An objective functional evaluation of myoelectrically-controlled hand prostheses: A pilot study using the virtual peg insertion test

Assessing upper limb prostheses and their influence when performing goal-directed activities is essential to compare the quality of different devices and optimize their control settings. Currently available assessments are often subjective, insensitive, and cannot provide a detailed evaluation of prostheses and their usage. The goal of this pilot study was to explore the feasibility of using the Virtual Peg Insertion Test (VPIT) to provide an in-depth assessment of a prosthesis and its functional performance. One transradial amputee performed the goal-directed manipulation task of the VPIT with the sound body side and four different myoelectrically-controlled prostheses. The subject was able to complete the VPIT protocol successfully with technically advanced prosthesis (two out of four devices). The kinematic- and kinetic-based objective evaluation measures extracted from the VPIT were able to capture clear differences between the sound and amputated body side and were able to identify varying movement patterns for different prostheses. Additionally, the outcome measures were sensitive to changes in prosthesis control settings and showed clear trends across measures of subjectively perceived prosthesis quality assessed through a questionnaire. This work demonstrates the general feasibility of objectively evaluating functional prosthesis usage with the VPIT

KIC 4247791: A SB4 system with two eclipsing binaries (2EBs)

KIC 4247791 is an eclipsing binary observed by the Kepler satellite mission. We wish to determine the nature of its components and in particular the origin of a shallow dip in its Kepler light curve that previous investigations have been unable to explain in a unique way. We analyze newly obtained high-resolution spectra of the star using synthetic spectra based on atmosphere models, derive the radial velocities of the stellar components from cross-correlation with a synthetic template, and calculate the orbital solution. We use the JKTEBOP program to model the Kepler light curve of KIC 4247791. We find KIC 4247791 to be a SB4 star. The radial velocity variations of its four components can be explained by two separate eclipsing binaries. In contradiction to previous photometric findings, we show that the observed composite spectrum as well as the derived masses of all four of its components correspond to spectral type F. The observed small dip in the light curve is not caused by a transit-like phenomenon but by the eclipses of the second binary system. We find evidence that KIC 4247791 might belong to the very rare hierarchical SB4 systems with two eclipsing binaries.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, 2 table

Use of Site Factor Studies in Determining Environmental Variables That May be Important for Genotype by Environment Interaction

The environmental variables important in determining genotype x environment interaction with Pinus patula in Southern Africa were investigated using a �site factor study� approach. Several previous such studies with P. patula in the region have identified elevation, rainfall, aspect and some soil characteristics as important for the growth of the species as a whole. The objective of this study was to utilise the large number of progeny trials of P. patula available to further refine those variables that may be important in determining genotype x environment interaction. Top height was estimated utilising a minimum of 30 trees from the genetic checks present within each of 59 progeny trials planted across the region. A Site Index at base age 15 was derived for each site from tests aged between 4 and 10 years of age. This derived Site Index was then utilised as the dependent variable in a site factor study. Linear regression and correlation analysis was used to screen a large number of physical and climatic factors, as well as combinations of these, and relate them to tree growth as estimated by Site Index. Although the amount of variation explained by any single, or combination of variables was relatively small, several climatic factors were identified as being important in predicting some of the variation in Site Index. Many of the variables identified were associated with water availability and in particular specific seasons where water related issues could be constraining or impacting tree growth. Some of examples of these were factors related to precipitation and evaporative demand during the early spring growing season such as the October median precipitation and September evaporative demand. At this time of the year early growth may be constrained by a lack of available water after the winter dry season. In addition, many of these variables have been linked to genotype x environment interaction with P. patula in Southern Africa.Papers and abstracts from the 27th Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference held at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma on June 24-27, 2003

Gemcitabine in combination with EGF-Receptor antibody (Cetuximab) as a treatment of cholangiocarcinoma: a case report

BACKGROUND: Extensive disease of cholangiocarcinoma (CC) determines the overall outcome and limits curative resection. Despite chemotherapy, which has been introduced to improve the outcome of biliary tract malignancies, the benefit in survival is still marginal. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a 69-year-old patient with non-resectable CC showing hepatic metastasis and peritoneal carcinomatosis. Diagnosis was based on computed tomography, mini-laparoscopy and bioptic specimens. Histology revealed an adenocarcinoma of the biliary tract with expression of epithelial growth factor receptor. After informed consent the patient received experimental gemcitabine (1000 mg/m(2)) every other week and cetuximab (250 mg/m(2)) weekly for palliative chemotherapy. During the reported follow up (since time of first presentation) 20 cycles of chemotherapy were administered. Relevant chemotherapy-related toxicity was limited on gemcitabine-associated side effects. Predominantly, haematological toxicity (CTC, grade 3) and neutropenic fever (CTC, grade 3) promoted by catheter-related sepsis were observed. Cetuximab caused only mild skin toxicity (CTC, grade 1). Chemotherapy led to a partial response (> 30% reduction, according to RECIST) of the target lesions and disappearance of the peritoneal carcinomatosis as shown by computed tomography. Partial response occurred after 17 weeks of treatment and remained stable during the entire course of chemotherapy for 9.7 months. In parallel, Ca 19-9 serum levels, which were elevated 5-fold at time of diagnosis, returned to normal after 16 weeks of treatment. The performance status stabilized and intravenous alimentation could be discontinued. CONCLUSION: Our experience from one patient with CC suggests, that a combination of cytotoxic chemotherapy together with cetuximab may show promising efficacy in respect to survival and quality of life. Therefore cetuximab, as a component of palliative chemotherapy in biliary tract cancer, needs further evaluation in prospective randomized trials

Growth and dynamic modulus of elasticity of Pinus patula × Pinus tecunumanii hybrids in Mpumalanga, South Africa

Field establishment of South Africa’s most important commercial pine species, Pinus patula, is severely hampered by the pitch canker fungus, Fusarium circinatum. Importantly, hybrids between P. patula and other pine species tolerant to the pitch canker fungus, such as P. tecunumanii and P. oocarpa, have been identified as an alternative planting stock. In this study, variation in tree volume and dynamic modulus of elasticity (MOEdym) of the P. patula × P. tecunumanii (low- and high-elevation [LE and HE] ecotypes) hybrid was compared with the P. elliottii × P. caribaea hybrid, and the pure species P. tecunumanii (LE) and P. patula. The MOEdym was assessed using the Fakkop TreeSonic microsecond instrument across three sites. The results of the study showed that P. patula × P. tecunumanii LE performed significantly better than P. patula × P. tecunumanii HE for volume and MOEdym, which in turn was significantly better than P. patula. The MOEdym and tree growth decreased with an increase in elevation. There was significant taxon × site interaction for volume and MOEdym. The results of these trials suggested that P. patula × P. tecunumanii LE is a suitable alternative to P. patula in the Sabie region of Mpumalanga in South Africa on frost-free sites, in terms of the traits that were assessed.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tsfs202017-12-31hb2017Plant Production and Soil Scienc

AGFORWARD Third Periodic Report: July 2016 to December 2017

Project context The European Union has targets to improve the competitiveness of European agriculture and forestry, whilst improving the environment and the quality of rural life. At the same time there is a need to improve our resilience to climate change and to enhance biodiversity. During the twentieth century, large productivity advances were made by managing agriculture and forestry as separate practices, but often at a high environmental cost. In order to address landscape-scale issues such as biodiversity and water quality, we argue that farmers and society will benefit from considering landuse as a continuum including both agriculture and trees, and that there are significant opportunities for European farmers and society to benefit from a closer integration of trees with agriculture. Agroforestry is the practice of deliberately integrating woody vegetation (trees or shrubs) with crop and/or animal systems to benefit from the resulting ecological and economic interactions.AGFORWARD (Grant Agreement N° 613520) is co-funded by the European Commission, Directorate General for Research & Innovation, within the 7th Framework Programme of RTD. The views and opinions expressed in this report are purely those of the writers and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European Commissio

AGFORWARD Project Final Report

Executive summary: The AGFORWARD project (Grant Agreement N° 613520) had the overall goal to promote agroforestry practices in Europe that will advance sustainable rural development. It had four objectives (described below) which address 1) the context and extent of agroforestry in Europe, 2) identifying, developing and field-testing agroforestry innovations through participatory networks, 3) evaluating innovative designs and practices at field-, farm-, and landscape-scales, and promoting agroforestry in Europe through policy development and dissemination. Agroforestry is defined as the practice of deliberately integrating woody vegetation (trees or shrubs) with crop and/or animal systems to benefit from the resulting ecological and economic interactions. Context: European agroforestry has been estimated to cover 10.6 Mha (using a literature review) and 15.4 Mha using the pan-European LUCAS dataset (i.e. 8.8% of the utilised agricultural area). Livestock agroforestry (15.1 Mha) is, by far, the dominant type of agroforestry. The LUCAS analysis provides a uniform method to compare agroforestry areas between countries and over time. Identify, develop and field-test agroforestry innovations: 40 stakeholder groups (involving about 820 stakeholders across 13 European countries) developed and field-tested agroforestry innovations which have been reported in 40 “lesson learnt” reports, and in a user-friendly format in 46 “Agroforestry innovation leaflets”. The innovations for agroforestry systems of high nature and cultural value included cheaper methods of tree protection and guidance for establishing legumes in wood pastures. Innovations for agroforestry with timber plantations, olive groves and apple orchards include the use of medicinal plants and reduction of mowing costs. Innovations for integrating trees on arable farms included assessments of yield benefits by providing wind protection. Innovations for livestock farms included using trees to enhance animal welfare, shade protection, and as a source of fodder. Peer-reviewed journal papers and conference presentations on these and other related topics were developed. Evaluation of agroforestry designs and practices at field- and landscape-scale: a range of publicly available field-scale analysis tools are available on the AGFORWARD website. These include the “CliPick” climate database, and web-applications of the Farm-SAFE and Hi-sAFe model. The results of field- and landscape-scale analysis, written up as peer-reviewed papers, highlight the benefits of agroforestry (relative to agriculture) for biodiversity enhancement and providing regulating ecosystem services, such as for climate and water regulation and purification. Policy development and dissemination: detailed reviews of existing policy and recommendations for future European agroforestry policy have been produced. The support provided is far wider than the single specified agroforestry measures. The recommendations included the collation of existing measures, and that agroforestry systems should not forfeit Pillar I payments. Opportunities for farmlevel and landscape-level measures were also identified. The project results can be found on the project website (www.agforward.eu), a Facebook account (www.facebook.com/AgforwardProject), a Twitter account (https://twitter.com/AGFORWARD_EU), and a quarterly electronic newsletter (http://www.agforward.eu/index.php/en/newsletters-1514.html). The number of national associations in Europe was extended to twelve, and a web-based training resource on agroforestry (http://train.agforward.eu/language/en/agforall/) created. AGFORWARD also supported the Third European Agroforestry Conference in Montpellier in 2016 attracting 287 delegates from 26 countries including many farmers. We also initiated another 21 national conferences or conference sessions on agroforestry, made about 240 oral presentations, 61 poster presentations, produced about 50 news articles, and supported about 87 workshop, training or field-visit activities (in addition to the stakeholder groups)

Epidermolysa bullosa in Danish Hereford calves is caused by a deletion in LAMC2 gene

BACKGROUND Heritable forms of epidermolysis bullosa (EB) constitute a heterogeneous group of skin disorders of genetic aetiology that are characterised by skin and mucous membrane blistering and ulceration in response to even minor trauma. Here we report the occurrence of EB in three Danish Hereford cattle from one herd. RESULTS Two of the animals were necropsied and showed oral mucosal blistering, skin ulcerations and partly loss of horn on the claws. Lesions were histologically characterized by subepidermal blisters and ulcers. Analysis of the family tree indicated that inbreeding and the transmission of a single recessive mutation from a common ancestor could be causative. We performed whole genome sequencing of one affected calf and searched all coding DNA variants. Thereby, we detected a homozygous 2.4 kb deletion encompassing the first exon of the LAMC2 gene, encoding for laminin gamma 2 protein. This loss of function mutation completely removes the start codon of this gene and is therefore predicted to be completely disruptive. The deletion co-segregates with the EB phenotype in the family and absent in normal cattle of various breeds. Verifying the homozygous private variants present in candidate genes allowed us to quickly identify the causative mutation and contribute to the final diagnosis of junctional EB in Hereford cattle. CONCLUSIONS Our investigation confirms the known role of laminin gamma 2 in EB aetiology and shows the importance of whole genome sequencing in the analysis of rare diseases in livestock

a randomized, placebo-controlled phase II AIO trial with serum biomarker program

Background As a multi-targeted anti-angiogenic receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitor sunitinib (SUN) has been established for renal cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. In advanced refractory esophagogastric cancer patients, monotherapy with SUN was associated with good tolerability but limited tumor response. Methods This double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, phase II clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of SUN as an adjunct to second and third-line FOLFIRI (NCT01020630). Patients were randomized to receive 6-week cycles including FOLFIRI plus sodium folinate (Na-FOLFIRI) once every two weeks and SUN or placebo (PL) continuously for four weeks followed by a 2-week rest period. The primary study endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Preplanned serum analyses of VEGF-A, VEGF-D, VEGFR2 and SDF-1α were performed retrospectively. Results Overall, 91 patients were randomized, 45 in each group (one patient withdrew). The main grade ≥3 AEs were neutropenia and leucopenia, observed in 56 %/20 % and 27 %/16 % for FOLFIRI + SUN/FOLFIRI + PL, respectively. Median PFS was similar, 3.5 vs. 3.3 months (hazard ratio (HR) 1.11, 95 % CI 0.70–1.74, P = 0.66) for FOLFIRI + SUN vs. FOLFIRI + PL, respectively. For FOLFIRI + SUN, a trend towards longer median overall survival (OS) compared with placebo was observed (10.4 vs. 8.9 months, HR 0.82, 95 % CI 0.50–1.34, one-sided P = 0.21). In subgroup serum analyses, significant changes in VEGF-A (P = 0.017), VEGFR2 (P = 0.012) and VEGF-D (P < 0.001) serum levels were observed. Conclusions Although sunitinib combined with FOLFIRI did not improve PFS and response in chemotherapy-resistant gastric cancer, a trend towards better OS was observed. Further biomarker-driven studies with other anti- angiogenic RTK inhibitors are warranted. Trial registration This study was registered prospectively in the NCT Clinical Trials Registry (ClinicalTrials.gov) under NCT01020630 on November 23, 2009 after approval by the leading ethics committee of the Medical Association of Rhineland- Palatinate, Mainz, in coordination with the participating ethics committees (see Additional file 2) on September 16, 2009