Characterization of a Vascular Wilt of Erythroxylum coca Caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. erythroxyli Forma Specialis Nova.

A new forma specialis of Fusarium oxysporum (F. oxysporum f. sp. erythroxyli) pathogenic to Erythroxylum coca and E. novogranatense is described. The pathogen was isolated from the vascular tissue of diseased plants from an Erythroxylum plantation in Hawaii. This pathogen causes vascular wilt symptoms and death in both E. coca and E. novogranatense plants as soon as 7 weeks after soil infestation. The pathogenicity of seven isolates from the affected field was determined in field and growth-chamber studies. Genetic variation was not detected among the seven Hawaiian isolates, using arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction. The seven isolates could be differentiated from a strain isolated from a diseased E. coca plant from South America. All Hawaiian isolates and the South American isolate belonged to a single vegetative compatibility group.

A comparative clinical trial of Norinyl 1 + 35 versus Norinyl 1 + 50 in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.

A comparative clinical trial of two combined oral contraceptives differing only in estrogen type and dosage was conducted at the Centro de Investigaciones Hideyo Noguchi in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. The trial was designed to determine the differences between Norinyl 1 + 50 (Syntex) and Norinyl 1 + 35 (Syntex) in rates of discontinuation and frequency of selected side-effects which might contribute to method discontinuation. Three hundred women were randomly assigned to either the Norinyl 1 + 35 group or to the Norinyl 1 + 50 group and follow-up visits were scheduled at 1, 4, 8 and 12 months after admission. In the Norinyl 1 + 35 group, more women experienced an increase in intermenstrual bleeding (primarily staining and spotting) (p less than 0.05), breast discomfort (p less than 0.05) and nausea than in the Norinyl 1 + 50 group. There was a significantly higher discontinuation rate for personal reasons, such as desired change of method and method not needed, among the women taking Norinyl 1 + 35 (p less than 0.05). The largest number of discontinuations comprised women discontinuing for menstrual problems in both groups. The life-table total discontinuation rate at 12 months was 52.0 for the Norinyl 1 + 35 group and 50.7 for the Norinyl 1 + 50 group. The lost-to-follow-up rates at 12 months were 17.8 for the Norinyl 1 + 35 group and 22.8 for the Norinyl 1 + 50 group.

Phorbol myristate acetate-treated endothelium stimulates polymorphonuclear leukocyte adhesion and superoxide secretion.

The adherence of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) to the pulmonary vascular endothelium may contribute to acute lung injury. We studied the mechanism whereby treatment of bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells with the potent inflammatory agent phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) stimulated the adherence and secretion of superoxide anion by human PMNLs. Treatment of endothelial cell monolayers with 100 ng/ml PMA resulted in a time-dependent increase in PMNL adherence to the endothelial cells. Treatment of endothelial cells with PMA or the less-lipophilic active phorbol ester 4-beta-phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate stimulated PMNL adherence in a dose-dependent manner, but the inactive phorbol ester 4-alpha-12,13 dideconoate had no effect on PMNL adherence. When formalin-fixed endothelial cells were treated with PMA, the increase in PMNL adherence was similar to that observed with unfixed endothelial cells. Treatment of fixed endothelial cells with 4-beta-phorbol 12,13 dibutyrate did not promote adherence. PMA-induced stimulation of PMNL adherence to endothelial cells was not eliminated by washing the PMA-treated endothelial cells, and the 4-hour conditioned medium obtained from PMA-treated endothelial cells also stimulated PMNL adherence to untreated endothelial cell monolayers PMNL adherence induced by PMA also stimulated the secretion of superoxide anion. Thus, PMA bound to the vascular endothelium will promote both PMNL adhesion and the secretion of reactive oxygen intermediates. Furthermore bound PMA rereleased from the endothelium can also stimulate PMNL adherence and superoxide anion secretion at a distant site.