Caliciopsis pleomorpha sp. nov. (Ascomycota: Coryneliales) causing a severe canker disease of Eucalyptus cladocalyx and other eucalypt species in Australia.

Caliciopsis pleomorpha sp. nov. is described from a severe stem canker disease of cultivated Eucalyptus cladocalyx 'Nana' (dwarf sugar gum) in Australia. The fungus is a pleomorphic ascomycete (Coryneliales), with pycnidial (pleurophoma-like) and hyphomycetous (phaeoacremonium-like) morphs, and differs in these respects and in ITS sequences from other Caliciopsis spp. The fungus was also found associated with cankers on other Eucalyptus species growing in native habitats, and was successfully inoculated under glasshouse conditions into a wide range of Eucalyptus species on which it caused cankers of varying severity.

Use of a commercial PCR kit for detecting Chlamydia trachomatis.

AIMS: To evaluate a commercial polymerase chain reaction (PCR) kit for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis. METHODS: Two hundred and fifty seven genital specimens, which had been submitted in 2SP medium for chlamydial isolation and subsequently stored at -70 degrees C, were retrospectively examined by a commercial PCR kit which detects chlamydial plasmid DNA. Culture negative, PCR positive specimens were examined by immunofluorescence and an in-house major outer membrane protein (MOMP)-PCR. RESULTS: All 49 specimens which were culture positive were also PCR positive. Another 14 specimens were also PCR positive. After resolution of these results by immunofluorescence and a PCR assay for MOMP the sensitivity for PCR was 98.4% and that of culture 79%. The specificities were 99.5% and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This kit, which is highly sensitive and specific, is straightforward to use and has a built-in safeguard against cross contamination. The role of this test in the examination of routine genital specimens from patients with uncomplicated chlamydial infection is questionable due to its expense. It may have a place in the investigation of trachoma or infertility, however, where it has been shown that DNA can be detected when culture is unsuccessful.

Serological survey of chlamydial antibody in post-natal sera.

Questionnaires (3426; 72.8%) and blood samples (3890; 82.6%) were analysed from 4704 women post-natally. The answers to the questionnaire confirmed that those patients living in areas with the highest percentage employed in agriculture were most likely to be in direct or indirect contact with sheep or sheep products. When the 788 (20.3%) of the sera with group specific antibody were examined for type-specific antibody, 291 (7.5%) reacted with Chlamydia trachomatis, 153 (3.9%) with Chlamydia pneumoniae, but only one (0.03%) with Chlamydia psittaci. Thus, it would appear that C. psittaci was not an important pathogen in this survey, despite the largest proportion of blood samples being submitted from those most likely to be employed in agriculture. However, in the course of this survey the three patients who had previously suffered chlamydia-associated abortion had successful pregnancies and submitted blood specimens. Serological studies on the serial bloods from these patients showed that, despite developing antibody to the C. psittaci pool and the ovine abortion strain of C. psittaci following abortion, this antibody waned. At the time of the subsequent successful pregnancy, serological results would not have detected a previous C. psittaci infection, but one due to C. pneumoniae. Thus, the results of a survey such as this must be interpreted with caution.

Is coexisting chlamydial infection more common in gonococcal infections with serogroup WI?

Over a 4-year period a total of 8974 women were screened for Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis. There were 489 cases of cervical gonorrhoea, 261 serogroup WI and 228 serogroup WII/III. A total of 169 (34.6%) cases had a dual infection with C. trachomatis, 92 from the WI serogroup and 77 from the WII/III. Using Fisher's exact test, no statistically significant difference was observed in the rates of chlamydial carriage between the two serogroups (P = 0.39). These findings are at odds with previously reported data, which suggested a biological interaction resulting in a positive correlation between colonization with serogroup WI and C. trachomatis. Possible reasons for the difference between the findings are discussed.

Sheep-acquired severe Chlamydia psittaci infection in pregnancy.

There have been five confirmed cases of severe Chlamydia psittaci infection during pregnancy, three having been treated in Edinburgh, Scotland. The most recent case is presented and previous experience is reviewed. The illness usually causes thrombocytopenia with disseminated intravascular coagulation, renal failure and hepatic dysfunction during the late second and early third trimester. The outcome for the fetus is usually fatal and the infection only resolves after delivery or abortion. The main hope is for education to prevent infection occurring in susceptible populations.

Chlamydia trachomatis detection by immunofluorescence: a comparison of two methods of slide preparation.

Two methods of slide preparation for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis by immunofluorescence were compared. A total of 98 specimens submitted to the laboratory for chlamydial examination were processed using a cytocentrifuge and a microcentrifuge. The resulting slides were stained with a fluorescein-labelled monoclonal antibody and examined for elementary bodies. Of the 98 samples examined, 43 were positive (i.e. had at least 10 elementary bodies) in the cytocentrifuge preparation and 40 were positive in the microcentrifuge preparation. Fifty-two samples were negative in both preparations. The cytocentrifuge method was quicker, and resulted in flatter preparations which were easier to read except where there were too many cells.

Feeder position and food and fluid consumed by nursing home residents.

In many cultures, eating has both nutritional and social functions. To the elderly it can be a symbolic experience embedded in lifelong patterns and cultural preferences (Kolodny & Malek, 1991). The environment during the mealtime goes beyond the physical into the social arena. A properly balanced diet promotes health, contributes to the prevention of disease and disability, and aids in recovery from illness and accident. Appropriate nutrition throughout the life span is one of the best means of diminishing degenerative changes, thereby increasing longevity (Melkus, 1994; Steffl, 1984). More than 50% of elderly patients admitted to hospitals and nursing facilities suffer from, or are threatened by, malnutrition, either preceding their admission or subsequent to it. Inadequate nutrition extols a high price and may result in impaired immune response, aggravated infection, organ system failure, delayed healing, reduced energy, and impaired mobility (Mikulencak, 1992). In view of the importance of adequate nutrition, the manner of feeding has special significance. The purpose of this study was to explore whether the position of the feeder (standing vs. sitting) has any bearing on the food intake of the elderly who need to be fed.

Human papillomavirus infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in women with renal allografts.

An increased prevalence of cervical cancer has been observed in immunosuppressed women, but controlled studies are rare. Biopsy specimens from 49 women with renal allografts and 69 non-immunosuppressed controls (with no history of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, vulval warts, or abnormal results of cervical smear tests) were assessed for colposcopic appearance, cytological and histological diagnosis, and the presence of human papillomavirus types 6/11 and 16/18 DNA sequences. At colposcopy 26 (53%) of the women with allografts had cervical abnormalities compared with 20 (29%) of the controls. The prevalence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia was significantly higher in the women with allografts (24 (49%) compared with 7 (10%]. The overall rate of detection of human papillomavirus DNA did not differ significantly between the two groups. There was however, a significant difference in the rate of detection of human papillomavirus type 16/18 DNA (27% in the women with allografts and 6% in the controls). These data confirm that pathological and virological changes affecting the cervix are significantly increased in immunosuppressed women and emphasise the need for regular colposcopic examination.

Chlamydia trachomatis infection in sexually active women with no known sexual contacts with urethritis.

During the period from March 1985 to March 1986, 216 consecutive patients with vaginal symptoms were screened for cervical infection with Chlamydia trachomatis and other sexually transmitted organisms. Eleven (5%) yielded C. trachomatis without a history of recent contact with males with urethritis.

Chlamydia trachomatis infection of the cervix: the need for a diagnostic service.

Chlamydia trachomatis was isolated from the cervix in 20.4 per cent (104/511) of women attending a department of genito-urinary medicine. Isolation rates ranged from 43.3 per cent in women with gonorrhoea to 4.2 per cent in women with no STD and who required no treatment. There was no association between the presence of chlamydia in the cervix and any symptom complex. Although high isolation rates were also noted in women with signs of cervicitis and in women whose partners had non-gonococcal urethritis, the accuracy of such clinical and epidemiological criteria in predicting cervical infection was low. In the absence of a screening service the chlamydial infection of 81 women (those who were not NGU contacts) would have been undiagnosed and untreated. The need for a screening service is discussed.

CE feature. Part 2. Nontechnologic strategies for coping with chronic low back pain.

Nontechnologic interventions of relaxation, distraction, therapeutic touch, and spirituality can relieve chronic low back pain. Awareness of nontechnologic strategies by nurses is needed to facilitate patient-centered intervention.

The relaxation of OH (v=1) and OD (v=1) by H2O and D2O at temperatures from 251 to 390 K.

We report rate coefficients for the relaxation of OH(v=1) and OD(v=1) by H2O and D2O as a function of temperature between 251 and 390 K. All four rate coefficients exhibit a negative dependence on temperature. In Arrhenius form, the rate coefficients for relaxation (in units of 10(-12) cm3 molecule-1 s-1) can be expressed as: for OH(v=1)+H2O between 263 and 390 K: k=(2.4+/-0.9) exp((460+/-115)/T); for OH(v=1)+D2O between 256 and 371 K: k=(0.49+/-0.16) exp((610+/-90)/T); for OD(v=1)+H2O between 251 and 371 K: k=(0.92+/-0.16) exp((485+/-48)/T); for OD(v=1)+D2O between 253 and 366 K: k=(2.57+/-0.09) exp((342+/-10)/T). Rate coefficients at (297+/-1 K) are also reported for the relaxation of OH(v=2) by D2O and the relaxation of OD(v=2) by H2O and D2O. The results are discussed in terms of a mechanism involving the formation of hydrogen-bonded complexes in which intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution can occur at rates competitive with re-dissociation to the initial collision partners in their original vibrational states. New ab initio calculations on the H2O-HO system have been performed which, inter alia, yield vibrational frequencies for all four complexes: H2O-HO, D2O-HO, H2O-DO and D2O-DO. These data are then employed, adapting a formalism due to Troe (J. Troe, J. Chem. Phys., 1977, 66, 4758), in order to estimate the rates of intramolecular energy transfer from the OH (OD) vibration to other modes in the complexes in order to explain the measured relaxation rates-assuming that relaxation proceeds via the hydrogen-bonded complexes.

Painful anal ulceration in homosexual men.

Forty homosexual men with painful anal ulceration were studied. Two patients had primary syphilis; sixteen men had primary anal herpes and twenty-two men had traumatic ulceration of the anal canal. The clinical features of the men with primary herpes were compared with those of the group with traumatic anal fissures. Fever, paraesthesiae in the buttocks and lower limbs, and difficulty in initiating micturition were found significantly more frequently in the former group of patients.

Reaction kinetics at very low temperatures: laboratory studies and interstellar chemistry.

Studies of gas-phase processes at temperatures down to 10 K have recently blossomed, largely through application of the CRESU (cinétique de réaction en ecoulement supersonique uniforme) technique. The results are of considerable relevance to the synthesis of molecules in dense interstellar clouds, demonstrating that the models developed to explain the observed molecular abundances must be expanded to include reactions between electrically neutral species. In addition, the experimental results have stimulated theoretical efforts to describe the factors that control the rates of such low-temperature reactions. In this Account, the CRESU method is described and the relevance of the results discussed.

Gas-phase reactions and energy transfer at very low temperatures.

Experimental studies of gas-phase chemical reactions and molecular energy transfer at very low temperatures and between electrically neutral species are reviewed. Although work of collisionally induced vibrational and rotational transfer is described, emphasis is placed on very recent results on the rates of free radical reactions obtained by applying the pulsed laser photolysis (PLP)-laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technique in a CRESU (Cinétique de Réactions en Ecoulement Supersonique Uniforme) apparatus at temperatures as low as 13 K. These measurements demonstrate that quite a wide variety of reactions-including those between two radicals, those between radicals and unsaturated molecules, and even some of those between radicals and saturated molecules-remain rapid at very low temperatures. Theoretical efforts to explain some of these results are described, as is their impact on attempts to model the synthesis of molecules in interstellar clouds.