Downy mildew of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) caused by Peronospora sp. in Argentina

In the green belt surrounding Buenos Aires and La Plata cities, Argentina, sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) is grown commercially under greenhouse mainly for fresh consumption. In February 2008, plants showing typical symptoms of downy mildew were found in greenhouses in La Plata. The disease was widespread in the cropped area with 100% prevalence. Infection resulted in chlorotic leaves with a greyish to dark brown fungal-like growth on the lower surfaces. A sample was deposited in the local herbarium (KUS-F23241). Conidiophores were subhyaline, 230­ 460 X 7-11 pm, straight, monopodially branched, in 4-6 orders, and emergent from stomata. Ultimate branchlets were mostly in pairs, slightly curved, 10-25 (-30) pm long and had subtruncate tips. Conidia were broadly ellipsoidal to subglobose, greyish brown, and measured 24*3- 32-5 X 22-5-26-5 pm (length/width ratio = 1-06-1-23). This pathogen is unequivocally in the genus Peronospora, and well concordant with characters ofthe unnamedPeronospora speciesreported in basil (Belbahri et al., 2005).Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale

Efecto de herbicidas post-emergentes aplicados en distintos estados del cultivo de trigo (Triticum aestivum L.)

Se analizó la respuesta del cultivo de trigo (Triticum aestivum L.) cv. Buck Charrúa a varios herbicidas aplicados en diferentes estadios del cultivo y la eficacia de los mismos sobre el control de malezas. Las malezas no provocaron daño al cultivo, ya que no se afectó el rendimiento y componentes. Disminuciones significativas de rendimiento se obtuvieron con la utilización de mezcla de 2,4-0 Picloram y 2,4-0 + Dicamba aplicados con posterioridad a alcanzado el estado de espiguilla terminal diferenciada. En tal situación, el porcentaje de control de malezas fue de apenas el 26 %. Bromoxinil, Dicamba Metsulfurón metil, Dicamba MCPA Terbutrina + Triasulfurón y Metsulfurón metil aplicado en estado de ápice vegetativo· 2,4-0 + Dicamba, Bromoxinil y Dicamba MCPA aplicados en doble arruga y 2,4-0 + Dicamba y Dicamba + MCPA aplicados previos a e piguilla terminal diferenciada no produjeron disminución significativa de rendimiento y el porcentaje de control de malezas fue alrededor del 63% con todos esos productos medidos en antesis del cultivo. Este mismo porcentaje de control se obtuvo con la mezcla 2,4-0 Picloram aplicada en doble arruga y previo a espiguilla terminal diferenciada sin embargo e registró disminución de rendimiento por fitotoxicidad. Las mermas de producción observadas se debieron principalmente al componente granos/espiga.Director: Ing. Agr. Fernando D. García, Cátedra Terapéutica Vegetal, Facultad de Agronomía

Downy mildew of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) caused by Peronospora sp. in Argentina

In the green belt surrounding Buenos Aires and La Plata cities, Argentina, sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) is grown commercially under greenhouse mainly for fresh consumption. In February 2008, plants showing typical symptoms of downy mildew were found in greenhouses in La Plata. The disease was widespread in the cropped area with 100% prevalence. Infection resulted in chlorotic leaves with a greyish to dark brown fungal-like growth on the lower surfaces. A sample was deposited in the local herbarium (KUS-F23241). Conidiophores were subhyaline, 230­ 460 X 7-11 pm, straight, monopodially branched, in 4-6 orders, and emergent from stomata. Ultimate branchlets were mostly in pairs, slightly curved, 10-25 (-30) pm long and had subtruncate tips. Conidia were broadly ellipsoidal to subglobose, greyish brown, and measured 24*3- 32-5 X 22-5-26-5 pm (length/width ratio = 1-06-1-23). This pathogen is unequivocally in the genus Peronospora, and well concordant with characters ofthe unnamedPeronospora speciesreported in basil (Belbahri et al., 2005).Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale

LC determination of propylene glycol in human plasma after pre-column derivatization with benzoyl chloride

A simple high-performance liquid chromatographic method, using photodiode array detection was developed for the determination of propylene glycol in human plasma and in the fluid retreived after continuous veno-venous hemofiltration. The method entailed alkaline derivatization with benzoyl chloride and ethylene glycol as internal standard. The separation of the compounds, after extraction with pentane, was carried out on a Pursuit C8 column with UV-detection at 230 nm. Validation samples were analyzed with an accuracy between 95 and 105%, and intra- and inter-day coefficients of variation of less than 8%. The calibration curve was linear over a concentration range of 5-100 mg

Efficacy and safety of tacrolimus compared with ciclosporin A in renal transplantation: three-year observational results

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"It's a can of worms": understanding primary care practitioners' behaviours in relation to HPV using the Theoretical Domains Framework

Background: The relationship between infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer is transforming cervical cancer prevention. HPV tests and vaccinations have recently become available. In Ireland, as elsewhere, primary care practitioners play a key role in prevention. ATHENS (A Trial of HPV Education and Support) aims to develop a theorybased intervention to support primary care practitioners in their HPV-related practice. This study, the first step in the intervention development process, aimed to: identify HPV-related clinical behaviours that the intervention will target; clarify general practitioners’ (GPs’) and practice nurses’ roles and responsibilities; and determine factors that potentially influence clinical behaviour. A secondary objective was to informally assess the utility of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) in understanding clinical behaviours in an area with an evolving evidence-base. Methods: In-depth semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with GPs and practice nurses. The topic guide, which contained open questions and HPV-related clinical scenarios, was developed through literature review and clinical experience. Interview transcripts were content-analysed using the TDF as the coding framework. Results: 19 GPs and 14 practice nurses were interviewed. The major HPV-related clinical behaviours were: initiating a discussion about HPV infection with female patients; offering/recommending HPV vaccination to appropriate patients; and answering patients’ questions about HPV testing. While the responsibility for taking smears was considered a female role, both male and female practitioners dealt with HPV-related issues. All 12 theoretical domains arose in relation to HPV infection; the domains judged to be most important were: knowledge, emotion, social influences, beliefs about capabilities and beliefs about consequences. Eleven domains emerged in relation to HPV vaccination, with beliefs about consequences, social influences, knowledge and environmental context and resources judged to be the most important. Nine domains were relevant to HPV testing, with knowledge and beliefs about capabilities judged to be the most important. Conclusions: The findings confirm the need for an intervention to support primary care practitioners around HPV and suggest it should target a range of theoretical domains. The TDF proved valuable in analysing qualitative data collected using a topic guide not specifically designed to capture TDF domains and understanding clinical behaviours in an area with an evolving evidence-base

Insight Into the Anti-staphylococcal Activity of JBC 1847 at Sub-Inhibitory Concentration

Multidrug-resistant pathogens constitute a serious global issue and, therefore, novel antimicrobials with new modes of action are urgently needed. Here, we investigated the effect of a phenothiazine derivative (JBC 1847) with high antimicrobial activity on Staphylococcus aureus, using a wide range of in vitro assays, flow cytometry, and RNA transcriptomics. The flow cytometry results showed that JBC 1847 rapidly caused depolarization of the cell membrane, while the macromolecule synthesis inhibition assay showed that the synthesis rates of DNA, RNA, cell wall, and proteins, respectively, were strongly decreased. Transcriptome analysis of S. aureus exposed to sub-inhibitory concentrations of JBC 1847 identified a total of 78 downregulated genes, whereas not a single gene was found to be significantly upregulated. Most importantly, there was downregulation of genes involved in adenosintrifosfat (ATP)-dependent pathways, including histidine biosynthesis, which is likely to correlate with the observed lower level of intracellular ATP in JBC 1847–treated cells. Furthermore, we showed that JBC 1847 is bactericidal against both exponentially growing cells and cells in a stationary growth phase. In conclusion, our results showed that the antimicrobial properties of JBC 1847 were primarily caused by depolarization of the cell membrane resulting in dissipation of the proton motive force (PMF), whereby many essential bacterial processes are affected. JBC 1847 resulted in lowered intracellular levels of ATP followed by decreased macromolecule synthesis rate and downregulation of genes essential for the amino acid metabolism in S. aureus. Bacterial compensatory mechanisms for this proposed multi-target activity of JBC 1847 seem to be limited based on the observed very low frequency of resistance toward the compound