One of the key developmental processes in flowering plants is the differentiation of the shoot apical meristem into a floral meristem. This transition is regulated through the integration of ...environmental and endogenous stimuli, involving a complex, hierarchical signalling network. In arabidopsis, the FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) protein, a mobile signal recognized as a major component of florigen, has a central position in mediating the onset of flowering. FT‐like genes seem to be involved in regulating the floral transition in all angiosperms examined to date. Evidence from molecular evolution studies suggests that the emergence of FT‐like genes coincided with the evolution of the flowering plants. Hence, the role of FT in floral promotion is conserved, but appears to be restricted to the angiosperms. Besides flowering, FT‐like proteins have also been identified as major regulatory factors in a wide range of developmental processes including fruit set, vegetative growth, stomatal control and tuberization. These multifaceted roles of FT‐like proteins have resulted from extensive gene duplication events, which occurred independently in nearly all modern angiosperm lineages, followed by sub‐ or neo‐functionalization. This review assesses the plethora of roles that FT‐like genes have acquired during evolution and their implications in plant diversity, adaptation and domestication.
While two-rowed barley is usually preferred for malting and beer-making, six-rowed malting barley varieties appeared in Europe around 30 years ago, and several breeders have dedicated improvement ...programs on this specific germplasm. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of genomic prediction for yield and malting related traits using 679 breeding lines from two French barley breeders, as well as a set of recently registered varieties. These lines were evaluated in five locations and two harvest years in an unbalanced design. Although the germplasm from the two breeders does show some trend towards differentiation, globally the whole panel did not show a clear-cut genetic structure. Predictive ability of GBLUP was evaluated through random cross-validation within and across breeder sets, and using cross-prediction between breeder sets. Results show moderate to high predictive ability (PA), particularly for malt friability and β-glucan content, for which predictive ability of 0.8 was obtained with training populations as small as 105 registered varieties and across breeding sets. The long range of useful linkage disequilibrium in this particular germplasm allows using as few as 2000 to 5000 markers to obtain high PA. Other prediction methods such as Bayesian LASSO, Bayes Cpi or EGBLUP did not improve predictive ability. These results are very encouraging for implementing genomic prediction of malting quality traits in applied breeding programs.
Abstract
The mangrove ecosystem is one of the ecosystems that are very important for the life of flora, fauna as well as the people around it. The development of mangrove ecosystems into ecotourism ...is one way to the sustainability of mangrove ecosystems so that have a negative impact on the lives of their creatures. The development of ecotourism needs to be supported by tourist attractiveness as well as learning to tourists to care about their environment in accordance with the principles of ecotourism namely responsible travel to natural areas, conserving the environment and improving the well-being of local people. This paper focuses on the potential attractiveness of ecotourism development in Karawang Regency. The method used in this research is to do calculations using weights and scoring. The results showed that Sukakerta Village has a potential attractive attraction for mangrove ecotourism development in Karawang Regency, while Rawagempol Kulon and Tambaksari Village have an unattractive potential for mangrove ecotourism development and other villages have the attractive potential for mangrove ecotourism development due to inadequate facilities and accessibility.
Background
Potentially inappropriate prescribing is increasingly common in older patients with falls. However, published indicators to assess inappropriate prescribing remains unestablished in many ...countries.
Objective
This study determined the burden and profile of potentially inappropriate prescribing among patients attending a falls clinic using the STOPP/START criteria and evaluated the factors for falls potentially associated to inappropriate prescribing.
Setting
University of Malaya Medical Centre Falls Clinic.
Method
Data of individuals aged ≥ 65 years referred to the falls and syncope clinic were extracted from the falls registry. Potentially inappropriate prescribing was determined with the STOPP/START version 2 criteria. The relationship between potentially inappropriate prescribing with polypharmacy (≥ 5 medications), comorbidities and clinical variables were determined using Pearson’s chi-square and potential confounders adjusted for with multivariate regression.
Main outcome measure
Potentially inappropriate medicines and/or omitted medicines using STOPP/START criteria.
Results
Data from 421 individuals, aged 77.8 ± 6.7 years and 53.4% women, were included. Potentially inappropriate prescribing was present in 311 (73.9%). Potentially inappropriate medicines use accounted for 84.6% of the 325 prescriptions. 361/659 instances (54.8%) were falls-risk-increasing drugs, with vasodilators (49.3%) being the main potentially inappropriate medicine identified. Of the 177/421 with polypharmacy, 169/177 (95.5%) were exposed to ≥ one potentially inappropriate medicine. 129 instances of potentially omitted medicines were observed in 109 prescriptions (25.9%).
Conclusion
STOPP/START criteria are useful to identify potentially inappropriate prescribing at the falls and syncope clinic. This finding has important implications for medication review strategies at falls clinic. Future research should determine whether identifying potentially inappropriate prescribing may reduce adverse falls outcomes among patients in this setting.
The enhanced specific strength of SiC Particulate Metal Matrix Composites (PMMC) has been the major contributing factor which helps to find applications in the aerospace and automotive industries. ...Uniform distribution of the particulates in PMMC controls the attainment of better mechanical properties. The most accepted method for producing such a composite is stir casting in which the homogeneity of particulate reinforcement is a significant challenge. This research work proposes a new method for mixing the particulate reinforcement with the liquid and semi-solid aluminium matrix to ensure a uniform mix of the particulates using a gyro shaker. Gyro shaker is a dual rotation mixer commonly used for mixing high viscous fluids. It rotates about two mutually perpendicular axes which help in thoroughly mixing of the ingredients. Developed Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation model of the mixing device in finding the mixing performance while mixing SiC particulates with glycerol. The results of the simulation were also validated by experimentation. Analogue fluid simulation of gyro casting was carried out using water and glycerol/water mixture which are having a closer value of viscosity as that of liquid aluminium and semi-solid aluminium. The mixing time obtained in the water system at gyration speeds of 29.63 rpm, 58.18 rpm, 72.73 rpm and 87.27 rpm was 61.84 sec, 43.44 sec, 26.85 sec and 27.24 sec respectively. The mixing time obtained in glycerol/water system at gyration speeds of 58.18 rpm, 87.27 rpm, 116.36 rpm and 145.45 rpm was 26.34 sec, 15.97 sec, 9.8 sec and 6.26 sec respectively. The distribution of the SiC particulates obtained from simulation was compared with stir casting simulations. The homogeneous distribution of particulates was observed in the gyro casting simulation.
We present a study of InAs nanowire (NW) growth with shape-controlled Au seed particles. In comparison to more conventional spherical particles, the highly faceted, shaped Au particles are found to ...enhance the initial growth kinetics of InAs NWs at identical growth conditions. Analysis of the NWs after growth by transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy suggests that while In diffuses into the bulk of the shaped Au particles, in accordance with the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism, the surface faceting is preserved. A key difference is that the shaped Au particles are characterized by a thicker In shell on their surfaces than the spherical Au particles, indicating that increased adsorption of In leads to the observed growth rate enhancement. On the basis of these results, we propose that our picture of VLS growth in regards to liquefaction and droplet formation is incomplete and that the initial particle morphology can be used to tailor NW growth.
► Gal3 binds specifically to β-d-galactobiose. ► The lifetime of the interaction is 3.0s. ► Binding is consistent with a molecular model for the anti-cancer role of modified pectin.
Force ...spectroscopy has been used to investigate the interaction between the disaccharide β-galactobiose and the pro-metastatic regulatory protein galectin-3 (Gal3). The studies revealed specific interactions characterised by an off-rate dissociation constant koff=0.33s−1 and interaction distance x=0.2nm at zero applied force. These data suggest a lifetime for the interaction of 3.0s. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that oral consumption of modified citrus pectin controls cancer metastasis by inhibiting the role of Gal3. The modification is considered to facilitate binding of pectin-derived galactan sidechains to Gal3 and inhibition of the roles of Gal3 as a pro-metastatic regulatory protein.
Item 10 of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is intended to assess thoughts of intentional self-harm but may also elicit concerns about accidental self-harm. It does not specifically ...address suicide ideation but, nonetheless, is sometimes used as an indicator of suicidality. The 9-item version of the EPDS (EPDS-9), which omits item 10, is sometimes used in research due to concern about positive endorsements of item 10 and necessary follow-up. We assessed the equivalence of total score correlations and screening accuracy to detect major depression using the EPDS-9 versus full EPDS among pregnant and postpartum women. We searched Medline, Medline In-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations, PsycINFO, and Web of Science from database inception to October 3, 2018 for studies that administered the EPDS and conducted diagnostic classification for major depression based on a validated semi-structured or fully structured interview among women aged 18 or older during pregnancy or within 12 months of giving birth. We conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis. We calculated Pearson correlations with 95% prediction interval (PI) between EPDS-9 and full EPDS total scores using a random effects model. Bivariate random-effects models were fitted to assess screening accuracy. Equivalence tests were done by comparing the confidence intervals (CIs) around the pooled sensitivity and specificity differences to the equivalence margin of δ = 0.05. Individual participant data were obtained from 41 eligible studies (10,906 participants, 1407 major depression cases). The correlation between EPDS-9 and full EPDS scores was 0.998 (95% PI 0.991, 0.999). For sensitivity, the EPDS-9 and full EPDS were equivalent for cut-offs 7-12 (difference range - 0.02, 0.01) and the equivalence was indeterminate for cut-offs 13-15 (all differences - 0.04). For specificity, the EPDS-9 and full EPDS were equivalent for all cut-offs (difference range 0.00, 0.01). The EPDS-9 performs similarly to the full EPDS and can be used when there are concerns about the implications of administering EPDS item 10.Trial registration: The original IPDMA was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42015024785).
High-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy was originally used with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) to increase the dose to the prostate without injuring the bladder or rectum. Numerous studies have ...reported HDR brachytherapy is safe and effective. We adapted it for use without EBRT for cases not requiring lymph node treatment.
We entered the patient demographics, disease characteristics, and treatment parameters into a prospective registry and serially added follow-up data for 448 men with low-risk (n=288) and intermediate-risk (n=160) prostate cancer treated from 1996 to 2009. Their median age was 64 years (range 42-90). The median prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level was 6.0 ng/mL (range 0.2-18.2). The Gleason score was ≤6 in 76% and 7 in 24%. The median dose was 43.5 Gy in 6 fractions. The clinical and biochemical disease control and survival rates were calculated. Adverse events were graded according to the Common Toxicity Criteria of Adverse Events.
The median follow-up period was 6.5 years (range 0.3-15.3). The actuarial 6- and 10-year PSA progression-free survival was 98.6% (95% confidence interval CI 96.9%-99.4%) and 97.8% (95% CI 95.5%-98.9%). Overall survival at 10 years was 76.7% (95% CI 69.9%-82.2%). The local control, distant metastasis-free survival, and cause-specific survival were 99.7% (95% CI 97.9%-99.9%), 98.9% (95% CI 96.3%-99.7%), and 99.1% (95% CI 95.8%-99.8%). T stage, initial PSA level, Gleason score, National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk group, patient age, and androgen deprivation therapy did not significantly correlate with disease control or survival. No late grade 3 to 4 rectal toxicities developed. Late grade 3 to 4 genitourinary toxicity occurred in 4.9% (grade 3 in 4.7%).
HDR monotherapy is a safe and highly effective treatment of low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer.
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