Genomic regions involved in the control of 1,000-kernel weight in wild relative-derived populations of durum wheat.

Terminal drought is one of the most common and devastating climatic stress factors affecting durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) production worldwide. The wild relatives of this crop are deemed a vast potential source of useful alleles to adapt to this stress. A nested association mapping (NAM) panel was generated using as a recurrent parent the Moroccan variety 'Nachit' derived from Triticum dicoccoides and known for its large grain size. This was recombined to three top-performing lines derived from T. dicoccoides, T. araraticum, and Aegilops speltoides, for a total of 426 inbred progenies. This NAM was evaluated across eight environments (Syria, Lebanon, and Morocco) experiencing different degrees of terminal moisture stress over two crop seasons. Our results showed that drought stress caused on average 41% loss in yield and that 1,000-kernel weight (TKW) was the most important trait for adaptation to it. Genotyping with the 25K TraitGenetics array resulted in a consensus map of 1,678 polymorphic SNPs, spanning 1,723 cM aligned to the reference 'Svevo' genome assembly. Kinship distinguished the progenies in three clades matching the parent of origin. A total of 18 stable quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified as controlling various traits but independent from flowering time. The most significant genomic regions were named Q.ICD.NAM-04, Q.ICD.NAM-14, and Q.ICD.NAM-16. Allelic investigation in a second germplasm panel confirmed that carrying the positive allele at all three loci produced an average TKW advantage of 25.6% when field-tested under drought conditions. The underlying SNPs were converted to Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP) markers and successfully validated in a third germplasm set, where they explained up to 19% of phenotypic variation for TKW under moisture stress. These findings confirm the identification of critical loci for drought adaptation derived from wild relatives that can now be readily exploited via molecular breeding.

Comparison between betamethasone gel applied over endotracheal tube and ketamine gargle for attenuating postoperative sore throat, cough and hoarseness of voice.

BACKGROUND: Tracheal intubation for general anesthesia often leads to trauma of the airway mucosa resulting in postoperative sore throat, hoarseness of voice and cough. The aim of this study was to evaluate two different methods as regard their efficacy for controlling the postoperative pharyngo-laryngo-tracheal sequelae (sore throat, cough, hoarseness of voice) after general anesthesia with laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation. We compared between the effects of betamethasone gel applied over the endotracheal tube and gargling with ketamine solution in reducing these complications during the first 24 postoperative hours after elective surgical procedures in a prospective randomized controlled single blind clinical trial. METHODS: Seventy five patients ASA physical status I and II, undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia using endotracheal intubation were enrolled in this prospective, randomized, single-blind study. Patients were randomly divided into 3 groups of 25 patients each: Group (K): (n: 25) Patients in this group were asked to gargle with ketamine 40 mg in 30 ml saline for 60 seconds as repeated smaller attempts, 5 minutes before induction of anesthesia. Group (B) (n: 25): Endotracheal tubes were lubricated with 0.05% betamethasone gel. Group (C) (n: 25): CONTROL GROUP: patients did not receive ketamine gargle nor betamethasone gel. The incidence and the severity of Postoperative sore throat, cough, and hoarseness of voice were graded at 0, 2, 4, and 24 h after operation by a blinded investigator. RESULTS: The incidence and severity of sore throat were significantly lower in group (K) and group (B) than group (C) (p < 0.05) at all time intervals. While there was no significant difference between group (K) and group (B) (p > 0.05). The incidence and severity of cough and hoarseness of voice were significantly lower in group (B) than group (C) and group (k) (p < 0.05) at all time intervals. CONCLUSION: Gargling with ketamine before induction of anesthesia is comparable with application of 0.05% betamethasone gel over the Endotracheal tubes in decreasing postoperative sore throat. In addition, Betmethasone application decreased the incidence and severity of postoperative cough and hoarsness of voice.

Chronic peritoneal dialysis in children: a single-centre experience in Jordan.

The aim of the present study is to share the experience of chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD) at King Hussein Medical Center, Amman, Jordan, and to highlight the complications of this procedure. This is a retrospective chart review study for all the children from day 1 of life to 14 years, who underwent chronic PD for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) during the period of 10 years extending from 2009 to 2019. The following data were collected: mode of dialysis, type of peritoneal dialysis, age of starting peritoneal dialysis, gender, aetiology of ESRD, duration on PD, complications and outcome. A total number of 269 children were included: 229 patients received haemodialysis and 40 children (22 boys and 18 girls) received PD. Of those, two children were on automated PD and 38 children were on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. The mean age at the start of PD was 62 ± 38 months. The mean duration of PD was 43 months. The mean catheter duration was 34 months. Six patients were shifted to haemodialysis permanently and four patients received a kidney transplant. Eleven patients died. The most common complications were peritonitis (52.5%), exit-site infection (30%) and malfunctioning catheter (12.5%). The rate of peritonitis was one episode per 22 patient-months. Peritoneal dialysis is a promising mode of dialysis for children in Jordan. Peritonitis is the most common complication associated with PD. Kidney transplantation is the best modality of renal replacement therapy in terms of long-term survival and quality of life and should be encouraged on national level.

Determinar la precisión diagnóstica de la ecografía tridimensional en casos de fístula perianal en comparación con los hallazgos intraoperatorios durante el procedimiento quirúrgico / Assessment of accuracy of three dimensional endo-anal ultrasound in diagnosis of perianal fistula in comparison to operative findings

Aim : To determine the diagnostic accuracy of three dimensional ultrasound in cases of perianal fistula compared to intra-operative findings during surgical procedure. Background: Perianal fistulae can be either low type (simple) or high type (complex) and surgical treatment options differ accordingly. Preoperative three-dimensional endoanal ultrasonography (3D-EAUS) is a promising diagnostic technique that can effectively assist in choosing the most suitable treatment option for patients with anal fistula by providing the surgeon with accurate outlining of the fistula. Methods: The study is a cross sectional comparative study conducted at Al-Sadr Medical City during the period from September 2018 through September 2019, and included cases with fistula in ano, which were subjected to 3-D ultrasound, then followed up during surgery to obtain the intra-operative findings of the fistula. Results: The study included (78) patients whom their age ranged from (18-65) years. Majority of cases were males (79.49%). For assessing the concordance between 3D-EAUS and the intraoperative findings the Kappa coefficient for the internal opening was 0.9825 (P-value < 0.001), for the external opening was 0.9853 (P-value < 0.00), For the course of primary tract, Kappa = 0.9754 (P-value < 0.001) and for the course of the extension tract was 0.9761 with a P-value of < 0.001. Conclusions: Three-dimensional endoanal ultrasound is an effective and dependable tool for delineation the course of a perianal fistula.

Acute kidney injury secondary to renal large B-cell lymphoma: role of early renal biopsy.

Renal involvement in large B-cell lymphoma represents an exceptional manifestation of non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Acute kidney injury (AKI) by lymphomatous infiltration is extremely rare and so far only 19 cases have been reported in the literature. We report a 67-year-old woman who presented with AKI and was found to have large B-cell lymphoma infiltrating her kidneys. The patient was treated with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) with rituximab, and a dramatic improvement of renal function was noticed after two weeks of treatment. Her renal function completely recovered after four weeks of treatment. In conclusion, lymphomatous infiltration of kidneys can directly lead to AKI. Rapid diagnosis and treatment is essential to preserve the renal function. Renal biopsy is the gold standard for the early diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma as a cause of AKI.