Fermentation of Foc TR4-infected bananas and Trichoderma spp.

Fusarium wilt (also known as Panama disease) is one of the most destructive banana diseases, and greatly hampers the global production of bananas. Consequently, it has been very detrimental to the Chinese banana industry. An infected plant is one of the major causes of the spread of Fusarium wilt to nearby regions. It is essential to develop an efficient and environmentally sustainable disease control method to restrict the spread of Fusarium wilt. We isolated Trichoderma spp from the rhizosphere soil, roots, and pseudostems of banana plants that showed Fusarium wilt symptoms in the infected areas. Their cellulase activities were measured by endoglucanase activity, ß-glucosidase activity, and filter paper activity assays. Safety analyses of the Trichoderma isolates were conducted by inoculating them into banana plantlets. The antagonistic effects of the Trichoderma spp on the Fusarium pathogen Foc tropical Race 4 (Foc TR4) were tested by the dual culture technique. Four isolates that had high cellulase activity, no observable pathogenicity to banana plants, and high antagonistic capability were identified. The isolates were used to biodegrade diseased banana plants infected with GFP-tagged Foc TR4, and the compost was tested for biological control of the infectious agent; the results showed that the fermentation suppressed the incidence of wilt and killed the pathogen. This study indicates that Trichoderma isolates have the potential to eliminate the transmission of Foc TR4, and may be developed into an environmentally sustainable treatment for controlling Fusarium wilt in banana plants.

Intraoperative epiaortic scanning for preventing early stroke after off-pump coronary artery bypass.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have demonstrated the accuracy of epiaortic ultrasound scanning (EAS) for assessing ascending aortic disease. It remains unclear whether EAS changes the incidence of perioperative stroke after off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB). METHODS: We studied a retrospective cohort of 2292 patients who underwent isolated OPCAB from January 2001 to December 2011. Patients were retrospectively subdivided into two groups: the non-EAS group (n=1019) who underwent OPCAB under only intraoperative transoesophageal echocardiography and the EAS group (n=1273) who underwent OPCAB under EAS. RESULTS: In the non-EAS group, 317 (31.1%) patients underwent OPCAB with partial aortic clamping and 702 (68.9%) underwent OPCAB without partial aorta clamping. In the EAS group, 301 (23.7%) patients underwent OPCAB with partial aortic clamping and 972 (76.3%) underwent OPCAB without partial aortic clamping. The incidence of early stroke was not different statistically between the EAS and non-EAS groups [non-EAS 1.7% (17/1019) vs EAS 0.8% (10/1273); P=0.052]. However, in the subgroups of patients with partial aorta clamping, the incidence of the early stroke was significantly lower in the EAS group [2.8% (9/317) vs 0.7% (2/301) P=0.041]. CONCLUSIONS: EAS has a significant clinical benefit in reducing the incidence of early stroke in cases of partial aortic clamping in OPCAB. Therefore, EAS should be considered in patients who need partial aortic clamping in OPCAB.

Control of Fusarium wilt in banana with Chinese leek.

The inhibitory effects of Chinese leek(Allium tuberosum) on Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) and on Fusarium wilt incidence were studied in order to identify a potential efficient way to control the disease. Adopting the rotation system of Chinese leek-banana reduced the Fusarium wilt incidence and disease severity index by 88 %-97 % and 91 %-96 %, respectively, improved the crop value by 36 %-86 %, in an area heavily infested by Foc between 2007 and 2009. As a result of inoculation in the greenhouse, Chinese leek treatment reduced disease incidence and the disease severity index by 58 % and 62 %, respectively in the variety Baxi (AAA) and by 79 % and 81 %, respectively in the variety Guangfen NO.1 (ABB). Crude extracts of Chinese leek completely inhibited the growth of Foc race 4 on Petri dishes, suppressed the proliferation of the spores by 91 % and caused 87 % spore mortality. The findings of this study suggest that Chinese leek has the potential to inhibit Foc growth and Fusarium wilt incidence. This potential may be developed into an environmentally friendly treatment to control Fusarium wilt of banana.

The fate of patients on the waiting list for lung transplantation in Korea.

Lung transplantation for end-stage lung disease results in prolonged actuarial survival and improved pulmonary function. However, the shortage of donor lungs has been a major limiting factor in transplantation. The purpose of this study was to analyze the waiting time and mortality rate for each disease entity. The medical records of all patients listed in The Korean Network for Organ Sharing (KONOS) from May 1996 to May 2011 were analyzed to identify waiting times and causes of death. During the study period, 146 patients (86 males and 60 females) of mean age of 46.6 years (range; 5 to 73 years) showed idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF; n = 61), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; n = 19) or bronchiectasis (n = 15). Sixty-five patients (44.5%) underwent lung or heart-lung transplantation. Sixty-two patients (42.5%) expired during the waiting period, and 19 patients are still on the waiting list. The mortality rate while waiting was highest among patients with primary pulmonary hypertension (62.5%) followed by IPF (57.4%), and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (55.6%). The mean time from diagnosis to registration in KONOS was 15.5 months among the expired and 13.2 months in the transplanted group (P = .455). The mean time on waiting list was 8.2 months in the expired group and 3.7 months in the transplanted group (P = .012). In the expired group, the mean survival time was significantly shorter among patients with ARDS (2.2 months, P = .004) compared to IPF (7.9 months), COPD (10.7 months), and primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) (30.0 months). The high mortality rate (42.5%) during the waiting period in Korea may result from the lack of donors and the delay in registration.

Donor evaluation for lung transplantation in Korea.

Lung transplantation for end-stage lung disease results in prolonged survival and improved pulmonary function. However, the shortage of donor lungs has been a major limiting factor in Korea. We sought to investigate the number and utilization of donor lungs by the five institutions performing LTx in Korea, retrospectively reviewing outcomes of organs registered in the Korean Network for Organ Sharing from January to December, 2010. Lungs were offered from 270 brain-dead patients (189 males and 81 females) of mean age of 45.2 ± 14.2 years (range, 12 to 77 years). The most common cause of brain death was hemorrhage (n = 219, 81%). Only 18 (6.7%) donor lungs were used, which was low compared with kidney (93.3%), liver (86.3%), heart (26.7%), and pancreas (11.1%) use. The mean age of donors of transplanted lungs was 35.7 years (range, 14 to 51 years) compared with 45.9 years for other organs (P = .003). The characteristics of utilized donor lungs were: mean partial pressure of oxygen (PaO(2)), 300.9 mm Hg; mean smoking history, as 2.7 pack-years; and mean body mass index, 21.2 kg/m(2). The causes of refusal were medical ineligibility (n = 129) including poor PaO(2), abnormal chest x-ray, long smoking history, older age (n = 46), no properly matched recipient (n = 46), unknown (n = 17), and family withdrawal (n = 14). Only 8 (33.3%) were transplanted from standard criteria and 10 from the lungs that did not satisfy these criteria. An efficient utilization system is needed to improve lung transplantations.