When applied before crop emergence, soil amendments with mustard seed meal (MSM) control some weeds and soilborne pathogens. MSM applications after crop emergence (herein “postemergence ...applications”) might be useful components of agricultural pest management programs, but research on postemergence applications of MSM is limited. The overall objective of this investigation was to develop a method for postemergence application of MSM that does not cause irrecoverable injury or yield loss in chile pepper ( Capsicum annuum ). To accomplish this objective, we conducted a sequence of studies that evaluated different MSM rates and application methods in the greenhouse and field. For the greenhouse study, we measured chile plant photosynthetic and growth responses to MSM applied postemergence on the soil surface or incorporated into soil. For the field study, we determined chile pepper fruit yield responses to MSM applied postemergence using a technique based on the method developed in greenhouse, and we confirmed that the MSM rates used in our study (4400 kg·ha −1 and 2200 kg·ha −1 ) inhibited the emergence of the weed Palmer amaranth ( Amaranthus palmeri ) and the growth of the pathogen Phytophthora capsici , which are common problems in chile pepper production in New Mexico. Greenhouse study results indicated that MSM at 4400 kg·ha −1 spread on the soil surface caused irrecoverable injury to chile pepper plants; however, chile pepper plants were not permanently injured by the following three treatments: 1) MSM at 4400 kg·ha −1 incorporated into soil, 2) MSM at 2200 kg·ha −1 spread on the soil surface, and 3) MSM at 2200 kg·ha −1 incorporated into soil. For the field study, postemergence, soil-incorporated applications of MSM at 4400 kg·ha −1 suppressed emergence of Palmer amaranth by 89% and reduced mycelial growth of Phytophthora capsica by 96%. Soil-incorporated applications of MSM at 2200 kg·ha −1 suppressed emergence of Palmer amaranth by 41.5% and reduced mycelial growth of Phytophthora capsica by 71%. Postemergence soil-incorporated applications of MSM did not reduce chile pepper yield compared with the control. The results of this study indicated that MSM applied after crop emergence and incorporated into soil can be a component of pest management programs for chile pepper.
In weed science and management, models are important and can be used to better understand what has occurred in management scenarios, to predict what will happen and to evaluate the outcomes of ...control methods. To-date, perspectives on and the understanding of weed models have been disjointed, especially in terms of how they have been applied to advance weed science and management. This paper presents a general overview of the nature and application of a full range of simulation models on the ecology, biology, and management of arable weeds, and how they have been used to provide insights and directions for decision making when long-term weed population trajectories are impractical to be determined using field experimentation. While research on weed biology and ecology has gained momentum over the past four decades, especially for species with high risk for herbicide resistance evolution, knowledge gaps still exist for several life cycle parameters for many agriculturally important weed species. More research efforts should be invested in filling these knowledge gaps, which will lead to better models and ultimately better inform weed management decision making.
Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are rare mesenchymal tumors with poor prognosis once they present as advanced or metastasized disease. Only few cytostatic drugs have been proven to be active in sarcoma ...patients and there is a clear need for further treatment options in patients with tumors refractory to standard chemotherapy. Gemcitabine, a nucleoside analogue, has shown activity in several epithelial tumors. Clinical data on the activity of gemcitabine in STS, however, are scarce and heterogeneous. In trials including all subtypes of sarcomas response rates observed with single and multiagent schedules are ranging from 3 to 53%. Histopathological subtypes which seem to exhibit an increased susceptibility to gemcitabine are uterine leiomyosarcomas and angiosarcomas. The synergistic role of other cytostatic drugs, e.g. the role of taxanes, still remains unclear and warrants further trials. We here review the available literature on gemcitabine in the treatment of STS.
Vancomycin is a prevalent cause of the severe hypersensitivity syndrome drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), which leads to significant morbidity and mortality and commonly ...occurs in the setting of combination antibiotic therapy, affecting future treatment choices. Variations in HLA class I in particular have been associated with serious T cell–mediated adverse drug reactions, which has led to preventive screening strategies for some drugs.
We sought to determine whether variation in the HLA region is associated with vancomycin-induced DRESS.
Probable vancomycin-induced DRESS cases were matched 1:2 with tolerant control subjects based on sex, race, and age by using BioVU, Vanderbilt's deidentified electronic health record database. Associations between DRESS and carriage of HLA class I and II alleles were assessed by means of conditional logistic regression. An extended sample set from BioVU was used to conduct a time-to-event analysis of those exposed to vancomycin with and without the identified HLA risk allele.
Twenty-three subjects met the inclusion criteria for vancomycin-associated DRESS. Nineteen (82.6%) of 23 cases carried HLA-A*32:01 compared with 0 (0%) of 46 of the matched vancomycin-tolerant control subjects (P = 1 × 10−8) and 6.3% of the BioVU population (n = 54,249, P = 2 × 10−16). Time-to-event analysis of DRESS development during vancomycin treatment among the HLA-A*32:01–positive group indicated that 19.2% had DRESS and did so within 4 weeks.
HLA-A*32:01 is strongly associated with vancomycin-induced DRESS in a population of predominantly European ancestry. HLA-A*32:01 testing could improve antibiotic safety, help implicate vancomycin as the causal drug, and preserve future treatment options with coadministered antibiotics.
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Summary
Enhanced understanding of soil disturbance effects on weed seedling recruitment will help guide improved management approaches. Field experiments were conducted at 16 site‐years at 10 ...research farms across Europe and North America to (i) quantify superficial soil disturbance (SSD) effects on Chenopodium album emergence and (ii) clarify adaptive emergence behaviour in frequently disturbed environments. Each site‐year contained factorial combinations of two seed populations (local and common, with the common population studied at all site‐years) and six SSD timings 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 day‐degrees (d°C, base temperature 3°C) after first emergence from undisturbed soil. Analytical units in this study were emergence flushes. Flush magnitudes (maximum weekly emergence per count flush) and flush frequencies (flushes year−1) were compared between disturbed and undisturbed seedbanks. One year after burial, SSD promoted seedling emergence relative to undisturbed seedbanks by increasing flush magnitude rather than increasing flush frequency. Two years after burial, SSD promoted emergence through increased flush magnitude and flush frequency. The promotional effects of SSD on emergence were strongest within 500 d°C following SSD; however, low levels of SSD‐induced emergence were detected as late as 3000 d°C following SSD. Accordingly, stale seedbed practices that eliminate weed seedlings should occur within 500 d°C of disturbance, because few seedlings emerge after this time. However, implementation of stale seedbed practices will probably cause slight increases in weed population densities throughout the year. Compared with the common population, local populations exhibited reduced variance in total emergence measured within sites and across SSD treatments, suggesting that C. album adaptation to local pedo‐climatic conditions involves increased consistency in SSD‐induced emergence.
Abstract
Psychotic experiences are prevalent across a wide variety of psychiatric, neurological, and medical conditions. Yet current assessments are often designed for one disorder, or are limited in ...their examination of phenomenological features; this has hindered transdiagnostic research. This article describes an examination of the validity and reliability of the English version of a new assessment, the Questionnaire for Psychotic Experiences (QPE). This study aimed to use the QPE to examine hallucinations and delusions across a number of different conditions, and to ensure that the QPE had acceptable psychometric properties. An International Consortium on Hallucination Research working group, along with consumer groups, developed the 50-item QPE to assess the presence, severity, and phenomenology of hallucinations and delusions. Participants in the study who reported psychotic experiences included those with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar affective disorder, and major depressive disorder, and those without a need for care (ie, nonclinical participants). There were 173 participants in total. Convergent and discriminant validity were assessed. Reliability was examined in terms of stability, equivalence, and internal consistency. The data confirmed that the QPE had good psychometric properties and could be put forward as an accepted measure of the transdiagnostic evaluation of psychotic experiences. Further validation is recommended with neurological and medical populations. Given its validity and reliability, comprehensive evaluation of psychotic phenomena, and relatively quick administration time, we propose that the QPE is a valuable instrument for both clinical and research settings.
Bulb onion ( Allium cepa L.) is an economically valuable vegetable crop in the United States. Onion production is threatened by onion thrips, which are the vector for Iris yellow spot virus , which ...is the causal agent of Iris yellow spot (IYS). New Mexico State University (NMSU) breeding lines 12-236, 12-238, 12-243, and 12-337 have exhibited fewer IYS disease symptoms in the field; however, little is known about the effects of the disease on the photosynthesis rate (P n ). We hypothesized that these NMSU breeding lines would have a higher P n than IYS-susceptible cultivars Rumba and Stockton Early Yellow. To test this hypothesis, a field study was conducted for 3 years at NMSU, and P n was measured five times throughout each season at 2-week intervals. During bulb development and maturation, which occurred at 10 and 12 weeks after transplanting, all NMSU breeding lines exhibited a higher P n when compared with that of an IYS-susceptible cultivar. P n was highest at the end of the vegetative growth stage and decreased as bulbs approached maturation for all cultivars. Additionally, a high P n at 10 and 12 weeks after transplanting coincided with high bulb weight at harvest. NMSU breeding lines have increased P n compared with that of IYS-susceptible cultivars and resulted in larger and more marketable bulbs. These results indicate that maintaining P n may be related to reduced IYS symptom expression of onion.
Mutations in SCN1A, the gene encoding voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.1, cause a spectrum of epilepsy disorders that range from genetic epilepsy with febrile seizures plus to catastrophic disorders ...such as Dravet syndrome. To date, more than 1,250 mutations in SCN1A have been linked to epilepsy. Distinct effects of individual SCN1A mutations on neuronal function are likely to contribute to variation in disease severity and response to treatment in patients. Several model systems have been used to explore seizure genesis in SCN1A epilepsies. In this article we review what has been learned about cellular mechanisms and potential new therapies from these model systems, with a particular emphasis on the novel model system of knock in Drosophila and a look toward the future with expanded use of patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons.
Abstract Objective To assess fertility and obstetric outcomes in women treated with curettage or undergoing expectant management for an incomplete miscarriage after misoprostol treatment. Study ...Design Between June 2012 and July 2014, we conducted a multicentre randomised clinical trial (RCT) with a parallel cohort study for non-randomised women, treated according to their preference. In the RCT 30 women were allocated curettage and 29 expectant management. In the cohort 197 women participated; 65 underwent curettage and 132 women underwent expectant management. Primary outcome was curation, defined as either an empty uterus on sonography at six weeks or an uneventful clinical follow-up. We used questionnaires to assess fertility and obstetric outcome of the first new pregnancy subsequent to study enrolment. Results Curation was seen in 91/95 women treated with curettage (95.8%) versus 134/161 women managed expectantly (83.2%) (p = 0.003). The response rate was 211/255 (82%). In 198 women pursuing a new pregnancy, conception rates were 92% (67/73) in the curettage group versus 96% (120/125) in the expectant management group (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.89;1.03, p = 0.34), with ongoing pregnancy rates of 87% (58/67) versus 78% (94/120), respectively (OR 1.12, 95% CI 0.99;1.28, p = 0.226). Preterm birth rates were 1/46 in the curettage group versus 8/81 in the expectant management group (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.03;1.71 P = 0.15). Caesarean section rates were 23% and 24% for women in the curettage group and expectant management group respectively. Conclusion In women with an incomplete evacuation of the uterus after misoprostol treatment, curettage and expectant management does not lead to different fertility and pregnancy outcomes, as compared to expectant management.
We assessed the value of postoperative plasma cortisol concentrations to predict cure and recurrence of Cushing’s disease after transsphenoidal surgery (TS). Seventy-eight of 80 consecutive patients ...treated by TS for Cushing’s disease were evaluated. TS cured 72% (n = 56) of the patients. Two weeks after surgery, patients with plasma cortisol levels below 138 nmol/liter (n = 50; three macroadenomas) and eight (27%) of 30 patients (nine macroadenomas) with cortisol greater than 138 nmol/liter were cured. Six (five with a macroadenoma) of these eight patients had cortisol values less than 50 nmol/liter 3 months after surgery. Therefore, the optimal cut-off value of cortisol predicting remission was 138 nmol/liter, measured 3 months after surgery (positive and negative predictive values 87 and 90%, respectively).
Five patients (9%) had recurrent Cushing’s disease during a median follow-up of 7 yr. Recurrence occurred in four of 24 (17%) patients with a follow-up of more than 10 yr. Therefore, cortisol levels above 138 nmol/liter, obtained 2 wk after TS, should be repeated, because they do not predict persistent Cushing’s disease in 27% of those patients. Postoperative cortisol levels do not positively predict recurrence of disease during long-term follow-up of initially cured patients.
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