Methods A sample of 329 Indian cancer patients were interviewed about their understanding of their illness (to assess awareness of a cancer diagnosis) and administered the following measures: the modified Rotterdam Symptom Checklist, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Brief Illness Perceptions Questionnaire. Demographic and medical details were also obtained. Results Over half of the sample

(54.1%) was unaware of their cancer diagnosis. A logistic regression analysis predicting perceived diagnostic disclosure indicated that awareness of a cancer diagnosis was associated with being involved in medical decisions, receiving multiple treatments, longer treatment durations, greater perceived understanding of one’s illness (illness coherence) and citing a cause for one’s illness. Conclusions The results highlight the importance of the context in which decisions about the patient’s illness HDAC inhibitor are made (e.g. by whom) as well as illness perceptions relating to patients’ understanding of their illness. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.”
“Kernel weight is an important factor determining grain yield and nutritional quality in sorghum, yet the developmental processes underlying the genotypic differences in potential kernel weight remain unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the

stage in development at which genetic effects on potential kernel weight were realized, and to investigate the developmental mechanisms by which potential kernel Selleck Bromosporine weight is controlled in sorghum. Kernel development was studied in two field experiments with five genotypes known to differ in BVD-523 manufacturer kernel weight at maturity. Pre-fertilization floret and ovary development was examined and post-fertilization kernel-filling characteristics were analysed. Large kernels had a higher rate of kernel filling and contained more endosperm cells and starch granules than normal-sized kernels. Genotypic differences in kernel development appeared before stamen primordia initiation

in the developing florets, with sessile spikelets of large-seeded genotypes having larger floret apical meristems than normal-seeded genotypes. At anthesis, the ovaries for large-sized kernels were larger in volume, with more cells per layer and more vascular bundles in the ovary wall. Across experiments and genotypes, there was a significant positive correlation between kernel dry weight at maturity and ovary volume at anthesis. Genotypic effects on meristem size, ovary volume, and kernel weight were all consistent with additive genetic control, suggesting that they were causally related. The pre-fertilization genetic control of kernel weight probably operated through the developing pericarp, which is derived from the ovary wall and potentially constrains kernel expansion.”
“The major aim of this work was to prepare injectable paclitaxel-loaded poly(D,L-lactide) microspheres for the inhibition of brain glioma.