The effect of calcium or silicon on potted miniature roses or poinsettias

Poinsettias are the number one flowering potted plant in the U.S. and it is the most popular Christmas plant sold. Miniature roses have become an increasingly important flowering potted plant. However, growers must overcome production problems to produce a quality finished plant and avoid disease incidence. Supplemental calcium has been proven to increase the amount of good quality flowers and increase disease resistance. Silicon can increase plant growth and crop quality and decrease disease pressures. Two experiments were conducted on miniature rose cultivars ‘Sonya’ and ‘Alto.’ The objective of experiment 1 was to determine the effects of preharvest application of calcium nitrate [Ca (NO3)2], Foli-Cal® (chelated Ca), chelate, Maniplex-Traffic® (chelated Si) or Sil-Matrix® (potassium silicate) applied as a spray or a drench on growth and development. Spray application of Foli-Cal® increased plant growth as indicated by a greater dry weight compared to all other treatment applications. Drench application of Foli-Cal® increased finished quality as indicated by greater flowering, height, width, leaf area, and dry weight. The objective of experiment 2 was to determine the efficacy of weekly spray applications of biofungicides Sil-Matrix™ (potassium silicate), Fosphite® (phosphoric acid), Kaligreen® (potassium bicarbonate), and Manniplex Traffic® (chelated Si) on powdery mildew on miniature roses compared to a standard fungicide Heritage® (azoxystrobin). Miniature roses treated with Kaligreen®, Heritage® alternated with Foshpite®, or Heritage® alternated with Kaligreen® were not as susceptible to powdery mildew. For the second study of powdery mildew, Kaligreen® gave the best control of powdery mildew for cultivar ‘Sonja’ but treatments for ‘Alto’ showed no significance

Assembly of a high-resolution map of the Acadian Usher syndrome region and localization of the nuclear EF-hand acidic gene

Usher syndrome type 1C (USH1C) occurs in a small population of Acadian descendants from southwestern Louisiana. Linkage and linkage disequilibrium analyses localize USH1C to chromosome 11p between markers D11S1397 and D11S1888, an interval of less than 680 kb. Here, we refine the USH1C linkage to a region less than 400 kb, between genetic markers D11S1397 and D11S1890. Using 17 genetic markers from this interval, we have isolated a contiguous set of 60 bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) that span the USH1C critical region. Exon trapping of BAC clones from this region resulted in the recovery of an exon of the nuclear EF-hand acidic (NEFA) gene. However, DNA sequence analysis of the NEFA cDNA from lymphocytes of affected individuals provided no evidence of mutation, making structural mutations in the NEFA protein unlikely as the cellular cause of Acadian Usher syndrome. Copyright (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V

Developing an Extracellular Vesicle Based Treatment for Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease characterized by the degradation of articular cartilage. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cargo-filled bodies that mediate intercellular communication and are influential in OA pathogenesis. This study utilized parallel methodologies to investigate whether EV signaling can be manipulated to combat OA. The first approach aimed to identify cells lines that produce EVs with therapeutic activity against OA, while the second introduced miRNA in EVs to induce cartilage regeneration. EVs derived from synovial fibroblasts (SFBs) induced further inflammation. Moreover, miRNA did not impact MMP-13 production. While SFB-EVs were pro-inflammatory, increasing the amount of MMP-13 present, human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BM-hMSC) EVs did not stimulate a change in MMP-13 production. Future studies should further characterize these results to maximize therapeutic impact

Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Acute Stroke Care in the Florida-Puerto Rico Collaboration to Reduce Stroke Disparities Study

Background-Racial-ethnic disparities in acute stroke care can contribute to inequality in stroke outcomes. We examined raceethnic disparities in acute stroke performance metrics in a voluntary stroke registry among Florida and Puerto Rico Get With the Guidelines-Stroke hospitals. Methods and Results-Seventy-five sites in the Florida Puerto Rico Stroke Registry (66 Florida and 9 Puerto Rico) recorded 58 864 ischemic stroke cases (2010-2014). Logistic regression models examined racial-ethnic differences in acute stroke performance measures and defect-free care (intravenous tissue plasminogen activator treatment, in-hospital antithrombotic therapy, deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis, discharge antithrombotic therapy, appropriate anticoagulation therapy, statin use, smoking cessation counseling) and temporal trends. Among ischemic stroke cases, 63% were non-Hispanic white (NHW), 18% were non-Hispanic black (NHB), 14% were Hispanic living in Florida, and 6% were Hispanic living in Puerto Rico. NHW patients were the oldest, followed by Hispanics, and NHBs. Defect-free care was greatest among NHBs (81%), followed by NHWs (79%) and Florida Hispanics (79%), then Puerto Rico Hispanics (57%) (P \u3c 0.0001). Puerto Rico Hispanics were less likely than Florida whites to meet any stroke care performance metric other than anticoagulation. Defect-free care improved for all groups during 2010-2014, but the disparity in Puerto Rico persisted (2010: NHWs=63%, NHBs=65%, Florida Hispanics=59%, Puerto Rico Hispanics=31%; 2014: NHWs=93%, NHBs=94%, Florida Hispanics=94%, Puerto Rico Hispanics=63%). Conclusions-Racial-ethnic/geographic disparities were observed for acute stroke care performance metrics. Adoption of a quality improvement program improved stroke care from 2010 to 2014 in Puerto Rico and all Florida racial-ethnic groups. However, stroke care quality delivered in Puerto Rico is lower than in Florida. Sustained support of evidence-based acute stroke quality improvement programs is required to improve stroke care and minimize racial-ethnic disparities, particularly in resource-strained Puerto Rico

Race-Ethnic Disparities in 30-Day Readmission After Stroke Among Medicare Beneficiaries in the Florida Stroke Registry

Objective: To examine racial/ethnic disparities in 30-day all-cause readmission after stroke. Methods: Thirty-day all-cause readmission was compared by race/ethnicity among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries discharged for ischemic stroke from hospitals in the Florida Stroke Registry from 2010 to 2013. We fit a Cox proportional hazards model that censored for death and adjusted for age, sex, length of stay, discharge home, and comorbidities to assess racial/ethnic differences in readmission. Results: Among 16,952 stroke patients (54% women, 75% white, 8% black, and 15% Hispanic), 30-day all-cause readmission was 15% (17.2% for blacks, 16.7% for Hispanics, 14.4% for whites, and 14.7% for others; P = .003). There was a median of 11 days between discharge and first readmission. In adjusted analyses, there was no significant difference in readmission for blacks (hazard ratio 1.15, 95% confidence interval 0.99-1.33), Hispanics (1.00, .90-1.13), and those of other race/ethnicity (.91, .71-1.16) compared with whites. Nearly 1 in 4 readmissions were attributable to acute cerebrovascular events: 16.6% ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack, 1.5% hemorrhagic stroke, and 5.2% cerebral artery interventions. Interventions were more common among whites and those of other race than blacks and Hispanics (P = .029). Readmission due to pneumonia or urinary tract infection was 8.2%. Conclusions: Readmissions attributable to acute cerebrovascular events were common and generally occurred within 2 weeks of hospital discharge. Racial/ethnic disparities were present in readmissions for arterial interventions. Our results underscore the importance of postdischarge transitional care and the need for better secondary prevention strategies after ischemic stroke, particularly among minority populations