A mechanism for inhibiting cross-fertilization in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.)

Natural out-crossing imposes considerable costs and inefficiencies in breeding, evaluation and commercialization of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.). This note reports identification of a modification of floral morphology which inhibits cross-fertilization. Floral morphology and possible mechanisms of action of this character are discussed

A New Source of Genetic Male Sterility in Pigeonpea

The identification of a new source of genetic male sterility in pigeonpea is reported. This source differs from that reported by Reddy et al, (1977), and oytological examination indicates that the abnormal anther development involves degeneration of the pollen mother cells at the young tetrad stage. This form of male sterility has been recovered in phenological classes ranging from 52 to 80 days to flower for December sowings at 27 S. The character is being maintained in ten phenological groups. This new source of genetic male sterility mil widen the genetic base for hybrid production in pigeonpea

Histopathologic indicators of breast cancer biology: insights from population mammographic screening

Histopathologic features of breast cancer such as tumour size, grade and axillary lymph node (LN) status variably reflect tumour biology and time. Recent evidence suggests that the biological character of breast cancer is established at an early stage and has a major impact on clinical course. The aim of this study was to distinguish the impact of biology on breast cancer histopathology by comparing features of breast cancers diagnosed following population mammographic screening with prevalent vs incident detection and screening interval. Central histopathology review data from 1147 cases of ductal in situ and/or invasive breast cancer were examined. Size, grade and LN status of invasive cancers were positively correlated (P<0.001). Prevalent invasive cancers were larger (P<0.001) and more likely to be LN positive (P=0.02) than incident cases, but grade was not associated with screening episode (P=0.7). Screening interval for incident cancers was positively associated with invasive cancer size (P=0.05) and LN status (P=0.002) but not grade (P=0.1). Together, these data indicate that biology and time both impact on size and LN status of invasive breast cancer, but grade reflects biology alone. In view of the clinical importance of breast cancer biology, grade as its most direct indicator assumes particular significance

Gene action in short-duration pigeonpeas

F1-F2 hybrids from a half diallel set of crosses involving 7 early Cajanus cajan lines were studied for yield and a number of yield-related traits. Parental performance was a good predictor of breeding value for most traits in the F1, but in the F2 a significant positive association between GCA effects and the parental performance was seen only for number of days to flowering. GCA variance predominated for all traits in the F1 and F2. The results suggested exploitation of the additive genetic variation in breeding for improvement of the cro

Left atrial reservoir strain by speckle tracking echocardiography : association with exercise capacity in chronic kidney disease

BACKGROUND: Left atrial (LA) function plays a pivotal role in modulating left ventricular performance. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between resting LA function by strain analysis and exercise capacity in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and evaluate its utility compared with exercise E/e’. METHODS AND RESULTS: Consecutive patients with stage 3 and 4 CKD without prior cardiac history were prospectively recruited from outpatient nephrology clinics and underwent clinical evaluation and resting and exercise stress echocardiography. Resting echocardiographic parameters including E/e’ and phasic LA strain (LA reservoir [LASr], conduit, and contractile strain) were measured and compared with exercise E/e’. A total of 218 (63.9±11.7 years, 64% men) patients with CKD were recruited. Independent clinical parameters associated with exercise capacity were age, estimated glomerular filtration rate, body mass index, and sex (P<0.01 for all), while independent resting echocardiographic parameters included E/e’, LASr, and LA contractile strain (P<0.01 for all). Among resting echocardiographic parameters, LASr demonstrated the strongest positive correlation to metabolic equivalents achieved (r=0.70; P<0.01). Receiver operating characteristic curves demonstrated that LASr (area under the curve, 0.83) had similar diagnostic performance as exercise E/e’ (area under the curve, 0.79; P=0.20 on DeLong test). A model combining LASr and clinical metrics showed robust association with metabolic equivalents achieved in patients with CKD. CONCLUSIONS: LASr, a marker of decreased LA compliance is an independent correlate of exercise capacity in patients with stage 3 and 4 CKD, with similar diagnostic value to exercise E/e’. Thus, LASr may serve as a resting biomarker of functional capacity in this population

A new gene for male sterility in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L). Millsp.)

Several forms of female fertile and male sterile mutants in pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L). Millsp.) have been reported. A translucent anther type of male sterile characterised by non-separation of tetrads that is associated with a persistent tapetum is conditioned by a single recessive gene, ms1 (Reddy et al., 1977; Reddy et al., 1978). By contrast, a male sterile plant identified in breeding line B15B by Wallis et al. (1981) has shrivelled, arrowhead-shaped, non-dehiscent, brown-coloured anthers, and the pollen mother cells degenerate at the early tetrad stage (Dundas et al., 1981). This paper reports studies to determine the inheritance of the B15B male sterile character and its allelic relationship to the translucent anther type

The compression type of coronary artery motion in patients with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction and normal controls: a case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prediction of the location of culprit lesions responsible for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions may allow for prevention of these events. A retrospective analysis of coronary artery motion (CAM) was performed on coronary angiograms of 20 patients who subsequently had ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction treated by primary or rescue angioplasty and an equal number of age and sex matched controls with normal angiograms.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>There was no statistically significant difference between the frequency of CAM types of the ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction and control patients (p = 0.97). The compression type of CAM is more frequent in the proximal and mid segments of all three coronary arteries. No statistically significant difference was found when the frequency of the compression type of CAM was compared between the ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction and control patients for the individual coronary artery segments (p = 0.59).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The proportion of the compression type of coronary artery motion for individual artery segments is not different between patients who have subsequent ST-segment elevation myocardial infarctions and normal controls.</p

A Non-Cytosolic Protein of Trypanosoma evansi Induces CD45-Dependent Lymphocyte Death

In a recent study dealing with a mouse model of Trypanosoma evansi-associated disease, a remarkable synchrony between the parasitaemia peak and the white-blood-cell count nadir was noticed. The present study was designed to establish whether there is a direct causal link between the parasite load during its exponential phase of growth and the disappearance of peripheral blood leukocytes. In vitro experiments performed with trypanosomes and purified peripheral blood mononucleated cells revealed the existence of a lymphotoxin embedded in the T. evansi membrane: a protein sensitive to serine proteases, with a molecular mass of less than 30 kDa. Lymphocytes death induced by this protein was found to depend on the intervention of a lymphocytic protein tyrosine phosphatase. When lymphocytes were exposed to increasing quantities of a monoclonal antibody raised against the extracellular portion of CD45, a transmembrane protein tyrosine phosphatase covering over 10% of the lymphocyte surface, T. evansi membrane extracts showed a dose-dependent decrease in cytotoxicity. As the regulatory functions of CD45 concern not only the fate of lymphocytes but also the activation threshold of the TCR-dependent signal and the amplitude and nature of cytokinic effects, this demonstration of its involvement in T. evansi-dependent lymphotoxicity suggests that T. evansi might manipulate, via CD45, the host's cytokinic and adaptive responses