Results of variety trials with buckwheat in Switzerland

Выращивание гречихи (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) имело давнюю традицию в Швейцарии, которая исчезла в XX веке. В течение нескольких последних лет интерес к гречихе вновь возрос, и среди прочего, необходимо было найти сорта, адаптированные к климатическим условиям страны. Поэтому в 2014 году швейцарская сельскохозяйственная научно-исследовательская станция Agroscope начала полевые испытания с различными сортами гречихи. Среди тестируемых сортов было пять с детерминантным типом роста российской селекции из ФГБНУ ВНИИЗБК. Испытания 14 сортов гречихи были проведены в двух точках (Цюрих и Цолликофен) в 2016 году. Урожайность зерна колебалась от 1,57 т/га (Drollet) до 3,38 т/га (Дружина). Влажность зерна при уборке урожая у российских сортов варьировала от 13,6% до 18% в Цюрихе и от 27% до 29,1% в Цолликофене. Возможность с помощью новых сортов гречихи начать успешное производство швейцарских продуктов из гречихи зависит от потребителя, а также от возможностей переработки зерна гречихи (то есть обрушивания) и разработки других продуктов из гречихи кроме муки.Growing buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) had a long tradition in Switzerland which disappeared in the 20th century. Since a few years interest in buckwheat increased again and among others also varieties adapted to the climatic conditions had to be found. Therefore Agroscope, the Swiss Agricultural Research station, initiated field trials with different buckwheat varieties in 2014. Among the tested varieties there were also five with a determinate growth from a Russian breeding program. Trials at two sites (Zurich and Zollikofen) with 14 varieties have been conducted in 2016. Grain yields varied from 15.7 dt/ha (Drollet) up to 33.8 dt/ha (Drushina). The water content of the Russian varieties at harvest varied between 13.6 % and 18 % at Zurich and 27 % and 29.1 % at Zollikofen. In order to confirm results, trials should be repeated again in 2017. Whether with new buckwheat varieties a successful Swiss buckwheat production can be initiated depends on one side on the consumer but also on possibilities of the processing of buckwheat grains (i.e. dehulling) and the development of other buckwheat products than flour

Update of the Swiss guidelines on post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome.

Lyme borreliosis is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infection, which responds well to antibiotic therapy in the overwhelming majority of cases. However, despite adequate antibiotic treatment some patients report persisting symptoms which are commonly summarised as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). In 2005, the Swiss Society of Infectious Diseases published a case definition for PTLDS. We aimed to review the scientific literature with a special emphasis on the last 10 years, questioning whether the definitions from 2005 are still valid in the light of current knowledge. Furthermore, we describe the clinical history of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the estimated prevalence of PTLDS, the possible pathogenesis of PTLDS, and treatment options with an emphasis on clinical studies. In summary, we were unable to find a scientific reason for modification of the PTLDS definitions published in 2005. Thus, the diagnostic criteria remain unchanged, namely documented clinical and laboratory evidence of previous infection with B. burgdorferi, a completed course of appropriate antibiotic therapy, symptoms including fatigue, arthralgia, myalgia, cognitive dysfunction or radicular pain persisting for >6 months, a plausible timely association between documented B. burgdorferi infection and onset of symptoms (i.e., persistent or recurrent symptoms that began within 6 months of completion of a recommended antibiotic therapy for early or late Lyme borreliosis), and exclusion of other somatic or psychiatric causes of symptoms. The main therapeutic options remain cognitive behavioural therapy and low-impact aerobic exercise programmes. Growing and unequivocal evidence confirms that prolonged or repeated antibiotic therapy for PTLDS is not beneficial, but potentially harmful and therefore contraindicated. The Guidelines of the Swiss Society of Infectious Diseases offer an evidence based, diagnostic and therapeutic framework for physicians caring for patients suffering from presumptive PTLDS in Switzerland

Vertebral osteomyelitis with <i>Campylobacter jejuni</i> – a case report and review of the literature of a very rare disease

Infections with Campylobacter species mainly cause gastrointestinal disease and are usually self-limiting. Systemic complications such as bacteremia and osteoarticular infections are rare. Here we report a very rare case of a vertebral osteomyelitis due to C. jejuni, and we reviewed the literature for similar cases, identifying six other cases. Therapy should be guided on resistance testing if available due to emerging resistance rates, especially to fluoroquinolones. Azithromycin may be a treatment option for C. jejuni spondylodiscitis.</p

Buchweizenanbau in der Schweiz: neue Sorten für eine alte Nischenkultur

Die Geschichte des Buchweizens reicht weit in die Vergangenheit zurück. Ursprünglich stammt Buchweizen aus China wo Buchweizenarten gemäss Pollenuntersuchungen bereits 2500 v. Chr. wuchsen (Zeller und Hsam 2004). Von dort breitete sich der Buchweizen vermutlich im Mittelalter über Kirgistan, Tadschikistan und Usbekistan in Richtung Europa aus (Zeller 2001). Mit der Intensivierung des Ackerbaus verlor er aber nach und nach an Bedeutung. Aktuell (Datengrundlage 2017) gilt Russland mit 1,52 Millionen Tonnen (von weltweit ca. 4 Millionen Tonnen) als führender Buchweizenproduzent (FAO 2019). In der russischen Küche ist Buchweizen – als Beilage oder Hauptgericht – auch heute noch ein wichtiger Nahrungsbestandteil (Miedaner und Longin 2012). Ab 1400 n. Chr. hat sich der Buchweizenanbau auch in der Schweiz etabliert. Bereits um 1800 n. Chr. beschränkten sich die Anbaugebiete aber nur noch auf einige Täler in Graubünden und im Tessin. (Schilperoord 2017). Hauptgrund war die verstärkte Verbreitung und Förderung des Kartoffelanbaus, was die gesamtschweizerische Anbaufläche von Buchweizen bis ins Jahr 1972 auf unter eine Hektare schrumpfen liess (Lustenberger et al. 1977). Seither taucht Buchweizen nicht mehr einzeln in der Anbaustatistik auf und bis auf die Sorte Brusio ist keine Schweizer Buchweizensorte in der Genbank eingelagert worden (BLW 2019). Seit einigen Jahren nimmt die Bedeutung von Buchweizen in der menschlichen Ernährung aber wieder zu. Gerade für Menschen mit einer Glutenunverträglichkeit (Zöliakie) bietet der glutenfreie Buchweizen eine Alternative zu herkömmlichen Getreideprodukten. Daneben ist Buchweizen auch reich an Spurenelementen wie Zink oder Mangan und wirkt Erkrankungen wie Bluthochdruck oder hohen Cholesterinwerten entgegen (Skrabanja et al. 2004). Aufgrund der geringen Ansprüche an Klima und Boden (Lustenberger et al. 1977) und der eher kurzen Vegetationsdauer von ca. 115 Tagen (Aufhammer et al. 1995) kann Buchweizen als Fruchtfolgeglied interessant sein. Da Buchweizen botanisch gesehen mit keiner anderen häufig in der Schweiz angebauten Kulturpflanze verwandt ist, kann er zur Auflockerung der Fruchtfolge und Aufwertung des Bodens genutzt werden. Durch die kurze Vegetationsdauer besteht zudem die Möglichkeit, Buchweizen als Zweitkultur z. B. nach Wintergerste anzubauen. Als Gründüngungs- und Untersaatenkomponente wird Buchweizen seit vielen Jahren eingesetzt. Unter guten Wachstumsbedingungen ist Buchweizen aufgrund der schnellen Jugendentwicklung ein guter Unkrautunterdrücker. Auch für Insekten ist die Ackerfrucht von Bedeutung, denn sie blüht – je nach Saatzeitpunkt und Sorte – über eine längere Zeit und v. a. während der tendenziell eher trachtarmen Sommermonate. Beim Anbau von Buchweizen als Reinkultur zur Körnernutzung stellen sich zahlreiche Herausforderungen. So ist z. B. die Bestimmung des richtigen Erntezeitpunkts aufgrund des unbegrenzten Wuchses der aktuell verfügbaren Sorten und deshalb auch die Ernte mit dem Mähdrescher schwierig. Neue Züchtungen aus Russland versprechen jedoch eine gleichmässige Abreife bei gleichzeitig hohen Kornerträgen und tieferen Erntefeuchtigkeiten. Um Lösungsansätze für den Buchweizenanbau in der Schweiz zu entwickeln, wurden in einem gemeinsamen Projekt von Agroscope und der Hochschule für Agrar-, Forst- und Lebensmittelwissenschaften HAFL Versuche mit verschiedenen Buchweizensorten und Saatdichten durchgeführt. In den Sortenversuchen wurde zudem der Wert für Bestäuber quantifiziert

EST-PAC a web package for EST annotation and protein sequence prediction

With the decreasing cost of DNA sequencing technology and the vast diversity of biological resources, researchers increasingly face the basic challenge of annotating a larger number of expressed sequences tags (EST) from a variety of species. This typically consists of a series of repetitive tasks, which should be automated and easy to use. The results of these annotation tasks need to be stored and organized in a consistent way. All these operations should be self-installing, platform independent, easy to customize and amenable to using distributed bioinformatics resources available on the Internet. In order to address these issues, we present EST-PAC a web oriented multi-platform software package for expressed sequences tag (EST) annotation. EST-PAC provides a solution for the administration of EST and protein sequence annotations accessible through a web interface. Three aspects of EST annotation are automated: 1) searching local or remote biological databases for sequence similarities using Blast services, 2) predicting protein coding sequence from EST data and, 3) annotating predicted protein sequences with functional domain predictions. In practice, EST-PAC integrates the BLASTALL suite, EST-Scan2 and HMMER in a relational database system accessible through a simple web interface. EST-PAC also takes advantage of the relational database to allow consistent storage, powerful queries of results and, management of the annotation process. The system allows users to customize annotation strategies and provides an open-source data-management environment for research and education in bioinformatics

Improved amorphous/crystalline silicon interface passivation by hydrogen plasma treatment

Silicon heterojunction solar cells have high open-circuit voltages thanks to excellent passivation of the wafer surfaces by thin intrinsic amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) layers deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. We show a dramatic improvement in passivation when H2 plasma treatments are used during film deposition. Although the bulk of the a-Si:H layers is slightly more disordered after H2 treatment, the hydrogenation of the wafer/film interface is nevertheless improved with as-deposited layers. Employing H2 treatments, 4 cm2 heterojunction solar cells were produced with industry-compatible processes, yielding open-circuit voltages up to 725 mV and aperture area efficiencies up to 21. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Prevalence, clinical characteristics, and prognosis of GATA2-related myelodysplastic syndromes in children and adolescents

GermlineGATA2 mutations cause cellular deficiencieswith high propensity for myeloid disease. We investigated 426 children and adolescents with primary myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and 82 cases with secondary MDS enrolled in 2 consecutive prospective studies of the European Working Group of MDS in Childhood (EWOGMDS) conducted in Germany over a period of 15 years. Germline GATA2 mutations accounted for 15% of advanced and 7% of all primary MDS cases, but were absent in children with MDS secondary to therapy or acquired aplastic anemia. Mutation carriers were older at diagnosis and more likely to present with monosomy 7 and advanced disease compared with wild-type cases. For stratified analysis according to karyotype, 108 additional primary MDS patients registered with EWOG-MDS were studied. Overall, we identified 57 MDS patients with germline GATA2mutations. GATA2 mutations were highly prevalent among patients with monosomy 7 (37%, all ages) reaching its peak in adolescence (72%of adolescents withmonosomy 7).Unexpectedly, monocytosis was more frequent in GATA2-mutated patients. However, when adjusted for the selection bias from monosomy 7, mutational status had no effect on the hematologic phenotype. Finally, overall survival and outcome of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) were not influenced by mutational status. This study identifies GATA2 mutations as the most common germline defect predisposing to pediatric MDS with a very high prevalence in adolescents with monosomy 7. GATA2 mutations do not confer poor prognosis in childhood MDS. However, the high risk for progression to advanced diseasemust guide decision-making toward timely HSCT

Synonymous GATA2 mutations result in selective loss of mutated RNA and are common in patients with GATA2 deficiency

Deficiency of the transcription factor GATA2 is a highly penetrant genetic disorder predisposing to myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and immunodeficiency. It has been recognized as the most common cause underlying primary MDS in children. Triggered by the discovery of a recurrent synonymous GATA2 variant, we systematically investigated 911 patients with phenotype of pediatric MDS or cellular deficiencies for the presence of synonymous alterations in GATA2. In total, we identified nine individuals with five heterozygous synonymous mutations: c.351C&gt;G,&nbsp;p.T117T (N = 4); c.649C&gt;T,&nbsp;p.L217L; c.981G&gt;A,&nbsp;p.G327G; c.1023C&gt;T,&nbsp;p.A341A; and c.1416G&gt;A,&nbsp;p.P472P (N = 2). They accounted for 8.2% (9/110) of cases with GATA2 deficiency in our cohort and resulted in selective loss of mutant RNA. While for the hotspot mutation (c.351C&gt;G) a splicing error leading to RNA and protein reduction was identified, severe, likely late stage RNA loss without splicing disruption was found for other mutations. Finally, the synonymous mutations did not alter protein function or stability. In summary, synonymous GATA2 substitutions are a new common cause of GATA2 deficiency. These findings have broad implications for genetic counseling and pathogenic variant discovery in Mendelian disorders

Synonymous GATA2 mutations result in selective loss of mutated RNA and are common in patients with GATA2 deficiency

Deficiency of the transcription factor GATA2 is a highly penetrant genetic disorder predisposing to myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and immunodeficiency. It has been recognized as the most common cause underlying primary MDS in children. Triggered by the discovery of a recurrent synonymousGATA2variant, we systematically investigated 911 patients with phenotype of pediatric MDS or cellular deficiencies for the presence of synonymous alterations inGATA2. In total, we identified nine individuals with five heterozygous synonymous mutations: c.351C>G, p.T117T (N = 4); c.649C>T, p.L217L; c.981G>A, p.G327G; c.1023C>T, p.A341A; and c.1416G>A, p.P472P (N = 2). They accounted for 8.2% (9/110) of cases with GATA2 deficiency in our cohort and resulted in selective loss of mutant RNA. While for the hotspot mutation (c.351C>G) a splicing error leading to RNA and protein reduction was identified, severe, likely late stage RNA loss without splicing disruption was found for other mutations. Finally, the synonymous mutations did not alter protein function or stability. In summary, synonymousGATA2substitutions are a new common cause of GATA2 deficiency. These findings have broad implications for genetic counseling and pathogenic variant discovery in Mendelian disorders

Rtp1p Is a Karyopherin-Like Protein Required for RNA Polymerase II Biogenesis

The assembly and nuclear transport of RNA polymerase II (RNA pol II) are processes that require the participation of many auxiliary factors. In a yeast genetic screen, we identified a previously uncharacterized gene, YMR185w (renamed RTP1), which encodes a protein required for the nuclear import of RNA pol II. Using protein affinity purification coupled to mass spectrometry, we identified interactions between Rtp1p and members of the R2TP complex. Rtp1p also interacts, to a different extent, with several RNA pol II subunits. The pattern of interactions is compatible with a role for Rtp1p as an assembly factor that participates in the formation of the Rpb2/Rpb3 subassembly complex and its binding to the Rpb1p-containing subcomplex. Besides, Rtp1p has a molecular architecture characteristic of karyopherins, composed of HEAT repeats, and is able to interact with phenylalanine-glycine-containing nucleoporins. Our results define Rtp1p as a new component of the RNA pol II biogenesis machinery that plays roles in subunit assembly and likely in transport through the nuclear pore complex