Compression hosiery to avoid post-thrombotic syndrome (CHAPS) protocol for a randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN73041168).

INTRODUCTION: Up to 50% of patients develop post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) after an above knee deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The aim of the study was to determine the effect of graduated compression stockings in preventing PTS after DVT. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Pragmatic, UK multicentre randomised trial in adults with first above knee DVT. The standard of care arm is anticoagulation. The intervention arm will receive anticoagulation plus stockings (European class II, 23-32 mm Hg compression) worn for a median of 18 months. The primary endpoint is PTS using the Villalta score. Analysis of this will be through a time to event approach and cumulative incidence at median 6, 12 and 18 months. An ongoing process evaluation will examine factors contributing to adherence to stockings to understand if and how the behavioural interventions were effective. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: UK research ethics committee approval (reference 19/LO/1585). Dissemination though the charity Thrombosis UK, the Imperial College London website, peer-reviewed publications and international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN registration number 73041168

Transplantation of canine olfactory ensheathing cells producing chondroitinase ABC promotes chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan digestion and axonal sprouting following spinal cord injury

Olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) transplantation is a promising strategy for treating spinal cord injury (SCI), as has been demonstrated in experimental SCI models and naturally occurring SCI in dogs. However, the presence of chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans within the extracellular matrix of the glial scar can inhibit efficient axonal repair and limit the therapeutic potential of OECs. Here we have used lentiviral vectors to genetically modify canine OECs to continuously deliver mammalian chondroitinase ABC at the lesion site in order to degrade the inhibitory chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans in a rodent model of spinal cord injury. We demonstrate that these chondroitinase producing canine OECs survived at 4 weeks following transplantation into the spinal cord lesion and effectively digested chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans at the site of injury. There was evidence of sprouting within the corticospinal tract rostral to the lesion and an increase in the number of corticospinal axons caudal to the lesion, suggestive of axonal regeneration. Our results indicate that delivery of the chondroitinase enzyme can be achieved with the genetically modified OECs to increase axon growth following SCI. The combination of these two promising approaches is a potential strategy for promoting neural regeneration following SCI in veterinary practice and human patients

Access and utilisation of maternity care for disabled women who experience domestic abuse:a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Although disabled women are significantly more likely to experience domestic abuse during pregnancy than non-disabled women, very little is known about how maternity care access and utilisation is affected by the co-existence of disability and domestic abuse. This systematic review of the literature explored how domestic abuse impacts upon disabled women’s access to maternity services. METHODS: Eleven articles were identified through a search of six electronic databases and data were analysed to identify: the factors that facilitate or compromise access to care; the consequences of inadequate care for pregnant women’s health and wellbeing; and the effectiveness of existing strategies for improvement. RESULTS: Findings indicate that a mental health diagnosis, poor relationships with health professionals and environmental barriers can compromise women’s utilisation of maternity services. Domestic abuse can both compromise, and catalyse, access to services and social support is a positive factor when accessing care. Delayed and inadequate care has adverse effects on women’s physical and psychological health, however further research is required to fully explore the nature and extent of these consequences. Only one study identified strategies currently being used to improve access to services for disabled women experiencing abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Based upon the barriers and facilitators identified within the review, we suggest that future strategies for improvement should focus on: understanding women’s reasons for accessing care; fostering positive relationships; being women-centred; promoting environmental accessibility; and improving the strength of the evidence base

Male reproductive health and environmental xenoestrogens

EHP is a publication of the U.S. government. Publication of EHP lies in the public domain and is therefore without copyright. Research articles from EHP may be used freely; however, articles from the News section of EHP may contain photographs or figures copyrighted by other commercial organizations and individuals that may not be used without obtaining prior approval from both the EHP editors and the holder of the copyright. Use of any materials published in EHP should be acknowledged (for example, "Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives") and a reference provided for the article from which the material was reproduced.Male reproductive health has deteriorated in many countries during the last few decades. In the 1990s, declining semen quality has been reported from Belgium, Denmark, France, and Great Britain. The incidence of testicular cancer has increased during the same time incidences of hypospadias and cryptorchidism also appear to be increasing. Similar reproductive problems occur in many wildlife species. There are marked geographic differences in the prevalence of male reproductive disorders. While the reasons for these differences are currently unknown, both clinical and laboratory research suggest that the adverse changes may be inter-related and have a common origin in fetal life or childhood. Exposure of the male fetus to supranormal levels of estrogens, such as diethlylstilbestrol, can result in the above-mentioned reproductive defects. The growing number of reports demonstrating that common environmental contaminants and natural factors possess estrogenic activity presents the working hypothesis that the adverse trends in male reproductive health may be, at least in part, associated with exposure to estrogenic or other hormonally active (e.g., antiandrogenic) environmental chemicals during fetal and childhood development. An extensive research program is needed to understand the extent of the problem, its underlying etiology, and the development of a strategy for prevention and intervention.Supported by EU Contract BMH4-CT96-0314

Genetic dissection of grain zinc concentration in spring wheat for mainstreaming biofortification in CIMMYT wheat breeding

Wheat is an important staple that acts as a primary source of dietary energy, protein, and essential micronutrients such as iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) for the world’s population. Approximately two billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiency, thus breeders have crossed high Zn progenitors such as synthetic hexaploid wheat, T. dicoccum, T. spelta, and landraces to generate wheat varieties with competitive yield and enhanced grain Zn that are being adopted by farmers in South Asia. Here we report a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using the wheat Illumina iSelect 90 K Infinitum SNP array to characterize grain Zn concentrations in 330 bread wheat lines. Grain Zn phenotype of this HarvestPlus Association Mapping (HPAM) panel was evaluated across a range of environments in India and Mexico. GWAS analysis revealed 39 marker-trait associations for grain Zn. Two larger effect QTL regions were found on chromosomes 2 and 7. Candidate genes (among them zinc finger motif of transcription-factors and metal-ion binding genes) were associated with the QTL. The linked markers and associated candidate genes identified in this study are being validated in new biparental mapping populations for marker-assisted breeding

The All-Data-Based Evolutionary Hypothesis of Ciliated Protists with a Revised Classification of the Phylum Ciliophora (Eukaryota, Alveolata)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The file attached is the published version of the article

Genetic architecture of common bunt resistance in winter wheat using genome-wide association study

Background: Common bunt (caused by Tilletia caries and T. foetida) has been considered as a major disease in wheat (Triticum aestivum) following rust (Puccinia spp.) in the Near East and is economically important in the Great Plains, USA. Despite the fact that it can be easily controlled using seed treatment with fungicides, fungicides often cannot or may not be used in organic and low-input fields. Planting common bunt resistant genotypes is an alternative. Results: To identify resistance genes for Nebraska common bunt race, the global set of differential lines were inoculated. Nine differential lines carrying nine different genes had 0% infected heads and seemed to be resistant to Nebraska race. To understand the genetic basis of the resistance in Nebraska winter wheat, a set of 330 genotypes were inoculated and evaluated under field conditions in two locations. Out of the 330 genotypes, 62 genotypes had different degrees of resistance. Moreover, plant height, chlorophyll content and days to heading were scored in both locations. Using genome-wide association study, 123 SNPs located on fourteen chromosomes were identified to be associated with the resistance. Different degrees of linkage disequilibrium was found among the significant SNPs and they explained 1.00 to 9.00% of the phenotypic variance, indicating the presence of many minor QTLs controlling the resistance. Conclusion: Based on the chromosomal location of some of the known genes, some SNPs may be associated with Bt1, Bt6, Bt11 and Bt12 resistance loci. The remaining significant SNPs may be novel alleles that were not reported previously. Common bunt resistance seems to be an independent trait as no correlation was found between a number of infected heads and chlorophyll content, days to heading or plant height

Chondroitinase and Growth Factors Enhance Activation and Oligodendrocyte Differentiation of Endogenous Neural Precursor Cells after Spinal Cord Injury

The adult spinal cord harbours a population of multipotent neural precursor cells (NPCs) with the ability to replace oligodendrocytes. However, despite this capacity, proliferation and endogenous remyelination is severely limited after spinal cord injury (SCI). In the post-traumatic microenvironment following SCI, endogenous spinal NPCs mainly differentiate into astrocytes which could contribute to astrogliosis that exacerbate the outcomes of SCI. These findings emphasize a key role for the post-SCI niche in modulating the behaviour of spinal NPCs after SCI. We recently reported that chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans (CSPGs) in the glial scar restrict the outcomes of NPC transplantation in SCI by reducing the survival, migration and integration of engrafted NPCs within the injured spinal cord. These inhibitory effects were attenuated by administration of chondroitinase (ChABC) prior to NPC transplantation. Here, in a rat model of compressive SCI, we show that perturbing CSPGs by ChABC in combination with sustained infusion of growth factors (EGF, bFGF and PDGF-AA) optimize the activation and oligodendroglial differentiation of spinal NPCs after injury. Four days following SCI, we intrathecally delivered ChABC and/or GFs for seven days. We performed BrdU incorporation to label proliferating cells during the treatment period after SCI. This strategy increased the proliferation of spinal NPCs, reduced the generation of new astrocytes and promoted their differentiation along an oligodendroglial lineage, a prerequisite for remyelination. Furthermore, ChABC and GF treatments enhanced the response of non-neural cells by increasing the generation of new vascular endothelial cells and decreasing the number of proliferating macrophages/microglia after SCI. In conclusions, our data strongly suggest that optimization of the behaviour of endogenous spinal NPCs after SCI is critical not only to promote endogenous oligodendrocyte replacement, but also to reverse the otherwise detrimental effects of their activation into astrocytes which could negatively influence the repair process after SCI

Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of HER-2/neu and VEGF expression in colon carcinomas

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>HER-2/neu and VEGF expression is correlated with disease behaviors in various cancers. However, evidence for their expression in colon cancer is rather contradictory both for the protein expression status and prognostic value. HER-2/neu is found to participate in VEGF regulation, and has known correlation with VEGF expression in some tumors. In this study, we investigated HER-2/neu and VEGF expression in Chinese colon patients and explored whether there was any correlation between their expression patterns.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>HER-2/neu and VEGF were investigated immunohistochemically using tumor samples obtained from 317 colon cancer patients with all tumor stages. Correlation of the degree of staining with clinicopathological parameters and survival was investigated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Positive expression rates of HER-2/neu and VEGF in colon cancer were 15.5% and 55.5% respectively. HER-2/neu expression was significantly correlated with tumor size and distant metastases (<it>P </it>< 0.05), but was not an independent prognostic marker of survival <it>(P > 0.05)</it>. Expression of VEGF was significantly correlated with tumor size, tumor stage, lymph node metastases, and distant metastases (<it>P </it>< 0.05). The 5-year survival rate in patients with negative and positive VEGF expression was 70.2% and 61.9% respectively; the difference was not statistically significant <it>(P = 0.146)</it>. No correlation between HER-2/neu and VEGF expression was detected (<it>P = </it>0.151).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>HER-2/neu and VEGF are not important prognostic markers of colon cancer. The present results do not support any association between HER2/neu and VEGF expression in this setting.</p