Association mapping of Stagonospora nodorum blotch resistance in modern European winter wheat varieties

Association mapping in populations relevant for wheat breeding has a large potential for validating and fine-mapping QTLs identified in F2- or DH (double haploid)-derived populations. In this study, associations between markers in the region of QSng.sfr-3BS, a major QTL for resistance to Stagonospora nodorum glume blotch (SNG), and SNG resistance were investigated by linkage and association analyses. After increasing marker density in 240 F5:7 recombinant inbred lines (RILs), QSng.sfr-3BS explained 43% of the genetic variance and peaked 0.6cM proximal from the marker SUN2-3B. Association between SNG resistance and markers mapped in the region of QSng.sfr-3BS was investigated in a population of 44 modern European winter wheat varieties. Two genetically distinct subpopulations were identified within these lines. In agreement with linkage analyses, association mapping by a least squares general linear model (GLM) at marker loci in the region of QSng.sfr-3BS revealed the highest association with SNG resistance for SUN2-3B (p<0.05). Association mapping can provide an effective mean of relating genotypes to complex quantitative phenotypes in hexaploid wheat. Linkage disequilibrium (r 2) in chromosome 3B extended less than 0.5cM in 44 varieties, while it extended about 30cM in 240 RILs, based on 91 SSR and STS marker-pair comparisons. This indicated that the association mapping population had a marker resolution potential at least 390-fold higher compared to the RIL populatio

Status of the LHC Short Dipole Model Programme

The 1-m model program for the main LHC dipoles is now mainly focussed on double-aperture magnets. In the past years an intensive program based on single-aperture dipoles allowed to select the series-design features among several variants for the coil cross section, the material of the collars and of the coil end spacers, the coil pre-stress and the cable insulation. The recent double-aperture models are dedicated to the fine-tuning of the baseline design and the manufacture of the coil ends. This paper reports about the fabrication and testing of these magnets and the results relevant for the series production of the 15-m long full-size dipole cold masses

Steps parameters of elderly patients hospitalised for an acute medical illness in a Swiss University Hospital: a monocentric observational pilot-study.

oai:serval.unil.ch:BIB_3AA9F2A56CC4Objective mobility goals for elderly hospitalised medical patients remain debated. We therefore studied steps parameters of elderly patients hospitalised for an acute illness, to determine goals for future interventional trials and medical practice. Observational study conducted from February to November 2018 in a medical ward of the Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland. We measured the step parameters of consecutive medical patients aged ≥65 years admitted for an acute medical illness using a wrist accelerometer (Geneactiv). We also collected demographic, somatic and functional factors. Overall, 187 inpatients had their step parameters (daily step count, walking cadence and bout duration) measured with accelerometers worn for a mean of 3.6 days (standard deviation [SD] 3.2). Elderly inpatients (81.5 years, SD 8.5) walked a median of 603 steps daily (interquartile range [IQR] 456-809), at a median cadence of 100 steps/minute (IQR 99-101) with median walking bouts of 33 seconds (IQR 27-37) and with 70% of the walking bouts lasting less than 30 seconds. Patients walking ≥600 steps were younger (80.4 years, SD 8.9 vs 82.8 years,SD 7.9, p = 0.050) and had a longer length of stay (7.8 days, SD 5.1 vs 6.1 days, SD 4.1, p = 0.011) than those walking &lt;600 steps. Patients at high risk of bed sores walked less (564 steps, IQR 394-814 vs 626, IQR 526-840) than those with a lower risk of sores. During a hospitalisation for an acute medical illness, patients aged ≥65 years walk a mere 603 steps daily and most of the time for periods of less than 30 seconds. This information should be used to build up future interventional trials or to set mobility goals for patients hospitalised in Swiss hospitals

Clinical evaluation of seven tumour markers in lung cancer diagnosis: can any combination improve the results?

In this study we compared the diagnostic utility of: (1) neuron-specific enolase (NSE); (2) squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC); (3) carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA); and (4) cytokeratin markers (CYFRA 21-1, TPA, TPM, TPS) in patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) (21 cases) and non-small-cell lung cancer (94 cases). For comparison we also studied 66 patients with benign lung diseases and nine with pleural mesothelioma. NSE levels in SCLC patients were significantly higher than those in all the other groups studied. No significant variations were found among the SCC levels in all groups. CEA levels in patients with adenocarcinoma were significantly higher than those in all other groups studied. CYFRA 21-1 serum levels significantly increased in patients with squamous cell carcinoma and mesothelioma, while TPA, TPS and TPM increased in patients with lung cancer irrespective of the histological type. In patients with SCLC, high levels of all markers except SCC were found when the disease was extensive. In patients with non-SCLC, the highest levels of all tumour markers were usually found in those with advanced disease, although CYFRA 21-1 gave a sensitivity of 44% when a specificity of 95% was fixed in stage I non-SCLC patients. An analysis of receiver operating characteristic curves revealed that the highest diagnostic accuracies in distinguishing benign from malignant lung diseases were achieved with TPM (81%), CYFRA 21-1 (72%), CEA (78%) or TPA (78%) when using cut-off values of 46 Ul-1, 3.0 micrograms l-1, 2.0 micrograms l-1 and 75 Ul-1 respectively. When all patients were considered, the combined evaluation of more than one marker did not significantly improve the results obtained with TPM alone. However, taking into consideration the fact that CYFRA 21-1 is the most sensitive index of early lung tumours and that its combined determination with TPM did not worsen the overall sensitivity and specificity of the latter, the combined use of these two markers may be suggested as a useful took for the diagnosis of lung tumours

Photons uncertainty solves Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox

Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen (EPR) pointed out that the quantum-mechanical description of "physical reality" implied an unphysical, instantaneous action between distant measurements. To avoid such an action at a distance, EPR concluded that Quantum Mechanics had to be incomplete. However, its extensions involving additional "hidden variables", allowing for the recovery of determinism and locality, have been disproved experimentally (Bell's theorem). Here, I present an opposite solution of the paradox based on the greater indeterminism of the modern Quantum Field Theory (QFT) description of Particle Physics, that prevents the preparation of any state having a definite number of particles. The resulting uncertainty in photons radiation has interesting consequences in Quantum Information Theory (e.g. cryptography and teleportation). Moreover, since it allows for less elements of EPR physical reality than the old non-relativistic Quantum Mechanics, QFT satisfies the EPR condition of completeness without the need of hidden variables. The residual physical reality does never violate locality, thus the unique objective proof of "quantum nonlocality" is removed in an interpretation-independent way. On the other hand, the supposed nonlocality of the EPR correlations turns out to be a problem of the interpretation of the theory. If we do not rely on hidden variables or new physics beyond QFT, the unique viable interpretation is a minimal statistical one, that preserves locality and Lorentz symmetry.Comment: Published version, with updated referenc