Reactions of Pollen-Pistil Combinations In Vitro & Their Relationships to Compatibility in Alfalfa

Reactions of in vitro pollen-pistil combinations were studied and related to compatibility differences in Buffalo alfalfa Medicago sativa L.) at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green. Pollen-pistil combinations were made at random among a number of alfalfa plants in 1968 (Experiment I). Pollen tube elongation varied significantly when -4 pollen from the same plant was placed on agar media containing pistils from different plants. Three of four plants for which intra-plant combinations (pollen and pistils from same plants) were made 1,ad tube lengths significantly shorter than those measured for inter-plant combinations (pollen and pistils from different plants). Similar in vitro pollen-pistil combinations were made in 1969 (Experiment II) with another group of Buffalo alfalfa plants. When grouped according to pollen source, significant differences were found among tube lengths for different combinations within most groups. Intra-plant combinations for four plants gave varying tube lengths and were inconsistent in their rankings relative to inter-plan combinations within groups. Within a pollen source. mean pollen tube lengths were consistently longer on the control medium, with no pistils present, than on the medium containing pistils. Twenty-two crosses and selfs were made which were analogous to the pollen-pistil combinations in Experiment II. The self- or cross-compatibility was determined by three indexes: percentage of flowers producing pods, seeds per flower, and seeds per pod. Correlation coefficients were not significant for percentage viable pollen or mean pollen tube length versus each of the three indexes. However, the correlation coefficients were positive and relatively consistent for the two pollen characteristics versus the three compatibility indexes

The Effects of a Pedometer Intervention on The Physical Activity Patterns of Cardiac Rehabilitation Participants

Purpose: To assess whether the provision of a pedometer and exercise diary could significantly increase the activity levels of phase II cardiac rehabilitation program patients on the days they did not attend the program. Methods: Seventy patients (53 males, 17 females, age of 68 plus/minus 9 yrs, BMI 29.0 plus/minus 6.1 kg/m2 participated in the study. During their first visit to a phase II CRP, patients were assigned to one of two groups. Control patients were given a blinded pedometer (n = 34), while experimental subjects received a pedometer that they could view (n = 36) as well as an exercise diary to record their daily step counts. Control patients wore the pedometer during all of their waking hours throughout phase II CRP enrollment and were encouraged to increase their overall activity levels in accordance with standard level of care. The baseline activity patterns of were determined during their first week of phase II CRP enrollment. Patients in the experimental group were encouraged to gradually increase their step counts on the days (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday; i.e., non-CRP days) they did not attend phase II CRP gradually until they were accumulating 2,000 steps/day above their baseline levels. Two sample t-tests were used to compare the baseline physical characteristics between genders as well as the control and experimental groups. Mean weekly step counts for both groups were compared based on overall and aerobic steps counts accumulated on CRP and non-CRP days using 2 times 7 repeated-measures ANOVAs. Results: At baseline, men took more overall steps than women and all patients took more steps on days they attended the phase II CRP, versus days they did not. There was a significant effect (p \u3c 0.0001) of group assignment and time for overall and aerobic step counts on non-CRP days; as the experimental patients took significantly more steps and increased their step counts at a faster rate than the control patients. There was no significant interaction on CRP days as both groups significantly increased their overall and aerobic steps counts. Conclusion: Phase II CRP patients who used a pedometer and exercise diary significantly increased their overall and aerobic steps counts on CRP and non-CRP days, to a greater extent than patients who received usual care. Thus, pedometers can be used to increase the physical activity levels of phase II CRP patients

Non-Pharmacological Pain Managment in Labor: A Systematic Review

During childbirth, women experience labor pain throughout the three stages of labor. The first stage is where the contractions start and end which creates the need for a form of pain management. Various techniques are used to manage first stage labor pains. The use of non-pharmacological methods is becoming more prevalent because natural births are becoming more popular and pharmacological interventions have side effects and drug interactions. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic review of the literature comparing non-pharmacological pain management methods in women during the first stage of labor. This will answer the PICOT question: In women during the first stage of labor, how do the non-pharmacological interventions of hydrotherapy, therapeutic touch, and the use of the birthing ball, compared to the standard treatment, affect pain management. Search methods include use of keywords in databases: CINAHL plus with full text, MEDLINE with full text, and SocINDEX with full text. Twenty research articles are used to describe hydrotherapy, birthing ball use and therapeutic touch as pain management methods in labor. Based on a critical appraisal of the evidence, recommendations for future practice will be created

Research notes: A second gene for resistance to peanut mottle virus in soybean

Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) was first reported as a natural host of peanut mottle virus (PMV) in 1972 by research workers in Georgia (Kuhn et al., 1972). PMV on soybean has since been reported in Virginia, South Carolina, Australia, and East Africa (Demski and Kuhn, 1977). Boerma and Kuhn (1976) reported resistance to PMV in soybeans to be conditioned by a completely dominant allele at a single locus. The objective of this study was to determine if there are other genes and/or alleles that might condition resistance to PMV