An Investigation into Transformation and RNA Editing in the Lolium Plastome

Ireland’s agricultural land area comprises of 91% grassland, which predominantly consists of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). Owing to the predicted climate change, grasslands in the east of Ireland will be severely affected over the next hundred years. Due to this prediction, strategies to circumvent this problem need to be addressed. The present study is focused on RNA editing (post-transcriptional nucleotide modifications resulting in altered transcripts) within plastidial transcripts of the NDH complex (NADH dehydrogenase complex) in relation to the drought response of several accessions of perennial ryegrass. Previous studies have shown that the NDH complex is involved with countering oxidative stress during environmental stresses like drought. Due to the nature of RNA editing within this complex, the RNA editing machinery could potentially play a role in regulating the activity of the NDH complex. In this study a difference was observed in editing behaviour between accessions of Lolium perenne L., however a direct relationship between editing behaviour and drought response could not be confirmed. Despite the lack of correlation, a possible role of RNA editing in regulation of the NDH complex cannot be completely disregarded. To expand the investigation concerning the role of RNA editing, plastid transformation can be utilised. Due to the absence of a protocol for plastid transformation of perennial ryegrass, a study was dedicated to design such a protocol. However despite extensive evaluation of all the involved factors in the transformation process, a working protocol was not established. Nevertheless small adjustments to this protocol in the future could potentially lead to an extension of the plastid transformation technology to this species

Networking and performance in public organizations : a study of primary schools in the Netherlands

  Public organizations are responsible for the delivery and provision of public services on which citizens rely. To maintain the quality of or improve these services, public organizations must exploit resources from the environment of the organization. To attain a predictable and controllable flow of resources, public managers must interact with a wide array of different organizations and actors in the organization’s environment that are potential sources of support. The main question of this dissertation concerns the conditions under which public managers’ interactions with organizations and actors in the environments of their organizations contribute to organizational performance. The context of this study is Dutch primary education. Specifically, we study the networking activities of Dutch primary school principals. One of the main conclusions of this dissertation is that specific managerial networking activities moderate the negative effect of specific environmental challenges. We find, for example, that the negative effect of red tape on school performance is attenuated by school principals’ networking activities with external organizations, such as local- and national government organizations and interest groups. Insights into the conditions under which specific managerial networking activities are beneficial can help public managers make strategic decisions about which networking activities to prioritize in certain situations.  This study was supported by the “Vidi” Program of The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (452-06-001) to René Torenvlied.The politics and administration of institutional chang

Virtual reality training to improve complex skills – concerns and remarks:A Letter to the Editor

Background: There has been limited literature on immersive virtual reality (VR) simulation in orthopaedic education. The purpose of this multicenter, blinded, randomized controlled trial was to determine the validity and efficacy of immersive VR training in orthopaedic resident education.Methods: Nineteen senior orthopaedic residents (resident group) and 7 consultant shoulder arthroplasty surgeons (expert group) participated in the trial comparing immersive VR with traditional learning using a technical journal article as a control. The examined task focused on achieving optimal glenoid exposure. Participants completed demographic qu`estionnaires, knowledge tests, and a glenoid exposure on fresh-frozen cadavers while being examined by blinded shoulder arthroplasty surgeons. Training superiority was determined by the outcome measures of the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) score, a developed laboratory metric, verbal answers, and time to task completion.Results: Immersive VR had greater realism and was superior in teaching glenoid exposure than the control (p = 0.01). The expert group outperformed the resident group on knowledge testing (p = 0.04). The immersive VR group completed the learning activity and knowledge tests significantly faster (p < 0.001) at a mean time (and standard deviation) of 11 +/- 3 minutes than the control group at 20 +/- 4 minutes, performing 3 to 5 VR repeats for a reduction in learning time of 570%. The immersive VR group completed the glenoid exposure significantly faster ( p = 0.04) at a mean time of 14 +/- 7 minutes than the control group at 21 +/- 6 minutes, with superior OSATS instrument handling scores (p = 0.03). The immersive VR group scored equivalently in surprise verbal scores (p = 0.85) and written knowledge scores (p = 1.0).Conclusions: Immersive VR demonstrated substantially improved translational technical and nontechnical skills acquisition over traditional learning in senior orthopaedic residents. Additionally, the results demonstrate the face, content, construct, and transfer validity for immersive VR

Conventional Radiograph Is Still Advised in the Diagnostic Work-up of a Shoulder Dislocation; a Letter to the Editor

Dear editor: A shoulder dislocation is a common diagnosis at the emergency department, showing an incidence of 23.9 per 100,000 person-years. In the current diagnostic work-up, a radiograph is often used to confirm the dislocation. As radiographs are associated with radiation exposure, the ultrasound has been proposed as an alternative. Therefore, the study by Entezari et al is of great importance in evaluating the applicability of the ultrasound. However, the authors suggest that the ultrasound can be used as an alternative to the radiograph. In our opinion, an important advantage of the radiograph has not been discussed and we question some decisions that were made in terms of methodology. Therefore, we think that this study has to be seen in the light of these remarks

The occurrence of osteoarthritis at a minimum of ten years after reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence of radiographic osteoarthritis in the operated knee in comparison with the contralateral knee ten years after a bone-tendon bone patellar autograft ACL-reconstruction and to evaluate to which level patients regain activity ten years after reconstruction.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifty-three patients with ACL instability were operated arthroscopically using the central third of the patellar tendon as a bone-tendon-bone autograft. At a minimum of 10 year follow up 28/44 patients matched the inclusion criteria and could be reached for follow-up. Evaluation included a patient satisfaction evaluation using a Visual Analog Scale, physical examination (International Knee Documentation Committee score, Tegner score, Lysholm score, KT-1000 stabilometry) and a radiological evaluation (Kellgren and Fairbanks classification).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The patients' satisfaction, at a mean of 10,3 year follow-up, measured with a VAS score (0–10) was high with a mean of 8.5 (range 4 to 10). The KT 1000 arthrometer laxity measurements revealed in 55% of the patients an A rating (1–2 mm), in 29% a B rating (3–5 mm) and in 16% a C rating (6–10 mm). According to the Tegner score 54% of the patients were able to perform at the same activity level as pre-operatively. The mean pre-operative Tegner score was 6.8 and the mean post-operative Tegner score was 6.0 at final follow up. The Lysholm score showed satisfactory results with a mean of 91 points (range 56 to 100). According to the Kellgren and Fairbank classifications, there is a significant difference (p < 0.05) in development of OA between the ACL injured and subsequently operated knee in comparison to the contralateral knee.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The patellar BTB ACL reconstruction does not prevent the occurrence of radiological OA after 10 years but does help the patient to regain the pre-operative level of activity.</p