Earliness and morphotypes of common wheat cultivars of Western and Eastern Siberia.

The global and local climate changes determine the producing of highly-adaptive common (bread) wheat commercial cultivars of a new generation whose optimal earliness matches the climatic features of the territory where the cultivars are farmed. Principal component analysis involving our own and published data has been applied to investigate 98 commercial common wheat cultivars from Western and Eastern Siberia comparing their morphotypes; cultivar zoning time; length of the vegetation period; 1000-grain weight, and inheritance of spring growth habit. It demonstrated that the dominant Vrn gene polymorphism determining the spring growth habit of the Siberian cultivars was minimally polymorphic. In 75 % of the tested cultivars, the spring growth habit was controlled by digenic, namely dominant Vrn-A1 and Vrn-B1 genes. In 25 % of them (24 cultivars), spring growth habit is controlled by a single gene. In 19 and 5 of these cultivars spring growth habit is controlled by only one dominant gene, Vrn-B1 or Vrn-A1, respectively. In cv. Tulun 15, a trigenic control was identified. A conclusion about the optimality of the digenic control for the climatic conditions of both Western and Eastern Siberia has been confirmed. However, since none of the tested cultivars had the dominant Vrn-D1 gene typical of the regions of China and Central Asia bordering Siberia, it can be considered as an additional argument in favor of the European origin of Siberian common wheat cultivars. The revealed high frequency of the Vrn-B1c allele in the Western Siberian cultivars and the Vrn-B1a allele in the Eastern Siberian cultivars suggests their selectivity. The analysis also confirmed the dominance of red glume (ferrugineum, milturum) and awned spike (ferrugineum, erythrospermum) varieties in the Eastern Siberian cultivars, and white glume and awnedless spike (lutescens and albidum) ones in the Western Siberian cultivars. Small grain size cultivars are more typical of Eastern than Western Siberia. The retrospective analysis based on the cultivars' zoning time included in the "State Register for Selection Achievements Admitted for Usage" brought us to the conclusion that the earliness/lateness of modern Siberian commercial cultivars was not regionally but rather zonally-associated (taiga, subtaiga, forest-steppe and steppe zones).

Fentanyl concentration in maternal and umbilical cord plasma following intranasal or subcutaneous administration in labour.

BACKGROUND: The effect that the route of maternal fentanyl administration has on placental transfer of drug to the neonate is not well studied. Plasma concentration ratios are an indicator of fetal exposure, relative to the mother. METHODS: A cohort study (n=30) was conducted to measure fentanyl concentrations in maternal plasma, and arterial and venous cord blood, among women administered either intranasal or subcutaneous fentanyl for labour pain relief. Maternal and cord blood samples were collected within 30 min of birth to determine the fentanyl plasma concentration and to assess relative neonatal exposure. Neonatal outcomes were assessed by Apgar scores, need for resuscitation and nursery admission. RESULTS: Thirty paired samples were obtained from healthy parturients with uncomplicated term pregnancies. Highest observed umbilical venous and arterial concentrations were 0.71 ng/mL and 0.56 ng/mL, respectively, and fetal to maternal fentanyl plasma concentration ratios ranged between 0.23 and 0.73, indicating low fetal exposure. While the total intranasal fentanyl dose administered was significantly higher than the subcutaneous fentanyl dose, this did not result in a higher fetal to maternal ratio. All neonates in both groups had 5-min Apgar scores >7, two neonates required short-term stimulation and oxygen (unrelated to fentanyl) and no neonate was admitted to the nursery. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to examine fetal and maternal fentanyl concentrations after subcutaneous administration. This research supports the safe use of fentanyl for labour analgesia for women.

[Prevalence of VRN1 Locus Alleles among Spring Common Wheat Cultivars Cultivated in Western Siberia].

With the use of allele-specific primers developed for the VRN1 loci, the allelic diversity of the VRN-A1, VRN-B1, and VRN-D1 genes was studied in 148 spring common wheat cultivars cultivated under the conditions of Western Siberia. It was demonstrated that modern Western Siberian cultivars have the VRN-A1a allele, which is widely distributed in the world (alone or in combination with the VRN-B1a and VRN-B1c alleles). It was established that the main contribution in acceleration of the.seedling-heading time is determined by a dominant VRN-A1a allele, while the VRN-A1b allele, on the contrary, determines later plant heading. Cultivars that have the VRN-A1b allele in the genotype are found with a frequency of 8%. It was shown that cultivars with different allele combinations of two dominant genes (VRN-A1a + VRN-B1c and VRN-A1a + VRN-B1a) are characterized by earlier heading and maturing.

A comparison of fentanyl with pethidine for pain relief during childbirth: a randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of fentanyl administered via the subcutaneous (s.c.) or intranasal (i.n.) route with intramuscular (i.m.) pethidine in labouring women requesting analgesia. DESIGN: A randomised controlled trial three-armed, parallel-design. SETTING: A regional hospital and the largest tertiary maternity centre in South Australia. SAMPLE: One hundred and fifty-six healthy parturients birthing at term. METHODS: Women were randomised to receive s.c. fentanyl (n = 53), i.n. fentanyl (n = 52), or i.m. pethidine (n = 51). The outcomes were analysed by intention-to-treat. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pain scores measured before and 30 minutes after opioid administration. RESULTS: All groups reported clinically significant reductions in pain scores (mean range 1.2-1.6; P < 0.001), with no significant differences between groups. Significantly more women in the fentanyl groups reported satisfaction with using the study drug again, compared with women receiving i.m. pethidine (82.9% i.n. fentanyl, 80.6% s.c. fentanyl, and 44.0% i.m. pethidine; P < 0.01). Women in the fentanyl groups experienced less sedation (i.n. fentanyl 7.3%, s.c. fentanyl 2.9%, i.m. pethidine 44%; P ≤ 0.03), shorter labours by at least 2 hours (P < 0.05), and fewer difficulties establishing breastfeeding (78.8% i.m. pethidine, 39.4% i.n. fentanyl, and 44.0% s.c. fentanyl; P < 0.01). Neonates in the pethidine group were more likely to require nursery admission (P < 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Fentanyl administered by s.c. and i.n. routes is as efficacious in relieving labour pain as i.m. pethidine, but resulted in greater satisfaction, less sedation, shorter labour, fewer nursery admissions, and fewer difficulties in establishing breastfeeding. Fentanyl appears to be a suitable alternative to pethidine when providing parenteral pain relief to labouring women.

Job satisfaction of overseas-qualified nurses working in Australian hospitals.

AIMS: The aims of this study were to explore factors associated with the job satisfaction of overseas-qualified nurses working in public hospitals in South Australia and to compare whether factors associated with job satisfaction of overseas nurses from English-speaking backgrounds differed from those from non-English-speaking backgrounds. BACKGROUND: Overseas-qualified nurses have become an essential part of the nursing workforce in Australia. Although this nurse population has different expectations and values in relation to their jobs when compared with local nurses, studies on job satisfaction among overseas nurses are scarce. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using the Job Satisfaction of Overseas-Qualified Nurses questionnaire was conducted in five major public hospitals in South Australia. RESULTS: One hundred and fifty-one overseas-qualified nurses completed the questionnaire. Four factors were found to influence job satisfaction: Supportive work environment, interpersonal relationships, communication in English, and salary and salary-related benefits. Communication in English was the predominant factor that was associated with job satisfaction in nurses from non-English-speaking backgrounds. This group of nurses also showed a negative correlation between length of stay in Australia and satisfaction with their work environment. Participants' responses to open-ended questions revealed issues relating to discrimination and racism. CONCLUSION: Supportive work environment, interpersonal relationships, communication in English, and salary and salary-related benefits were major factors associated with job satisfaction in overseas-qualified nurses in this study. Nurses from non-English-speaking backgrounds faced additional challenges in communication in the workplace and in dealing with issues of discrimination and racism. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND/OR HEALTH POLICY: Nurses from non-English-speaking backgrounds need to be supported early in their employment, especially with their communication skills. Consideration also needs to be given to the education of local staff regarding cultural differences of overseas workers.

Postnatal Urinary Incontinence: Prevalence and Factors Associated with It in a Malaysian Population

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of postnatal urinary incontinence (PNUI), the risk factors associated with it and postnatal women’s (PN) level of engagement in practicing traditional Malay confinement care (TMCC) in Kelantan, Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 362 postnatal women aged between 18 – 45 years and who were between three to five months post-delivery. Participants were selected through convenience sampling at six Maternal and Child Health Clinics located in comparatively similar districts. Descriptive and inferential analyses including, factor analysis, Pearson chi-square, Mann-Whitney U test and logistic regressions analysis were used for data analysis. Overall, PNUI was reported by 80 women (22.1%). Vaginal delivery was associated with PNUI. All PN women within the study context practiced TMCC. The findings revealed that women who had PNUI were more likely to engage in a higher level of the ‘Body care’ component of TMCC. UI is prevalent among PN women in Kelantan, Malaysia. Further research into the impact of the ‘body care’ component of TMCC on PNUI is required.

[Development and study of spring bread wheat variety Pamyati Maystrenko with introgression of genetic material from synthetic hexaploid Triticum timopheevii zhuk. x Aegilops tauschii Coss].

Synthetic hexaploids are bridges for transferring new genes that determine resistance to stress factors from wild-type species to bread wheat. In the present work, the method of developing the spring bread wheat variety Pamyati Maystrenko and the results of its study are described. This variety was obtained using one of the immune lines produced earlier via the hybridization of the spring bread wheat variety Saratovskaya 29 with the synthetic hexaploid T. timopheevii Zhuk. x Ae. tauschii Coss. The C-staining of chromosomes in the Pamyati Maystrenko variety revealed substitutions of 2B and 6B chromosomes by the homeologous chromosomes of the G genome of T. timopheevii and the substitution of chromosome 1D by an orthologous chromosome ofAe. tauschii. It was found that this variety is characterized by resistance to leaf and stem rust, powdery mildew, and loose smut as well as by high grain and bread-making qualities. The role of the alien genetic material introgressed into the bread-wheat genome in the expression of adaptive and economically valuable traits in the Pamyati Maystrenko variety is discussed.

[Characteristics of common wheat cultivars of West Siberia carrying the wheat-rye 1RS.1BL translocation].

Using genomic in situ hybridization, among the common wheat cultivars produced in West Siberia (Siberian Research Institute of Agriculture, Omsk) with the involvement of the winter wheat cultivar Kavkaz carrying the wheat-rye 1RS.1BL translocation we identified three cultivars with this translocation: Omskaya 29, Omskaya 37, and Omskaya 38. The protein and crude gluten contents in the grain of these cultivars are equal to or exceed the levels observed in cultivars without the wheat-rye translocation. The common wheat cultivars carrying the wheat-rye translocation were evaluated in terms of resistance of plants reaching wax ripeness to leaf rust and powdery mildew in the natural field conditions. The cultivars Omskaya 37 and Omskaya 38 displayed a high field resistance to leaf rust and were resistant to a variable extent to powdery mildew. The cultivar Omskaya 29 was susceptible to leaf rust and powdery mildew pathogens. Importance of the selection direction and the role of the genetic background in developing common wheat cultivars carrying the wheat-rye translocation is discussed.

Perceived Stress Related to Nursing Education and Its Influence on Nursing Students’ Academic and Clinical Performance

Stress has a negative effect on student nurses well-being and can impede learning or motivate them and is conducive to learning. This study examined the perceived stress and factors that influenced daily students’ life among both the Diploma and Bachelor of Nursing students. A total of 241 nursing students were involved in this research project. Findings of this study indicated that junior nursing students (<21 years) of both cohorts perceived significantly more stress than older (≥21 years) nursing students. Second year students of the Diploma group claimed being more stressed than their peers (1st and 3rd years). Personal problems were the main issue of concern among the second year Diploma students. Workload of nursing education and fear of failing the nursing programme were the major stressors among the first year nursing students of the Bachelor cohort as compared to their seniors. A mixture of negatively and positively significant correlations was observed between academic work and clinical scores among the Diploma and Bachelor of Nursing students respectively. Both the Diploma and Bachelor of Nursing students’ stress did not influence their GPA scores. Negatively significant correlation was noted between stress and clinical scores among the Diploma of Nursing students. A negatively significant correlation was found between age and CGPA scores among the Bachelor cohort. Both male and female Diploma and Bachelor nursing students perceived no differences in stress related to their academic work. The findings of this study provide important information for nursing education at the institute examined in this study, and have implications for future research.

[Morphological and functional characteristics of lymphocytes of mothers of children with Down syndrome]. / Morfofunktsional'nye kharakteristiki limfotsitov materei, imeiushchikh detei s sindromom Dauna.

Nuclear chromatine of peripheral blood lymphocytes was studied in 13 women with children suffering from Down's syndrome using optic structural computer analysis. In 12 cases significant increase of nuclear roundness coefficient was determined. Deformation coefficient was determined for heterochromatine structures in 8 cases. Integral optic density of nuclear chromatine was significantly decreased in 12 women. This indicates the reduction of felgen-positive material due to deficiency of its compact fraction (in 11 cases). The activity of lymphocyte cytoplasmic lactate, alpha-glycerophosphate and succinate dehydrogenases (SDG) was studied morphocytochemically in 5 women who had children with the disease. High activity of mitochondrial SDG was determined in all cases which probably indicates disorders in lymphocyte energy state. This is one of the reasons for retention of risk pregnancy. Further research in this area may serve as a base for complete cytoanalysis in order to distinguish risk groups among women including primagravida for consequent determination of embryonal karyotype.

Thermocyclic entrainment of lizard blood plasma melatonin rhythms in constant and cyclic photic environments.

We assessed how chronic exposure to 6-h cryophase temperatures of 15 degrees C in an otherwise 33 degrees C environment entrains the rhythm of blood plasma melatonin rhythms in lizards (Tiliqua rugosa) subjected to constant dark (DD), constant light (LL), and to 12:12-h light-dark cycles (12L:12D). The peak of the melatonin rhythm was entrained by the cryophase temperature of the thermocycle in DD and LL, irrespective of the time at which the cryophase temperature was applied. Comparable thermocycles of 6 h at 15 degrees C imposed on a 12L:12D photocycle, however, affected the amplitude and phase of the melatonin rhythm, depending on the phase relationship between light and temperature. Cold pulses in the early light period and at midday resulted, respectively, either in low amplitude or nonexistent melatonin rhythms, whereas those centered in or around the dark phase elicited rhythms of high amplitude. Supplementary experiments in 12L:12D using two intermittent 6-h 15 degrees C cryophases, one delivered in the midscotophase and another in the midphotophase, elicited melatonin rhythms comparable to those in lizards subjected to constant 33 degrees C and 12L:12D. In contrast, lizards subjected to 12L:12D and a 33 degrees C:15 degrees C thermocycle, whose thermophase was aligned with the photophase, produced a threefold increase in the amplitude of the melatonin rhythm. Taken together, these results support the notion that there is an interaction between the external light and temperature cycle and a circadian clock in determining melatonin rhythms in Tiliqua rugosa.

Daily and seasonal rhythms in selected body temperatures in the Australian lizard Tiliqua rugosa (Scincidae): field and laboratory observations.

This study examined daily and seasonal activity and thermoregulatory behaviour of the sleepy lizard, Tiliqua rugosa, a large, diurnally active temperate-dwelling Australian lizard, in the field and laboratory. Activity temperatures in the field were compared with those selected by lizards in laboratory thermal gradients in order to assess the extent to which endogenous versus exogenous factors contribute to seasonal variations in thermoregulatory behaviour. In the field, lizards are most active in late winter-spring (August-November), during which their activity varies from mostly unimodal on days of mild temperature to bimodal on hot days. In late spring-summer (November-January), activity is largely restricted to early morning, and at all other seasons sleepy lizards are rarely active. The winter-spring activity of sleepy lizards is constrained by low environmental temperatures, as lizards at these seasons have low body temperatures in the field but higher temperatures in laboratory thermal gradients. The lower temperatures selected in the laboratory in the summer-autumn months suggest the avoidance of high ambient temperatures and general inactivity in the field at these times. Thermal selection in the laboratory at the eight times of year tested showed that the phase of the minimum and maximum temperature selected and the amplitude of the rhythm of temperature selected varied continuously with the time of year. These daily and seasonal shifts in thermoregulatory behaviour may be regulated by endogenous physiological mechanisms coupled with seasonal ecological constraints such as food availability.

Host-seeking behaviour by Australian ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) with differing host specificities.

Ticks generally detach from their hosts into sites where they are later exposed to host species which may or may not be suitable for infestation. The question of how four species of ixodid ticks, with differing specificities, behave towards such potential host species was examined. Observations of the generalists, Aponomma hydrosauri and Amblyomma limbatum and the specialists, Aponomma fimbriatum and Aponomma concolor, showed that the generalists were attracted to a wider range of potential host species than the specialists and that the larval stages of all tick species, regardless of specificity, contacted more potential host species than the adults. The interspecific differences may be attributed to reliance on different sets of host cues, while the intraspecific differences may reflect the developmental state of the sensory system.

[The photometric characteristics of the nuclei of normal human and bovine lymphocytes and in pathology]. / Issledovanie fotometricheskikh kharakteristik iader limfotsitov cheloveka i krupnogo rogatogo skota v norme i pri patologii.

Chromatin structure has been studied with a method of optico-structural machine analysis for interphase nuclei of peripheral blood lymphocytes in healthy donors, a girl with the Shereshevskii-Turner syndrome (45, XO) and her parents, and for peripheral blood lymphocytes of a cow, Bos taurus L., in the last trimester on the background of preeclamptic syndrome and with normal cow pregnancy of compared terms. A significant change was revealed both in human heteroploidy and in developing preeclamptic syndrome in animals as concerns such indexes as the nucleus area, integral optical density, the amount and area of condensed, decondensed chromatin. The profile of histograms, according to the given parameters, is distinctly changing. The analysis based on constructing a two-measured field in the given coordinate system showed changes in the lymphatic population structure with the increase in the rate of "heavy", enriched DNA cells.

Host detection by four Australian tick species.

The behavior of 4 tick species in the presence of their dominant host species was examined. Nymphs and adult ticks could locate a host from greater distances than the larvae. Adult Aponomma concolor were able to locate their mammalian host (echidna) from distances greater than 3 reptile-infesting species could locate their hosts. The results suggested that all 4 tick species detect hosts passively, which may be related to the relative scarcity of hosts and their irregular use of refuge sites.

Thermoperiodic influences on plasma melatonin rhythms in the lizard Tiliqua rugosa: effect of thermophase duration.

Rhythms of plasma melatonin levels were determined in lizards (Tiliqua rugosa) subjected to a 12 h photocycle (12 h light: 12 h dark) at constant 33 degrees C, and at 7 different thermoperiods (33 degrees C thermophase and 15 degrees C cryophase) whose thermophase duration ranged from 1.5 to 21 h. The melatonin secretion rate, as measured by the amplitude and duration of elevated melatonin levels and the area under the curve, was maximal at thermoperiods whose thermophase was between 9 and 18 h in duration. The results indicate that in ectothermic vertebrates the prevailing thermoperiod as well as the photoperiod may influence melatonin rhythms and hence the timing of annual physiological cycles.

Thermal sensitivity of reptilian melatonin rhythms: "cold" tuatara vs. "warm" skink.

Daily rhythms in plasma melatonin levels were compared in two ecologically diverse reptilian species under natural environmental conditions in autumn. The nocturnal, cold temperature-adapted tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) had a melatonin rhythm of much lower amplitude than did the diurnal desert-adapted sleepy lizard (Tiliqua rugosa). Experiments in controlled laboratory environments showed that, although both species are capable of attaining a comparable melatonin peak (approximately 750 pmol/l), the threshold temperature at which a significant daily rhythm occurs is approximately 15 degrees C in S. punctatus compared with approximately 25 degrees C in T. rugosa. This difference probably reflects the disparate thermoregulatory adaptations of the two species, S. punctatus favoring mean activity temperatures of 11.5 degrees C and T. rugosa, 32.5 degrees C. In ectotherms such as reptiles, therefore, species-typical thermoregulatory behavior may provide thermal cues that interact with photoperiod to provide the appropriate melatonin signal for the regulation of annual physiological cycles.