Acute carotid blowout in a postirradiated malignant ulcer – repair versus ligation… is preservation of carotid artery worth it?

Acute carotid blowout syndrome (CBS) is the most dreaded complication in an invasive head-and-neck malignancy. The syndrome occurs in 3%–4% of all head-and-neck cancer patients. This report is inquisitive about the effectiveness of preservation of carotid artery during a life-threatening acute carotid blowout in an invasive CBS

Exposure to welding fumes activates DNA damage response and redoxsensitive transcription factor signalling in Sprague-Dawley rats

Background: Occupational exposure to welding fumes containing a complex mixture of genotoxic heavy metals, radiation, gases and nanoparticles poses a serious health hazard to welders. Since their categorization as possible carcinogens, welding fumes have gained increasing attention as high priority agents for risk assessment. Objective: The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of welding fume inhalation on oxidative stress, DNA damage response (DDR), and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF kappa B) signalling in the lung tissues of male Sprague-Dawley rats. Methods: Animals were divided into five groups. Group 1 animals served as control. Rats in groups 2-5 were exposed to 50 mg/m(3) stainless steel (SS) welding fumes for 1 h for 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks respectively. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes (XMEs) and antioxidants were analysed. DNA damage sensors, DNA repair enzymes, inflammatory mediators, cell cycle progression, apoptosis and key players in Nrf2 and NF kappa B signalling were assessed by flow cytometry, quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR, immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. Results: Rats exposed to welding fumes showed increased levels of chromium and ROS in lung tissues associated with accumulation of 8-oxodG and enhanced expression of XMEs and antioxidants. This was accompanied by upregulation of DNA damage sensors, cell cycle arrest in G1/S phase, overexpression of a multitude of DNA repair enzymes and caspase-mediated apoptosis. In addition, exposure to welding fumes induced activation of Nrf2 and NF kappa B signalling with enhanced expression of inflammatory mediators. Conclusion: The results of the present study unequivocally demonstrate that exposure of rats to SS welding fumes alters the expression of 37 genes involved in oxidative stress, detoxification, inflammation, DNA repair, cell cycle progression, and apoptosis. Activation of DDR and the ROS-sensitive Nrf2 and NF kappa B signalling pathways may be key molecular events that mediate adaptive cellular response to welding fume exposure

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ReLOAMS: Towards a community authored, reusable learnin

Multi-parent populations in crops: a toolbox integrating genomics and genetic mapping with breeding

Crop populations derived from experimental crosses enable the genetic dissection of complex traits and support modern plant breeding. Among these, multi-parent populations now play a central role. By mixing and recombining the genomes of multiple founders, multi-parent populations combine many commonly sought beneficial properties of genetic mapping populations. For example, they have high power and resolution for mapping quantitative trait loci, high genetic diversity and minimal population structure. Many multi-parent populations have been constructed in crop species, and their inbred germplasm and associated phenotypic and genotypic data serve as enduring resources. Their utility has grown from being a tool for mapping quantitative trait loci to a means of providing germplasm for breeding programmes. Genomics approaches, including de novo genome assemblies and gene annotations for the population founders, have allowed the imputation of rich sequence information into the descendent population, expanding the breadth of research and breeding applications of multi-parent populations. Here, we report recent successes from crop multi-parent populations in crops. We also propose an ideal genotypic, phenotypic and germplasm 'package' that multi-parent populations should feature to optimise their use as powerful community resources for crop research, development and breeding