Evaluating Retinal Function in Age-Related Maculopathy with the ERG Photostress Test

PURPOSE. To evaluate the diagnostic potential of the electroretinogram (ERG) photostress test and the focal cone ERG in age-related maculopathy (ARM). METHODS. The cohort comprised 31 patients with ARM and 27 age-matched control subjects. The ERG photostress test was used to monitor cone adaptation after intense light adaptation. Focal 41- and 5-Hz cone ERGs were recorded monocularly (central 20°) to assess steady state retinal function. Univariate analysis identified electrophysiological parameters that differed between groups, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to assess their diagnostic potential. Logistic regression analysis determined the diagnostic potential of a model incorporating several independent predictors of ARM. RESULTS. The rate of recovery of the ERG photostress test was reduced (recovery was slower) in subjects with ARM. The parameter exhibited good diagnostic potential (P = 0.002, area under ROC curve = 0.74). The implicit times of the 5-Hz (a-wave, P = 0.002; b-wave, P < 0.001) and the 41-Hz (P < 0.001) focal cone ERGs were increased, and the 41-Hz focal cone ERG amplitude (P = 0.003) and focal to full-field amplitude ratio (P = 0.001) were reduced in the ARM group. Logistic regression analysis identified three independent predictors of ARM, including the rate of recovery of the ERG photostress test. CONCLUSIONS. Early ARM has a marked effect on the kinetics of cone adaptation. The clinical application of the ERG photostress test increases the sensitivity and specificity of a model for the diagnosis of ARM. Improved assessment of the functional integrity of the central retina will facilitate early diagnosis and evaluation of therapeutic interventions

A new broccoli × broccoli immortal mapping population and framework genetic map: tools for breeders and complex trait analysis

A unique broccoli x broccoli doubled haploid (DH) population has been created from the F-1 of a cross between two DH broccoli lines derived from cultivars Green Duke and Marathon. We genotyped 154 individuals from this population with simple sequence repeat and amplified fragment length polymorphism markers to create a B. oleracea L. var. italica 'intra-crop' specific framework linkage map. The map is composed of nine linkage groups with a total length of 946.7 cM. Previous published B. oleracea maps have been constructed using diverse crosses between morphotypes of B. oleracea; this map therefore represents a useful breeding resource for the dissection of broccoli specific traits. Phenotype data have been collected from the population over five growing seasons; the framework linkage map has been used to locate quantitative trait loci for agronomically important broccoli traits including head weight (saleable yield), head diameter, stalk diameter, weight loss and relative weight loss during storage, as well as traits for broccoli leaf architecture. This population and associated linkage map will aid breeders to directly map agronomically important traits for the improvement of elite broccoli cultivars

Governing ignorance: emerging catastrophic risks—industry responses and policy frictions

The growing interconnections between people, markets and networks together with the development of new technologies have increased the frequency and impact of large-scale disasters around the globe. Many of these events, defined as emerging catastrophic (or systemic) risks, have no previous record. At the same time there is a strong probability that their frequency and impact will increase in the future. This paper takes a governance perspective by assuming that policy actions should be designed to cope with ignorance and large-scale losses, being the primary features characterising such emerging catastrophic risks. Precisely, the governance activity should aim both at expanding the industries’ capacity to absorb losses and at acquiring more information about frequency and impact of such losses. However, it appears that some solutions may conflict with policy objectives. In particular, direct governmental interventions to compensate victims and stringent antitrust policy goals might block the development of a market for first-party property insurance for emerging systemic risks. This paper elicits crucial points that require further elaboration by policy-makers, thereby stressing the importance of providing a workable legal definition of such line of risk that embraces the precautionary principle