Transcriptional Response of Two Brassica napus Cultivars to Short-Term Hypoxia in the Root Zone

Waterlogging is one major stress for crops and causes multiple problems for plants, for example low gas diffusion, changes in redox potential and accumulation of toxic metabolites. Brassica napus is an important oil crop with high waterlogging sensitivity, which may cause severe yield losses. Its reactions to the stress are not fully understood. In this work the transcriptional response of rapeseed to one aspect of waterlogging, hypoxia in the root zone, was analyzed by RNAseq, including two rapeseed cultivars from different origin, Avatar from Europe and Zhongshuang 9 from Asia. Both cultivars showed a high number of differentially expressed genes in roots after 4 and 24 h of hypoxia. The response included many well-known hypoxia-induced genes such as genes coding for glycolytic and fermentative enzymes, and strongly resembled the hypoxia response of the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana. The carbohydrate status of roots, however, was minimally affected by root hypoxia, with a tendency of carbohydrate accumulation rather than a carbon starvation. Leaves did not respond to the root stress after a 24-h treatment. In agreement with the gene expression data, subsequent experiments with soil waterlogging for up to 14 days revealed no differences in response or tolerance to waterlogging between the two genotypes used in this study. Interestingly, using a 0.1% starch solution for waterlogging, which caused a lowered soil redox potential, resulted in much stronger effects of the stress treatment than using pure water suggesting a new screening method for rapeseed cultivars in future experiments

Safety and Efficacy of Itraconazole Compared to Amphotericin B as Empirical Antifungal Therapy for Neutropenic Fever in Patients with Haematological Malignancy

Safety, tolerability and efficacy of itraconazole and amphotericin B (AMB) were compared for empirical antifungal treatment of febrile neutropenic cancer patients. Patients and Methods: In an open, randomised study, 162 patients with at least 72 h of antimicrobial treatment received either intravenous followed by oral itraconazole suspension or intravenous AMB for a maximum of 28 days. Permanent discontinuation of study medication due to any adverse event was the primary safety parameter. Efficacy parameters included response and success rate for both treatment groups. Results: Significantly fewer itraconazole patients discontinued treatment due to any adverse event (22.2 vs. 56.8% AMB; p < 0.0001). The main reason for discontinuation was a rise in serum creatinine (1.2% itraconazole vs. 23.5% AMB). Renal toxicity was significantly higher and more drug-related adverse events occurred in the AMB group. Intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis showed favourable efficacy for itraconazole: response and success rate were both significantly higher than for AMB (61.7 vs. 42% and 70.4 vs. 49.3%, both p < 0.0001). Treatment failure was markedly reduced in itraconazole patients (25.9 vs. 43.2%), largely due to the better tolerability. Conclusions: Itraconazole was tolerated significantly better than conventional AMB and also showed advantages regarding efficacy. This study confirms the role of itraconazole as a useful and safe agent in empirical antifungal therapy of febrile neutropenic cancer patients.Hintergrund: Es wurden die Sicherheit, Verträglichkeit und Wirksamkeit von Itraconazol und Amphotericin B (AMB) in der antimykotischen Therapie der persistierend febrilen Neutropenie verglichen. Patienten und Methoden: In einer offenen, randomisierten Studie erhielten 162 Patienten mit mindestens 72-stündiger antibiotischer Therapie entweder Itraconazol (erst intravenös, dann oral) oder AMB (intravenös) für maximal 28 Tage. Primärer Sicherheitsparameter war die dauerhafte Unterbrechung der Studienmedikation aufgrund von Nebenwirkungen. Die Wirksamkeitsparameter umfassten die Ansprech- und Erfolgsrate für beide Behandlungsgruppen. Ergebnisse: Signifikant weniger Itraconazol-Patienten brachen die Behandlung wegen Nebenwirkungen ab (22,2 vs. 56,8% AMB; p < 0,0001). Hauptursache für Studienabbrüche war der Anstieg des Serum-Kreatinin-Spiegels (1,2% Itraconazol vs. 23,5% AMB). Nephrotoxische und weitere Nebenwirkungen traten im AMB-Studienarm signifikant häufiger auf. Intention-to-Treat (ITT)-Analysen zeigten eine bessere Wirksamkeit von Itraconazol: Ansprech- und Erfolgsrate waren signifikant höher als unter AMB (61,7 vs. 42% und 70,4 vs. 49,3%, beide p < 0,0001). Behandlungsversagen trat bei Itraconazol-Patienten merklich weniger auf (25,9 vs. 43,2%). Schlussfolgerungen: Die Verträglichkeit von Itraconazol war signifikant höher als beim herkömmlichen AMB. Itraconazol zeigte ebenfalls Vorteile in der Wirksamkeit. Diese Studie bestätigt die Rolle von Itraconazol als sinnvolles und sicheres Medikament in der empirischen antimykotischen Therapie von fiebrigen neutropenischen Tumorpatienten.Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich

Oral History Interview, Angelika Bammer (1470)

In this interview, Angelika Bammer discusses her time obtaining her PhD in Comparative Literature at UW-Madison. She also details her career becoming an author and the process that entails. To learn more about this oral history, download & review the index first (or transcript if available). It will help determine which audio file(s) to download & listen to.Angelika Bammer was born in Germany. She studied at the University of Heidelberg before she earned her PhD in Comparative Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Bammer is the author of Partial Visions: Feminism and Utopianism in the 1970’s (1991). She is currently an Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities at Emory College of Arts and Sciences, and a member in the Department of Comparative Literature

Hematopoietic stem cells in neonates: any differences between very preterm and term neonates?

In the last decades, human full-term cord blood was extensively investigated as a potential source of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Despite the growing interest of regenerative therapies in preterm neonates, only little is known about the biological function of HSPCs from early preterm neonates under different perinatal conditions. Therefore, we investigated the concentration, the clonogenic capacity and the influence of obstetric/perinatal complications and maternal history on HSPC subsets in preterm and term cord blood.CD34+ HSPC subsets in UCB of 30 preterm and 30 term infants were evaluated by flow cytometry. Clonogenic assays suitable for detection of the proliferative potential of HSPCs were conducted. Furthermore, we analyzed the clonogenic potential of isolated HSPCs according to the stem cell marker CD133 and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity.Preterm cord blood contained a significantly higher concentration of circulating CD34+ HSPCs, especially primitive progenitors, than term cord blood. The clonogenic capacity of HSPCs was enhanced in preterm cord blood. Using univariate analysis, the number and clonogenic potential of circulating UCB HSPCs was influenced by gestational age, birth weight and maternal age. Multivariate analysis showed that main factors that significantly influenced the HSPC count were maternal age, gestational age and white blood cell count. Further, only gestational age significantly influenced the clonogenic potential of UCB HSPCs. Finally, isolated CD34+/CD133+, CD34+/CD133- and ALDH(high) HSPC obtained from preterm cord blood showed a significantly higher clonogenic potential compared to term cord blood.We demonstrate that preterm cord blood exhibits a higher HSPC concentration and increased clonogenic capacity compared to term neonates. These data may imply an emerging use of HSPCs in autologous stem cell therapy in preterm neonates

Clonogenic capacity of HSPCs of preterm and term cord blood.

<p>Clonogenic potential of HSCs in the lysed whole blood assay (LWBA, n = 15) and sorted HSC subpopulations (n = 3).</p><p>Clonogenic capacity of HSPCs of preterm and term cord blood.</p