KEY MESSAGE : A combination of in vitro culture and mutagenesis using ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) followed by culture filtrate-mediated selection produced variant sugarcane plants tolerant and ...resistant to Fusarium sacchari. Eldana saccharina is a destructive pest of the sugarcane crop in South Africa. Fusarium sacchari PNG40 (a fungal strain harmful to E. saccharina) has the potential to be an endophytic biological control agent of the stalk borer. However, the fungus causes Fusarium stalk rot in sugarcane. In the current study, sugarcane plants tolerant and resistant to F. sacchari PNG40 were produced by exposing embryogenic calli to the chemical mutagen ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS), followed by in vitro selection during somatic embryogenesis and plantlet regeneration on media containing F. sacchari culture filtrates (CF). The incorporation of 100 ppm CF in the culture media at the embryo maturation stage, at germination, or at both, resulted in callus necrosis and consequent reduced plantlet yield. Subsequent trimming of the roots of regenerated plants and their exposure to 1,500 ppm CF served as a further selection treatment. Plants produced from EMS-treated calli displayed improved root re-growth in the presence of CF pressure compared with those from non-treated calli. The tolerance of CF-selected plants was confirmed in greenhouse tests by inoculation with F. sacchari PNG40, re-isolation of Fusarium spp. from undamaged tissue of asymptomatic plants and establishment of the identity of fungal isolates as PNG40 using molecular analysis. The restriction of PNG40 presence to the inoculation lesion in some plants suggested their resistance to the fungus. Genotypes exhibiting symptomless endophytic colonization by PNG40 were identified and will be utilised for testing biological control strategies against E. saccharina.
Purpose: Client-centred practice is widely considered a key element of rehabilitation. However, there is limited discussion of how it should be implemented. This study explored how client-centred ...practice was operationalized during a clinical trial of innovative goal-setting techniques. Method: This study drew on principles of co-autoethnography. The personal experiences of three clinical researchers were explored to identify insights into client-centred practice, and seek understanding of this within the broader socio-cultural context. Data were collected through group discussions and written reflections. Thematic analysis and coding were used to identify the dominant themes from the data. Results: The primary way that client-centred practice was operationalized was through listening in order to get to know, to uncover and to understand what was meaningful. Four strategies were identified: utilizing mindful listening, allowing time, supporting clients to prioritize what is meaningful and viewing the therapists' role differently. Conclusion: While technical competence in rehabilitation is important, our study suggested a starting point of 'being with' rather than 'doing to' may be beneficial for engaging people in their rehabilitation. We have highlighted a number of practical strategies that can be used to facilitate more client-centred practice. These approaches are consistent with what clients report they want and need from rehabilitation services.
Implications for Rehabilitation
At face value, clinical practice may appear to be client-centred. However, critical reflection of existing practice suggests that in reality, it is not well operationalized.
Prioritizing getting to know the client, their story and what is meaningful to them appears fundamental to client-centred practice. A number of strategies may facilitate this process, including mindful listening on the part of the clinician and allowing time.
Structures and processes need to be instituted to support implementation of client-centred practice.
Autoethnography is an approach that may support clinicians' to reflect on their practice.
The production of regenerable embryogenic callus is essential to sugarcane genetic improvement. However, some sugarcane cultivars display poor calli yields using established in vitro protocols. In ...this study, we tested the impact of methylglyoxal (MG) on embryogenic callus and plantlet development in cultivars NCo376 and N41. Calli were exposed to 0–10 mM MG at embryo maturation and germination stages. For both cultivars, the 2 and 4 mM MG treatments increased callus dry mass by up to 48%, but 70–80% decreases were observed when calli were exposed to 7 and 10 mM. The 2 and 4 mM MG treatments also produced more compact white embryogenic callus than the control. Incorporation of MG at the same levels during embryo germination promoted faster shoot morphogenesis in both cultivars and increase plantlet yield in NCo376 by 130% when treated with 4 mM MG. In both cultivars, MG levels higher than 7 mM had a negative or no effect plantlet production. Metabolic profiling revealed higher levels of sugars in MG-treated than in control calli, which may have contributed to development of more white compact calli. Separate clustering of NCo376 and N41 MG-treated calli in principal component and hierarchical clustering analyses of the metabolic profiles, suggested variations in MG metabolism among the genotypes that may account for variations in the MG-induced effect on somatic embryogenesis between the two cultivars. Although the effect may be genotype-dependant, low MG concentrations can induce improved embryogenic callus and plantlet development in sugarcane.
Key message
Mutagenesis had no effect on number of stalks/plot, stalk height, fibre and sucrose content of mutants. Imazapyr tolerance is likely due to a S622N mutation in the acetolactate synthase ...gene.
The herbicidal compound imazapyr is effective against weeds such as
Cynodon
and
Rottboellia
species that constrain sugarcane production. This study aimed to compare agronomic characteristics of three imazapyr tolerant mutants (Mut 1, Mut 6 and Mut 7) with the non-mutated N12 control after 18 months of growth, and to sequence the acetolactate synthase (
ALS
) gene to identify any point mutations conferring imazapyr tolerance. There were no significant differences in the number of stalks/plot, stalk height, fibre and sucrose contents of the mutants compared with the N12 control. However, Mut 1 genotype was more susceptible to the Lepidopteran stalk borer,
Eldana saccharina
when compared with the non-mutated N12 (11.14 ± 1.37 and 3.89 ± 0.52% internodes bored, respectively), making Mut 1 less desirable for commercial cultivation. Molecular characterisation of the
ALS
gene revealed non-synonymous mutations in Mut 6. An A to G change at nucleotide position 1857 resulted in a N513D mutation, while a G to A change at nucleotide position 2184 imposed a S622N mutation. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the S622N mutation renders an asparagine side chain clash with imazapyr, hence this mutation is effective in conferring imazapyr tolerance.
Some Fusarium spp. such as F. sacchari PNG40, found in association with the African sugarcane stalk borer Eldana saccharina, have potential in biological control against the insect. However, Fusarium ...can cause stem rot in sugarcane thereby constraining its application. The present study tested the usefulness of F. sacchari PNG40 tolerant sugarcane mutants in the control of Fusarium stem rot and E. saccharina using endophytic F. sacchari PNG40. In vitro mutagenesis and selection of embryogenic calli (cultivar N41) were employed to produce F. sacchari-tolerant mutants. Stalks of 8 months-old N41 mutants and previously-produced NCo376 mutants were inoculated with PNG40 and then with E. saccharina 2nd instar larvae after 3 weeks. Length bored was 36–82 % less in inoculated stalks (1.00–4.67 cm) of the NCo376 and N41 mutants and their respective parents than their uninoculated controls (3.83–8.67 cm). Mass gain was significantly less in larvae retrieved from incubated stalks (0.028–0.045 g) of MutA and MutE of NCo376, and Mut1 and Mut27 of N41 than their controls (0.054–0.072 g). The NCo376 and N41 mutants displayed significantly less percent stalk area discoloured (Fusarium stem rot) (10.6–22.0 %) than their respective parents (N41 - 28.9 % and NCo376 - 30.2 %). Re-isolation of PNG40 from undamaged tissue indicated endophytic colonisation. MutA of NCo376 and Mut1 and Mut23 of N41 were identified for future field studies aimed at curbing Fusarium stem rot and developing endophytic Fusarium-mediated biological control against E. saccharina, as part of an integrated pest management approach.
A possible strategy to produce variant sugarcane plants with beneficial traits was tested by promoting somaclonal variation in vitro through the action of the hypomethylation and mutagenic agent ...5-Azacytidine (Azac). Treatment of calli in liquid medium caused high levels of necrosis. Consequently, 6- to 8-week-old calli of cultivar NCo376 were exposed to 50 and 100 μM Azac in semi-solid callus induction medium (CIM) (MS salts and vitamins, sucrose, casein hydrolysate, agar, with or without 3 mg l⁻¹ 2,4-D) for 1 week. They were then transferred to fresh CIM with 2,4-D and to CIM without 2,4-D, for 2 and 8–10 weeks, respectively. The highest callus necrosis (>60 %) and reduced recovery (<40 %) were recorded for calli treated with 100 μM Azac without 2,4-D, which also resulted in lower plant yield (12 plantlets/0.2 g calli) than the control (18 plantlets/0.2 g calli). From methylation-sensitive amplified fragment length polymorphism analyses, the highest polymorphisms (4.2 %) were also obtained from plants derived from the 100 μM Azac treatment without 2,4-D. After 9 months of field growth, Azac-derived plants exhibited phenotypic differences compared with the controls. Ex vitro screening resulted in the identification of one plant from the 100 μM Azac with 2,4-D treatment putatively tolerant to smut, and three plants from the 100 μM Azac with 2,4-D and one from the 50 μM Azac with 2,4-D treatments, potentially tolerant to the herbicide imazapyr.
Background
Qualitative data can add value and understanding to more traditional epidemiological studies. This study was designed to complement the quantitative data from the incidence study the ...Auckland Regional Community Stroke Study or ARCOS-IV by using qualitative methods to uncover the richer detail of life as a stroke survivor, thereby extending our understanding of the impact of stroke.
Aims
The aims of the study were to identify how the experience of recovery and adaptation changes over time after stroke; and to elicit the strategies people with stroke and their whānau/family use and find helpful in living life after stroke. The aim of this paper is to describe the methodology and also the challenges and advantages of embedding qualitative research into a large epidemiological study.
Methods
Longitudinal study utilizing a Qualitative Description design in a subset of those taking part in the incidence study. Participants will be interviewed at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months after stroke. Semistructured interviews will explore three key areas: (1) issues of importance to people following a stroke and their whānau/family; (2) the perceived impact on people's sense of recovery, adaptation, and hopes; and (3) key strategies that people with stroke and their whānau/family use and find most helpful in living life after stroke. Thematic analysis will be conducted using iterative constant comparative methods.
Conclusions
This methodology paper demonstrates the application of mixed methods in epidemiology. It also considers some of the practical and methodological issues that have emerged and may provide a useful framework for other qualitative projects in population-based studies.
A possible strategy to produce variant sugarcane plants with beneficial traits was tested by promoting somaclonal variation in vitro through the action of the hypomethylation and mutagenic agent ...5-Azacytidine (Azac). Treatment of calli in liquid medium caused high levels of necrosis. Consequently, 6- to 8-week-old calli of cultivar NCo376 were exposed to 50 and $100{\mu}M$ Azac in semi-solid callus induction medium (CIM) (MS salts and vitamins, sucrose, casein hydrolysate, agar, with or without $3mgl^{-1}$ 2,4-D) for 1 week. They were then transferred to fresh CIM with 2,4-D and to CIM without 2,4-D, for 2 and 8-10 weeks, respectively. The highest callus necrosis (60 %) and reduced recovery (\40 %) were recorded for calli treated with $100{\mu}M$ Azac without 2,4-D, which also resulted in lower plant yield (12 plantlets/0.2 g calli) than the control (18 plantlets/0.2 g calli). From methylation-sensitive amplified fragment length polymorphism analyses, the highest polymorphisms (4.2 %) were also obtained from plants derived from the $100{\mu}M$ Azac treatment without 2,4-D. After 9 months of field growth, Azac-derived plants exhibited phenotypic differences compared with the controls. Ex vitro screening resulted in the identification of one plant from the $100{\mu}M$ Azac with 2,4-D treatment putatively tolerant to smut, and three plants from the $100{\mu}M$ Azac with 2,4-D and one from the $50{\mu}M$ Azac with 2,4-D treatments, potentially tolerant to the herbicide imazapyr.
Background and aim
Social networking sites (SNS) are interactive internet‐based social platforms that facilitate information sharing. A growing body of literature on exposure to, and self‐posting of, ...alcohol‐related content on SNS has examined the relationship between SNS use and alcohol consumption in young people. This study aims to synthesise the literature exploring the relationship between exposure (i.e. viewing or listening of alcohol‐related media) and self‐posting (i.e. uploading images or text of alcohol content) of alcohol‐related media on SNS on alcohol consumption.
Methods
A pre‐registered systematic review was conducted in June 2022 within PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO and Web of Science. Original prospective and cross‐sectional studies assessing youth and young adults (≤ 24 years of age) that measured exposure to alcohol‐related media or posting of alcohol‐related content on SNS and self‐reported alcohol consumption outcomes were included. Meta‐analyses were conducted on comparable methodologies.
Results
Thirty studies were included (n = 19,386). Meta‐analyses of cross‐sectional studies showed both greater exposure (five studies; pooled β = 0.34, 95% confidence interval CI = 0.23, 0.44, i2 = 27.7%) and self‐posting of alcohol‐related content (six studies; pooled β = 0.57, 95%CI = 0.25,0.88, i2 = 97.8%) was associated with greater alcohol consumption. Meta‐analyses of three prospective studies also identified that greater exposure predicted greater future alcohol consumption (three studies; pooled β = 0.13, 95%CI = 0.11,0.15, i2 = 0.0%). Narrative analyses of studies that could not be meta‐analysed due to incompatible methodologies were also conducted. Most studies (all four prospective, one of two cross‐sectional) identified positive associations between exposure to alcohol‐related content and greater average consumption. Most studies (three of four prospective, four of six cross‐sectional) reported a positive association between of alcohol‐related self‐posting and greater average alcohol consumption.
Conclusions
Both exposure to, and self‐posting of, alcohol‐related content on social networking sites are positively associated with current average consumption, problem drinking, and drinking frequency.
Depression and anxiety are common sequelae of stroke, occurring in at least one-third of patients. This study evaluated the acceptability and feasibility of providing mindfulness training (MT) to ...stroke survivors with the aim of reducing depression and anxiety. Following a six-week one-on-one MT course, 17 participants were interviewed. The median age of participants was 71, and 10 participants were male. This paper focuses on participants' expectations of the MT and their views about its impact on their everyday lives. Conventional content analysis was used for coding and analysis. A single theme, Seizing rehabilitation opportunities, was captured in relation to expectations of MT, and four themes provided information relating to participants' perceived impact of the course: Calming the mind, Reduced reactivity, Remedying physical symptoms, and Not quite there yet.
Most participants knew little about mindfulness before the MT and did not have specific goals in mind when volunteering to take part. The findings suggest that most participants considered MT beneficial through reducing stress and giving them additional skills to cope with their everyday lives. A tailored mindfulness intervention may be a useful adjunct to other rehabilitation therapies for stroke survivors.
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