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Skeletal-related events (SREs) are common in patients with osteolytic lesions from multiple myeloma (MM), and result in substantial morbidity. We report herein a comprehensive, retrospective, multivariate analysis of prognostic factors for survival and first on-study SRE in MM patients using data from the phase III, randomized study comparing zoledronic acid with pamidronate in MM or breast cancer. Cox regression analyses were used to assess 22 variables for prognostic significance (defined as associations with P <0.05) in patients with bone metabolism marker assessments and complete baseline variable data. Of 510 evaluable MM patients, 282 had complete covariate information and were included in models. Reduced Cox multivariate models identified five significant prognostic factors for first SRE (weight, race, high N-terminal cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen (NTX), high pain score, and need for narcotic analgesics) and seven for survival (age, SRE history, myeloma subtype, anemia, high lactate dehydrogenase, high NTX, and low albumin levels). High NTX was the only variable associated with elevated risks of both first SRE and death ( P ⩽0.02 for each). These analyses identified prognostic factors for SREs and survival in patients with MM. Taken together with current staging systems, these factors could further facilitate decision making for optimal treatment of myeloma bone disease, although further prospective assessments are needed.

The aim of this study was to evaluate and correlate objectively the microspectroscopically derived biochemical components of sound, infected and affected carious dentine with their microhardness and autofluorescence (AF) characteristics. Over 3 million high-resolution Raman spectra from 8 extracted human carious teeth were recorded using Raman spectrometer with parallel spectrum acquisition. Green AF signals across each carious lesion from all samples were acquired with a similar spatial resolution using confocal fluorescence microscopy. The Knoop microhardness (KHN) from a total of 233 co-localized areas was recorded from the same samples and allocated subjectively into the three zones. Cluster analysis of the Raman data, performed using in-house software, produced five independent spectral components representing mineral content, protein content, porphyrin fluorescence (PF), putative infected dentine signal (IDS) and affected dentine signal (ADS). The distributions of the 5 Raman components and the AF signal were matched across all samples and their average values were calculated for each corresponding KHN area. The infected dentine was defined significantly by the KHN, AF and by the relative contribution of the mineral, PF and IDS clusters. Protein cluster was not statistically related to the KHN or AF. A delineation between affected and sound dentine was observed using the KHN, AF, PF and ADS parameters. This study concludes that micro-Raman spectroscopy can provide a non-invasive and objective evaluation of different carious dentine zones. Being able to detect and assess clinically the caries-affected dentine during minimally invasive operative caries management is important to control the risk of unnecessary tissue removal.

Therapeutic options for patients with multiple myeloma whose disease has relapsed after a prior auto-SCT include novel biologic therapies, traditional chemotherapy or a second transplant, with no clear standard of care. Few published studies address the safety and efficacy of a second auto-SCT for relapsed disease. We reviewed the Abramson Cancer Center experience with salvage auto-SCT for relapsed multiple myeloma. Forty-one patients had received a salvage auto-SCT at our institution; the median time between transplants was 37 months (range 3–91). The overall response rate in assessable patients was 55%, and treatment-related mortality was 7%. With a median follow-up time of 15 months, the median PFS was 8.5 months and the median overall survival (OS) was 20.7 months. In a multivariate analysis of OS, independent prognostic factors were ⩾5 prior lines of therapy and time to progression after initial auto-SCT of ⩽12 months. We conclude that in well-selected patients, salvage auto-SCT is safe and effective for relapsed myeloma.

Desmoplastic small round cell tumor of the peritoneum (DSRCTP) is a rare, frequently fatal tumor. This retrospective study, based on CIBMTR registry data, describes the largest reported cohort of DSRCTP patients who have undergone Auto-SCT. The probabilities of disease-free survival (DFS) at 1 year for patients in CR and not in CR were 75% (95% confidence interval: 48–94%) and 35% (15–59%), respectively. The probability of OS at 3 years was 57% (29–83%) and 28% (9–51%) for patients in CR and not in CR, respectively. Median survival for the entire cohort was 31 months (36 months and 21 months for those in CR and not in CR, respectively). Engraftment at 42 days was 97% (88–100%). Treatment-related mortality was low, with only one death in the first 100 days. Auto-SCT is a tolerable approach in patients with DSRCTP, with the greatest benefit seen in those patients who obtain CR. For those not in CR, the median OS in this series is greater than previously reported (21 months vs 17 months), suggesting Auto-SCT is useful in prolonging DFS and OS, even in patients with residual or persistent disease pre-transplant.

New results are proved on additive forms at prime arguments of the type ${\\lambda _1}p_1^k + \\cdot \\cdot \\cdot {\\lambda _s}p_s^k$ where the λj are not all negative and are not all in rational ratio. The improvements come in the number of variables required and the distribution of the values. The former improvement comes from using familiar techniques in the Hardy-Littlewood method, while the latter improvement stems from recent developments in the theory of exponential sums.

Rhizoctonia root rot, caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kühn AG‐8 (Anastomosis Group 8), is a yield‐limiting disease of direct‐seeded cereals in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region of the USA, and to date, no resistant Triticum germplasm has been identified. The objective of this research was to identify potential sources of genetic resistance among selected members of the primary, secondary, and tertiary gene pools of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) for use in cultivar improvement. Members of the primary gene pool spring wheat germplasm, synthetic hexaploids, triticale (× Triticosecale spp.), Triticum turgidum var. durum (Desf.) Bowden [= T turgidum subsp. durum (Desf.) Husn.], secondary gene pool [Aegilops cylindrica Host, Dasypyrum villosum (L.) P. Candargy], and tertiary gene pool (Hordeum vulgare L.) of wheat were screened for disease response to two isolates (C1 and D2) of R solani AG‐8 in controlled environment assays. Variation for magnitude of susceptibility to both isolates was detected, but no sources of resistance were identified among primary or tertiary gene pool members. Isolate D2 generally produced more severe disease than isolate C1, with the exception of the most susceptible accessions for which both isolates caused equally severe disease. All accessions of D villosum exhibited some level of seedling resistance to isolate C1, and 73% also displayed a resistance response to isolate D2. All D villosum/durum amphiploids, as well as Chinese Spring/D villosum addition lines, were susceptible to both isolates. Differences in disease response between the two isolates suggest that varying levels of virulence, or aggressiveness, exist among R solani AG‐8 isolates.

Objectives: To document the impact of bilateral posteroventral pallidotomy on cognitive status. Methods: 17 patients with Parkinson's disease were evaluated with a neuropsychological battery before and six months after bilateral pallidotomy. A comparison group (n = 8) was also assessed at six month intervals. Outcome variables were tests of memory, language, visuospatial function, attention, executive skills, and depression. Results: Despite a large number of variables studied, a significant postsurgical change was found only in performance of the tower of London task, a measure of planning abilities. The effect size of this change was larger than that of the comparison group, and a reliable change index score established that 5 of 13 surgical patients had statistically reliable reductions in planning performance. Conclusions: Patients with a young age of onset and long duration of Parkinson's disease who underwent bilateral pallidotomy had a relatively circumscribed reduction in neuropsychological functioning, being limited to motor planning efficiency. These data suggest that the cognitive role of the posteroventral globus pallidus is limited, at least in people with Parkinson's disease.

Rhizoctonia root rot, caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kühn AG‐8 (Anastomosis Group 8), is a yield limiting disease of direct‐seeded cereal grains. The objectives of this study were to (i) determine whether spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes vary in susceptibility to Rhizoctonia root rot in inoculated field trials; and (ii) evaluate whether disease ratings obtained by controlled environment (CE) analyses are predictive of disease ratings or genotype performance in the field. Twenty‐one spring wheat genotypes were evaluated for two crop years in a split‐plot field study with high and low levels of disease pressure. The high‐inoculum (high) treatment consisted of plots planted the previous fall with a 3:1 mixture of winter wheat and oat (Avena sativa L.) grains colonized by the pathogen. The low‐inoculum (low) treatment was neither inoculated nor planted with a green bridge host the previous fall. Genotypes also were assayed for disease reaction in controlled environment (CE) assays. Average disease ratings of field entries in the high treatment were 2.1 times greater than those from the low treatment (P < 0.05). The yield average of entries in the high treatment was 87% of that of entries in the low treatment (P < 0.001). Adult plant heights also were 5 cm shorter (P < 0.001), heading date was slightly delayed (P < 0.05), and grain protein content decreased slightly (P < 0.05) in the high compared with the low treatment. Test weight was not affected by inoculum level. A statistically significant, negative association (P < 0.0001) between disease rating and grain yield was detected, and variation for reaction to R. solani was detected among genotypes. Disease reaction differences were not detected among genotypes in CE assays, and field and CE disease ratings were not correlated (P = 0.32), indicating that growth chamber assays were not prognostic of genotype performance in response to pressure from Rhizoctonia root rot in the field.

To investigate the role of jasmonate in the defense of plants against fungal pathogens, we have studied a mutant of Arabidopsis, fad3-2 fad7-2 fad8, that cannot accumulate jasmonate. Mutant plants were extremely susceptible to root rot caused by the fungal root pathogen Pythium mastophorum (Drechs.), even though neighboring wild-type plants were largely unaffected by this fungus. Application of exogenous methyl jasmonate substantially protected mutant plants, reducing the incidence of disease to a level close to that of wild-type controls. A similar treatment with methyl jasmonate did not protect the jasmonate-insensitive mutant coil1 from infection, showing that protective action of applied jasmonate against P. mastophorum was mediated by the induction of plant defense mechanisms rather than by a direct antifungal action. Transcripts of three jasmonate-responsive defense genes are induced by Pythium challenge in the wild-type but not in the jasmonate-deficient mutant. Pythium species are ubiquitous in soil and root habitats world-wide, but most (including P. mastophorum) are considered to be minor pathogens. Our results indicate that jasmonate is essential for plant defense against Pythium and, because of the high exposure of plant roots to Pythium inoculum in soil, may well be fundamental to survival of plants in nature. Our results further indicate that the fad3-2 fad7-2 fad8 mutant is an appropriate genetic model for studying the role of this important signaling molecule in pathogen defense

Genetic resistance in plants to root diseases is rare, and agriculture depends instead on practices such as crop rotation and soil fumigation to control these diseases. \"Induced suppression\" is a natural phenomenon whereby a soil due to microbiological changes converts from conducive to suppressive to a soilborne pathogen during prolonged monoculture of the susceptible host. Our studies have focused on the wheat root disease \"take-all,\" caused by the fungus Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, and the role of bacteria in the wheat rhizosphere (rhizobacteria) in a well-documented induced suppression (take-all decline) that occurs in response to the disease and continued monoculture of wheat. The results summarized herein show that antibiotic production plays a significant role in both plant defense by and ecological competence of rhizobacteria. Production of phenazine and phloroglucinol antibiotics, as examples, account for most of the natural defense provided by fluorescent Pseudomonas strains isolated from among the diversity of rhizobacteria associated with take-all decline. There appear to be at least three levels of regulation of genes for antibiotic biosynthesis: environmental sensing, global regulation that ties antibiotic production to cellular metabolism, and regulatory loci linked to genes for pathway enzymes. Plant defense by rhizobacteria producing antibiotics on roots and as cohabitants with pathogens in infected tissues is analogous to defense by the plant's production of phytoalexins, even to the extent that an enzyme of the same chalcone/stilbene synthase family used to produce phytoalexins is used to produce 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol. The defense strategy favored by selection pressure imposed on plants by soilborne pathogens may well be the ability of plants to support and respond to rhizosphere microorganisms antagonistic to these pathogens.