Bainsumner9750

The demand for cereal grains as a main source of energy continues to increase due to the rapid increase in world population. The leaf rust diseases of cereals cause significant yield losses, posing challenges for global food security. The deployment of resistance genes has long been considered as the most effective and sustainable way to control cereal leaf rust diseases. While genetic resistance has reduced the impact of these diseases in agriculture, losses still occur due to the ability of the respective rust pathogens to change and render resistance genes ineffective plus the slow pace at which resistance genes are discovered and characterized. This article highlights novel recently developed strategies based on advances in genome sequencing that have accelerated gene isolation by overcoming the complexity of cereal genomes. The leaf rust resistance genes cloned so far from wheat and barley belong to various protein families, including nucleotide binding site/leucine-rich repeat receptors and transporters. We review recent studies that are beginning to reveal the defense mechanisms conferred by the leaf rust resistance genes identified to date in cereals and their roles in either pattern-triggered immunity or effector-triggered immunity.Myelin pathologies are an important cause of multifactorial, e.g., multiple sclerosis, and Mendelian, e.g., leukodystrophy, neurological disorders. CNP encodes a major component of myelin and its CNS expression is exclusive to myelin-forming oligodendrocytes. Deficiency of CNP in mouse causes a lethal white matter neurodegenerative phenotype. However, a corresponding human phenotype has not been described to date. Here, we describe a multiplex consanguineous family from Oman in which multiple affected members display a remarkably consistent phenotype of neuroregression with profound brain white matter loss. A novel homozygous missense variant in CNP was identified by combined autozygome/exome analysis. Immunoblot analysis suggests that this is a null allele in patient fibroblasts, which display abnormal F-actin organization. Our results suggest the establishment of a novel CNP-related hypomyelinating leukodystrophy in humans.PURPOSE We assessed the efficacy of aprepitant (APR) or 10 or 5 mg OLN (OLN10 or OLN5) plus ondansetron and dexamethasone for chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting (CINV) prophylaxis in patients receiving high-emetogenic chemotherapy (HEC). METHODS Patients who received doxorubicin + cyclophosphamide or cisplatin were given intravenous ondansetron and dexamethasone prior to chemotherapy and oral dexamethasone on days 2-4 and randomized 111 to receive APR125 on day 1 and APR80 on days 2-3 or OLN10 or OLN5 on days 1-4. Matched placebo controls were used. The primary endpoint was no nausea in ≤ 120 h. Secondary endpoints included CINV severity, complete response (CR) rate, adverse effects (AE), and quality of life. RESULTS Of 141 patients, 104 received AC and 37 received cisplatin. The no-nausea rates were 33% (APR), 43.2% (OLN10; p = 0.24), and 37% (OLN5; p = 0.87). Grades 2-4 nausea were experienced by fewer patients for OLN10 than for APR (24-120 h, 8.7% vs. 27.7%, respectively; p = 0.02; overall period, 19.6% vs. 40.4%, respectively; p = 0.03). The median visual analog scale nausea score from 24 to 120 h was significantly lower for OLN10 (2.3) than for APR (1.2, p = 0.03). learn more The degrees of vomiting, CR, and AE were similar between the APR and OLN10 groups. CINV was similar between the OLN5 and APR groups. CONCLUSIONS Nausea was less severe for OLN10 than for APR in patients receiving HEC, but other measures were similar. CINV prevention efficacy was comparable between OLN5 and APR.PURPOSE Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a treatment option for cancer pain, but the evidence is inconclusive. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TENS. METHODS A blinded, randomized, sham-controlled pilot cross-over trial (NCT02655289) was conducted on an inpatient specialist palliative care ward. We included adult inpatients with cancer pain ≥ 3 on an 11-point numerical rating scale (NRS). Intensity-modulated high TENS (IMT) was compared with placebo TENS (PBT). Patients used both modes according to their preferred application scheme during 24 h with a 24-h washout phase. The primary outcome was change in average pain intensity on the NRS during the preceding 24 h. Responders were patients with at least a "slight improvement." RESULTS Of 632 patients screened, 25 were randomized (sequence IMT-PBT = 13 and PBT-IMT = 12). Finally, 11 patients in IMT-PBT and 9 in PBT-IMT completed the study (N = 20). The primary outcome did not differ between groups (IMT minus PBT - 0.2, 95% confidence interval - 0.9 to 0.6). However, responder rates were higher in IMT (17/20 [85%] vs. 10/20 [50%], p = 0.0428). Two patients experienced an uncomfortable feeling caused by the current, one after IMT and one after PBT. Seven patients (35%) desired a TENS prescription. Women and patients with incident pain were most likely to benefit from TENS. CONCLUSION TENS was safe, but IMT was unlikely to offer more analgesic effects than PBT. Even though many patients desired a TENS prescription, 50% still reported at least "slight pain relief" from PBT. Differences for gender and incident pain aspects demand future trials.INTRODUCTION Due to the rarity of malignant insulinoma, a lack of the literature describing factors affecting outcomes exists. Our aim was to review malignant insulinoma incidence, characteristics and survival trends. METHODS We identified all patients with malignant insulinoma in the SEER registries from 1973 to 2015. Incidence, neoplasm characteristics and factors affecting cancer-specific survival (CSS) were described. RESULTS A total of 121 patients were identified. The crude annual overall incidence was low (range 0.0-0.27 cases per million person years). The largest proportion had localized disease (40%), while 16% had regional disease, 39% distant metastatic disease, and stage was unreported in 5%. Most neoplasms were in the body/tail of the pancreas, followed by the head of the pancreas. Grade was reported in 40% of patients; only a single patient reported as having grade IV with the remainder all grades I/II. Surgical resection was performed in 64% of patients. Within surgical patients, the median primary neoplasm size was 1.