The Ophthalmological Consequences of Midfacial Trauma

Ocular injuries commonly occur in patients with facial fractures. A study was carried out of 363 patients presenting during a 2-year period with midfacial fractures. Patients underwent ophthalmological examination within one week of injury. The characteristics of the eye injuries sustained were related to the aetiology and type of fracture, and the sex and age of each patient. Ninety-one percent of patients sustained ocular injuries of various severities. Sixty-three percent sustained minor injuries, 16% suffered moderately severe injury and 12% experienced severe injuries. Road traffic accident was associated with the highest incidence of severe ocular disorder at 20% (9/45) followed by assaults at 11% (20/181). One third of all patients with comminuted malar fracture suffered a severe ocular disorder (9/27) whilst blow-out fracture came second at 16.7% (6/36). Fifty-six patients (15.4%) had a decrease in visual acuity and 9 (2.5%) sustained significant traumatic optic neuropathy. Decrease in visual acuity accompanied the majority of significant eye injuries. Road traffic accidents and assaults associated with alcohol abuse showed the highest incidence of major ocular dysfunction. Motility disorder was also common. Seventy-two patients (19.8%) developed diplopia which was most common following road traffic accidents (31%) and least common with simple falls (10%). Blow-out fractures of the orbit (n=36) led to double vision in 58% of cases (n=21). Eighty-two percent of patients recovered from diplopia within six months of injury, 11% recovered within 6-12 months and 7% of patients took more than one year to recover including one patient who required squint surgery for double vision. The principal risk factors for diplopia comprise road traffic accidents, blow-out fractures and comminuted malar fractures. Early surgical reconstruction with conservative management of ocular motility disorders has, in this series, resulted in very few patients having diplopia in the long term. Ocular injuries following facial trauma may be difficult to detect by the maxillofacial surgeon and may therefore be missed. Fifty-four parameters comprising maxillofacial, radiological and ophthalmic data were coded and recorded for each patient. These data were divided into predictors (the data potentially available to the maxillofacial surgeon) and outcome (the data potentially available to the ophthalmologist). Statistical methods of regression, and analysis of contingency tables, led to the identification of the principal predictors indicative of ophthalmic injury and thence to a scoring system which predicts the severity of such injuries. Impaired visual acuity was the principal predictor and when employed alone gave a sensitivity value of 80%. Pure blow-out fracture or comminuted facial fracture, double vision and amnesia, emerged as additional factors which yielded an efficient scoring system with a sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 90% for the population upon which it was based. This scoring system was tested in a pilot study upon a new population of 100 similar individuals. The sensitivity value was 94.4% and the specificity value was 89%. Only one patient, warranting ophthalmic referral, was missed by the system whilst nine were incorrectly classified as warranting referral. Defects of convergence and accommodation are common sequels of head injuries, the two functions failing usually to a commensurate degree although either may occasionally be separately deficient. A prospective evaluation of patients who have sustained midfacial trauma was carried out in order to determine the prevalence of impaired 23 convergence and accommodation and to establish the risk factors for such defects. Of 52 patients in this study, 11 suffered accommodation and/or convergence disturbances. They included 6 males (17% of the male population) and 5 females (29% of the female population) whose ages ranged from 13 to 72 years with a mean age value of 30.2 years. Nine of these 11 patients sustained their injuries due to alleged assaults (24.3% of all assaulted patients) and 2, following simple falls (25% of all fall victims). Five patients complained of diplopia at near (5/11=45.5%) and another 4 of blurred vision and/or difficulty with reading (4/11=36.4%). The remaining 2 patients were asymptomatic. Six patients were randomly selected to receive orthoptic exercises/treatment while the other five were monitored for signs of spontaneous recovery. Within six months of injury/surgery, 83% of the treated patients (n=5) and 80% of the non-treated patients (n=4) recovered to within the normal values of accommodation and convergence. No significant statistical relationship was found between the incidence of accommodation and/or convergence failure, and the cause or the type of fracture sustained. It may, however, be related to the severity of impact and the associated closed head trauma. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)

Molecular diagnostics and phylogenetic analysis of ‘Candidatus phytoplasma asteris’ (16SrI- Aster yellow group) infecting banana (Musa spp.)

The presence of phytoplasma in diseased banana plants exhibiting acute stunting symptoms was detected by the polymerase chain reaction using a primer set specific for the 16SrRNA gene of phytoplasma. The amplified DNA fragments of 1500 bp were cloned in pGEMT-Easy plasmid cloningvector and sequenced. The BLASTN and phylogenetic analyses revealed the infecting agents to be the closely related members of the ‘Candidatus phytoplasma asteris’ (16Sr I-Aster yellow) group

Antimutagenic compounds and their possible mechanisms of action

Mutagenicity refers to the induction of permanent changes in the DNA sequence of an organism, which may result in a heritable change in the characteristics of living systems. Antimutagenic agents are able to counteract the effects of mutagens. This group of agents includes both natural and synthetic compounds. Based on their mechanism of action among antimutagens, several classes of compounds may be distinguished. These are compounds with antioxidant activity; compounds that inhibit the activation of mutagens; blocking agents; as well as compounds characterized with several modes of action. It was reported previously that several antitumor compounds act through the antimutagenic mechanism. Hence, searching for antimutagenic compounds represents a rapidly expanding field of cancer research. It may be observed that, in recent years, many publications were focused on the screening of both natural and synthetic compounds for their beneficial muta/antimutagenicity profile. Thus, the present review attempts to give a brief outline on substances presenting antimutagenic potency and their possible mechanism of action. Additionally, in the present paper, a screening strategy for mutagenicity testing was presented and the characteristics of the most widely used antimutagenicity assays were described

Modulation of growth parameters, proline content and mineral nutrients in maize (Zea mays L.) by exogenously applied glycinebetaine at different growth stages under salt stress

Effect of glycinebetaine (0, 50 and 100 mM) applied as a foliar spray at different growth stages i.e. vegetative, reproductive and both at the vegetative and reproductive stages on growth, proline accumulation and ion accumulation was investigated in plants of two maize cultivars under saline conditions. Salt stress caused a significant reduction in growth, leaves and roots K+ and Ca2+ while, Na+ and Cl- concentrations of both maize cultivars was significantly increased due to salt stress. Foliar applied glycinebetaine at the vegetative stage was more effective in ameliorating the adverse effects of salt stress than when applied at the reproductive or at both vegetative and reproductive stages. Foliar applied glycinebetaine did not change the leaf proline concentration in the salt stressed plants of both cultivars. However, exogenously applied glycinebetaine significantly reduced Na+ accumulation in the roots and leaves, while that of K+ increased, thereby resulting in higher K+/Na+ and Ca2+/Na+ ratios under saline conditions

Impact of Biogenic Ag-Containing Nanoparticles on Germination Rate, Growth, Physiological, Biochemical Parameters, and Antioxidants System of Tomato (Solanum tuberosum L.) In Vitro

Tomatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) are considered one of the most effective and nutritious foods in the human diet. Moreover, the fruit of a tomato is rich in phytochemical compounds such as carotenoids, vitamins, and phenolics which are beneficial to human health. The objective of this present research was to investigate the impact of biogenic Ag-containing nanoparticles on seed germination rate and germination speed index, the development of the stem and root system, and physio-biochemical parameters. Ag-containing nanoparticles were synthesized biologically using a silver nitrate solution and aqueous seed extract of Juniperus procera, which acted as a capping and reducing agent. The impact of different concentrations (0.0, 2.5, 5, 10, and 25 mg/L) of Ag-containing NPs on seed germination rate, biomass accumulation, phenolic compounds, total protein, enzymes activity, and total soluble sugar of tomatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) in vitro has been tested. The obtained result demonstrated that Ag-containing nanoparticles have a significant impact on tomato seed germination rate, germination speed index, and the development of stem and root systems. As well as photosynthetic pigments, total protein, enzymes activity, phenolic compounds, and total soluble sugar. We concluded that Ag-containing NPs can be a promising nano-fertilizer for improving crop growth and production

Molecular Identification of Sex in Phoenix dactylifera Using Inter Simple Sequence Repeat Markers

Early sex identification of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) at seedling stage is an economically desirable objective, which will significantly increase the profits of seed based cultivation. The utilization of molecular markers at this stage for early and rapid identification of sex is important due to the lack of morphological markers. In this study, a total of two hundred Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) primers were screened among male and female Date palm plants to identify putative sex-specific marker, out of which only two primers (IS A02 and IS A71) were found to be associated with sex. The primer IS A02 produced a unique band of size 390 bp and was found clearly in all female plants, while it was absent in all male plants. Contrary to this, the primer IS A71 produced a unique band of size 380 bp and was clearly found in all male plants, whereas it was absent in all the female plants. Subsequently, these specific fragments were excised, purified, and sequenced for the development of sequence specific markers further in future for the implementation on dioecious Date Palm for sex determination. These markers are efficient, highly reliable, and reproducible for sex identification at the early stage of seedling

Molecular Identification of Sex in Phoenix dactylifera Using Inter Simple Sequence Repeat Markers

Early sex identification of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) at seedling stage is an economically desirable objective, which will significantly increase the profits of seed based cultivation. The utilization of molecular markers at this stage for early and rapid identification of sex is important due to the lack of morphological markers. In this study, a total of two hundred Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) primers were screened among male and female Date palm plants to identify putative sex-specific marker, out of which only two primers (IS_A02 and IS_A71) were found to be associated with sex. The primer IS_A02 produced a unique band of size 390 bp and was found clearly in all female plants, while it was absent in all male plants. Contrary to this, the primer IS_A71 produced a unique band of size 380 bp and was clearly found in all male plants, whereas it was absent in all the female plants. Subsequently, these specific fragments were excised, purified, and sequenced for the development of sequence specific markers further in future for the implementation on dioecious Date Palm for sex determination. These markers are efficient, highly reliable, and reproducible for sex identification at the early stage of seedling