Micronutrient deficiencies and toxicities of cassava plants grown in nutrient solutions. I. Critical tissue concentrations

The programmed nutrient addition technique was used in a series of 5 experiments to determine the response in growth and micronutrient content of cassava (Manihot esaulenta Crantz) cv. M Aus 10, to 8 supply levels of “boron, copper, iron, manganese and zinc respectively. The experiments were of 9 weeks duration and utilized 22 litre pots of nutrient solution. The supply levels for each micronutrient covered the range from severe deficiency to toxicity. Critical tissue concentrations for deficiencies determined by relating total dry matter production to the nutrient concentration in the youngest fully expanded leaf blades were (μg/g): Boron 35, copper 6, manganese 50, and zinc 30. Likewise, critical concentrations for toxicities in the same index tissue were (μg/g): boron 100, copper 15, manganese 250, and zinc 120. In the iron experiment, the data were too variable to allow precise determination of critical concentrations for deficiency and toxicity. Critical micronutrient concentrations in the petioles of the youngest fully expanded leaves were also determined, but offered no advantage over the leaf blades

Miyoshi-type distal muscular dystrophy: clinical spectrum in 24 Dutch patients

textabstractMiyoshi-type distal muscular dystrophy has now been found to be more frequent outside Japan than was previously thought. We studied 24 Dutch patients with Miyoshi-type distal muscular dystrophy and focused on its clinical expression and natural history muscle CT-scans and muscle biopsy findings. Our study shows that Miyoshi myopathy is a heterogeneous, slowly progressive disorder. The disease starts with weakness and atrophy of the calves and progressively involves the proximal leg and hip muscles and in a later stage the shoulder and upper arm muscles. After 10 years disease duration, one-third of the patients are dependent on wheelchairs for out-of-door transportation. Disease progression is related to disease duration and not to early age of onset of symptoms. Onset may be at any age and is asymmetrical in roughly half of the cases. Four cases had been initially diagnosed as idiopathic hyper-CK-aemia

Annual review of drug prevention. The National Collaborating Centre for Drug Prevention.

This UK report builds upon the three NCCDPP briefings and presents research findings and identifies gaps in the evidence. The report looks at various types of prevention (family-based, community and generic universal prevention programmes). The following areas are also covered: peer-led education, specialised or alternative education, intervention of young offenders, and intervention for young people in Black and ethnic minority communities. This report also looks at the economics of drug prevention

Comparison of weakness progression in inclusion body myositis during treatment with methotrexate or placebo.

Item does not contain fulltextWe investigated whether 5 to 20mg per week oral methotrexate could slow down disease progression in 44 patients with inclusion body myositis in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study over 48 weeks. Mean change of quantitative muscle strength testing sum scores was the primary study outcome measure. Quantitative muscle strength testing sum scores declined in both treatment groups, -0.2% for methotrexate and -3.4% for placebo (95% confidence interval = -2.5% to +9.1% for difference). There were also no differences in manual muscle testing sum scores, activity scale scores and patients' own assessments after 48 weeks of treatment. Serum creatine kinase activity decreased significantly in the methotrexate group. We conclude that oral methotrexate did not slow down progression of muscle weakness but decreased serum creatine kinase activity

Epidemiology of inclusion body myositis in the Netherlands: a nationwide study.

Epidemiologic data on inclusion body myositis (IBM) are scarce, and possibly biased, because they are derived from larger neuromuscular centers. The present nationwide collaborative cross-sectional study, which culminated on July 1, 1999, resulted in identification of 76 patients with IBM and the establishment of a prevalence of 4.9 patients with IBM per million inhabitants in the Netherlands. Several discrepancies suggest that this may be an underestimation. The most frequently identified pitfall in diagnosing IBM was an erroneous diagnosis of polymyositis or motor neuron disease