Sugar conundrum in plant-pathogen interactions: roles of invertase and sugar transporters depend on pathosystems.

It has been increasingly recognized that CWIN (cell wall invertase) and sugar transporters including STP (sugar transport protein) and SWEET (sugar will eventually be exported transporters) play important roles in plant-pathogen interactions. However, the information available in the literature comes from diverse systems and often yields contradictory findings and conclusions. To solve this puzzle, we provide here a comprehensive assessment of the topic.

The Validity of Two Neuromotor Assessments for Predicting Motor Performance at 12 Months in Preterm Infants.

Objective: To evaluate the validity of the Test of Infant Motor Performance (TIMP) and general movements (GMs) assessment for predicting Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) score at 12 months in preterm infants.

Methods: A total of 44 preterm infants who underwent the GMs and TIMP at 1 month and 3 months of corrected age (CA) and whose motor performance was evaluated using AIMS at 12 months CA were included. GMs were judged as abnormal on basis of poor repertoire or cramped-synchronized movements at 1 month CA and abnormal or absent fidgety movement at 3 months CA.

Associations Between Prolonged Intubation and Developing Post-extubation Dysphagia and Aspiration Pneumonia in Non-neurologic Critically Ill Patients.

Objective: To identify the associations between the duration of endotracheal intubation and developing post-extubational supraglottic and infraglottic aspiration (PEA) and subsequent aspiration pneumonia.

Methods: This was a retrospective observational study from January 2009 to November 2014 of all adult patients who had non-neurologic critical illness, required endotracheal intubation and were referred for videofluoroscopic swallowing study. Demographic information, intensive care unit (ICU) admission diagnosis, severity of critical illness, duration of endotracheal intubation, length of stay in ICU, presence of PEA and severity of dysphagia were reviewed.

Model-assisted physiological analysis of Phyllo, a rice architectural mutant.

Studies of phenotype of knockout mutants can provide new insights into physiological, phenological and architectural feedbacks in the plant system. Phyllo, a mutant of Nippon Bare rice (Oryza sativa L.) producing small leaves in rapid succession, was isolated during multiplication of a T-DNA insertion library.