Regeneration of foreign genes co-transformed plants of Medicago sativa L by Agrobacterium rhizogenes

Gene encoding sulphur amino acid-rich protein (HNP) and rol genes were transferred into Medicago sativa L (alfalfa) mediated by Agrobacterium tumafeciens. Regeneration of transgenic plants was induced successfully from hairy root tissue of cotyledon in alfalfa. Cotyledon tissues were an ideally transformed recipient. There was a negative correlation between age of hairy roots and embryogenesis frequency in alfalfa. Production of co-transformed plants with greater yield and super quality was important for development of new alfalfa varieties.

The trouble with investigating anaemia in young adults: bleeding from a giant Meckel's diverticulum without ectopic gastric mucosa

Giant Meckel's diverticulum is rare and usually presents in childhood with haemorrhage or bowel obstruction. Bleeding results from the presence of ectopic gastric mucosa causing peptic ulceration of adjacent mucosa. We discuss the case of a 21-year-old man with a giant Meckel's diverticulum who presented with rectal bleeding. A Meckel's scan was negative and histology following surgical excision ruled out the presence of ectopic gastric mucosa. There was however evidence of chronic inflammation and small bowel mucosal ulceration. We hypothesize that this arose from ischaemia and pressure necrosis because of the large size of the diverticulum and chronic distension by food debris. This case highlights the difficulties in investigating anaemia in young adults despite modern imaging techniques.

Phase I clinical experience of a targeted TCR-IL2 fusion protein in patients with metastatic malignancies

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Background: ALT-801 is recombinant human interleukin-2 (IL-2) genetically fused to a single-chain T-cell receptor specific to a peptide antigen of human p53 presented in the context of HLA-A2 positivity. In tumor xenografts in animal models, this fusion protein demonstrated potent and targeted antitumor activity. Methods: A phase I/IIa multicenter clinical study was initiated to assess safety and clinical response of ALT-801 in patients with various metastatic malignancies. Patients screened positively for HLA-A2 and tumors expressed p53 peptide/HLA-A2 complex. In this dose escalation trial, patients received ALT-801 as a daily intravenous infusion for 4 days followed by a 10-day rest period and 4 additional daily doses. Results: Data from three dosing cohorts (0.015, 0.04, and 0.08 mg/kg/dose) indicate that ALT-801 is well-tolerated up to 0.04 mg/kg/dose. The half-life of ALT-801 is 2.5–4 hours per pharmacokinetic analysis, depending on the dose. Even at the 0.015 mg/kg level, there were sufficient concentrations of ALT-801 in the patients’ serum to fully activate cell lytic activity in vitro. Treatment with ALT-801 also led to immune activation in patients as demonstrated by elevated serum IFN-γ levels as well as an increase in IFN-γ-producing immune cells in patients’ blood. Interestingly, serum TNF-α, a major inducer of hypotension in patients receiving high-dose IL-2 treatment, was not induced in patients receiving ALT-801. Evidence of antitumor activity (i.e., stable disease, tumor shrinkage) was observed in some patients after one or two courses of ALT-801. Conclusions: At a dose of 0.04 mg/kg, ALT-801 is a well-tolerated agent that generated a vigorous immune response and demonstrated clinical efficacy in a group of patients with various metastatic malignancies. An expansion cohort of patients is in progress at 0.04 mg/kg.

[Table: see text]

Composition and strain measurements of Ge(Si)/Si(001) islands by HRTEM

The distributions of the composition and the strain in the Ge(Si)/Si(001) coherent islands grown by molecular-beam epitaxy are investigated by digital analysis of high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) micrographs. Local composition and strain are obtained from the measurement of the lattice displacement based on the Poisson's formula and Vegard's law. The analysis suggests that the islands have high Ge content at the island's central region. The island is partially relaxed by the substrate deformation and strain concentrated around the edge of islands. The alloying of the islands was found due to the Si surface diffusion.

The impact of smoking and quitting on household expenditure patterns and medical care costs in China

BACKGROUND

Smoking remains very common in Chinese men, and the economic burden caused by cigarette consumption on smokers and their families may be substantial. Using a large nationally representative household survey, the third National Health Services Survey (NHSS, 2003), we estimated the economic impact of smoking on households.

METHODS

Smoking status of all household members (over 15 years) was collected by interview for the NHSS, and households classified into one of seven categories based on their smoking status. Information on household income and expenditure, and use of health services was also obtained. We assessed both the "direct" costs (reducing funds available for spending on other commodities such as food, education, medical care, etc, using a fractional logit model), and "indirect costs" (increasing medical expenditures, using a log-linear model).

RESULTS

Every five packets of cigarettes consumed per capita per month reduces household spending on other commodities, most notably on education (by about 17 yuan per capita per annum) and medical care (11 yuan). The effects are greatest among low-income rural households. Households with quitters spend substantially more on medical care than never-smoking households (64 yuan for households with two or more quitters).

CONCLUSIONS

If a household member smokes, there is less money available for commodities such as education and medical care. Medical care expenditure is substantially higher among households with quitters, as ill-health is the main reason for quitting smoking in China. Smoking impoverishes a substantial number of poorer rural households.

Identifying quantitative trait loci for resistance to Sclerotinia head rot in two USDA sunflower germplasms

Sclerotinia head rot is a major disease of sunflower in the world, and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping could facilitate understanding of the genetic basis of head rot resistance and breeding in sunflower. One hundred twenty-three F2:3 and F2:4 families from a cross between HA 441 and RHA 439 were studied. The mapping population was evaluated for disease resistance in three field experiments in a randomized complete block design with two replicates. Disease incidence (DI) and disease severity (DS) were assessed. A genetic map with 180 target region amplification polymorphism, 32 simple sequence repeats, 11 insertion-deletion, and 2 morphological markers was constructed. Nine DI and seven DS QTL were identified with each QTL explaining 8.4 to 34.5% of phenotypic variance, suggesting the polygenic basis of the resistance to head rot. Five of these QTL were identified in more than one experiment, and each QTL explained more than 12.9% of phenotypic variance. These QTL could be useful in sunflower breeding. Although a positive correlation existed between the two disease indices, most of the respective QTL were located in different chromosomal regions, suggesting a different genetic basis for the two indices.

Laparoscopic upper urinary tract surgery for benign and malignant conditions. Does aetiology have an effect on health-related quality of life?

INTRODUCTION

We present health-related quality of life (HRQoL) data on a cohort of patients undergoing upper urinary tract laparoscopy for a variety of benign and malignant conditions.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The Short Form 8 (SF-8) Health Survey is a validated HRQoL questionnaire that calculates scores for physical (PCS8) and mental (MCS8) components of health. It was administered prospectively to 58 patients. Radical nephrectomy or nephroureterectomy was carried out for upper tract malignancy (n = 21). Laparoscopy for benign disease (n = 37) included simple nephrectomy for giant hydronephrosis and small non-functioning kidneys, de-roofing of renal cysts and pyeloplasty. Data were collected before and 6 weeks after surgery.

RESULTS

The mean pre- and postsurgery scores were 45.99; 47.43 and 43.93; 51.54 for PCS8 and MCS8 respectively. With regard to the PCS8 score, there was no significant difference before or after surgery (p = 0.585) or when analysing the benign (p = 0.343) or malignant (p = 0.509) groups individually. The MCS8 score, however, showed a significant increase after surgery (p < 0.0001). This remained significant when analysing just the benign (p < 0.0009) or the malignant (p < 0.0003) groups but neither group was more significant than the other (p = 0.750).

CONCLUSIONS

Laparoscopic upper urinary tract surgery significantly improves mental and does not appear to reduce physical HRQoL in patients regardless of aetiology, 4 weeks following surgery. Interestingly, those operated on for malignant conditions do not have a greater improvement in mental health when compared with benign disease.

Observation and simulation of net primary productivity in Qilian Mountain, western China

We modeled net primary productivity (NPP) at high spatial resolution using an advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer (ASTER) image of a Qilian Mountain study area using the boreal ecosystem productivity simulator (BEPS). Two key driving variables of the model, leaf area index (LAI) and land cover type, were derived from ASTER and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. Other spatially explicit inputs included daily meteorological data (radiation, precipitation, temperature, humidity), available soil water holding capacity (AWC), and forest biomass. NPP was estimated for coniferous forests and other land cover types in the study area. The result showed that NPP of coniferous forests in the study area was about 4.4 tCha(-1)y(-1). The correlation coefficient between the modeled NPP and ground measurements was 0.84, with a mean relative error of about 13.9%.

LAI inversion algorithm based on directional reflectance kernels

Leaf area index (LAI) is an important ecological and environmental parameter. A new LAI algorithm is developed using the principles of ground LAI measurements based on canopy gap fraction. First, the relationship between LAI and gap fraction at various zenith angles is derived from the definition of LAI. Then, the directional gap fraction is acquired from a remote sensing bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) product. This acquisition is obtained by using a kernel driven model and a large-scale directional gap fraction algorithm. The algorithm has been applied to estimate a LAI distribution in China in mid-July 2002. The ground data acquired from two field experiments in Changbai Mountain and Qilian Mountain were used to validate the algorithm. To resolve the scale discrepancy between high resolution ground observations and low resolution remote sensing data, two TM images with a resolution approaching the size of ground plots were used to relate the coarse resolution LAI map to ground measurements. First, an empirical relationship between the measured LAI and a vegetation index was established. Next, a high resolution LAI map was generated using the relationship. The LAI value of a low resolution pixel was calculated from the area-weighted sum of high resolution LAIs composing the low resolution pixel. The results of this comparison showed that the inversion algorithm has an accuracy of 82%. Factors that may influence the accuracy are also discussed in this paper.

Renal pathological change in patients with type 2 diabetes is not always diabetic nephropathy: a report of 52 cases

AIMS

The present study examined the relationship between clinical features and renal histological changes in the Type 2-diabetic patients and evaluated the usefulness of renal biopsy in the diagnosis of diabetic versus non-diabetic kidney disease.

METHODS

52 patients with Type 2-diabetic mellitus were retrospectively analyzed for differential clinical, laboratory features and pathological characteristics including overt proteinuria (> 0.5 g/day), elevated serum creatinine and/or the development of hematuria.

RESULTS

Of 52 patients, 20 cases (38.5%) showed no detectable diabetic lesions and, thus, were diagnosed as non-diabetic renal disease (NDRD), while 32 patients (61.5%) exhibited diabetic nephropathy. Interestingly, while 29 patients showed diabetic nephropathy (DN) alone, NDRD was also found in 3 patients with DN. Clinically, 24 out of 52 patients (46.16%) had a diagnosis consistent with the pathological findings, while 10 (19.23%) were diagnosed incorrectly. Compared to NDRD patients, patients with DN had prolonged diabetic history with or without retinopathy, while 25% of patients with NDRD exhibited mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis.

CONCLUSIONS

NDRD was a common feature in Type 2-diabetic patients with renal involvement. The absence of retinopathy and short periods of diabetic history may be useful indicators for diagnosis of NDRD clinically.

Detection of emerging HIV variants in blood donors from urban areas of Cameroon

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has licensed several assays for use in donor testing and management of persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. However, the performance of these assays for detection and quantitation of emerging HIV genetic variants has not been studied extensively. We tested 240 human plasma specimens collected from two urban blood centers in Cameroon where HIV genetic diversity and recombinant HIV strains are highly prevalent, using several FDA licensed assays. The testing record in Cameroon indicated that 149 specimens were HIV antibody positive and 91 specimens were negative using a rapid HIV-1/2 antibody assay in routine use in Cameroon blood centers. Both sets of samples were evaluated in the FDA laboratory using four ELISA tests for HIV-1 group M, HIV-1 group O, and HIV-2 antibodies, one IFA for HIV-1 antibody, one Western blot for HIV-1, one HIV-1 p-24 antigen assay, and three nucleic acid tests (NAT). Our results indicate that the assays had high sensitivity for detection of emerging genetic variants, although a small number of samples harboring circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) found in Cameroon were not always consistently detected by a few assays. These findings may be due to the evolving genetic diversity of HIV strains in Cameroon.

Pharmacokinetics and lung-targeting characterization of a newly formulated enrofloxacin preparation

A new lung-targeting and controlled releasing preparation, enrofloxacin microsphere, was formulated and its physical properties, stability, pharmacokinetics and lung-targeting characteristics were tested in this study. The enrofloxacin microsphere prepared was demonstrated round and regular, which was easy to be dispersed and stable in both light stability test and heat stability test. Following intravenous administration of a single dose in dog, the drug concentration-time data in the lung were fitted most suitably with three-compartment open model. Compared with enrofloxacin injection (Baytril, half-life of distribution phase in the lung was shortened from 0.72 to 0.16 h, half-life of elimination phase in the lung was prolonged from 5.15 to 33.86 h and clearance of drug concentration in the lung was decreased from 0.603 to 0.267 L/h/kg. Lung-targeting parameters, including the relative intake rate (Re), targeting efficacy (Te) and the ratio of peak concentration (Ce), were calculated according to the pharmacokinetic parameters. The results showed that Re (2.48) and Ce (4.27) of the lung was much greater than that of other tissues and the ratio of Te(microsphere) to Te(Baytril) increased by a factor of 1.77 (compared with liver) to 3.51 (compared with spleen). Therefore, the enrofloxacin microsphere prepared in this study had controlled releasing and lung-targeting effects in dog.

Levitation, lift, and bidirectional motion of colloidal particles in an electrically driven nematic liquid crystal

We study electric-field-induced dynamics of colloids in a nematic cell, experimentally and by computer simulations. Solid particles in the nematic bulk create director distortions of dipolar type. Elastic repulsion from the walls keeps the particles in the middle of cell. The ac electric field reorients the dipoles and lifts them to top or bottom, depending on dipole orientation. Once near the walls, the colloids are carried along two antiparallel horizontal directions by nematic backflow. Computer simulations of the backflow agree with the experiment.