Sudden Decline of Date Palm Trees Caused by Erwinia chrysanthemi.

A new bacterial disease of date palm 'sudden decline' was found in the Al-Qassim region, Saudi Arabia. It is characterized by a sudden loss of vigor in the affected trees with the appearance of some blighted inner leaves. Symptoms develop rapidly and the whole tree assumes a straw color in about 2 weeks. The bud union is killed, and massive amounts of slime in a gel-like matrix could be detected in the heart of the affected tree. Biological and physiological tests of the isolated bacterium suggested that it belongs to the species Erwinia chrysanthemi. Artificial inoculation of various date palm cultivars using the technique of infusion under reduced pressure demonstrated that E. chrysanthemi was the causal agent and that cv. Succary was the most susceptible cultivar, whereas cvs. Roshody and Helwa were resistant to infection with E. chrysanthemi.

Pathogenicity of Toxigenic Fusarium proliferatum from Date Palm in Saudi Arabia.

Fusarium proliferatum was isolated for the first time from roots and leaves of declining date-palm trees (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in the Al-Qassim and Al Medina Al Monawara regions in Saudi Arabia. The disease symptoms caused by F. proliferatum, which include wilt and dieback, were similar to those caused by F. oxysporum f. sp. albedinis, the causal agent of Bayoud, the most important disease of date palm found in North Africa. Koch's postulates were completed by stem injection of date-palm seedlings using two strains of F. proliferatum. The pathogenicity tests, performed on local cv. Succary using two strains of F. proliferatum isolated from roots, produced severe symptoms of disease. The identity of F. proliferatum was confirmed by comparing the data obtained by partial sequences of a large subunit of rDNA to American and European Gene Bank data. All nine F. proliferatum strains isolated from diseased plants were shown to belong to mating population D of Gibberella fujikuroi. Finally, the strains were also tested for the production of beauvericin, fumonisin B1, fusaproliferin, fusaric acid, and moniliformin. Two strains out of nine were able to produce all five toxins and all strains produced at least three of them. This is the first time that toxigenic F. proliferatum strains known to belong to mating population D of G. fujikuroi were isolated from diseased date-palm plants.

Biodegradation of chlorpyrifos by either single or combined cultures of some soilborne plant pathogenic fungi.

Biodegradation of chlorpyrifos was studied in liquid culture media amended with either single or combined eight different plant pathogenic fungi isolated from the continuous cropping wheat fields. The average recovery of chlorpyrifos from the liquid media was found to be 86.1%. The detection limit of chlorpyrifos by the analytical method used was 19 ppb. Data showed that the growth of mixed fungi at concentrations up to 200 ppm of chlorpyrifos was higher than in the control treatment. Chlorpyrifos concentrations declined in the medium of combined fungi more than it did in the medium of any single fungus with increase in the incubation period. The amount of chlorpyrifos recovered was 79.8 ppm (39.9%) in the combined fungal cultures after 21 days. However, those recovered from the media of Fusarium graminearum, F. oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, Cladosporium cladosporiodes, Cephalosporium sp., Trichoderma viridi, Alternaria alternata, and Cladorrhinum brunnescens, ranged from 48.0 to 74.8%. The half-life value (T1/2) for chlorpyrifos was 15.8 day in the medium amended with mixed fungi. However, for the single cultures it ranged from 19.3 to 33.0 day.

The usefulness of screening for chlamydial trachomatis infection with cervical mucus leukocyte esterase.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the ability of leukocyte esterase dipstick test (LET) performed in cervical mucus to predict direct immunofluorescent (DIF)-verified Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) cervical infection. METHOD: Eighty women with inflammatory cervico-vaginal smear were submitted to both an endocervical smear, to verify Ct cervicitis by DIF technique; and a cervical mucus sample to perform LET. Results of LET and DIF were matched. RESULTS: Among 30 Chlamydial positive subjects, cervical mucus esterase test was positive in 28 (93.3%); while among 50 Chlamydial negative controls, esterase test was negative in 43 subject (86%). The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for LET were 93.3%, 86%, 80% and 95% respectively. CONCLUSION: Cervical mucus LET is a simple, cost effective screening test, with promising accuracy, for Ct cervical infection among women with inflammatory cervico-vaginal smears.

Contraception after heart surgery.

This study represents the different methods of contraception used by women having cardiac surgery at Ain Shams University Hospital. The study comprised of 250 women having had mitral commissurotomy, 77 women having had valve replacement including one case of triple valve repair and 3 women having had cardiac surgery for congenital heart disease. An IUCD was used by 170 women (51.5%), vaginal tablets by 4 women (1.2%), oral contraceptive pills by 7 women (2.1%), "safe period" by 7 women (2.1%), tubal ligation was performed in 10 women (3%). The husbands of 33 women (10%) used condoms, and 99 women (30%) did not use contraceptive methods. The IUCD was tolerable and was associated with bleeding in 60 women (35.2%) and leucorrhoea in 55 (32.3%). The IUCD was removed from only one woman due to severe bleeding. Three pregnancies occurred with condom users in two women who had had mitral commissurotomy and one having had valve replacement. There was no case of bacterial endocarditis in the study group.

PIP: Different methods of contraception used by women undergoing cardiac surgery at the Ain Shams University Hospital in Cairo are discussed. The study including 250 women who had mitral commissurotomy, 77 with valve replacement including 1 case of triple valve repair, and 3 women who had cardiac surgery for congenital heart disease. An IUD was used by 170 women (51.5%), vaginal tablets by 4 (1.2%), oral contraceptives by 7 (2.1%), "safe period" by 7 women (2.1%), and tubal ligation was performed on 10 women (3%). The husbands of 33 women (10%) used condoms, and 99 women (30%) did not use any contraception. The IUD was tolerable, and was associated with bleeding in 60 women (35.2%) and leukorrhea in 55 (32.3%). The IUD was removed from only 1 woman because of severe bleeding. 3 pregnancies occurred with condom users in 2 women who had had mitral commissurotomy and 1 who had valve replacement. There was no incidence of bacterial endocarditis in the study group.