Evaluation of fumigation and surface seal methods on fumigant emissions in an orchard replant field.

Soil fumigation is an important management practice for controlling soil pests and enabling successful replanting of orchards. Reducing emissions is required to minimize the possible worker and bystander risk and the contribution of fumigants to the atmosphere as volatile organic compounds that lead to the formation of ground-level ozone. A field trial was conducted in a peach orchard replant field to investigate the effects of fumigation method (shank-injection vs. subsurface drip-application treatments) and surface treatments (water applications and plastic tarps) on emissions of 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) and chloropicrin (CP) from shank-injection of Telone C-35 and drip application of InLine. Treatments included control (no water or soil surface treatment); standard high-density polyethylene (HDPE) tarp, virtually impermeable film (VIF) tarp, and pre-irrigation, all over shank injection; and HDPE tarp over and irrigation with micro-sprinklers before and after the drip application. The highest 1,3-D and CP emission losses over a 2-wk monitoring period were from the control (36% 1,3-D and 30% CP) and HDPE tarp (43% 1,3-D and 17% CP) over shank injection. The pre-irrigation 4 d before fumigation and VIF tarp over shank injection had similar total emission losses (19% 1,3-D and 8-9% CP). The HDPE tarp and irrigations over subsurface drip-application treatments resulted in similar and the lowest emission losses (12-13% 1,3-D, and 2-3% CP). Lower fumigant concentrations in the soil-gas phase were observed with drip-application than in the shank-injection treatments; however, all treatments provided 100% kill to citrus nematodes in bags buried from 30 to 90 cm depth. Pre-irrigation and drip application seem to be effective to minimize emissions of 1,3-D and CP.

Phase I study of abagovomab in patients with epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer.

PURPOSE: This open-label study assessed the safety and immunogenicity of two doses and two routes of the anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody abagovomab (formerly ACA125) in patients with epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Eligible patients from the three participating institutions were any stage at diagnosis, had relapsed, and had complete or partial response to additional chemotherapy. Patients were randomized to receive abagovomab at 2.0 versus 0.2 mg and i.m. versus s.c. for four immunizations every 2 weeks and then monthly for two additional immunizations. Planned evaluation included interval physical examinations and laboratory assessments with immune assessment, including HLA typing, human anti-mouse antibody, ELISA, and enzyme-linked immunospot. Patients were required to remain on study until week 10 (the first post-baseline Ab3 determination) to be considered for immunologic assessment. The primary end points were safety and immunogenicity primarily determined by Ab3 response. RESULTS: Forty-two patients received at least one vaccination and were eligible for safety analysis. Thirty-three patients were available for Ab3 analysis (removed for progression of disease, 6; withdrawal of consent, 2; unrelated adverse event, 1). The most common adverse events were self-limited pain at injection site, myalgia, and fever. No hematologic or nonhematologic toxicity grade>2 related to immunization was seen. Ab3 was detectable in all patients (median, 236,794 ng/mL); none of route of administration (P=0.6268), dose (P=0.4602), or cohort (P=0.4944) was statistically significant in terms of effect on maximum post-baseline Ab3 titer. Human anti-mouse antibody was not detectable at baseline but was present in all patients at week 16 (range, 488-45,000 ng/mL). CONCLUSIONS: Immunization with abagovomab is well tolerated and induced robust Ab3 responses at the two doses and routes tested. A phase III randomized study with abagovomab (2.0 mg s.c.) is warranted.

OY-TES-1 expression and serum immunoreactivity in epithelial ovarian cancer.

OY-TES-1 is a novel target that belongs to the family of 'cancer/testis' (CT) antigens. Our goal was to examine the expression and immunogenicity of OY-TES-1 in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) to determine its potential as a target for vaccine therapy. OY-TES-1 expression was determined by one-step reverse transcriptase PCR on 100 EOC samples, 5 EOC cell lines, and a panel of normal tissues. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed on the same panel of EOC tissues. Sera from a sub-group of patients were tested for OY-TES-1 antibody by ELISA. Thymus and leukocytes were weakly positive for OY-TES-1 while the remaining 5 normal tissues were negative. Expression of OY-TES-1 by either RT-PCR and/or IHC was demonstrable in 69/100 (69%) tumors. Humoral immunity to OY-TES-1 was demonstrated in 1/10 (10%) serum samples from patients whose tumors expressed the antigen. The median follow-up of the patient population was 34 months. There was no correlation between antigen expression and stage, grade, histology and survival. OY-TES-1 is expressed in 69% of patients with EOC, is absent from normal ovarian tissue, and a proportion of patients show evidence of a specific humoral immune response. These findings make OY-TES-1 an attractive target for antigen-specific immunotherapy in EOC.

Th1/Th2 CD4+ T cell responses against NY-ESO-1 in HLA-DPB1*0401/0402 patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.

The NY-ESO-1 antigen is expressed in a significant proportion of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and appears to be an ideal target for immunotherapy. In order to elucidate the nature of the HLA-DPB1*0401/0402 (DP4+)-restricted CD4+ immune response in patients with NY-ESO-1-expressing EOC, peripheral blood CD4+ T cells from HLA-DP4+ patients were stimulated with the NY-ESO-1 epitope 157-170 and tested for the release of type 1 (IFN-gamma) and type 2 (IL-5) cytokines in enzyme-linked immunospot assays. Of 14 DP4+ EOC patients who tested seronegative for NY-ESO-1, 3 patients had a detectable CD4+ T cell response to NY-ESO-1 epitope 157-170 by IFN-gamma ELISPOT assay. Six of 10 DP4+ EOC patients with serum antibodies to NY-ESO-1 had CD4+ T cell responses to NY-ESO-1 epitope 157-170 by IFN-gamma assay. Six patients had mixed Th1/Th2 CD4+ T cell responses to NY-ESO-1 epitope 157-170 regardless of their antibody response to NY-ESO-1. Four EOC patients had Th1 cells expressing IFN-gamma, but not IL-5. This suggests that the NY-ESO-1 epitope 157-170 stimulates both Th1 and Th2 type CD4+ T cell responses in EOC patients. These data suggest the NY-ESO-1 epitope 157-170 has a key role in the induction of cellular and humoral immune responses against NY-ESO-1-expressing EOC tumors. Our study supports the relevance of cancer vaccine trials with the NY-ESO-1 epitope 157-170 in HLA-DP4+ EOC patients with NY-ESO-1-expressing tumors and strategies to improve Th1-dominated tumor-reactive CD4+ T cell bias.

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service research on alternatives to methyl bromide: pre-plant and post-harvest.

Methyl bromide is a widely used fumigant for both pre-plant and post-harvest pest and pathogen control. The Montreal Protocol and the US Clean Air Act mandate a phase-out of the import and manufacture of methyl bromide, beginning in 2001 and culminating with a complete ban, except for quarantine and certain pre-shipment uses and exempted critical uses, in January 2005. In 1995, ARS built on its existing programs in soil-borne plant pathology and post-harvest entomology and plant pathology to initiate a national research program to develop alternatives to methyl bromide. The focus has been on strawberry, pepper, tomato, perennial and nursery cropping systems for pre-plant methyl bromide use and fresh and durable commodities for post-harvest use. Recently the program has been expanded to include research on alternatives for the ornamental and cut flower cropping systems. An overview of the national research program is presented. Results from four specific research trials are presented, ranging from organic to conventional systems. Good progress on short-term alternatives is being made. These will be used as the foundation of integrated management systems which begin with pre-plant management decisions and continue through post-harvest processing.

Subsurface drip application of alternative fumigants to methyl bromide for controlling nematodes in replanted grapevines.

BACKGROUND: Many California grape growers use preplant fumigation to ensure uniform and healthy grapevine establishment in replant situations. A field study was conducted to evaluate the performance of subsurface drip-applied chemical alternatives to methyl bromide on plant-parasitic nematodes, plant vigor and fruit yield during the 6 year period following replanting. RESULTS: Subsurface drip fumigation with 1,3-dichloropropene plus chloropicrin and with iodomethane plus chloropicrin had generally similar nematicide activity as methyl bromide in three grape types, while sodium azide was less effective. The combination of 1,3-dichloropropene plus chloropicrin enhanced vine vigor similarly to methyl bromide. However, all plots treated with alternative fumigants produced less fruit yield than methyl bromide over the 4 years of evaluation. CONCLUSION: Subsurface drip fumigation with alternative chemicals to methyl bromide generally provided adequate management of plant-parasitic nematodes during the vine establishment period. However, further research is required to increase the performance of alternative chemicals against other components of the replant problem, as grape yield in vines grown in the alternative treatments was lower than in methyl bromide.

Effects of reduced-rate methyl bromide applications under conventional and virtually impermeable plastic film in perennial crop field nurseries.

BACKGROUND: Producers of perennial crop nursery stock in California use preplant soil fumigation to meet state phytosanitary requirements. Although methyl bromide (MB) has been phased out in many agricultural industries, it is still the preferred treatment in the perennial nursery industry and is used under Critical Use Exemptions and Quarantine/Preshipment provisions of the Montreal Protocol. The present research was conducted to evaluate reduced-rate MB applications sealed with conventional and low-permeability plastic films compared with the primary alternative material. RESULTS: Reduced rates (100-260 kg ha(-1)) of MB applied in combination with chloropicrin (Pic) and sealed with a low-permeability plastic film provided weed and nematode control similar to the industry standard rate of 392 kg ha(-1) MB:Pic (98:2) sealed with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) film. However, the primary alternative chemical, 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D), tended to provide slightly lower pest control even on sites with relatively low plant parasitic nematode, soil-borne pathogen and weed pest pressure. CONCLUSION: If California regulations change to allow the use of low-permeability films in broadcast fumigant applications, the results of this research suggest that reduced rates of MB in perennial crop nurseries could serve as a bridge strategy until more technically, economically and environmentally acceptable alternatives are developed.