[Factors influencing intraocular pressure elevation on the first postoperative day following small-incision cataract surgery--the effect of apraclonidine].

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of apraclonidine on intraocular pressure elevation after cataract surgery and the factors associated with elevated intraocular pressure. METHODS: A group of patients (apraclonidine group) was administered a drop of apraclonidine before and one drop after surgery, and the difference between the intraocular pressure in the apraclonidine group and the non-use group was investigated postoperatively. On the first postoperative day, multivariate analysis was performed using intraocular pressure as the objective value and other variable factors involved in the surgery as the explanatory variables. RESULTS: On the first postoperative day, the intraocular pressure in the apraclonidine group (520 eyes: 15.5 +/- 4.9 mmHg) was significantly lower than that in the non-use group (577 eyes: 18.7 +/- 7.2 mmHg) (p < 0.001). The significant variables included preoperative intraocular pressure, apraclonidine use, sex (men > women), poor mydriasis, acetylcholine use, pseudoexfoliation, and diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSIONS: Apraclonidine is useful in suppressing postoperative elevation of intraocular pressure.

The tomato wilt fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici shares common ancestors with nonpathogenic F. oxysporum isolated from wild tomatoes in the Peruvian Andes.

Fusarium oxysporum is an ascomycetous fungus that is well-known as a soilborne plant pathogen. In addition, a large population of nonpathogenic F. oxysporum (NPF) inhabits various environmental niches, including the phytosphere. To obtain an insight into the origin of plant pathogenic F. oxysporum, we focused on the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and its pathogenic F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL). We collected F. oxysporum from wild and transition Solanum spp. and modern cultivars of tomato in Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Afghanistan, Italy, and Japan, evaluated the fungal isolates for pathogenicity, VCG, mating type, and distribution of SIX genes related to the pathogenicity of FOL, and constructed phylogenies based on ribosomal DNA intergenic spacer sequences. All F. oxysporum isolates sampled were genetically more diverse than FOL. They were not pathogenic to the tomato and did not carry SIX genes. Certain NPF isolates including those from wild Solanum spp. in Peru were grouped in FOL clades, whereas most of the NPF isolates were not. Our results suggested that the population of NPF isolates in FOL clades gave rise to FOL by gaining pathogenicity.