Positive Effect of Increased AFLP Diversity Among Parental Plants on Yield of Polycross Progenies in Perennial Ryegrass (\u3cem\u3eLolium Perenne\u3c/em\u3e L.)

In outbreeding forage crops such as perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), genetic diversity among parental plants may greatly influence the success of a cultivar through mechanisms such as heterosis and inbreeding depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers to select polycross parents with contrasting levels of genetic diversity and to analyse genetic diversity and agronomic performance of first and second generation synthetic progenies (Syn1, Syn2)

Genetic and Phenotypic Diversity of Swiss Red Clover Landraces

Mattenklee landraces are persistent and locally adapted Swiss red clover populations. About 100 populations are preserved and may represent a significant yet poorly characterised genetic resource for temperate regions. Genetic characterisation is important in order to improve cultivars, manage genetic resources and to maintain or restore biodiversity. The objectives of this study were to analyse genetic diversity, investigate potential ancestry and to elucidate the congruence of phenotypic and genetic structure of Mattenklee landraces

Irreversible reorganization in a supercooled liquid originates from localised soft modes

The transition of a fluid to a rigid glass upon cooling is a common route of transformation from liquid to solid that embodies the most poorly understood features of both phases1,2,3. From the liquid perspective, the puzzle is to understand stress relaxation in the disordered state. From the perspective of solids, the challenge is to extend our description of structure and its mechanical consequences to materials without long range order. Using computer simulations, we show that the localized low frequency normal modes of a configuration in a supercooled liquid are causally correlated to the irreversible structural reorganization of the particles within that configuration. We also demonstrate that the spatial distribution of these soft local modes can persist in spite of significant particle reorganization. The consequence of these two results is that it is now feasible to construct a theory of relaxation length scales in glass-forming liquids without recourse to dynamics and to explicitly relate molecular properties to their collective relaxation.Comment: Published online: 20 July 2008 | doi:10.1038/nphys1025 Available from http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v4/n9/abs/nphys1025.htm

May direct-to-consumer genetic testing have an impact on general practitioners' daily practice? a cross-sectional study of patients' intentions towards this approach.

Direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTCGT) offers individuals access to information on their probable risks of suffering from a wide range of chronic diseases. General practitioners (GPs) will probably play a major role in supporting its use, but patients' perception of DTCGT remain unclear. This study aimed to describe those attitudes and expectations and how they might affect GPs' daily practices. In 2018-2019, a study related to the use of DTCGT for preventive care in general medicine was conducted among patients in Switzerland's French-speaking areas. Data were collected in the waiting room using a self-administrated questionnaire about patients' interest in DTCGT and what their attitudes might be if testing revealed an elevated risk of diabetes, colorectal cancer, or Alzheimer's disease. About 40% of the 929 participating (participation rate about 80%) patients had heard about DTCGT and, once the test had been explained, 43% reported that they would be interested in being tested. If that testing suggested an elevated risk of disease, the majority of patients reported that they would change their lifestyle (65%-81%, depending on the disease), request more examinations (63%-77%), and expect changes in their GP's follow-up (48%-59%). Personal characteristics such as sex, age, urbanity, marital status, and perceived health were factors predictive of patients' attitudes. Findings indicated that the generalization of DTCGT might affect GPs' daily practices in terms of workload and knowledge about this approach. However, this result must be qualified by the fact that it is based on hypothetical situations

Combining gemcitabine, oxaliplatin and capecitabine (GEMOXEL) for patients with advanced pancreatic carcinoma (APC): a phase I/II trial

Background: Gemcitabine remains the mainstay of palliative treatment of advanced pancreatic carcinoma (APC). Adding capecitabine or a platinum derivative each significantly prolonged survival in recent meta-analyses. The purpose of this study was to determine dose, safety and preliminary efficacy of a first-line regimen combining all three classes of active cytotoxic drugs in APC. Patients and methods: Chemotherapy-naive patients with locally advanced or metastatic, histologically proven adenocarcinoma of the pancreas were treated with a 21-day regimen of gemcitabine [1000 mg/m2 day (d) 1, d8], escalating doses of oxaliplatin (80-130 mg/m2 d1) and capecitabine (650-800 mg/m2 b.i.d. d1-d14). The recommended dose (RD), determined in the phase I part of the study by interpatient dose escalation in cohorts of three to six patients, was further studied in a two-stage phase II part with the primary end point of response rate by RECIST criteria. Results: Forty-five patients were treated with a total of 203 treatment cycles. Thrombocytopenia and diarrhea were the toxic effects limiting the dose to an RD of gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 d1, d8; oxaliplatin 130 mg/m2 d1 and capecitabine 650 mg/m2 b.i.d. d1-14. Central independent radiological review showed partial remissions in 41% [95% confidence interval (CI) 26% to 56%] of patients and disease stabilization in 37% (95% CI 22% to 52%) of patients. Conclusion: This triple combination is feasible and, by far, met the predefined efficacy criteria warranting further investigation

Poor accuracy of freehand cup positioning during total hip arthroplasty

Several studies have demonstrated a correlation between the acetabular cup position and the risk of dislocation, wear and range of motion after total hip arthroplasty. The present study was designed to evaluate the accuracy of the surgeon’s estimated position of the cup after freehand placement in total hip replacement. Peroperative estimated abduction and anteversion of 200 acetabular components (placed by three orthopaedic surgeons and nine residents) were compared with measured outcomes (according to Pradhan) on postoperative radiographs. Cups were placed in 49.7° (SD 6.7) of abduction and 16.0° (SD 8.1) of anteversion. Estimation of placement was 46.3° (SD 4.3) of abduction and 14.6° (SD 5.9) of anteversion. Of more interest is the fact that for the orthopaedic surgeons the mean inaccuracy of estimation was 4.1° (SD 3.9) for abduction and 5.2° (SD 4.5) for anteversion and for their residents this was respectively, 6.3° (SD 4.6) and 5.7° (SD 5.0). Significant differences were found between orthopaedic surgeons and residents for inaccuracy of estimation for abduction, not for anteversion. Body mass index, sex, (un)cemented fixation and surgical approach (anterolateral or posterolateral) were not significant factors. Based upon the inaccuracy of estimation, the group’s chance on future cup placement within Lewinnek’s safe zone (5–25° anteversion and 30–50° abduction) is 82.7 and 85.2% for anteversion and abduction separately. When both parameters are combined, the chance of accurate placement is only 70.5%. The chance of placement of the acetabular component within 5° of an intended position, for both abduction and anteversion is 21.5% this percentage decreases to just 2.9% when the tolerated error is 1°. There is a tendency to underestimate both abduction and anteversion. Orthopaedic surgeons are superior to their residents in estimating abduction of the acetabular component. The results of this study indicate that freehand placement of the acetabular component is not a reliable method

The surface science of quasicrystals

The surfaces of quasicrystals have been extensively studied since about 1990. In this paper we review work on the structure and morphology of clean surfaces, and their electronic and phonon structure. We also describe progress in adsorption and epitaxy studies. The paper is illustrated throughout with examples from the literature. We offer some reflections on the wider impact of this body of work and anticipate areas for future development. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version

Detecting change via competence model

In real world applications, interested concepts are more likely to change rather than remain stable, which is known as concept drift. This situation causes problems on predictions for many learning algorithms including case-base reasoning (CBR). When learning under concept drift, a critical issue is to identify and determine "when" and "how" the concept changes. In this paper, we developed a competence-based empirical distance between case chunks and then proposed a change detection method based on it. As a main contribution of our work, the change detection method provides an approach to measure the distribution change of cases of an infinite domain through finite samples and requires no prior knowledge about the case distribution, which makes it more practical in real world applications. Also, different from many other change detection methods, we not only detect the change of concepts but also quantify and describe this change. © 2010 Springer-Verlag

Automatic estimation of harmonic tension by distributed representation of chords

The buildup and release of a sense of tension is one of the most essential aspects of the process of listening to music. A veridical computational model of perceived musical tension would be an important ingredient for many music informatics applications. The present paper presents a new approach to modelling harmonic tension based on a distributed representation of chords. The starting hypothesis is that harmonic tension as perceived by human listeners is related, among other things, to the expectedness of harmonic units (chords) in their local harmonic context. We train a word2vec-type neural network to learn a vector space that captures contextual similarity and expectedness, and define a quantitative measure of harmonic tension on top of this. To assess the veridicality of the model, we compare its outputs on a number of well-defined chord classes and cadential contexts to results from pertinent empirical studies in music psychology. Statistical analysis shows that the model's predictions conform very well with empirical evidence obtained from human listeners.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures. To appear in Proceedings of the 13th International Symposium on Computer Music Multidisciplinary Research (CMMR), Porto, Portuga

Evaluation of range of motion restriction within the hip joint

In Total Hip Arthroplasty, determining the impingement free range of motion requirement is a complex task. This is because in the native hip, motion is restricted by both impingement as well as soft tissue restraint. The aim of this study is to determine a range of motion benchmark which can identify motions which are at risk from impingement and those which are constrained due to soft tissue. Two experimental methodologies were used to determine motions which were limited by impingement and those motions which were limited by both impingement and soft tissue restraint. By comparing these two experimental results, motions which were limited by impingement were able to be separated from those motions which were limited by soft tissue restraint. The results show motions in extension as well as flexion combined with adduction are limited by soft tissue restraint. Motions in flexion, flexion combined with abduction and adduction are at risk from osseous impingement. Consequently, these motions represent where the maximum likely damage will occur in femoroacetabular impingement or at most risk of prosthetic impingement in Total Hip Arthroplasty