The economics of conserving agricultural biodiversity on-farm: Proceedings of a Workshop hosted by the Institute for Agrobotany (IA), Hungary and the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Italy, Gödöllo, Hungary, May 13-16, 2002

Public policy-makers and scientists have expressed renewed interest in the prospects for on-farm conservation of crop genetic resources in recent years, but understanding of the economic incentives for and mechanisms through which programmes might best be implemented remains sketchy. Working through national partners, the goal of IPGRI's Global Project, 'Strengthening the Scientific Basis of in situ Conservation of Agricultural Biodiversity On-Farm' is to strengthen the scientific basis, institutional linkages and policies that support the role of farmers in conservation and use of crop genetic diversity through the application of sound theoretical principles in an interdisciplinary context. The current set of projects treats only crop biodiversity (livestock and aquatic biodiversity have not yet been included). The goal of the economics research will be to identify solutions, and the policies that support them, that promote the maintenance of diversity even as economies develop. This will be done through enhanced utilization of genetic resources by key actors-farmers who are consumers as well as breeders in their own right, professional plant breeders and scientists, and genebank managers. A winning solution is by definition one which meets a given conservation objective at least cost to society. To begin to identify this set of solutions for on-farm conservation, we need the empirical basis that provides the basis for comparative analyses of policy options. This brief report presents a summary of the methods papers presented followed by reports of ongoing and planned studies in India, Nepal, Mexico, Burkina Faso, Morocco and Hungary. Economist partners from Peru also attended. It is hoped that further development of these methods and their applications will allow empirically based comparisons that will inform policies in a way that is not currently possible. The proceedings updates the brief section on economics analysis included in the training manual by Jarvis et al. (2000), and also presents some previews of ongoing research

Spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage

Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Laeknafelag Islands. All rights reserved.Fimmtíu ára karlmaður kom með sjúkrabíl á bráðamóttökuna út af skyndilegum kviðverk. Við komu var hann kaldsveittur, fölur og með hraðan hjartslátt. Framkvæmd var tölvusneiðmynd sem sýndi stóra aftanskinublæðingu og grun um æxli í vinstri nýrnahettu. Ástand hans varð fljótt stöðugt eftir vökva- og blóðgjöf, en endurblæðing átti sér stað rúmlega viku eftir útskrift og sýndi þá ný tölvusneiðmynd sýndargúlp í iðrum frá vinstri mið-nýrnahettuslagæð. Í æðaþræðingu tókst að loka sýndargúlpnum með slagæðastíflun. Sjúklingurinn útskrifaðist í kjölfarið við góða líðan, en framkvæmd var segulómskoðun í eftirfylgd eftir frásog blæðingar sem hins vegar hrakti gruninn um æxli í nýrnahettu og er orsök fyrri blæðingar því enn óþekkt. A 50-year old male presented to our emergency department with sudden abdominal pain. Upon arrival he was diaphoretic, pale and tachycardic. A CT showed retroperitoneal hemorrhage with suspected tumor at the left adrenal gland. He was quickly stabilized with intravenous fluids and blood transfusion. Rebleed occurs roughly a week after discharge and a new CT showed a visceral pseudoaneurysm from the left middle adrenal artery. The pseudoaneurysm was embolized and the patient discharged in good condition. Follow-up MRI depicted reabsorption of the hematoma and no adrenal tumor. Thus, the etiology of the previous retroperitonal hemorrhage is considered spontaneous.Peer reviewe

Enhancing the use of crop genetic diversity to manage abiotic stress in agricultural production systems, 23-27 May 2005, Budapest, Hungary

Diversity can provide one means of sustaining and improving the livelihoods of farmers where or when environmental conditions are unfavourable in production systems. Much of the world's agricultural biodiversity is found in environments marginal for agricultural production. It is in such environments where management of high levels of diversity can become a central part of the livelihood management strategies of farmers and the survival of their communities. Loss of such diversity or genetic choices diminishes farmers' capacities to cope with extreme temperatures, drought and salinity. Farmers in stress-prone areas have to take particular care not to introduce non-adapted material which often fails and can lead to erosion of the desired characteristics in local varieties through unwanted crossing. Thus, in the face of constant vulnerability to loss of key stress-resistant types, the management of appropriate diversity of a specific crop constitutes a significant component of livelihood strategies of farmers in highly stressed production environments. Within the global project, 'Strengthening the Scientific Basis of In Situ Conservation of Agricultural Biodiversity On-farm', and other projects concerned with the conservation and use of local crop diversity on-farm, national and international partners have developed tools to measure the amount and distribution of crop genetic diversity on-farm, to analyze the processes that maintain this diversity and to calculate values of this diversity to farmers and other stakeholders. Yet, there are still important unknowns concerning the diversity in local varieties managed by farmers subject to significant abiotic stress. These include: • Whether within farmers' use of diversity for managing abiotic stress: Does the use of stress-tolerant germplasm 'cost' lower yield? In the stressed environment? In benign environments? In both? • How different are the local crop varieties - phenotypically and genetically - with respect to resistance to the specific traits conferring stress tolerance or resistance?• Do the tolerant or resistant populations have sufficient diversity with respect to other characteristics, thus helping farmers to exploit their potential to develop material with further desirable characteristics such as pest resistance, nutritional aspects, grain quality? • Do farmers manage such materials in a specific way to prevent dilution of their stress-resistance characteristics, and does this limit adaptability? From 23 to 27 May 2005, a workshop was held in Budapest, Hungary to refine these questions and to define areas where more basic research that uses tools which assess diversity, its structure and changes would be needed. During the workshop, the participants from Burkina Faso, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Mali, Peru, Vietnam, Tunisia, Hungary, Bolivia, Nepal, Australia, Italy and the US presented their ideas and information from their own work on enhancing the use of crop genetic diversity to manage abiotic stress. The following papers in this proceedings document the partners' presentations and the output of the discussion groups

Utility of serum tryptase in Emergency Department patients with possible anaphylaxis

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadINNGANGUR Tiltölulega einfalt er að greina bráðaofnæmiskast í dæmigerðum tilfellum en birtingarmyndin getur þó verið fjölbreytt. Sýnt hefur verið fram á að hjá einstaklingum með ódæmigerð einkenni getur mæling á s-tryptasa verið gagnleg til viðbótar við klíníska greiningu læknis. Einnig nýtist mæling á s-tryptasa til að greina sjúkdóminn mastfrumnager. Byrjað var að nota s-tryptasamælingar á bráðamóttöku Landspítala árið 2011. Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að meta tíðni og gagnsemi s-tryptasamælinga hjá sjúklingum á bráðamóttöku. EFNIVIÐUR OG AÐFERÐIR Með leyfi siðanefndar heilbrigðisrannsókna á Landspítala voru skoðuð öll þau tilvik þar sem blóðsýni var sent frá bráðamóttöku til mælingar á s-tryptasa á ónæmisfræðideild á árunum 2011-2018. Upplýsingum var safnað úr sjúkraskrám um uppvinnslu og meðferð sjúklinga á bráðamóttöku og hjá ofnæmislækni. NIÐURSTÖÐUR Alls voru 214 sýni send til s-tryptasamælingar. Tryptasi var hækkaður (>12 μg/L) í 36 tilvikum. Konur voru 131 (61,2%) og meðalaldur var 40,6 ár. Algengi einkenna voru: húð- og slímhúðareinkenni 86,4%, blóðrásareinkenni 48,1%, öndunarfæraeinkenni 49,5% og meltingarfæraeinkenni 36,0%. Af 126 endurkomusjúklingum mat ofnæmislæknir 65 tilfelli sem bráðaofnæmiskast. Af þeim uppfylltu fjórir einstaklingar ekki klínísk greiningarskilmerki bráðaofnæmiskasts en voru með hækkuð tryptasagildi. Næmi s-tryptasamælingar var 40,9% og sértæki 97,1%. Ekkert tilfelli leiddi til greiningar mastfrumnagers. ÁLYKTANIR Mælingar á s-tryptasa hjá sjúklingum á bráðamóttöku með möguleg einkenni bráðaofnæmiskasts virðast veita gagnlegar upplýsingar til greiningar sjúkdómsins til viðbótar við klínískt mat. Mælingin er sértæk en með lágt næmi. Mælingarnar hafa ekki leitt til fjölgunar greininga á mastfrumnageri.BACKGROUND Diagnosing anaphylaxis is often straightforward but can be challenging if the presentation is atypical. In patients with atypical symptoms suspected to be due to an acute allergic reaction, s-tryptase can give additional diagnostic information. Measuring s-tryptase is also helpful in diagnosing mastocytosis. Obtaining s-tryptase levels has been done in the emergency department (ED) at Landspitali since 2011. The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefit of obtaining s-tryptase levels in the ED. METHODS With institutional review board approval, all cases where s-tryptase level was obtained in ED patients from 2011–2018 were retrospectively reviewed. A database was collected including information on patient demographics, presenting symptoms, treatment, diagnosis, s-tryptase level and follow up. RESULTS A total of 214 patients had a s-tryptase level measured. Serum tryptase was elevated (>12 μg/L) in 36 cases. Females were 131 and average age 40.6 years. Of the patients, 86.4% had skin or mucosal symptoms, 48.1% cardiovascular symptoms, 49.5% respiratory symptoms and 36.0% had gastrointestinal symptoms. An allergist reviewed 126 returning patients and 65 were considered to have had an episode of anaphylaxis. Of those 65 were 4 patients which did not meet the diagnostic criteria for anaphylaxis but had raised s-tryptase levels. Sensitivity of s-tryptase measurement was 40.9% and specificity 97.1%. CONCLUSIONS Obtaining a s-tryptase level from ED patients with possible anaphylaxis seems to be useful in atypical cases. The measurement is specific but not sensitive. No cases of mastocytosis were identified in the patient cohort

Utility of serum tryptase in Emergency Department patients with possible anaphylaxis

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Laeknafelag Islands. All rights reserved.Background Diagnosing anaphylaxis is often straightforward but can be challenging if the presentation is atypical. In patients with atypical symptoms suspected to be due to an acute allergic reaction, s-tryptase can give additional diagnostic information. Measuring s-tryptase is also helpful in diagnosing mastocytosis. Obtaining s-tryptase levels has been done in the emergency department (ED) at Landspitali since 2011. The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefit of obtaining s-tryptase levels in the ED. Methods With institutional review board approval, all cases where s-tryptase level was obtained in ED patients from 2011-2018 were retrospectively reviewed. A database was collected including information on patient demographics, presenting symptoms, treatment, diagnosis, s-tryptase level and follow up. Results A total of 214 patients had a s-tryptase level measured. Serum tryptase was elevated (>12 μg/L) in 36 cases. Females were 131 and average age 40.6 years. Of the patients, 86.4% had skin or mucosal symptoms, 48.1% cardiovascular symptoms, 49.5% respiratory symptoms and 36.0% had gastrointestinal symptoms. An allergist reviewed 126 returning patients and 65 were considered to have had an episode of anaphylaxis. Of those 65 were 4 patients which did not meet the diagnostic criteria for anaphylaxis but had raised s-tryptase levels. Sensitivity of s-tryptase measurement was 40.9% and specificity 97.1%. Conclusions Obtaining a s-tryptase level from ED patients with possible anaphylaxis seems to be useful in atypical cases. The measurement is specific but not sensitive. No cases of mastocytosis were identified in the patient cohort.Peer reviewe

Diagnostic value of serum biomarkers FGF21 and GDF15 compared to muscle sample in mitochondrial disease

Abstract The aim of this study was to compare the value of serum biomarkers, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), with histological analysis of muscle in the diagnosis of mitochondrial disease. We collected 194 serum samples from patients with a suspected or known mitochondrial disease. Biomarkers were analyzed blinded using enzyme-labeled immunosorbent assay. Clinical data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Only 39% of patients with genetically verified mitochondrial disease had mitochondrial pathology in their muscle histology. In contrast, biomarkers were elevated in 62% of patients with genetically verified mitochondrial disease. Those with both biomarkers elevated had a muscle manifesting disorder and a defect affecting mitochondrial DNA expression. If at least one of the biomarkers was induced and the patient had a myopathic disease, a mitochondrial DNA expression disease was the cause with 94% probability. Among patients with biomarker analysis and muscle biopsy taken <12 months apart, a mitochondrial disorder would have been identified in 70% with analysis of FGF21 and GDF15 compared to 50% of patients whom could have been identified with muscle biopsy alone. Muscle findings were nondiagnostic in 72% (children) and 45% (adults). Induction of FGF21 and GDF15 suggest a mitochondrial etiology as an underlying cause of a muscle manifesting disease. Normal biomarker values do not, however, rule out a mitochondrial disorder, especially if the disease does not manifest in muscle. We suggest that FGF21 and GDF15 together should be first-line diagnostic investigations in mitochondrial disease complementing muscle biopsy

Femtosecond optical transfection of individual mammalian cells

Laser-mediated gene transfection into mammalian cells has recently emerged as a powerful alternative to more traditional transfection techniques. In particular, the use of a femtosecond-pulsed laser operating in the near-infrared (NIR) region has been proven to provide single-cell selectivity, localized delivery, low toxicity and consistent performance. This approach can easily be integrated with advanced multimodal live-cell microscopy and micromanipulation techniques. The efficiency of this technique depends on an understanding by the user of both biology and physics. Therefore, in this protocol we discuss the subtleties that apply to both fields, including sample preparation, alignment and calibration of laser optics and their integration into a microscopy platform. The entire protocol takes similar to 5 d to complete, from the initial setup of the femtosecond optical transfection system to the final stage of fluorescence imaging to assay for successful expression of the gene of interest