Comparative outcome of single versus two double-pigtail stents for endoscopic drainage of pancreatic fluid collections with minimal necrosis: a retrospective analysis.

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided cystogastrostomy is the treatment of choice for managing symptomatic pancreatic fluid collections (PFC). However, studies on the number of stents for optimal drainage of PFCs are limited. Hence, the present study was conducted to compare the outcome of single versus two double-pigtail stents for endoscopic drainage of PFCs. Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective analysis of patients undergoing endoscopic drainage of PFCs with minimal necrosis (pseudocyst or walled-off necrosis with <30% solid content) at a tertiary center in South India from October 2020 to October 2022. Post-procedure, patients were followed up for clinical improvement, and stents were removed after documentation of cyst size reduction on imaging. Results: Sixty-three patients (82.5% males, median age: 34 years) fulfilling the selection criteria were included. For single stent placement (n = 47), stents of size 8.5 Fr or 10 Fr were used, while for placement of two stents (n = 16), 7 Fr stents were used. The technical success rate was 100%. Intraprocedural and early postprocedural adverse events (all mild to moderate) were comparable between the groups (17.0% with single stent vs. 25.0% with two stents, p = NS). Clinical success was achieved in 93.6% of patients, with no difference between both groups. Three patients in the single stent group required additional procedures. All patients underwent successful stent removal after a median follow-up of 14 weeks. Conclusion: A single pigtail stent of 8.5 Fr or 10 Fr size for EUSguided cystogastrostomy provides efficacy and safety similar to that of two stents.

Head Rot of Sunflower Caused by Rhizopus oryzae in New Mexico.

Head rot was found in cultivated sunflower (Helianthus annuus) in eastern New Mexico in Tucumcari in 2007 and Clovis in 2007 and 2009 and in south-central New Mexico near Las Cruces in 2009. The disease was also observed in wild sunflower near Clovis in 2008. Disease incidence was 10 to 40% in cultivated sunflower and ~30% in wild sunflower. Heads were brown to dark brown with discoloration extending down the sepals and peduncles into the stems. The basal parts of the heads were shredded and had grayish, fluffy mycelial mats visible in the lumen, and kernels were mostly seedless. Three to five diseased heads were collected from cultivated sunflower in 2007 and 2009 and wild sunflower in 2008. Plant tissues from heads and peduncles were surface sterilized for 3 min in 0.5% NaOCl, rinsed once in sterile distilled water, cut into 0.5-cm pieces, and plated on acidified potato dextrose agar (PDA). Within 3 to 7 days, mycelial colonies with abundant aerial growth and black sporangia emerged and were identified as Rhizopus oryzae on the basis of the presence of pale brown sporangiospores with bluish stripes (3) and mycelial growth at 36°C on PDA (1). PCR amplification of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA from two isolates, one from cultivated and one from wild sunflower, using primer pair ITS4/ITS5 (1) was followed by sequencing and showed a 99% homology with the sequence of the ITS region of rDNA from R. oryzae (GenBank No. FJ654430). Each isolate was tested for pathogenicity on inflorescences (5 to 6 cm in diameter) of sunflower cvs. Hysun 511 and Triumph 820 HO grown for 4 to 5 weeks in a growth chamber at 26°C with a 14-h photoperiod. To obtain inoculum, a sterile toothpick was passed through a culture of R. oryzae until a ~3-mm mycelial mat was collected at the tip. The toothpick was dabbed into the center of an inflorescence or into the peduncle. A cotton boll was placed over the inoculation and sprayed with sterile distilled water. Control inflorescences were dabbed with toothpicks with no mycelium mat. Each inoculated and noninoculated inflorescence was covered with a plastic bag that was sealed around the peduncle. Plants were kept in the growth chamber for 3 weeks. In each of two experiments, 13 plants were used per cultivar and inoculation type, with 5 plants inoculated per isolate, and 3 control plants. Symptoms observed on inoculated sunflower were similar to those on field infected sunflower. There was no difference between the two cultivars. On inoculated inflorescences, dark discoloration developed at the inoculation site and expanded over the inflorescences, and grayish mycelium with black sporangia was observed within 2 weeks. On inoculated peduncles, dark discoloration was also observed extending down the peduncle and up into the inflorescences. R. oryzae was reisolated from all inoculated heads. To our knowledge, this is the first report of R. oryzae causing head rot on sunflower in New Mexico. It is unknown what factors lead to head rot outbreaks. This disease has been reported in other U.S. regions and has been demonstrated to reduce sunflower yield and quality (2). The potential negative impact from Rhizopus head rot should be considered when determining whether to expand cultivation of this crop. References: (1) G.-Y. Liou et al. Mycol. Res. 111:196, 2007. (2) C. E. Rogers et al. Plant Dis. Rep. 62:769, 1978. (3) T. Watanabe. Pictorial Atlas of Soil and Seed Fungi: Morphologies of Cultured Fungi and Key to Species. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2002.

Crop nutrition through distillery spentwash in maize (Zea mays L.).

Agronomic evaluation of fertilizing efficiency of the spentwash was carried out at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad in 2006. Initial chemical analysis confirmed its usefulness as a source of fertilizer as it consists most essential plant nutrients. Application of spentwash at the recommended level of nitrogen significantly affected both maize growth (plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, chlorophyll etc.) and yield (cob characteristics, test weight etc.) parameters. Spentwash is useful not only in meeting the crop N requirement but also other plant nutrients besides decreasing the current environmental problems faced by the industries. A highest maize yield (81.2 q/ha) was obtained when chemical fertilizer was replaced by the spentwash at the recommended nitrogen level. There was no advantage of applying spentwash higher than the recommended level in view of loading of soils with potassium. Application limited to the recommended level not only supplied N but also other essential plant nutrients. Spentwash substitution directly reduced fertilizer cost and thus benefited farmers by decreasing the cost with no adverse effect on soil's physical, chemical and biological properties when applied at the level recommended.

Limnological studies of Papnash pond, Bidar (Karnataka).

The Papnash pond is an oldest pond of Bidar, Kamataka state. It is situated at 77 degrees-32 longitude and 17 degrees-55 latitude, located 551 m above mean sea level. It has been used daily for bathing and washing of clothes by large number of pilgrims. The samples were collected fortnightly during October 1999 to September 2000 to analyze physico-chemical and biological status of water, such as temperature, pH, total alkalinity, total hardness, dissolved oxygen, free carbon dioxide, chloride, organic matter, nitrite, phosphate, sulphate and algal flora. Variations in physico-chemical parameters were noted. The results also revealed that the pond water was hard, alkaline and polluted. Totally 39 species of algae were reported from the four classes.

Water Relations of Standard Height and Dwarf Sunflower Cultivars.

Development of early maturing short stature sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) cultivars followed the success of semi-dwarf cereals. Although a number of breeding programs have recently released dwarf sunflower cultivars for production in western Canada, the drought adaptability of dwarf cultivars has not been studied. Therefore, field studies were conducted under rainfed conditions at two Manitoba locations during 1994 and 1995 to compare seasonal water relations of 'Sunwheat-103' (SW-103), a dwarf hybrid, and 'AC-Aurora' (Aurora), a dwarf open pollinated cultivar, with 'IS-6111', a standard height hybrid. The dwarf hybrid, SW-103, experienced less stress (up to 0.44 MPa higher leaf water potential) than the standard height hybrid, IS-6111. Genotypic variation for osmotic adjustment was observed in both 1994 and 1995. SW-103 and Aurora respectively had up to 0.42 and 0.39 MPa lower osmotic potential at full turgor compared with IS-6111. Aurora displayed greater osmotic adjustment per unit decrease in leaf water potential than other cultivars. All cultivars maintained positive pressure potential during the study and whenever significant differences in pressure potential were observed, SW-103 usually had higher pressure potential than other cultivars. IS-6111 maintained higher photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance than the dwarf cultivars. These results suggest that under conditions of adequate water supply, the tall hybrid had the highest productivity despite experiencing the lowest leaf water potential and osmotic adjustment. The drought tolerance advantages of shorter statured cultivars identified here may be more important to productivity maintenance under limited soil water conditions.

Prevalence of VDRL sero-positivity in women in reproductive age group in an urban slum community in Bombay.

A cross sectional survey was carried in an Urban Slum Community in Bombay having a population of 60,000. A total of 393 women in reproductive age group were screened for VDRL reactivity. The highest prevalence was in 15 to 29 years of age group. The sero-positivity rate at 1:8 dilution and above was 0.50%. The seropositivity rate can be further brought down by properly planned and implemented STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) Control activities at a community level.