The shadow in the darkness: Case report on adhesive intestinal obstruction secondary to ventriculoperitoneal shunt catheter in an elderly patient.

Introduction: Shunt placement is an effective therapy for hydrocephalus. Ventriculoperitoneal shunt draining excess cerebrospinal fluid connects the cerebral ventricles to the abdominal cavity. However, intestinal obstruction may ensue as an infrequent complication of the shunt. Case presentation: A 65 years old female patient presented with abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, and ceased passage of flatus and stool for six days. She had a history of undergoing a VP shunt procedure due to midbrain obstruction and supratentorial hydrocephalus. Conservative treatment at another local hospital couldn't relieve her symptoms. Laboratory investigations revealed elevated CRP and neutrophils. CT scan showed distended small bowel loops with aerated effusion. Thus, she was admitted to our hospital and underwent an emergent laparotomy following diagnostic modalities completion. Discussion: Adhesive intestinal obstruction secondary to ventriculoperitoneal shunt is a rare but fatal shunt complication. The possible mechanisms involved include rubbing movements between the greater omentum and the catheter, cerebrospinal fluid reaction with abdominal organs, immunological rejection of the catheter, and deposition of brain tumor cells with the resultant abdominal metastatic lesions. Laparoscopic and laparotomy are warranted in the surgical management of the disease. Conclusion: A high index of suspicion for adhesive intestinal obstruction is key to timely diagnosis and treatment.

Mutation of a histidine-rich calcium-binding-protein gene in wheat confers resistance to Fusarium head blight.

Head or ear blight, mainly caused by Fusarium species, can devastate almost all staple cereal crops (particularly wheat), resulting in great economic loss and imposing health threats on both human beings and livestock1-3. However, achievement in breeding for highly resistant cultivars is still not satisfactory. Here, we isolated the major-effect wheat quantitative trait locus, Qfhs.njau-3B, which confers head blight resistance, and showed that it is the same as the previously designated Fhb1. Fhb1 results from a rare deletion involving the 3' exon of the histidine-rich calcium-binding-protein gene on chromosome 3BS. Both wheat and Arabidopsis transformed with the Fhb1 sequence showed enhanced resistance to Fusarium graminearum spread. The translation products of this gene's homologs among plants are well conserved and might be essential for plant growth and development. Fhb1 could be useful not only for curbing Fusarium head blight in grain crops but also for improving other plants vulnerable to Fusarium species.

Construction and characterization of three wheat bacterial artificial chromosome libraries.

We have constructed three bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries of wheat cultivar Triticum aestivum Wangshuibai, germplasms T. monococcum TA2026 and TA2033. A total of 1,233,792,170,880 and 263,040 clones were picked and arrayed in 384-well plates. On the basis of genome sizes of 16.8 Gb for hexaploid wheat and 5.6 Gb for diploid wheat, the three libraries represented 9.05-, 2.60-, and 3.71-fold coverage of the haploid genomes, respectively. An improved descending pooling system for BAC libraries screening was established. This improved strategy can save 80% of the time and 68% of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with the same successful rate as the universal 6D pooling strategy.

Fine mapping TaFLW1, a major QTL controlling flag leaf width in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

INTRODUCTION: Flag leaf width (FLW) is directly related to photosynthetic capacity and yield potential in wheat. In a previous study, Qflw.nau-5A controlling FLW was detected on chromosome 5A in the interval possessing Fhb5 for type I Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance using a recombinant inbred line population derived from Nanda2419 × Wangshuibai. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Qflw.nau-5A near-isogenic line (NIL) with the background of Mianyang 99-323 and PH691 was developed and evaluated. FLW inheritance was investigated using two F2 populations developed from crossing the Qflw.nau-5A NILs with their recurrent parents. One hundred ten and 28 recombinants, which included 10 and 5 types of recombinants, were identified from 2816 F2 plants with Mianyang 99-323 background and 1277 F2 plants with PH691 background, respectively, and phenotyped in field trials for FLW and type I FHB resistance. Deletion bin mapping was applied to physically map Qflw.nau-5A. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of Wangshuibai Qflw.nau-5A allele reduced the FLW up to 3 mm. In the F2 populations, Qflw.nau-5A was inherited like a semi-dominant gene, and was therefore designated as TaFLW1. The FLW of the recombinant lines displayed a distinct two-peak distribution. Recombinants with wider leaves commonly have Mianyang 99-323 or PH691 chromatin in the 0.2 cM Xwmc492-Xwmc752 interval that resided in the 5AL12-0.35-0.57 deletion bin, and recombinants with narrow leaves were Wangshuibai genotype in this interval. Phenotypic recombination between FLW and type I FHB resistance was identified, implying TaFLW1 was in close linkage with Fhb5. These results should aid wheat breeders to break the linkage drag through marker-assisted selection and assist in the map-based cloning of TaFLW1.

[Effects of fertilization on carbon/nitrogen ratio of maize straw and its minereffects of fertilization on carbon/nitrogen ratio of maize straw and its mineralization in soil.alization in soil].

Maize straws were collected from different treatments of two long-term fertilization studies, their carbon (C)/nitrogen (N) ratios were determined, and their C and N mineralization rates in soil were compared in an aerobic incubation test. The results showed that comparing with no fertilization, applying chemical fertilizers (NPK) or chemical fertilizers plus manure (MNPK) increased the N content and decreased the C/N ratio of maize straw. The amounts of mineralized and immobilized C and N of the straws from different fertilization treatments differed with incubation time. The straws from treatments NPK, MNPK, and N240 had significantly higher C mineralization rates than that from the treatment without fertilization. After incubation for 60 days, the straw from treatment NPK had the highest C mineralization rate (13.24% of added organic C), and the immobilized N from the straws of fertilized plots, especially of MNPK plot, was lesser, compared to unfertilized plots. Adding maize straw into soil increased the metabolic quotient (qCO2) of soil microorganisms, but the difference among the treatments was not significant. During incubation, the amounts of soil microbial biomass C and N from different treatments differed with time. Therefore, in agricultural practices, the differences in the nutrient contents of straw due to different fertilization should be considered when the straw was to be added into soil.