Genetic basis for probiotic yeast phenotypes revealed by nanopore sequencing.

Probiotic yeasts are emerging as preventative and therapeutic solutions for disease. Often ingested via cultured foods and beverages, they can survive the harsh conditions of the gastrointestinal tract and adhere to it, where they provide nutrients and inhibit pathogens like Candida albicans. Yet, little is known of the genomic determinants of these beneficial traits.

Comment on 'statistical consideration and challenges in bridging study of personalized medicine': a modified variance for sensitivity analysis.

A pivotal clinical trial is often necessary to assess drug efficacy in the intended to use (IU) population. Ideally, patients should be enrolled based on a positive test result from a well-characterized companion diagnostic (CDx). However, the central challenge is that patients are instead recruited on the basis of a clinical trial assay (CTA) result.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of telephone-based cognitive behaviour therapy compared to treatment as usual CBT for cancer patients: Evidence from a small, randomised controlled trial.

Objective: A previous equivalence randomised trial indicated that Telephone-based Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (T-CBT) was not inferior to Treatment as Usual CBT (TAU-CBT) delivered face to face in terms of psychological benefit with both groups showing post-therapy improvements compared to pre-therapy baseline. The aim here is to clarify costs and benefits through an economic evaluation of the two therapy models.

Method: The cost-effectiveness analysis (cost per quality-adjusted life year [QALY]) was derived from a single-centre (UK-based), two-arm randomised control trial.

Root length densities of UK wheat and oilseed rape crops with implications for water capture and yield.

Root length density (RLD) was measured to 1 m depth for 17 commercial crops of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) and 40 crops of winter oilseed rape [Brassica napus; oilseed rape (OSR)] grown in the UK between 2004 and 2013. Taking the critical RLD (cRLD) for water capture as 1cm cm(-3), RLDs appeared inadequate for full water capture on average below a depth of 0.32 m for winter wheat and below 0.

Massive splenomegaly in rural Malawi: new wine, old wineskins and the importance of collaboration.

During a voluntary placement in rural Malawi, we assessed a 21-year-old man who presented with dyspnoea and lethargy secondary to a chronic refractory anaemia associated with massive splenomegaly. He was initially treated at the rural hospital for a presumptive diagnosis of hyper-reactive malarial syndrome (HMS) with long-term malarial prophylaxis. There was inadequate provision of blood products and the availability of suitable donors was limited by the high local prevalence of blood-borne viruses.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of a potent salicylihalamide A lactam analogue.

The first synthesis of a lactam analogue of salicylihalamide A (1) is reported. A key step in the approach was a photochemical acylation coupling between amine 10 and dioxinone 9 to form the amide 19. Acetylation followed by RCM with Grubbs 1st generation catalyst gave the desired E-lactam 23 (E : Z ratio 87 : 13) as the major compound.

Over-expression of LeNCED1 in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) with the rbcS3C promoter allows recovery of lines that accumulate very high levels of abscisic acid and exhibit severe phenotypes.

Previous work where 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED) was over-expressed using the constitutive Gelvin Superpromoter resulted in mild increases in abscisic acid (ABA) accumulation, accompanied by stomatal closure and increased water-use efficiency (WUE), but with apparently little impact on long-term biomass production. However, one of the negative effects of the over-expression of NCED using constitutive promoters in tomato was increased seed dormancy. Here we report the use of the rbcS3C promoter, from a gene encoding the small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco), to drive LeNCED1 transgene expression in tomato in a light-responsive and circadian manner.