Ecological genomics of Boechera stricta: identification of a QTL controlling the allocation of methionine- vs branched-chain amino acid-derived glucosinolates and levels of insect herbivory.

In the Brassicaceae, glucosinolates influence the feeding, reproduction and development of many insect herbivores. Glucosinolate production and effects on herbivore feeding have been extensively studied in the model species, Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica crops, both of which constitutively produce leaf glucosinolates mostly derived from the amino acid, methionine. Much less is known about the regulation or role in defense of glucosinolates derived from other aliphatic amino acids, such as the branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), valine and isoleucine. We have identified a glucosinolate polymorphism in Boechera stricta controlling the allocation to BCAA- vs methionine-derived glucosinolates in both leaves and seeds. B. stricta is a perennial species that grows in mostly undisturbed habitats of western North America. We have measured glucosinolate profiles and concentrations in 192 F(2) lines that have earlier been used for genetic map construction. We also performed herbivory assays on six F(3) replicates per F(2) line using the generalist lepidopteran, Trichoplusia ni. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis identified a single locus controlling both glucosinolate profile and levels of herbivory, the branched chain-methionine allocation or BCMA QTL. We have delimited this QTL to a small genomic region with a 1.0 LOD confidence interval just 1.9 cm wide, which, in A. thaliana, contains approximately 100 genes. We also found that methionine-derived glucosinolates provided significantly greater defense than the BCAA-derived glucosinolates against feeding by this generalist insect herbivore. The future positional cloning of this locus will allow for testing various adaptive explanations.

An analysis of predictive factors for healing and mortality in patients with enterocutaneous fistulas.

BACKGROUND: Most studies of enterocutaneous fistula report management and outcome. Few studies examine factors predicting healing and mortality. AIM: To identify factors predicting healing and mortality in patients with ECF managed either with a definitive attempt at surgical closure or conservatively. METHODS: The case notes of 277 patients with enterocutaneous fistula, treated at our institution over a 10 year period, were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into those managed operatively or conservatively. Eleven factors were examined for their relationship to fistula healing and fistula-related mortality. RESULTS: For patients treated operatively, successful enterocutaneous fistula closure related only to the complexity of the fistula (multiple fistula or presence of an internal abscess cavity) (P = 0.03), whereas fistula-related mortality related only to the presence of comorbidity (P = 0.02). In patients managed conservatively, a decreased likelihood of enterocutaneous fistula closure was associated with a high fistula output (P = 0.01), comorbidity (P = 0.03) and being referred from an external institution (P < 0.001). Fistula related-mortality in this group was related to a high output (P = 0.003) and an increased age (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: In patients managed operatively, fistula healing and fistula-related mortality are each associated with only one factor, whereas in patients managed conservatively healing and mortality are predicted by three and two factors, respectively.

An 11-year experience of enterocutaneous fistula.

BACKGROUND: Enterocutaneous fistula has traditionally been associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, related to fluid, electrolyte and metabolic disturbance, sepsis and malnutrition. METHODS: A retrospective review of enterocutaneous fistula in 277 consecutive patients treated over an 11-year period in a major tertiary referral centre was undertaken to evaluate current management practice and outcome. RESULTS: Most fistulas occurred secondary to abdominal surgery, and a high proportion (52.7 per cent) occurred in association with inflammatory bowel disease. A low rate of spontaneous healing was observed (19.9 per cent). The healing rate after definitive fistula surgery was 82.0 per cent, although more than one attempt was required to achieve surgical closure in some patients. Definitive fistula resection resulted in a mortality rate of 3.0 per cent. In addition, one patient died after laparotomy for intra-abdominal sepsis and an additional 24 patients died from complications of fistulation, giving an overall fistula-related mortality rate of 10.8 per cent. CONCLUSION: Early recognition and control of sepsis, management of fluid and electrolyte imbalances, meticulous wound care and nutritional support appear to reduce the mortality rate, and allow spontaneous fistula closure in some patients. Definitive surgical management is performed only after restitution of normal physiology, usually after at least 6 months.

FARE, a new family of foldback transposons in Arabidopsis.

A new family of transposons, FARE, has been identified in Arabidopsis. The structure of these elements is typical of foldback transposons, a distinct subset of mobile DNA elements found in both plants and animals. The ends of FARE elements are long, conserved inverted repeat sequences typically 550 bp in length. These inverted repeats are modular in organization and are predicted to confer extensive secondary structure to the elements. FARE elements are present in high copy number, are heterogeneous in size, and can be divided into two subgroups. FARE1's average 1.1 kb in length and are composed entirely of the long inverted repeats. FARE2's are larger, up to 16.7 kb in length, and contain a large internal region in addition to the inverted repeat ends. The internal region is predicted to encode three proteins, one of which bears homology to a known transposase. FARE1.1 was isolated as an insertion polymorphism between the ecotypes Columbia and Nossen. This, coupled with the presence of 9-bp target-site duplications, strongly suggests that FARE elements have transposed recently. The termini of FARE elements and other foldback transposons are imperfect palindromic sequences, a unique organization that further distinguishes these elements from other mobile DNAs.

Immediate IL-10 expression following major orthopaedic trauma: relationship to anti-inflammatory response and subsequent development of sepsis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between IL-10 release and anti-inflammatory response following blunt trauma. DESIGN: Prospective longitudinal clinical study. SETTING: Departments of trauma and anaesthetics in a university teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Forty-eight adult patients with a mean injury severity score of 14.5 (range 9-57) were prospectively studied following blunt trauma. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Venous blood samples were collected on arrival and at 16 and 24 h, and at 3, 5, and 7 days. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (HLA-DR) expression on CD14 + monocytes was quantified by flow cytometry and serum IL-10 was assayed by ELISA. Anti-inflammatory response was defined as monocyte HLA-DR expression of less than 30% of that seen in healthy controls. Serum IL-10 levels in trauma patients on arrival was significantly elevated, 70.0 [48.0-92.1, 95% confidence interval, (CI)] compared to the control group, 3 (0-5) (P < 0.0001), and monocyte HLA-DR expression was significantly lower, 14.2 (12.1-16.3, 95% CI), in patients versus 25.2 (22.4-28.1) in controls (P < 0.001). Patients with low HLA-DR expression (n = 14) had significantly higher serum IL-10 levels than those whose HLA-DR expression remained above 30% of the control value (n = 34), (P < 0.038). In patients who developed sepsis (n = 11), serum IL-10 levels were greater on admission, [143.7 (80.2-207.2) pg/ml(-1)], and remained elevated during the study period compared with non-complicated patients, [50.16 (33.5-66.8) pg/ml(-1)]. Immediate IL-10 (2 h following trauma) was negatively correlated with simultaneous HLA-DR expression, (r = -0.49, P = 0.0005). CONCLUSION: These findings support the view that IL-10 release regulates monocyte HLA-DR expression and may be related to an anti-inflammatory response and development of sepsis following trauma.

Clinical economics review: the health-care economic implications of minimal access gastrointestinal surgery.

This article reviews some of the health-care economic data that have been acquired in recent assessments of minimal access surgery of the digestive tract, with particular reference to laparoscopic cholecystectomy and laparoscopic surgery for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease.