Application of somatic embryogenesis for development of emerald ash borer-resistant white ash and green ash varietals.

Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis; EAB) has devastated populations of ash (Fraxinus spp.) trees in dozens of U.S. states and Canada over the past few decades. The continued survival of scattered ash trees known as "lingering ash" in heavily infested natural stands, however, offers evidence of genetic resistance or tolerance to EAB. These surviving or "lingering" ash individuals may form the basis for reforestation programs in EAB-impacted areas, and clonal mass-propagation of these genotypes can help accelerate these efforts. Between 2013 and 2018, we initiated embryogenic cultures by culturing immature zygotic embryos from open-pollinated (OP) seeds collected from several surviving white ash and green ash trees in Michigan and Pennsylvania. In addition, in 2018, we initiated cultures from crosses made between lingering green ash parents from the USDA Forest Service ash breeding program in Ohio. Somatic embryos were produced by growing cultures in liquid suspension, followed by fractionation and plating on semisolid medium to produce developmentally synchronous populations of somatic embryos. Somatic embryo germination and conversion were enhanced by a combination of pre-germination cold treatment and inclusion of activated charcoal and gibberellic acid in the germination medium. Ash somatic seedlings derived from OP explants grew rapidly following transfer to potting mix and somatic seedlings representing nine ash clones were acclimatized, grown in the greenhouse and planted in a preliminary field test, along with EAB-resistant Manchurian ash (F. mandshurica) and EAB-susceptible control seedlings. Somatic seedlings have now been produced from cultures that originated from seeds derived from the progeny of lingering green ash parents and an ex vitro germination protocol has shown some promise for accelerating early somatic seedling growth. Results of this research could provide the basis for scaled-up production of EAB-resistant ash varieties for seed orchard production for forest restoration and cultivar development for urban tree restoration.

Endoparasite infection hotspots in Estonian urban areas.

The human-animal bond is beneficial for human health, but companion animals also pose a potential threat as vectors of zoonotic parasites, especially in urban areas where both human and dog densities are high. However, the knowledge about parasitic spillover in the urban environment is relatively scarce. The aim of the present study was to reveal which factors determine parasitic contamination in Estonian towns and provide up-to-date information about intestinal parasites of the Estonian dog population. In total, 657 samples of dog excrement was collected over one year of investigation from five towns in Estonia. Generalized linear mixed models were used to evaluate factors predicting infection risk in urban areas. In general, infection risk and intensity models predicted higher infection with endoparasites for small dogs in smaller towns, especially in apartment-house districts and in potential hazard zones. Helminth eggs and Giardia/Cystoisospora oocysts were detected in 64 samples, with an overall prevalence of 9.8%.

Group B streptococcal neonatal infection: clinical review of plans for prevention and preliminary report of quantitative antepartum cultures.

The neonatal and obstetric approaches to preventing group B streptococcal neonatal infections are reviewed. Although recent reports recommend prophylactic antibiotic treatment of antepartum and intrapartum group B streptococcal carriers and low-birth-weight infants, acceptance of these schemes is not widespread. A preliminary study to evaluate the value of semiquantitative vaginal and cervical cultures of antepartum women for group B streptococcus in predicting maternal and neonatal infectious morbidity revealed: 1) 11% of the study population were carriers (group B streptococcus isolated from broth only) but only 2.8% had heavy colonization (growth in broth and on streaked plates), and 2) morbidity associated with 8 heavily colonized mothers during the current pregnancy included group B streptococcal endometritis (1 patient), neonatal sepsis (1), and readmission of a newborn for transient cyanosis (1). Two of the heavily colonized mothers were known carriers in their last pregnancy; 1 had group B streptococcal endometritis and the infant of the second developed clinical sepsis at 2 weeks of age. The clinical value of semiquantitative culture techniques requires additional investigation.

Computer files and analyses of laboratory data from tuberculosis patients. II. Analyses of six years' data on sputum specimens.

Laboratory data on sputum specimens from patients with pulmonary mycobacterioses between 1968 and 1973 were analyzed. Specimens were cultured on Middlebrook 7H10 and/or 7H11 medium; blue light fluorescence microscopy was used to examine specimen smears. An admission series of 6 sputum specimens detected 94.7 per cent of all culture-positive patients. Only 62 per cent of patients who were culture positive in the admission series would have been detected by smear alone. Quantitative agreement of smear and culture results was seen only in the smear-numerous (more than 2 bacilli per high-power field), culture-numerous (more than 100 colonies per plate) category. Qualitative agreement of smear and culture was 71 per cent. A total of 123 smear-positive and culture-negative specimens, representing 9 per cent of the total number of positive smears, was found among 6,251 sputum specimens from 270 culture-positive ptients. At least one smear-positive and culture-negative specimen was obtained from 23 per cent of the patients evaluated. During this period, improved housekeeping measures and drying of culture plates reduced the culture contamination rate from 9.8 to less than 5 per cent.

Significant enhancement of T-strain mycoplasmal growth on supplemented Shepard's A6 differential agar.

Growth of T-strain mycoplasmas was significantly improved by supplementing Shepard's A6 medium with sodium thioglycolate, cysteine hydrochloride, mercaptoethanol, or dithiothreitol.

A method to render unstained mycobacterial smears safe for storage or shipment.

Sterilization and optimal staining of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum smears was accomplished by heating at 65 C for 30 min followed by exposure for 10 min to 10% formaldehyde fumes.