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Physical, physiological, and biochemical traits control critical seed functions such as germination, longevity, persistence, and seedling establishment. These traits are diverse between and among species, and they are also controlled by the environment in which the seed originated. Therefore, screening seed traits and understanding their roles in seed functions is crucial to facilitate the economical use of resources in collecting, sorting, and conserving seed materials of agronomical and ecological importance. We hypothesized the existence of physical and biochemical traits in sea oats seeds that can be used as proxies to predict viability and vigor to develop underpinnings for survival after non-optimal storage conditions. Using multispectral imaging and optical oxygen-sensing analyses, we evaluated the physical and biochemical traits of Uniola paniculata L. (sea oats) seeds collected from the US Atlantic and Gulf coastlines. Our results showed that several traits correlate to aging stress survival in sea oats seeds. These results confirm the potential of using physical and biochemical screening to predict seed quality while offering insights into extended seed longevity periods. Therefore, exploring and analyzing the physical and biochemical properties of seeds could reveal salient markers that contribute to viability and longevity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Introduction In the patient with acromegaly, pituitary surgery is the therapeutic standard. Despite undergoing surgery, a significant number of patients with acromegaly continue to have uncontrolled growth hormone secretion. These patients require other treatments such as external irradiation and/or drug therapy. Case presentation We present the clinical and laboratory responses to six months of treatment with rosiglitazone in four cases. In all four cases, the patients had persistent growth hormone overproduction despite previous surgical treatment and other conventional therapy. Case 1 is a 57-year-old Caucasian woman, case 2 is a 51-year-old Hispanic man, case 3 is a 32-year-old Hispanic woman, and case 4 is a 36-year-old Hispanic man. In three of these patients, basal and nadir growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1 levels were significantly decreased (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). Conclusion Rosiglitazone could be a treatment option in select patients with acromegaly.

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Demand for butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa L.) has increased in recent years. However, seed production practices are not well-defined. We partnered with a wildflower seed producer to investigate the effects of weed barrier cloth, plot shading, mature follicle harvest timing, and dry-cold stratification on seed production and germination. Weed cloth had no impact on seed production. However, shading decreased the number of seeds produced by 1.2- to 9.6-fold. Seeds harvested in July and August showed 2.9- and 2.3-fold improvements in total germination and more uniform and rapid germination compared with September-collected seeds. Conversely, seeds exposed to dry-cold stratification displayed a 3.0-fold reduction in the germination rate compared with nonstratified seeds. Our results indicate that the production system significantly impacts seed production and quality of A. tuberosa. Seed producers can use weed barrier cloth to facilitate seed collection from shattering follicles and suppress weeds without a considerable loss of seed production. However, plants should not be grown under conditions of additional shade. Furthermore, highquality A. tuberosa seeds can be collected earlier in the year, but they should not be subjected to dry-cold stratification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Management of macroprolactinomas in women who plan to get pregnant is controversial and when this happen there is a risk of pituitary enlargement, if this happens bromocriptine has a safe profile to be used during pregnancy, but if it is not tolerated cabergoline is a good alternative., Clinical Cases: We describe two patients with macroprolactinomas who intended to get pregnant. One of them had been previously treated surgically and the second one was treated with bromocriptine and got pregnant before the tomographic studies were checked. Both patients developed during pregnancy symptoms of macroprolactinoma enlargement and were initially treated with bromocriptine but this was not tolerated and were switched to cabergoline. Both pregnancies ended with a normal full term newborn., Conclusion: Pregnant women with symptoms of pituitary enlargement must be treated with bromocriptine, but if it is not tolerated cabergoline is a good choice.

Introduction: women with gestational diabetes have an increase risk for maternal and neonatal metabolic complications., Objective: to evaluate detection, treatment and close surveillance., Methods: we recruited all women with gestational diabetes whose pregnancies ended in this hospital between September to November of 2005. All newborns were examined by a neonatologist and initiated early feeding with infant formula or glucose solution., Results: a total of 74 patients with gestational diabetes were included. The age was 31.03 +/- 4.79 years, and the body mass index before pregnancy was 32.31 +/- 6.41. Eighteen patients developed third-trimester complications, in fourteen of them it was hypertensive disease of pregnancy. All were single pregnancies that ended in 71 term and 3 preterm newborns. There were not fetal or perinatal deaths. There were four small newborns for gestational age, 18 large for gestational age and 52 normal weight newborns. Eleven neonates had metabolic complications, eight of them had idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome, four had hypoglycaemia and one large for gestational age had obstetric trauma. Also two neonates with cardiovascular malformations were diagnosed. Thirty-six mothers returned for revaluation, eight had type 2 diabetes, six glucose intolerance., Conclusions: this group of patients shows the maternal and neonatal morbidity associated to gestational diabetes in patients under close surveillance. Systematic early screening in women at risk and close surveillance are required to obtain healthy newborns.

Neonatal hypoglycemia is a frequent event in the first hours of life of newborns from mothers with diabetes mellitus. We studied a group of diabetic mothers newborns during the first day of life, taking venous blood samples at < 6 h, 6-12 h and 12-24 h of life for glucose analysis (n = 85), defining hypoglycaemia as a glucose level < 35 mg/dL. Calcium serum levels were also determined in the first venous sample in 19 neonates and 7 mEq/L was the criteria for hypocalcemia. The mothers age (mean +/- standard deviation) was 30.5 +/- 5.5 years (range 16-41 years), 43 (50.6%) of them with gestational diabetes, 40 (47.1%) with type 2 diabetes and 2 (2.4%) with type 1 diabetes. Pregnancies ended by caesarean section in 78 (91.8%) and by partum in seven (8.2%) women. There were 20 (23.5%) preterm newborns. In relation to neonates weight, 27 (31.7%) were macrosomic and 7 (8.2%) were premature, two of them with very low weight. A total of 55 (64.77%) newborns had hypoglycaemia, but only one of them had a convulsive episode, the rest were asymptomatic. In relation to the newborns weight, 18 (66.6%) of the macrosomic, 33 (64.7%) of the normal weight and four (57.1%) of the premature groups had hypoglycaemia. The comparisons between the newborns weight groups showed non significant differences, but the prevalence of neonatal hypoglycaemia was significantly higher in the group of gestational diabetes than in the type 2 diabetes group (p < 0.05). Calcium analysis also disclosed asymptomatic hypocalcemia in five (7.25%) newborns. These results show an elevated prevalence of asymptomatic neonatal hypoglycaemia in the offspring of women with diabetes mellitus in their early hours of life, and stress the importance of systematic glucose monitoring and early treatment in the first hours of life of these neonates.