Identification of genomic regions for rust resistance in sorghum

The location and effects of genomic regions for rust resistance in sorghum were determined. One hundred and sixty recombinant inbreds, which derived from a cross between QL39 and QL41, were used as a segregating population for genome mapping and rust resistance evaluation. Phenotypic data were collected in replicated field trials in two years. Interval mapping and non-parametric mapping identified four regions, each in a separate linkage group, associated with rust resistance. The region with the largest effect on rust resistance is on linkage group 10; it accounted for 40% of the total phenotypic variation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Toxocara antibodies in veterinary personnel

The prevelance of antibodies to Toxocara canis was determined in 113 veterinary personnel from 22 animal clinics. One hundred and fourteen adult hospital in-patients served as controls. All participants completed a questionnaire supplying personal data and specifies regarding animal exposure and dog ownership. Antibodies to Toxocara were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) employing as antigen, excretorysecretory products from second stage larvae of Toxocara canis.

Toxocara antibodies were found in ten (8.8%) of 113 veterinary workers and in 11 (9.6%) of 114 controls. Antibody prevalence was no different between males and females. Toxocara infection was not associated with dog ownership in veterinary workers or in hospitalized controls. A breakdown of the specific occupations among veterinary personnel failed to show a difference in antibody prevalence, nor did years of service as a veterinary worker correlate with the presence of Toxocara antibody.

Our results suggest that toxocariasis is not associated with direct humandog contact nor with occupational exposure to dogs.

     

Discomforting comfort foods: stirring the pot on Kraft Dinner<Superscript>®</Superscript> and social inequality in Canada

This paper contrasts the perceptions of Canadians who are food-secure with the perceptions of Canadians who are food-insecure through the different meanings that they ascribe to a popular food product known as Kraft Dinner^®. Data sources included individual interviews, focus group interviews, and newspaper articles. Our thematic analysis shows that food-secure Canadians tend to associate Kraft Dinner^® with comfort, while food-insecure Canadians tend to associate Kraft Dinner^® with discomfort. These differences in perspective partly stem from the fact that Kraft Dinner^® consumption by food-secure Canadians is voluntary whereas Kraft Dinner^® consumption by food-insecure Canadians frequently is obligatory. These differences are magnified by the fact that food-insecure individuals are frequently obliged to consume Kraft Dinner^® that has been prepared without milk, a fact that is outside the experience of, and unappreciated by, people who are food-secure. The food-secure perspective influences responses to food insecurity, as Kraft Dinner^® is commonly donated by food-secure people to food banks and other food relief projects. Ignorance among food-secure people of what it is like to be food-insecure, we conclude, partly accounts for the perpetuation of local food charity as the dominant response to food insecurity in Canada.     

Human trophoblast-lymphocyte cross-reactive (TLX) antigens define a new alloantigen system

Antisera to human syncytiotrophoblast microvillous cell surface membranes from different placentas are cytotoxic for lymphocytes from some people but not others, demonstrating the presence of allotypic trophoblast-lymphocyte cross-reactive (TLX) antigens. Exploratory principal components factor analysis, performed on limited data consisting of 300 cytotoxic reactions produced by ten separate trophoblast antisera on a panel of lymphocytes from 30 random donors, suggested the presence of three distinct TLX antigen groupings. It is proposed that such TLX alloantigens are central in establishing maternal recognition and protection of the blastocyst, and that lack of recognition results in implantation failure and spontaneous abortion. These findings are compatible with contemporary results of immunotherapy to prevent recurrent spontaneous abortions, and their implications extend to other conditions of allogeneic coexistence, such as organ transplantation and the tumor-host relationship.     

Hermaphroditism in 3 chimeric mice

Hermaphroditism was diagnosed in three, 6-month-old, male, chimeric mice generated by microinjection of 129/Ola XY recombinant embryonic stem cells into unsexed C57BL/6 blastocysts. Grossly, mice Nos. 1 and 2 had perigenital masses and hydrometra. All mice had unilateral ovaries and cystic endometrial hyperplasia. Mice Nos. 1 and 3 also had contralateral testes and epididymides. Histologically, mice Nos. 1 and 3 were true hermaphrodites with unilateral ovotestes, while mouse No. 2 was a pseudohermaphrodite with ovarian tissue only. The presence of a uterus with cystic endometrial hyperplasia in these mice resembles XY pseudohermaphroditism in miniature schnauzers. The mice were determined to be 95 to 100% chimeric via haircoat color; however, the presence of both male and female sex organs in these phenotypically male mice suggests otherwise. Published reports note incidences for sex chimeras and hermaphroditism in genetically engineered mice of 50% and 20%, respectively. Hermaphroditism is expected to increase as the numbers of chimeric mice rise with technical advances in genetic engineering.