Technical efficiency and production potential of selected cereal crops in Senegal

This study focused on the production outcomes for five crops cultivated in Senegal: upland rice, lowland rice, groundnut, maize, and pearl millet. Technical efficiency (TE) of the production of each crop was estimated using data envelopment analysis, and the determinants of TEs were assessed using generalised linear regression analyses. Data were collected in face-to-face interviews with 66 farmers in the Kaolack region of Central Senegal during November 2011–February 2012. Average TEs for upland rice, lowland rice, groundnut, maize, and pearl millet were estimated as 0.76, 0.88, 0.89, 0.94, and 0.90, respectively. The identified factors that had a positive impact on TE were years of cultivation experience, amount of nitrogen fertiliser applied, and participation in a farmers’ association. Weeding hours, seeding rate, size of the cultivated area, and delays in sowing time were negatively associated with TE. The factors that significantly affected TE differed among the crops. Optimising these factors could enable potential yield increase of upland rice, lowland rice, groundnut, maize, and pearl millet by 24, 12, 11, 6, and 10 %, respectively

Senile brain atrophy and hydrocephalus -A case of treatable dementia, idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus-

A 76y male suffering from progressive dementia (Hasegawa\u27s dementia scale = 6), urinary incontinence, and gate disturbance received CSF shunting. The clinical findings of MRI, CT-cisternography, and a CSF-tap test were not typical for idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH); rather, the MRI showed brain atrophy. The decision to perform shunting surgery was made due to the clinical manifestation of progressive dementia, and fortunately, it was successful. Senile brain atrophy does not rule out hydrocephalus. The indication of CSF shunting for senile iNPH is outlined

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

Continuous Lighting and High Daily Light Integral Enhance Yield and Quality of Mass-Produced Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus L.) in Plant Factories

Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus L.), as a medicinal plant, has a high phenolic content in its leaves and flowers. It is often used in salads as a dietary vegetable. Attracting strong demand, it could be a good candidate crop for a plant factory with artificial lighting (PFAL) that can achieve the mass production of high-quality crops with high productivity by regulating environmental conditions such as light. In this study, two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of continuous lighting (CL) and different daily light integrals (DLIs) under CL on the growth, secondary metabolites, and light use efficiency (LUE) of nasturtium, all of which are essential in the successful cultivation in PFALs. In Experiment 1, two lighting models, the same DLI of 17.3 mol m−2 d−1 but different light periods (24 and 16 h) with different light intensities (200 and 300 µmol m−2 s−1, respectively), were applied to nasturtium. The results showed that leaf production, secondary metabolites, and LUE were higher under the 24-h CL treatment than under the 16-h non-CL treatment. In Experiment 2, three DLI levels (17.3, 25.9, and 34.6 mol m−2 d−1) under the CL condition were applied. The results showed that the growth parameters were positively correlated with the DLI levels under CL. The lowest DLI had the highest LUE. We conclude that the mass production of nasturtium under CL in PFALs is feasible, and the yield increases as DLI increases from 17.3 to 34.6 mol m−2 d−1 under CL without causing physiological stress on plants

Farmers’ risk attitudes to influence the productivity and planting decision: A case of rice and maize cultivation in rural Uganda

The effects of Ugandan farmers’ attitudes toward risk on their decisions about rice production are closely analysed and discussed. A three-step procedure is proposed: 1) farmers’ characteristics determine farmers’ risk attitudes, 2) their risk attitudes influence yield, and 3) yield affects decisions on acreage. This procedure is based on the assumption that acreage decisions are a reflection of farmers’ actual yields, which are associated with risk-averting farming practices. The estimation results show that age and religion are significantly correlated with farmers’ risk attitude, that risk-averse farmers perform better in terms of yield, and that higher yields subsequently increase acreage for production. These attitudes partly account for the diminishing increase in rice production. The results imply that effective ways to increase rice acreage are to increase the potential yield of rice and to promote rice cultivation for lands that are suited to rice cultivation

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Fluorescein-Tagged 1-Methyl-o-carborane for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy

Fluorescein was conjugated with 1-methyl-o-carborane and the resulting bioconjugate was biologically evaluated through microscopic and flow cytometric studies in pancreatic cancer and squamous cell carcinoma cell lines. The uniform distribution of this bioconjugate, as well as its moderate cytotoxicity and higher boron content relative to present boronated delivery agents sodium borocaptate (BSH) and boronophenylalanine (BPA), provide justification for its further evaluation as a potential delivery agent for BNCT

Diaphragm perforation, a rare complication of V-P shunt surgery

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery is the most widely used procedure in the treatment of hydrocephalus. However, this invasive procedure has been associated with several delayed complications. A 64-year-old male had unusual pneumonia caused by diaphragm perforation due to a ventriculoperitoneal (V-P) shunt catheter 3 years after V-P shunting for secondary normal pressure hydrocephalus after thalamic hemorrhage. Aspiration of hydrothorax of cerebrospinal fluid and removal of the catheter is the only treatment option for patients to alleviate such a lethal pneumonia. Probable causes of this rare complication are discussed, and attention is drawn to the possibility of its appearance and early recognition of respiratory distress

Probable and "definitive" diagnosis of a formidable disease : Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease

A 75-year-old female with rapidly progressive dementia, pyramidal and extrapyramidal signs, myoclonus, and mutism received a diagnosis of probable sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) after eliminating other possible candidates, such as normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), some form of encephalopathy, and so on. However, postmortem brain biopsy revealed the case to be non-CJD. Facing the triad of progressive dementia, myoclonus, and pyramidal/extrapyramidal features, Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) should be retrospectively considered if the disease course is long and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the differential diagnosis if Parkinsonism is present. Findings on electroencephalogram (EEG) or in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) typical of CJD do not exclude AD or DLB

Gadolinium neutron capture therapy for malignant brain tumors

Tumoricidal effect on malignant brain tumor of gadolinium neutron capture reactions has been preliminary studied. In-vitro C6 37% survival dose (D_) were obtained at 3.55×10^n/cm^2 in 500ppm ^nGd medium, 1.40×10^n/cm^2 in 2,500ppm ^nGd containing medium, and 6.80×10^n/cm^2 in Gd-free medium. The relative killing effect of GdNCT against control study was 1.92 fold for 500ppm ^nGd(+) and 4.86 fold for 2,500ppm Gd(+). The significant survival prolongation of 9L brain tumor rat was observed by intra-venous injection of GdDTPA. Mean survival via GdNCT was 33.5±3.0 days, and that of control rats was 16.4±0.6 days. The optimal Gd concentration was estimated less than 1,000ppm ^Gd for various reasons, since neutron fluence rapidly decrease in the deeply seated tumor due to high absorption of neutron by Gd atoms. The maximum contribution of γ rays on tumor absorbed dose was less than 50%. In a spherical tumor model in diameter of 3cm, approximately 25% of absorbed dose was transferred by γ rays and more that 50% of that by internal conversion electrons. The peri-tumoral dose distribution does not decrease sharply like BNCT. The 10% decrease level was estimated to be 2-3cm from the tumor margin. This blunt dose distribution might be effective to destroy the invading tumor cells in the peri-tumoral lesion manifesting as high density area in T^2-weighted MRI