Phenological stages and degree days of oil palm crosses grown under irrigation in tropical conditions

Studies on phenology and growing degree days (GDD) of four oil palm crosses, that is, Palode, Deli × Nigeria, United Plantations and Deli × Ghana were conducted in India under tropical conditions. Observations were recorded in adult oil palms over a period of 1.5 years from visual opening of spear leaf to development of female flower till harvest. Biologische Bundesantalt, Bundessortenamt and Chemische Industrie (BBCH) General Scale was used for conducting various phenological growth stages. The GDD from development of spear leaf to maturity in the different crosses varied between 6,320.2 and 6,937.3. The degree days and duration from development of spear leaf to maturity were less in the crosses of United Plantations. The time taken for spear leaf unfolding to maturity and flower opening to maturity in the different crosses, respectively, varied from 447.9 to 485.2 days and 145.8 to 153.7 days. The study gives an insight in evaluating thermal time for achieving various phenophases in oil palm and genotypic variations of time taken in attaining the different phenophases that have been documented. Climatic and yield prediction models can also be evolved through these studies.     

Outcomes for patients with the same disease treated inside and outside of randomized trials: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:

It is unclear whether participation in a randomized controlled trial (RCT), irrespective of assigned treatment, is harmful or beneficial to participants. We compared outcomes for patients with the same diagnoses who did (“insiders”) and did not (“outsiders”) enter RCTs, without regard to the specific therapies received for their respective diagnoses.

Methods:

By searching the MEDLINE (1966–2010), Embase (1980–2010), CENTRAL (1960–2010) and PsycINFO (1880–2010) databases, we identified 147 studies that reported the health outcomes of “insiders” and a group of parallel or consecutive “outsiders” within the same time period. We prepared a narrative review and, as appropriate, meta-analyses of patients’ outcomes.

Results:

We found no clinically or statistically significant differences in outcomes between “insiders” and “outsiders” in the 23 studies in which the experimental intervention was ineffective (standard mean difference in continuous outcomes −0.03, 95% confidence interval [CI] −0.1 to 0.04) or in the 7 studies in which the experimental intervention was effective and was received by both “insiders” and “outsiders” (mean difference 0.04, 95% CI −0.04 to 0.13). However, in 9 studies in which an effective intervention was received only by “insiders,” the “outsiders” experienced significantly worse health outcomes (mean difference −0.36, 95% CI −0.61 to −0.12).

Interpretation:

We found no evidence to support clinically important overall harm or benefit arising from participation in RCTs. This conclusion refutes earlier claims that trial participants are at increased risk of harm.When people are asked to participate in a randomized controlled trial (RCT), it is natural for them to ask several questions in return. How safe are these treatments? How many extra visits and tests must I undergo? Will the researchers keep my family doctor informed about what’s going on? What outcomes are to be measured, and do they include ones that are of interest to me as a patient?These multiple questions can be summarized as follows: Would I fare better being treated within the trial (as an “insider”) or in routine clinical care outside it (as an “outsider”)? Patients may ask this question in 1 of 2 ways. The first is highly specific: “Am I better off receiving this specific treatment as an insider or as an outsider?” Alternatively, they might ask a more general question: “Am I better off having my illness managed, regardless of the specific treatment I would receive, as an insider or as an outsider?” These questions are highly appropriate, and both deserve to be asked and answered,^1,2 especially given that nonsystematic reviews have suggested a possible “inclusion benefit” from participating in trials.³These 2 specific patient questions are analogous to those posed by researchers asking whether treatments do more good than harm when applied under “ideal” circumstances (in explanatory trials) or in the “real world” of routine health care (in pragmatic trials). Vist and colleagues answered the explanatory question when their earlier review⁴ found no advantage or disadvantage from receiving the same treatment inside or outside an RCT. Left unanswered, however, was the broader, more pragmatic question. In our experience, trial participants are often offered new, as-yet-untested treatments that would not be available to them outside the trial. This review looks at the dilemma faced by these patients, which needs to be addressed before general conclusions can be drawn about trial safety.     

Occult Renal Cell Carcinoma Manifesting as Nasal Mass and Epistaxis

Metastasis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) to the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses is rare, with fewer than 50 cases described in the literature. Nasal metastasis as the initial presentation of RCC is even rarer. Metastases to the nasal cavity usually represent advanced disease with poor outcome. The authors report a case of metastatic RCC presenting with right nasal cavity mass and epistaxis, followed by a brief review of the relevant literature.Key words: Renal cell carcinoma, Nasal metastasis, EpistaxisRenal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for approximately 85% of primary renal tumors, and represents approximately 3% of all adult malignancies.¹ Usual sites of metastasis include lungs (75%), regional lymph nodes (65%), bone (40%), liver (40%), and brain (5%).² Metastasis to the nasal cavity is an extremely rare occurrence, with fewer than 50 cases reported,^3,4 although RCC is the most common infraclavicular primary tumor that metastasizes to the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses.⁵ We describe a case of occult clear-cell RCC that presented with epistaxis due to nasal cavity metastasis.     

Enhanced Interaction of Shuffled Mutacin IV,an Antimicrobial Peptide of Bacterial Origin,with Surface Protein IsdB of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Staphylococcus aureus</Emphasis>

Antimicrobial peptides are produced by prokaryotes and eukaryotes with fundamental role of protection against pathogenic microbes. Staphylococcus aureus, a major virulent pathogen in humans, shows multiple drug resistance and is affected by the bacteriocin activity of Mutacin IV. Currently, peptide therapeutics has been reported as a potential alternative for treating microbial infections specially exhibiting multiple drug resistance. However, the mechanism of action and interaction of peptides with target proteins is not known. The current work is an attempt to address the above issue by performing molecular docking and randomization experiments. In this study, antimicrobial peptides of bacterial origin (168 peptides) were collected from APD2 database and their net charge and hydrophobicity values were retrieved. Mutacin IV (APD Id—AP01174), a 44 amino acids long peptide derived from Streptococcus mutans UA140, was selected on the basis of high hydrophobicity to net charge ratio (0.52) and used for in silico docking studies with therapeutically important surface proteins viz. IsdA, IsdB, ClfB, and SasG of S. aureus using ZDOCK server. The docking result of IsdB surface protein and Mutacin IV was found better (ZDOCK score 1168.582) as compared to others. Afterwards, the native Mutacin IV sequence was randomized to generate 50 new combinations using EMBOSS (Shuffleseq) tool. The new sequence of Mutacin IV was screened on the basis of high in vivo to in vitro aggregation ratio (i.e. high in vivo aggregation and low in vitro aggregation values) and good binding energies against IsdB surface protein of S. aureus from the randomized sequences. The new peptide sequence showed an in vivo to in vitro aggregation ratio of 2.206 and 0.888, respectively which is higher than native sequence of Mutacin IV ratio (0.205). Moreover, the ZDOCK scores were found to be 1370.529 and 1687.048 which were better than the native sequence of Mutacin IV (ZDOCK score 1168.582). This research work identifies the new sequence of Mutacin IV peptide which binds effectively to the surface proteins of S. aureus and thereby could be a better peptide than native Mutacin IV. Our finding also demonstrates enhanced interactions of new Mutacin IV peptide with IsdB surface protein to understand the structural implications and proposes its effective antimicrobial role against S. aureus.     

Biodegradation of Methyl Orange by alginate-immobilized Aeromonas sp. in a packed bed reactor: external mass transfer modeling

Azo dyes are recalcitrant and xenobiotic nature makes these compounds a challenging task for continuous biodegradation up to satisfactorily levels in large-scale. In the present report, the biodegradation efficiency of alginate immobilized indigenous Aeromonas sp. MNK1 on Methyl Orange (MO) in a packed bed reactor was explored. The experimental results were used to determine the external mass transfer model. Complete MO degradation and COD removal were observed at 0.20 cm bead size and 120 ml/h flow rate at 300 mg/l of initial dye concentration. The degradation of MO decreased with increasing bead sizes and flow rates, which may be attributed to the decrease in surface of the beads and higher flux of MO, respectively. The experimental rate constants (k _ps) for various beads sizes and flow rates were calculated and compared with theoretically obtained rate constants using external film diffusion models. From the experimental data, the external mass transfer effect was correlated with a model J _D = K Re ^?(1 ? n). The model was tested with K value (5.7) and the Colburn factor correlation model for 0.20, 0.40 and 0.60 bead sizes were J _D = 5.7 Re ^?0.15, J _D = 5.7 Re ^?0.36 and J _D = 5.7 Re ^?0.48, respectively. Based on the results, the Colburn factor correlation models were found to predict the experimental data accurately. The proposed model was constructive to design and direct industrial applications in packed bed reactors within acceptable limits.