Environmental stratifications for soybean cultivar recommendation and its consistency over time.

Stratification of environments is a strategy to capitalize genotype x environment (GxE) interaction, which can optimize the process of assessment and cultivar recommendation, increasing productivity in a target environmental population. The objective of this study was to assess environmental stratification methods based on the analysis of GxE interaction, to identify consistent agronomic zones across time for soybean. Grain yield data of inbred lines from three maturity groups (early, medium, and late) were used. Lines and cultivars were tested in regional variety trials during three growing seasons at eighteen locations in the tropics of Central Brazil. Three methods were applied to stratify the environments. The first was based on joint analyses of variance for all the pairs of locations within each growing year. The second was based on a distance measure between each pair of locations, which was related to the GxE interaction estimated via additive main effects and multiplicative interaction analysis. The third was based on the approach of winning genotypes. The stratification results from the first two methods were not consistent across the growing seasons. However, the winning genotype approach provided consistent environmental stratification across years. From locations used in the genotypic assessment, three environmental clusters were identified for the early and medium maturity groups of soybean, and four clusters for the late maturity group. The use of different genotypic sets across years reinforces the predictive value of the environmental stratification established.

Mixed inheritance in the genetic control of ramulosis (Colletotrichum gossypii var. cephalosporioides) resistance in cotton.

Ramulosis is one of the most aggressive diseases in cotton, and understanding the genetic control of its resistance is imperative for selecting superior cotton genotypes in breeding programs. This study analyzed the inheritance pattern of this resistance using chi-square goodness-of-fit tests to determine the phenotypic proportions of the F2 generation, and a mixed inheritance approach to jointly model major gene and polygenes effects. F1, F2, Rc1, and Rc2 generations were obtained by crossing resistant (BRS Facual, CNPA 2984, or CNPA 2043) and susceptible (Delta Opal, CNPA 999, or CNPA 2161) genotypes, and were assessed under field conditions with artificial inoculation of the pathogen (Colletotrichum gossypii var. cephalosporioides). Genetic control of the trait varied among the crossings. For Delta Opal x BRS Facual and CNPA 2161 x BRS Facual, phenotypic segregations in the F2 generation did not differ from the expected proportions for the hypothesis of duplicate genes (15:1). For Delta Opal x CNPA 2043, the segregation did not differ from the expected proportions for dominant recessive epistasis (13:3). The hypothesis of genetic control by one major gene was supported only for the Delta Opal x CNPA 2043 crossing. Three other crossings showed evidence of polygenes in the inheritance of the trait. In conclusion, major genes and polygenes are likely involved in the genetic control of ramulosis resistance in cotton.

Mechanical evaluation of a respiratory device.

This article aims to characterize the mechanical behaviour of the Flutter VRP1, a respiratory physiotherapy device designed to aid sputum clearance of the airways of patients. The device resembles a smoking pipe with a conical cavity containing a stainless steel sphere which floats up and down while the patient comes with a forced expiration through it. The sphere's oscillatory movement is function of the air flow rate and angular orientation of the device. When the sphere's oscillatory frequency matches the natural frequency of the patient's chestwall+abdomen system, it will produce resonance which, in turn, will enhance sputum clearance. A dynamical model of the Flutter was formulated and an experimental setup was assembled in order to study the oscillatory frequency of the sphere under different conditions of air flow rate, fluid pressure, angular orientation and sphere's material and weight. Interesting results presented by this article point to eventual mechanical optimization of the device and show information that could be beneficial to the professional of the respiratory physiotherapy.

Use of supplementary genotypes in AMMI analysis.

Improving stability of crop yield in a target production environment is an important breeding objective. It is well known that selection for better stability generally results in lower mean yields and, conversely, that selection for higher mean yields may lead to poorer stability. This paper explores the equivalence between the singular value decomposition used in AMMI analysis and the spectral decomposition used in principal components analysis. This equivalence enables scores of a "supplementary genotype" made up of the highest yield value within each environment to be obtained, and these may serve as the ideal check treatment for selection purposes. These scores are used to (1) display this check in a biplot graph, thereby providing a qualitative comparison with the real genotypes related to their interaction with environments; (2) obtain estimates of the squared distances from the projection of each real genotype to the projection of the "supplementary treatment", thereby allowing conclusions to be made on the yield stability of each real genotype. This procedure was effective in identifying the most stable soybean cultivars in an example shown for illustration.

Multimodal approach to rapid discharge after endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy.

BACKGROUND: After a large experience (more than 10 years) with bilateral endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS) surgery on an outpatient basis, we studied prospectively a multimodal approach to rapid discharge patients undergoing this procedure. METHODS: One hundred and seventeen consecutive patients, aged 13-60 years, ASA physical status I or II, undergoing outpatient ETS under general anaesthesia were enrolled in this study. All patients were managed using a predefined multimodal clinical care protocol consisting of a general balanced anaesthesia. Basic demographic information was collected from each patient. Duration of surgery and anaesthesia and times to PACU and home discharge were recorded as well as intraoperative and postoperative complications like nausea and vomiting. RESULTS: Surgery took 41.4 +/- 22.1 min and anaesthesia lasted 63 +/- 21.5 min. Time between induction of anaesthesia and beginning of surgery and end of surgery to extubation was 15.0 +/- 2.0 and 7.2 +/- 3.1 min, respectively. It took 4.9 +/- 1.5 min from extubation to OR discharge. Time from PACU arrival to discharge was 12.8 +/- 6.3 min. Time of hospital stay was 132 +/- 18 min. No patient experienced vomiting and two had nausea, representing an incidence of 1.7%. The only anaesthetic cause for hospital admission was a severe allergic reaction. CONCLUSION: Multimodal management to rapid discharge after ETS surgery did result in a short time to patient discharge. We confirm that endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy can be performed safely on an outpatient basis with brief postoperative hospital care and a low rate of complications.

Improvements in video-endoscopic sympathicotomy for the treatment of palmar, axillary, facial, and palmar-plantar hyperhidrosis.

Video-endoscopic sympathicotomy for the treatment of palmar, axillary, facial and palmar-plantar hyperhidrosis was modified as to the type of surgical access and the level of incision in the sympathetic chain and communicating rami, depending on the clinical indications. Under general anaesthesia, using a single lumen endotracheal tube, the patient is put in lateral decubitus and pneumothorax is induced. The patient is then placed in ventral decubitus, with the head elevated, to make two punctures in the posterior axillary line, at the level of the 4th and 7th intercostal spaces, to introduce two ports of 5 and 10 mm in size, respectively. The sympathetic chain and the communicating rami are viewed and severed, according to the indications, at different levels to treat palmar, axillary, facial and palmar-plantar hyperhidrosis and combinations of the above. The operation is performed on both sides of the thorax during the same period of anaesthesia. One hundred-forty patients (280 procedures) have been operated on from 1993 to 1997 using this technique. All were operated on as outpatients. Our results are: 100% of those with facial and palmar hyperhidrosis and 96% of those with axillar hyperhidrosis were cured, and 94% with plantar hyperhidrosis were relieved from 50 to 100%, with the follow-up of between one and 47 months.

Efficacy of endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy along with severing the Kuntz nerve in the treatment of chronic non-infectious rhinitis.

BACKGROUND: The ethiopathogenic diagnosis of rhinitis is laborious and the clinical treatment is unsatisfactory in many cases. After endoscopic thoracic sympathicotomy (ETS), some patients related improvement of the symptoms of chronic non-infectious rhinitis (CNIR). AIM: To study the influence of ETS associated with the severing of the Kuntz nerve in the follow-up of patients suffering from CNIR. MATERIAL AND METHOD: From October, 1993 to February, 2001, 117 patients (post-op. follow-up from 2 to 88 months; 46 males and 71 females; median age 24.9 years) were submitted to bilateral ETS and severing of the Kuntz nerve for treatment of hyperhidrosis and chronic non-festering rhinitis. The sympathetic trunk was severed at different levels according to hyperhidrosis location and rhinitis. RESULT: Rhinitis was cured in 52 patients (44.4%), was improved in 43 patients (36.8%), and in 22 patients (18.8%) there was no change. In 3 patients specifically operated on for treatment of CNIR, symptoms disappeared. CONCLUSION: The results of the present investigation confirmed the benefits of ETS associated with severing of the Kuntz nerve in the treatment of CNIR. We recommend this procedure for the treatment of rhinitis associated with hyperhidrosis and also for the treatment of specific, isolated cases of CNIR.