First Report of Pyrenophora seminiperda in Turkey and Greece.

Pyrenophora seminiperda (Brittleb. & D.B. Adam) Shoemaker (anamorph Drechslera campanulata (Lév.) B. Sutton) is a generalist seed pathogen that can cause high mortality in the seed banks of annual and perennial grasses and a minor leaf spot disease. Its current reported distribution is mainly temperate grasslands, deserts, and winter cereal-growing regions in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Egypt, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States (2). P. seminiperda was originally described in France in the mid-1800s, but there are no recent reports from eastern Europe or Asia (2). In May of 2008, we observed what appeared to be P. seminiperda on seeds from seed bank samples collected in Turkey. Evidence of disease was observed as macroscopic black stromata protruding from the seed. The characteristic club-shaped stromata were collected from a Taeniatherum caput-medusae seed near Pamukkale, Turkey and six Bromus tectorum seeds in Love Valley near Goreme, Turkey. An additional collection from a single undispersed B. tectorum seed was obtained from Perissa, Greece. Identity of the pathogen was tentatively established by evaluating morphological characteristics for nine isolates in V8 agar culture. After 4 days of incubation at 20°C with a 12-h photoperiod, the cultures produced white mycelium. Following wounding, the mycelium produced black, club-shaped stromata (2 to 8 × 0.4 to 0.9 mm) in a radial pattern. These produced branched conidiophores bearing crescent-shaped, multicellular conidia (79 to 125 µm long). These attributes are consistent with those of the anamorph of P. seminiperda as described by Shoemaker (4) and Campbell et al. (1). The teleomorph was not observed. The identity of the isolates as P. seminiperda was confirmed with ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) genetic sequencing analysis. ITS sequences obtained were identical to sequences for North American haplotypes of this species. Four of the Love Valley isolates, (representative isolate: GQ168725, BPI 879142, NRRL 54032) matched the HTA haplotype (GQ168724), while the other four (representative isolate: GQ168736, BPI 879143, NRRL 54033) matched the HTJ haplotype (GQ168735). The isolate from Perissa, Greece (GQ168728, BPI 879144, NRRL 54034) matched the HTC haplotype (GQ168727). Pathogenicity of several Love Valley isolates was confirmed by producing conidia in culture, dusting nondormant B. tectorum seeds with 0.003 g of conidial inoculum per 50 seeds, and incubating for 14 days at 10/20°C with a 12-h photoperiod. Stromata developed on >90% of inoculated seeds and mortality as high as 34% was observed. Morphological similarities combined with ITS sequence data provide conclusive evidence that P. seminiperda occurs in Turkey and Greece. The discovery of this pathogen in these countries indicates that it may be widespread in Eurasia and that it could have arrived in North America on seeds of B. tectorum (3) rather than representing a novel pathogen for this important weed in its North American range. References: (1) M. A. Campbell et al. Plant Pathol. 52:448, 2003. (2) R. W. Medd et al. Australas. Plant Pathol. 32:539, 2003. (3) S. E. Meyer et al. Can J. Plant Pathol. 30:525, 2008. (4) R. A. Shoemaker. Can. J. Bot. 44:1451, 1966.

Major depression and the stress system: a life span perspective.

From a transactional developmental perspective, the authors review findings from studies of animals and humans regarding a proposed relation between stress system abnormalities and major depression. The stress system has evolved to promote successful adaptation across the life span, but disruptions in its functioning may increase the risk of pathological outcomes. Emphasis is placed on the role of prenatal and early postnatal experience in contributing to individual differences in postnatal stress reactivity, which may interact with cognitive and psychosocial vulnerabilities to increase susceptibility to later onset of depression. Findings regarding cognitive, psychosocial, and medical sequelae of depression are also reviewed, with a focus on the possible mediating role of the stress system. The authors highlight the importance of multidisciplinary, longitudinal studies in attempting to gain a deeper understanding of the complex developmental processes involved in the onset and course of depression.

Bipolar disorder in youth.

The debate regarding the possible existence of prepubertal bipolar illness has surfaced at various points in history. In its most recent incarnation, proponents of a childhood bipolar diagnosis argue that there is an early-onset form of bipolar illness that is highly comorbid and characterized by simultaneous irritability and depression. Others have suggested that childhood manic symptoms are more likely a nonspecific indicator of risk, or may be the result of symptom overlap with various other forms of childhood pathology. This article briefly reviews pertinent findings from epidemiologic, developmental, family, and treatment studies that shed light on the etiology, phenomenology, and developmental significance of manic symptoms in young people.

Patients' perceived outcomes after stapedectomy for otosclerosis.

We conducted a retrospective study of 29 patients who had undergone stapedectomy for otosclerosis to determine how well their subjective perceptions of hearing improvement correlated with objective audiometric measurements. Patients expressed their assessments of hearing function by completing two versions of the Hearing Disability and Handicap Scale (HDHS). One version of the HDHS was based on patients' retrospective recollections of their hearing impairment prior to surgery, and the other reflected their assessment of their current function. We evaluated these HDHS data both separately and in conjunction with pre- and postoperative audiometric findings. Following surgery, the group's mean pure-tone average improved significantly, from 58 to 27 dB--that is, the average patient had a moderately severe hearing loss preoperatively and only a mild hearing loss postoperatively. Significant improvement was also reflected in the difference between the mean pre- and postoperative HDHS scores, although some patients indicated that they experienced almost no improvement. Overall, our findings indicated that there was a relationship between objective and subjective assessments of hearing improvement following surgery, but that it was weak. Although most patients perceived significant improvement, the degree of that perceived improvement cannot be predicted from the pure-tone audiogram. We conclude, therefore, that a significant difference between audiometric findings and HDHS self-assessments is useful in identifying patients who might benefit from additional counseling and/or aural rehabilitation.

The effect of stapes surgery on high frequency hearing in patients with otosclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of stapedectomy on high frequency hearing. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective, one-group, pretest-posttest case review was performed of the audiometric data of patients who underwent stapedectomy at a tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: Thirty-eight patients (40 ears) with primary uncomplicated surgery were selected. Twenty-two of the patients were older than 40 years. Preoperative and postoperative audiograms were analyzed. RESULTS: Preoperative and postoperative audiograms exhibited a down-sloping configuration toward the high frequencies. Surgery resulted in a significant improvement (p < 0.05) from 500 to 4000 Hz in air conduction and 500 to 2000 Hz in bone conduction. Analysis of variance showed that age had no bearing on preoperative audiometric results (p < 0.05) for air conduction, bone conduction, and the air bone gap. Postoperatively, younger patients' 4000 to 8000 Hz (air conduction) and 4000 Hz (bone conduction) were better than those of the older patients (p < 0.05), but the high frequency range was still poorer than age-matched controls in the younger patients. CONCLUSION: Stapedectomy resulted in significant closure of the air bone gap between 500 to 4000 Hz, but failed to influence hearing above 4000 Hz. Age appears to be an important variable; poorer results in the high frequency range were seen in the older patients who underwent stapes surgery. These findings, together with the residual postoperative hearing loss in the high frequency range in young patients, may reflect disease-specific injury resulting from cochlear otosclerosis.

Are social supports in late midlife a cause or a result of successful physical ageing?

BACKGROUND: Many studies have noted a strong association between poor social support and premature mortality. A limitation of such studies has been their failure to control adequately for confounders that damage both social supports and physical health. METHODS: A 50-year prospective multivariate study of 223 men was used to examine the possible causal relationships between social supports and health. Alcohol abuse, prior physical health and mental illness prior to age 50 were controlled. Relative social supports were quantified over the period from age 50 to 70. RESULTS: Adequacy of social supports from age 50 to 70 was powerfully correlated with physical health at age 70 (P < 0.001). However, such social supports were also powerfully predicted by alcohol abuse (P < 0.001), smoking (P < 0.001) and indicators of major depressive disorder (P < 0.01) assessed at age 50. When prior smoking, depression and alcohol abuse were controlled, then the association of physical health with social supports was very much attenuated. Some facets of social support like religion and confidantes were unassociated with health even at a univariate level. Surprisingly, in this sample friends seemed more important for sustained physical health than closeness to spouse and to children. CONCLUSIONS: While social supports undoubtedly play a significant role in maintaining physical well-being in late life, much of the association between poor social supports and mortality may be mediated by alcoholism, smoking and pre-morbid psychopathology.

Developmental changes in tympanometry: a case study.

The use of 226 Hz tympanometry in neonates and infants has been controversial due to the large number of false negative responses for middle ear pathology. A review of the literature highlights several anatomical differences between this population and that of the adult, which is not recognized during interpretation of their tympanograms. The aim of the study was to document tympanometric changes in a single child using 226 Hz, 1000 Hz and sweep frequency probe tones until she was 6.5 months old. Both 226 Hz and 1000 Hz tympanograms show a maturational change in middle ear resonance from a mass to a stiffness-dominated system, which was corroborated by sweep frequency probe tones. It is suggested that high-frequency probe tones were able to increase test sensitivity to the mechanics of the middle ear when it was mass-dominated, as in this infant. Due to the large intersubject variability reported in the literature, it is recommended that both high and conventional probe tone tympanograms are performed in infants under 6 months of age to increase diagnostic accuracy. Middle ear resonance can also be determined for each individual enabling more appropriate selection of probe tones for Y, B and G tympanometry.

Binaural unmasking returns to normal in teenagers who had otitis media in infancy.

Several studies have shown that the binaural masking level difference (MLD) is reduced in children who have a history of recurrent otitis media (OM) in infancy. In this prospective study we have retested the MLD in two groups of teenagers who were originally tested 6 years ago. Members of one of these groups (OM group; n = 26) had at least 5 recorded episodes of OM before the age of 5 years. The other group (controls; n = 17) had no known history of OM. The mean MLD (500-Hz tone in a narrow band noise masker) of the OM group was, at 6-12 years of age, significantly lower than that of the controls. In this study (at ages 12-18 years), we found no difference between the mean MLDs of the OM and control groups. These results show that the reduced MLD that occurs following OM in infancy can recover in later childhood.

1995 IPA/Bayer Research Awards in Psychogeriatrics. Late-life consequences of affective spectrum disorder.

Recent research suggests that affective disorder is associated with increased mortality and physical morbidity, but the reasons for this association remain uncertain. This report describes a 50-year prospective study of 240 men evaluated from the time they were university students in 1940-1942. A family history of mental illness was obtained and the men's habits, psychological adjustment, and marital and occupational satisfaction were followed every 2 years and their objective physical health was tracked every 5 years until age 70. Twenty-five men were identified as having affective spectrum disorder prior to age 53. Of the variables studied, the presence of affective spectrum disorder was the most powerful predictor of poor psychosocial outcome at age 65 and one of the most powerful predictors of poor physical health. Alcohol abuse and cigarette abuse accounted for the observed increased rates of heart disease and cancer. When alcohol abuse, smoking, and suicide were controlled for, affective disorder made a significant contribution to physical morbidity by age 70, but not to mortality from natural causes. Affective spectrum disorder, even in an educated population without antisocial trends, carries a profound negative risk to late-life physical and social adjustment.

The intron of Arabidopsis thaliana polyubiquitin genes is conserved in location and is a quantitative determinant of chimeric gene expression.

We have isolated and determined DNA sequence for the 5'-flanking regions of three Arabidopsis thaliana polyubiquitin genes, UBQ3, UBQ10, and UBQ11. Comparison to cDNA sequences revealed the presence of an intron in the 5'-untranslated region at the same position immediately upstream of the initiator methionine codon in each of the three genes. An intron at this position is also present in two sunflower and two maize polyubiquitin genes. An intron is also found in the 5'-untranslated regions of several animal polyubiquitin genes, although the exact intron position is not conserved among them, and none are in the same position as those in the higher plant polyubiquitin genes. Chimeric genes containing the 5'-flanking regions of UBQ3, UBQ10, and UBQ11 in front of the coding regions for the reporter enzyme Escherichia coli beta-glucuronidase (GUS) were constructed. When introduced transiently into Arabidopsis leaves via microprojectile bombardment, all resulted in readily detectable levels of GUS activity that were quantitatively similar. The introns of UBQ3 and UBQ10 in the corresponding promoter fragments were removed by replacement with flanking cDNA sequences and chimeric genes constructed. These constructs resulted in 2.5- to 3-fold lower levels of marker enzyme activity after transient introduction into Arabidopsis leaves. The UBQ10 promoter without the 5' intron placed upstream of firefly luciferase (LUX) resulted in an average of 3-fold lower LUX activity than from an equivalent construct with the UBQ10 intron. A UBQ3 promoter cassette was constructed for the constitutive expression of open reading frames in dicot plants and it produced readily detectable levels of GUS activity in transient assays.

[Speech rules of the deaf]. / Vokaalreëls by dowes.

Although the establishment of patterns in speech production is important for therapy planning they are not always identifiable in the speech of the deaf. In this study the object was to ascertain whether the normal hearing person was capable of identifying rules of speech. Seven deaf speakers with a congenital, sensori-neural hearing loss repeated six test words five times which were rated by third year Audiology students in a closed set format. Two listeners were required to agree in 70% of the cases that a specific vowel was heard. The rating matrixes showed that the listeners were able to identify consistencies. The interlistener correlations varied from r = 0.49 to 0.98, implying that the listeners did not always agree in their judgements regarding a specific vowel. In terms of speech evaluation the findings pose implications for the audiologist.

Binaural masking level differences in infants with and without otitis media with effusion.

The binaural masking level difference (MLD) was measured in two groups of infants (aged 7-10 months) who either had or did not have a documented history of otitis media with effusion (OME). Subjects were trained to detect a 500 Hz signal (either in or out-of-phase between the ears) against an in-phase, narrow band noise masker centred at 500 Hz. Non-OME infants had elevated masked thresholds and reduced MLDs compared with normal-hearing older (7-12 years) children and adults (20-27 years). OME infants also had elevated masked thresholds and reduced MLDs but, in contrast to studies using older subjects, their results were similar to those of the non-OME infants. These results suggest that, during at least the first year of life, infants are disadvantaged compared with adults or children when listening in noisy environments. They also suggest that OME does not further compromise infants' ability to detect sounds in those environments.

Binaural masking level differences in children with a history of otitis media.

The binaural hearing of children with and without a history of otitis media (OM) was assessed by determining their binaural masking level differences (BMLDs). The test was also administered to a group of adults. BMLDs for the non-OM children were not significantly different from those of adults. However the mean BMLD of the OM children was significantly lower than that of non-OM children. Some children in the OM group had small (15-25 dB HL) sensitivity deficits in one or both ears. However, no correlation was found between BMLD and hearing level in cases of either symmetric or asymmetric loss. Exclusion of OM children with residual middle ear abnormalities did not abolish the significant difference between the OM and non-OM groups. We suggest that the small BMLDs in the OM group may be associated with these children having difficulties detecting and attending to signals in noisy environments.

Osmotic regulation of PhoE porin synthesis in Escherichia coli.

In Escherichia coli, adaptation to hyperosmotic conditions alters the expression of the outer membrane porins OmpF and OmpC. The amount of PhoE porin, which is normally induced by phosphate deprivation, was greatly reduced in cells adapted to high-osmolarity conditions. Osmoregulation of PhoE operated independently of the activity of the PhoR phosphate sensor and did not involve cross-talk from the homologous osmosensor EnvZ. PhoE synthesis was partially restored by additional copies of the positive regulator phoB+ and by the osmoprotectant glycine betaine.

The GABA/benzodiazepine receptor-chloride ionophore complex: nature and modulation.

1. A high affinity, saturable, stereospecific binding site for Benzodiazepines has been found to be functionally and possibly structurally related to a GABA receptor-chloride ionophore complex. 2. There are both central (CNS) as well as "peripheral" binding sites, involving multiple organs. 3. Evidence strongly suggests that mutually exclusive Benzodiazepine agonists and antagonists bind to the same receptor, possibly in an agonist-antagonist-inverse agonist continuum. 4. The search for an endogenous ligand has been inconclusive and the question of such a substance remains open. 5. Although the relationship between this receptor and the Limbic System remains unclear, it seems certain that the Benzodiazepine receptor plays an important role in the modulation of Limbic System excitability.

Analysis of facial displays and verbal report to assess subjective state in the non-invasive detection of limbic system activation by procaine hydrochloride.

The problem of scalp EEG as a measure of cortical or subcortical activity is particularly relevant to complex partial seizures as the abnormal discharging is frequently limbic in origin [14, 30]. Livingston [38] has suggested that administration of intravenous procaine as a limbic activator and cortical suppressor would be of utility in diagnosing limbic involvement in complex partial seizures. While there is considerable evidence derived from experimental animal models that procaine hydrochloride is a limbic system activator that acts preferentially on subcortical epileptic foci at lower doses than on less active epileptic foci or non-epileptic tissue [2, 4], it was necessary to demonstrate that procaine activates the human limbic system. The non-invasive approach taken in the present study was to compare the published effects of direct electrical stimulation of the human limbic system [31] to the behavioural and subjects effects of intravenous procaine administration. The areas in which we obtained the most robust procaine effects (hallucinations, emotions and alimentary sensations) were also Halgren et al.'s [31] most repeatable effects. The correspondence between electrical stimulation effects and procaine administration effects was striking - with verbal report by patients matching exactly in many instances. Furthermore, analysis of facial displays proved useful in providing access to subjects state fluctuations which would otherwise have gone undetected. The data provide strong evidence that procaine hydrochloride can be used as a human limbic system activator. Future research will investigate the clinical and diagnostic significance of differential response to procaine.

[A contribution to series sectioning of larynx (author's transl)]. / Zur Herstellung von Kehlkopfgrosserienschnitten.

A histological method for large series sectioning of larynx is described. The decalcification consists of 5% HNO3, absolute alcohol and 0,5 chromic trioxide. The larynx is imbedded in paraplast. Sections of 6--10 micron in thickness can be cut from blocs 8 X 6 X 5 cm and stained by general histological methods. The complete procedure took only six to seven weeks.