Is head-shaft angle a valuable continuous risk factor for hip migration in cerebral palsy?

BACKGROUND: Reimer's migration percentage (MP) is the most established radiographic risk factor for hip migration in cerebral palsy (CP), and it assists surgical decision-making. The head-shaft angle (HSA) measures the valgus of the head and neck in relation to the shaft and may also be a useful predictor of hip migration at a young age. This study first defined normal values and investigated whether the head-shaft angle (HSA) is a continuous risk factor for hip migration in CP. METHODS: Three hundred and fifty AP pelvic radiographs of 100 consecutive children comprising the hip surveillance programme in our region were analysed for MP and HSA. Inclusion criteria were children with spastic CP and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels of III-V, along with a minimum follow-up of 5 years. The mean age was 8.8 (range 3-18) years and the mean follow-up time was 7.5 (range 5-10) years. Radiographs of 103 typically developing children (TDC) were selected for the control group. The reliability of the measurements was determined. A random effects analysis was used to assess the relationship between MP and HSA for all data and for MP > 40 %. RESULTS: The TDC cohort had a mean HSA of 157.7° whilst that for the CP cohort was 161.7°. The value declined with age in both groups but remained consistently higher in the CP group. A random effects analysis considering the longitudinal data showed that there was no significant effect of HSA on MP. Similarly, when excluding CP patients with MP < 40 %, there was no significant effect of HSA on MP. CONCLUSIONS: This study found no correlation between HSA and hip migration in children with CP in this age group. Using the HSA as a routine radiographic measure in the management pathway across childhood does not offer any added value. Early enrolment onto the hip surveillance programme could offer a better prediction of hip migration using the HSA at a very young age. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II retrospective prognostic study

Efficacy of beta radiation in prevention of post-angioplasty restenosis

Restenosis remains a major limitation of coronary angioplasty in spite of major advances in techniques and technology. Recent studies have demonstrated that ionizing radiation may limit the degree of this problem. Gamma radiation has been shown to be effective in reducing in stent restenosis in humans, and beta radiation following encouraging results in animals has been shown to be feasible in humans. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of a 5 F non-centered catheter to deliver beta radiation emitting seeds to the lesion site post angioplasty and its effect on restenosis. Following successful angioplasty, patients were randomized to treatment with 12, 14 or 16 Gy at the angioplasty site. This was delivered with a 5 F non-centered catheter. Twelve beta radiation emitting seeds (90Sr/Y) were delivered to an area 3 cm in length to cover the angioplasty site. Angiographic follow-up was performed at 6 months. Baseline and follow-up angiograms were performed by blinded investigators at a core laboratory. This interim report comprises the first 35 patients to complete 6-month angiographic follow-up. There were no major radiation incidents. Four patients had evidence of angiographic restenosis. The MLD (mm) and percent stenosis were 0.77 +/- 0.27/72.5 +/- 8.6 pre angioplasty, 2.08 +/- 0.4/25.7 +/- 9.8 post angioplasty and radiation and 2.05 +/- 0.59/25.7 +/- 19.8 at follow-up respectively. CONCLUSION: Beta radiation can be feasibly and safely delivered post coronary angioplasty with a very encouraging reduction of restenosis

Gramene 2016: comparative plant genomics and pathway resources

Gramene (http://www.gramene.org) is an online resource for comparative functional genomics in crops and model plant species. Its two main frameworks are genomes (collaboration with Ensembl Plants) and pathways (The Plant Reactome and archival BioCyc databases). Since our last NAR update, the database website adopted a new Drupal management platform. The genomes section features 39 fully assembled reference genomes that are integrated using ontology-based annotation and comparative analyses, and accessed through both visual and programmatic interfaces. Additional community data, such as genetic variation, expression and methylation, are also mapped for a subset of genomes. The Plant Reactome pathway portal (http://plantreactome.gramene.org) provides a reference resource for analyzing plant metabolic and regulatory pathways. In addition to approximately 200 curated rice reference pathways, the portal hosts gene homology-based pathway projections for 33 plant species. Both the genome and pathway browsers interface with the EMBL-EBI's Expression Atlas to enable the projection of baseline and differential expression data from curated expression studies in plants. Gramene's archive website (http://archive.gramene.org) continues to provide previously reported resources on comparative maps, markers and QTL. To further aid our users, we have also introduced a live monthly educational webinar series and a Gramene YouTube channel carrying video tutorials

Gramene 2018: unifying comparative genomics and pathway resources for plant research

Gramene (http://www.gramene.org) is a knowledgebase for comparative functional analysis in major crops and model plant species. The current release, #54, includes over 1.7 million genes from 44 reference genomes, most of which were organized into 62,367 gene families through orthologous and paralogous gene classification, whole-genome alignments, and synteny. Additional gene annotations include ontology-based protein structure and function; genetic, epigenetic, and phenotypic diversity; and pathway associations. Gramene's Plant Reactome provides a knowledgebase of cellular-level plant pathway networks. Specifically, it uses curated rice reference pathways to derive pathway projections for an additional 66 species based on gene orthology, and facilitates display of gene expression, gene-gene interactions, and user-defined omics data in the context of these pathways. As a community portal, Gramene integrates best-of-class software and infrastructure components including the Ensembl genome browser, Reactome pathway browser, and Expression Atlas widgets, and undergoes periodic data and software upgrades. Via powerful, intuitive search interfaces, users can easily query across various portals and interactively analyze search results by clicking on diverse features such as genomic context, highly augmented gene trees, gene expression anatomograms, associated pathways, and external informatics resources. All data in Gramene are accessible through both visual and programmatic interfaces

ELECTRICAL ENERGY CONSERVATION IN A DISTILLERY PLANT- A CASE STUDY

Energy is a main function for each kind of process. It is the central force behind our productivity, our leisure and our environment. Energy Audit is the integral part of Energy Management. The energy audit can unearth huge profits to the industry. It quantifies the energy uses according to its various functions. It attempts to balance the total energy inputs with the output or the uses. The energy conservation and maximization strategies for a process industry like distillery plant are cost effective, which conserve the environment automatically. The electrical energy audit of a distillery plant has wide scope of energy conservation. The audit has been successfully completed and concluded with the saving of the 18500 kWh per year of energy. The most of the electrical energy is utilized to drive electrical motors used for various processes. Energy will be saving in case of motors with the help of the variable frequency drives, which reduces the speed of the motors as well as energy. The distillery has the beneficial of Rs. 1, 20,910 by implementing given recommendations

The role of HOXB2 and HOXB3 in acute myeloid leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous aggressive disease and the most common form of adult leukemia. Mutations in the type III receptor tyrosine kinase FLT3 are found in more than 30% of patients. Drugs against FLT3 have been developed for the treatment of AML, but they lack specificity, show poor response and lead to the development of a resistant phenotype upon treatment. Therefore, a deeper understanding of FLT3 signaling will facilitate identification of additional pharmacological targets in FLT3-driven AML. In this report, we identify HOXB2 and HOXB3 as novel regulators of oncogenic FLT3-ITD-driven AML. We show that HOXB2 and HOXB3 expression is upregulated in a group of AML patients carrying FLT3-ITD. Overexpression of HOXB2 or HOXB3 in mouse pro-B cells resulted in decreased FLT3-ITD-dependent cell proliferation as well as decreased colony formation and increased apoptosis. Expression of HOXB2 or HOXB3 resulted in a significant decrease in FLT3-ITD-induced AKT, ERK, p38 and STAT5 phosphorylation. Our data suggest that HOXB2 and HOXB3 act as a tumor suppressors in FLT3-ITD driven AML