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Weather damage reduces the value of commercial mungbean. but hard-seededness can reduce the level of damage. However. attempts lo breed large- and hard-seeded mungbean varieties have been unsuccessful. To understand the relationship between seed weight and hard-seededness. these trails were investigated using a quantitative trail loci (QTL) mapping approach with a recombinant inbred population derived from a cross between a completely soft-seeded variety and a completely hard-seeded genotype. The two parental genotypes also had a sixfold difference in seed weight. QTL analyses revealed four loci for hard-seededness and 11 loci for seed weight. Two of the hard-seeded ness loci co-localized with seed weight QTL. When seed weight was used as a covariate in the analysis of hard-seededness from the field data, two of the four hard-seeded QTL remained significant with the effect al one of these remaining unchanged. These results explain why retaining hard-seededness in large seeded mungbean lines has been unsuccessful. The existence of a persistent locus, however. indicated that breeding large and persistently hard-seeded varieties of mungbean may be possible.

Whole yeast cell reductive biotransformation of a benzylidene thiazolidinedione to its corresponding benzyl derivative has been scaled up from laboratory to small pilot plant scale. The fermentation conditions for the yeast Rhodotorula rubra were examined and cell titres increased by optimising the medium. Problems encountered in handling substrates of low water solubility are discussed. Various techniques are described for adapting the procedure for process scale operation using the general principles of process scale-up and integration. Liquid–liquid extraction using a dense solvent was performed on whole broth systems using a continuous flow liquid–liquid separator. Fatty acid impurities were removed using selective solvent extraction. © 1997 SCI.

Weather damage by rainfall is a major constraint to production of high quality mungbean seed. Breeding mungbeans for weathering resistance is assisted by an understanding of the pod wall structure and how this structure can affect water absorption. This paper describes a simple microscopic technique for determining the transport route of salt solutions from the external pod surface through the pod wall tissues and into the pod lumen. Different mungbean cultivars were selected based on differences in field performance. Mungbean pods were immersed in concentrated salt solutions (lanthanum nitrate, caesium chloride and sodium chloride) for different time periods, embedded in resin blocks and polished prior to backscatter imaging in a field emission scanning electron microscope. The salts precipitated between the pod wall tissues and through timed experiments clearly demonstrated the passage of salt solution through the pod wall tissues and into the pod lumen. The salt molecules penetrated the outer epidermis and parenchyma but were unable to penetrate the dense sclerenchymatous layer beneath. The salt solution entered the lumen of the pod via the small gap between the suture cap and the dense tissue sheath. Although this technique may not provide a true determination of fresh water absorption through mungbean pods it does demonstrate a simple means of identifying more resistant pod structures suitable for use in achieving genetic improvement.

A detector has been developed, which collects and amplifies the electric charge of an incoming bunch of ions, for use in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry. The detector has a time-of-flight resolution of about 50 ns and a noise level of 750 electrons rms. It has been tested in a Finnigan LaserMAT spectrometer with a number of samples which Were expected to give reliable results in MALDI time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Clear mass peaks have been observed from samples with masses above 300 kDa.

The reaction of cowpea lines to naturally occurring Phytophthora vignae in the held was studied in three trials over the period 1987-89 with the aim of identifying and characterizing lines with partial resistance. Seven lines (CPI 84853, CPI 84851, CPI 65393, CPI 77359, CPI 78209, CPI 78213 and cultivar Blackeye 5) were found to be partially resistant. Partial resistance was assessed by calculating disease incidence, disease severity, time lag before onset of disease, relative area under the disease progress curve and apparent mortality and infection rates. Significant differences in some of the characters further divided the partially resistant lines into different groups. It was concluded that the characters found to be most useful in the differentiation of relative levels of partial resistance were final percentage infection, and final percentage of plants with non-killing lesions. There were also significant correlations between these variables within and between years, although the relative rankings of some of the lines changed between years. Overall, CPI 84853 and CPI 65393 showed higher levels of partial resistance in the held than the remaining lines. In general, the partially resistant lines gave variable reactions following hypocotyl inoculation with P. vignae. There were clear indications of host-isolate interactions, suggesting that partial resistance may be no more durable than complete resistance for this particular host-pathogen interaction.

Aims: The ESPAC-1-randomized controlled trial of 541 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma showed that adjuvant chemotherapy increased median survival compared to no chemotherapy (19.7 months versus 14.0 months; P = 0.0005), including those with R1 resection margins but chemoradiotherapy did not. The aim of this study was to determine if postoperative complications or the type of surgery affected long-term survival. Methods: Analyses of patients on the ESPAC-1 database by categorical, log-rank and Cox proportional hazards modelling. Results: Operative details were available on 466 (86 per cent) patients: Kausch–Whipple (KW) was performed in 241 (52 per cent of total), pylorus-preserving KW (PPKW) in 171 (37 per cent), distal pancreatectomy in 35 (7 per cent) and total pancreatectomy in 19 (4 per cent) patients. Postoperative complications occurred in 125/446 (28 per cent) patients including: fistula = 37, delayed gastric emptying = 24, pulmonary complications = 14, and bleeding = 11. Survival analysis showed no significant difference in survival (median, 95 per cent CI) between those that had complications (17.2, 14.0–22.2 months) and those that did not (15.7, 13.7–17.4 months; P = 0.073). Patients that had a PPKW resection had a longer survival (18.1, 16.5–21.7 months) than those that had a KW resection (14.1, 12.8–16.4 months; P < 0.001). Stepwise selection revealed that only three factors were of independent prognostic significance: tumour grade (P < 0.001), nodal status (P < 0.001) and tumour size (P = 0.013) but not PPKW (P = 0.07). Conclusions: Patients who had complications after resection for pancreatic cancer still benefited from adjuvant treatment. Moreover, there was no evidence from this trial that the more conservative PPKW resulted in reduced long-term survival.