Evaluation for the retention of reproductive structures by Bt and non-Bt intra hirsutum cotton hybrids in different sowing dates and spacings

The retention of the reproductive structures (bolls) was evaluated at 90,120 and 160 days of maturity in eight Bt and non-Bt hybrids from three Private R&D establishments on three dates of sowings (90,120 and 160 days of maturity) and two spacings of 67.5 x 60 cm and 100 x 30 cm. Ankur group Bt hybrids; 651, 2226 and 2534 had reproductive structures retentivity higher than their non-Bt counterpart hybrids in all the three sowings and spacings. However, RCH group Bt hybrids; 134 and 138 had lesser/comparable boll retentivity in first two observations at 90 and 120 days in the earliest and the next sowing. In the last sowing with wider inter row spacing their trend was similar to Ankur group hybrids in the first sowing. MRC 6301 also behaved like RCH group hybrids. Bt hybrids of all the three establishments had more reproductive structure retentivity than their non-Bt hybrids counterparts in early, closer inter row and wider intra row sowing except for Bt hybrid RCH134 which had the highest bearing in the late sowing with wider inter row and closer intra row spacing. Association study indicated similar trend of boll bearing in Bt and non-Bt hybrids in early sowing and this trend seems tobe reverse in later sowing

Nutrition aspects in children receiving maintenance hemodialysis: impact on outcome

Children with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have rates of mortality estimated to be 30-times higher than expected for age compared with those of healthy children. Physical manifestations of under-nutrition, such as body mass index (BMI) and low height standard deviation score (SDS), have been associated with increased risk of mortality. Traditional measures, such as height, weight and serum albumin concentration, may not be accurate indicators to assess the nutritional status of children receiving maintenance hemodialysis. Normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR) has emerged as a better marker of nutritional status of such children. Meeting the special nutritional needs of these children often requires nutritional supplementation, by either the enteral or the parenteral route. Recently, in children receiving maintenance hemodialysis who are malnourished, intradialytic parenteral nutrition (IDPN) has been utilized as a means to provide additional protein and calories. This article is a state-of-the-art review of malnutrition in children receiving maintenance hemodialysis, with special focus on outcome, nPCR and IDPN

Association of HLA-A, B, DRB1 alleles and haplotypes with HIV-1 infection in Chongqing, China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The human immunodeficiency virus type 1(HIV-1) epidemic in Chongqing, China, is increasing rapidly with the dominant subtype of CRF07_BC over the past 3 years. Since human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms have shown strong association with susceptibility/resistance to HIV-1 infection from individuals with different ethnic backgrounds, a recent investigation on frequencies of HLA class I and class II alleles in a Chinese cohort also indicated that similar correlation existed in HIV infected individuals from several provinces in China, however, such information is unavailable in Chongqing, southwest China.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this population-based study, we performed polymerase chain reaction analysis with sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes (PCR-SSOP) for intermediate-low-resolution HLA typing in a cohort of 549 HIV-1 infected individuals, another 2475 healthy subjects from the Han nationality in Chongqing, China, were selected as population control. We compared frequencies of HLA-A, B, DRB1 alleles, haplotypes and genotypes between the two groups, and analyzed their association with HIV-1 susceptibility or resistance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The genetic profile of HLA (A, B, DRB1) alleles of HIV-1 infected individuals from Chongqing Han of China was obtained. Several alleles of HLA-B such as B*46 (P = 0.001, OR = 1.38, 95%CI = 1.13-1.68), B*1501G(B62) (P = 0.013, OR = 1.42, 95%CI = 1.08-1.88), B*67 (P = 0.022, OR = 2.76, 95%CI = 1.16-6.57), B*37 (P = 0.014, OR = 1.93, 95%CI = 1.14-3.28) and B*52 (P = 0.038, OR = 1.64, 95%CI = 1.03-2.61) were observed to have association with susceptibility to HIV-1 infection in this population. In addition, the haplotype analysis revealed that A*11-B*46, A*24-B*54 and A*01-B*37 for 2-locus, and A*11-B*46-DRB1*09, A*02-B*46-DRB1*08, A*11-B*4001G-DRB1*15, A*02-B*4001G-DRB1*04, A*11-B*46-DRB1*08 and A*02-B*4001G-DRB1*12 for 3-locus had significantly overrepresented in HIV-1 infected individuals, whereas A*11-B*1502G, A*11-B*1502G-DRB1*12 and A*33-B*58-DRB1*13 were underrepresented. However, the low-resolution homozygosity of HLA-A, B, DRB1 loci and HLA-Bw4/Bw6 genotypes did not differ significantly between the two groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results may contribute to the database of HLA profiles in HIV-1 infected Chinese population, consequently, the association of certain HLA alleles with susceptibility or resistance to HIV-1 infection would provide with clues in choosing proper preventive strategies against HIV-1 infection and developing effective HIV-1 vaccines in Chinese population, especially for those in southwest China.</p

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

X-ray emission from the Sombrero galaxy: discrete sources

We present a study of discrete X-ray sources in and around the bulge-dominated, massive Sa galaxy, Sombrero (M104), based on new and archival Chandra observations with a total exposure of ~200 ks. With a detection limit of L_X = 1E37 erg/s and a field of view covering a galactocentric radius of ~30 kpc (11.5 arcminute), 383 sources are detected. Cross-correlation with Spitler et al.'s catalogue of Sombrero globular clusters (GCs) identified from HST/ACS observations reveals 41 X-rays sources in GCs, presumably low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). We quantify the differential luminosity functions (LFs) for both the detected GC and field LMXBs, whose power-low indices (~1.1 for the GC-LF and ~1.6 for field-LF) are consistent with previous studies for elliptical galaxies. With precise sky positions of the GCs without a detected X-ray source, we further quantify, through a fluctuation analysis, the GC LF at fainter luminosities down to 1E35 erg/s. The derived index rules out a faint-end slope flatter than 1.1 at a 2 sigma significance, contrary to recent findings in several elliptical galaxies and the bulge of M31. On the other hand, the 2-6 keV unresolved emission places a tight constraint on the field LF, implying a flattened index of ~1.0 below 1E37 erg/s. We also detect 101 sources in the halo of Sombrero. The presence of these sources cannot be interpreted as galactic LMXBs whose spatial distribution empirically follows the starlight. Their number is also higher than the expected number of cosmic AGNs (52+/-11 [1 sigma]) whose surface density is constrained by deep X-ray surveys. We suggest that either the cosmic X-ray background is unusually high in the direction of Sombrero, or a distinct population of X-ray sources is present in the halo of Sombrero.Comment: 11 figures, 5 tables, ApJ in pres

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Soluble and Cell-Associated Insulin Receptor Dysfunction Correlates with Severity of HAND in HIV-Infected Women

Blood sugar metabolism abnormalities have been identified in HIV-infected individuals and associated with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). These abnormalities may occur as a result of chronic HIV infection, long-term use of combined antiretroviral treatment (CART), aging, genetic predisposition, or a combination of these factors, and may increase morbidity and mortality in this population.To determine if changes in soluble and cell-associated insulin receptor (IR) levels, IR substrate-1 (IRS-1) levels, and IRS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation are associated with the presence and severity of HAND in a cohort of HIV-seropositive women.This is a retrospective cross-sectional study using patient database information and stored samples from 34 HIV-seropositive women and 10 controls without history of diabetes from the Hispanic-Latino Longitudinal Cohort of Women. Soluble IR subunits [sIR, ectodomain (α) and full-length or intact (αβ)] were assayed in plasma and CSF samples by ELISA. Membrane IR levels, IRS-1 levels, and IRS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation were analyzed in CSF white cell pellets (WCP) using flow cytometry. HIV-seropositive women had significantly increased levels of intact or full-length sIR in plasma (p<0.001) and CSF (p<0.005) relative to controls. Stratified by HAND, increased levels of full-length sIR in plasma were associated with the presence (p<0.001) and severity (p<0.005) of HAND. A significant decrease in IRS-1 tyrosine-phosphorylation in the WCP was also associated with the presence (p<0.02) and severity (p<0.02) of HAND.This study provides evidence that IR secretion is increased in HIV-seropositive women, and increased IR secretion is associated with cognitive impairment in these women. Thus, IR dysfunction may have a role in the progression of HAND and could represent a biomarker for the presence and severity of HAND

DNA Methylation Profiles of Primary Colorectal Carcinoma and Matched Liver Metastasis

BACKGROUND: The contribution of DNA methylation to the metastatic process in colorectal cancers (CRCs) is unclear. METHODS: We evaluated the methylation status of 13 genes (MINT1, MINT2, MINT31, MLH1, p16, p14, TIMP3, CDH1, CDH13, THBS1, MGMT, HPP1 and ERα) by bisulfite-pyrosequencing in 79 CRCs comprising 36 CRCs without liver metastasis and 43 CRCs with liver metastasis, including 16 paired primary CRCs and liver metastasis. We also performed methylated CpG island amplification microarrays (MCAM) in three paired primary and metastatic cancers. RESULTS: Methylation of p14, TIMP3 and HPP1 in primary CRCs progressively decreased from absence to presence of liver metastasis (13.1% vs. 4.3%; 14.8% vs. 3.7%; 43.9% vs. 35.8%, respectively) (P<.05). When paired primary and metastatic tumors were compared, only MGMT methylation was significantly higher in metastatic cancers (27.4% vs. 13.4%, P = .013), and this difference was due to an increase in methylation density rather than frequency in the majority of cases. MCAM showed an average 7.4% increase in DNA methylated genes in the metastatic samples. The numbers of differentially hypermethylated genes in the liver metastases increased with increasing time between resection of the primary and resection of the liver metastasis. Bisulfite-pyrosequencing validation in 12 paired samples showed that most of these increases were not conserved, and could be explained by differences in methylation density rather than frequency. CONCLUSIONS: Most DNA methylation differences between primary CRCs and matched liver metastasis are due to random variation and an increase in DNA methylation density rather than de-novo inactivation and silencing. Thus, DNA methylation changes occur for the most part before progression to liver metastasis