Syntenic analysis of ACCase loci and target-site-resistance mutations in cyhalofop-butyl resistant Echinochloa crus-galli var. crus-galli in Japan

BACKGROUND

Recently, suspected cyhalofop-butyl-resistant populations of allohexaploid weed Echinochloa crus-galli var. crus-galli were discovered in rice fields in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Analyzing the target-site ACCase genes of cyhalofop-butyl helps understand the resistance mechanism. However, in E. crus-galli, the presence of multiple ACCase genes and the lack of detailed gene investigations have complicated the analysis of target-site genes. Therefore, in this study, we characterized the herbicide response of E. crus-galli lines and thoroughly characterized the ACCase genes, including the evaluation of gene mutations in the ACCase genes of each line.

RESULT

Four suspected resistant lines collected from Aichi Prefecture showed varying degrees of resistance to cyhalofop-butyl and other FOP-class ACCase inhibitors but were sensitive to herbicides with other modes of action. Through genomic analysis, six ACCase loci were identified in the E. crus-galli genome. We renamed each gene based on its syntenic relationship with other ACCase genes in the Poaceae species. RNA-sequencing analysis revealed that all ACCase genes, except the pseudogenized copy ACCase2A, were transcribed at a similar level in the shoots of E. crus-galli. Mutations known to confer resistance to FOP-class herbicides, that is W1999C, W2027C/S and I2041N, were found in all resistant lines in either ACCase1A, ACCase1B or ACCase2C.

CONCLUSION

In this study, we found that the E. crus-galli lines were resistant exclusively to ACCase-inhibiting herbicides, with a target-site resistance mutation in the ACCase gene. Characterization of ACCase loci in E. crus-galli provides a basis for further research on ACCase herbicide resistance in Echinochloa spp. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Oxygen and temperature affect cell sizes differently among tissues and between sexes of Drosophila melanogaster

Spatio-temporal gradients in thermal and oxygen conditions trigger evolutionary and developmental responses in ectotherms' body size and cell size, which are commonly interpreted as adaptive. However, the evidence for cell-size responses is fragmentary, as cell size is typically assessed in single tissues. In a laboratory experiment, we raised genotypes of Drosophila melanogaster at all combinations of two temperatures (16 °C or 25 °C) and two oxygen levels (10% or 22%) and measured body size and the sizes of cells in different tissues. For each sex, we measured epidermal cells in a wing and a leg and ommatidial cells of an eye. For males, we also measured epithelial cells of a Malpighian tubule and muscle cells of a flight muscle. On average, females emerged at a larger body size than did males, having larger cells in all tissues. Flies of either sex emerged at a smaller body size when raised under warm or hypoxic conditions. Development at 25 °C resulted in smaller cells in most tissues. Development under hypoxia resulted in smaller cells in some tissues, especially among females. Altogether, our results show thermal and oxygen conditions trigger shifts in adult size, coupled with the systemic orchestration of cell sizes throughout the body of a fly. The nature of these patterns supports a model in which an ectotherm adjusts its life-history traits and cellular composition to prevent severe hypoxia at the cellular level. However, our results revealed some inconsistencies linked to sex, cell type, and environmental parameters, which suggest caution in translating information obtained for single type of cells to the organism as a whole.

Assessment of ACC and P450 Genes Expression in Wild Oat (Avena ludoviciana) in Different Tissues Under Herbicide Application

Target-site resistance (TSR) and non-target-site resistance (NTSR) to herbicides in arable weeds are increasing rapidly all over the world and threatening universal food safety. Resistance to herbicides that inhibit ACCase activity has been identified in wild oat. In this study, expression of ACC1, ACC2, CYP71R4 and CYP81B1 genes under herbicide stress conditions were studied in two TSR (resistant in the residue Ile1781-Leu and Ile2041-Asn of ACCase) biotypes, two NTSR biotypes and one susceptible biotype of A. ludoviciana for the first time. Treated and untreated biotypes with ACCase-inhibitor clodinafop propargyl herbicide were sampled from the stem and leaf tissues at 24 h after treatment. Our results showed an increase in gene expression levels in different tissues of both types of resistance biotypes that occurred under herbicide treatment compared with non-herbicide treatment. In all samples, the expression levels of leaf tissue in all studied genes were higher than in stem tissue. The results of ACC gene expression showed that the expression level of ACC1 was significantly higher than that of ACC2. Also, expression levels of TSR biotypes were higher than NTSR biotypes for the ACC1 gene. For both CYP71R4 and CYP81B1 genes, the expression ratio increased significantly in TSR and NTSR biotypes in different tissues after herbicide treatment. In contrast, the expression levels of CYP genes in NTSR biotypes were higher than in TSR biotypes. Our results support the hypothesis that the reaction of plants to herbicide is carried out through a different regulation of genes, which can be the result of the interaction of resistance type in the target or non-target-site.

Node-negative colon cancer: histological, molecular, and stromal features predicting disease recurrence

BACKGROUND

Within the group of node-negative colon cancer patients, presumed to have a good prognosis, a significant percentage of patients develops cancer-recurrence. Current high-risk features prove inadequate to select these particular high-risk patients. In the process of tailor-made care and shared decision-making the need to identify these patients grows. In this study we investigate the value of adding molecular markers and the tumour-stroma ratio (TSR) to conventional histological tumour staging methods to improve the selection of high risk patients.

METHODS

We retrospectively analysed 201 patients diagnosed with TNM-stage I-II colon cancer and treated by complete oncological resection between November 1st 2002 and December 31st 2012 at the Jeroen Bosch Hospital. Conventional histological tumour staging, BRAF mutations, KRAS mutations, MSI status and TSR were determined. Differences between groups based on TSR and mutation status, in disease free survival were analysed using Cox-Regression analyses.

RESULTS

Poorly differentiated histology (p = 0.002), high-TSR (p = 0.033), BRAF-mutation (p = 0.008) and MSI (p = 0.011) were identified as significant risk factors for cancer recurrence. The risk of recurrence increased in the presence of both a BRAF-mutation and high-TSR compared to the absence of both factors or presence of only one factor (HR = 3.66 BRAF-mt/TSR-low (p = 0.006), HR 2.82 BRAF-wt/TSR-high (p = 0.015), HR = 4.39 BRAF-mt/TSR-high (p = 0.023)). This was also seen in tumours with MSI and high-TSR (HR = 2.46 MSS/TSR-high (p = 0.041), HR = 3.31 MSI/TSR-high (p = 0.045).

CONCLUSION

Judging by the higher HR for the combination of the prognostic factors TSR and BRAF compared to the HRs of these prognostic factors individually, the prognostication for disease free survival can be improved by determining both TSR and BRAF instead of BRAF alone, as is done in current daily practise. In this study MSI also shows additional value to TSR in the prognostication of disease free survival. Adopting TSR into daily diagnostics will be of additional value next to currently used molecular markers in risk stratification of patients with node negative colon cancer and is therefore advised.

Introducing mirror-image discrimination capability to the TSR-based method for capturing stereo geometry and understanding hierarchical structure relationships of protein receptor family

We have developed a Triangular Spatial Relationship (TSR)-based computational method for protein structure comparison and motif discovery that is both sequence and structure alignment-free. A protein 3D structure is modeled by all possible triangles that are constructed with every three Cα atoms of amino acids as vertices. Every triangle is represented using an integer (a key). The keys are calculated by a rule-based formula which is a function of a representative length, a representative angle, and the vertex labels associated with amino acids. A 3D structure is thereby represented by a vector of integers (TSR keys). Global or local structure comparisons are achieved by computing all keys or a set of keys, respectively. Many enzymatic reactions and notable marketed drugs are highly stereospecific. Thus, in this paper, we propose a modified key calculation formula by including a mechanism for discriminating mirror-image keys to capture stereo geometry. We assign a positive or a negative sign to the integers representing mirror-image keys. Applying the new key calculation function provides the ability to further discriminate mirror-image keys that were previously considered identical. As the result, applying the mirror-image discrimination capability (i) significantly increases the number of distinct keys; (ii) decreases the number of common keys; (iii) decreases structural similarity; (iv) increases the opportunity to identify specific keys for each type of the receptors. The specific keys identified in this study for the cases of without (not applying) and with (applying) mirror-image discrimination can be considered as the structure signatures that exclusively belong to a certain type of receptors. Applying mirror-image discrimination introduces stereospecificity to keys for allowing more precise modeling of ligand - target interactions. The development of mirror-image TSR keys of Cα atom, in conjunction with the integration of Cα TSR keys with all-atom TSR keys for amino acids and drugs, will lead to a new and promising computational method for aiding drug design and discovery.

Conservation, abundance, glycosylation profile, and localization of the TSP protein family in Cryptosporidium parvum

Cryptosporidium parvum is a zoonotic apicomplexan parasite and a common cause of diarrheal disease worldwide. The development of vaccines to prevent or limit infection remains an important goal for tackling cryptosporidiosis. At present, the only approved vaccine against any apicomplexan parasite targets a conserved adhesin possessing a thrombospondin repeat domain. C. parvum possesses 12 orthologous thrombospondin repeat domain-containing proteins known as CpTSP1-12, though little is known about these potentially important antigens. Here, we explore the architecture and conservation of the CpTSP protein family, as well as their abundance at the protein level within the sporozoite stage of the life cycle. We examine the glycosylation states of these proteins using a combination of glycopeptide enrichment techniques to demonstrate that these proteins are modified with C-, O-, and N-linked glycans. Using expansion microscopy, and an antibody against the C-linked mannose that is unique to the CpTSP protein family within C. parvum, we show that these proteins are found both on the cell surface and in structures that resemble the secretory pathway of C. parvum sporozoites. Finally, we generated a polyclonal antibody against CpTSP1 to show that it is found at the cell surface and within micronemes, in a pattern reminiscent of other apicomplexan motility-associated adhesins, and is present both in sporozoites and meronts. This work sheds new light on an understudied family of C. parvum proteins that are likely to be important to both parasite biology and the development of vaccines against cryptosporidiosis.

The specific applications of the TSR-based method in identifying Zn2+ binding sites of proteases and ACE/ACE2

We have developed an alignment-free TSR (Triangular Spatial Relationship)-based computational method for protein structural comparison and motif identification and discovery. To demonstrate the potential applications of the method, we have generated two datasets. One dataset contains five classes: Actin/Hsp70, serine protease (chymotrypsin/trypsin/elastase), ArsC/Prdx2, PKA/PKB/PKC, and AChE/BChE at the hierarchical level 1 and twelve groups at the level 2. The other dataset includes representative proteases and ACE/ACE2. The x,y, z coordinates of the structures were obtained from PDB. We calculated the keys (or features) that represent each structure using the TSR-based method. The dataset and data presented here include additional information that help the readers become aware of specific applications of the TSR-based method in protein clustering, identification and discovery of metal ion binding sites as well as to understand the effect of amino acid grouping on protein 3D structural relationships at both global and local levels.

A New Traffic Sign Recognition Technique Taking Shuffled Frog-Leaping Algorithm into Account

Everyday humans use cars to move faster, and the world is a chaotic place, and a little distraction or a mistake could be the reason for an accident and bring people great pain. An assistance system that can distinguish and detect signs on the roads and brings the driver's attention to road signs and make them aware of their meaning could be beneficial. The most important part of the Traffic Sign Recognition System is the algorithm. In this paper, a new way toward Traffic Sign Recognition algorithm taking the advantages of Color Segmentation, support vector machines, and histograms of oriented gradients on the GTSRB dataset is proposed. The unsupervised shuffled frog-leaping algorithm is employed for segmenting the images. The results show remarkable improvements by using meta-heuristic algorithms.

A high tumour-stroma ratio (TSR) in colon tumours and its metastatic lymph nodes predicts poor cancer-free survival and chemo resistance

PURPOSE

Despite known high-risk features, accurate identification of patients at high risk of cancer recurrence in colon cancer remains a challenge. As tumour stroma plays an important role in tumour invasion and metastasis, the easy, low-cost and highly reproducible tumour-stroma ratio (TSR) could be a valuable prognostic marker, which is also believed to predict chemo resistance.

METHODS

Two independent series of patients with colon cancer were selected. TSR was estimated by microscopic analysis of 4 µm haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained tissue sections of the primary tumour and the corresponding metastatic lymph nodes. Patients were categorized as TSR-low (≤ 50%) or TSR-high (> 50%). Differences in overall survival and cancer-free survival were analysed by Kaplan-Meier curves and cox-regression analyses. Analyses were conducted for TNM-stage I-II, TNM-stage III and patients with an indication for chemotherapy separately.

RESULTS

We found that high TSR was associated with poor cancer-free survival in TNM-stage I-II colon cancer in two independent series, independent of other known high-risk features. This association was also found in TNM-stage III tumours, with an additional prognostic value of TSR in lymph node metastasis to TSR in the primary tumour alone. In addition, high TSR was found to predict chemo resistance in patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy after surgical resection of a TNM-stage II-III colon tumour.

CONCLUSION

In colon cancer, the TSR of both primary tumour and lymph node metastasis adds significant prognostic value to current pathologic and clinical features used for the identification of patients at high risk of cancer recurrence, and also predicts chemo resistance.

Reduction of Phantom Limb Pain and Improved Proprioception through a TSR-Based Surgical Technique: A Case Series of Four Patients with Lower Limb Amputation

Four patients underwent targeted sensory reinnervation (TSR), a surgical technique in which a defined skin area is first selectively denervated and then surgically reinnervated by another sensory nerve. In our case, either the area of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve or the saphenous nerve was reinnervated by the sural nerve. Patients were then fitted with a special prosthetic device capable of transferring the sense of pressure from the sole of the prosthesis to the newly wired skin area. Pain reduction after TSR was highly significant in all patients. In three patients, permanent pain medication could even be discontinued, in one patient the pain medication has been significantly reduced. Two of the four patients were completely pain-free after the surgical intervention. Surgical rewiring of existing sensory nerves by TSR can provide the brain with new afferent signals seeming to originate from the missing limb. These signals help to reduce phantom limb pain and to restore a more normal body image. In combination with special prosthetic devices, the amputee can be provided with sensory feedback from the prosthesis, thus improving gait and balance.

Oxygen limitation fails to explain upper chronic thermal limits and the temperature size rule in mayflies

An inability to adequately meet tissue oxygen demands has been proposed as an important factor setting upper thermal limits in ectothermic invertebrates (especially aquatic species) as well as explaining the observed decline in adult size with increased rearing temperature during the immature stages (a phenomenon known as the temperature size rule, or TSR). We tested this by rearing three aquatic insects (the mayflies Neocloeon triangulifer and two species of the Cloeon dipterum complex) through their entire larval life under a range of temperature and oxygen concentrations. Hyperoxia did not extend upper thermal limits, nor did it prevent the loss of size or fertility experienced near upper chronic thermal limits. At moderate temperatures, the TSR pattern was observed under conditions of hyperoxia, normoxia and hypoxia, suggesting little or no influence of oxygen on this trend. However, for a given rearing temperature, adults were smaller and less fecund under hypoxia as a result of a lowering of growth rates. These mayflies greatly increased the size of their gills in response to lower dissolved oxygen concentrations but not under oxygen-saturated conditions over a temperature range yielding the classic TSR response. Using ommatidium diameter as a proxy for cell size, we found the classic TSR pattern observed under moderate temperature conditions was due primarily to a change in the number of cells rather than cell size. We conclude overall that a failure to meet tissue oxygen demands is not a viable hypothesis for explaining either the chronic thermal limit or TSR pattern in these species.

O-Fucosylation of ADAMTSL2 is required for secretion and is impacted by geleophysic dysplasia-causing mutations

ADAMTSL2 mutations cause an autosomal recessive connective tissue disorder, geleophysic dysplasia 1 (GPHYSD1), which is characterized by short stature, small hands and feet, and cardiac defects. ADAMTSL2 is a matricellular protein previously shown to interact with latent transforming growth factor-β binding protein 1 and influence assembly of fibrillin 1 microfibrils. ADAMTSL2 contains seven thrombospondin type-1 repeats (TSRs), six of which contain the consensus sequence for O-fucosylation by protein O-fucosyltransferase 2 (POFUT2). O-fucose-modified TSRs are subsequently elongated to a glucose β1-3-fucose (GlcFuc) disaccharide by β1,3-glucosyltransferase (B3GLCT). B3GLCT mutations cause Peters Plus Syndrome (PTRPLS), which is characterized by skeletal defects similar to GPHYSD1. Several ADAMTSL2 TSRs also have consensus sequences for C-mannosylation. Six reported GPHYSD1 mutations occur within the TSRs and two lie near O-fucosylation sites. To investigate the effects of TSR glycosylation on ADAMTSL2 function, we used MS to identify glycan modifications at predicted consensus sequences on mouse ADAMTSL2. We found that most TSRs were modified with the GlcFuc disaccharide at high stoichiometry at O-fucosylation sites and variable mannose stoichiometry at C-mannosylation sites. Loss of ADAMTSL2 secretion in POFUT2 ^-/- but not in B3GLCT ^-/- cells suggested that impaired ADAMTSL2 secretion is not responsible for skeletal defects in PTRPLS patients. In contrast, secretion was significantly reduced for ADAMTSL2 carrying GPHYSD1 mutations (S641L in TSR3 and G817R in TSR6), and S641L eliminated O-fucosylation of TSR3. These results provide evidence that abnormalities in GPHYSD1 patients with this mutation are caused by loss of O-fucosylation on TSR3 and impaired ADAMTSL2 secretion.

Research on dual-wheel-independent-drive control of electric forklift based on optimal slip ratio

INTRODUCTION

As an important transportation, the research on the control strategy of forklift has not been widely carried out.

OBJECTIVES

This article proposes a turning slip regulation control strategy, which includes the improved electronic differential velocity control and turning slip regulation control, to track the optimal slip ratio.

METHODS

First, combined with the basic structure and characteristics of dual-wheel-independent-drive electric forklift, the vehicle model, Ackermann-Jeantand steering model, tire-ground model, and tire model of the driving wheel are established respectively. Second, according to these models, an improved electronic differential control strategy considering the influence of vertical load on tire force is proposed and it can reasonably allocate the driving torque of the two driving wheels of electric forklift. Moreover, the optimal slip ratio is given out and the turning slip regulation control strategy, which can track the optimal slip ratio of electric forklift under the conditions of different road surfaces is designed.

RESULTS

The simulation result and vehicle test show that the control strategy can optimize the slip ratio of electric forklift and greatly improve the stability of electric forklift.

CONCLUSION

The turning slip regulation control strategy can be implemented on the TFC35 forklift to improve the safety and stability.

Correlation Between Semiquantitative Metabolic Parameters After PET/CT and Histologic Prognostic Factors in Laryngeal and Pharyngeal Carcinoma

Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has shown prognostic significance in head and neck cancer patients. The underlying pathologic features that could explain the mechanisms associated with this observation are not clear. To analyze the correlation between 18-F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG) uptake assessed by PET/CT in head and neck cancer and histopathologic prognostic factors. Ninety-nine patients with laryngeal and pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma were retrospectively reviewed for pretreatment PET/CT measurements, namely standardized uptake value (SUV), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG). The corresponding histologic material was evaluated for tumor stroma-related prognostic factors such as the amount and type of stroma, lymphocytic response, tumor budding activity, and size of tumor cell nests in the tumor core area and tumor front. TLG and MTV were associated with tumor localization, as they were higher in oropharyngeal tumors. These values were also associated with tumor cell nest size in the tumor core with higher values corresponding to tumors with smaller nests. MTV40% was marginally associated with fibroblastic stroma type and higher budding activity. SUVmax was not associated with the histological factors in the whole sample, but higher values trended with higher tumor budding activity and stroma-rich tumors of the oropharynx. 18F-FDG PET measurements in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas are associated with prognostic histopathologic factors and suggest a possible correlation of glucose metabolism to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

Target-site mutation accumulation among ALS inhibitor-resistant Palmer amaranth

BACKGROUND

Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats) is one of the most common and troublesome weeds in the USA. Palmer amaranth resistance to acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitors is widespread in the USA, as in Arkansas. The cross-resistance patterns and mechanism of resistance are not known. Experiments were conducted to determine cross-resistance to ALS inhibitors and identify target-site mutations in 20 Palmer amaranth localities from 13 counties in Arkansas.

RESULTS

All Palmer amaranth localities tested had plants cross-resistant to imazethapyr, flumetsulam, primisulfuron, pyrithiobac and trifloxysulfuron. The dose of trifloxysulfuron that caused 50% control was 21-56-fold greater for resistant accessions than for susceptible ones. All but three resistant plants analyzed had one or two relative copies of ALS; one plant had seven relative copies. All resistant plants tested (18 localities) carried the Trp574Leu mutation, which is known to confer broad resistance to ALS inhibitors, supporting the cross-resistance pattern observed. Besides the Trp574Leu mutation, 30% of localities had individuals with one additional resistance-conferring mutation including Ala122Thr, Pro197Ala or Ser653Asn.

CONCLUSION

The Trp574Leu mutation in ALS is the primary mechanism of resistance to ALS inhibitors in Palmer amaranth from Arkansas, USA. In some localities, multiple mutations have accumulated in one plant. All localities tested contained plants with resistance to five families of ALS inhibitors. Localities with extremely high resistance to ALS inhibitors, and those outside the subset we studied, may harbor non-target site resistance mechanisms. ALS inhibitors are generally no longer effective on Palmer amaranth in these localities from the US mid-south. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Classification of Tumor Epithelium and Stroma by Exploiting Image Features Learned by Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

The tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) reflected on hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained histological images is a potential prognostic factor for survival. Automatic image processing techniques that allow for high-throughput and precise discrimination of tumor epithelium and stroma are required to elevate the prognostic significance of the TSR. As a variant of deep learning techniques, transfer learning leverages nature-images features learned by deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to relieve the requirement of deep CNNs for immense sample size when handling biomedical classification problems. Herein we studied different transfer learning strategies for accurately distinguishing epithelial and stromal regions of H&E-stained histological images acquired from either breast or ovarian cancer tissue. We compared the performance of important deep CNNs as either a feature extractor or as an architecture for fine-tuning with target images. Moreover, we addressed the current contradictory issue about whether the higher-level features would generalize worse than lower-level ones because they are more specific to the source-image domain. Under our experimental setting, the transfer learning approach achieved an accuracy of 90.2 (vs. 91.1 for fine tuning) with GoogLeNet, suggesting the feasibility of using it in assisting pathology-based binary classification problems. Our results also show that the superiority of the lower-level or the higher-level features over the other ones was determined by the architecture of deep CNNs.

SCO-spondin oligopeptide inhibits angiogenesis in glioblastoma

Angiogenesis plays a critical role in glioblastoma growth and progression. We therefore aimed at evaluating the anti-angiogenic properties of an oligopeptide originating from SCO-spondin (NX) on a model of human glioblastoma. To this end, we studied the impact of NX treatment on human brain endothelial cells (HBMECs) alone or co-cultured with glioblastoma cells (U87-MG) on apoptosis, proliferation, migration and release of angiogenic factors. We further investigated the anti-angiogenic potential of NX on human glioblastoma cells grown on chorio-allantoic membrane (CAM) or in glioblastoma xenografts. The results of our experiments showed that NX treatment impaired the microvascular network and induced a decrease in cell proliferation, vascularization and tumor growth in the CAM model as well as in xenotransplants. Interestingly, our in vitro experiments showed that NX impairs HBMECs migration but also regulates the release of angiogenic factors from U87-MG. These results are confirmed by the profiling of NX-treated U87-MG grown on CAM that highlighted modifications of several genes involved in angiogenesis. In conclusion, NX inhibits tumorigenesis by impairing the ability of glioblastoma cells to induce angiogenesis and by inhibiting endothelial cell migration. This molecule might therefore be an interesting candidate for future cancer therapies.

High incidence of periprosthetic joint infection with propionibacterium acnes after the use of a stemless shoulder prosthesis with metaphyseal screw fixation - a retrospective cohort study of 241 patients

BACKGROUND

A stemless shoulder prosthesis with humeral metaphyseal screw fixation was introduced in order to save bone-stock and to facilitate reconstruction of biomechanics (Eclipse®). The aim of this study was to analyze whether the risk of infection is different with this implant compared to conventional shoulder prosthesis.

METHODS

Two hundred and forty-one patients (54.8% females) were operated with a shoulder arthroplasty and followed for median 2.0 (0.1-5.7) years. One hundred and two (42.3%) had received an Eclipse® prosthesis, the remaining patients were operated with other implants. There was an overrepresentation of males in the Eclipse® group (63.7% males) when compared with the control group (31.7% males).

RESULTS

In the Eclipse® group 10 (9.8%) patients developed a periprosthetic joint infection, as opposed to 1 (0.7%) in the control group. The most common bacteria was Propionibacterium acnes. Unadjusted infection-free survival after 4 years was 88.8% (CI 82.5-95.7) for Eclipse® patients and 95.7% (CI 87.7-100.0) for controls (p = 0.002). After adjustment for age, gender, diagnosis, and type of shoulder prosthesis (total or hemi), the risk ratio for revision due to infection was 4.3 (CI 0.5-39.1) for patients with the Eclipse® prosthesis.

CONCLUSIONS

Deep infections seem to be more common after the use of the metaphyseally fixed Eclipse® prosthesis than after conventional shoulder implants, but a predominance of male gender and younger age in the Eclipse group may have biased our findings. Future studies on larger cohorts and in vitro investigations on bacterial adherence and biofilm formation are needed.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The study was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration. The local ethics board (Regionala Etikprövningsnämnden Stockholm) approved the study (Approval number 2015/1590-31, date of issue 2015-10-14). Retrospectively registered.

Non-target Site Tolerance Mechanisms Describe Tolerance to Glyphosate in Avena sterilis

Sterile wild oat (Avena sterilis L.) is an autogamous grass established in warm climate regions. This species has been used as a cover crop in Mediterranean perennial crops during the spring period prior to initiating competition with the main crop for water and nutrients. However, such cover crops need to be controlled (by glyphosate or tillage) before the beginning of summer period (due to the possibility of intense drought stress). In 2011, the olive grove farmers of southern Spain expressed dissatisfaction because of the ineffective control with glyphosate on A. sterilis. Experiments were conducted to determine whether the continued use of glyphosate over a 5 year period had selected a new resistant or tolerant species. The GR50 values obtained for A. sterilis were 297.12 and 245.23 g ae ha(-1) for exposed (E) and un-exposed (UE) glyphosate accessions, respectively. The spray retention and shikimic acid accumulation exhibited a non-significant difference between the two accessions. The results of (14)C- glyphosate absorption was the same in the two accessions (E and UE), while the translocation from the treated leaf to the rest of the shoots and roots was similar in A. sterilis accessions. Glyphosate metabolism to aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) and glyoxylate was similar in both accessions, but increased after treatment with glyphosate, indicating that metabolism plays an important role in tolerance. Both A. sterilis accessions, present similarity in the 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) activity enzyme with different glyphosate concentrations and without glyphosate, confirming that both accessions present the same genomic characteristics. The above-mentioned results indicate that innate tolerance to glyphosate in A. sterilis is probably and partly due to reduced herbicide absorption and translocation and metabolism compared to the susceptibility of other grasses weeds like Chloris inflata, Eleusine indica, and Lolium rigidum.

Ile-1781-Leu and Asp-2078-Gly Mutations in ACCase Gene, Endow Cross-resistance to APP, CHD, and PPZ in Phalaris minor from Mexico

Herbicides that inhibit acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) are commonly used in Mexico to control weedy grasses such as little seed canarygrass (Phalaris minor). These herbicides are classified into three major families (ariloxyphenoxypropionates (APP), cyclohexanodiones (CHD), and, recently, phenylpyrazolines (PPZ)). In this work, the resistance to ACCase (APP, CHD, and PPZ) inhibiting herbicides was studied in a biotype of Phalaris minor (P. minor) from Mexico, by carrying out bioassays at the whole-plant level and investigating the mechanism behind this resistance. Dose-response and ACCase in vitro activity assays showed cross-resistance to all ACCase herbicides used. There was no difference in the absorption, translocation, and metabolism of the ¹⁴C-diclofop-methyl between the R and S biotypes. The PCR generated CT domain fragments of ACCase from the R biotype and an S reference were sequenced and compared. The Ile-1781-Leu and Asp-2078-Gly point mutations were identified. These mutations could explain the loss of affinity for ACCase by the ACCase-inhibing herbicides. This is the first report showing that this substitution confers resistance to APP, CHD, and PPZ herbicides in P. minor from Mexico. The mutations have been described previously only in a few cases; however, this is the first study reporting on a pattern of cross-resistance with these mutations in P. minor. The findings could be useful for better management of resistant biotypes carrying similar mutations.

Tumor-stroma ratio is an independent predictor for survival in NSCLC

Tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) has been identified as a new and practicable prognostic factor in some solid tumors. The aim of the study is to evaluate the prognostic value of TSR in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A total of 404 patients who underwent surgery resection for NSCLC were included in this study. TSR was assessed visually on the hematoxylin-stained tissue sections of surgical specimens. Patients with more than 50% intratumor stroma were quantified as the stroma-rich group and those with less than 50% as the stroma-poor group. In 404 cases of tissue samples, 302 cases were included in the stroma-poor group, while 102 cases in stroma-rich group. The different expression of TSR in NSCLC tissue was not correlated with gender, age, smoking history, tumor diameter, histology, differentiation grade and pTNM staging. In the Cox univariate and multivariate analyses of the 5-year OS, the HRs of the TSR were 1.818 (95% CI; 1.323-2.497; P<0.001) and 1.748 (95% CI; 1.262-2.422; P<0.05), respectively. As for DFS, the HRs were 1.715 (95% CI; 1.249-2.354; P<0.001) and 1.570 (95% CI; 1.135-2.172; P<0.05). Stroma-rich tumors were associated with poor prognosis and an increased risk of relapse, which may serve as a new prognostic histological characteristic in NSCLC.

Effects of enzymatically inactive recombinant botulinum neurotoxin type A at the mouse neuromuscular junctions

Botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) is used clinically to treat several neurological and metabolic diseases. However, the mechanisms that underlie the clinical use of the toxin remain still to be elusive. BoNT/A inhibits acetylcholine (ACh) release at the motor nerve terminals (MNT) and causes neuroparalysis. The toxic effects of BoNT/A at the MNT occur in sub-pico molar range, and it is invaluable to determine the half-life and the persistence of catalytic activity of the toxin to develop therapeutics against BoNT/A intoxication. However, the use of extremely low concentrations of BoNT/A in cellular, or animal models due to high toxicity makes it difficult to determine new cellular mechanisms and binding or interacting partners of BoNT/A. In order to address this, a catalytically deactivated, non-toxic version of BoNT/A, designated as DrBoNT/A, was characterized. DrBoNT/A lacks endoprotease activity (SNAP-25 cleavage) at concentrations as high as 46,875-fold, compared to wild-type BoNT/A. Unlike BoNT/A injection (3.2 pg), injection of the recombinant product (150 ng or 3.2 pg) into mouse hind limbs failed to cause neuroparalysis as exhibited by the lack of inhibition of toe spread reflex (ability of the mouse to spread its hindlimb toes), and inhibit ACh release at the MNT. The in vitro experiments also demonstrate that DrBoNT/A uptake (at concentrations equivalent to BoNT/A), internalization and localization at the MNT remained unaltered. In addition, modeling studies support that DrBoNT/A lacked the zinc binding ability, and the ability to directly participate in the hydrolysis of SNAP-25 substrate. Collectively, we demonstrate that DrBoNT/A is non-toxic to the MNT and can be used as a surrogate tool to understand the mechanism by which BoNT/A modulates signal transduction mechanisms.