Effect of growing degree days on autumn planted sunflower

Sunflower (Helianthus annus L.) having high degree of adaptability under wide range of climatic conditions, allow the crop to be productive in broad range of environments. Field experiments in autumn were laid out at Pir Mehr Ali Shah, Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Pakistan for two years (2007 and 2008), to document the effect of growing degree days (GDD) on the performance of sunflower hybrids. Four sunflower hybrids, Alisson-RM, Parasio-24, MG-2 and S-278 were planted in randomized complete block design with four replications during autumn season. The data on growing degree days accumulation during autumn and their effect on achene, oil yield and yield components of sunflower like number of achenes per head, hundred achenes weight, biological and achene yield was recorded. All these agronomic characters as well as oil characteristics were influenced by prevailing temperature. GDD collected during autumn season was the same for both years of study. Amongst hybrids, the hybrid MG-2 showed the maximum values for all the agronomic as well as oil parameters during the autumn season. At the late planting of sunflower during autumn season, crop completes its life cycle in short duration and accumulates less heat units, thus, achene and oil yield along with yield attributes are affected accordingly.Key words: Growing degree days (GDD), yield and yield components, sunflower

Implications of texture 4 zero lepton mass matrices for U_{e3}

Lepton mass matrices similar to texture 4 zero quark mass matrices, known to be quite successful in explaining the CKM phenomenology, have been considered for finding the mixing matrix element U_{e3} (\equiv s_{13}) respecting the CHOOZ constraint, with s_{12} and \Delta m_{12}^2 constrained by SNP and s_{23} and \Delta m_{23}^2 constrained by ANP. Taking charged lepton mass matrix M_l to be diagonal, we find that the ranges of s_{13} corresponding to different SNP solutions very well include the corresponding values of s_{13} found by Akhmedov et al. by considering neutrino mass matrix M_{\nu} with no texture zeros. Considering M_l and M_{\nu} both to be real and non-diagonal, s_{13} ranges for the four SNP solutions come out to be: \sim 0-0.19 (LMA), 0.038-0.093 (SMA), 0.042-0.095 (LOW), 0.038-0.096 (VO) which remain of the same order when M_l and M_{\nu} are considered to be complex and non-diagonal.Comment: 13 pages, LaTe

Exploring access to end of life care for ethnic minorities with end stage kidney disease through recruitment in action research

BACKGROUND: Variation in provision of palliative care in kidney services and practitioner concerns to provide equitable access led to the development of this study which focussed on the perspectives of South Asian patients and their care providers. As people with a South Asian background experience a higher risk of Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) and end stage kidney failure (ESKF) compared to the majority population but wait longer for a transplant, there is a need for end of life care to be accessible for this group of patients. Furthermore because non English speakers and people at end of life are often excluded from research there is a dearth of research evidence with which to inform service improvement. This paper aims to explore issues relating to the process of recruitment of patients for a research project which contribute to our understanding of access to end of life care for ethnic minority patients in the kidney setting. METHODS: The study employed an action research methodology with interviews and focus groups to capture and reflect on the process of engaging with South Asian patients about end of life care. Researchers and kidney care clinicians on four NHS sites in the UK recruited South Asian patients with ESKF who were requiring end of life care to take part in individual interviews; and other clinicians who provided care to South Asian kidney patients at end of life to take part in focus groups exploring end of life care issues. In action research planning, action and evaluation are interlinked and data were analysed with emergent themes fed back to care providers through the research cycle. Reflections on the process of patient recruitment generated focus group discussions about access which were analysed thematically and reported here. RESULTS: Sixteen patients were recruited to interview and 45 different care providers took part in 14 focus groups across the sites. The process of recruiting patients to interview and subsequent focus group data highlighted some of the key issues concerning access to end of life care. These were: the identification of patients approaching end of life; and their awareness of end of life care; language barriers and informal carers' roles in mediating communication; and contrasting cultures in end of life kidney care. CONCLUSIONS: Reflection on the process of recruitment in this action research study provided insight into the complex scenario of end of life in kidney care. Some of the emerging issues such as the difficulty identifying patients are likely to be common across all patient groups, whilst others concerning language barriers and third party communication are more specific to ethnic minorities. A focus on South Asian ethnicity contributes to better understanding of patient perspectives and generic concepts as well as access to end of life kidney care for this group of patients in the UK. Action research was a useful methodology for achieving this and for informing future research to include informal carers and other ethnic groups.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders in adult and pediatric renal transplant patients receiving tacrolimus-based immunosuppression

Between March 27, 1989 and December 31, 1997, 1316 kidney transplantations alone were performed under tacrolimus-based immunosuppression at our center. Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) developed in 25 (1.9%) cases; the incidence in adults was 1.2% (15/1217), whereas in pediatric patients it was 10.1% (10/99; P<.0001). PTLD was diagnosed 21.0±22.5 months after transplantation, 25.0±24.7 months in adults and 14.4±18.2 months in pediatric patients. Of the 4 adult cases in whom both the donor and recipient Epstein Barr virus (EBV) serologies were known, 2 (50%) were seropositive donor → seronegative recipient. Of 7 pediatric cases in whom both the donor and recipient EBV serologies were known, 6 (86%) were EBV seropositive donor → seronegative recipient. Acute rejection was observed before the diagnosis of PTLD in 8 (53%) of 15 adults and 3 (30%) of 10 pediatric patients. Initial treatment of PTLD included a marked decrease or cessation of immunosuppression with concomitant ganciclovir therapy; two adults and two pediatric patients required chemotherapy. With a mean follow-up of 24.9 ±30.1 months after transplantation, the 1- and 5-year actuarial patient and graft survival rates in adults were 93% and 86%, and 80% and 60%, respectively. Two adults died, 3.7 and 46.2 months after transplantation, of complications related to PTLD, and 10 (including the 2 deaths) lost their allograft 3.7-84.7 months after transplantation. In children, the 1- and 5-year actuarial patient and graft survival rates were 100% and 100%, and 100% and 89%, respectively. No child died; one child lost his allograft 41.3 months after transplantation. One child had presumed recurrent PTLD that responded to discontinuation of tacrolimus and reinitiation of antiviral therapy. The mean serum creatinine level in adults was 2.5±1.2 mg/dl, and in children, it was 1.3±0.6 mg/dl. Under tacrolimus-based immunosuppression, PTLD is less common after renal transplantation in adults than in children, but PTLD in children is associated with more favorable outcomes than in adults

Renal transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh: the impact of FK506.

1. In an unselected adult renal transplant population, FK506 as the primary immunosuppressive agent yielded one- and 2-year actuarial patient survival rates of 95% and 93% and one- and 2-year actuarial graft survival rates of 89% and 83%, respectively. Forty-nine percent of successfully transplanted patients were weaned off steroids. 2. In pediatric renal transplant patients, FK506 has been associated with 100% one- and 3-year actuarial patient survival rates and 98% and 85% one- and 3-year actuarial graft survival rates, respectively. Sixty-two percent of successfully transplanted patients were taken off prednisone, with dramatic improvements in height. 3. FK506 has been used successfully in rescuing 70-74% of adult or pediatric renal transplant patients with an acute rejection that failed conventional therapy. 4. Kidney/bone marrow transplantation under FK506 therapy has been successfully performed without graft-versus-host disease and with routine augmentation of chimerism. 5. The side effects of FK506 included nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and diabetogenicity; they were comparable to those seen with CsA. 6. FK506 is an important new addition to the immunosuppressive armamentarium in renal transplant patients

Hermitian quark mass matrices with four texture zeros

We provide a complete and systematic analysis of hermitian, hierarchical quark mass matrices with four texture zeros. Using triangular mass matrices, each pattern of texture zeros is readily shown to lead to a definite relation between the CKM parameters and the quark masses. Nineteen pairs are found to be consistent with present data, and one other is marginally acceptable. In particular, no parallel structure between the up and down mass matrices is found to be favorable with data.Comment: 18 pages, no figure, references [8] and [10] adde

Microvascular changes in renal allografts associated with FK506 (Tacrolimus) therapy

FK506 (Tacrolimus) recently has been shown to be an effective immunosuppressant after renal transplantation. It is associated with less hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and steroid use compared with cyclosporine. We report 10 patients on FK506 who showed fibrin thrombi within the glomerular capillaries and/or arterioles at renal allograft biopsy. These biopsies were generally performed to assess increasing serum creatinine levels; laboratory evidence of hemolytic uremic syndrome was present in one instance. Plasma or whole blood FK506 levels were elevated in eight of 10 cases. Reduction of immunosuppression led to clinical improvement or biopsy- proven resolution of thrombi in all cases. These observations suggest that FK506 may occasionally produce microvascular changes in the renal allograft. The estimated incidence of this occurrence (1%) is comparable with that reported with cyclosporine (3%)

Clinical features of acute reversible tacrolimus (FK 506) nephrotoxicity in kidney transplant recipients

This study was designed to (a) estimate the contribution of tacrolimus nephrotoxicity to episodes of renal allograft dysfunction investigated by needle biopsy, (b) describe the temporal evolution of nephrotoxicity and its response to therapy, and (c) ascertain how often renal dysfunction is associated with concurrent extra-renal toxicity. Patients were selected based on a rising serum creatinine, normal ultrasound, and biopsy findings leading to a reduction in the dose of tacrolimus and a fall in serum creatinine. Twenty two (17%) cases of nephrotoxicity were identified amongst 128 consecutive kidney transplant biopsies with sufficient clinical data for analysis. There were 13 males and 9 females, 17-75 yr in age. Tacrolimus was administered initially as a 0.075-0.1 mg/kg/d IV continuous infusion followed by an oral dose of 0.15 mg/kg twice daily. The onset of nephrotoxicity in this study occurred 1-156 wk post-operatively. The mean baseline creatinine was 212.2 ± 168.0 μmol/l (range 88.4-875.2) and rose 40.6% ± 14.2% (range 11-66) during episodes of nephrotoxicity (p 5.0 mequiv./l was recorded in 9/22 (41%) cases. Three or more elevations in blood glucose > 7.7 mmol/l (140 mg/dl) were recorded in 4/11 (36%) non-diabetic patients. Hand tremors were seen in two (9%) cases and elevated diastolic blood pressure > 90 mmHg in seven (32%) patients. In conclusion, tacrolimus nephrotoxicity accounted for 17% of graft dysfunction episodes investigated by biopsy. Concurrent hyperglycemia, hyperkalemia, or tremors were noted in several patients. Nephrotoxicity responded well to reduction in the drug dosage

Exploring the parameter space of texture 4 zero quark mass matrices

We have attempted to extend the parameter space of the elements of the texture 4 zero Hermitian quark mass matrices, to include the case of `weak hierarchy' amongst them along with the usually considered `strong hierarchy' case. This has been carried out by giving wide variation to the hierarchy defining parameters D_U and D_D, having implications for the structural features of the mass matrices. We find that not only the weakly hierarchical mass matrices are able to reproduce the strongly hierarchical mixing angles but also both the phases having their origin in the mass matrices have to be non zero to achieve compatibility of these matrices with recent quark mixing data. Further noting the difference between the exclusive and inclusive values of V_ub, we have carried out separate analyses corresponding to these.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, version accepted for publication in Journal Of Physics