Transcriptome Analysis of Gelatin Seed Treatment as a Biostimulant of Cucumber Plant Growth.

The beneficial effects of gelatin capsule seed treatment on enhanced plant growth and tolerance to abiotic stress have been reported in a number of crops, but the molecular mechanisms underlying such effects are poorly understood. Using mRNA sequencing based approach, transcriptomes of one- and two-week-old cucumber plants from gelatin capsule treated and nontreated seeds were characterized. The gelatin treated plants had greater total leaf area, fresh weight, frozen weight, and nitrogen content. Pairwise comparisons of the RNA-seq data identified 620 differentially expressed genes between treated and control two-week-old plants, consistent with the timing when the growth related measurements also showed the largest differences. Using weighted gene coexpression network analysis, significant coexpression gene network module of 208 of the 620 differentially expressed genes was identified, which included 16 hub genes in the blue module, a NAC transcription factor, a MYB transcription factor, an amino acid transporter, an ammonium transporter, a xenobiotic detoxifier-glutathione S-transferase, and others. Based on the putative functions of these genes, the identification of the significant WGCNA module and the hub genes provided important insights into the molecular mechanisms of gelatin seed treatment as a biostimulant to enhance plant growth.

Strategies for using and evaluating physician assistants and family nurse practitioners.

New health practitioners are no longer new on the medical scene, but they still present a radical innovation in the provision of medical care. As such, they pose both rational and emotional threats to physicians, nurses, and administrators. Two pivotal questions related to their acceptance and use will be discussed in this presentation: (1) How can new health practitioners best be introduced to office and hospital health workers? (2) How much responsibility can these new health workers be allowed? Strategies and tactics for the introduction and honest evaluation of these new health workers will be provided.

A fixed drug eruption due to paracetamol.

A fixed drug eruption due to paracetamol is reported. Over 10,000,000 prescriptions (EC10) for paracetamol are issued annually and rashes occurring as possible adverse reactions to this drug are reported fairly frequently to the Committee on Safety of Medicines (Committee on Safety of Medicines-personal communication). These include urticaria, angioneurotic oedema, purpura, morbilliform and scarlatiniform rashes, erythema nodosum, eczema, alopecia and nail changes but in many of these cases the cause-effect relationship is unproven. One strongly suspected case (Savin, 1970) was reported from St John's Hospital. This was a patient who developed a fixed drug rash after taking a chlormezanone-paracetamol combination. However, no other reports of a fixed drug rash which was proved to be due to parcetamol have been found.

Mercury concentrations in pond fish in relation to a coal-fired power plant.

Many studies have reported that atmospheric mercury is the primary cause for bioaccumulation in fish from remote lakes. Few data, however, are available on the possible effects of near-field mercury deposition on mercury concentrations in fish from local waters. Mercury concentrations were surveyed in fish from 23 ponds in the vicinity of a 543-megawatt coal-fired power plant located at Dickerson, Maryland. A stratified random sampling design was used to select ponds within zones delineated by concentric arcs mapped at 3, 7, 10, and 15 km from the plant. For each pond, mercury concentrations were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry in sunfish (bluegill or green sunfish) in all ponds, and largemouth bass, which were present in 14 of the ponds. Mean mercury concentrations in the ponds ranged from 0.01 to 0.38 ppm for sunfish and 0.04 to 0.43 ppm for bass. Stepwise multiple regression identified variables related to tissue concentrations. Differences between strata were tested with analysis of covariance, after adjusting the concentrations to account for differences in water quality. The observed pattern of mercury bioaccumulation did not match the pattern predicted by a wet deposition model.