Greenhouse Studies Reveal Increased Aggressiveness of Emergent Canadian Fusarium graminearum Chemotypes in Wheat.

The role of Fusarium graminearum trichothecene-chemotypes in disease outcomes was evaluated by point inoculation in a series of wheat lines with different levels of resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB). Four inocula, each consisting of a composite of four strains with either 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (ADON) chemotypes from "traditional" or emergent populations, a 3-ADON chemotype, or a nivalenol (NIV) chemotype, were compared. The evaluated wheat included Canadian lines with different levels of FHB resistance/susceptibility and double haploid lines developed from crosses of these lines. Highly resistant lines were resistant to infection by all of the F. graminearum chemotypes evaluated. In the moderately susceptible/resistant wheat lines, the 3-ADON producers and the emergent 15-ADON population were, in some instances, more aggressive and resulted in higher Fusarium damaged kernel scores and levels of trichothecene accumulation. The data presented in this study demonstrate the importance of growing highly resistant wheat cultivars in the current climate of an evolving F. graminearum population, and suggest that moderate levels of FHB resistance may not be sufficient to minimize trichothecene contamination of grain from F. graminearum-infected wheat.

Cleaning and storage of rigid contact lenses prior to dispensing.

Most care regimens used with rigid contact lenses are composed of three solutions: 1) a "cleaning" solution; 2) a "combination" solution intended for storage, disinfection, and wetting prior to placement of rigid lenses on the eye; and 3) an in-eye "rewetting" or "lubricating" solution. While solutions (1) and (3) have only single functions, solution (2) must fulfill three fairly disparate functions. A "2-solution" care regimen is offered by Sherman Pharmaceuticals and consists of (a) a solution for cleaning, storage, and disinfection; and (b) a "wetting" solution that doubles as an in-eye lubricant. Through a more compatible and efficient matching of multiple functions within solutions, Sherman Pharmaceuticals claims to more adequately clean and prepare rigid gas-permeable (RGP) lens surfaces for wear. We investigated this strategy in terms of in-eye wettability of initially "ill-prepared" RGP lens surfaces, as measured with the in vivo contact angle technique. For this study, lenses were intentionally not cleaned of residues or solvents by the manufacturer at the end of production so as to create the well-known "first-day non-wetting syndrome." The ability of the 2-solution care regimen to even then provide wettable surfaces was compared to that of a saline control "regimen" and the most popular competing "3-solution" care system. We concluded that use of both care regimens dramatically enhanced in-eye wettability and, therefore, reduced the incidence of the "first-day non-wetting syndrome". However, the 2-solution care regimen provided significantly better wettability overall, lower incidence of functionally non-wetting surfaces, and more consistently wettable RGP lenses.

A new spinal brace for use in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Nine boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, chairbound but without scoliosis, were fitted with a recently developed brace of metal and moulded medium-density polyethylene, the modified Calot brace. Each was also fitted with a wrap-around, moulded leather jacket. Each brace held the relaxed lumbar spine in an angle of lordosis similar to that achieved by a brief active effort to sit erect without a brace. Over-all, they proved equally acceptable to patients and carers. The modified Calot brace caused substantially less restriction of pulmonary function and so may be preferable to the moulded leather jacket.