Fatal intraoperative pulmonary fat embolism during cemented total hip arthroplasty in a dog

A 3-year-old, German shepherd dog died suddenly during cemented total hip arthroplasty. Gross necropsy findings included severe pulmonary edema and congestion as well as congestion of the liver and kidneys. Acute pulmonary embolism was suspected as the cause of death. Microscopic examination of hematoxylin and eosin-stained, formalin-fixed, and oil red O-stained frozen tissue sections confirmed the presence of large numbers of fat globules in blood vessels in the lungs, liver, and kidneys. Fat embolism during total hip arthroplasty is a common surgical complication in humans, but it is uncommon in veterinary cases and is rarely a cause of death.     

Genomic characterization of drought tolerance-related traits in spring wheat

Drought tolerance was investigated in ‘C306’, one of the most drought tolerant wheat cultivars bred in India in the 1960’s. An intervarietal mapping population of recombinant inbred lines of the cross ‘C306’ × ‘HUW206’ was evaluated for drought tolerance components, namely potential quantum efficiency of photosystem (PS) II (F_v/F_m), chlorophyll content (Chl), flag leaf temperature (Lt), and grain yield per plant (Gyp) under stress. Three independent experiments were conducted under well-watered and water-stressed conditions in greenhouses and growth chambers at Kansas State University (USA). Five hundred and sixty microsatellite markers covering the entire genome were screened for polymorphism between the parents. A QTL (QLt.ksu-1D) for Lt (low flag leaf temperature under stress) on the short arm of chromosome 1D between markers Xbarc271 and Xgwm337 at LOD 3.5 explained 37% of the phenotypic variation. A QTL for F_v/F_m (QF _v /F _m .ksu-3B) and Chl (QChl.ksu-3B) controlling quantum efficiency of PS II and chlorophyll content under stress were co-localized on chromosome 3B in the marker interval Xbarc68–Xbarc101 and explained 35–40% of the phenotypic variation for each trait. A QTL (QGyp.ksu-4A) for Gyp on chromosome 4A at a LOD value of 3.2 explained 16.3% of the phenotypic variation. Inconsistent QTLs were observed for F_v/F_m on chromosomes 3A, 6A, 2B, 4B, and 4D; for Chl on 3A, 6A, 2B and 4B; and for Lt on 1A, 3A 6A, 3B and 5B. The identified QTLs give a first glimpse of the genetics of drought tolerance in C306 and need to be validated in field experiments using the marker-phenotype linkages reported here.     

Landraces-potential treasure for sustainable wheat improvement

Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution - Agricultural production is facing serious threat from various biotic and abiotic stresses specifically under climatic challenges. It is becoming increasingly...     

Identification of QTLs for stay green trait in wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum aestivum</Emphasis> L.) in the ‘Chirya 3’ × ‘Sonalika’ population

Stay green or delayed senescence is considered to play a crucial role in grain development in wheat when assimilates are limited. We identified three QTLs for stay green on the chromosomes 1AS, 3BS and 7DS using a recombinant inbred (RI) population developed by making crosses between the stay green parent ‘Chirya 3’ and non-stay green ‘Sonalika’. The RI lines were evaluated in natural field conditions for 2 years in replicated trial. The QTL on chromosome 1A was identified in both the years, while the QTLs on 3BS and 7DS were identified only in 1st and 2nd year, respectively. The QTLs explained up to 38.7% of phenotypic variation in a final simultaneous fit. The alleles for higher stay green values derived from the stay green parent ‘Chirya 3’. The QTLs were named as QSg.bhu-1A, QSg.bhu-3B and QSg.bhu-7D. The QTL QSg.bhu-3B and QSg.bhu-7D were placed in the 3BS9-0.57-0.78 and 7DS5-0.36-0.61 deletion bins, respectively.     

Stem and leaf rust resistance in wild relatives of wheat with D genome (Aegilops spp.)

Resistance to stem rust and leaf rust in five D genome species of wheat viz., 267 accessions of Aegilops tauschii Coss., 39 of Ae. cylindrica Host, 17 of Ae. ventricosa Tausch, 4 of Ae. crassa Boiss. and 8 of Ae. juvenalis (Thell.) Eig were evaluated at adult plant stage. Two hundred and thirty nine (90 %) accessions of Ae. tauschii, 30 (77 %) of Ae. cylindrica, 16 (94 %) of Ae. ventricosa, 3 (75 %) of Ae. crassa Boiss. and 5 (62.5 %) of Ae. juvenalis were resistant to stem rust pathotypes prevalent in South India at Wellington under field condition. Invariably, all the accessions of the five species were resistant to leaf rust pathotypes. Quantitative measurement of disease using area under the disease progress curve revealed the slow progress of disease in the resistant accessions compared to susceptible check (Agra Local). Since all the five species have D genome, it could be concluded that the genes present in D genome might play a vital role in leaf rust resistance, but in case of stem rust resistance wide range of differential response was noticed. Among the species evaluated, Ae. tauschii was exploited to a larger extent, followed by Ae. ventricosa and Ae. cylindrica for leaf and stem rust resistance because of the homology of D genome with hexaploid bread wheat. While, Ae. crassa and Ae. juvenalis could not be utilized so far, possibly due to partial homology which makes the transfer of traits difficult. So, these species have considerable potential as a source of rust resistance and may enhance the existing gene pool of resistance to stem and leaf rusts.     

MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING AND ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF A MALIGNANT PERIPHERAL NERVE SHEATH TUMOR IN A DOG

A 9-year-old male neutered mixed breed dog had a two-month history of progressive left thoracic limb lameness. There was electromyographic evidence of denervation potentials in all muscles of this limb. In magnetic resonance images a multilobulated, hyperintense mass was visible caudal to the middiaphysis of the left humerus on T-2 weighted images. The mass, which was isointense with surrounding tissue on T1 weighted images, extended proximally towards the brachial plexus. The mass was also visible as a fusiform structure of mixed echogenicity sonographically, although fine-needle aspiration performed at this time was nondiagnostic. A malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor was diagnosed histopathologically.     

Differential targeting of Gbetagamma-subunit signaling with small molecules

G protein betagamma subunits have potential as a target for therapeutic treatment of a number of diseases. We performed virtual docking of a small-molecule library to a site on Gbetagamma subunits that mediates protein interactions. We hypothesized that differential targeting of this surface could allow for selective modulation of Gbetagamma subunit functions. Several compounds bound to Gbetagamma subunits with affinities from 0.1 to 60 muM and selectively modulated functional Gbetagamma-protein-protein interactions in vitro, chemotactic peptide signaling pathways in HL-60 leukocytes, and opioid receptor-dependent analgesia in vivo. These data demonstrate an approach for modulation of G protein-coupled receptor signaling that may represent an important therapeutic strategy.