A MADS-box gene-induced early flowering pear (Pyrus communis L.) for accelerated pear breeding

There have been a considerable number of studies that have successfully sped up the flowering cycle in woody perennial horticultural species. One particularly successful study in apple (Malus domestica) accelerated flowering using a silver birch (Betula pendula) APETALA1/FRUITFULL MADS-box gene BpMADS4, which yielded a good balance of vegetative growth to support subsequent flower and fruit development. In this study, BpMADS4 was constitutively expressed in European pear (Pyrus communis) to establish whether this could be used as a tool in a rapid pear breeding program. Transformed pear lines flowered within 6–18 months after grafting onto a quince (Cydonia oblonga) rootstock. Unlike the spindly habit of early flowering apples, the early flowering pear lines displayed a normal tree-like habit. Like apple, the flower appearance was normal, and the flowers were fertile, producing fruit and seed upon pollination. Seed from these transformed lines were germinated and 50% of the progeny flowered within 3 months of sowing, demonstrating a use for these in a fast breeding program

Degree of explanation

Partial explanations are everywhere. That is, explanations citing causes that explain some but not all of an effect are ubiquitous across science, and these in turn rely on the notion of degree of explanation. I argue that current accounts are seriously deficient. In particular, they do not incorporate adequately the way in which a cause’s explanatory importance varies with choice of explanandum. Using influential recent contrastive theories, I develop quantitative definitions that remedy this lacuna, and relate it to existing measures of degree of causation. Among other things, this reveals the precise role here of chance, as well as bearing on the relation between causal explanation and causation itself

Ariel - Volume 8 Number 4

Executive Editor James W. Lockard Jr. Issues Editor Neeraj K. Kanwal Business Manager Neeraj K. Kanwal University News Martin Trichtinger World News Doug Hiller Opinions Elizabeth A. McGuire Features Patrick P. Sokas Sports Desk Shahab S. Minassian Managing Editor Edward H. Jasper Managing Associate Brenda Peterson Photography Editor Robert D. Lehman, Jr. Graphics Christine M. Kuhnl

Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) and International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) 2018 guidelines for the management of patients with bipolar disorder.

The Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) previously published treatment guidelines for bipolar disorder in 2005, along with international commentaries and subsequent updates in 2007, 2009, and 2013. The last two updates were published in collaboration with the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD). These 2018 CANMAT and ISBD Bipolar Treatment Guidelines represent the significant advances in the field since the last full edition was published in 2005, including updates to diagnosis and management as well as new research into pharmacological and psychological treatments. These advances have been translated into clear and easy to use recommendations for first, second, and third- line treatments, with consideration given to levels of evidence for efficacy, clinical support based on experience, and consensus ratings of safety, tolerability, and treatment-emergent switch risk. New to these guidelines, hierarchical rankings were created for first and second- line treatments recommended for acute mania, acute depression, and maintenance treatment in bipolar I disorder. Created by considering the impact of each treatment across all phases of illness, this hierarchy will further assist clinicians in making evidence-based treatment decisions. Lithium, quetiapine, divalproex, asenapine, aripiprazole, paliperidone, risperidone, and cariprazine alone or in combination are recommended as first-line treatments for acute mania. First-line options for bipolar I depression include quetiapine, lurasidone plus lithium or divalproex, lithium, lamotrigine, lurasidone, or adjunctive lamotrigine. While medications that have been shown to be effective for the acute phase should generally be continued for the maintenance phase in bipolar I disorder, there are some exceptions (such as with antidepressants); and available data suggest that lithium, quetiapine, divalproex, lamotrigine, asenapine, and aripiprazole monotherapy or combination treatments should be considered first-line for those initiating or switching treatment during the maintenance phase. In addition to addressing issues in bipolar I disorder, these guidelines also provide an overview of, and recommendations for, clinical management of bipolar II disorder, as well as advice on specific populations, such as women at various stages of the reproductive cycle, children and adolescents, and older adults. There are also discussions on the impact of specific psychiatric and medical comorbidities such as substance use, anxiety, and metabolic disorders. Finally, an overview of issues related to safety and monitoring is provided. The CANMAT and ISBD groups hope that these guidelines become a valuable tool for practitioners across the globe

Development and Validation of a 28-gene Hypoxia-related Prognostic Signature for Localized Prostate Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Hypoxia is associated with a poor prognosis in prostate cancer. This work aimed to derive and validate a hypoxia-related mRNA signature for localized prostate cancer. METHOD: Hypoxia genes were identified in vitro via RNA-sequencing and combined with in vivo gene co-expression analysis to generate a signature. The signature was independently validated in eleven prostate cancer cohorts and a bladder cancer phase III randomized trial of radiotherapy alone or with carbogen and nicotinamide (CON). RESULTS: A 28-gene signature was derived. Patients with high signature scores had poorer biochemical recurrence free survivals in six of eight independent cohorts of prostatectomy-treated patients (Log rank test P \u3c .05), with borderline significances achieved in the other two (P \u3c .1). The signature also predicted biochemical recurrence in patients receiving post-prostatectomy radiotherapy (n = 130, P = .007) or definitive radiotherapy alone (n = 248, P = .035). Lastly, the signature predicted metastasis events in a pooled cohort (n = 631, P = .002). Prognostic significance remained after adjusting for clinic-pathological factors and commercially available prognostic signatures. The signature predicted benefit from hypoxia-modifying therapy in bladder cancer patients (intervention-by-signature interaction test P = .0026), where carbogen and nicotinamide was associated with improved survival only in hypoxic tumours. CONCLUSION: A 28-gene hypoxia signature has strong and independent prognostic value for prostate cancer patients

Fruit development of the diploid kiwifruit, Actinidia chinensis 'Hort16A'

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>With the advent of high throughput genomic tools, it is now possible to undertake detailed molecular studies of individual species outside traditional model organisms. Combined with a good understanding of physiological processes, these tools allow researchers to explore natural diversity, giving a better understanding of biological mechanisms. Here a detailed study of fruit development from anthesis through to fruit senescence is presented for a non-model organism, kiwifruit, <it>Actinidia chinensis </it>('Hort16A').</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Consistent with previous studies, it was found that many aspects of fruit morphology, growth and development are similar to those of the model fruit tomato, except for a striking difference in fruit ripening progression. The early stages of fruit ripening occur as the fruit is still growing, and many ripening events are not associated with autocatalytic ethylene production (historically associated with respiratory climacteric). Autocatalytic ethylene is produced late in the ripening process as the fruit begins to senesce.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>By aligning <it>A. chinensis </it>fruit development to a phenological scale, this study provides a reference framework for subsequent physiological and genomic studies, and will allow cross comparison across fruit species, leading to a greater understanding of the diversity of fruits found across the plant kingdom.</p

Co-ordination of early and late ripening events in apples is regulated through differential sensitivities to ethylene

In this study, it is shown that anti-sense suppression of Malus domestica 1-AMINO-CYCLOPROPANE-CARBOXYLASE OXIDASE (MdACO1) resulted in fruit with an ethylene production sufficiently low to be able to assess ripening in the absence of ethylene. Exposure of these fruit to different concentrations of exogenous ethylene showed that flesh softening, volatile biosynthesis, and starch degradation, had differing ethylene sensitivity and dependency. Early ripening events such as the conversion of starch to sugars showed a low dependency for ethylene, but a high sensitivity to low concentrations of ethylene (0.01 μl l−1). By contrast, later ripening events such as flesh softening and ester volatile production showed a high dependency for ethylene but were less sensitive to low concentrations (needing 0.1 μl l−1 for a response). A sustained exposure to ethylene was required to maintain ripening, indicating that the role of ethylene may go beyond that of ripening initiation. These results suggest a conceptual model for the control of individual ripening characters in apple, based on both ethylene dependency and sensitivity