First Report of Internal Black Rot Caused by Neoscytalidium dimidiatum on Hylocereus undatus (Pitahaya) Fruit in Israel.

Pitahaya (Hylocereus undatus [Haw.] Britton & Rose) was introduced to Israel in 1994, and is grown throughout the country. In the summer of 2009, fruit with internal black rot was collected from a field in central Israel. Symptomatic tissue from the black rot was placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates amended with 12 µg/ml tetracycline and incubated at 25°C for 3 days. A dark, gray to black, fast-growing fungus was isolated from all samples (10 fruits). For identification, single-spore cultures were grown on PDA at 25°C for 5 days, and colonies with gray to black, wooly mycelium were formed. The mycelia were branched and septate (4 to 8 µm wide). The arthroconidia were dark brown, thick-walled, and one-celled, 6.3 to 14.2 × 2.0 to 4.5 µm (n = 5), and ovate to rectangular. Based on these characteristics, the fungus was identified as Neoscytalidium dimidiatum (Penz.) Crous & Slippers (1). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA and ß-tubulin gene were amplified using ITS1 and ITS4, T121 (2), and Bt1b (3) primers, respectively, and then sequenced (GenBank Accessions KF000372 and KF020895, respectively). Both sequences were identical to sequences previously deposited in GenBank. The ITS (561 bp) and ß-tubulin (488 bp) sequences exhibited 99% and 100% identity, and 100% and 84% coverage, respectively, to N. dimidiatum (JX524168 and FM211185, respectively). Thus, the results of the molecular identifications confirmed the morphological characterization. To establish fungal pathogenicity and the mechanism of infection, 60 flowers in a disease-free orchard were marked to form three different treatments (15 flowers per treatment): inoculations of the flower tube by inserting PDA plugs (0.5 × 0.5 cm) from a 5-day-old culture to the base of the flower, inoculations of the flower stigma by placing the fungus plug on intact, or pre-wounded flower stigma. The wounds were made by scratching the stigma with a sterile scalpel. For each treatment, five additional flowers were used as negative controls in which the PDA plugs did not contain any fungus. All flowers were hand-pollinated and left to grow for a month until the fruit had ripened. Only flowers inoculated by insertion of the fungus into the flower tube developed black rot in the fruit (8 of 15 fruit) 3 to 4 weeks post inoculation, suggesting involvement of the flower tube in the mechanism of infection. All other treatments and controls failed to develop any detectable disease symptoms. N. dimidiatum was reisolated from the rot, fulfilling Koch's postulates. Flowers with wounded stigma developed significantly smaller fruit. Interestingly, diseased fruit changed color about a week before ripening from the flower opening downwards, whereas healthy fruit changed color from the attachment point to the stem upwards. These results indicate that N. dimidiatum is the pathogen of pitahaya internal black rot disease. Recently, this pathogen was reported to cause brown spot disease and stem canker disease of pitahaya in China (4) and Taiwan (5), respectively. To date, the disease can be detected in all orchards in Israel, with up to 50% of the fruit being infected. Since the disease symptoms of the Israeli isolate are located in the fruit, the commercial loss due to pathogen attack is significant. To our knowledge, this is the first report of internal black rot caused by N. dimidiatum on pitahaya fruit in Israel. References: (1) P. W. Crous et al. Stud. Mycol. 55:235, 2006. (2) K. O'Donnell and E. Cigelnik. Mol. Phylo, Evol. 7:103, 1997. (3) N. L. Glass and G. C. Donaldson. Appl. Environ. Microiol. 61:1323, 1995. (4) G. B. Lan and Z. F. He. Plant Dis. 96:1702, 2012. (5) M. F. Chuang et al. Plant Dis. 96:906, 2012.

Intraoperative hypertonic saline irrigation preventing seroma formation and reducing drain secretion in extended endoscopic hernia and linea alba reconstruction glue.

PURPOSE: Subcutaneous Seroma formation (SF) is commonly seen after abdominal wall Hernia surgeries and reconstructive surgeries due to large dissecting dead space and is associated with increased morbidity. SF is common particularly after big abdominal wall hernia repairs and its treatment can be challenging and long. Current prevention methods are not consistent and the treatment includes repeated aspirations and drains, both are associated with higher risk for infections. The purpose of this article is to present a novel and simple technique of Intraoperative Hypertonic Saline Irrigation (IHSI) to abdominal wall subcutaneous large dead space, which prevent postoperative SF and enables early drain removal due to reduced secretions. METHODS: Eight patients undergone the Extended Endoscopic Hernia & Linea Alba Reconstruction Glue surgery (eEHLARglue), for Ventral Hernias (VH) and Rectus Muscles Separation (RMS). An extensive Endoscopic 450cm2 dissection free surface of the anterior Rectus fascia, is performed prior to Hernia dissection and closing of the RMS. It is followed by onlay mesh placing over the repaired Rectus muscles and the mesh is fused into the muscles by Fibrin Glue. The novel preventive method is based on Intraoperative Irrigation of the vast cavity through the two 10 mm JP closed system drains with 20 cc of NaCl 12% left at site for 10 min. RESULTS: Our early results with all our patients show seroma prevention, lower secretion rate of 20 cc in 10 h and drain removal within 20-24 h. CONCLUSIONS: IHSI enhance adhesion formation and reduce secretion rate in wide subcutaneous dissection space like in eEHLARglue, therefore enables early drain removal and prevent SF. As a result, reducing overall morbidity and hospitalization period, decreasing inconveniency and cost saving of multiple outpatient visits or additional surgery. This simple technique could be used in other potential postoperative SF surgeries. Further larger study with a longer follow up is advised.

Protease inhibitor activity in rat skeletal muscle.

The cytosol fraction obtained by homogenization of rat gastrocnemius muscle inhibited the activities of rat alkaline myofibrillar protease, bovine trypsin and bovine chymotrypsin. The inhibition of the three proteolytic enzymes by muscle cytosol changed differentially during ageing, fasting and following administration of glucocorticoid hormone. The inhibition exerted by the cytosol on the three proteases was also differentially affected by precipitation with trichloracetic acid, heat, dialysis and molecular sieve chromatography. It is suggested that the intracellular protease inhibitor(s) are involved in the regulation of muscle protein degradation.

Placental and fetal pathology in infectious mononucleosis. A possible indicator for Epstein-Barr virus teratogenicity.

Placentae and membranes were studied microscopically in five cases of pregnancy interruption due to maternal infectious mononucleosis in the first 2 months of pregnancy. This viral disease, caused by Epstein-Barr virus and apparently rare in pregnancy, induced specific placental lesions. In the decidua, these lesions were manifested by perivasculitis and necrotizing deciduitis. The membranes exhibited slight to moderate chorionitis. In the villi, endovasculitis, perivasculitis, and occasional vascular obliteration were found, as well as mononuclear and plasma cell villitis, with many large atypical vacuolated cells resembling plasma cells. Three fetuses were studied, two of which exhibited myocarditis. The fact that there were placental lesions in all cases studied, and that two of the fetuses exhibited myocarditis, must stimulate further research concerning the possible teratogenicity of this virus in man.

Laparoscopic simultaneous ligation of internal and external spermatic veins for varicocele.

The conventional treatment of varicocele consists of interruption of reflux in the internal spermatic vein either by open retroperitoneal high ligation, an open inguinal approach or percutaneous embolization. Recently, high ligation of the internal spermatic vein has been performed via laparoscopy. We previously suggested that ligation of the internal spermatic vein alone is not adequate, and a comparative study has shown that our method of trans-inguinal ligation of the internal and external spermatic (cremasteric) veins yields better surgical results. A laparoscopic version of this operation is described, which was performed in 25 patients for 31 ligations (6 bilateral cases). Short-term results (followup at 3 months) have shown that the procedure is safe and effective (no complications, 24-hour hospitalization and 1 case of persistence due to a technical error). This procedure seems to be an attractive alternative to our trans-inguinal combined approach especially if bilateral ligation is necessary.

Protease inhibitor activity in human skeletal muscle.

Myofibrillar protease activity and activity of inhibitors toward trypsin, chymotrypsin, elastase, and the myofibrillar protease were determined in human skeletal muscle. The protease activity was found to increase in patients with acute and chronic inflammation as well as in patients with metastatic and nonmetastatic tumors. The inhibitory activity directed against trypsin and chymotrypsin was not affected by acute inflammation, while the inhibition of elastase and the myofibrillar protease was increased. Chronic inflammation did not affect the ability of the muscle cytosol to inhibit trypsin and elastase, but increased the inhibition of chymotrypsin and the myofibrillar protease. Nonmetastatic tumors produced an increase in the activity of inhibitors toward trypsin, chymotrypsin, and elastase, while patients bearing metastatic tumors had a high level of cytosolic inhibitors of all the tested proteolytic activities. These results indicate that the myofibrillar protease and the cytosolic protease inhibitors in human skeletal muscle are differentially affected by catabolic conditions.