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In order to make effective decisions on sustainable development, it is essential for sugarcane-producing countries to take into account sugarcane acreage and sugarcane production dynamics. The availability of sugarcane biophysical data along the growth season is key to an effective mapping of such dynamics, especially to tune agronomic models and to cross-validate indirect satellite measurements. Here, we introduce a dataset comprising 3,500 sugarcane observations collected from October 2014 until October 2015 at four fields in the São Paulo state (Brazil). The campaign included both non-destructive measurements of plant biometrics and destructive biomass weighing procedures. The acquisition plan was designed to maximize cost-effectiveness and minimize field-invasiveness, hence the non-destructive measurements outnumber the destructive ones. To compensate for such imbalance, a method to convert the measured biometrics into biomass estimates, based on the empirical adjustment of allometric models, is proposed. In addition, the paper addresses the precisions associated to the ground measurements and derived metrics. The presented growth dynamics and associated precisions can be adopted when designing new sugarcane measurement campaigns.

Behandeling door middel van elektrochirurgische transurethrale resectie van de prostaat (TURP) is de gouden standaard voor de behandeling van lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) door benigne prostaathyperplasie (BPH). Als alternatief wordt fotoselectieve vaporisatie van de prostaat (PVP) toegepast. In deze studie worden de resultaten gemeld van de behandeling met de 120 W High Performance System (HPS) GreenLight Laser, waarbij ook een subgroep patienten met een prostaat > 80 ml wordt geanalyseerd. 221 patienten met LUTS op basis van BPH ondergingen laservaporisatie. De operatiekarakteristieken zijn beschreven. De uitgangssituatie voor de operatie is bepaald met de International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) en de Quality of Life (QoL) score, uroflowmetrie, residumeting, meting van het prostaatvolume en een PSAtest. Postoperatief zijn opnieuw IPSS-score, flowmetrie en residu bepaald (na zes weken, en na zes en 18 maanden). Zes maanden postoperatief zijn tevens het prostaatvolume en de PSA bepaald. Prostaten van 80 ml of meer werden ook als subgroep nagekeken. De gemiddelde leeftijd was 69 jaar (44-97). Operatiekarakteristieken: gemiddelde opnameduur twee dagen (range 1-12), gemiddelde OK-duur 61 minuten (range 19- 180), gemiddelde lasertijd 31 minuten (range 6-124), gemiddeld energieverbruik 197 kJ (range 0,2-692). Na 18 maanden was de IPSS gemiddeld 14,2 punten afgenomen ten opzichte van de preoperatieve waarde. De Qmax na 18 maanden was 19 ml/sec (9,4-39). Operatiekarakteristieken grote prostaten: gemiddelde opnameduur twee dagen (range 2-5), gemiddelde OK-duur 96 minuten (range 35-180), gemiddelde lasertijd 56 minuten (range 6-114), gemiddeld energieverbruik 361 kJ (range 61-692). Postoperatieve resultaten waren gelijkwaardig aan die van de gehele groep. Behandeling met de GreenLight Laser lijkt ook na 18 maanden effectief bij LUTS op basis van BPH, ook bij grote prostaten.

Prophylactic vaccination against HPV 16 and 18 has the potential for effective prevention of high-grade precancer (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia [CIN)] 2/3) and ICC caused by these viruses (globally 50 and 70%, respectively) when employed in women prior to starting sexual activity. To provide data for decisions on HPV vaccination in China, we determined HPV type-distribution in ICC and CIN 2/3 from women of different regions within China. A multicenter study was conducted by randomized sampling of paraffin blocks of 664 ICC (630 squamous cell carcinoma [SCC]; 34 adenocarcinoma [ADC]), 569 CIN 2/3 cases from seven regions of China. Histological diagnosis was confirmed in 1,233 cases by consensus review. HPV DNA was detected using the SPF10 LiPA25 version 1 assay. HPV prevalence was 97.6% in SCC, 85.3% in adenocarcinoma, and 98.9% in CIN 2/3. HPV 16 (76.7%) and HPV 18 (7.8%) were the most common, together accounting for 84.5% of SCC, followed by HPV 31 (3.2%), HPV 52 (2.2%), and HPV 58 (2.2%). HPV positivity in SCC did not differ notably by region. However, SCC cases from womenor=34 years had higher HPV 16 positivity than women over 50 years, among whom HPV 52, 58, and 39 were more common. HPV 16 and 18 were under-represented, whereas HPV 31, 52, and 58 were over-represented in CIN2/3 compared to SCC. The potential impact of vaccines against oncogenic HPV types 16 and 18 is estimated to be high (84.5%) against total SCC. These data are critical for China's future evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of current cervical cancer vaccines and of HPV-based screening guidelines.

The t(12;22) creates an MN1-TEL fusion gene leading to acute myeloid leukemia. The fusion partner TEL (ETV6) is a member of the ETS family of transcription factors. The nature of the other fusion partner, MN1, has not been investigated in detail until now. We recently described that MN1 activates the transcription activity of the moloney sarcoma virus long terminal repeat, indicating that this protein itself may act as a transcription factor. We show here that MN1 comprises multiple transcription activating domains. A search for a bound DNA sequence revealed that MN1 has affinity for retinoic acid responsive elements. A DR5 retinoic acid responsive element was observed in the LTR. The combination of MN1 and ligand-activated retinoic acid receptor leads to a synergistic induction of expression directed by the LTR. Cotransfection of MN1 with RAC3 or p300, known coactivators of retinoic acid receptors, leads to a further synergistic induction of transcription. In addition, the effect of MN1 can be inhibited by the wild-type adenovirus ElA protein that inhibits p300 function, but not by an E1A mutant lacking the p300-binding site. GAL4-MN1-mediated transcription can be enhanced directly by RAC3 and p300. Taken together, our results indicate that MN1 is a transcription coactivator rather than a sequence-specific transcription factor, and that it may stimulate RAR/RXR-mediated transcription through interaction with p160 and p300.

Background Cervical cancer ranks second among all cancers reported in Sri Lankan women. This study assessed the prevalence and type-distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) among Sri Lankan women with invasive cervical cancer (ICC) and pre-cancerous lesions. Methods 114 women aged 21 years and above, hospitalized in the National Cancer Institute, Sri Lanka with a diagnosis of ICC or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2/3 were prospectively enrolled between October 2009 and September 2010 (110430/NCT01221987). The cervical biopsy or excision specimens collected during routine clinical procedures were subjected to histopathological review. DNA was extracted from samples with a confirmed histological diagnosis and was amplified using polymerase chain reaction and HPV DNA was detected using Enzyme Immuno Assay. HPV positive samples were typed using reverse hybridization Line Probe Assay. Results Of the cervical samples collected, 93.0% (106/114) had a histologically confirmed diagnosis of either ICC (98/106) or CIN 2/3 (8/106). Among all ICC cases, squamous cell carcinoma was diagnosed in the majority of women (81.6% [80/98]). HPV prevalence among ICC cases was 84.7% (83/98). The HPV types most commonly detected in ICC cases with single HPV infection (98.8% [82/83]) were HPV-16 (67.3%) and HPV-18 (9.2%). Infection with multiple HPV types was recorded in a single case (co-infection of HPV-16 and HPV-59). Conclusions HPV was prevalent in most women with ICC in Sri Lanka; HPV-16 and HPV-18 were the predominantly detected HPV types. An effective prophylactic vaccine against the most prevalent HPV types may help to reduce the burden of ICC disease.

We have recently used two-dimensional DNA typing to detect genetic alterations in breast tumours. This method, which is based on size separation in neutral gels and sequence separation in denaturing gradient gels followed by hybridisation analysis with mini- and microsatellite core probes, allows the simultaneous analysis of hundreds of allelic fragments in a very short time. Here we demonstrate the potency of this method for total genome scanning of the tumour genome by analysing a small series of breast cancers. Comparison of tumour and normal DNA from ten breast cancer patients, using two-dimensional DNA typing with four core probes, revealed a considerable number of genomic alterations. In contrast, with Southern blot analysis only a few alterations were observed using the same probes. Most of the changes observed (74%) were deletions (absence of spots in the tumour) while 20% corresponded to amplifications (spots of higher intensity in the tumour) and 5% were new spots (gains). About 10% of the genomic changes detected appeared to occur in the tumours of more than one patient. Images Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3