Effects of Drought Stress on Flower Number in ‘Summer Queen’ Passion Fruit

To determine the effects of drought stress, especially light drought stress, on flower number in passion fruit, one-year-old passion fruit plants grown in 7.5 L plastic pots were subjected to different soil water content treatments, namely wetness, light drought, and heavy drought for two months. Average, maximum, and minimum soil water contents (v/v) were 44, 47, and 41% in the wetness treatment, 23, 40, and 11% in the light drought treatment and 11, 33, and 6% in the heavy drought treatment. Flower number decreased as the strength of drought stress increased, although the number of nodes and flower buds did not. Flowering periods were from June 27 to July 19 in the wetness treatment and June 26 to July 16 in the light drought treatment with three peaks around July 1, 6, and 13. In the heavy drought treatment, the flowering period was from July 11 to 18 with one peak. The flower bud number was not affected by drought stress. Light drought stress did not suppress vegetative growth, such as vine length, leaf number, leaf length, or photosynthetic rate, although heavy drought stress did. Stomatal conductance was suppressed by light drought only at 12:00PM and by heavy drought throughout the day. Leaf water potential was decreased by heavy drought at 3:00PM, but not by light drought. In the wetness and light drought treatments, visible wilting was not observed, and in the heavy drought treatment the plants wilted before irrigation, although they recovered about 15 min after irrigation. In conclusion, even light drought stress, which did not suppress vegetative growth, reduced the flower number in passion fruit. Drought stress suppressed flower bud development but not differentiation

Bias amplification in the g-computation algorithm for time-varying treatments: a case study of industry payments and prescription of opioid products

BACKGROUND: It is often challenging to determine which variables need to be included in the g-computation algorithm under the time-varying setting. Conditioning on instrumental variables (IVs) is known to introduce greater bias when there is unmeasured confounding in the point-treatment settings, and this is also true for near-IVs which are weakly associated with the outcome not through the treatment. However, it is unknown whether adjusting for (near-)IVs amplifies bias in the g-computation algorithm estimators for time-varying treatments compared to the estimators ignoring such variables. We thus aimed to compare the magnitude of bias by adjusting for (near-)IVs across their different relationships with treatments in the time-varying settings. METHODS: After showing a case study of the association between the receipt of industry payments and physicians' opioid prescribing rate in the US, we demonstrated Monte Carlo simulation to investigate the extent to which the bias due to unmeasured confounders is amplified by adjusting for (near-)IV across several g-computation algorithms. RESULTS: In our simulation study, adjusting for a perfect IV of time-varying treatments in the g-computation algorithm increased bias due to unmeasured confounding, particularly when the IV had a strong relationship with the treatment. We also found the increase in bias even adjusting for near-IV when such variable had a very weak association with unmeasured confounders between the treatment and the outcome compared to its association with the time-varying treatments. Instead, this bias amplifying feature was not observed (i.e., bias due to unmeasured confounders decreased) by adjusting for near-IV when it had a stronger association with the unmeasured confounders (≥0.1 correlation coefficient in our multivariate normal setting). CONCLUSION: It would be recommended to avoid adjusting for perfect IV in the g-computation algorithm to obtain a less biased estimate of the time-varying treatment effect. On the other hand, it may be recommended to include near-IV in the algorithm unless their association with unmeasured confounders is very weak. These findings would help researchers to consider the magnitude of bias when adjusting for (near-)IVs and select variables in the g-computation algorithm for the time-varying setting when they are aware of the presence of unmeasured confounding

High-grade Glioma Masquerading as a Small Cerebral Hemorrhage: A Case Report

We report a rare case of a high-grade glioma masquerading as a small subcortical hemorrhage. A 71-year-old woman came to a local hospital with sudden right upper extremity numbness. Computed tomography revealed a small subcortical hemorrhage with faint perifocal edema in the left postcentral gyrus. Conservative treatment was initiated, and she was discharged from the hospital with no neurological deficits. Six months later after discharge, she suffered an acute partial seizure of the right upper extremity. Magnetic resonance imaging with gadolinium demonstrated a ring-enhancing mass surrounded by severe perifocal edema in the hemorrhagic scar. We performed complete resection of the tumor, and the histological diagnosis was anaplastic oligodendroglioma. The diagnosis of a high-grade glioma was delayed due to intratumoral hemorrhages mimicking a small subcortical hemorrhage; consequently, we suspected the hemorrhage was induced by cerebral amyloid angiopathy. It may be important to repeat radiological follow up, if necessary, and to maintain clinical observance of possible intracranial neoplasm, even when the hemorrhage is small, particularly when the cause of bleeding is unknown

FILM COATING ONTO COHESIVE FINE PARTICLES BY A NOVEL ROTATING FLUIDIZED BED COATER

In this study, film coating onto cohesive fine particles was conducted by using a novel rotating fluidized bed coater (RFBC). In order to avoid the formation of agglomeration, baffle plates were equipped inside the RFBC. Coating experiments were conducted under various operating conditions and the coated particles were evaluated based on their physical properties. As a result, coated particles having extremely small degree of agglomeration and favorable prolonged release property of a tracer material could be obtained

Inter-assay variability of next-generation sequencing-based gene panels

BACKGROUND: Tumor heterogeneity has been known to cause inter-assay discordance among next-generation sequencing (NGS) results. However, whether preclinical factors such as sample type, sample quality and analytical features of gene panel can affect the concordance between two different assays remains largely unexplored. METHODS: Replicate sets of DNA samples extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues (FFPE) (n = 20) and fresh frozen (FF) tissues (n = 10) were herein analyzed using a tumor-only (TO) and paired tumor-normal (TN) gene panel in laboratories certified by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment. Reported variants from the TO and TN panels were then compared. Furthermore, additional FFPE samples were sequentially sliced from the same FFPE block and submitted to another TN panel assay. RESULTS: Substantial discordance (71.8%) was observed between the results of the two panels despite using identical DNA samples, with the discordance rate being significantly higher for FFPE samples (p < 0.05). Among the 99 variants reported only in the TO panel, 32.3% were consistent with germline variants, which were excluded in the TN panel, while 30.3% had an allele frequency of less than 5%, some of which were highly likely to be artificial calls. The comparison of two independent TN panel assay results from the same FFPE block also showed substantial discordance rate (55.3%). CONCLUSIONS: In the context of clinical settings, our comparative analysis revealed that inter-NGS assay discordance commonly occurred due to sample types and the different analytical features of each panel

KL-6 concentration in pulmonary epithelial lining fluid is a useful prognostic indicator in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>KL-6 is a mucin-like glycoprotein expressed on the surface of alveolar type II cells. Elevated concentrations of KL-6 in serum and epithelial lining fluid (ELF) in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have been previously reported; however, kinetics and prognostic significance of KL-6 have not been extensively studied. This study was conducted to clarify these points in ARDS patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty-two patients with ARDS who received mechanical ventilation under intubation were studied for 28 days. ELF and blood were obtained from each patient at multiple time points after the diagnosis of ARDS. ELF was collected using a bronchoscopic microsampling procedure, and ELF and serum KL-6 concentrations were measured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>KL-6 levels in ELF on days 0 to 3 after ARDS diagnosis were significantly higher in nonsurvivors than in survivors, and thereafter, there was no difference in concentrations between the two groups. Serum KL-6 levels did not show statistically significant differences between nonsurvivors and survivors at any time point. When the highest KL-6 levels in ELF and serum sample from each patient were examined, KL-6 levels in both ELF and serum were significantly higher in nonsurvivors than in survivors. The optimal cut-off values were set at 3453 U/mL for ELF and 530 U/mL for serum by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses. Patients with KL-6 concentrations in ELF higher than 3453 U/mL or serum concentrations higher than 530 U/mL had significantly lower survival rates up to 90 days after ARDS diagnosis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>ELF and serum KL-6 concentrations were found to be good indicators of clinical outcome in ARDS patients. Particularly, KL-6 levels in ELF measured during the early period after the diagnosis were useful for predicting prognosis in ARDS patients.</p

Clinical Application of Unidirectional Porous Hydroxyapatite to Bone Tumor Surgery and Other Orthopedic Surgery

Unidirectional porous hydroxyapatite (UDPHAp) was developed as a remarkable scaffold characterized by a distinct structure with unidirectional pores oriented in the horizontal direction and connected through interposes. We evaluated the radiographic changes, clinical outcomes, and complications following UDPHAp implantation for the treatment of bone tumors. Excellent bone formation within and around the implant was observed in all patients treated with intralesional resection and UDPHAp implantation for benign bone tumors. The absorption of UDPHAp and remodeling of the bone marrow space was observed in 45% of the patients at a mean of 17 months postoperatively and was significantly more common in younger patients. Preoperative cortical thinning was completely regenerated in 84% of patients at a mean of 10 months postoperatively. No complications related to the implanted UDPHAp were observed. In a pediatric patient with bone sarcoma, when the defect after fibular resection was filled with UDPHAp implants, radiography showed complete resorption of the implant and clear formation of cortex and marrow in the resected part of the fibula. The patient could walk well without crutches and participate in sports activities. UDPHAp is a useful bone graft substitute for the treatment of benign bone tumors, and the use of this material has a low complication rate. We also review and discuss the potential of UDPHAp as a bone graft substitute in the clinical setting of orthopedic surgery