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The amylose-free (amf) potato mutant 86 .040 has been characterized phenotypically and genotypically . Not only storage starch in tubers and metabolic starch in leaves but also starch in cells with specific functions, such as columella cells in the root cap and guard cells of stomata, was amylose-free . Doubled amf-clones of 86 .040 flowered well, but the percentage of stainable pollen was low (8 .2%) . Therefore, they were used as female parent in crosses with diploid amylose-containing plants . Over 1400 pollinations gave 13 berries, all dropping off prematurely ; they contained 78 ovules with embryos at different developmental stages . Twenty Ft plants were obtained by embryo rescue, all having amylose starch . Three of them were characterized more extensively . They flowered well, and pollen stainabilitity as well as seed set were high . Analysis of the F, plants and of F, X F, progeny plants showed that the amf-character is monogenic and recessive . The locus involved was designated amf+ and the mutated allele amf.

Summary Resistance to chemotherapy in therapy‐refractory diffuse large B‐cell lymphomas (DLBCL) is related to inhibition of the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. Human soluble tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (hsTRAIL/Apo2L) induces apoptosis via the alternative, death‐receptor mediated apoptosis pathway and might be an effective alternative form of therapy for these lymphomas. This study investigated whether hsTRAIL/Apo2L could actually induce apoptosis in isolated lymphoma cells of DLBCL biopsies of patients with chemotherapy‐refractory DLBCL. Twelve out of a total of 22 DLBCL samples were sensitive to hsTRAIL/Apo2L. These sensitive lymphomas included seven clinically chemotherapy‐refractory lymphomas. Furthermore, hsTRAIL/Apo2L induced apoptosis in DLBCL cells and in B‐cell lines that showed high expression levels of inhibitors of the intrinsic apoptosis pathway: Bcl‐2 and/or X‐linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP). hsTRAIL/Apo2L‐sensitive lymphoma cells showed expression of the TRAIL receptors R1 and/or R2 and absence of R3 and R4. We conclude that hsTRAIL/Apo2L induced apoptosis in a subpopulation of chemotherapy‐refractory nodal DLBCL and that disruption of the intrinsic apoptosis‐mediated pathway and expression of Bcl‐2 and XIAP did not confer resistance to hsTRAIL/Apo2L‐induced apoptosis in DLBCL. Thus, based on our results, further exploration of hsTRAIL/Apo2L as an alternative treatment for patients with chemotherapy‐refractory DLBCL should be considered.

Singer and Blom's endoscopic technique, using a single valved silicone prosthesis, constituted a dramatic advance in speech rehabilitation following total laryngectomy. Since 1980, we have developed a silicone biflanged prosthesis that overcomes some of the inconveniences of previous prostheses. Insertion via the mouth and the oesophagus, or as a primary procedure during total laryngectomy is easily done with the use of specially developed instruments. The success rate in 36 patients in which the voice button was inserted at the time of total laryngectomy was 86.2%.

Transgenic shoots were regenerated from eight diploid potato hairy root clones obtained by transformation with Agrobacterium rhizogenes harboring next to its wild-type Ri-plasmid a binary vector containing the neomycin phosphotransferase and the β-glucuronidase genes. The plants exhibited the typical hairy root phenotype. Of the plants isolated, 58% were tetraploid and 38% were diploid. Flowering and tuberization was much better in the diploid than in the tetraploid plants. Transgenic plants formed a significantly larger root system when grown on kanamycin-containing medium as compared to growth on kanamycin-free medium. Direct evidence for genetic transformation was obtained by opine, neomycin phosphotransferase and β-glucuronidase assays, and by molecular hybridization. Fourteen flowering diploid plants were reciprocally crossed with untransformed S. tuberosum plants, but only six were successful. Seedlings obtained from four crosses showed that all traits were transmitted to the offspring. Molecular analysis confirmed the presence of multiple integrations (copies) of both vector T-DNA and Ri-T-DNA. The genetic data, furthermore, suggest that the traits derived from Ri-T-DNA and binary vector T-DNA are linked, as no recombination between the different traits was observed.