Characterizing the Economically Important Species of \u3ci\u3ePythium\u3c/i\u3e Affecting Cucurbits in South Carolina and Grafting to Control Pythium Disease in Watermelon

The plant family Cucurbitaceae, informally referred to as cucurbits, is the largest family of cultivated vegetables with 118 genera and 825 species. In South Carolina, the most commonly grown cucurbit crops are watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) (1,982 ha), squash (Cucurbita pepo) (643 ha), cucumber (Cucumis sativus) (398 ha), and cantaloupes and muskmelons (Cucumis melo) (365 ha). In cucurbits, Pythium spp. cause symptoms of root rot, stem rot, and damping-off. Four different cucurbit species were planted repeatedly in sentinel plots in nine fields over three years to isolate and identify Pythium species pathogenic to cucurbits in South Carolina. Isolates (600) were recovered from symptomatic seedlings and identified by sequencing DNA of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I region. The four most common species identified were P. spinosum (45.6% of isolates), P. myriotylum (20.0%), P. irregulare (15.3%), and P. aphanidermatum (12.8%). These four Pythium species were recovered from every cucurbit host each year. P. myriotylum and P. aphanidermatum were predominantly isolated in warmer months, whereas P. spinosum and P. irregulare were predominantly isolated in cooler months. Cool-season species of Pythium were more virulent than warm-season species at 25°C, an average soil temperature for spring cucurbit planting dates in South Carolina. Representative isolates from each species (63 total) were sensitive to two standard fungicides, mefenoxam and propamocarb. However, these same isolates were insensitive to the new fungicide oxathiapiprolin, except those classified taxonomically as species in Pythium Clade I, which includes P. ultimum. Cucurbit rootstocks used in watermelon grafting were evaluated for resistance to pathogenic species of Pythium. Watermelon cultivars were more susceptible to P. myriotylum and P. aphanidermatum than were cultivars of bottlegourd and interspecific hybrid squash (Cucurbita maxima × C. moschata) at both 20°C and 30°C in a growth chamber experiment. Interspecific hybrid squash cultivars were less susceptible to infection by these two species of Pythium than were bottlegourd and watermelon cultivars in a field experiment. The seedless watermelon cultivar Tri-X 313 was grafted to citron, bottlegourd, and interspecific hybrid squash rootstocks, and the fungicides mefenoxam (Ridomil Gold), propamocarb (Previcur Flex), and mefenoxam and propamocarb together were applied at transplanting to compare grafting and commercial fungicide applications for disease management. Grafting to interspecific hybrid squash rootstocks reduced disease incidence compared to non-grafted controls. However, there were no differences in disease development between fungicide and non-fungicide-treated plots. Grafting to the interspecific hybrid squash cultivar Camelforce significantly increased yield and lowered disease development when compared to non-grafted control plants. Interspecific hybrid squash was consistently resistant to inoculation with P. myriotylum and P. aphanidermatum isolates both in the field and growth chamber experiments, demonstrating its resistance and utility as a rootstock for grafting watermelon plants

Clinical application of high frequency jet ventilation in stereotactic liver ablations – a methodological study [version 1; referees: 2 approved]

Background: Computer-assisted navigation during thermal ablation of liver tumours, may help to correct needle placement and improve ablation efficacy in percutaneous, laparoscopic and open interventions. The potential advantage of using high frequency jet-ventilation technique (HFJV) during the procedure is by minimising the amplitude of respiration-related upper-abdominal organs movements. The aim of this clinical methodological trial was to establish whether HFJV would give less ventilatory induced liver movements than conventional ventilation, during stereotactic navigated ablation of liver metastases under open surgery. Methods: Five consecutive patients scheduled for elective, open liver ablation under general propofol and remifentanil anaesthesia were included in the study protocol. During the stereotactic targeting of the tumours, HFJV was chosen for intraoperative lung ventilation. For tracking of liver movement, a rigid marker shield was placed on the liver surface and tracked with an optical position measurement system. A 4D position of the marker shield was measured for HFJV and conventional tidal volume lung ventilation (TV). At each time point the magnitude of liver displacement was calculated as an Euclidean distance between translational component of the marker shield's 3D position and previously estimated centroid of the translational motion. Results: The mean Euclidean liver displacement was 0.80 (0.10) mm for HFJV and 2,90 (1.03) mm for TV with maximum displacement going as far as 12 mm on standard ventilation (p=0.0001). Conclusion: HFJV is a valuable lung ventilation method for patients undergoing stereotactic surgical procedures in general anaesthesia when reduction of organ displacement is crucial

Cone-beam computed tomography-guided stereotactic liver punctures: a phantom study

PURPOSE Images from computed tomography (CT), combined with navigation systems, improve the outcomes of local thermal therapies that are dependent on accurate probe placement. Although the usage of CT is desired, its availability for time-consuming radiological interventions is limited. Alternatively, three-dimensional images from C-arm cone-beam CT (CBCT) can be used. The goal of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of navigated CBCT-guided needle punctures, controlled with CT scans. METHODS Five series of five navigated punctures were performed on a nonrigid phantom using a liver specific navigation system and CBCT volumetric dataset for planning and navigation. To mimic targets, five titanium screws were fixed to the phantom. Target positioning accuracy (TPECBCT) was computed from control CT scans and divided into lateral and longitudinal components. Additionally, CBCT-CT guidance accuracy was deducted by performing CBCT-to-CT image coregistration and measuring TPECBCT-CT from fused datasets. Image coregistration was evaluated using fiducial registration error (FRECBCT-CT) and target registration error (TRECBCT-CT). RESULTS Positioning accuracies in lateral directions pertaining to CBCT (TPECBCT = 2.1 ± 1.0 mm) were found to be better to those achieved from previous study using CT (TPECT = 2.3 ± 1.3 mm). Image coregistration error was 0.3 ± 0.1 mm, resulting in an average TRE of 2.1 ± 0.7 mm (N = 5 targets) and average Euclidean TPECBCT-CT of 3.1 ± 1.3 mm. CONCLUSIONS Stereotactic needle punctures might be planned and performed on volumetric CBCT images and controlled with multidetector CT with positioning accuracy higher or similar to those performed using CT scanners

Cone-beam Computed Tomography-guided Stereotactic Liver Punctures: A Phantom Study

Purpose: Images from computed tomography (CT), combined with navigation systems, improve the outcomes of local thermal therapies that are dependent on accurate probe placement. Although the usage of CT is desired, its availability for time-consuming radiological interventions is limited. Alternatively, three-dimensional images from C-arm cone-beam CT (CBCT) can be used. The goal of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of navigated CBCT-guided needle punctures, controlled with CT scans. Methods: Five series of five navigated punctures were performed on a nonrigid phantom using a liver specific navigation system and CBCT volumetric dataset for planning and navigation. To mimic targets, five titanium screws were fixed to the phantom. Target positioning accuracy (TPECBCT) was computed from control CT scans and divided into lateral and longitudinal components. Additionally, CBCT-CT guidance accuracy was deducted by performing CBCT-to-CT image coregistration and measuring TPECBCT-CT from fused datasets. Image coregistration was evaluated using fiducial registration error (FRECBCT-CT) and target registration error (TRECBCT-CT). Results: Positioning accuracies in lateral directions pertaining to CBCT (TPECBCT=2.1±1.0mm) were found to be better to those achieved from previous study using CT (TPECT=2.3±1.3mm). Image coregistration error was 0.3±0.1mm, resulting in an average TRE of 2.1±0.7mm (N=5 targets) and average Euclidean TPECBCT-CT of 3.1±1.3mm. Conclusions: Stereotactic needle punctures might be planned and performed on volumetric CBCT images and controlled with multidetector CT with positioning accuracy higher or similar to those performed using CT scanner

Interdyscyplinarna opieka nad pacjentem z chorobą nowotworową

Praca recenzowana / peer-reviewed paperZ przyjemnością przekazujemy Państwu kolejny tom monografii Interdyscyplinarna opieka nad pacjentem z chorobą nowotworową, która powstała przy współpracy Polskiego Stowarzyszenia Pielęgniarek Onkologicznych z Wydziałem Zdrowia i Nauk Medycznych Krakowskiej Akademii im. Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego. Problematyka przedstawiona w publikacji dotyczy wieloaspektowej opieki nad chorym na nowotwór. Opracowania są doniesieniami z badań naukowych, w których autorzy przedstawiają wnioski i kierunki działań dla praktyków. Równie dużą wartość mają rozdziały, w których praktycy dzielą się swoją wiedzą i doświadczeniem z pracy z chorymi i ich rodzinami. Tematyka monografi i dotyczy m.in.: edukacji zdrowotnej, komunikowania się, opieki nad chorym poddawanym chemioterapii, leczeniu chirurgicznemu, radioterapii i rehabilitacji. Pragniemy, aby ta książka swoją merytoryczną zawartością stała się istotnym wkładem w uczczenie tak ważnych dla pielęgniarstwa rocznic, obchodzonych w 2011 r