Reproducibility Analysis Of The Stability And Treatment Of Vertebral Metastatic Lesions

Objectives: To investigate the reproducibility among spine surgeons in defining the treatment of vertebral metastatic lesions, taking into account the mechanical stability of injuries. Methods: Twenty cases of isolated vertebral metastatic lesions were presented to ten experts. Their opinion was then asked about the stability of the lesion, as well as their treatment option. Results: The interobserver Kappa coefficient obtained both for stability analysis as to the decision of the treatment was poor (0.334 and 0.248, respectively). Conclusions: Poor interobserver reproducibility was observed in deciding the treatment of vertebral metastatic lesions when considering the stability of the lesions.133232234American Cancer Society, (2007) Cancer Facts and Figures, , Atlanta: American Cancer SocietyNewman, C.B., Keshavarzi, S., Aryan, H.E., En bloc sacrectomy and reconstruction technique modification for pelvic fixation (2009) Surg Neurol, 72 (6), pp. 752-756Harrington, K.D., Current concepts review: Metastatic disease of the spine (1986) J Bone Joint Surg Am, 68 (7), pp. 1110-1115Gasbarrini, A., Cappuccio, M., Mirabile, L., Bandiera, S., Terzi, S., Barbanti Bròdano, G., Spinal metastases: Treatment evaluation algorithm (2004) Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci, 8 (6), pp. 265-274Bilsky, M., Smith, M., Surgical approach to epidural spinal cord compression (2006) Hematol Oncol Clin North Am, 20 (6), pp. 1307-1317Weber, M.H., Burch, S., Buckley, J., Schmidt, M.H., Fehlings, M.G., Vrionis, F.D., Instability and impending instability of the thoracolumbar spine in patients with spinal metastases: A systematic review (2011) Int J Oncol, 38 (1), pp. 5-12Tokuhashi, Y., Kawano, H., Ohsaka, S., Matsuzaki, H., Toriyama, S., A scoring system for preoperative evaluation of the prognosis of metastatic spine tumor (a preliminary report) (1989) Nihon Seikeigeka Gakkai Zasshi, 63 (5), pp. 482-489Tokuhashi, Y., Matsuzaki, H., Toriyama, S., Kawano, H., Ohsaka, S., Scoring system for the preoperative evaluation of metastatic spine tumor prognosis (1990) Spine (Phila Pa 1976), 15 (11), pp. 1110-1113Tomita, K., Kawahara, N., Baba, H., Tsuchiya, H., Fujita, T., Toribatake, Y., Total em bloc spondylectomy. A new surgical technique for primary malignant vertebral tumors (1997) Spine (Phila Pa 1976), 22 (3), pp. 324-333Tomita, K., Kawahara, N., Kobayashi, T., Yoshida, A., Murakami, H., Akamaru, T., Surgical strategy for spinal metastases (2001) Spine (Phila Pa 1976), 26 (3), pp. 298-306Fisher, C.G., DiPaola, C.P., Ryken, T.C., Bilsky, M.H., Shaffrey, C.I., Berven, S.H., A novel classification system for spinal instability in neoplastic disease: An evidence-based approach and expert consensus from the Spine Oncology Study Group (2010) Spine (Phila Pa 1976), 35 (22), pp. E1221-E1229Fourney, D.R., Frangou, E.M., Ryken, T.C., Dipaola, C.P., Shaffrey, C.I., Berven, S.H., Spinal instability neoplastic score: An analysis of reliability and validity from the spine oncology study group (2011) J Clin Oncol, 29 (22), pp. 3072-307

New broad-spectrum resistance to septoria tritici blotch derived from synthetic hexaploid wheat

Septoria tritici blotch (STB), caused by the ascomycete Mycosphaerella graminicola, is one of the most devastating foliar diseases of wheat. We screened five synthetic hexaploid wheats (SHs), 13 wheat varieties that represent the differential set of cultivars and two susceptible checks with a global set of 20 isolates and discovered exceptionally broad STB resistance in SHs. Subsequent development and analyses of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from a cross between the SH M3 and the highly susceptible bread wheat cv. Kulm revealed two novel resistance loci on chromosomes 3D and 5A. The 3D resistance was expressed in the seedling and adult plant stages, and it controlled necrosis (N) and pycnidia (P) development as well as the latency periods of these parameters. This locus, which is closely linked to the microsatellite marker Xgwm494, was tentatively designated Stb16q and explained from 41 to 71% of the phenotypic variation at seedling stage and 28–31% in mature plants. The resistance locus on chromosome 5A was specifically expressed in the adult plant stage, associated with SSR marker Xhbg247, explained 12–32% of the variation in disease, was designated Stb17, and is the first unambiguously identified and named QTL for adult plant resistance to M. graminicola. Our results confirm that common wheat progenitors might be a rich source of new Stb resistance genes/QTLs that can be deployed in commercial breeding programs

Enrichment in methanol-containing broth — A simple method for the isolation of Saccharomyces from grapes

In this study a simple and effective method was developed for the isolation of Saccharomyces strains from grapes. Aseptically collected grape samples were processed by enrichment in a nutritive basal medium supplemented with 10% (v/v) methanol followed by isolation of yeast strains. Sixteen of the 18 grape samples yielded Saccharomyces strain(s). More than 70% of the isolates belonged to the genus Saccharomyces. Based on phenotype and electrophoretic karyotyping, all strains of Saccharomyces were identified as S. cerevisiae. For several grape samples, varying physiological characters, the number of spores per asci, and the observed chromosome length polymorphisms provided evidence for diversity of S. cerevisiae strains obtained by this enrichment in methanol-containing broth. Results indicated that enrichment in methanol-containing broth is an effective alternative method to facilitate isolation of Saccharomyces strains from grapes. The enrichment method described in this work provides a simple and effective tool for isolation of Saccharomyces strains from grapes. The method may be applied in studying wine fermentation ecology, as well as for the isolation of potential starter strains from grapes

Detection of drought tolerance-related QTL in the Plainsman V./Cappelle Desprez doubled haploid wheat population

Drought stress is one of the major abiotic factors that significantly reduces wheat grain yield. Improving drought tolerance is a challenge that plant breeders are facing nowadays. In this study, our goal was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) in the Plainsman V./Cappelle Desprez doubled haploid (DH) population under drought induced as decreased irrigation (ds) and well-watered (ww) conditions in glasshouse. In total, 54 QTL were detected across the three years in two water regimes linked to 10 drought tolerance-related agronomic traits. Out of the detected QTL regions several have been previously reported. The QTL on chromosome 1A (wPt-744613-wPt-8016) related to thousand grain weight was detected in both ds and ww conditions, explaining the 12.7–17.4% of the phenotypic variance. QTL for grain yield was detected on chromosomes 1A, and 6B in the ds treatment. Numerous QTL was identified under both irrigation levels