Isolation and comparative analysis of the wheat TaPT2 promoter: identification in silico of new putative regulatory motifs conserved between monocots and dicots.

Phosphorus deficiency is one of the major nutrient stresses affecting plant growth. Plants respond to phosphate (Pi) deficiency through multiple strategies, including the synthesis of high-affinity Pi transporters. In this study, the expression pattern of one putative wheat high-affinity phosphate transporter, TaPT2, was examined in roots and leaves under Pi-deficient conditions. TaPT2 transcript levels increased in roots of Pi-starved plants. A 579 bp fragment of the TaPT2 promoter is sufficient to drive the expression of the GUS reporter gene specifically in roots of Pi-deprived wheat. This TaPT2 promoter fragment was also able to drive expression of the GUS reporter gene in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana, under similar growth conditions. Conserved regions and candidate regulatory motifs were detected by comparing this promoter with Pi transporter promoters from barley, rice, and Arabidopsis. Altogether, these results indicate that there are conserved cis-acting elements and trans-acting factors that enable the TaPT2 promoter to be regulated in a tissue-specific and Pi-dependent fashion in both monocots and dicots.

Initial results of the Quanam drug eluting stent (QuaDS-QP-2) Registry (BARDDS) in human subjects.

Thirty-two patients presenting with varied coronary syndromes and anatomy were treated with a new coronary multisleeve drug delivery coronary stent (QuaDS-QP-2) containing up to 4,000 microg of a taxol-derived lipophilic microtubule inhibitor (QP2). The device was successfully implanted in 32 patients who have been followed for up to 2 years. Twenty-five patients have undergone stress ECHO or SPECT Thallium and all are currently asymptomatic. Thirteen patients have already been restudied angiographically, by IVUS and/or by SPECT Thallium testing and are detailed in this report. Angiographic, IVUS, and SPECT Thallium have been controlled at a mean of 11.2 months (range, 6-15 months) in this 13-patient cohort. Although all 13 QuaDS-QP-2 (QDES) stents were angiographically and IVUS patent, two reinterventions have been required in the 32-patient study group thus far, both relate to either new disease or to distal, small-vessel disease beyond the stent. There was no evidence of significant proliferation in the QDES devices. On the basis of this preliminary data and a European pilot study, a controlled randomized trial (SCORE) is currently in progress in western Europe.

[Validity of information on occupation and principal cause on death certificates in Botucatu, Sao Paulo]. / Validade das informaçães, ocupação e causa básica em declarações de óbito de Botucatu, São Paulo.

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the accuracy of data on death certificates for occupation and main cause of death. Measure of agreement was assessed comparing data from death certificates with those from both medical records and next-of-kin interviews, analyzing information for 552 residents of Botucatu, Southeast Brazil, who died in 1997. Kappa coefficients of 0.31 (95% C.I. 0. 29-0.34) and 0.76 (95% C.I. 0.75-0.76) were obtained for data on occupation and main cause of death, coded by a Brazilian two-digit classification and the three-digit ICD-10 classification, respectively. One can conclude that, although quality of the main cause of death is acceptable for pilot studies, data on occupation taken only from death certificates is not accurate enough to be used in epidemiological research.