STUDIES ON SOME QUALITY COMPONENTS IN A LANDRACE COLLECTION OF CLIMBING BEANS (PHASEOLUS VULGARIS VAR. COMMUNIS)

The study aimed at evaluating a landraces collection of climbing beans regarding some characters that contribute to quality of grains or green pods. The biological material was formed of 56 landraces and 2 varieties of climbing beans from which the grains or green pods can be used in food. The landraces were collected from western and southwestern Romania. The experimentation was performed over three years in a collection-type experience, arranged in three repetitions. As elements of quality we determined: the percentage of husks from beans, boiling coefficient, the percentage of bean total protein, 1000 grain weight, the percentage of sugar in green pods. The experimental data were processed by analysis of variance and applying the t-test for determination of differences from the variety ‘Aurie de Bacau’ used as a control. The collection includes precious populations for all studied characters, but their number is reduced. For the percentage of grain husks and the protein content of grain, the most populations are below the control variety. For sugar percentage in green pod and the coefficient of boiling, the landraces are similar to control variety. In the collection, there are populations that can be processed by selection or can be used as parents in hybridization programs

Ex situ BEHAVIOUR OF SOME OAT (Avena sativa L.) LANDRACES COLLECTED FROM A POLLUTED AREA IN THE MIDDLE JIU RIVER BASIN (GORJ DISTRICT)

Avena sativa is a specie which can be cultivated on soils with a high amount of heavy metals or with some radionuclids, it being phytoextractive for some elements (zinc, copper, cadmium, uranium, a/o). On the sterile waste dumps from the middle Jiu river basin (Gorj district), and on neighbour area, this species is cultivated more than 20 years ago. The landraces of Avena sativa present adaptation at the presence in soil of a high content in heavy metals and/or radionuclides. From the population farmsteads situated in this area, were harvested 23 landraces of Avena sativa, which were cultivated ex situ in the Experimental Research Station of USAMVB-Timişoara (Timiş district). The analysis of the main quantitative features of these landraces, in comparison with Mureş sort (Control), point out significant differences (notable in some cases), which underlined the variability in this species and the adaptation to environmental conditions. The best oat genotypes, can be used further in a breeding program, in order to obtain for culture on the degraded soils (with a high content in heavy metals and radionuclides), the most proper sorts

Psychological response and quality of life after transplantation: a comparison between heart, lung, liver and kidney recipients

PRINCIPLES: Various non-specific questionnaires were used to measure quality of life and psychological wellbeing of patients after organ transplantation. At present cross-organ studies dealing specifically with the psychological response to a transplanted organ are non-existent in German-speaking countries. METHODS: The Transplant Effects Questionnaire TxEQ-D and the SF-36 Quality of Life Questionnaire were used to examine the psychological response and quality of life of 370 patients after heart, lung, liver or kidney transplantation. The organ groups were compared with regard to psychosocial parameters. RESULTS: 72% of patients develop a feeling of responsibility for the received organ and its function. This feeling is even stronger towards the patient's key relationships i.e. family, friends, the treatment team and the donor. 11.6% worry about the transplanted organ. Heart and lung patients report significantly fewer concerns than liver and kidney patients. Overall, only a minority of patients report feelings of guilt towards the donor (2.7%), problems in disclosing their transplant to others (2.4%), or difficulties in complying with medical orders (3.5%). Lung transplant patients show significantly better adherence. CONCLUSIONS: A feeling of responsibility towards those one is close to and towards the donor is a common psychological phenomenon after transplantation of an organ. Conscious feelings of guilt and shame are harboured by only a minority of patients. The fact that heart and lung patients worry less about their transplant might have primarily to do with the greater medical and psychosocial support in this group

Kemijski sastav endemske biljke Centaurea austro-anatolica i ispitivanje antimikrobnog djelovanja protiv multi-rezistentnih bakterija

Hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and ethanolic extracts of the aerial parts of C. austro-anatolica Hub.-Mor. (Asteraceae) were evaluated against microorganisms, including multi-resistant bacteria, using a paper disc diffusion method. The chloroform extract exhibited significant antibacterial activity toward all bacteria tested. The chemical composition of the chloroform extract was determined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The major compounds of the extract were caryophyllene oxide (21.32 %), spathulenol (10.86 %), n-tricosanol (9.58 %) and geranyl isovalerate (8.71 %).Heksanski, kloroformski, etil-acetatni i etanolni ekstrakti vršnih dijelova biljke C. austro-anatolica Hub.-Mor. (Asteraceae) ispitivani su na antimikrobno djelovanje protiv multi-rezistentnih bakterija, koristeći difuzijsku metodu na papirnom disku. Kloroformski ekstrakt pokazao je značajno antibakterijsko djelovanje protiv svih testiranih bakterija. Kemijski sastav tog ekstrakta određivan je plinskom kromatografijom (GC) i plinskom kromatografijom-spektrometrijom masa (GC-MS). Najvažniji sastojci ekstrakta bili su kariofilen oksid (21,32 %), spatulenol (10,86 %), n-trikozanol (9,58 %) i geranil izovalerat (8,71 %)

What range of motion is achieved 5 years after external rotationplasty of the shoulder in infants with an obstetric brachial plexus injury?

Background Obstetric brachial plexus injuries result from traction injuries during delivery, and 30% of these children have persisting functional limitations related to an external rotation deficit of the shoulder. Little is known about the long-term effect of soft-tissue procedures of the shoulder in patients with obstetric brachial plexus injuries. Questions/purposes (1) After soft-tissue release for patients with passive external rotation less than 20 degrees and age younger than 2 years and for patients older than 2 years with good external rotation strength, what are the improvements in passive external rotation and abduction arcs at 1 and 5 years? (2) For patients who underwent staged tendon transfer after soft-tissue release, what are the improvements in active external rotation and abduction arcs at 1 and 5 years? (3) For patients with passive external rotation less than 20 degrees and no active external rotation, what are the improvements in active external rotation and abduction arcs at 1 and 5 years? Methods This was a retrospective analysis of a longitudinally maintained institutional database. Between 1996 and 2009, 149 children underwent a soft-tissue procedure of the shoulder for an internal rotation contracture. The inclusion criteria were treatment with an internal contracture release and/or tendon transfer, a maximum age of 18 years at the time of surgery, and a minimum follow-up period of 2 years. Six patients were older than 18 years at the time of surgery and 31 children were seen at our clinic until 1 year postoperatively, but because they had good clinical results and lived far away from our center, these children were discharged to physical therapists in their hometown for annual follow-up. Thus, 112 children (59 boys) were available for analysis. Patients with passive external rotation less than 20 degrees and age younger than 2 years and patients older than 2 years with good external rotation strength received soft-tissue release only (n = 37). Of these patients, 17 children did not have adequate active external rotation, and second-stage tendon transfer surgery was performed. For patients with passive external rotation less than 20 degrees with no active external rotation, single-stage contracture release with tendon transfer was performed (n = 68). When no contracture was present (greater than 20 degrees of external rotation) but the patient had an active deficit (n = 7), tendon transfer alone was performed; this group was not analyzed. A functional assessment of the shoulder was performed preoperatively and postoperatively at 6 weeks, 3 months, and annually thereafter and included abduction, external rotation in adduction and abduction, and the Mallet scale. Results Internal contracture release resulted in an improvement in passive external rotation in adduction and abduction of 29 degrees (95% confidence interval, 21 to 38; p < 0.001) and 17 degrees (95% CI, 10 to 24; p < 0.001) at 1 year of follow-up and 25 degrees (95% CI, 15-35; p < 0.001) and 15 degrees (95% CI, 7 to 24; p = 0.001) at 5 years. Because of insufficient strength of the external rotators after release, 46% of the children (17 of 37) underwent an additional tendon transfer for active external rotation, resulting in an improvement in active external rotation in adduction and abduction at each successive follow-up visit. Patients with staged transfers had improved active function; improvements in active external rotation in adduction and abduction were 49 degrees (95% CI, 28 to 69; p < 0.05) and 45 degrees (95% CI, 11 to 79; p < 0.001) at 1 year of follow-up and 38 degrees (95% CI, 19 to 58; p < 0.05) and 23 degrees (95% CI, -8 to 55; p < 0.001) at 5 years. In patients starting with less than 20 degrees of passive external rotation and no active external rotation, after single-stage contracture release and tendon transfer, active ROM was improved. Active external rotation in adduction and abduction were 75 degrees (95% CI, 66 to 84; p < 0.001) and 50 degrees (95% CI, 43 to 57; p < 0.001) at 1 year of follow-up and 65 degrees (95% CI, 50 to 79; p < 0.001) and 40 degrees (95% CI, 28 to 52; p < 0.001) at 5 years. Conclusion Young children with obstetric brachial plexus injuries who have internal rotation contractures may benefit from soft-tissue release. When active external rotation is lacking, soft-tissue release combined with tendon transfer improved active external rotation in this small series. Future studies on the degree of glenohumeral deformities and functional outcome might give more insight into the level of increase in external rotation.Development and application of statistical models for medical scientific researc

Charmed Exotics in Heavy Ion Collisions

Based on the color-spin interaction in diquarks, we argue that charmed multiquark hadrons are likely to exist. Because of the appreciable number of charm quarks produced in central nucleus-nucleus collisions at ultrarelativistic energies, production of charmed multiquark hadrons is expected to be enhanced in these collisions. Using both the quark coalescence model and the statistical hadronization model, we estimate the yield of charmed tetraquark meson $T_{cc}$ and pentaquark baryon $\Theta_{cs}$ in heavy ion collisions at RHIC and LHC. We further discuss the decay modes of these charmed exotic hadrons in order to facilitate their detections in experiments

European Medicines Agency review of ixazomib (Ninlaro) for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy

On 21 November 2016, the European Commission issued a marketing authorisation valid throughout the European Union for ixazomib in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy. Ixazomib was evaluated in one, randomised, double-blind, phase III study comparing ixazomib plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone (n=360; ixazomib arm) versus placebo plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone (n=362; placebo arm) in adult patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma who had received at least one prior therapy. The median progression-free survival (PFS) in the intent-to-treat population was 20.6 months in patients treated with ixazomib compared with 14.7 months for patients in the placebo arm (stratified HR=0.742, 95% CI 0.587 to 0.939, stratified p-value=0.012). The most frequently reported adverse reactions (≥20%) within the ixazomib and placebo arms were diarrhoea (42% vs 36%), constipation (34% vs 25%), thrombocytopaenia (28% vs 14%), peripheral neuropathy (28% vs 21%), nausea (26% vs 21%), peripheral oedema (25% vs 18%), vomiting (22% vs 11%) and back pain (21% vs 16%). The scientific review concluded that the gain in PFS of 5.9 months observed with ixazomib was considered clinically meaningful. Concerning the possible uncertainty about the magnitude of the effect, this uncertainty was acceptable given the favourable toxicity profile, and considering that ixazomib is the first agent to allow oral triple combination therapy in this patient population which represents a therapeutic innovation in terms of convenience for patients. Therefore, the benefit-risk for ixazomib in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone was considered positive, although the efficacy evidence was not as comprehensive as normally required

Outcome measures used in clinical studies on neonatal brachial plexus palsy: A systematic literature review using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

BACKGROUND: Symptoms of a neonatal brachial plexus palsy (NBPP) can vary widely among individuals and numerous clinical studies have been performed to identify the natural history and to improve treatment. The aim of this study was to identify and describe all outcome measures used in clinical studies on patients with an NBPP and categorize these outcome measures according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).METHOD: Electronic searches of different databases were carried out. All clinical studies describing one or more outcomes of NBPP were selected. Data on outcome measures was systematically extracted and the contents were analyzed and linked to the ICF.RESULTS: A total of 217 full texts were selected and 59 different outcome measures were identified. The 5 most frequently used outcome measures included range of motion of the shoulder (n = 166 studies, 76%), range of motion of the elbow (n = 87 studies, 40%), the Mallet scale (n = 66 studies, 30%), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (n = 37 studies, 17%) and the Medical Research Council motor grading scale (n = 31 studies, 14%). Assessments related to Body functions and Structures were most frequent, whereas assessments associated with Activities and Participation and Environmental Factors were relatively uncommon.CONCLUSION: There was a high variability among the outcome measures used, with measures within the ICF component Body Functions being most common. These results underscore the need for the development and usage of outcome measures representing all domains of health status in patients with NBPP