Impacts of a commercially-available horticultural oil biopesticide (EF-400) on the tomato-Phytophthora infestans pathosystem

Biopesticide fungicides are naturally derived compounds that offer protection from plant diseases through various modes of action, including antimicrobial activity and upregulation of defense responses in host plants. These plant protectants provide a sustainable and safe alternative to conventional pesticides in integrated disease management programs and are especially salient in the management of high-risk and economically important diseases such as late blight of tomato and potato, for which host resistance options are limited. In this study, a commercially available biopesticide, EF400 comprised of clove (8.2%), rosemary (8.1%), and peppermint oils (6.7%) (Anjon AG, Corcoran, CA), was investigated for its effects on the Phytophthora infestans-tomato pathosystem. Specifically, we evaluated the impact of EF400 on P. infestans growth in culture, disease symptoms in planta, and activation of host defenses through monitoring transcript accumulation of defense related genes. The application timing and use rate of EF400 were further investigated for managing tomato late blight. EF400 delayed the onset of tomato late blight symptoms, although not as effectively as the copper hydroxide fungicide Champ WG (Nufarm Americas Inc., Alsip, IL). Pathogen mycelial growth and sporangial quantity on late blight-susceptible tomato leaves were significantly reduced with EF400. The biopesticide also had an enhancing or suppressing effect on the transcript accumulation of three defense related genes, Pin2, PR1a, and PR1b. Our work in exploring a commercially available horticultural oil biopesticide meaningfully contributed to the essential knowledge base for optimizing recommendations for the management of tomato late blight.

Study of a stream in Argentina with a high concentration of microplastics: Preliminary analysis of the methodology

This study presents for the first time results about the microplastic concentration and their origin in a stream of the Pampas region in Argentina, receiving wastewater of an intermediate city. The most appropriate procedure to analyze and quantify the microplastics in the studied system is the use of an oxidative digestion process using a 30% H₂O₂ solution to eliminate the organic matter in the samples. A high quantity of MPs, on the order of millions of microplastics per m³ of water, was estimated in the Langueyú stream. 56% of the microplastics correspond to fibers with diameters between 10 and 15 μm and lengths less than 500 μm, while 44% are fragments with sizes of tens of micrometers. Raman microspectroscopy was used to identify the type of fibers. The characteristics of the microplastic fibers released in a wash load test are comparable with those observed in the Langueyú stream, in particular, the average sizes and the distribution of the diameters of the MPFs are similar. The processes in the sewage treatment plant, prior to their discharge in the stream, would affect the color of the fibers and their length.

Retraction notice to "Fungal diversity is negatively affected by habitat fragmentation: a meta-analysis" [Current Opinion in Microbiology 37 (2017) 61-66]

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article that has already been published in <Current Opinion in Microbiology, 37, June 2017 61-66>, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2017.03.015 has been withdrawn at the request of the editor and publisher. The publisher regrets that an error occurred which led to the premature publication of this paper. This error bears no reflection on the article or its authors. The publisher apologizes to the authors and the readers for this unfortunate error.

Fungal diversity at fragmented landscapes: synthesis and future perspectives

Fungi are organisms with important roles in ecosystem functioning and services, but knowledge about how habitat fragmentation affect fungal diversity is biased by experimental approaches and it is spread in different trophic groups. We analyzed the empirical evidences of fungal diversity in fragmented landscapes, and proposed future perspectives for the study of these organisms under land use changes. Fungal diversity might be negatively affected by habitat fragmentation; however, this trend may differ in magnitude depending on fungal groups and their nutritional habits. In addition, due to the fact that fungal diversity at fragmented landscapes has been studied mainly through few indicators (e.g. isolation, area and edge effect); we propose incorporating the landscape structure and accurate spatio-temporal scales to the study of fungal diversity responses to fragmented landscapes. Together, this methodological refinement may allow improving knowledge on fungi when designing proper strategies for landscape management.

WITHDRAWN: Fungal diversity is negatively affected by habitat fragmentation: a meta-analysis

This article that has already been published in <Current Opinion in Microbiology, 37, June 2017 61-66>, 10.1016/j.mib.2017.03.015 has been withdrawn at the request of the editor and publisher. The publisher regrets that an error occurred which led to the premature publication of this paper. This error bears no reflection on the article or its authors. The publisher apologizes to the authors and the readers for this unfortunate error". The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal.

Direct comparison of sensitivity encoding (SENSE) accelerated and conventional 3D contrast enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) of renal arteries: effect of increasing spatial resolution

PURPOSE

To assess the effect of attaining higher spatial resolution in contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) of renal arteries using parallel imaging, sensitivity encoding (SENSE), by comparing the SENSE contrast-enhanced (CE) MRA against a conventional CE-MRA protocol with identical scan times, injection protocol, and other acquisition parameters.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Numerical simulations and a direct comparison of SENSE-accelerated versus conventional acquisitions were performed. A total of 41 patients (18 male) were imaged using both protocols for a direct comparison. Both protocols used fluoroscopic triggering, centric encoding, breath-holding, equivalent injection protocol, and lasted approximately 30 seconds.

RESULTS

Simulated point-spread functions were narrower for the SENSE protocol compared to the conventional protocol. In the patient study, although the SENSE protocol produced images with lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), image quality was better for all segments of the renal arteries. In addition, ringing of kidney parenchyma and renal artery blurring were significantly reduced in the SENSE protocol. Finally, reader confidence improved with the SENSE protocol.

CONCLUSION

Despite a reduction in SNR, the higher-resolution SENSE CE-MRA provided improved image quality, reduced artifacts, and increased reader confidence compared to the conventional protocol.

Use of HIV health care in HIV-seropositive crack cocaine smokers and other active drug users

PURPOSE

We assessed the use of HIV care among HIV-seropositive crack cocaine smokers and other active drug users in Miami-Dade County, FL.

METHODS

Personal interviews were conducted with 327 adults recruited from inner city neighborhoods. Cross-tabulations and logistic modeling were used to analyze the relationship between selected variables and use of HIV care.

RESULTS

One-third of respondents had not seen a provider for HIV-related health care in the past 12 months. Among those who had seen a provider, only 33.8% were receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Factors associated with utilization of HIV-related health care were age, race, having a usual source of care, health insurance, time elapsed since time of diagnosis, and reports of moderate to extreme interference of pain with daily activities.

IMPLICATIONS

These findings suggest the need to develop, implement, and evaluate intervention strategies to improve use of HIV medical care among active drug users.

Moving substance-abusing women from welfare to work

Substance abuse and welfare reform are among the nation's highest priorities, and research that examines linkages between the two is of extreme importance to both government policy and the community. Welfare reform will have serious implications for substance abusers as well as for the various professionals who treat them and work to move their clients into functional recovery and self-sufficiency. Within the context of welfare reform and the special needs of substance-abusing populations, the present study examines current welfare status, work status, and barriers and facilitators to gaining and maintaining employment among 100 low income women who participated in a long-term residential substance-abuse treatment program in Miami, Florida. Participants completed a face-to-face interview to assess a detailed employment history and current sources of income as well as the Addiction Severity Index. Results indicate that completers of the treatment program were more likely to be working post-discharge than non-completers. Similarly, the longer the length of stay in the program, the more likely the client was to be working post-discharge. Multivariate analysis indicates a high-school education, participation in the treatment center's aftercare program, and treatment duration of more than one year were independently related to work status. These data suggest that as welfare reform becomes a reality, continuing support of various types, particularly drug treatment, is needed to assist substance-abusing women in gaining and maintaining employment.

Use of health care services by women who use crack cocaine

Chronic drug users demonstrate a need for access to health care due to both acute health problems related directly to substance use and to other existing medical problems. This study attempts to examine how women differ from men in their utilization of health services. Also, it analyzes how crack use affects men and women differentially. The study population is a community-based sample of 624, comprised equally of men and women, as well as crack users and non-users of crack. Results indicate that women utilized health care more than men; however, crack use among women appears to be an inhibitory factor in the utilization of health services by women.

The role of the physician as an information source on mammography

PURPOSE

The value of mammography for asymptomatic women younger than 50 years of age has been under debate, and it had been suggested that each woman should decide for herself whether to start having mammograms in her 40s. This decision-making process requires women to have knowledge of screening guidelines. This study reported key determining informational factors that led women age 40 and older to obtain a mammogram.

DESCRIPTION OF STUDY

To examine the relationship between sources of information and utilization of mammography, the authors conducted a communitywide telephone survey, in English and Spanish, of a stratified random sample of 999 white, black, and Hispanic women in Dade County, Florida. The survey was designed to measure knowledge, attitudes, practices, and beliefs about breast cancer, its prevention, and its early detection. Data for 784 women 40 years and older are analyzed and reported here.

RESULTS

The most commonly cited source of information was the media (90.2%). In a logistic regression, having had a checkup in the past year was the strongest predictor of having had a recent mammogram as opposed to a distant one (OR 4.17; 95% CI 2.92-5.95). Women who named their physician as an important source of information about health and prevention were also more likely to have had a recent examination (OR 1.85; 95% CI 1.27-2.69).

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

This analysis of the relationship between the source of information and utilization of mammography suggests that physicians, as sources of information, serve to motivate women to obtain a mammogram. This is true even after taking into account the patient's age and utilization of the healthcare system for preventive care in general. For this reason, it is imperative that clinicians be aware of national guidelines for breast cancer screening; of the risks and benefits of screening measures; and of the implications of a positive and negative test result. In addition, clinicians must realize the importance of follow-up to remind the patient to obtain a mammogram or other screening test and should develop strategies to provide this service.

Increasing immunization rates among inner-city, African American children. A randomized trial of case management

CONTEXT

Immunization rates in the inner city remain lower than in the general US population, but efforts to raise immunization levels in inner-city areas have been largely untested.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the effectiveness of case management in raising immunization levels among infants of inner-city, African American families.

DESIGN

Randomized controlled trial with follow-up through 1 year of life.

SETTING

Low-income areas of inner-city Los Angeles, Calif.

PATIENTS

A representative sample of 419 African American infants and their families.

INTERVENTIONS

In-depth assessment by case managers before infants were 6 weeks of age, with home visits 2 weeks prior to when immunizations were scheduled and additional follow-up visits as needed.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Percentage of children with up-to-date immunizations at age 1 year, characteristics associated with improved immunization rates, and cost-effectiveness of case management intervention.

RESULTS

A total of 365 newborns were followed up to age 1 year. Overall, the immunization completion for the case management group was 13.2 percentage points higher than the control group (63.8% vs 50.6%; P=.01). In a logistic model, the case management effect was limited to the 25% of the sample who reported 3 or fewer well-child visits (odds ratio, 3.43; 95% confidence interval, 1.26-9.35); for them, immunization levels increased by 28 percentage points. Although for the case management group intervention was not cost-effective ($12022 per additional child immunized), it was better ($4546) for the 25% of the sample identified retrospectively to have inadequate utilization of preventive health visits.

CONCLUSIONS

A case management intervention in the first year of life was effective but not cost-effective at raising immunization levels in inner-city, African American infants. The intervention was demonstrated to be particularly effective for subpopulations that do not access well-child care; however, currently there are no means to identify these groups prospectively. For case management to be a useful tool to raise immunizations levels among high-risk populations, better methods of tracking and targeting, such as immunization registries, need to be developed.

Medicaid enrollment and health services access by Latino children in inner-city Los Angeles

OBJECTIVES

To understand the role of parental immigration status on Medicaid enrollment and access to health services for young Latino children.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional household survey of the parents of inner-city Latino children.

SETTING

South Central and East Los Angeles, Calif, 1992.

POPULATION

Children 12 to 36 months old and their parents from 817 Latino families.

MAIN OUTCOME VARIABLES

Continuous Medicaid enrollment, continuity of care, deferral of care, and number of visits.

METHODS

Univariate analysis, logistic and linear regression by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, residency status, and language use.

RESULTS

Children were primarily born in the United States (96%), but most parents were not citizens (80%). Only 40.0% of eligible children had continuous Medicaid coverage since birth, 18.6% had never been insured, and 20.7% had received episodic Medicaid coverage. Continuous Medicaid coverage was negatively associated with either the caregiver (odds ratio [OR],0.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.19-0.56) or their partner (OR=0.33, 95% CI =0.20-0.55) working. Residency status, language preference, and length of US residency were not associated with continuous Medicaid enrollment. Insurance coverage was associated with more physician visits, greater continuity of care, and fewer deferrals of care.

CONCLUSION

While most (84%) young Latino children in inner-city Los Angeles were eligible for Medicaid, a substantial proportion (39.3%) have episodic or no coverage. Insurance status and provider type were more consistently associated with access rather than residency and language preference. In the aftermath of California's Proposition 187 and federal welfare reform, insurance status and access are likely to worsen for these young children unless the wave of antiimmigration sentiments is held in check.

Inappropriately timed immunizations: types, causes, and their relationship to record keeping

OBJECTIVES

This study examined inappropriately timed immunizations and their relationship to record keeping practices in Los Angeles public health centers.

METHODS

Records of children's visits were reviewed at four public health centers maintaining separate records.

RESULTS

One third of all children seen at both immunization-only and well child clinics were given inappropriately timed immunizations. Almost half of the immunizations were not transferred between sets of records. Children seen in both clinics were more than twice as likely to receive at least one inappropriately timed immunization as those seen only at the well child clinic.

CONCLUSIONS

Keeping separate immunization records at separate clinics leads to inappropriately timed immunizations.

Knowledge of the childhood immunization schedule and of contraindications to vaccinate by private and public providers in Los Angeles

BACKGROUND

Missed opportunities to vaccinate occur commonly and contribute to the underimmunization of young children. They are related to provider knowledge of the immunization schedule and contraindications to vaccination.

METHODS

We surveyed private physicians (n = 50) and public health department physicians and nurses (n = 47). The questionnaire presented two sets of clinical scenarios in which they had to assess what immunizations were due and assess whether there were any contraindications to vaccination.

RESULTS

The mean percent correct responses on the immunization schedule questions was 64% (sd = 3.6%) for the private physicians, 71% (SD = 4.7%) for the public physicians and 78% (SD = 2.8%) for the public nurses (P = 0.04). The mean percent correct responses on the contraindications to vaccinate questions was 73% (SD = 5.4%) for public physicians, 58% (SD = 3.3%) for private physicians, and 55% (SD = 4.7%) for public health nurses (P = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

Our survey shows that providers in the public and private sectors have important deficits in their knowledge of the immunization schedule and the appropriate contraindications to vaccinate which might lead to missed opportunities to vaccinate and low immunization coverage.

Hepatitis B virus serology in pregnant women: transmittal of results from obstetricians to pediatricians in California

From late 1992 to early 1993, in order to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practice patterns of California obstetricians regarding hepatitis B virus screening of pregnant women and how maternal hepatitis B virus serologies are communicated by obstetricians to pediatricians, we mailed questionnaires to a random sample of 801 California obstetricians and 1030 California pediatricians. Response rates were 65.7% (526) for obstetricians and 71% (732) for pediatricians. Although 99.8% of the surveyed obstetricians indicated that they routinely screened all pregnant women for hepatitis B virus, their knowledge of the correct screening tests to order and their interpretation was mixed. Only 56.3% (95% confidence interval, 51.2 to 61.2) were aware of the California law and approximately 12% did not understand that it mandated universal screening of pregnant women. There was a great difference of opinion between obstetricians and pediatricians regarding how to communicate hepatitis B virus serology results on the mother. Forty-nine percent of obstetricians report that they always request the nurse to inform the pediatrician (48.6%), 51.2% always verbally inform the pediatrician, 39.1% always place an order in the mother's chart and 5.7% always send a letter to the pediatrician. In contrast only 12.9% of pediatricians responded that they always received maternal hepatitis B virus serology results from the obstetrical or nursery nurse, only 2.6% always received a verbal communication from the obstetrician, 14.1% always retrieved it from a written report in the mother's chart and 4.2% reported that they always received a letter from the obstetrician. A uniform system should be adopted to ensure efficient transmission of maternal hepatitis B serology results from obstetricians to pediatricians to ensure prompt treatment to prevent vertical transmission of hepatitis B.

Vaccination levels in Los Angeles public health centers: the contribution of missed opportunities to vaccinate and other factors

We abstracted 752 randomly selected records of 2-year-old children at 5 public health centers in Los Angeles. Only 27% of the children were up-to-date in their vaccinations by 2 years of age. Being up-to-date was strongly associated with the number of missed opportunities to vaccinate and number of well child visits. Missed opportunities to vaccinate occurred during 52% of all visits and were associated with minor illness diagnoses and inaccurate immunization status assessment by nurses. Frequent missed opportunities to vaccinate and inadequate numbers of well child visits may result in low immunization levels among children attending public health clinics.

Left ventricular function during sepsis

The prevalence and prognostic significance of left ventricular involvement in septic patients without shock was investigated. Systolic time intervals (STI) and preejection period/left ventricular ejection time ratio (PEP/LVET) were used to assess left ventricular function. Forty-nine patients, 22 of whom ultimately died, were studied. The group as a whole showed abnormal PEP/LVET ratio (0.40 +/- 0.02) that differed significantly (p less than .01) from reported normal values (0.345 +/- 0.002), demonstrating widespread left ventricular dysfunction in this population. In order to establish the prognostic significance of left ventricular impairment, the population was divided into two groups according to the PEP/LVET ratio. Group 1 (PEP/LVET less than or equal to 0.42) showed a mortality rate of 10/33 (30%), while group 2 (PEP/LVET greater than 0.42) had a significantly greater mortality (12/16 [75%], p less than .001). The test that has a sensitivity of 55%, a specificity of 85%, and a positive predictive value of 75% identifies a subset of septic patients with severe impairment of left ventricular function and high risk of dying.