Common Access Research Articles

Physico-chemical and Nutritional Characterization of Phaseolus vulgaris L. Germplasm

Background: Beans constitute one of the most important grain legume species from the socioeconomic point of view, playing an essential role in a sustainable agriculture and food safety and nutrition. In fact, beans contain a rich diversity in nutrients, highlighting their high protein, starch and fiber content. Canary Islands have a considerable diversity of beans, including three of the five cultivated species of Phaseolus: P. coccineus, P. lunatus and P. vulgaris, the latter being the most cultivated. Methods: Proximate composition, total phenolics, pH, acidity, minerals and trace elements were determined in 23 common bean accessions (P. vulgaris) in order to find out their nutritional potential and promote their cultivation. Result: Parameters found fell well into the ranges of the data described in the literature for beans. The consumption of beans contributes remarkedly to the daily intake of protein (although is deficient in sulfur amino-acids), fiber, phenolic compounds, minerals such as Mg and K and trace elements as Fe (although with low bioavailability), Cu and Mn. Phenolic compounds in beans increases when pH decreased and acidity increased. Protein content was positively correlated with trace elements content, except Se. Color of the seed influenced on content protein, starch, fiber, P, K, Mg, Fe, Cu and Zn, while shape only affected on starch, fiber, P and K.

Total Percutaneous Endovascular Aortic Arch Repair With a Triple Inner-Branch Device (the Innominate Approach)

Purpose: To describe a completely percutaneous approach for endovascular arch repair (arch–percutaneous endovascular aortic repair [PEVAR]) with a triple inner-branch device: the “Innominate Approach.” Technique: After right axillary and single common femoral arteries percutaneous access, the arch stent-graft is introduced and deployed transfemorally using fusion overlay. The brachiocephalic artery (BCA) and the corresponding inner branch are cannulated from the axillary access. Through this access, a steerable-sheath guides antegrade cannulation of the left common carotid artery (LCCA) through its inner branch. Optionally, a wire preloaded through the left subclavian artery (LSA) and the LCCA branch, is snared from the BCA access providing LCCA through and through access. A 10 Fr sheath is then positioned from the BCA branch in the LCCA branch and a second, trans-axillary wire through the same sheath is used to catheterize the LCCA. The LCCA is then stented antegradely (regardless of approach). Finally, the BCA and LSA are bridged to complete the procedure. An additional novelty described is the use of VBX (W. L. Gore) as a bridging stent for the BCA. Conclusion: Arch-PEVAR is feasible with the use of adjuncts that are well-known for physicians performing complex endovascular repair. The “Innominate Approach” avoids access and exposure of the carotid arteries. Clinical Impact We aim to describe the feasibility of the axillary artery as the main route to perform the brachiocephalic artery (BCA) and the left common carotid artery bridging stenting in case of arch endovascular repair (arch-EVAR) with a triple Inner-Branch Device. According to the present “Innominate Approach”, percutaneous arch-EVAR is feasible using either a steerable sheath or a preloaded through-&-through wire. The Innominate approach, including a VBX bridging stent for the BCA, avoids carotid access and exposure, reduces the number of vascular accesses, and allows the downsizing of the trans-axillary devices.

Clinical profile and outcomes of semi-permanent pacing in a tertiary care institute in southern India

BackgroundSemi-permanent pacing (SPP) includes the placement of a permanent lead through the internal jugular vein and connection to a pulse generator on the skin outside the venous access site. AimTo evaluate the clinical profile and outcomes of semi-permanent pacing in a tertiary care institute in Southern India. MethodsThis is a retrospective observational study. All patients admitted and requiring management with semi-permanent pacing from January 2017 to June 2020 were included. ResultsFrom January 2017 to June 2020, 20 patients underwent semi-permanent pacing (SPP) with a median age of 54 (21–74) years. Males comprised a majority of the patients (55%). Hypertension was noted in 50% of patients and 30% were diabetic. The right internal jugular vein was the most common access in 95% of patients. The most common indication for semi-permanent pacing was pocket site infection in 30% of patients. There were no procedural complications. The median duration on SPP was 7 (5–14) days and the median duration of hospital stay was 13 (8–21) days. Permanent pacemaker implantation was done in 55% of patients. Mortality in our study group was 15% with 10% dying due to cardiogenic shock (post resuscitated cardiac arrest) and 5% dying due to non-cardiac cause (Epidural hematoma). ConclusionIn our study, semi-permanent pacing was noted to be a safe procedure and was more commonly indicated in emergent conditions with complete heart block secondary to underlying reversible causes and in the management of pocket site infection.

Abstract 10430: Radial First! Ulnar Next? Forearm Arterial Anatomy Study

Introduction: In patients with small Right Radial Artery ( RRA ), access site failure may result in a radial to femoral crossover. Methods: The arterial anatomy of the distal forearm was studied using ultrasound in 167 hospitalized patients. The radial and ulnar artery dimensions were imaged in triplicates. The average cross-sectional area (CSA) and average diameter (AD) were measured using open-source ImageJ software. Variations in distal forearm arterial anatomy (branches) were documented. Results: The mean CSA and AD for the largest of the bilateral radial and ulnar arteries - Largest Forearm Artery ( LFA ), were 5.4 ± 2.5 mm 2 (1.1 → 13.3 mm 2 ) and 2.6 ± 0.6 mm (1.2 → 4.1 mm) respectively. The mean CSA and AD for RRA were 4.8 ± 2.5 mm 2 (0.7 → 13.3 mm 2 ) and 2.4 ± 0.6 mm (0.9 → 4.1 mm). In 46% of patients, RRA was not the LFA. The ulnar artery was larger than the radial artery in 25% of patients in the right wrist and 29% in the left wrist. The left radial was larger than the right radial in 31% and the left ulnar was larger than the right ulnar in 42%. In 58% of patients, RRA was < 2.5 mm (outer diameter of common radial access sheaths). In 24% of patients, RRA was <2 mm. In patients with RRA < 2.5 mm, 17% had another artery >2.5 mm and 6% had another artery > 3 mm. Men had 53% larger CSA compared to women. Smoking, intravenous drug use, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, peripheral vascular disease, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and hemodialysis predicted smaller-sized forearm arteries. CKD patients had 33% smaller CSA compared to patients without CKD. In 23 patients (14%), one or more of the forearm arteries had branches in the distal forearm. In 12 patients (7%), branches were seen in RRA. Conclusions: Right Radial Artery was not the largest forearm artery in almost half the patients. Right Radial Artery was smaller in size than common radial access sheaths in more than half of the patients. Of these patients, 17% had a different forearm artery > 2.5 mm that could be accessed instead of Femoral Artery. Female sex and CKD predicted smaller forearm artery sizes increasing the risk of radial access failure. Ultrasound use is advisable to identify the best forearm artery for access and avoid accessing smaller accessory branches that were seen in 7% of right radial and 14% of one or more forearm arteries.

G-ADRR: Network-Wide Slicing of Wi-Fi Networks With Variable Loads in Space and Time

As part of 3GPP releases 15 and 16 Wi-Fi networks have been integrated with the 5G Core, which is a key feature in private network scenarios. Another important feature for private networks is multi-tenancy, whereby an infrastructure provider shares a common radio access network among several tenants subject to service level agreements (SLAs). 3GPP has defined network slicing on the radio access segment supporting multi-tenancy for 5GNR, but a similar feature is lacking in Wi-Fi networks. In this paper we present G-ADRR, which, to be best of our knowledge, is the first global slicing policy for Wi-Fi that delivers per-tenant radio level SLAs over a given geographical area. We extensively evaluate the performance of G-ADRR by means of an experimental prototype and packet level simulations, and demonstrate its advantages as compared to two alternative global scheduling strategies and a static slice configuration policy commonly used in the state-of-the-art.

Genetic Relationships and Diversity of Common Buckwheat Accessions in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) has a long history of cultivation in the large, mountainous regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). Its commercial production is mainly based on the regionally bred variety ‘Darja’, but numerous landraces are also being grown on a smaller scale. As part of the SEEDNet (Southeast European Network on Plant Genetic Resources) project, these landraces have been collected and stored at the Gene bank of the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences in Sarajevo (FAFS). To assess their utilization value, it was first important to investigate if they represent distinct landraces and to identify their genetic relationships with the most commonly grown varieties in the region (‘Darja’, ‘Goluba’ and ‘Čebelica’). Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the genetic relationships and diversity of the common buckwheat accessions maintained at the FAFS Gene bank, as well as the value of these accessions for future breeding programs, using microsatellite markers and seventeen quantitative and fifteen qualitative morphological traits. The FCA (Factorial Correspondence Analysis) and AMOVA (Analysis of Molecular Variance) revealed that several accessions represent completely distinct landraces which clearly differentiated from the most commonly grown cultivars ‘Darja’ and ‘Goluba’. Conducted morphological analyses revealed that several of the analyzed landraces hold similar characteristics to the ones observed in ‘Darja’ and ‘Goluba’, while others possess unique traits potentially useful in breeding programs.

Laparoscopic Janeway gastrostomy as preferred enteral access in specific patient populations: A systematic review and case series.

BACKGROUNDNutrition is one of the fundamental needs of both patient and non-patient populations. General trends promote enteral feeding as a superior route, with the most common enteral access being the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) as the first-line procedure, with surgical access including Witzel gastrostomy, Stamm Gastrostomy, Janeway gastrostomy (JG) as secondary means.AIMTo describe cases and technique of laparoscopic Janeway gastrostomy (LJG) and perform a systematic review of the data.METHODSWe successfully performed two LJG procedures, after which we conducted a literature review of all documented cases of LJG from 1991 to 2022. We surveyed these cases to show the efficacy of LJG and provide comparisons to other existing procedures with primary outcomes of operative time, complications, duration of gastrostomy use, and application settings. The data were then extracted and assessed on the basis of the Reference Citation Analysis (https://www.referencecitationanalysis.com/).RESULTSWe presented two cases of LJG, detailing the simplicity and benefits of this technique. We subsequently identified 26 articles and 56 cases of LJG and extrapolated the data relating to our outcome measures. We could show the potential of LJG as a viable and preferred option in certain patient populations requiring enteral access, drawing reference to its favorable outcome profile and low complication rate.CONCLUSIONThe LJG is a simple, reproducible procedure with a favorable complication profile. By its technical ease and benefits relating to the gastric tube formed, we propose this procedure as a viable, favorable enteral access in patients with the need for permanent or palliative gastrostomy, those with neurologic disease, agitation or at high risk of gastrostomy dislodgement, or where PEG may be infeasible.

Attitude changes following short-form opioid overdose video education: a pilot study

BackgroundOpioid overdose response training (OORT) and the need for its rapid expansion have become more significant as the opioid epidemic continues to be a health crisis in the USA. Limitation of funding and stigmatization often hinders expansion of OORT programs. Primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been widespread transition from in-person to virtual communication. However, OORT programs may benefit from long-term use of this modality of education if it can be as effective.ObjectiveTo measure the change in participant attitude after a brief, virtual OORT.MethodsA 6.5-min OORT video explained recognition of opioid overdose, appropriate response and proper administration of intranasal naloxone. Pre- and post-video scores from a 19-item survey were used to determine the video's impact on participants’ self-perceived competence and readiness to administer naloxone to a person with a suspected opioid overdose. Paired t tests were used in the analysis of pre- and post-video scores. Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis H testing were used to compare variance between several demographic subgroups of interest.ResultsA sample of 219 participants had a significant mean difference of 15.12 (SD 9.48; 95% CI 13.86–16.39, p < 0.001) between pre- and posttest scores. Improvements were found to be greatest in content-naïve participants with lower levels of education and non-health care-related jobs than participants endorsing previous content awareness, formal naloxone training, masters, doctorate or professional degrees and health care-related jobs.ConclusionThis pilot study demonstrated encouraging evidence that a brief, virtual, pre-recorded educational intervention improved participant-rated competence and readiness to administer intranasal naloxone in a suspected opioid overdose. Due to scalability and ability to overcome common healthcare accessibility barriers, short-form videos focused on key facts about naloxone and the benefits of its use could be part of a strategy for rapid expansion of OORT programs to mitigate opioid overdose fatalities.

Trends and outcomes in transcatheter aortic valve implantation in Belgium: a 13-year single centre experience

Background Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has been adopted as an alternative to surgery in severe aortic stenosis treatment, even in low-intermediate risk. The aim of this study is to retrospectively report our single-centre 13-year TAVI experience with emphasis on learning curve, referral indication and trends in outcomes over time. Methods We included 361 consecutive patients who underwent TAVI from January 2008 to December 2020, grouped according to similar per-year volume of procedures: G1 (2008–2014), G2 (2015–2017) and G3 (2018–2020). Results The number of procedures increased (group size: 59 vs. 106 vs. 196). No major differences were observed in STS-PROM and EuroSCORE-II between groups, despite TAVI in patients with prior surgical revascularisation was mainly performed in G1. Trans-femoral approach raised from 80.8 to 93.4%, while the most common alternative access was trans-subclavian. The pre-dilation rate was higher in G1 with lower prosthesis post-dilation rate. The length of hospital stay decreased in time by 30%. At 30 days a reduction in all-cause mortality, vascular complications, bleedings and para-valvular leak combined with higher rate of permanent pacing were observed over the groups. At 1-year there was no difference in all-cause mortality but over 30% reduction in cardiovascular death (8.5 vs. 7.5 vs. 5.6%). Conclusions Favourable trends were observed across the groups, with an improvement in periprocedural outcomes and cardiovascular mortality at 1-year. These improvements could depend on increased expertise because mortality reduction was noted only after reaching a significant procedure volume. A trend towards lower risk patients selection was present in our cohort, as previously described worldwide.

Emergent In Situ Fenestration in the Ascending Aorta for the Endovascular Repair of a Large Pseudoaneurysm: A Technical Note

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to describe an emergent in situ fenestration (ISF) technique in the ascending aorta for the endovascular repair of a large pseudoaneurysm using a trans-septal needle device through direct right common carotid artery access, in a patient with left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Technique: We performed, in a multidisciplinary team-work approach, an emergent ISF to correct the displacement of a physician-modified thoracic endograft released in the ascending aorta to correct a large anastomotic pseudoaneurysm in a patient who underwent ascending aorta replacement and subsequent LVAD implantation. We used a trans-septal needle device inserted through a direct access to the right carotid artery and performed an ISF to restore the patency of the outflow ostium of the LVAD. Window was then completed and stabilized with a nitinol balloon expandable covered stent graft obtaining an effective exclusion of the anastomotic aortic aneurism and the regular patency of the LVAD outflow graft with no signs of leaks. Conclusions: Multidisciplinary teamwork approach can be crucial in challenging procedures where an alternative approach may lead to problem solving. The ISF technique may be a valid option to adopt in emergency cases in which no other technical solutions are suitable. Clinical Impact The endovascular approach has become more and more frequent for the treatment of vascular pathologies, getting increasingly refined and complex. Thereby the chance of incurring intraprocedural troubles has grown and bailout strategies should always be present. In situ fenestration is a technique to be aware of and that could help you recover from difficult situations. We report a possible rescue maneuver that can be applied also in arduous anatomies such as the ascending aorta. Moreover, we would like to highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary working environment that can enrich our everyday practice accomplishing effective and unexpected solutions.

Percutaneous Endovascular Fistula Creation: A Viable Option In One Center's Experience

Currently in the United States, the most common hemodialysis access is arteriovenous (AV) fistulas. Classically this is created through open surgical technique. With the advent and increasing utilization of endovascular technologies and the overall transformation of the vascular surgery field, there is increasing demand for percutaneous fistula creation. Currently there are two commercially available medical devices for percutaneous fistula creation. At our institution, where the first percutaneous fistula creation in the Midwest occurred, we utilize the WaveLinQ system, manufactured by Bard.

Age of Information With Collision-Resolution Random Access

This paper studies the collision-resolution random access (CRRA) protocol for information update systems with age of information (AoI) requirements. AoI measures the information freshness, defined as the time elapsed since the generation of the last successfully received update. When a large number of users contend and send update packets to a common access point (AP), conventional random access protocols such as slotted Aloha (SA) simply ignore the collisions and inform the users to contend for the wireless channel again, thus leading to high average AoI due to the high collision probability. This paper argues that resolving collisions can improve the information freshness. When a collision occurs in CRRA, only the collided users enter a collision resolution procedure (CRP) to contend and access the channel until all of their update packets are received successfully. In particular, the time to receive a user’s update packet in the CRP is random, which complicates the AoI analysis. This paper theoretically analyze the average AoI of CRRA. Simulations show that CRRA significantly reduces the average AoI of SA, especially when update packets have a large payload. Furthermore, CRRA is more robust against the estimation error of the number of random-access users, and it is thus a promising solution to networks with time-varying traffic.

Gender Implications of Involuntary Resettlement on Displaced Families: The Case of Karimenu II Dam, Kiambu County, Kenya

This paper investigated the gender implications of involuntary resettlement at Karimenu II Dam. The study employed the Impoverishment, Risks, and Reconstruction (IRR) model developed in the late 1990s by the World Bank and coined by Michael Cernea (2002). It provides a conceptual tool for identifying the inherent risks that may cause impoverishment through involuntary displacement and resettlement. He identified 8 risks of Involuntary Resettlement (IR) namely: landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, marginalization, food insecurity, social disarticulation, increased morbidity &amp; mortality, and loss of common access to common property and services. Andnet Gizachew refined it in 2015 to include other risks of IR that Cernea did not capture in his model, which are: Carelessness, Constrained community mobility, Loss of resilience, Constrained access to education, and Loss of aspects of human rights This paper attempted to answer the following question: What were the gender-specific outcomes of the IR at Karimenu II dam on the lives and livelihoods of the PAPS?

Medicinal plants: A promising breakthrough in the management of Alzheimer's disease progression compared to than NSAID

Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease is currently limited only to slowing the severity of the symptoms felt by patients, not curing Alzheimer's itself. Current FDA-approved therapies such as Donepezil, Tacrine, Galantamine, Rivastigmine, and Memantine have quite disturbing side effects for Alzheimer's sufferers, as well as the mechanism of action of these drugs which is dominated by working as AChE inhibitors. On the other hand, the hypothesis for Alzheimer's causes is varied. Another study also states that the Non-Steroid Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) can be given to people with Alzheimer's, this is pro and cons because in one study NSAIDs can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's progression through inhibiting inflammatory process on AD pathogenesis; on the contrary, other studies have argued that giving NSAIDs to Alzheimer's sufferers is not necessary. Despite administering Alzheimer's drugs and NSAIDs which have adverse side effects on long-term use as well as high doses, the administration of traditional medicines and medicinal plants can be a good solution due to lower side effects than common drugs, less risk, easy access and affordable. These medicinal plants have several mechanisms to counter the hypothesis that causes Alzheimer's disease.

Initial experience of using a large-bore (0.096″ inner diameter) access catheter in neurovascular interventions.

The purpose of this study was to report our initial experience of using a large-bore (0.096″ inner diameter) access catheter in neurovascular interventions. Data were retrospectively collected from 5 sites in the US for neurovascular procedures performed using a large-bore access catheter. The effectiveness outcome was technical success, defined as the access catheter's successfully reaching its target vessel without conversion to direct carotid puncture or to a smaller-bore access catheter and successfully completing the intended neurointervention. One hundred and thirteen procedures performed in 112 patients were included in this study. The mean age of the patients was 67.5 years (SD 16.2), and about half (49.1%) were female. The most common primary access sites were the femoral (64.6%) or radial (32.7%) artery. Challenging anatomic variations included severe vessel tortuosity (26/81, 32.1%), type II aortic arch (17/88, 19.3%), type III aortic arch (14/88, 15.9%), bovine arch (16/104, 15.4%), severe angle (<30°) between the subclavian and target vessel (11/74, 14.9%), and subclavian loop (7/79, 8.9%). The median access time to branch view was 18 min (IQR 11-28, N = 75). The technical success rate was 94.7%. Two dissections (1.8%) were related to the large-bore access catheter. Access site complications occurred in 2 patients (1.8%). Four additional symptomatic periprocedural complications not related to the large-bore access catheter occurred (7.1%). For neurovascular interventions, a 0.096″ inner diameter access catheter could be used with both femoral and radial arterial approaches, had a high technical success rate, and had a low rate of periprocedural complications.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Embraces Accessibility

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 4 Americans have a disability.1 As the population ages, there is an increased need for technology and accessibility (equal access), including Web accessibility. Accessibility is often defined in terms of 2 distinct measures: compliance with standards and usability for people with disabilities. The most common accessibility guidelines are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0/2.1 and the Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. They are written to support the accessibility of HTML content. According to the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, “Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them.”² Business owners, medical writers, technical editors, social media managers, Web designers, and information technology administrators play a critical role in ensuring a better Web experience for all of us. In this article, we share practical ideas for you to show your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion with changes you can make to your website and content today. Accessibility solutions, such as using image alternative text, camel case in hashtags, white space around headings, margins, indentations, and columns, and strategically using fonts and color contrasting, are a few of many effective ways to provide accessible content to a larger audience. We also share other ways to address accessibility with creative strategies, such as podcasting. For medical communicators, strategies in communication, such as descriptive language and the use of storytelling techniques, are vital to ensuring your audience has a clear understanding of the message.

The effect of access to clean technology on pollution reduction: An experiment

We use a laboratory experiment to study decisions in a dynamic game where firms' private production leads to accumulation of a public bad, such as pollution. Firms have an option to invest in clean technology, which proportionally lowers their emissions, or contributions to the public bad. The main treatment variable is the type of access to clean technology, or benefits from such investment, which can be private or common. Under private access, investment reduces the firm's own propensity to pollute. Under common access, each firm's investment reduces all firms' propensity to pollute. For each treatment, we characterize the Markov perfect equilibrium and social optimum. The observed level of the public bad is lower with common access. This result remains in the presence of communication. The option to communicate induces coordination of investments in clean technology at a higher level, leading to lower average pollution levels in both treatments.

Genome-Wide Association Mapping of Resistance to Powdery Mildew in Regional Trials of Wheat Mainly from China.

Wheat powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici [Bgt]) is a widespread disease that causes significant economic losses to common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crops worldwide. To identify effective resistance genes, we evaluated 120 common wheat accessions mainly from different wheat producing regions in China for responses to different Bgt isolates in the seedling stage and to natural infection in three field trials and genotyped them with a wheat 55K iSelect single-nucleotide polymorphism array for a genome-wide association study. A total of 26 loci were identified, which explained 6.6 to 26.2% of the phenotypic variation depending on individual locus. Of the 26 loci, 10 were detected in the A genomes, 10 in the B genomes, and only 6 in the D genome. Sixteen loci overlapped with known powdery mildew resistance genes or quantitative trait loci, and the remaining 10 loci were potentially novel. This study improves the understanding of the genetic structure of wheat powdery mildew resistance and provides germplasms and information on genes and markers for breeding new wheat cultivars with effective resistance to powdery mildew.

Heat Stress Tolerance: A Prerequisite for the Selection of Drought- and Low Phosphorus-Tolerant Common Beans for Equatorial Tropical Regions Such as Ghana

Forty common bean accessions of multiple genetic background trait attribution regarding drought tolerance were selected based on mean yield performance from an earlier field test evaluation conducted using augmented RCBD. The various bean genotypes were further evaluated with phosphorus and water treatment interactions at two different levels for each factor. The experiment was conducted in a 2 × 2 × 40 factorial using RCBD with three replications under screen-house conditions at the CSIR-Crops Research Institute, Kumasi-Ghana. The objective was to select drought- and low phosphorus-tolerant common bean genotypes; which are suitable for tropical climatic conditions. The results showed that common bean with drought and heat trait tolerance survived, developed flowers and podded with seeds to physiological maturity, whilst genotypes with no heat trait tolerance had impaired reproductive structural development and growth disruption; thus, flowers could not develop into pods with seeds. This reproductive developmental anomaly was due to prevailing average daytime and nighttime high temperatures of 35.45 °C and 29.95 °C, respectively, recorded during the growth period, which reduced pollen fertility. Among the 478 experimental bean plants (two plants were missing) analyzed, 141 (29.5%) did not flower, 168 (35.18%) had their pods dropped whilst 99 (20.7%) podded with seeds to achieve physiological maturity. The podded-seed bean genotypes were of the SEF-line pedigrees, which were shown to be heat and drought-tolerant. Meanwhile, bean accessions with SMC, SMN and SMR code prefixes did not pod into seed despite possessing drought-tolerant traits. The effects of interactions between phosphorus and water treatments on the root characteristics of drought-tolerant common bean were as follows: root length, root surface area, average root diameter and root volume growth extensions doubled dimensionally under optimum conditions (P2W2) compared to stressed conditions (P1W1). The results from the present study identified four SEF-bean genotypes, namely, SEF15, SEF 47, SEF 60 and SEF 62, as superior yield performers, even under low soil phosphorus and in extreme high temperature conditions. Therefore, breeding for the selection of drought- and low-P-tolerant common bean for tropical agro-ecological environments must also consider concomitant heat stress tolerance.

Radiocephalic Arteriovenous Fistula Patency and Use: A Post Hoc Analysis of Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trials.

Objective:We sought to confirm and extend the understanding of clinical outcomes following creation of a common distal autogenous access, the radiocephalic arteriovenous fistula (RCAVF).Background:Interdisciplinary guidelines recommend distal autogenous arteriovenous fistulae as the preferred hemodialysis (HD) access, yet uncertainty about durability and function present barriers to adoption.Methods:Pooled data from the 2014-2019 multicenter randomized-controlled PATENCY-1 and PATENCY-2 trials were analyzed. New RC-AVFs were created in 914 patients, and outcomes were tracked prospectively for 3-years. Cox proportional hazards and Fine-Gray regression models were constructed to explore patient, anatomic, and procedural associations with access patency and use.Results:Mean (SD) age was 57 (13) years; 45% were on dialysis at baseline. Kaplan-Meier estimates of 3-year primary, primary-assisted, and secondary patency were 27.6%, 56.4%, and 66.6%, respectively. Cause-specific 1-year cumulative incidence estimates of unassisted and overall RC-AVF use were 46.8% and 66.9%, respectively. Patients with larger baseline cephalic vein diameters had improved primary (per mm, hazard ratio [HR] 0.89, 95% confidence intervals 0.81–0.99), primary-assisted (HR 0.75, 0.64–0.87), and secondary (HR 0.67, 0.57–0.80) patency; and higher rates of unassisted (subdistribution hazard ratio 1.21, 95% confidence intervals 1.02–1.44) and overall RCAVF use (subdistribution hazard ratio 1.26, 1.11–1.45). Similarly, patients not requiring HD at the time of RCAVF creation had better primary, primary-assisted, and secondary patency. Successful RCAVF use occurred at increased rates when accesses were created using regional anesthesia and at higher volume centers.Conclusions:These insights can inform patient counseling and guide shared decision-making regarding HD access options when developing an individualized end-stage kidney disease life-plan.