Relationship between age at giving fortified powdered cow's milk and cessation of breastfeeding on the nutritional status of a Chilean child cohort followed from birth to 3 years of age.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: To examine how much of the variation in weight-for-height (WHZ) z-scores were associated with age at which breastfeeding ceased and provision of fortified cow's milk (Leche Purita Fortificada, LPF) commenced in a cohort of children studied from birth to 3 years of age. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Longitudinal data were obtained from routine medical check-ups on 8373 children from nine Chilean counties through convenience sampling. WHZ z-scores were generated at six-monthly intervals using WHO 2006 standards from birth to 3 years old (seven measurements). Age of cessation of breastfeeding and age of commencement of LPF were the independent variables. Repeated-measures ANOVA were used to analyse the changes in WHZ over the seven measurements. Binomial generalised estimating equations (GEE) were used to analyse the effect of each independent variable on the change from normal to overweight, and normal to obese over the seven measurements. RESULTS: ANOVA indicated that children given LPF milk before 3 months of age had, on average, higher mean WHZ of about 0.11 SD from 18 months of age onwards (p < 0.001). GEE analyses showed that children given LPF before 3 months of age were significantly more likely to be overweight or obese (OR = 1) compared with children given LPF later (overweight OR: 0.809-0.970, p = 0.009, obese (OR: 0.666-0.901, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Early intake of LPF increases WHZ and is a risk factor for overweight and obesity in young children, while prolonged breastfeeding acts as protective factor against obesity.

The impact of an income-generating activities programme on children and mothers' undernutrition in extreme poor rural Bangladeshi households.

OBJECTIVE: The current study assessed changes in children and mothers' nutritional status before and after raising Bangladeshi households out of extreme poverty through an income-generating activities (IGA) programme. DESIGN: Extreme poor households took part in the IGA programme for 2 years and recruitment took place over four waves in annual cycles. Children and mothers were measured with regarding their nutritional status before and after the IGA programme commenced. SETTINGS: Rural Bangladesh. SUBJECTS: Three-hundred and eighty-two children under 5 years of age at recruitment, and their mothers. RESULTS: After 2 years of the IGA programme, the prevalence of stunting significantly declined from 40·3 % to 33·0 % (P = 0·003), anaemia declined from 51·6 % to 44·0 % (P = 0·020) while mothers' CED (Chronic Energy Deficiency) declined from 52·0 % to 42·7 % (P < 0·001), but no significant changes were found in children's wasting, declining from 25·4 % to 21·5 %, underweight which remained the same at 43·2 %, while mothers' anaemia rose from 39·3 % to 42·7 %. There were also highly significant improvements in household socio-economic status. Increases in socio-economic security (especially in relation to cash savings and net income) and improvements in food quantity and quality (indicated by greater food diversity and animal food intake) were associated with normal nutritional status, and cessation of open defecation was associated with reduction in mothers' and child anaemia. CONCLUSION: The IGA programme was associated with increased household socio-economic security, such as asset accumulation, food security and sanitation, and with improvements in the nutritional status of children and their mothers in extreme poor households.

Trends of weight gain and prevalence of overweight and obesity from birth to three years of age.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the changes in children's weight-for-height at six monthly intervals between birth and three years old (3yo) from different counties across Chile and to determine if children had overweight or obesity, and if so, whether it was a transient or persistent change. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Longitudinal data were obtained from routine medical check-ups and 8,373 children were selected from nine counties in Chile through a non-randomised sample design. Weight-for-height z-scores (WHZ) were generated and categorized as wasted, normal, overweight, and obese using WHO standards. Repeated-measures ANOVA were used to analyse the changes in WHZ over the seven measurements as well as based on having normal, overweight, or obese WHZ at 3yo. The number of times having overweight or obesity was counted (from 0 to 7 times). The timing of having overweight and obesity was computed as well as all combinations of the patterns. RESULTS: Mean WHZ significantly increased up to 18months of age and declined thereafter (p<<0.001). Overall mean WHZ was 0.743, prevalence of overweight 31.2% and prevalence of obesity 10.0%. Children categorised with overweight or obesity at 3yo showed significantly higher and sustained pattern of weight gain compared with children with normal WHZ. Once a child had overweight or obesity they tended to remain with it and did not return to a weight-for-height in the normal range. CONCLUSION: The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in Chilean children is of concern. There is a need for greater healthcare promotion and prevention of this disease from infancy.

DO BIOMARKERS VARY BY SOCIAL CLASS, EDUCATION AND REGION AND IS MIGRATION IMPORTANT? EVIDENCE FROM A COHORT OF BRITISH ADULTS.

The aim of this study was to test whether Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV1) and Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) vary in relation to social class at birth and adulthood, educational level and region of residence, and also with inter-generational social, educational and regional mobility/migration. The study used 5702 adults (2894 males and 2718 females) from the longitudinal British National Child Development Study (all children born in England, Scotland and Wales during the first week in March 1958 with follow-up throughout childhood and adulthood, most recently at 55 years of age). In both sexes BMI and waist circumference tended to increase from social classes I+II to IV+V and higher social class was associated with higher mean FEV1 and PEF. Better-educated adults tended to have lower BMI and waist circumference, and higher mean FEV1 and PEF. Women from Wales had the highest mean BMI and waist circumference but the lowest mean PEF, while women in Scotland had the highest mean systolic blood pressure and the lowest mean FEV1. For men only, FEV1 and PEF showed regional variation and the lowest mean FEV1 was in Wales and the lowest PEF in Yorkshire & Humberside. Inter-generational social mobility was not found to be associated with any of the biomarkers, while educational mobility was related only to FEV1 and PEF. In both sexes, in unadjusted regression analysis regional migrant cohort members tended to have a lower mean BMI than sedentes. Regional male migrants also tended to have a lower waist circumference and a higher FEV1 and PEF than sedentes.

Regional variation in weight-for-height z-scores and surface area/body mass ratio of Chilean children from birth to 3 years of age.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of the study were to see how much of the variation in weight-for-height z-scores (WHZ) and surface area/body mass ratio (SA/mass) were associated with regional (county) differences including mean temperature. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Longitudinal data were obtained from routine medical check-ups on 8,373 children from nine counties across Chile. WHZ and SA/mass were calculated from weight and height from birth to 3-years old at 6 monthly intervals. County of birth was used as an independent variable after controlling for sociodemographic factors. Sequential repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to analyze the changes in WHZ and SA/mass over the seven measurements from birth to 3 years of age. Simple and partial Pearson correlations were calculated between WHZ and annual mean temperature and between SA/mass and annual mean temperature after controlling for socioeconomic factors. RESULTS: County of birth was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with both WHZ and SA/mass. There was a progressive decrease in WHZ means and a progressive increase in SA/mass means from colder to warmer counties. Significant negative correlation in WHZ (r < -0.864) and significant positive correlations in SA/mass (r > 0.821) were found with the annual mean temperature from 18 months of age onwards and in the overall mean age. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that WHZ and SA/mass variation may be influenced by ecogeographical factors in this Chilean sample.

Biological aspects of human migration and mobility.

This paper reviews how migration, both geographical and social, impacts on variation in some human biological traits. Migration and mobility are considered in relation to anthropometric traits and indices, psychometric traits, health, disease and nutrition, temperature regulation and metabolism, mental health and gene flow. It is well known that migration is important in disease transmission but, as this paper demonstrates, migration can have both positive and negative impacts on both donor and recipient populations for a wide range of human traits.

Root-Knot Nematode Parasitism Suppresses Host RNA Silencing.

Root-knot nematodes damage crops around the world by developing complex feeding sites from normal root cells of their hosts. The ability to initiate and maintain this feeding site (composed of individual "giant cells") is essential to their parasitism process. RNA silencing pathways in plants serve a diverse set of functions, from directing growth and development to defending against invading pathogens. Influencing a host's RNA silencing pathways as a pathogenicity strategy has been well-documented for viral plant pathogens, but recently, it has become clear that silencing pathways also play an important role in other plant pathosystems. To determine if RNA silencing pathways play a role in nematode parasitism, we tested the susceptibility of plants that express a viral suppressor of RNA silencing. We observed an increase in susceptibility to nematode parasitism in plants expressing viral suppressors of RNA silencing. Results from studies utilizing a silenced reporter gene suggest that active suppression of RNA silencing pathways may be occurring during nematode parasitism. With these studies, we provide further evidence to the growing body of plant-biotic interaction research that suppression of RNA silencing is important in the successful interaction between a plant-parasitic animal and its host.

SOCIOECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF UNDER-FIVE BANGLADESHI CHILDREN AND TREND OVER THE TWELVE-YEAR PERIOD 1996-2007.

The nutritional status of under-five-year-old children is a sensitive indicator of a country's health status as well as economic condition. The objectives of this study were to analyse trends in the nutritional status in Bangladeshi children over the period 1996-2007 and to examine the associations between nutritional and socioeconomic status variables. Bangladesh Demographic Health Surveys (BDHS) were the source of data, and a total of 16,278 children were examined. The Z-scores of the children were analysed as continuous as well as categorical variables (stunted, underweight and wasted). The socioeconomic status variables used were region, urban-rural residence, education and occupation of the parents, house type and household possession score. A series of General Linear Model and Sequential Linear and Binary Logistic Regression analyses were done to assess the relationship between demographic and socioeconomic variables and nutritional status. The trends of Z-scores were analysed by survey, as well as by child birth cohort. Region, house type, educational level of parents and household possession score showed significant associations with all three Z-scores of children after removing the effects of age, period of DHS and other explanatory variables in the model. No significant sex difference was observed between any of the Z-scores. There were improvements in mean WAZ and HAZ between 1996 and 2007 but deterioration in mean WHZ over this period. The obesity rate was below 2% in 2007, although the absolute numbers of obese children had nearly doubled in this 12-year period. Children from poorer households showed greater improvement than their better-off counterparts. The study reveals that over the years there has been substantial improvement in nutritional status of under-five children in Bangladesh and the main gains have been amongst the lower socioeconomic groups; it is also evident that malnutrition in Bangladesh is a multidimensional problem, like poverty itself, and warrants a proper policy mix and programme intervention.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards blood donation in Barbados.

OBJECTIVE: To obtain information to devise strategies for a voluntary blood donor mobilisation campaign in Barbados. BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that 100% blood should be collected from voluntary non-remunerated donors (VNRD), yet the majority of blood donations (75%) in Barbados are family/replacement donations. Increasing VNRD is paramount to achieving a safe, reliable blood supply, and understanding the population is a strategy suggested by the WHO to inform donor recruitment and education. METHODS: Participants in Barbados (n = 429) completed a self-administered questionnaire in 2014. The questionnaire comprised 31 questions, including demographics (age, gender, highest educational attainment) and blood donation-related knowledge, attitudes and practices. Analysis of variance, t-test and linear regression were used to analyse data. RESULTS: A total of 53% (n = 219) of participants had previously donated blood; almost half were family/replacement donors, and over one-third (36·2%) were lapsed donors and had not donated within the past 2 years. Knowledge deficits included blood donation requirements, deferral factors and maximum yearly donations. Most participants (79%) were willing to donate with more information. Participants with higher educational attainment and previous donors had higher total knowledge and attitude scores (P < 0·01). Single, female and younger participants were less likely to donate blood (P < 0·05). CONCLUSIONS: Barbados can likely increase voluntary blood donation rates by addressing knowledge deficits through education campaigns and increasing awareness of the need for donation.

THE BIOLOGICAL STATUS OF CHILDREN LIVING IN DISADVANTAGED REGIONS OF HUNGARY.

The aim of this study was to find out whether differences exist in the physical development, nutritional status and psychosomatic status of children living in deprived regions of Hungary compared with the Hungarian national reference values. The Hungarian government's decree No. 24/2003 created a complex indicator of social and economic conditions by which the country's regions were graded into deprived and non-deprived regions. This study examined 3128 children (aged 3-18 years) living in the deprived regions and their biological status was compared with the national reference values (2nd Hungarian National Growth Study). Children's body development was assessed via some absolute body dimensions. Nutritional status was estimated by BMI with children being divided into 'underweight', 'normal', 'overweight' and 'obese' categories. For children aged 7-18 years a standard symptoms list was used to characterize psychosomatic status. The subjects were asked to rate their health status as excellent, good, fair or poor. The body development of children living in these deprived regions was significantly retarded compared with the national references in the age groups 7-9 years and 14-17 years for boys and in the age groups 4-6 and 14-17 for girls. The prevalence of underweight was significantly higher in children and adolescents living in deprived regions (boys: 4.8%; girls: 5.9%) than the national references (boys: 2.9%; girls: 4.0%), while the prevalence of overweight and obese children did not differ between deprived regions (boys: 20.2%; girls: 19.8%) and the national references (boys: 21.5%; girls: 19.1%). Children and adolescents living in the deprived regions rated their health status worse, and experienced more psychosomatic complaints (abdominal discomfort and fear), than the national references. Although the majority of body dimensions of children in deprived regions were close to the 50th centile of the Hungarian national references, a sizeable minority (31%) were 0.20SD or more away from the median value, which has implications as to how social, medical and public welfare policy can be shaped.

Towards an inpatient diabetes curriculum: medical student-generated aims, objectives and methods for ward-based learning of non-critical, non-perioperative inpatient diabetes care.

AIMS: To create a summative document containing aims, objectives and methods that can be used for the training of healthcare professionals in inpatient diabetes care. METHODS: A four-stage approach was introduced for the ward-based teaching of inpatient diabetes care at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill over the 2014-2015 academic year. Within this approach, 55 students (100%) submitted aims, objectives and methods to support two 2-h, ward-based sessions. This was guided by brief instructions and access to a copy of the Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline on the management of non-critical, non-perioperative inpatient diabetes. Conceptual content analysis was used to convert submissions into a unifying document. RESULTS: Six themes emerged from students' submissions: diagnosis; assessment and investigation of diabetes and its complications; planning individualized care and pharmacological management; hypoglycaemia management, including severe hypoglycaemia; patient education; discharge planning; and multidisciplinary teamwork. Students were primarily interested in patient management and treatment using higher-level objectives and active learning methods. CONCLUSIONS: This study produced comprehensive, student-generated, and hence student-centred, aims, objectives and methods for inpatient diabetes care with objectives appropriately set for higher cognitive levels of learning. This material can be used to guide teaching or for further development into a curriculum. This is the first known publication of content that could be used in a ward-based inpatient diabetes curriculum.

Biosocial correlates of age at menarche in a British cohort.

BACKGROUND: A large number of biosocial variables have been shown to associate with age at menarche, but the results are inconsistent and differentiate not only between countries but within countries as well. AIM: This study examined age at menarche in a British national cohort in relation to 21 biosocial and anthropometric variables. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The analyses were based on 4483 girls from the British National Child Development Study (NCDS). RESULTS: The majority of girls reached menarche between 12-14 years of age. Girls from smaller families, those living in the East and South East, South West, West Midlands and Wales regions, in tied housing and uncrowded conditions, not sharing a bedroom, not having free school meals, whose families lived in households without financial problems had started menstruating earlier than their peers from families with lower socioeconomic status. However, when all the significant variables were analysed together significant associations remained only for mother's age at menarche, height and weight at 7 years, family size and tenure. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support the hypotheses that intra-uterine growth and conditions in early life as well as socio-economic background are associated with the timing of menarche and that greater childhood growth and better SES are related to earlier menarche.

A checklist that enhances the provision of education during insulin initiation simulation: a randomized controlled trial.

AIM: The study tested the hypothesis that doctors using an insulin information checklist during simulated insulin initiation would impart more information regarding insulin use. METHODS: A total of 128 simulations were conducted. Doctors (n = 64) were recruited from practitioners recently completing internship (n = 19) and those established in primary care (n = 45). Both groups of doctors were strata randomized to control (n = 32) and intervention groups (n = 32), so that each group contained equal numbers. Doctors in each group experienced two identical simulations of insulin initiation with an intervening period of 10 min. Doctors in the intervention arm were introduced to an insulin initiation checklist, which they reviewed independently and utilized in the second simulation. Trained assessors captured the provision of education in 21 predefined educational areas. Differences in the change of the total education provided between the first and second simulations were assessed using linear regression. RESULTS: The difference in the mean change of education provided between the first and second simulations within the 21 educational areas for the control and treatment groups was 9.7 [95% confidence interval (CI): 8.8-11.1, P < 0.001] - an increase of 46.2%. The difference for the 15 areas relevant to pen use was 7.3 (95% CI: 6.2-8.4, P < 0.001) - an increase of 51.6%. CONCLUSIONS: The checklist resulted in doctors providing significantly more education applicable to syringe and insulin pen routes of insulin administration during simulations. Further research is needed on the checklist's impact on healthcare professionals and patient outcomes in the clinical context. (Clinical Trials Registry No: NCT02266303).

Dietary analysis of full marathon runners over 50 years of age: a retrospective study.

AIM: There is little information known about the dietary intakes of older athletes. The purpose of this study was to assess the dietary intakes of full marathon runners over the age of 50 during the 3 days prior to and during a 26.2 mile marathon. METHODS: Participants completed a 3-day food record prior to the marathon and a food recall post-marathon. Dietary records were entered into a nutrient analysis software program and were analyzed for total energy, macronutrients, and micronutrients. RESULTS: The average energy intake based on the 3-day food records was 2670±225 kcal/day, which was below the estimated energy requirement of 3140±102 kcal/day. The participants consumed 56%, 17% and 27% of energy from carbohydrates, protein and fat, respectively, and these were within the acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges. The participants had a favorable omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 5:1. The participants were consuming 3920±350 mg/day of sodium which is 70% above the goal of 2300 mg/day. The participants met the dietary reference intakes for only half of the micronutrients. Based on the food recall, 87% of the participants' energy intake was from carbohydrates (213±19 g or 852±75 kcal) before and during the marathon. CONCLUSION: Marathon runners over the age of 50 have a balanced diet during the 3 days prior to running a 26.2 mile marathon. Carbohydrates were the main source of energy consumed before and during the marathon.

Is human mating for height associated with fertility? Results from a British National Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: Very few studies have investigated whether spousal similarity for height is related to fertility. This study examined the relationship between mating for height and fertility after correction for spousal age, social class, education, and region. METHODS: The data used were collected as part of the British National Child Development Study and 6,535 husband-wife pairs for whom data were available on measured height, spousal age, education, social class, region, and the number of children were studied. RESULTS: Fertility varied between the regions with the highest fertility in Scotland. Fertility tended to increase from more to less educated and from higher to lower social classes in both sexes. These relationships remained significant after correction for mean age. A negative association between husband's height in relation to fertility was noted as well as the negative and the quadratic term for wife's height. Both the linear as well as the quadratic effects of parental height difference were significantly related to fertility, but after removing the effects of mean age, age difference and mean height these effects disappeared. Analysis of region, mean age, social class, education, height, and differences in age, social class, education, and height together revealed that 32.4% of variation in fertility was explained but only mean age, mean social class and mean height and difference in social class remained significant. CONCLUSIONS: The results did not provide any evidence that differential fertility was associated with spousal height difference after taking into account age, social class, education and region.

Regional variation in maternal and childhood undernutrition in Bangladesh: evidence from demographic and health surveys.

BACKGROUND: Undernutrition among mothers and children is currently a major public health and development concern in Bangladesh. In literature relating to nutritional determinants, of particular interest is the geography, as regions with poor nutrition tend to pull down the overall nutritional status of the country. As such, reducing the regional gap can alone reduce overall undernutrition significantly, especially when regional gaps are high. The aim of this study is, therefore, to assess the magnitude of inequalities in undernutrition in children aged under 5 years in Bangladesh and their mothers, and relate this to the administrative divisions of the country. METHODS: The Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys (1996-1997, 1999-2000, 2004 and 2007) were the sources of data, and a total of 16 278 mother-child pairs whose records were complete for the required individual and household-level variables were included in the analysis. Maternal nutritional status was measured by the body mass index (BMI). Weight-for-age, height-for-age and weight-for-height z-scores were calculated by use of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards to assess the nutritional status of children aged under 5 years. General linear model, sequential linear and multinomial logistic regression analyses were done to assess the inequalities in maternal and child nutritional status among the six administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Socioeconomic variables that were controlled for were residency, education and occupation of the mothers and their husbands, house type and possession score in the household. RESULTS: Maternal BMI and prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting in children aged under 5 years were found to vary significantly according to administrative division. Of the six divisions, Sylhet was found to have highest prevalence of undernourished mothers and children. The trends from 1996 to 2007 also established Sylhet as the poorest-performing region overall. CONCLUSION: The Sylhet administrative division needs specially focused attention from policy-makers if the overall performance of the health, nutrition and population sector is to reach the targets set by the country.

Educational and social class assortative mating in fertile British couples.

BACKGROUND: Positive assortative mating for education and social position has been widely reported in a number of countries, but very few studies have tested whether or not educational or social class homogamy is related to differential fertility. AIM: This study examined the relationship between educational and social class assortative mating and fertility in a British national cohort. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The analyses were based on 7452 husband-wife pairs from the British National Child Development Study (NCDS). RESULTS: The mean fertility was 3.22 children per couple; the number of children significantly increased from higher to lower social classes and from the more educated to the less educated. The extent of assortative mating for social class and educational level was related to fertility; as educational assortative mating decreased so did the average number of children, whereas the opposite trend was observed for social class. When assortative mating for education and social class were considered together, educational assortative mating was the more significant predictor of the number of children and educationally homogamous couples had higher fertility independent of their social class assortative mating. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between assortative mating and fertility for education and social class appeared to be acting in the opposite direction.

Prevalence and public health relevance of micronutrient deficiencies and undernutrition in pre-school children and women of reproductive age in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa.

OBJECTIVE: To provide nationally representative data on the prevalence of anaemia, vitamin A and Fe deficiencies among pre-school age children (pre-SAC) and non-pregnant women of reproductive age (WRA), and on vitamin B12 and folate deficiencies in WRA, and the influence of inflammation on their interpretation. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey to measure anthropometry, malaria parasitaemia and micronutrient status. Specifically, blood samples were analysed for Hb, plasma ferritin, soluble transferrin receptors, C-reactive protein, α1-acid glycoprotein, retinol-binding protein, vitamin B12 and folate. SETTING: Côte d'Ivoire in 2007. SUBJECTS: Nine hundred and twenty-eight WRA and 879 pre-SAC. RESULTS: In WRA, prevalence of Plasmodium parasitaemia (5 %) was low, but inflammation (34 %) was higher. Anaemia was a severe public health problem and prevalence differed by residency and eco-region. Inflammation-adjusted Fe deficiency was highest in urban areas (20 %). Nationally, folate deficiency was 86 %, higher in urban areas and varied by eco-region. Prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency was low but higher in the rural areas and the north. Inflammation-adjusted vitamin A deficiency was very low (1 %). In pre-SAC, prevalence of inflammation (67 %) and Plasmodium parasites (25 %) was high; the latter was associated with poverty, rural residency and higher ferritin concentrations. Anaemia was classified as a severe public health problem (72 %), and was higher in rural areas (76 %) and the north (87 %). A quarter of pre-SAC suffered from vitamin A deficiency (inflammation-adjusted) and prevalence of undernutrition was high. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of inflammation, Plasmodium parasitaemia and micronutrient deficiencies were high in Côte d'Ivoire, particularly in pre-SAC. Nutritional interventions should be accompanied by strategies to reduce exposure to infections.

First Report of Bloat Nematode (Ditylenchus dipsaci) Infecting Garlic in Ohio.

Bloat nematode, Ditylenchus dipsaci (Kühn) Filipjev (also known as stem and bulb nematode), is a key pest of garlic (Allium sativum) globally (1) as heavy infestations can lead to complete crop loss. Although not a major crop in Ohio, garlic is grown in diversified vegetable production systems. In July 2013, diseased garlic bulbs were received from a grower in Lorain County, OH, from a field with wide symptom distribution. Bulbs were discolored, exhibited splitting, and had basal plate damage including reduced roots. Nematodes were extracted for examination by placing bulb slices in water. Recovered nematodes had morphological characteristics of D. dipsaci, including a short stylet with prominent knobs, a distinct median esophageal bulb, a basal bulb slightly overlapping the intestine, a conical and pointed tail, and males with distinct bursa (1). To confirm the identity of the nematode, further morphological and molecular studies were performed. Nematode images were captured on a DM IRB inverted microscope (Leica Microsystems, Wetzlar, Germany) using a Retiga 2000 camera (Q Imaging, Surrey, Canada). Images were analyzed using Image J (NIH). For females (n = 16), means and ranges were: L = 1,080.1 (972.2 to 1,229.5) µm, a = 36.6 (33.5 to 41.9), b = 6.2 (5.3 to 6.8), c = 11.1 (9.1 to 12.8), and stylet 10.1 (8.9 to 11.2) µm. For males (n = 6), L = 1,589.2 (1,494 to 1,702.7) µm, a = 43.0 (40.7 to 46.0), b = 6.9 (6.4 to 7.3), c = 11.7 (9.2 to 13), with stylet 10.8 (10 to 12.2) µm and spicules 25.2 (23.8 to 26.8) µm. The measurements were highly similar to those of D. dipsaci (1). DNA was extracted from 50 to 100 nematodes using a PowerSoil DNA Isolation Kit (Mo-Bio Laboratories, Inc., Carlsbad, CA) as well as from individual females, and partial ITS sequences were amplified using primer set TW81/AB28 (3). The partial ITS sequences shared 99 to 100% sequence identity with GenBank accessions of D. dipsaci from garlic (DQ452956, JX123258). Expansion segments D2-D3 were sequenced following amplification of DNA from individual females using primer set D2A/D3B (4) and shared 99% sequence identity with D. dipsaci from garlic (FJ707362, JX123259). In this case, the grower noted bloat nematode symptoms following the introduction of new planting material into the field. Therefore, the availability of bloat nematode-free planting material or treated bulbs (2) is essential for preventing introduction of this pathogen. Once established, management options are limited as this nematode is difficult to eliminate. With this first report of D. dipsaci on garlic in Ohio, we have identified a new pest that can greatly reduce garlic yields in this state. References: (1) W. Nickle, ed. Ditylenchus. In: Manual of Agricultural Nematology, 1991. (2) P. Roberts et al. J. Nematol. 27:448, 1995. (3) S. Subbotin et al. Phytopathology 95:1308, 2005. (4) G. Tenente et al. Nematropica 34:1, 2004.