Superior shoulder suspensory complex fracture dislocation case report

Background: Acromioclavicular joint dislocation can be more complex than it first appears. The presented case had an unusual combination of injuries to the superior shoulder suspensory complex, which yielded some interesting learning points. Case summary: The injuries were sustained after a fall from a push bike and included acromioclavicular dislocation with coracoid process, clavicle and acromion process fractures. These were identified on the initial X-ray examination, which was followed by computed tomography for surgical planning. The injuries were successfully treated by internal fixation. Conclusion: The unexpected complexity of the injuries could have led to subtle but important findings being overlooked. This case highlights the importance of a thorough search strategy, consideration of injury biomechanics and knowledge of associated injuries

Transgenesis and Genomics in Molecular Breeding of Forage Plants

Forage plant breeding has been largely based on phenotypic selection following sexual recombination of natural genetic variation found between and within ecotypes. Advances in plant genetic manipulation over the last 15 years have provided convincing evidence that these powerful technologies can complement and enhance plant breeding programs. Significant progress in the establishment of the methodologies required for the molecular breeding of forage plants has been made. Examples of current products and approaches for the application of these methodologies to forage grass and legume improvement are outlined. Large-scale genomic analysis of many organisms is under way with human, arabidopsis and rice genome sequences almost completed. Forage plant breeding is just now entering the genome era. The plethora of new technologies and tools now available for high-throughput gene discovery and genome-wide gene expression analysis have opened up opportunities for innovative applications in the identification, functional characterisation and use of genes of value in forage production systems and beyond. Examples of these opportunities, such as ‘molecular phenotyping’, ‘symbio-genomics’ and ‘xeno-genomics’ are introduced

Gene Discovery and Molecular Dissection of Lignin Biosynthesis in Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium Perenne)

Lignification of plant cell walls has been identified as a major factor limiting forage digestibility. It limits the amount of digestible energy available to livestock, resulting in an incomplete utilisation of cellulose and hemicellulose by ruminant animals. Modification of the lignin profile of ryegrasses (Lolium spp.) and fescues (Festuca spp.) is undertaken through modulating the expression of genes encoding enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of monolignols

Gene Discovery and Molecular Dissection of Fructan Metabolism in Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium Perenne)

Fructans are the main soluble carbohydrate stored in up to a third of the vegetation of the earth, including the economically important temperate grasses. Fructans are polymers of fructose attached to a sucrose precursor. Perennial ryegrass (L. perenne L.) accumulates fructans of the inulin series, inulin neoseries and levan neoseries. Four enzymes are required to produce fructans of this profile: 1-SST (sucrose:sucrose 1- fructosyltransferase), 1-FFT (fructan:fructan 1-fructosyltransferase), 6G-FFT (6-glucose fructosyltransferase) and 6-FFT (fructan:fructan 6-fructosyltransferase) or 6-SFT (sucrose:fructan 6-fructosyltransferase) (Figure 1). Fructan biosynthetic enzymes have evolved from invertases and thus it is argued that fructan metabolism is an extension of sucrose metabolism. A high fructan content is a valuable resource in perennial ryegrass as it can be readily mobilised to sustain regrowth immediately after defoliation as well as adding to the nutritive value of the feed. However, the physiological role of fructans in grasses is not fully understood

A pilot study to assess radiographer preliminary clinical evaluation (PCE) introduced for emergency department adult appendicular X-ray examinations: Comparison of trained and untrained radiographers.

Radiographers are transitioning from using "Red Dot" annotations to flag abnormal emergency X-ray images, to providing written preliminary clinical evaluation (PCE) diagnostic comments. This study explored the impact of local training on radiographers' PCE participation and accuracy performance during a trial period. Ten radiographers provided PCE comments for adult appendicular trauma X-ray examinations performed in the Emergency Department of an English public hospital over a 19 week trial period. Five senior radiographers who had received local PCE training and five more recently qualified radiographers, without this local training, participated in the trial. PCE participation rates were recorded and the PCE comments were scored for accuracy compared to the formal radiology report. There were 796 eligible examinations, of which 528 (66%) had PCE comments. PCE participation was significantly higher (p < 0.001) for the radiographer group who received the training (80%, 253/316) compared to the untrained group (57%, 275/480). Similar levels of PCE accuracy (90% vs. 89%), sensitivity (86% vs. 82%) and specificity (91% vs. 93%) were found for the trained and untrained cohorts respectively, with no statistically significance difference between these scores. Local PCE training was associated with more frequent PCE participation but did not appear to influence PCE accuracy. The accuracy results suggest that radiographers are well equipped to provide PCE comments for adult appendicular X-ray examinations. Local PCE training is likely to be important for consistent PCE scheme participation. Both experienced and recently qualified radiographers appear well equipped to provide accurate PCE for adult appendicular trauma X-ray examinations. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2023 The College of Radiographers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Functionally associated molecular genetic marker map construction in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)

A molecular marker-based map of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) has been constructed through the use of polymorphisms associated with expressed sequence tags (ESTs). A pair-cross between genotypes from a North African ecotype and the cultivar Aurora was used to generate a two-way pseudo-testcross population. A selection of 157 cDNAs assigned to eight different functional categories associated with agronomically important biological processes was used to detect polymorphic EST-RFLP loci in the F 1(NA 6 x AU 6) population. A comprehensive set of EST-SSR markers was developed from the analysis of 14,767 unigenes, with 310 primer pairs showing efficient amplification and detecting 113 polymorphic loci. Two parental genetic maps were produced: the NA 6 genetic map contains 88 EST-RFLP and 71 EST-SSR loci with a total map length of 963 cM, while the AU 6 genetic map contains 67 EST-RFLP and 58 EST-SSR loci with a total map length of 757 cM. Bridging loci permitted the alignment of homologous chromosomes between the parental maps, and a sub-set of genomic DNA-derived SSRs was used to relate linkage groups to the perennial ryegrass reference map. Regions of segregation distortion were identified, in some instances in common with other perennial ryegrass maps. The EST-derived marker-based map provides the basis for in silico comparative genetic mapping, as well as the evaluation of co-location between QTLs and functionally associated genetic loci