Oxidative discolouration in whole-head and cut lettuce: biochemical and environmental influences on a complex phenotype and potential breeding strategies to improve shelf-life

Lettuce discolouration is a key post-harvest trait. The major enzyme controlling oxidative discolouration has long been considered to be polyphenol oxidase (PPO) however, levels of PPO and subsequent development of discolouration symptoms have not always correlated. The predominance of a latent state of the enzyme in plant tissues combined with substrate activation and contemporaneous suicide inactivation mechanisms are considered as potential explanations for this phenomenon. Leaf tissue physical properties have been associated with subsequent discolouration and these may be influenced by variation in nutrient availability, especially excess nitrogen and head maturity at harvest. Mild calcium and irrigation stress has also been associated with a reduction in subsequent discolouration, although excess irrigation has been linked to increased discolouration potentially through leaf physical properties. These environmental factors, including high temperature and UV light intensities, often have impacts on levels of phenolic compounds linking the environmental responses to the biochemistry of the PPO pathway. Breeding strategies targeting the PALand PPOpathway biochemistry and environmental response genes are discussed as a more cost-effective method of mitigating oxidative discolouration then either modified atmosphere packaging or post-harvest treatments, although current understanding of the biochemistry means that such programs are likely to be limited in nature and it is likely that they will need to be deployed alongside other methods for the foreseeable future

Worldwide comparison of survival from childhood leukaemia for 1995–2009, by subtype, age, and sex (CONCORD-2): a population-based study of individual data for 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries

Background Global inequalities in access to health care are reflected in differences in cancer survival. The CONCORD programme was designed to assess worldwide differences and trends in population-based cancer survival. In this population-based study, we aimed to estimate survival inequalities globally for several subtypes of childhood leukaemia. Methods Cancer registries participating in CONCORD were asked to submit tumour registrations for all children aged 0-14 years who were diagnosed with leukaemia between Jan 1, 1995, and Dec 31, 2009, and followed up until Dec 31, 2009. Haematological malignancies were defined by morphology codes in the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, third revision. We excluded data from registries from which the data were judged to be less reliable, or included only lymphomas, and data from countries in which data for fewer than ten children were available for analysis. We also excluded records because of a missing date of birth, diagnosis, or last known vital status. We estimated 5-year net survival (ie, the probability of surviving at least 5 years after diagnosis, after controlling for deaths from other causes [background mortality]) for children by calendar period of diagnosis (1995-99, 2000-04, and 2005-09), sex, and age at diagnosis (< 1, 1-4, 5-9, and 10-14 years, inclusive) using appropriate life tables. We estimated age-standardised net survival for international comparison of survival trends for precursor-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Findings We analysed data from 89 828 children from 198 registries in 53 countries. During 1995-99, 5-year agestandardised net survival for all lymphoid leukaemias combined ranged from 10.6% (95% CI 3.1-18.2) in the Chinese registries to 86.8% (81.6-92.0) in Austria. International differences in 5-year survival for childhood leukaemia were still large as recently as 2005-09, when age-standardised survival for lymphoid leukaemias ranged from 52.4% (95% CI 42.8-61.9) in Cali, Colombia, to 91.6% (89.5-93.6) in the German registries, and for AML ranged from 33.3% (18.9-47.7) in Bulgaria to 78.2% (72.0-84.3) in German registries. Survival from precursor-cell ALL was very close to that of all lymphoid leukaemias combined, with similar variation. In most countries, survival from AML improved more than survival from ALL between 2000-04 and 2005-09. Survival for each type of leukaemia varied markedly with age: survival was highest for children aged 1-4 and 5-9 years, and lowest for infants (younger than 1 year). There was no systematic difference in survival between boys and girls. Interpretation Global inequalities in survival from childhood leukaemia have narrowed with time but remain very wide for both ALL and AML. These results provide useful information for health policy makers on the effectiveness of health-care systems and for cancer policy makers to reduce inequalities in childhood survival

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Canagliflozin and Renal Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes and Nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to 300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m 2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Search for dark matter produced in association with a single top quark or a top quark pair in proton-proton collisions at s=13 TeV

A search has been performed for heavy resonances decaying to ZZ or ZW in 2l2q final states, with two charged leptons (l = e, mu) produced by the decay of a Z boson, and two quarks produced by the decay of a W or Z boson. The analysis is sensitive to resonances with masses in the range from 400 to 4500 GeV. Two categories are defined based on the merged or resolved reconstruction of the hadronically decaying vector boson, optimized for high- and low-mass resonances, respectively. The search is based on data collected during 2016 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton-proton collisions with a center-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). No excess is observed in the data above the standard model background expectation. Upper limits on the production cross section of heavy, narrow spin-1 and spin-2 resonances are derived as a function of the resonance mass, and exclusion limits on the production of W' bosons and bulk graviton particles are calculated in the framework of the heavy vector triplet model and warped extra dimensions, respectively.A search has been performed for heavy resonances decaying to ZZ or ZW in 2l2q final states, with two charged leptons (l = e, mu) produced by the decay of a Z boson, and two quarks produced by the decay of a W or Z boson. The analysis is sensitive to resonances with masses in the range from 400 to 4500 GeV. Two categories are defined based on the merged or resolved reconstruction of the hadronically decaying vector boson, optimized for high- and low-mass resonances, respectively. The search is based on data collected during 2016 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton-proton collisions with a center-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). No excess is observed in the data above the standard model background expectation. Upper limits on the production cross section of heavy, narrow spin-1 and spin-2 resonances are derived as a function of the resonance mass, and exclusion limits on the production of W' bosons and bulk graviton particles are calculated in the framework of the heavy vector triplet model and warped extra dimensions, respectively.A search for dark matter produced in association with top quarks in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is presented. The data set used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1) recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC. Whereas previous searches for neutral scalar or pseudoscalar mediators considered dark matter production in association with a top quark pair only, this analysis also includes production modes with a single top quark. The results are derived from the combination of multiple selection categories that are defined to target either the single top quark or the top quark pair signature. No significant deviations with respect to the standard model predictions are observed. The results are interpreted in the context of a simplified model in which a scalar or pseudoscalar mediator particle couples to a top quark and subsequently decays into dark matter particles. Scalar and pseudoscalar mediator particles with masses below 290 and 300 GeV, respectively, are excluded at 95% confidence level, assuming a dark matter particle mass of 1 GeV and mediator couplings to fermions and dark matter particles equal to unity.Peer reviewe

Search for the pair production of light top squarks in the e(+/-)mu(-/+) final state in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search for the production of a pair of top squarks at the LHC is presented. This search targets a region of parameter space where the kinematics of top squark pair production and top quark pair production are very similar, because of the mass difference between the top squark and the neutralino being close to the top quark mass. The search is performed with 35.9 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV, collected by the CMS detector in 2016, using events containing one electron-muon pair with opposite charge. The search is based on a precise estimate of the top quark pair background, and the use of the M-T2 variable, which combines the transverse mass of each lepton and the missing transverse momentum. No excess of events is found over the standard model predictions. Exclusion limits are placed at 95% confidence level on the production of top squarks up to masses of 208 GeV for models with a mass difference between the top squark and the lightest neutralino close to that of the top quark.Peer reviewe

Measurement of B_{s}^{0} meson production in pp and PbPb collisions at \sqrt{SNN}

The production cross sections of B_{s}^{0} mesons and charge conjugates are measured in proton-proton (pp) and PbPb collisions via the exclusive decay channel B_{s}^{0}→J/ψϕ→μ^{+}μ^{−}K^{+}K^{−} at a center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV per nucleon pair and within the rapidity range |y|<2.4 using the CMS detector at the LHC. The pp measurement is performed as a function of transverse momentum (p_{T}) of the B_{s}^{0} mesons in the range of 7 to 50 GeV/c and is compared to the predictions of perturbative QCD calculations. The B_{s}^{0} production yield in PbPb collisions is measured in two p_{T} intervals, 7 to 15 and 15 to 50 GeV/c, and compared to the yield in pp collisions in the same kinematic region. The nuclear modification factor (R_{AA}) is found to be 1.5±0.6(stat)±0.5(syst) for 7–15 GeV/c, and 0.87±0.30(stat)±0.17(syst) for 15–50 GeV/c, respectively. Within current uncertainties, the B_{s}^{0} results are consistent with models of strangeness enhancement, and suppression by parton energy loss, as observed for the B+ mesons

Search for Higgs boson pair production in the gamma gamma b(b)over-bar final state in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for the production of a pair of Higgs bosons, where one decays into two photons and the other one into a bottom quark-antiquark pair. The analysis is performed using proton-proton collision data at root s = 13 TeV recorded in 2016 by the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1) . The results are in agreement with standard model (SM) predictions. In a search for resonant production, upper limits are set on the cross section for new spin-0 or spin-2 particles. For the SM-like nonresonant production hypothesis, the data exclude a product of cross section and branching fraction larger than 2.0 fb at 95% confidence level (CL), corresponding to about 24 times the SM prediction. Values of the effective Higgs boson self-coupling K X are constrained to be within the range -11 < K-lambda < 17 at 95% CL, assuming all other Higgs boson couplings are at their SM value. The constraints on K-lambda, are the most restrictive to date. (C) 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe