Sodium bicarbonate solution nebulization in the treatment of acute severe asthma

This is a case report of a 15-year-old asthmatic girl who was admitted with a severe acute attack of bronchial asthma who eventually recovered, possibly with the help of sodium bicarbonate solution nebulization.

L* protein of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus is required for virus growth in a murine macrophage-like cell line

We sought to confirm the importance of L* protein for growth of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) in a macrophage-like cell line, J774-1. The protein is out of frame with the polyprotein and synthesized in DA but not GDVII subgroup strains of TMEV. A recombinant virus, DANCL*/GD, which substitutes the DA 5' noncoding and L* coding regions for the corresponding regions of GDVII and synthesizes L* protein, grew with little restriction in J774-1 cells. In contrast, another recombinant virus, DANCL*-1/GD, which has an ACG rather than an AUG as the starting codon of L* protein at nucleotide 1079, resulting in no synthesis of L* protein, did not grow well. No significant difference between the rates of adsorption to J774-1 cells of these viruses was observed. RNase protection assay demonstrated that DANCL*/GD viral RNA significantly increased, whereas only a minimal increase was observed for DANCL*-1/GD. The present study suggests that L* protein is required for virus growth in macrophages.

Heterosis in F1 hybrids derived from crosses of adapted Australian wheats

Data on the level of heterosis for grain yield under Australian dryland wheat growing conditions is essential before any decision can be made to commit resources to hybrid wheat breeding. Experiments were conducted at Narrabri, N.S.W., to determine the level and stability of heterosis for grain yield expressed by F1 hybrids derived from crosses of adapted Australian varieties. The hybrids and their parents were grown in hill plots in replicated experiments at three sowing times for two years (six environments). The hybrids outyielded their parents in each of the six environments with levels of mid- and high-parent heterosis up to 31.5 and 26.8%, respectively. The best hybrid outperformed the best check variety by an average yield margin of 18.2%. The hybrids were marginally but not significantly more stable in their yield performance across environments than their parents. While heterosis for grain protein content was generally negative, some hybrids were superior to the check varieties for both grain yield and protein content. Yield component analysis revealed no consistent pattern by which the best hybrids obtained their yield advantage over their parents. The levels of heterosis and the absolute yield advantage displayed by the hybrids over the best pure line check varieties were sufficient to sustain the commercial production of hybrid wheats in northern N.S.W.