5 research outputs found
Chickpea
The narrow genetic base of cultivated chickpea warrants systematic collection,
documentation and evaluation of chickpea germplasm and particularly wild
Cicer species for effective and efficient use in chickpea breeding programmes.
Limiting factors to crop production, possible solutions and ways to overcome
them, importance of wild relatives and barriers to alien gene introgression and
strategies to overcome them and traits for base broadening have been discussed.
It has been clearly demonstrated that resistance to major biotic and abiotic
stresses can be successfully introgressed from the primary gene pool
comprising progenitor species. However, many desirable traits including high
degree of resistance to multiple stresses that are present in the species
belonging to secondary and tertiary gene pools can also be introgressed by
using special techniques to overcome pre- and post-fertilization barriers.
Besides resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses, the yield QTLs have
also been introgressed from wild Cicer species to cultivated varieties. Status
and importance of molecular markers, genome mapping and genomic tools
for chickpea improvement are elaborated. Because of major genes for various
biotic and abiotic stresses, the transfer of agronomically important traits into
elite cultivars has been made easy and practical through marker-assisted
selection and marker-assisted backcross. The usefulness of molecular markers
such as SSR and SNP for the construction of high-density genetic maps of
chickpea and for the identification of genes/QTLs for stress resistance, quality
and yield contributing traits has also been discussed
Effects of fluoxetine on functional outcomes after acute stroke (FOCUS): a pragmatic, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial
Background
Results of small trials indicate that fluoxetine might improve functional outcomes after stroke. The FOCUS trial aimed to provide a precise estimate of these effects.
Methods
FOCUS was a pragmatic, multicentre, parallel group, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial done at 103 hospitals in the UK. Patients were eligible if they were aged 18 years or older, had a clinical stroke diagnosis, were enrolled and randomly assigned between 2 days and 15 days after onset, and had focal neurological deficits. Patients were randomly allocated fluoxetine 20 mg or matching placebo orally once daily for 6 months via a web-based system by use of a minimisation algorithm. The primary outcome was functional status, measured with the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), at 6 months. Patients, carers, health-care staff, and the trial team were masked to treatment allocation. Functional status was assessed at 6 months and 12 months after randomisation. Patients were analysed according to their treatment allocation. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN83290762.
Findings
Between Sept 10, 2012, and March 31, 2017, 3127 patients were recruited. 1564 patients were allocated fluoxetine and 1563 allocated placebo. mRS data at 6 months were available for 1553 (99·3%) patients in each treatment group. The distribution across mRS categories at 6 months was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (common odds ratio adjusted for minimisation variables 0·951 [95% CI 0·839–1·079]; p=0·439). Patients allocated fluoxetine were less likely than those allocated placebo to develop new depression by 6 months (210 [13·43%] patients vs 269 [17·21%]; difference 3·78% [95% CI 1·26–6·30]; p=0·0033), but they had more bone fractures (45 [2·88%] vs 23 [1·47%]; difference 1·41% [95% CI 0·38–2·43]; p=0·0070). There were no significant differences in any other event at 6 or 12 months.
Interpretation
Fluoxetine 20 mg given daily for 6 months after acute stroke does not seem to improve functional outcomes. Although the treatment reduced the occurrence of depression, it increased the frequency of bone fractures. These results do not support the routine use of fluoxetine either for the prevention of post-stroke depression or to promote recovery of function.
Funding
UK Stroke Association and NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme