Enhanced fodder yield of maize genotypes under saline irrigation is a function of their increased K accumulation and better K/Na ratio

Poor quality irrigation water adversely affects the growth and yield of crops. This study was designed to evaluate the growth, fodder yield and ionic concentration of three promising maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes under the influence of varying quality irrigation water, with different salinity levels. The genotypes, such as EV-1097, Kisan and Akbar were irrigated with usable (electrical conductivity, EC 1.5 dS m-1), marginal (EC 3.0 dS m-1), poor (EC 4.5 dS m-1) and very poor (EC 7.0 dS m-1) quality irrigationwater. The increasing adverse effects on various growth and yield variables of all three genotypes were observed with the increasing water salinity. Also, soil EC, SAR and ESP values increased linearly with increasing salinity levels of irrigation water. Poor quality irrigation water affected all the growthvariables and yield of maize. Increasing concentrations of sodium and chloride ions, coupled with decreasing concentration of potassium, in flag leaf of maize was observed in response to increasing salinity of irrigation water. The genotypic variation among the three maize genotypes to saline water irrigation was in order of EV-1097 > Kisan > Akbar. The better fresh fodder yield of maize genotypes under poor quality irrigation water was a function of their enhanced accumulation of potassium (K) and better K/Na ratio. The study concluded that, the genotype EV-1097 is a better choice for the maize growers under saline water irrigation condition.Key words: Maize (Zea Mays L.), fodder yield, saline irrigation, K accumulation, K/Na ratio

Growth, herb yield and phytochemical contents in a medicinal herb Andrographis paniculata under saline irrigation.

Andrographis paniculata (King of bitters/Hempedu Bumi) is a traditional medicinal herb of family Acanthaceae. It is commonly used to cure a variety of ailments and diseases. This study was designed to evaluate the herb yield and phytochemical contents in two germplasm accessions of Malaysian A. paniculata, viz. 11261 and 11265, grown with different quality of irrigation water, that fresh (EC iw 0.12 dS m -1) and saline (EC iw 2.5 and 5.0 dS m -1). Just before blooming, the plants were harvested to record data on six basic traits, including plant height, length and width of main-stem leaves, length and number of primary branches plant-1 and dry herbage yield (plant-1). Concentrations of Na + and K +, coupled with K +/Na + ratio, were determined in the cell sap extracted from the top fully matured leaves. Phytochemicals, viz. Andrographolide (AG), Neoandrographolide (NAG) and 14-deoxy-11, 12- didehydroandrographolide (DDAG), were determined in the dry matter of aerial parts using highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC). No significant changes in plant growth and dry herbage yield (plant-1) were observed with 2.5 EC iw (dS m -1) water, compared to 5.0 EC iw water, where reductions in same indices were >13% and statistically significant. Adverse effects of water salinity on growth and dry herbage yield can be attributed with significantly higher concentration of Na + and lower concentration of K + and lower K +/Na + ratio in the leaf sap. Phytochemical contents in dry matter were generally unaffected by water salinity. With the exception of Na + concentration in leaf sap, response of both accessions to saline irrigation was similar. These results suggest that both accessions exhibited good potential to withstand to salty water environment and produce considerably high amount of phytochemicals under both normal as well as saline irrigation conditions

Evaluating spring wheat cultivars for drought tolerance through yield and physiological parameters at booting and anthesis

Progress in wheat yields under drought conditions is rather a difficult task to achieve. The experiment was conducted in factorial design with 16 spring wheat cultivars grown under two irrigation regimes, non-stress and water-stress imposed at boot and anthesis growth stages. Water-stress significantly influenced the physiological and yield traits in both the growth stages, yet the reductions in most traits were pronounced at anthesis than at boot. Stomatal conductance, relative water content, leaf area (LA), seeds/spike, 1000-grain weight and grain yield/plant were the best drought tolerant indicators. On the basis of physiological and yield traits, the cultivars Moomal, Bhitai, TD-1, and Abadgar proved to be the best performing in water-stress conditions. Stomatal conductance, RWC% and LA were significantly and positively correlated with grain yield/plant. These results suggest that the stomatal conductance, relative water content and leaf area are the most important traits that should be considered while developing drought tolerant wheat genotypes.Keywords: Water stress, boot and anthesis, yield and physiological traits, wheat genotype

Avian assemblages at Paya Indah Natural Wetland Reserve, Malaysia

Estimating accurate avian assemblages such as density and diversity are key factors for the conservation and management of birds and their habitats. Avian assemblages based on status in five habitats at Paya Indah Natural Wetland Reserve were determined using the distance sampling, point count method, at 121 count stations. A total of 100 bird species (64 resident, 18 migratory, 16 resident-migratory and 2 vagrant bird species) were detected from November 2012 to January 2014. The highest bird density was recorded for resident birds (72.2 ± 3.8 bird’s ha-1) and the lowest for vagrant birds (0.1 ± 0.1 birds ha-1). In which Resident birds have significantly higher density, species diversity, richness and evenness compared to resident-migrant and migratory birds

Immunomodulation by imiquimod in patients with high-risk primary melanoma.

Imiquimod is a synthetic Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) agonist approved for the topical treatment of actinic keratoses, superficial basal cell carcinoma, and genital warts. Imiquimod leads to an 80-100% cure rate of lentigo maligna; however, studies of invasive melanoma are lacking. We conducted a pilot study to characterize the local, regional, and systemic immune responses induced by imiquimod in patients with high-risk melanoma. After treatment of the primary melanoma biopsy site with placebo or imiquimod cream, we measured immune responses in the treated skin, sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs), and peripheral blood. Treatment of primary melanomas with 5% imiquimod cream was associated with an increase in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the skin, and CD4+ T cells in the SLN. Most of the CD8+ T cells in the skin were CD25 negative. We could not detect any increases in CD8+ T cells specifically recognizing HLA-A(*)0201-restricted melanoma epitopes in the peripheral blood. The findings from this small pilot study demonstrate that topical imiquimod treatment results in enhanced local and regional T-cell numbers in both the skin and SLN. Further research into TLR7 immunomodulating pathways as a basis for effective immunotherapy against melanoma in conjunction with surgery is warranted

A randomised controlled trial of the effects of a web-based PSA decision aid, Prosdex. Protocol

Contains fulltext : 51771.pdf ( ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Informed decision making is the theoretical basis in the UK for men's decisions about Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) testing for prostate cancer testing. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of a web-based PSA decision-aid, Prosdex, on informed decision making in men. The objective is to assess the effect of Prosdex on six specific outcomes: (i) knowledge of PSA and prostate cancer-related issues - the principal outcome of the study; (ii) attitudes to testing; (iii) decision conflict; (iv) anxiety; (v) intention to undergo PSA testing; (vi) uptake of PSA testing. In addition, a mathematical simulation model of the effects of Prosdex will be developed. METHODS: A randomised controlled trial with four groups: two intervention groups, one viewing Prosdex and the other receiving a paper version of the site; two control groups, the second controlling for the potential Hawthorn effect of the questionnaire used with the first control group. Men between the ages of 50 and 75, who have not previously had a PSA test, will be recruited from General Practitioners (GPs) in Wales, UK. The principal outcome, knowledge, and four other outcome measures - attitudes to testing, decision conflict, anxiety and intention to undergo testing - will be measured with an online questionnaire, used by men in three of the study groups. Six months later, PSA test uptake will be ascertained from GP records; the online questionnaire will then be repeated. These outcomes, and particularly PSA test uptake, will be used to develop a mathematical simulation model, specifically to consider the impact on health service resources

Management of children's urinary tract infections in Dutch family practice: a cohort study

BACKGROUND: Optimal clinical management of childhood urinary tract infections (UTI) potentiates long-term positive health effects. Insight into the quality of care in Dutch family practices for UTIs was limited, particularly regarding observation periods of more than a year. Our aim was to describe the clinical management of young children's UTIs in Dutch primary care and to compare this to the national guideline recommendations. METHODS: In this cohort study, all 0 to 6-year-old children with a diagnosed UTI in 2001 were identified within the Netherlands Information Network of General Practitioners (LINH), which comprises 120 practices. From the Dutch guideline on urinary tract infections, seven indicators were derived, on prescription, follow-up, and referral. RESULTS: Of the 284 children with UTI who could be followed for three years, 183 (64%) were registered to have had one cystitis episode, 52 (18%) had two episodes, and 43 (15%) had three or more episodes. Another six children were registered to have had one or two episodes of acute pyelonephritis. Overall, antibiotics were prescribed for 66% of the children having had ≤ 3 cystitis episodes, two-thirds of whom received the antibiotics of first choice. About 30% of all episodes were followed up in general practice. Thirty-eight children were referred (14%), mostly to a paediatrician (76%). Less than one-third of the children who should have been referred was actually referred. CONCLUSION: Treatment of childhood UTIs in Dutch family practice should be improved with respect to prescription, follow-up, and referral. Quality improvement should address the low incidence of urinary tract infections in children in family practice

Flanking signal and mature peptide residues influence signal peptide cleavage

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Signal peptides (SPs) mediate the targeting of secretory precursor proteins to the correct subcellular compartments in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Identifying these transient peptides is crucial to the medical, food and beverage and biotechnology industries yet our understanding of these peptides remains limited. This paper examines the most common type of signal peptides cleavable by the endoprotease signal peptidase I (SPase I), and the residues flanking the cleavage sites of three groups of signal peptide sequences, namely (i) eukaryotes (Euk) (ii) Gram-positive (Gram+) bacteria, and (iii) Gram-negative (Gram-) bacteria.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, 2352 secretory peptide sequences from a variety of organisms with amino-terminal SPs are extracted from the manually curated SPdb database for analysis based on physicochemical properties such as p<it>I</it>, aliphatic index, GRAVY score, hydrophobicity, net charge and position-specific residue preferences. Our findings show that the three groups share several similarities in general, but they display distinctive features upon examination in terms of their amino acid compositions and frequencies, and various physico-chemical properties. Thus, analysis or prediction of their sequences should be separated and treated as distinct groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that the peptide segment recognized by SPase I extends to the start of the mature protein to a limited extent, upon our survey of the amino acid residues surrounding the cleavage processing site. These flanking residues possibly influence the cleavage processing and contribute to non-canonical cleavage sites. Our findings are applicable in defining more accurate prediction tools for recognition and identification of cleavage site of SPs.</p

Walk-ins seeking treatment at an emergency department or general practitioner out-of-hours service: a cross-sectional comparison

Background Emergency Departments (ED) in Switzerland are faced with increasing numbers of patients seeking non-urgent treatment. The high rate of walks-ins with conditions that may be treated in primary care has led to suggestions that those patients would best cared for in a community setting rather than in a hospital. Efficient reorganisation of emergency care tailored to patients needs requires information on the patient populations using the various emergency services currently available. The aim of this study is to evaluate the differences between the characteristics of walk-in patients seeking treatment at an ED and those of patients who use traditional out-of-hours GP (General Practitioner) services provided by a GP-Cooperative (GP-C). Methods In 2007 and 2009 data was collected covering all consecutive patient-doctor encounters at the ED of a hospital and all those occurring as a result of contacting a GP-C over two evaluation periods of one month each. Comparison was made between a GP-C and the ED of the Waid City Hospital in Zurich. Patient characteristics, time and source of referral, diagnostic interventions and mode of discharge were evaluated. Medical problems were classified according to the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC-2). Patient characteristics were compared using non-parametric tests and multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to investigate independent determinants for contacting a GP-C or an ED. Results Overall a total of 2974 patient encounters were recorded. 1901 encounters were walk-ins and underwent further analysis (ED 1133, GP-C 768). Patients consulting the GP-C were significantly older (58.9 vs. 43.8 years), more often female (63.5 vs. 46.9%) and presented with non-injury related medical problems (93 vs. 55.6%) in comparison with patients at the ED. Independent determining factors for ED consultation were injury, male gender and younger age. Walk-in distribution in both settings was equal over a period of 24 hours and most common during daytime hours (65%). Outpatient care was predominant in both settings but significantly more so at the GP-C (79.9 vs. 85.7%). Conclusions We observed substantial differences between the two emergency settings in a non gate-keeping health care system. Knowledge of the distribution of diagnoses, their therapy, of diagnostic measures and of the factors which determine the patients' choice of the ED or the GP-C is essential for the efficient allocation of resources and the reduction of costs