Essential oils for managing Pratylenchus penetrans on Easter lilies

Easter lily bulbs for greenhouse forcing are produced in Del Norte County, California and Curry County, Oregon, USA. Pratylenchus penetrans infestation seriously affects growth of field grown bulbs. During two consecutive years of field trials containing 22 treatments, commercially prepared formulations of essential oils (EOs) were compared to an untreated control and to a standard chemical fumigant treatment (FU) (1,3-dichloropropene and metam sodium) applied preplant followed by phorate (PH) at planting to determine their value in the management of lesion nematode, and in improving plant health. The EO products Duogard, EF400, EF300, and Cinnamite were tested as preplant dips to bulblet planting stock. The treated bulblets were tested either alone, in combination with PH at-planting, at planting following FU or in combination with PH at planting following FU. The organophosphates ethoprop and fosthiazate were also tested either alone, or at a reduced rate in combination with a reduced rate of PH. With respect to bulb circumference, ten treatments consistently outperformed the control. In consecutive years, three treatments had healthier looking roots than the control. At harvest, levels of lesion nematode within roots were consistently lower in nine treatments. EOs were beneficial in mitigating nematode damage.

Management Options for Pratylenchus penetrans in Easter Lily

Alternatives to reduce or modify nematicide use for minimizing groundwater contamination in Easter lily were explored in two field trials. Alternatives to standard 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) plus phorate injection in the first trial were: (i) delaying applications until after winter rains, (ii) removing roots from planting stock, (iii) 1,3-D via drip irrigation, (iv) a chitin-urea soil amendment, (v) the registered insecticide disulfoton, and (vi) several nonregistered nematicides. None of the treatments equaled the standard treatment. In the second trial, potential benefits of adding a systemic nematicide, oxamyl (OX), or a fungicide, metalaxyl (MX), to the standard treatment were explored. Preplant drip irrigation applications of metam sodium (MS), sodium tetrathiocarbonate (ST), and emulsifiable 1,3-D were evaluated alone and in combination with postplant applications of OX and MX. Several drip-applied treatments performed comparably to the standard treatment with respect to the most important criteria of crop quality, bulb circumference. Metam-sodium in combination with either or both OX and MX, 1,3-D plus OX and MX, and ST plus OX and MX provided the best results.

[Clinical and biological surveillance of envenomed patients]

Faced with an envenomation, the problem is to take sufficiently rapidly the decision to administer the only effective treatment--immunotherapy--, to know which antivenom to choose and how long to administrate it. If the snake is not identified, symptoms and initial development give information on the type of venom. It is convenient to classify the symptoms according to four clinical types: i) the cobra syndrome with a potentially fatal evolution within two to ten hours and which resembles an Elapid bite, ii) the viper syndrome associating bleeding and inflammation, which can be due either to a viper, pit viper or, in Australia, to Elapids, iii) disturbance of blood circulating functions and iv) disturbance of other live functions. Between the third to the half of snakebite victims present no envenomation. Severe envenomations must be monitored in an intensive care unit, with experience in emergency management and monitoring of patients with major life-threatening conditions. Throughout the world, snakebites induce more than 100,000 deaths every year. Schematically, the emergency may be considered in terms of seconds for blood circulation disorders, minutes for respiratory paralysis, and hours for the coagulopathy.

[Intubation using a submental approach]

Authors report a case of sub-mental approach for endotracheal intubation in maxillo-facial surgery. This unusual technique was simple to perform and remained uncomplicated.

Problems Associated with Crop Rotation for Management of Pratylenchus penetrans on Easter Lily

In Humboldt and Del Norte counties of California and Curry County, Oregon, Easter lilies (Lilium longiflotum) are grown commercially in a 3- to 6-year rotation with pasture for cattle and sheep. Bulbs are sold to greenhouse operations to produce flowering plants. The lesion nematode, Pratylenchus penetrans, is a serious detriment to Easter lily production. Both soil and planting stock are often infested; typically, a dual nematicide application is used consisting of a preplant soil fumigation followed by an at-planting application of an organophosphate or carbamate. Nematicide usage has resulted in ground-water contamination. Several factors that could lead to an improved crop rotation program were examined in five field trials in Oregon. Examining the relative nematode host status of crops for feeding cattle and sheep indicated differences in host suitability among clovers and fescues that could prove useful in development of pasture mixes. Populations of P. penetrans under continuous fallow and pasture were monitored for 4 years following harvest of Easter lilies. Populations fluctuated in both situations but generally increased on pasture plants and decreased under fallow. Nematodes were still detectable at the end of 4 years of weed-free fallow. Populations of P. penetrans on Easter lilies were followed over two successive crops. Numbers in soil peaked in July and then decreased while numbers within roots continued to increase until harvest in October.

[Results of the conservative surgical and irradiation treatment of 132 nonpalpable ductal carcinomas in situ of the breast]

PURPOSE

Retrospective analysis of results of treatment of 132 subclinical ductal carcinomas in situ, non-palpable.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Patients were treated with limited surgery and 70 Gy radiation therapy (70 Gy).

RESULTS

With a median follow-up of 7 years, the total recurrence rate was 6%, and the actuarial rate at 5 years 4% and at 10 years 13% at. These have no influence on recurrence on the specific actuarial survival rate which was 100% at 10 years. In spite of five infiltrating recurrences of seven, no metastasis appeared 48 months after the salvage surgery. The global rate of breast preservation was 92% at 7 years.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Therapeutic indications were developed taking into account the present analysis and a literature review (2,338 in situ ductal carcinomas, palpable or not, treated with conservative surgery, with or without adjuvant radio-therapy).

Determination of traces of pesticides in water by solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-ionspray mass spectrometry

A multi-residue analytical method for six pesticides (atrazine, hydroxyatrazine, carbofuran, promecarb, linuron and monolinuron) in drinking water has been developed. The method combines liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry using an ionspray interface. The linearity domain, as well as the limits of detection and quantification, were determined for each compound. Although satisfactory performance could be achieved, present drinking water regulations (0.1 microgram l-1 for single pesticide) requires a pre-concentration step. This was performed using solid-phase extraction with octadecyl-bonded silica cartridges. The analytical procedure was tested on water samples spiked at the 0.04 and 0.08 microgram l-1 levels, and allowed the determination of the investigated pesticides (except hydroxyatrazine) at these trace concentrations.

[Laryngeal masks in emergency medicine]

Airway control and maintenance of effective assisted ventilation are an absolute priority in emergency medicine. Developed by Brain in 1988, the laryngeal mask offers a new means of ventilation management and is a reliable compromise between the face mask and endotracheal tubing. The laryngeal mask ensures no protection against gastric contents inhalation and its use is limited in patients with decreased thoracopulmonary compliance. However, compared to the face mask, the laryngeal mask offers several benefits in the management of cardiorespiratory arrests by paramedical staff and rescue teams: the procedure is easy to learn, the device improves airway patency, leaves the operator's hands free, allows endotracheal aspiration to be performed and reduces the risk of hyperinsufflation. These advantages make the use of the laryngeal mask a technique which should be taught to any staff liable to face and manage cases of cardiorespiratory arrest. The laryngeal mask cannot and does not replace endotracheal tubing which remains the only technique that guarantees upper airway patency and protection as well as efficient ventilation control. However, in some situations tubing may prove difficult and even, at times, impossible to perform. This is when the laryngeal mask will come in handy, either as a temporary solution or as an alternative to difficult or impossible tubing techniques.

[Endotracheal intubation under propofol with or without vecuronium]

OBJECTIVE

In order to test the hypothesis that under the association propofol-alfentanil-IV lidocaine the trachea could be intubated easily without an additional muscle relaxant, this study compared the intubation conditions when this association was combined or not with vecuronium.

STUDY DESIGN

Randomized comparative trial.

PATIENTS

The study included 152 young adults classified as ASA physical class I and Mallampati presentation grade 1, randomly allocated either into Vecu+ group or Vécu0 group, depending on whether vecuronium was co-administered or not.

METHODS

All patients received midazolam 0.05 mg.kg-1 i.v., one minute before induction. Those of group Vecu0 were given successively within two minutes: alfentanil 0.03 mg.kg-1, lidocaine 1.5 mg.kg-1 i.v. and propofol 2.5 mg.kg-1. Patients of group Vecu+ received similar doses of alfentanil and propofol as well as vecuronium 0.08 mg.kg-1. The endotracheal tube was inserted one minute after induction in the patients of Vecu0 group, and after three minutes in those of the Vecu+ group. During intubation, scores of mouth opening, glottis opening and coughing were established, in order to assess intubation conditions.

RESULTS

Similar convenient intubating conditions were obtained in both groups (in 97% of patients in Vecu+ group vs 95% of those in Vecu0 group). In the latter, the glottis opening was less pronounced.

CONCLUSIONS

In young healthy adults, without anaesthetic risk (emergency, full stomach) and without foreseen difficult intubation, the endotracheal tube can be inserted in convenient conditions without a muscle relaxant, under the association propofol-alfentanil-lidocaine iv.

Analysis of linear oligogalacturonic acids by negative-ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Linear oligogalacturonic acids (1,4-linked alpha-D-galacturonic acid oligomers), obtained by partial acid hydrolysis of orange polygalacturonides, were studied by negative-ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, without prior sample derivatization. After preparative separation using high-resolution anion-exchange chromatography, some fractions enriched in uronic acids were desalted, transferred into a methanol+water solution adjusted to pH 10, and directly submitted to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in the negative-ion recording mode. Clear molecular mass assignments of the oligomers, covering a degree of polymerization between 4 and 7, were obtained.

[Severe accidental hypothermia]

Two cases of severe accidental hypothermia (core temperature below 25 degrees C) are reported. Both occurred in an urban area during the same winter period. Both patients had the same age and similar clinical symptoms. In the first patient, the EEG, the echocardiography and the blood gases were in favour of a good tolerance of hypothermia, which led to choice a non aggressive rewarming method. The latter included the rewarming of inhaled gas mixture as well as i.v. fluids and gastro-intestinal lavage fluid. The outcome was uneventful. In the second patient, the visceral and biological consequences were more important (pH: 6.80, blood glucose concentration: 1.48 mmol.L-1, major coagulation disorders). Therefore a rapid rewarming via a cardiopulmonary bypass was preferred. The patient died from a prolonged shock with disseminated intravascular coagulation. The use of cardiopulmonary bypass which is essential in case of cardiac arrest rhythm, is controversial in case of severe hypothermia with a still beating heart.

Management of Pratylenchus penetrans on Oriental Lilies with Drip and Foliar-applied Nematicides

Pratylenchus penetrans is a pest for producers of oriental lilies in northern California. Concern over groundwater contamination from 1,2-dichloropropane following shank injections of 1,3-dichloropropene-l,2-dichloropropane mixture and granular applications of aldicarb prompted testing for alternative methods of controlling P. penetrans. In field trials, nematicides applied by drip irrigation (ethoprop, fenamiphos, oxamyl, sodium tetrathiocarbonate, water extracts of marigold and vetch, and 1,3-D plus emulsifier) were tested with and without foliar applications of oxamyl. Nematode populations were reduced (P = 0.05) relative to controls in soil or roots on one or more sampling dates by all drip-applied nematicides except the plant extracts. On some sampling dates, additional reductions (P = 0.05) occurred as a result of three foliar applications of oxamyl. Foliar-applied oxamyl alone also reduced (P = 0.05) nematodes in soil or roots. Lily bulb weight was not affected (P = 0.05) by chemical treatments.

Evaluation of Hot Water Treatments for Management of Ditylenchus dipsaci and Fungi in Daffodil Bulbs

Treatment of daffodil (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) bulbs in a 0.37% formaldehyde water solution at 44 C for 240 minutes is a standard practice in California for management of the stem and bulb nematode, Ditylenchus dipsaci. Recent concern over the safety of formaldehyde and growers' requests for a shorter treatment time prompted a reevaluation of the procedure. The time (Y, in minutes) required to raise the temperature at the bulb center from 25 to 44 C was related to bulb circumference (X, in cm) and is described by the linear regression Y = -15 + 3.4X. The time required for 100% mortality of D. dipsaci in vitro without formaldehyde was 150, 60, and 15 minutes at 44, 46, and 48 C, respectively. Hot water treatment (HWT) with 0.37% formaldehyde at 44 C for 150 minutes controlled D. dipsaci and did not have a detrimental effect on plant growth and flower production. Shorter formaldehyde-HWT of 90, 45, and 30 minutes at 46, 48, and 50 C, respectively, controlled D. dipsaci but suppressed plant growth and flower production. Fungal genera commonly isolated from the bulbs in association with D. dipsaci were Penicillium sp., Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. narcissi, and Mucor plumbeus, representing 60, 25, and 5%, respectively, of the total fungi isolated. These fungi caused severe necrosis in daffodil bulbs. HWT at 44 C for 240 minutes reduced the number of colonies recovered from bulbs. The effects of formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, and sodium hypochlorite in reducing the population of fungi within bulbs were variable. Satisfactory control of D. dipsaci within bulbs can be achieved with HWT of bulbs at 44 C for 150 minutes with 0.37% formaldehyde or at 44 C for 240 minutes without chemicals.

Management of Ditylenchus dipsaci in Daffodils with Foliar Applications of Oxamyl

Ditylenchus dipsaci (Kühn) Filipjev is a serious pest of commercial daffodil (Narcissus sp.) in northern California. The control measures practiced by growers in recent years are postharvest treatment of planting bulbs for 3 hours in a 1% solution of formalin at 44 C combined with preplant soil fumigation with 1,3-dicbloropropene and (or) at-planting applications of phorate. In field trials, several combinations of rates (1.12, 2.24, or 4.48 kg a.i./ha in 189 liters of water/ha) and timings (one, two, or three applications at weekly intervals) of foliar applications with oxamyl on three daffodil varieties (Fortune, Ice Folley, and King Alfred) were evaluated as alternatives. Several treatments reduced nematode levels in leaves and bulbs. Phytotoxicity was not observed at any rate or combination of treatments.