Agrobacterium tumefaciens gene transfer to Casuarina glauca : a tropical nitrogen-fixing tree

Transgenic calli of the tropical tree #Casuarina glauca were produced using #Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer. Hypocotyls, cotyledons and epicotyls were excised from 30-60-day old #Casuarina seedlings and cocultivated with #Agrobacterium strain C58C1(pGV2260) containing the binary vector BIN19GUSINT. Transformed calli were selected on nutrient medium supplemented with 0,5 microM NAA, 2,5 microM BA and 50 mg/l kanamycin. Some of the factors influencing T-DNA transfer to #C. glauca$ explants were studied. Optimal transformation rates were obtained when explants from 45-day old seedlings were cocultivated for 3 days in the presence of 25 microM acetosyringone. Transgenic buds differentiated on 10% of the calli grown on transformed epicotyls. Evidence for genetic transformation was obtained by beta-glucuronidase assay, PCR and Southern hybridization. (Résumé d'auteur

Coordinated and tailored work rehabilitation: a randomized controlled trial with economic evaluation undertaken with workers on sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorders

Introduction In Denmark, the magnitude and impact of work disability on the individual worker and society has prompted the development of a new "coordinated and tailored work rehabilitation" (CTWR) approach. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of CTWR with conventional case management (CCM) on return-to-work of workers on sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Methods The study was a randomized controlled trial with economic evaluation undertaken with workers on sick leave for 4-12 weeks due to MSDs. CTWR consists of a work disability screening by an interdisciplinary team followed by the collaborative development of a RTW plan. The primary outcome variable was registered cumulative sickness absence hours during 12 months follow-up. Secondary outcomes were work status as well as pain intensity and functional disability, measured at baseline, 3 and 12 months follow-up. The economic evaluation (intervention costs, productivity loss, and health care utilization costs) was based on administrative data derived from national registries. Results For the time intervals 0-6 months, 6-12 months, and the entire follow-up period, the number of sickness absence hours was significantly lower in the CTWR group as compared to the control group. The total costs saved in CTWR participants compared to controls were estimated at US $1,366 per person at 6 months follow-up and US$ 10,666 per person at 12 months follow-up. Conclusions Workers on sick leave for 4-12 weeks due to MSD who underwent "CTWR" by an interdisciplinary team had fewer sickness absence hours than controls. The economic evaluation showed that-in terms of productivity loss-CTWR seems to be cost saving for the society

Management of work-relevant upper limb disorders: a review

Background Upper limb disorders (ULDs) are clinically challenging and responsible for considerable work loss. There is a need to determine effective approaches for their management. Aim To determine evidence-based management strategies for work-relevant ULDs and explore whether a biopsychosocial approach is appropriate. Methods Literature review using a best evidence synthesis. Data from articles identified through systematic searching of electronic databases and citation tracking were extracted into evidence tables. The information was synthesized into high-level evidence statements, which were ordered into themes covering classification/diagnosis, epidemiology, associations/risks and management/treatment, focusing on return to work or work retention and taking account of distinctions between non-specific complaints and specific diagnoses. Results Neither biomedical treatment nor ergonomic workplace interventions alone offer an optimal solution; rather, multimodal interventions show considerable promise, particularly for occupational outcomes. Early return to work, or work retention, is an important goal for most cases and may be facilitated, where necessary, by transitional work arrangements. The emergent evidence indicates that successful management strategies require all the players to be onside and acting in a coordinated fashion; this requires engaging employers and workers to participate. Conclusions The biopsychosocial model applies: biological considerations should not be ignored, but psychosocial factors are more influential for occupational outcomes. Implementation of interventions that address the full range of psychosocial issues will require a cultural shift in the way the relationship between upper limb complaints and work is conceived and handled. Dissemination of evidence-based messages can contribute to the needed cultural shift

Three-algebra for supermembrane and two-algebra for superstring

While string or Yang-Mills theories are based on Lie algebra or two-algebra structure, recent studies indicate that M-theory may require a one higher, three-algebra structure. Here we construct a covariant action for a supermembrane in eleven dimensions, which is invariant under global supersymmetry, local fermionic symmetry and worldvolume diffeomorphism. Our action is classically on-shell equivalent to the celebrated Bergshoeff-Sezgin-Townsend action. However, the novelty is that we spell the action genuinely in terms of Nambu three-brackets: All the derivatives appear through Nambu brackets and hence it manifests the three-algebra structure. Further the double dimensional reduction of our action gives straightforwardly to a type IIA string action featuring two-algebra. Applying the same method, we also construct a covariant action for type IIB superstring, leading directly to the IKKT matrix model.Comment: 1+15 pages, no figure; Refs added, Accepted for publication in JHE