads to impaired insulin sensitivity via elevated oxidative stress. L6 skeletal muscle cells were treated with palmitate and Mfn2 expression was repressed by transfection with antisense Mfn2. Levels of antioxidant enzymes, reactive oxygen species (ROS), the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and the mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψ_m) were measured. The results showed palmitate-induced insulin resistance of skeletal muscle cells was accompanied by Mfn2 repression. Meanwhile, the cells had decreased Δψ_m and activity of antioxidant enzymes which could increase production of ROS, phosphorylation of JNK and NF-κB. When Mfn2 was up-regulated in palmitate-treated cells, oxidative stress and insulin resistance was alleviated. Furthermore, knock-down of Mfn2 in control cells enhanced oxidative stress. Mfn2 deficiency led to increased superoxide concentration and activation of JNK as well as NF-κB associated with insulin signaling. In conclusion, Mfn2 is a potent repressor for oxidative stress and regulation of Mfn2 expression may prove to be a potential method to circumvent insulin resistance.     

中国征收碳税应对碳关税的经济分析——以美国为例

碳税和碳关税作为一种价格调整机制,长期而言会对经济系统中各主体产生较强的约束力。通过GTAP-E模型的模拟分析,得出以下结论:在目前的发展阶段,碳关税并非有效的低碳经济发展政策,尤其是美国对中国征收碳关税对降低世界碳排放量的影响有限;美国针对中国采取的碳关税政策将在一定程度上对我国出口贸易产生负向影响,尤其是对中国的高碳产业影响较大;当中美采取相同的碳税政策时,碳税的征收对中国GDP造成较大的负面影响,且中国自主采取节能减排方案不足以应对美国碳关税的负面效应;而当两者采取差异化政策时,中国主动采取节能减排行动可以有效应对美国碳关税的威胁。     

Purchasing for all: an alternative to fundholding.

OBJECTIVE--To evaluate general practitioner participation in a district health authority''s purchasing work. DESIGN--Questionnaire study of 131 Hackney general practitioners and 33 senior health service managers; review of the minutes of 28 meetings of the Hackney General Practitioners'' Forum and the contract between City and Hackney Health Authority and the St Bartholomew''s NHS Trust. SETTING--Hackney General Practitioners'' Forum. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--General practitioners'' and managers'' perceptions of how representative and effective the general practitioners'' forum is; proportion of new quality targets and service developments contributed by general practitioners; main issues discussed by the forum and impact on district health authority policy. RESULTS--99 (76%) general practitioners and 27 (82%) managers responded. Both groups perceived the forum as representative. 92% (24/26) of the managers thought the forum was effective but only 74% (70/95) of general practitioners did so, largely because some doubted that the forum was listened to 75% (103/138) of quality targets and 55% (16/29) of service developments planned in the 1993-4 contract were contributed by general practitioners. They also lobbied successfully for more resources for urology and community mental health services. CONCLUSIONS--Input into commissioning via a general practitioners'' forum can be both representative and effective. General practitioners need to work closely to achieve a consensus and those involved need administrative support. The relation between general practice and public health medicine needs to be strengthened.