[Clinical characteristics of patients with multiple myeloma harboring 6q deletion].

Objective: To study the clinical and cytogenetic characteristics of patients with multiple myeloma harboring 6q deletion, with the aim to determine the impact of 6q deletion on survival. Methods: This study included the retrospective analysis of 382 newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma in our hospital from 2014 to 2017 and compared the clinical and cytogenetic characteristics between patients with and without 6q deletion. The log-rank test and the Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to analyze prognostic factors for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) . Results: Compared to those without 6q, the patients with 6q deletion were older (median age, 63 vs 58 years, P=0.039) , had higher incidence of t (4; 14) (30.4% vs 16.4% , P=0.020) , and higher proportion of complex karyotypes (22.2% vs 5.3% , P=0.001) . Univariate survival analysis using the log-rank test revealed that 6q deletion was associated with shorter PFS. However, by the Cox multivariate proportional hazards regression model, 6q deletion was not an independent prognostic factor and its effect on survival was affected by age, t (4; 14) , and other risk factors. Conclusions: 6q deletion was common in elderly patients with multiple myeloma and was often accompanied by t (4;14) and complex karyotypes. However, 6q deletion was not an independent prognostic factor for multiple myeloma.

Impact of static biocarriers on the microbial community, nitrogen removal and membrane fouling in submerged membrane bioreactor at different COD:N ratios.

The polyvinyl formal (PVFM) biocarrier addition in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) was evaluated at high and low carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio of 20.0 and 6.7. Results indicated that static biocarrier addition could enrich nitrification and denitrification bacteria, dominating by Tauera, Amaricoccus and Nitrosospira at the genus level and slightly improved the total nitrogen removal even at a low C/N ratio. The bulk sludge characteristics (such as bigger particle size, lower SMP, lower SMP P/C) were also significantly changed in the hybrid MBR (HMBR), leading to a more sustainable membrane operation. The biocarrier addition also reduced the relative abundance of Sphingobacterials_unclassified, Ohtaekwangia and Rhodocyclaceae_unclassified at the genus level, indicating less membrane fouling in the HMBR. Consequently, HMBR with static PVFM addition could partially overcome the drawback of low C/N ratio for total nitrogen removal and membrane fouling control, providing a more resilient MBR to the undesirable environment such as low C/N ratio.

MiRNA-485-5p, inhibits esophageal cancer cells proliferation and invasion by down-regulating O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase.

OBJECTIVE: Previous reports suggest that miRNA-485-5p is dysregulated and contributes to tumorigenesis in some cancer types. Nevertheless, the biological role of miRNA-485-5p in esophageal cancer (EC) is not well understood. Additionally, we found that the expression of miR-485-5p in EC tissues was aberrant. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to demonstrate the expression of miRNA-485-5p in EC cell lines. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and transwell assay indicated that miRNA-485-5p overexpression inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in EC cell lines. Additionally, Western blotting, dual-luciferase reporter assay, and rescue assay predicted that O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT) was a direct target of miRNA-485-5p. Moreover, we showed that miRNA-485-5p regulated EC tumorigenesis by down-regulating OGT expression in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: The upregulation of miR-485-5p (fold change = 44 and 26 in ECA109 and TE-1, respectively; p<0.001) was showed by qRT-PCR. Compared with the control groups, the expression miR-485-5p significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of EC cells. The bioinformatic analysis predicted that the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of OGT contains one miR-485-5p target sequences. Western blotting and dual-luciferase reporter assay showed that activation of OGT 3'UTR was increased by co-transfection with miR-485-5p. Finally, CCK-8 assay predicted that the rescue effects of OGT expression on miR-485-5p induced inhibition of cell growth and tumor weight in Eca109 and TE1 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that miRNA-485-5p is a suppressor of EC tumorigenesis and could serve as a novel candidate for therapeutic applications in EC treatment.

Involvement of putrescine in osmotic stress-induced ABA signaling in leaves of wheat seedlings.

To elucidate one mechanism by which putrescine (Put) functions in plant signaling under osmotic stress, Put and ABA contents, and plasma membrane-NADPH oxidase (PM-NOX) activity were detected in wheat seedling leaves. Under osmotic stress, ABA and Put contents, PM-NOX activity, and PM-NOX-dependent O2.- production all increased. The inhibitor tungstate (T) of ABA bio-synthesis reduced the increases in ABA and Put contents under osmotic stress. The inhibitor D-arginine (D-Arg) of Put bio-synthesis didn't reduce osmotic-induced increase of ABA, but it inhibited the increases of PM-NOX activity and O2 . - production, and the inhibitory effects were reversed by exogenous Put. These findings suggested that ABA might regulate Put biosynthesis, and Put might regulate PM-NOX activity. Treatments with three inhibitors imidazole (I), diphenylene iodonium (DPI) and pyridine (P) of PM-NOX reduced significantly not only O2 . - production, but also the stress-induced increase of Put content, which indicated that O2 . - production might regulate Put biosynthesis. Treatments with EGTA (Ca2+ chelator), La3+ and verapamil (V) (Ca2+ channel blockers) reduced significantly the stress-induced increase of Put content, which suggested that Ca2+ might regulate Put biosynthesis. With these findings, it could be concluded that Put was involved in ABA signaling induced by osmotic stress via regulating PM-NOX activity in wheat seedling leaves.

[Advances on research of nutrition literacy and nutrition literacy assessment tools].

Health literacy has become a vibrant area of research, and the nutrition literacy and health literacy were closely related as well as a growing number of inquiries have focused on direct measures of nutrition literacy. In this paper, we summarized some features such as the structure, the content, the reliability, the validity and the application of the general nutrition literacy assessment tools and the health literacy assessment tools related to nutrition literacy, furthermore the evaluation contents were listed as the understanding capacity, numeracy capacity, household food measurement, food group, and basic nutrition knowledge. In addition, the briefly the nutrition information readability assessment tools were also summarized. The research results of nutritional literacy and its assessment tools would provide reference for the development of nutrition literacy assessment tools and evaluation work in China.

Development and clinical application of an evidence-based pharmaceutical care service algorithm in acute coronary syndrome.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: Drug therapies are critical for preventing secondary complications in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The purpose of this study was to develop and apply a pharmaceutical care service (PCS) algorithm for ACS and confirm that it is applicable through a prospective clinical trial. METHODS: The ACS-PCS algorithm was developed according to extant evidence-based treatment and pharmaceutical care guidelines. Quality assurance was conducted through two methods: literature comparison and expert panel evaluation. The literature comparison was used to compare the content of the algorithm with the referenced guidelines. Expert evaluations were conducted by nine experts for 75 questionnaire items. A trial was conducted to confirm its effectiveness. Seventy-nine patients were assigned to either the pharmacist-included multidisciplinary team care (MTC) group or the usual care (UC) group. The endpoints of the trial were the prescription rate of two important drugs, readmission, emergency room (ER) visit and mortality. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The main frame of the algorithm was structured with three tasks: medication reconciliation, medication optimization and transition of care. The contents and context of the algorithm were compliant with class I recommendations and the main service items from the evidence-based guidelines. Opinions from the expert panel were mostly positive. There were significant differences in beta-blocker prescription rates in the overall period (P = .013) and ER visits (four cases, 9.76%, P = .016) in the MTC group compared to the UC group, respectively. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: We developed a PCS algorithm for ACS based on the contents of evidence-based drug therapy and the core concept of pharmacist services.

[The coping styles and its relationship with quality of life among 1 968 female breast cancer patients in Shanghai in 2014].

Objective: To study the coping styles and its relationship with quality of life among part of the female breast cancer patients in Shanghai in 2014. Methods: In August of 2014, 1-3 block groups affiliated to Shanghai Cancer Rehabilitation Club were selected from each of the 17 districts of Shanghai by convenient sampling method. Respondents were recruited from these block groups via putting up posters in the community or top three hospitals nearby. The inclusion criteria were as follows: female, aged from 18 to 80 years old; the initial diagnosis or primary tumor was breast cancer, and active treatments including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy were finished; capable of basic reading and comprehension, and there was no communication disorder; daily activities were not limited, and with no mental disorder or dysgnosia. Totally 2 205 respondents were included. Questionnaire survey was conducted to collect the information of demographic characteristics, disease characteristics, result of European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), and result of the Ways of Coping Inventory-Cancer Version (WOC-CA). 1 968 valid questionnaires were withdrawn. The results of respondent characteristics and WOC-CA were under descriptive analysis, and the differences of coping styles among groups of different demographic characteristics were compared using t test. In addition, we analyzed the correlation between respondents' coping styles and quality of life using partial correlation analysis. Results: The average age of the 1 968 respondents was (58.7±7.4) years old, and BMI was (24.4±5.4) kg/m(2). The score of positive coping styles was 2.04±0.41, and the score of negative coping styles was 1.79±0.33. The scores of Physical Functioning (PF), Role Functioning (RF), Cognitive Functioning (CF), Emotional Functioning (EF), Social Functioning (SF), and Global Health (GH) were 83.40±12.18, 90.80±15.92, 80.72±16.29, 84.67±15.19, 80.99±20.91, 65.27±21.21, respectively. Positive coping styles correlated with PF, EF, and GH positively, and the correlation coefficients were separately 0.581 (P=0.046), 0.593 (P=0.045), 0.770 (P<0.001). Negative coping styles correlated with RF, CF, EF, and SF negatively, and the correlation coefficients were separately-0.672 (P=0.021),-0.815 (P=0.005),-0.121 (P<0.001),-0.123 (P<0.001). Conclusion: Part of the female breast cancer patients in Shanghai in 2014 mainly adopted positive coping styles, and in general the positive coping styles correlated with quality of life positively and negative coping styles correlated with quality of life negatively.

The effect of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy under different anesthesia on pain and immunity of patients with prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy under different anesthesia on pain and immunity of patients with lumbar disc herniation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 92 cases of patients with lumbar disc herniation in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from February 2015 to January 2016 were collected. These patients were randomly divided into control group and observation group (n = 46). Patients in the control group underwent percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy with the use of local anesthesia, while patients in the observation group used continuous epidural anesthesia. Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Visual Analogue Scale of Pain (VAS) were used to compare the surgical effect and the degree of pain of patients in the two groups. Adverse reactions (nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness) of patients in two groups were compared. T lymphocytes subset level (CD4+, CD8+) and inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, TNF) in the immune system were compared on the 1st, 3rd, and 10th day post-operatively. RESULTS: The pain degree of patients in the two groups had no significant difference before their operations (p > 0.05). The intraoperative pain rate of patients in the observation group was significantly lower than the control group (p < 0.05). Patients in both groups achieved a remarkable decrease of pain intensity on month 1 and month 3 post-operatively (p < 0.05). There is no significant difference between the two groups (p > 0.05). ODI scores of patients in the two groups had no significant difference pre-operatively (p > 0.05). Patients in both groups achieved a remarkable decrease of ODI scores after surgery (p < 0.05), and there is no significant difference between the two groups (p > 0.05). The occurrence of adverse reactions in the observation group was significantly lower than the control group (p < 0.05). On day 1 and 3 post-operatively, CD4+ and CD8+ levels of patients in both groups were lower than before operation, and data in the control group decreased more than the observation group (p < 0.05). IL-2 and TNF-α levels of patients in the two groups were significantly higher than pre-operatively, and data in the control group was higher than the observation group (p < 0.05). On day 10 post-operatively, all the indexes returned to the preoperative level. CONCLUSIONS: Both continuous epidural anesthesia and local anesthesia can reduce or avoid perioperative pain, but continuous epidural anesthesia has more advantages than local anesthesia, and it can improve the immune function for patients undergoing PTED for LDH.

Identification of a novel cosavirus species in faeces of children and its relationship with acute gastroenteritis in China.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of human cosavirus (HCosV) in China and to determine the association of a novel HCosV (Cosa-CHN) with acute gastroenteritis (AGE). METHODS: A case-control study with 461 paired stool samples from diarrhoea and healthy children was conducted. Real-time PCR and nested PCR were used to detect the HCosVs. Rapid amplification of cDNA ends was used to obtain the ends of the Cosa-CHN. RESULTS: Known HCosVs were detected in two control samples, while Cosa-CHN was detected in eight (1.7%) and six (1.3%) of the case and control samples respectively. The complete genome of Cosa-CHN comprises 7213 bp. The P1 and P2 regions of the Cosa-CHN were closely related to those of HCosV B, while the P3 region was most similar to that of HCosV D, albeit with low amino acid identities (66 and 67% respectively). Phylogenetic analyses of the polyprotein and partial VP3/VP1 regions indicated that Cosa-CHN could be classified as a novel species (tentatively named HCosV G) in cosavirus. There was no significant difference in detection rate (p 0.59) or mean virus load (p 0.43) of Cosa-CHN between the cases and controls. Statistical analysis revealed no association between Cosa-CHN and AGE (p 0.76), and the virus did not exacerbate clinical symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: A low prevalence of HCosV was detected, but a novel Cosavirus species was found in children with and without gastroenteritis in this study. The evidence did not support a causative role for the novel virus in paediatric AGE.

[Effects and its mechanism of Nimotuzumab on radiosensitivity of esophageal carcinoma ECA-109 and TE-13 cell lines].

Objective: To investigate the effects of nimotuzumab on radiosensitivity of ECA-109 and TE-13 esophageal carcinoma cell lines and explore its possible mechanism. Methods: The ECA-109 and TE-13 cells were divided into control group, irradiation group, medicine group, and combined group (irradiation + medicine). In the combined group, ECA-109 and TE-13 cells were treated with nimotuzumab for 24 h before irradiation, and the cells were collected 2 h after irradiation. The radiosensitizing effects of nimotuzumab on ECA-109 and TE-13 cells were evaluated by clone formation assay. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. Western blotting was used to evaluate the expression of EGFR, p-EGFR, DNA-PKcs, p-DNA-PKcs and γH2AX. Results: The values of Dq (quasithreshold dose), D0(mean lethal dose)and SF2 (surviving fraction at 2 Gy) of ECA-109 and TE-13 cells in the combined group were significantly lower than those of the radiation group (for ECA-109 cells, 1.11 vs. 1.72, 1.40 vs. 2.14, 0.42 vs. 0.66, respectively; for TE-13 cells, 0.41 vs. 0.46, 0.43 vs. 0.65, 0.40 vs. 0.71, respectively (all P<0.05). The sensitivity enhancement ratio (SER) of ECA-109 and TE-13 cells were 1.35 and 1.43, respectively. Flow cytometry showed that the apoptosis rate of ECA-109 and TE-13 cells in the combined group were significantly higher than those of the radiation group [for ECA-109 cells, (41.31±1.52)% vs. (9.54±0.52)%; for TE-13 cells, (46.28±0.28)% vs. (11.32±0.31)%, both P<0.01]. Western blotting showed that the expression levels of EGFR and DNA-PKcs were not significantly different in all groups (all P>0.05). Compared with those of the control group, p-EGFR and p-DNA-PKcs of the radiation group were significantly higher in both cell lines (P<0.05), and the γH2AX levels in the radiation group and medicine group were significantly higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). Compared with those of the radiation group and medicine group, p-EGFR and p-DNA-PKcs protein expression in the combined group were decreased significantly (P<0.05), while γH2AX protein expression was significantly increased (P<0.05). Conclusions: Nimotuzumab can enhance the radiosensitivity of esophageal cancer ECA-109 and TE-13 cells. The potential mechanism may be related to the inhibition of EGFR phosphorylation and down-regulation of DNA damage repair proteins. The radiosensitizing effect of nimotuzumab is greater on poorly differentiated esophageal cancer cells.

Aetiology of diarrhoeal disease and evaluation of viral-bacterial coinfection in children under 5 years old in China: a matched case-control study.

Globally, diarrhoeal diseases are the second leading cause of death among children under 5 years old. Few case-control studies on the aetiology of diarrhoea have been conducted in China. A case-control study on 922 children under 5 years old who presented with diarrhoea and individually matched controls was conducted in China between May 2011 and January 2013. Quantitative PCR was used to analyze stool samples for 10 diarrhoeal pathogens. Potential enteric pathogens were detected in 377 (81.8%) of 461 children with diarrhoea and 215 controls (46.6%, p <0.001). Rotavirus, norovirus GII, Shigella and adenovirus were qualitatively associated with diarrhoea. Using receiver operating characteristic curves, the optimal cutoff threshold for defining a symptomatic individual was 72, 5840, and 10(4) copies per reaction for rotavirus (odds ratio 259), norovirus GII (odds ratio 10.6) and Shigella (odds ratio 5.1). The attributable fractions were 0.18 for rotavirus, 0.08 for norovirus GII, 0.01 for Shigella and 0.04 for adenovirus. Coinfections between pathogens were common. Two pairs, rotavirus and adenovirus, and norovirus GII and Salmonella were positively associated. The co-occurrence of rotavirus and sapovirus, astrovirus, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli or Campylobacter jejuni only occurred in children with disease. Coinfection was not correlated with clinical symptoms. Quantitative data are critical. Our results indicate that increased pathogen loads increase the OR between diarrhoea and rotavirus, norovirus GII and Shigella. Coinfections with rotavirus and norovirus GII are common and occur in a nonrandom distribution. Despite testing for ten diarrhoeal pathogens, over two-thirds of cases do not have a recognized attributable cause.

Do physical exercise and reading reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease? a cross-sectional study on factors associated with Parkinson's disease in elderly Chinese veterans.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate risk factors for and factors protecting against Parkinson's disease (PD) in elderly Chinese veterans. METHODS: Using a database containing detailed information on the health status of the nervous system in elderly Chinese veterans, univariate and multivariate analyses of factors that may be associated with PD were performed. Univariate analysis of qualitative data was done using the Pearson Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests, and the Mann-Whitney U nonparametric test was used for univariate analysis of quantitative data. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for and factors protecting against PD in elderly Chinese veterans. RESULTS: A total of 9,676 elderly Chinese veterans were enrolled, including 228 cases with PD and 183 cases with Parkinson's syndrome, with 9,265 non-PD subjects serving as controls. Age (odds ratio [OR] 1.343, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.028-1.755) and medical history of essential tremor (OR 1.228, 95% CI 1.081-1.396) were identified as independent risk factors for PD, with age being the most important risk factor. Physical exercise (OR 0.478, 95% CI 0.355-0.643) and reading (OR 0.513, 95% CI 0.357-0.735) were identified as independent factors protecting against PD, and physical exercise showed better protection against PD relative to reading. Smoking, alcohol use, anemia, cerebral trauma, education level, and electromagnetic field exposure showed no association with PD. CONCLUSION: Physical exercise and reading may be independent factors that protect against PD among elderly Chinese veterans, while advancing age and medical history of essential tremor may be independent risk factors for PD. This study was cross-sectional, so further research is needed to confirm its results.

Association between p53 codon 72 polymorphisms and clinical outcome of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

We conducted a cohort study to investigate whether polymorphisms in p53 at codon 72 are associated with tumor response and survival time of advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients treated with radiotherapy. The study population included 127 subjects with NPC who were enrolled at Binzhou Medical University between September 2008 and December 2009. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to assess the association between polymorphisms in the p53 gene and progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of NPC patients. During the follow-up period, 42 patients died and 72 patients showed progression at the end of the study. Of the 127 patients, median PFS was 22.5 ± 1.2 months (1-36 months), and the median OS time was 28.2 ± 1.1 months (2-36 months). The p53 codon 72 Pro/Pro genotype was associated with a longer median PFS time of 30.3 months compared with 18.2 months for patients with Arg/Arg variants. Moreover, the p53 codon 72 Pro/ Pro genotype was associated with a longer median OS time of 31.6 months compared with 25.8 months for those with Arg/Arg variants; the P value was marginally significant. We showed that variants in p53 codon 72 may be an independent predictor for PFS and OS of NPC patients.

The prevalence of Parkinson's disease continues to rise after 80 years of age: a cross-sectional study of Chinese veterans.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine whether the prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) continues to rise after 80 years of age. METHODS: This is a two-stage, multi-center, cross-sectional study using a stratified cluster sampling approach was employed. Subjects included veterans at ≥ 60 years of age living in veterans' communities for at least one month in 18 major cities across China. In the first step, possible PD was screened using a PD screening scale. Demographic and relevant information were collected. In the second step, PD diagnosis was established using the United Kingdom Parkinson's Disease Society Brain Bank (UKPDSBB) diagnostic criteria. RESULTS: The study was conducted during the period from December 2009 to December 2012. The study included 277 veterans' communities. Among the approached 11,593 subjects, 9676 subjects, (9096 men, 580 women) responded. The response rate was 83.46%.The age was ≥ 80 years in 6722 (69.47%) subjects. A diagnosis of PD was established in 228 subjects (2.36%) in the entire sample. The rate of PD was 2.65% in those with an age of ≥ 80 years. The rate of PD increased with increasing age (0%, 1.84%, 2.60% and 3.68% in the subjects at < 70, 70-79, 80-89 and ≥ 90 years of age, respectively; χ2 = 10.891, p = 0.001 in chi-square test). The rate of PD was higher in men (2.44%) than in women (1.46%) on the surface. However, no significant difference was detected (p = 0.241). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of PD continues to increase beyond the age of 80 years. The prevalence of PD in Chinese veterans is not lower than that in other countries and regions.

A survey of physicians who care for older persons in Southwest China.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this survey is to determine the main barriers of geriatric health care from the physicians' point of view and compare the improvement before and after the Continue Medical Education (CME) provided by International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG). DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred samples were generated using systematic random sampling from the address lists of physicians in Southwest China who had received the IAGG CME or been trained in Sichuan Association of Geriatrics (SAG) CME. MEASUREMENTS: The interview instrument examined demographics and information on geriatric education. RESULTS: Of the 500 physician sampled, 461(92.2 percent) responded. 34.3 percent of the respondents reported that over 70 percent of their patients were older persons. 76.8 percent of the respondents felt that they lacked geriatric knowledge. Only 15.6 percent of the respondents had geriatric curriculum before graduation, and 26.0 percent received geriatric trainings after graduation. Most physicians felt that "Language barrier" and "Insufficient geriatric education in undergraduate medical school and postgraduate education" were the main challenges in practicing geriatric medicine. Geriatric training and knowledge are inadequate due to the lack of geriatric curriculums in medical schools and CME for physicians who practice geriatrics. With the help of IAGG, CME in Southwest China provided more workshops on geriatric progress in year 2011 than in year 2007-2010. Eighty percent of the physicians acknowledged that the IAGG CME was helpful for their clinical practice. The physicians paid more attention to geriatric syndromes rather than age-related pathophysiology alone. CONCLUSION: CME provided by geriatric associations is helpful. Collaboration between different geriatric societies such as IAGG and SAG may be a good model for spreading geriatric knowledge and should be considered by medical educational administration.

Occurrence of Fusarium commune and F. oxysporum in Horseradish Roots.

This study was conducted to investigate the etiology of internal discoloration of horseradish roots. Several species of Fusarium and Verticillium were isolated from internally discolored horseradish roots collected from commercial fields in Illinois and research plots in Wisconsin during 2008 and 2009. Eleven isolates of Fusarium, identified as Fusarium oxysporum based on morphological features, were characterized by DNA sequencing of the nuclear translation elongation factor 1α (EF-1α) and mitochondrial small-subunit ribosomal DNA (mtSSU rDNA). Maximum parsimony analyses of DNA sequences from these two regions and the combined data set revealed that six isolates were clearly separated into a common clade that contained F. commune, with the remaining five isolates being grouped into a common clade with F. oxysporum. Based on the DNA sequence data, we considered the six isolates grouped into a common clade with F. commune to be F. commune. Pathogenicity tests of F. commune and F. oxysporum were conducted on two horseradish cultivars, '1573' and 'Big Top Western', in a greenhouse. Root segments were inoculated by dipping them in a conidial suspension and then growing them in pots in a greenhouse for 4 months. For plants inoculated with F. commune, internal root discoloration and root rot developed 1 month after inoculation and almost all roots of the plant were completely rotten 4 months after inoculation. Inoculation of the plants with F. oxysporum resulted in only internal root discoloration but not root rot symptoms. This is the first report of F. commune causing internal discoloration and root rot of horseradish.