Physics of Neutron Star Crusts

The physics of neutron star crusts is vast, involving many different research fields, from nuclear and condensed matter physics to general relativity. This review summarizes the progress, which has been achieved over the last few years, in modeling neutron star crusts, both at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. The confrontation of these theoretical models with observations is also briefly discussed.Comment: 182 pages, published version available at <http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2008-10

Interventions for hyperhidrosis in secondary care : a systematic review and value-of-information analysis

Background: Hyperhidrosis is uncontrollable excessive sweating that occurs at rest, regardless of temperature. The symptoms of hyperhidrosis can significantly affect quality of life. The management of hyperhidrosis is uncertain and variable. Objective: To establish the expected value of undertaking additional research to determine the most effective interventions for the management of refractory primary hyperhidrosis in secondary care. Methods: A systematic review and economic model, including a value-of-information (VOI) analysis. Treatments to be prescribed by dermatologists and minor surgical treatments for hyperhidrosis of the hands, feet and axillae were reviewed; as endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS) is incontestably an end-of-line treatment, it was not reviewed further. Fifteen databases (e.g. CENTRAL, PubMed and PsycINFO), conference proceedings and trial registers were searched from inception to July 2016. Systematic review methods were followed. Pairwise meta-analyses were conducted for comparisons between botulinum toxin (BTX) injections and placebo for axillary hyperhidrosis, but otherwise, owing to evidence limitations, data were synthesised narratively. A decision-analytic model assessed the cost-effectiveness and VOI of five treatments (iontophoresis, medication, BTX, curettage, ETS) in 64 different sequences for axillary hyperhidrosis only. Results and conclusions: Fifty studies were included in the effectiveness review: 32 randomised controlled trials (RCTs), 17 non-RCTs and one large prospective case series. Most studies were small, rated as having a high risk of bias and poorly reported. The interventions assessed in the review were iontophoresis, BTX, anticholinergic medications, curettage and newer energy-based technologies that damage the sweat gland (e.g. laser, microwave). There is moderate-quality evidence of a large statistically significant effect of BTX on axillary hyperhidrosis symptoms, compared with placebo. There was weak but consistent evidence for iontophoresis for palmar hyperhidrosis. Evidence for other interventions was of low or very low quality. For axillary hyperhidrosis cost-effectiveness results indicated that iontophoresis, BTX, medication, curettage and ETS was the most cost-effective sequence (probability 0.8), with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of £9304 per quality-adjusted life-year. Uncertainty associated with study bias was not reflected in the economic results. Patients and clinicians attending an end-of-project workshop were satisfied with the sequence of treatments for axillary hyperhidrosis identified as being cost-effective. All patient advisors considered that the Hyperhidrosis Quality of Life Index was superior to other tools commonly used in hyperhidrosis research for assessing quality of life. Limitations: The evidence for the clinical effectiveness and safety of second-line treatments for primary hyperhidrosis is limited. This meant that there was insufficient evidence to draw conclusions for most interventions assessed and the cost-effectiveness analysis was restricted to hyperhidrosis of the axilla. Future work: Based on anecdotal evidence and inference from evidence for the axillae, participants agreed that a trial of BTX (with anaesthesia) compared with iontophoresis for palmar hyperhidrosis would be most useful. The VOI analysis indicates that further research into the effectiveness of existing medications might be worthwhile, but it is unclear that such trials are of clinical importance. Research that established a robust estimate of the annual incidence of axillary hyperhidrosis in the UK population would reduce the uncertainty in future VOI analyses

Morphological and architectural development of root systems in sorghum and maize

Root systems determine the capacity of a plant to access soil water and their architecture can influence adaptation to water-limited conditions. It may be possible to associate that architecture with root attributes of young plants as a basis for rapid phenotypic screening. This requires improved understanding of root system development. This study aimed to characterise the morphological and architectural development of sorghum and maize root systems by (i) clarifying the initiation and origin of roots at germination, and (ii) monitoring and quantifying the development of root systems in young plants. Three experiments were conducted with two maize and four sorghum hybrids. Sorghum produced a sole seminal (primary) root and coleoptile nodal roots emerged at the 4th–5th leaf stage, whereas maize produced 3–7 seminal (primary and scutellum) roots and coleoptile nodal roots emerged at the 2nd leaf stage. Genotypic variation in the flush angle and mean diameter of nodal roots was observed and could be considered a suitable target for large scale screening for root architecture in breeding populations. Because of the relatively late appearance of nodal roots in sorghum, such screening would require a small chamber system to grow plants until at least 6 leaves had fully expanded. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Spraying of oxytetracycline and gentamicin onto field-grown coriander did not affect the abundance of resistant bacteria, resistance genes, and broad host range plasmids detected in tropical soil bacteria

Horticultural supplements containing oxytetracycline and gentamicin, two clinically relevant biocides, are widely marketed to prevent or control infections by bacterial phytopathogens. Despite their regular consumption in the world’s less developed countries, it is unknown whether exposure of tropical farmlands to these drugs results in an enrichment of resistant bacteria, resistance genes, and/or mobile genetic elements in the soil. These concerns were investigated under field conditions by repeatedly spraying recommended amounts of a commercial product containing oxytetracycline-HCl, and gentamicin- SO4-2 onto two coriander plots. Subsequent to five applications within 16 months, composite soil samples from control and treated sections were compared with respect to the abundance of resistant bacteria and the prevalence of conserved nucleotide sequences from tetracycline efflux proteins, tetracycline ribosomal protection proteins, four different families of gentamicin-modifying enzymes, and broad host range plasmids of the IncP-1 and IncQ incompatibility groups. The isolation frequency of oxytetracycline- and gentamicin-resistant bacteria and the detection rate of the aforementioned genes and elements were unrelated to application of the supplement. Despite the omnipresence of sequences from IncP-1 plasmids, conjugative plasmids conferring resistance to oxytetracycline or gentamicin were not captured in biparental matings. The widespread occurrence of resistant bacteria and resistance genes at the beginning of the trial emerges as a reasonable explanation for the lack of anticipated responses. Moreover, we assume that the biocides applied were inactivated by biotic and abiotic factors under tropical conditions.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias de la Salud::Centro de Investigación en Enfermedades Tropicales (CIET

QTL for nodal root angle in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) co-locate with QTL for traits associated with drought adaptation

Nodal root angle in sorghum influences vertical and horizontal root distribution in the soil profile and is thus relevant to drought adaptation. In this study, we report for the first time on the mapping of four QTL for nodal root angle (qRA) in sorghum, in addition to three QTL for root dry weight, two for shoot dry weight, and three for plant leaf area. Phenotyping was done at the six leaf stage for a mapping population (n = 141) developed by crossing two inbred sorghum lines with contrasting root angle. Nodal root angle QTL explained 58.2% of the phenotypic variance and were validated across a range of diverse inbred lines. Three of the four nodal root angle QTL showed homology to previously identified root angle QTL in rice and maize, whereas all four QTL co-located with previously identified QTL for stay-green in sorghum. A putative association between nodal root angle QTL and grain yield was identified through single marker analysis on field testing data from a subset of the mapping population grown in hybrid combination with three different tester lines. Furthermore, a putative association between nodal root angle QTL and stay-green was identified using data sets from selected sorghum nested association mapping populations segregating for root angle. The identification of nodal root angle QTL presents new opportunities for improving drought adaptation mechanisms via molecular breeding to manipulate a trait for which selection has previously been very difficult