Screening butternut and butternut hybrids for resistance to butternut canker

Butternut (Juglans cinerea) is being killed throughout its native range by the fungus Sirococcus clavigignenti-juglandacearum (Scj). In recent years, many disease-free trees have been determined to be complex hybrids with an admixture of Japanese walnut (J. ailantifolia). We challenged 5-year-old trees from two progeny tests with Scj in 2008. The first test (northern Indiana), planted in 2003, had 37 diverse families (n=319). Thirty-two of these seedling families were derived from a grafted orchard. Five additional families were collected from hybrid trees. The second test (southern Indiana), planted in 2004, had 12 pure butternut half-sib families collected from a woodlot with: 4 resistant, 4 moderately resistant, 4 susceptible, and 1 resistant hybrid families (n=213). Resistance ratings were based on the disease status of the mother trees when the seed was harvested in the fall of 2002. Eleven black walnut (J. nigra) trees were also included. In early fall of 2008, trees were inoculated with two strains of Scj obtained from branch cankers on trees in two locations in Indiana. The trees were scored 8 months after inoculation for canker incidence and severity. Some trees in the first test were naturally infected by Scj and resulting canker incidence and severity were recorded. Butternut hybrid families were more resistant to natural infection than the pure butternut families. Eight months after inoculation, canker incidence and severity varied significantly among butternut hybrid families and Scj strain but not among pure butternut families

Breeding Resistance to Butternut Canker Disease

Butternut (Juglans cinerea L.) is being killed throughout its native range by an exotic fungus Ophiognomonia clavigignenti-juglandacearum (Ocj). In recent years, many disease-free trees have been determined to be complex hybrids with an admixture of Japanese walnut (J. ailantifolia). Recently developed molecular and morphological characterizations allow us to accurately identify and separate hybrid and pure butternut progeny. Disease-free-trees, from across butternut’s native range, are the basis of our breeding program in the Central Hardwood Region of the eastern United States. Our first clone banks and seed orchards were grafted and established in the 1990s and 2000s, and are now producing seed for resistance screening. In 2008, we challenged 5-year-old trees from our first two field progeny tests with Ocj. The first test, planted in 2003, had 37 diverse families (n=319). Thirty-two of these seedling families were derived from a grafted orchard of putatively resistant selections. Five additional families were collected from healthy hybrid trees. In early fall of 2008, trees were inoculated with two isolates of Ocj obtained from branch cankers on trees in two locations in Indiana. The trees were scored 8, 12, 20, and 24 months after inoculation for canker incidence and severity. Native butternuts in the adjacent woods provided a source of inoculum whereby natural infections from Ocj began to occur in the third year. Cumulative natural canker incidence and severity were recorded at 5 and 7 years. The second test, planted in 2004, had 12 pure butternut half-sib families collected from a woodlot with: four resistant, four moderately resistant, four susceptible, and one resistant hybrid families (n=213). Resistance ratings were based on the disease status of the mother trees in the stand when the seed was harvested in the fall of 2002. In early fall of 2008, trees were inoculated with the same two isolates of Ocj used in the first test. The trees were scored 8, 12, 20, and 24 months after inoculation for canker incidence and severity. There was no natural infection in the second test. Hybrid butternut families were more resistant to natural infection than the pure butternut families. Eight months after inoculation, canker incidence and severity varied significantly among butternut hybrid families and Ocj isolate, but not among pure butternut families. After 12, 20, and 24 months, canker incidence and severity of pure butternut families changed. By 24 months, hybrid families in general have shown reduced canker expansion and a high level of resistance. Pure butternut families exhibit more variation from highly susceptible to resistant. Year-to-year variation in canker growth suggests that it may take several years to determine the resistance status of butternut with artificial stem inoculations

Abiotic and biotic context dependency of perennial crop yield

A grant from the One-University Open Access Fund at the University of Kansas was used to defray the author's publication fees in this Open Access journal. The Open Access Fund, administered by librarians from the KU, KU Law, and KUMC libraries, is made possible by contributions from the offices of KU Provost, KU Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Studies, and KUMC Vice Chancellor for Research. For more information about the Open Access Fund, please see http://library.kumc.edu/authors-fund.xml.Perennial crops in agricultural systems can increase sustainability and the magnitude of ecosystem services, but yield may depend upon biotic context, including soil mutualists, pathogens and cropping diversity. These biotic factors themselves may interact with abiotic factors such as drought. We tested whether perennial crop yield depended on soil microbes, water availability and crop diversity by testing monocultures and mixtures of three perennial crop species: a novel perennial grain (intermediate wheatgrass—Thinopyrum intermedium-- that produces the perennial grain Kernza®), a potential perennial oilseed crop (Silphium intregrifolium), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa). Perennial crop performance depended upon both water regime and the presence of living soil, most likely the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in the whole soil inoculum from a long term perennial monoculture and from an undisturbed native remnant prairie. Specifically, both Silphium and alfalfa strongly benefited from AM fungi. The presence of native prairie AM fungi had a greater benefit to Silphium in dry pots and alfalfa in wet pots than AM fungi present in the perennial monoculture soil. Kernza did not benefit from AM fungi. Crop mixtures that included Kernza overyielded, but overyielding depended upon inoculation. Specifically, mixtures with Kernza overyielded most strongly in sterile soil as Kernza compensated for poor growth of Silphium and alfalfa. This study identifies the importance of soil biota and the context dependence of benefits of native microbes and the overyielding of mixtures in perennial crops.Perennial Agricultural Project sponsored by the Malone Family Land Preservation FoundationNational Science Foundation (DEB-1556664, DEB- 1738041, OIA 1656006

Quaternary records of central and northern Illinois.

Prepared for the ninth biennial meeting of the American Quaternary Association held in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, May 31-June 6, 1986.Sponsored by the Illinois State Geological and Water Surveys, the Illinois State Museum, and the University of Illinois Departments of Geology, Geography and Anthropology.Includes bibliography (p. 76-82)

The molecular characterisation of Cryptosporidium species in relinquished dogs in Great Britain: a novel zoonotic risk?

Surveillance was conducted to investigate the occurrence of protozoan parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium in dogs newly admitted to a dog rehoming charity in London, Great Britain. Voided faecal samples were collected from all new admissions between 2011 and 2012 during six separate 4-week sampling periods. Information on host signalment, including age, breed and reason for submission and faecal consistency, was collected. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) targeting the 18S ribosomal RNA gene, confirmed by sequencing, was conducted on the faecal samples to detect Cryptosporidium genomic DNA and determine Cryptosporidium identity. In total, 677 dogs were included in the study. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium-positive faecal samples was 4.6% (31/676). There were positive samples in all of the six sampling periods. Cryptosporidium canis (n = 28), C. parvum (n = 2) and C. andersoni (n = 1) were identified. Sixty KDa glycoprotein (gp60) gene amplicon sequencing of the C. parvum samples identified genotypes IIaA17G1R1 and IIaA15G2R1 for the first time from a dog. There were no significant associations between signalment data and Cryptosporidium status. While this was a study of one rehoming shelter, the presence of the potentially zoonotic C. parvum and C. canis in dogs highlights a public health concern. Further research is needed to better understand the epidemiology and potential impacts of Cryptosporidium infection in dogs

Developing Electron Microscopy Tools for Profiling Plasma Lipoproteins Using Methyl Cellulose Embedment, Machine Learning and Immunodetection of Apolipoprotein B and Apolipoprotein(a)

Plasma lipoproteins are important carriers of cholesterol and have been linked strongly to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Our study aimed to achieve fine-grained measurements of lipoprotein subpopulations such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL), lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a), or remnant lipoproteins (RLP) using electron microscopy combined with machine learning tools from microliter samples of human plasma. In the reported method, lipoproteins were absorbed onto electron microscopy (EM) support films from diluted plasma and embedded in thin films of methyl cellulose (MC) containing mixed metal stains, providing intense edge contrast. The results show that LPs have a continuous frequency distribution of sizes, extending from LDL (> 15 nm) to intermediate density lipoprotein (IDL) and very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL). Furthermore, mixed metal staining produces striking “positive” contrast of specific antibodies attached to lipoproteins providing quantitative data on apolipoprotein(a)-positive Lp(a) or apolipoprotein B (ApoB)-positive particles. To enable automatic particle characterization, we also demonstrated efficient segmentation of lipoprotein particles using deep learning software characterized by a Mask Region-based Convolutional Neural Networks (R-CNN) architecture with transfer learning. In future, EM and machine learning could be combined with microarray deposition and automated imaging for higher throughput quantitation of lipoproteins associated with CVD risk.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Unrelated Donor Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Patients with Hemoglobinopathies Using a Reduced-Intensity Conditioning Regimen and Third-Party Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

AbstractAllogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for patients with a hemoglobinopathy can be curative but is limited by donor availability. Although positive results are frequently observed in those with an HLA-matched sibling donor, use of unrelated donors has been complicated by poor engraftment, excessive regimen-related toxicity, and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). As a potential strategy to address these obstacles, a pilot study was designed that incorporated both a reduced-intensity conditioning and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). Six patients were enrolled, including 4 with high-risk sickle cell disease (SCD) and 2 with transfusion-dependent thalassemia major. Conditioning consisted of fludarabine (150 mg/m2), melphalan (140 mg/m2), and alemtuzumab (60 mg for patients weighing > 30 kg and .9 mg/kg for patients weighing <30 kg). Two patients received HLA 7/8 allele matched bone marrow and 4 received 4-5/6 HLA matched umbilical cord blood as the source of HSCs. MSCs were of bone marrow origin and derived from a parent in 1 patient and from an unrelated third-party donor in the remaining 5 patients. GVHD prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporine A and mycophenolate mofetil. One patient had neutropenic graft failure, 2 had autologous hematopoietic recovery, and 3 had hematopoietic recovery with complete chimerism. The 2 SCD patients with autologous hematopoietic recovery are alive. The remaining 4 died either from opportunistic infection, GVHD, or intracranial hemorrhage. Although no infusion-related toxicity was seen, the cotransplantation of MSCs was not sufficient for reliable engraftment in patients with advanced hemoglobinopathy. Although poor engraftment has been observed in nearly all such trials to date in this patient population, there was no evidence to suggest that MSCs had any positive impact on engraftment. Because of the lack of improved engraftment and unacceptably high transplant-related mortality, the study was prematurely terminated. Further investigations into understanding the mechanisms of graft resistance and development of strategies to overcome this barrier are needed to move this field forward

Do carers of adolescents at first episode psychosis have distinctive psychological needs? A pilot exploration

Background: Carers of patients experiencing first episode psychosis (FEP) are at an increased risk of mental and physical health problems themselves. However, little is known about how the psychological needs of carers may differ between those caring for an adolescent versus an adult who has FEP. Aims: This pilot study aimed to explore any differences in the psychological needs of carers caring for adolescents versus adults with FEP. Methods: We surveyed 254 carers of 198 FEP patients (34 carers of adolescents of 24 FEP adolescent patients). Carers completed self-report measures of anxiety, depression, burnout, subjective burden, coping, and key illness beliefs. The sample was divided according to whether the patient was under (adolescent) or over (adult) age 18, and analysed using mixed model logistic regressions. Results: Compared to the carers of adult patients, carers of adolescents were more than twice as likely (12% vs. 30%) to experience overall burnout syndrome (all three domains), and to develop it much quicker (19.4 vs. 10.1 months). They were also more likely to adopt behavioural disengagement avoidance as a form of coping. However, there was no difference between carers in terms of anxiety, depression, beliefs and subjective burden. For carers of adolescents, burnout was independently predicted by: a negative belief about the consequences of psychosis for the adolescent patient and an incoherent understanding of the patient’s mental health. Conclusions: If our findings can be replicated in a larger sample, then Rapid-Onset-Burnout-Syndrome (ROBS) is a particular problem in carers of adolescents at FEP, suggesting a need for routine screening and possible prophylactic intervention. Carers of adolescent’s use of behavioural escape coping maybe also require early intervention. Theoretically, consideration could be given to the development of an adolescent sub-branch to the cognitive model of caregiving

Calcifying odontogenic cyst: a case report

A calcifying odontogenic cyst (COC) is a rare odontogenic lesion with a vast variety of clinical, radiological, histopathological features and biological behaviours. In this article, we illustrate a case of an 18‐year‐old male patient with a complaint of an 18‐month history of swelling in his right maxilla. The lesion was diagnosed as a COC associated with an impacted 18 using radiological, cytological and histopathological investigations. The present study examines and considers the case