[Adherence to the Ponseti method by family members as a determinant in the success of club foot treatment]. / Apego al método de Ponseti por parte de los familiares como determinante en el éxito del tratamiento del pie equinovaro.

The clubfoot is one of the most common conditions in Pediatric Orthopedics, may affect each part of the foot and ankle, equinus, varus, and internal rotation of the calcaneum, and true equinus of the ankle are common. The Ponseti method is an universally accepted treatment, consisting of three phases: manipulation and plaster, Achilles tendon tenotomy and maintenance phase. The highest percentage of relapses occurs in the maintenance phase and the deficient family member is associated in most cases. We present a clinical case of a patient with typical clubfoot treated with the Ponseti method on four occasions without the need of surgical treatment.

El pie equinovaro aducto congénito (PEVAC) es uno de los padecimientos más comunes en Ortopedia Pediátrica, el cual se compone del equino del retropié, el varo subastragalino, el aducto del antepié y el cavo del mediopié. El método de Ponseti es el tratamiento universalmente aceptado para el PEVAC; éste consta de tres fases: manipulación y enyesado, tenotomía del tendón de Aquiles y una fase de mantenimiento. El mayor porcentaje de las recaídas se presenta en la fase de mantenimiento; en la mayoría de los casos, está asociado el apego familiar deficiente. Presentamos el caso clínico de un paciente con PEVAC típico, tratado en cuatro ocasiones con el método de Ponseti y que no requirió tratamiento quirúrgico.

A new day dawning: Hemerocallis (daylily) as a future model organism.

Genetic model organisms have revolutionized science, and today, with the rapid advances in technology, there is significant potential to launch many more plant species towards model status. However, these new model organisms will have to be carefully selected. Here, we argue that Hemerocallis (daylily) satisfies multiple criteria for selection and deserves serious consideration as a subject of intensive biological investigation. Several attributes of the genus are of great biological interest. These include the strict control of flower opening and, within a short period, the precisely regulated floral death by a programmed cell death system. The self-incompatibility system in Hemerocallis is also noteworthy and deserves more attention. Importantly, the genus is widely cultivated for food, medicinal value and ornamental interest. Hemerocallis has considerable potential as a 'nutraceutical' food plant and the source of new compounds with biomedical activity. The genus has also been embraced by ornamental plant breeders and the extraordinary morphological diversity of hybrid cultivars, produced within a relatively short time by amateur enthusiasts, is an exceptional resource for botanical and genetic studies. We explore these points in detail, explaining the reasons why this genus has considerable value-both academic and socio-economic-and deserves new resources devoted to its exploration as a model. Its impact as a future model will be enhanced by its amenability to cultivation in laboratory and field conditions. In addition, established methods for various tissue and cell culture systems as well as transformation will permit maximum exploitation of this genus by science.

A novel method for efficient in vitro germination and tube growth of Arabidopsis thaliana pollen.

In addition to its importance in studies of plant reproduction and fertility, pollen is as widely employed as a model system of cell growth and development. This work demands robust, reproducible methods to induce pollen germination and morphologically normal growth of pollen tubes in vitro. Despite numerous advantages of Arabidopsis thaliana as a model plant, such experiments on pollen germination and pollen tube growth have often proved challenging. Our new method employs a physical cellulosic membrane, overlying an agarose substrate. By modulating the substrate composition, we provide important insights into the mechanisms promoting pollen growth both in vitro and in vivo. This effective new technical approach to A. thaliana pollen germination and tube growth results in swift, consistent and unprecedented levels of germination to over 90%. It can also promote rapid growth of long, morphologically normal pollen tubes. This technical development demonstrates that exogenous spermidine and a cellulosic substrate are key factors in stimulating germination. It has potential to greatly assist the study of reproduction in A. thaliana and its closest relatives, not only for the study of germination levels and pollen tube growth dynamics by microscopy, but also for biochemical and molecular analysis of germinating pollen.

Lentiviral-mediated gene transfer into human lymphocytes: role of HIV-1 accessory proteins.

Resting lymphocytes are refractory to gene transfer using Moloney murine leukemia virus (MMLV)-based retroviral vectors because of their quiescent status. Recently, it has been shown that lentiviral vectors are capable of transferring genes into nondividing and terminally differentiated cells. We used human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1)-based vectors expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) driven by different promoters (CMV, MPSV, or PGK) and investigated their ability to transduce human T- and B-cell lines, as well as resting or activated primary peripheral and umbilical cord blood lymphocytes. The effects of the presence or the absence of HIV-1 accessory proteins (Vif, Vpr, Vpu, and Nef) in the vector system were also assessed. Flow cytometry analysis showed no differences in the ability of these vectors of transferring the reporter gene into lymphocytic lines and mitogen-stimulated primary lymphocytes in the presence or the absence of HIV-1 accessory proteins (APs). Similarly, viral supernatants generated in the presence of accessory genes could efficiently transduce various subsets of resting lymphocytes and provide long-term expression of the transgene. No significant transduction-induced changes in cell activation or cycling status were observed and Alu-HIV-1 long terminal repeat polymerase chain reaction (LTR PCR) analysis demonstrated integration of the vector sequences at the molecular level. In contrast, in the absence of HIV-1 APs, lentiviral vectors failed to integrate and express the transgene in resting lymphocytes. These results show that transduction of primary resting lymphocytes with HIV-1-based vectors requires the presence of viral accessory proteins. (Blood. 2000;96:1309-1316)