Correlation between subjective evaluation of symptoms and objective findings in early recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

IMPORTANCE This study addresses the value of patients' reported symptoms as markers of tumor recurrence after definitive therapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the correlation between patients' symptoms and objective findings in the diagnosis of local and/or regional recurrences of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas in the first 2 years of follow-up. DESIGN Retrospective single-institution study of a prospectively collected database. SETTING Regional hospital. PARTICIPANTS We reviewed the clinical records of patients treated for oral cavity, oropharyngeal, laryngeal, and hypopharyngeal carcinomas between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009, with a minimum follow-up of 2 years. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Correlation between symptoms and oncologic status (recurrence vs remission) in the posttreatment period. RESULTS Of the 101 patients included, 30 had recurrences. Pain, odynophagia, and dysphonia were independently correlated with recurrence (odds ratios, 16.07, 11.20, and 5.90, respectively; P < .001). New-onset symptoms had the best correlation with recurrences. Correlation was better between 6 to 12 and 18 to 21 months after therapy and in patients initially treated unimodally (P < .05). Primary stage and tumor site had no effect. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The correlation between symptoms and oncologic status is low during substantial periods within the first 2 years of follow-up. New-onset symptoms, especially pain, odynophagia, or dysphonia, better correlate with tumor recurrence, especially in patients treated unimodally.

Map positions of third chromosomal female sterile and lethal mutations of Drosophila melanogaster

Chromosomal mutations induced by ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) treatment can cause female sterility or maternal-effect lethality in Drosophila. EMS is particularly useful to researchers because it creates mutations independent of position effects. However, because researchers have little control over the chromosomal site of mutation, post-mutagenic genetic mapping is required to determine the cytological location of the mutation. To make a valuable set of mutants more useful to the research community, we have mapped the uncharacterized part of the female-sterile – maternal-effect lethal Tübingen collection. We mapped 49 female-sterile – maternal-effect lethal alleles and 72 lethal alleles to individual deficiency intervals on the third chromosome. In addition, we analyzed the phenotype of ovaries resulting from female sterile mutations. The observed phenotypes range from tumorous ovaries and early blocks in oogenesis, to later blocks, slow growth, blocks in stage 10, to apparently full development of the ovary. The mapping and phenotypic characterization of these 121 mutations provide the necessary information for the researcher to consider a specific mutant as a candidate for their gene of interest.Key words: Drosophila melanogaster, oogenesis, female sterile, maternal-effect lethal, EMS-induced mutations.

Grain yield variation and association of major traits in brown-seeded genotypes of tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.)Trotter]

Background Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is the major cereal crop of Ethiopia where it is annually cultivated on more than three million hectares of land by over six million small-scale farmers. It is broadly grouped into white and brown-seeded type depending on grain color, although some intermediate color grains also exist. Earlier breeding experiments focused on white-seeded tef, and a number of improved varieties were released to the farming community. Thirty-six brown-seeded tef genotypes were evaluated using a 6 × 6 simple lattice design at three locations in the central highlands of Ethiopia to assess the productivity, heritability, and association among major pheno-morphic traits. Results The mean square due to genotypes, locations, and genotype by locations were significant (P < 0.01) for all traits studied. Genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variations ranged from 2.5 to 20.3 % and from 4.3 to 21.7 %, respectively. Grain yield showed significant (P < 0.01) genotypic correlation with shoot biomass and harvest index, while it had highly significant (P < 0.01) phenotypic correlation with all the traits evaluated. Besides, association of lodging index with biomass and grain yield was negative and significant at phenotypic level while it was not significant at genotypic level. Cluster analysis grouped the 36 test genotypes into seven distinct classes. Furthermore, the first three principal components with eigenvalues greater than unity extracted 78.3 % of the total variation. Conclusion The current study, generally, revealed the identification of genotypes with superior grain yield and other desirable traits for further evaluation and eventual release to the farming community.

Genetic diversity of bovine Neospora caninum determined by microsatellite markers

Neospora caninum is one of the most significant parasitic organisms causing bovine abortion worldwide. Despite the economic impact of this infection, relatively little is known about the genetic diversity of this parasite. In this study, using Nc5 and ITS1 nested PCR, N. caninum has been detected in 12 brain samples of aborted fetuses from 298 seropositive dairy cattle collected from four different regions in Tehran, Iran. These specimen (Nc-Iran) were genotyped in multilocus using 9 different microsatellite markers previously described (MS4, MS5, MS6A, MS6B, MS7, MS8, MS10, MS12 and MS21). Microsatellite amplification was completely feasible in 2 samples, semi-completely in 8 samples, and failed in 2 samples. Within the two completely performed allelic profiles of Nc-Iran strains, unique multilocus profiles were obtained for both and novel allelic patterns were found in the MS8 and MS10 microsatellite markers. The Jaccard's similarity index showed significant difference between these two strains and from other standard isolates derived from GenBank such as Nc-Liv, Nc-SweB1, Nc-GER1, KBA1, and KBA2. All samples originating from the same area showed identical allelic numbers and a correlation between the number of repeats and geographic districts was observed.

Maize Domestication and Anti-Herbivore Defences: Leaf-Specific Dynamics during Early Ontogeny of Maize and Its Wild Ancestors

As a consequence of artificial selection for specific traits, crop plants underwent considerable genotypic and phenotypic changes during the process of domestication. These changes may have led to reduced resistance in the cultivated plant due to shifts in resource allocation from defensive traits to increased growth rates and yield. Modern maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) was domesticated from its ancestor Balsas teosinte (Z. mays ssp. parviglumis) approximately 9000 years ago. Although maize displays a high genetic overlap with its direct ancestor and other annual teosintes, several studies show that maize and its ancestors differ in their resistance phenotypes with teosintes being less susceptible to herbivore damage. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we addressed the question to what extent maize domestication has affected two crucial chemical and one physical defence traits and whether differences in their expression may explain the differences in herbivore resistance levels. The ontogenetic trajectories of 1,4-benzoxazin-3-ones, maysin and leaf toughness were monitored for different leaf types across several maize cultivars and teosinte accessions during early vegetative growth stages. We found significant quantitative and qualitative differences in 1,4-benzoxazin-3-one accumulation in an initial pairwise comparison, but we did not find consistent differences between wild and cultivated genotypes during a more thorough examination employing several cultivars/accessions. Yet, 1,4-benzoxazin-3-one levels tended to decline more rapidly with plant age in the modern maize cultivars. Foliar maysin levels and leaf toughness increased with plant age in a leaf-specific manner, but were also unaffected by domestication. Based on our findings we suggest that defence traits other than the ones that were investigated are responsible for the observed differences in herbivore resistance between teosinte and maize. Furthermore, our results indicate that single pairwise comparisons may lead to false conclusions regarding the effects of domestication on defensive and possibly other traits.

Low but contrasting neutral genetic differentiation shaped by winter temperature in European great tits

Gene flow is usually thought to reduce genetic divergence and impede local adaptation by homogenising gene pools between populations. However, evidence for local adaptation and phenotypic differentiation in highly mobile species, experiencing high levels of gene flow, is emerging. Assessing population genetic structure at different spatial scales is thus a crucial step towards understanding mechanisms underlying intraspecific differentiation and diversification. Here, we studied the population genetic structure of a highly mobile species – the great tit Parus major – at different spatial scales. We analysed 884 individuals from 30 sites across Europe including 10 close-by sites (< 50 km), using 22 microsatellite markers. Overall we found a low but significant genetic differentiation among sites (FST = 0.008). Genetic differentiation was higher, and genetic diversity lower, in south-western Europe. These regional differences were statistically best explained by winter temperature. Overall, our results suggest that great tits form a single patchy metapopulation across Europe, in which genetic differentiation is independent of geographical distance and gene flow may be regulated by environmental factors via movements related to winter severity. This might have important implications for the evolutionary trajectories of sub-populations, especially in the context of climate change, and calls for future investigations of local differences in costs and benefits of philopatry at large scales.

Low correlation between self-report and medical record documentation of urinary tract infection symptoms.

BACKGROUND Correlations between symptom documentation in medical records and patient self-report (SR) vary depending on the condition studied. Patient symptoms are particularly important in urinary tract infection (UTI) diagnosis, and this correlation for UTI symptoms is currently unknown. METHODS This is a cross-sectional survey study in hospitalized patients with Escherichia coli bacteriuria. Patients were interviewed within 24 hours of diagnosis for the SR of UTI symptoms. We reviewed medical records for UTI symptoms documented by admitting or treating inpatient physicians (IPs), nurses (RNs), and emergency physicians (EPs). The level of agreement between groups was assessed using Cohen κ coefficient. RESULTS Out of 43 patients, 34 (79%) self-reported at least 1 of 6 primary symptoms. The most common self-reported symptoms were urinary frequency (53.5%); retention (41.9%); flank pain, suprapubic pain, and fatigue (37.2% each); and dysuria (30.2%). Correlation between SR and medical record documentation was slight to fair (κ, 0.06-0.4 between SR and IPs and 0.09-0.5 between SR and EDs). Positive agreement was highest for dysuria and frequency. CONCLUSION Correlation between self-reported UTI symptoms and health care providers' documentation was low to fair. Because medical records are a vital source of information for clinicians and researchers and symptom assessment and documentation are vital in distinguishing UTI from asymptomatic bacteriuria, efforts must be made to improve documentation.