Summary
During the storage phase, cotyledons of developing pea seeds are nourished by nutrients released to the seed apoplasm by their maternal seed coats. Sucrose is transported into pea cotyledons ...by sucrose/H+ symport mediated by PsSUT1 and possibly other sucrose symporters. PsSUT1 is principally localised to plasma membranes of cotyledon epidermal and subepidermal transfer cells abutting the seed coat. We tested the hypothesis that endogenous sucrose/H+ symporter(s) regulate sucrose import into developing pea cotyledons. This was done by supplementing their transport activity with a potato sucrose symporter (StSUT1), selectively expressed in cotyledon storage parenchyma cells under control of a vicilin promoter. In segregating transgenic lines, enhanced 14Csucrose influx into cotyledons above wild‐type levels was found to be dependent on StSUT1 expression. The transgene significantly increased (approximately 2‐fold) transport activity of cotyledon storage parenchyma tissues where it was selectively expressed. In contrast, sucrose influx into whole cotyledons through the endogenous epidermal transfer cell pathway was increased by only 23% in cotyledons expressing the transgene. A similar response was found for rates of biomass gain by intact cotyledons and by excised cotyledons cultured on a sucrose medium. These observations demonstrate that transport activities of sucrose symporters influence cotyledon growth rates. The attenuated effect of StSUT1 overexpression on sucrose and dry matter fluxes by whole cotyledons is consistent with a large proportion of sucrose being taken up at the cotyledonary surface. This indicates that the cellular location of sucrose transporter activity plays a key role in determining rates of sucrose import into cotyledons.
A novel single-particle technique to measure emittance has been developed and used to characterise seventeen different muon beams for the Muon Ionisation Cooling Experiment (MICE). The muon beams, ...whose mean momenta vary from 171 to 281 MeV/c, have emittances of approximately 1.2-2.3 π mm-rad horizontally and 0.6-1.0 π mm-rad vertically, a horizontal dispersion of 90-190 mm and momentum spreads of about 25 MeV/c. There is reasonable agreement between the measured parameters of the beams and the results of simulations. The beams are found to meet the requirements of MICE.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer to affect New Zealand women. Women diagnosed face several decisions regarding surgical treatment, including whether to undergo lumpectomy, mastectomy, or ...breast reconstruction. Reconstructive surgery adds an additional layer of complexity, with several reconstructive options, each associated with differing surgical and recovery times. Furthermore, surgical decisions are often made under time-pressure and significant diagnostic distress, therefore provision of good information to support decision-making is crucial to adequately inform women of their options. We interviewed 24 women who had undergone breast surgery within the preceding 12 months to assess the key factors leading to their decision to opt for their chosen surgical procedure. Interviews revealed that decision-making was complex and involved multiple factors. Women were ultimately confronted with assessing feminine identity versus survival. Whether opting for breast reconstruction or not, women were fearful of what surgery would involve and how their reconstructed breast or mastectomy scar might look following surgery. Shared decision-making between patient and clinician can mitigate this fear and provide women with a sense of autonomy over their health decisions. Provision of visual depictions of surgical outcomes was not routinely provided to those interviewed but was expressed as important to help women manage surgical expectations. Therefore our findings support the multi-modal presentation of diagnostic and treatment information to support decision-making. Likewise, women reported feeling unsupported in their decision not to undergo breast reconstruction, suggesting a need to develop resources to provide women with positive discussions about ‘going flat’.
•Women report fear and uncertainty when making breast cancer surgery decisions.•Shared decision-making is crucial to facilitate informed decision-making.•Visual depictions of surgical outcomes are not routinely provided to women.•Multi-modal presentation of treatment options can support decision-making.•Women need support if deciding to remain flat following mastectomy.
The incidence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) continues to rise, whilst treatment remains problematic due to recurrent, refractory and potentially severe nature of disease. The treatment of ...C. difficile is a challenge for community and hospital-based clinicians. With the advent of an expanding therapeutic arsenal against C. difficile since the last published Australasian guidelines, an update on CDI treatment recommendations for Australasian clinicians was required. On behalf of the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases, we present the updated guidelines for the management of CDI in adults and children.
We characterize by different spectroscopic techniques the radiation effects on ytterbium- (Yb) and ytterbium/erbium (Yb/Er)-doped optical fibers. Their vulnerability to the environment of outer space ...is evaluated through passive radiation-induced attenuation (RIA) measurements during and after exposure to 10 keV X-rays, 1 MeV ¿-rays, and 105 MeV protons. These fibers present higher levels of RIA (1000×) than telecommunication-type fibers. Measured RIA is comparable for ¿-rays and protons and is on the order of 1 dB/m at 1.55 ¿ m after a few tenths of a kilorad. Their host matrix codoped with aluminum (Al) and/or phosphorus (P) is mainly responsible for their enhanced radiation sensitivity. Thanks to the major improvements of the Er-doped glass spectroscopic properties in case of Yb-codoping, Yb/Er-doped fibers appear as very promising candidates for outer space applications. In the infrared part of the spectrum, losses in P-codoped Yb-doped fibers are due to the P 1 center that absorbs around 1.6 ¿ m and are very detrimental for the operation of Er-codoped devices in a harsh environment. The negative impact of this defect seems reduced in the case of Al and P-codoping.
Universal screening for postpartum depression is recommended in many countries. Knowledge of whether the disclosure of depressive symptoms in the postpartum period differs across cultures could ...improve detection and provide new insights into the pathogenesis. Moreover, it is a necessary step to evaluate the universal use of screening instruments in research and clinical practice. In the current study we sought to assess whether the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the most widely used screening tool for postpartum depression, measures the same underlying construct across cultural groups in a large international dataset.
Ordinal regression and measurement invariance were used to explore the association between culture, operationalized as education, ethnicity/race and continent, and endorsement of depressive symptoms using the EPDS on 8209 new mothers from Europe and the USA.
Education, but not ethnicity/race, influenced the reporting of postpartum depression difference between robust comparative fit indexes (∆*CFI) 0.01), but not between European countries (∆*CFI < 0.01).
Investigators and clinicians should be aware of the potential differences in expression of phenotype of postpartum depression that women of different educational backgrounds may manifest. The increasing cultural heterogeneity of societies together with the tendency towards globalization requires a culturally sensitive approach to patients, research and policies, that takes into account, beyond rhetoric, the context of a person's experiences and the context in which the research is conducted.
We characterized the responses of three erbium-doped fibers with slightly different concentrations of rare-earth ions (240-290 ppm) and Al 2 O 3 (7-10 wt.%) during proton and gamma-ray exposures. We ...have simultaneously measured the radiation-induced attenuation (RIA) around the Er 3+ ion pumping wavelength (980 nm) and the associated changes of the Er 3+ emission around 1530 nm. The three erbium-doped fibers show similar radiation responses. All fibers exhibit RIA levels between 9 times 10 -3 and 1.7 times 10 -2 dB m -1 Gy -1 at 980 nm and between 4 times 10 -3 and 1.1 times 10 -2 dB m -1 Gy -1 at 1530 nm. Protons and gamma-rays lead to similar radiation damages, with small differences between the protons of different energies (50 MeV and 105 MeV). Furthermore, we have performed online measurements of the spectral dependence of RIA from 600 to 1600 nm and offline measurements from 1200 to 2400 nm. The three fibers exhibit the same spectral response. Losses decrease monotonically from the visible to the infrared part of the spectrum. We have performed spectral decomposition of these RIA curves with the help of absorption bands previously associated with radiation-induced point defects. Our analysis shows that the main part of the RIA (600-1700 nm) in erbium-doped glass can be explained by the generation of Al-related point defects. The other defects related to the germanium and phosphorus doping of the silica seem to have a lower contribution to the induced losses. The Er 3+ ion properties seem to be mainly unaffected by proton exposure, suggesting a solvation shell around the Er 3+ ion formed by Al 2 O 3 species.
The use of accelerated beams of electrons, protons or ions has furthered the development of nearly every scientific discipline. However, high-energy muon beams of equivalent quality have not yet been ...delivered. Muon beams can be created through the decay of pions produced by the interaction of a proton beam with a target. Such 'tertiary' beams have much lower brightness than those created by accelerating electrons, protons or ions. High-brightness muon beams comparable to those produced by state-of-the-art electron, proton and ion accelerators could facilitate the study of lepton-antilepton collisions at extremely high energies and provide well characterized neutrino beams
. Such muon beams could be realized using ionization cooling, which has been proposed to increase muon-beam brightness
. Here we report the realization of ionization cooling, which was confirmed by the observation of an increased number of low-amplitude muons after passage of the muon beam through an absorber, as well as an increase in the corresponding phase-space density. The simulated performance of the ionization cooling system is consistent with the measured data, validating designs of the ionization cooling channel in which the cooling process is repeated to produce a substantial cooling effect
. The results presented here are an important step towards achieving the muon-beam quality required to search for phenomena at energy scales beyond the reach of the Large Hadron Collider at a facility of equivalent or reduced footprint
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Background. On 21 November 2005, a 32-year-old male resident of New York was hospitalized with suspected leptospirosis. He had participated in an endurance-length swamp race on 4–5 November 2005 ...outside of Tampa, Florida. Methods. We interviewed racers to assess illness, medical care, and race activities. A suspected case was defined as fever plus es;2 signs or symptoms of leptospirosis occurring in a racer after 4 November 2005. Individuals with suspected cases were referred for treatment as needed and were asked to submit serum samples for microscopic agglutination testing (MAT) and for rapid testing by the dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay dipstick immunoglobulin M immunoassay. Results. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and participating state health departments interviewed 192 (96%) of 200 racers from 32 states and Canada. Forty-four (23%) of 192 racers met the definition for a suspected case. The median age of the patients was 37 years (range, 19–66 years), and 128 (66.7%) were male. Fourteen (45%) of the 31 patients with suspected cases who were tested had their cases confirmed by serological testing (a single sample with MAT titer es;400), including the index case patient. Organisms of a potential novel serovar (species Leptospira noguchii) were isolated in culture from 1 case patient. Factors associated with increased risk of leptospirosis included swallowing river water (odds ratio OR, 3.4; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.6–7.0), swallowing swamp water (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.1–5.2), and being submerged in any water (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.1–4.7). Conclusions. This report describes a leptospirosis outbreak that resulted in a high rate of symptomatic infection among adventure racers in Florida. The growing popularity of adventure sports may put more people at risk for leptospirosis, even in areas that have not previously been considered areas of leptospirosis endemicity.
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