A comparison of winter wheat cultivar rankings in groups of Polish locations

The grouping of locations from local-scale multi-environmental trials (METs) into megaenvironments has been criticized. Some European countries, e.g. the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany, have been characterized as possessing homogeneous environmental conditions. For aligned environmental conditions, it has been assumed that cultivar rankings will be similar and consequently cannot be used to designate mega-environments. An example of METs at the local scale is the Polish Post Registration Variety Testing System. The objective of this study was to determine groups of test sites within 16 Polish regions which are characterized by similar yield ranking of 50 winter wheat cultivars over three growing seasons (2011–2013). The compatibility of these cultivar yield rankings across regions was evaluated using Pearson correlation coefficients. Thereby, the 16 regions were divided into six groups (mega-environments) of locations. Regions within each group have similar cultivar rankings, whereas between groups, we observed different cultivar rankings, indicating crossover interactions. Besides similar cultivar yield responses the regions within megaenvironments were characterized also by similar environmental (soil and/or climate) conditions

The serum zinc concentration as a potential biological marker in patients with major depressive disorder

Despite many clinical trials assessing the role of zinc in major depressive disorder (MDD), the conclusions still remain ambiguous. The aim of the present clinical study was to determine and comparison the zinc concentration in the blood of MDD patients (active stage or remission) and healthy volunteers (controls), as well as to discuss its potential clinical usefulness as a biomarker of the disease. In this study 69 patients with current depressive episode, 45 patients in remission and 50 controls were enrolled. The zinc concentration was measured by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ET AAS). The obtained results revealed, that the zinc concentration in depressed phase were statistically lower than in the healthy volunteers [0.89 vs. 1.06 mg/L, respectively], while the zinc level in patients achieve remission was not significantly different from the controls [1.07 vs. 1.06 mg/L, respectively]. Additionally, among the patients achieve remission a significant differences in zinc concentration between group with and without presence of drug-resistance in the previous episode of depression were observed. Also, patients in remission demonstrated correlation between zinc level and the average number of depressive episodes in the last year. Serum zinc concentration was not dependent on atypical features of depression, presence of psychotic symptoms or melancholic syndrome, age, age of onset or duration of disease, number of episodes in the life time, duration of the episode/remission and severity of depression measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HDRS), and the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Concluding, our findings confirm the correlation between zinc deficit present in the depressive episode, and are consistent with the majority of previous studies. These results may also indicate that serum zinc concentration might be considered as a potential biological marker of MDD

Niraparib Maintenance Therapy in Platinum-Sensitive, Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

BACKGROUND Niraparib is an oral poly(adenosine diphosphate [ADP]-ribose) polymerase (PARP) 1/2 inhibitor that has shown clinical activity in patients with ovarian cancer. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of niraparib versus placebo as maintenance treatment for patients with platinum-sensitive, recurrent ovarian cancer. METHODS In this randomized, double-blind, phase 3 trial, patients were categorized according to the presence or absence of a germline BRCA mutation (gBRCA cohort and non-gBRCA cohort) and the type of non-gBRCA mutation and were randomly assigned in a 2: 1 ratio to receive niraparib (300 mg) or placebo once daily. The primary end point was progression-free survival. RESULTS Of 553 enrolled patients, 203 were in the gBRCA cohort (with 138 assigned to niraparib and 65 to placebo), and 350 patients were in the non-gBRCA cohort (with 234 assigned to niraparib and 116 to placebo). Patients in the niraparib group had a significantly longer median duration of progression-free survival than did those in the placebo group, including 21.0 vs. 5.5 months in the gBRCA cohort (hazard ratio, 0.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.17 to 0.41), as compared with 12.9 months vs. 3.8 months in the non-gBRCA cohort for patients who had tumors with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) (hazard ratio, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.24 to 0.59) and 9.3 months vs. 3.9 months in the overall non-gBRCA cohort (hazard ratio, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.34 to 0.61; P < 0.001 for all three comparisons). The most common grade 3 or 4 adverse events that were reported in the niraparib group were thrombocytopenia (in 33.8%), anemia (in 25.3%), and neutropenia (in 19.6%), which were managed with dose modifications. CONCLUSIONS Among patients with platinum-sensitive, recurrent ovarian cancer, the median duration of progression-free survival was significantly longer among those receiving niraparib than among those receiving placebo, regardless of the presence or absence of gBRCA mutations or HRD status, with moderate bone marrow toxicity. (Funded by Tesaro; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01847274.)Tesaro; Amgen; Genentech; Roche; AstraZeneca; Myriad Genetics; Merck; Gradalis; Cerulean; Vermillion; ImmunoGen; Pfizer; Bayer; Nu-Cana BioMed; INSYS Therapeutics; GlaxoSmithKline; Verastem; Mateon Therapeutics; Pharmaceutical Product Development; Clovis Oncology; Janssen/Johnson Johnson; Eli Lilly; Merck Sharp DohmeThis article was published on October 8, 2016; 6 Month Embargo.This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI 2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/images/research_banner_face_lab_290.jpgunderweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesity

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

AbstractOptimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was &lt;1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.</jats:p

Prospective resources of gypsum and anhydrites in Poland shown on the maps at scale 1 : 200 000

Areas with the occurrence of prospective resources of anhydrite and gypsum in Poland are shown on nine topographic map sheets at scale 1 : 200 000. The Zechstein (Upper Permian) sulphates (gypsum and anhydrites) exploited in the North Sudetic Synclinorium as well as the Miocene (Neogene) gypsum from the Carpathian Foredeep are of the economic importance. Fifty-one prospective areas were contoured and supplemented with the special information cards. Thirty-three areas of Zechstein sulphates are located in SW Poland and their predicted resources equal 569.94 billion Mg for the total area of about 1568 km2, 10 areas have prognostic resources of 483.50 billion Mg. In the Carpathian Foredeep (southern Poland) 14 prospective areas of gypsum and four areas of anhydrite are contoured. The prospective resources of these Miocene sulphates are 5.76 billion Mg for the total area of about 179 km2, but the prognostic gypsum resources of 11 areas are calculated for 0.46 billion Mg. Total prospective resources of both Zechstein and Miocene sulphates in Poland are estimated at 575.70 billion Mg

Zdolność kombinacyjna wybranych deserowych odmian truskawki o zróżnicowanym okresie dojrzewania owoców

The subjects of the study were the strawberry hybrids of the F1 generation, de-rived from the crossing made between eight cultivars: ‘Darselect’, ‘Selvik’, ‘Elianny’, ‘Susy’, ‘Salsa’, ‘Albion’, ‘Charlotte’ and ‘Filon’ in an incomplete diallel mating design according to Griffing’s method IV. The assessed traits were: fruit ripening time, productivity, fruit size and firmness, as well as soluble solids and ascorbic acid content. Significant differences were found in general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) effects for most of the traits. The most suitable strawberry for breeding cul-tivars with fruits for fresh consumption was ‘Charlotte’, as a donor of high productivity and large fruits. Valuable parental cultivars were also: ‘Salsa’ – for large fruit rich in soluble solids, ‘Darselect’ – for high ascorbic acid content, ‘Filon’ – for large fruit and ‘Albion’ – for high productivity. Strawberry ‘Susy’ was the least useful parent for breed-ing such cultivars. For most families, significantly positive SCA effects were found for the individual traits. Only for 3 families, significantly positive SCA effects were obtained for two or more traits. These are the following families: ‘Selvik’ × ‘Susy’, ‘Selvik’ × ‘Salsa’ and ‘Elianny’ × ‘Filon’.Przedmiotem badań były mieszańce truskawek pokolenia F1 otrzymane w wyniku skrzyżowania w układzie diallelicznym niekompletnym wg IV metody Griffinga ośmiu odmian: ‘Darselect’, ‘Selvik’, ‘Elianny’, ‘Susy’, ‘Salsa’, ‘Albion’, ‘Charlotte’ i ‘Filon’. Oceniano następujące cechy mieszańców: termin dojrzewania, plenność, wielkość i jędrność owoców, a także zawartość w owocach substancji rozpuszczalnych i kwasu askorbinowego. Stwierdzono istotne zróżnicowanie efektów ogólnej zdolności kombinacyjnej (GCA) i specyficznej zdolności kombinacyjnej (SCA) dla większości badanych cech. Najbardziej przydatna do hodowli odmian deserowych okazała się ‘Charlotte’, będąca donorem genów warunkujących wysoką plenność i duże owoce. Cenne dla hodowli są również: ‘Salsa’ – donor cechy dużych i bogatych w substancje rozpuszczalne owoców, ‘Darselect’ – donor cechy wysokiej zawartości kwasu askorbinowego w owocach, ‘Filon’ – donor cechy dużych owoców, ‘Albion’ – donor cechy wysokiej plenności. Najmniej przydatna do hodowli odmian deserowych jest ‘Susy’. U większości rodzin stwierdzono istotnie dodatnie efekty SCA dla pojedynczych cech. U trzech rodzin uzyskano istotnie dodatnie efekty SCA dla dwóch lub więcej cech. Są to rodziny otrzymane ze skrzyżowania odmian: ‘Selvik’ × ‘Susy’, ‘Selvik’ × ‘Salsa’ oraz ‘Elianny’ × ‘Filon’