Interception and retention of macroscopic bryophyte fragments by branch substrates in a tropical cloud forest: an experimental and demographic approach.

Although the significance of canopy plant communities to ecosystem function is well documented, the process by which such communities become established in trees remains poorly known. Colonization of tree surfaces by canopy-dwelling plants often begins with the establishment of bryophytes, so the conditions that affect the dispersal of bryophytes in the forest canopy merit study. We assessed success rates of one mechanism of bryophyte propagation, the aerial dispersal of macroscopic fragments, using an experimental approach.

Protection against Mycobacterium avium by DNA vaccines expressing mycobacterial antigens as fusion proteins with green fluorescent protein.

Mycobacterium avium causes disseminated disease in humans with AIDS, paratuberculosis in ruminants, lymphadenopathy in swine, and tuberculosis in birds. We constructed DNA vaccines expressing mycobacterial antigens as fusion proteins with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Plasmids p65K-EGFP, p85A-EGFP, and p85B-EGFP expressed the M.

Mandatory reporting of diseases and conditions by health care professionals and laboratories.

Context: Surveillance is a key component of the core public health function of health assessment. Systematic reporting by health care professionals and laboratories, which may vary by state law, statute, or regulation, continues to provide essential data for assessing public health.

Objective: To describe the state and territorial reporting requirements for diseases and conditions recommended for national public health surveillance.

The GroES antigens of Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium paratuberculosis.

The GroES antigen provokes a strong immune response in human beings with tuberculosis or leprosy. We cloned and sequenced the Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium paratuberculosis GroES genes. M.

Outpatient diabetes management of Medicare beneficiaries in four Mississippi fee-for-service primary care clinics.

Background: As part of a quality improvement initiative aimed at increasing physician compliance with standards of care for diabetes patients, diabetes practice patterns among Medicare beneficiaries in four primary care clinics were examined in Mississippi.

Methods: Retrospective chart reviews of Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis of diabetes were conducted to examine physician compliance with recommended diabetes monitoring services.

Results: Fifty-three percent of all beneficiaries did not have a recorded A1c test while 54 percent did not have a recorded foot exam.

Treatment of painful articular cartilage defects of the patella by carbon-fibre implants.

Between 1989 and 1993 we implanted a matrix support prosthesis made of carbon fibre for the treatment of chronic painful articular defects of the patella in 27 patients. The mean period of follow-up was 33 months (11 to 54) with clinical and arthroscopic evaluation of the implant. Overall, there were four excellent, three good, seven fair and 13 poor results.

A rural vision of a healthy community.

Nurses can take a leadership role in the process of helping rural Americans to recognize and implement their vision of a healthy community. This necessitates an understanding of rural communities' perceptions of health and health care and allows nurses to more appropriately provide primary health care. As defined by the World Health Organization, primary health care is comprised of concepts of essentiality, community participation, intersectorial collaboration, access, and empowerment (Barnes et al.

Thlaspi arvense, a New Host for Alternaria brassicicola.

A leaf spot was observed on cruciferous weeds growing in a cabbage field located in Geneva, NY, on 1 August 1996. The leaf spots on the weeds were dark gray to black in color and varied in size from pinpoints to 1 mm in diameter. The cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.

Distal femoral osteotomy for lateral compartment osteoarthritis of the knee.

Twenty-one patients with lateral compartment osteoarthritis and valgus deformity of the knee underwent distal femoral supracondylar osteotomy (medial closing wedge) between 1983 and 1993 with follow-up ranging from 1 to 8 years. Ten knees had plaster cast immobilization, 5 had fixation with 2 staples supplemented with a plaster cast, and 6 knees had rigid internal fixation with an AO blade plate. Thirty-three percent of patients had a satisfactory result using the HSS score, and 57% had a satisfactory result using the Knee Society Clinical Rating.

Polydactyly and psychosis. Five cases of co-occurrence.

Background: Abnormalities presumed to occur during foetal life have been associated with schizophrenia. Polydactyly is a developmental abnormality but no previous association has been reported between polydactyly and functional psychotic illness.

Method: Individuals with both polydactyly and a functional psychosis were ascertained during a study of familial schizophrenia.

Survival of Colletotrichum coccodes in Infected Tomato Tissue and in Soil.

Studies were initiated in 1988 and 1991 to assess long-term survival ability of Colletotrichum coccodes. Sclerotia and infected tomato fruit skin tissue were enclosed in nylon pouches and placed on the soil surface (0 cm) or buried 10 and 20 cm deep in fields located in Geneva, New York. Over time, the greatest decline in recovery of C.

Transmission of Alternaria brassicicola to Cabbage by Flea Beetles (Phyllotreta cruciferae).

In 1995 and 1996, flea beetles (Phyllotreta cruciferae) were observed in the field feeding on cabbage plants that were infected with Alternaria brassicicola. Flea beetles were captured in glass vials, etherized, and placed on agar media for isolation of A. brassicicola.

Disease Progress of Black Dot on Tomato Roots and Reduction in Incidence with Foliar Applied Fungicides.

Progression of black dot caused by Colletotrichum coccodes was determined at regular intervals on roots of processing tomatoes growing in a naturally infested field. In 1993 and 1994, C. coccodes was first isolated from tomato roots 30 and 37 days after transplanting, respectively, which corresponded to the opening of flowers in the first flower clusters.

An Assessment of Fungicide Benefits for the Control of Fungal Diseases of Processing Tomatoes in New York and New Jersey.

Concurrent studies on the benefits of fungicide use for control of fungal diseases of processing tomatoes were conducted in New York and New Jersey in 1993 and 1994. Fungicides (chlorothalonil at 2.5 kg/ha or mancozeb at 1.

Influence of Tillage Practices on Anthracnose Development and Distribution in Dry Bean Fields.

Three tillage practices-chiseling, rototilling, and moldboard plowing-were evaluated in 1993 and 1994 to determine their impact on initial disease development, distribution, and progression over time in a field of the susceptible kidney bean cultivar Horizon. The tillage treatments were administered in the spring in a field infested in 1992 with the bean anthracnose pathogen, Colletotrichum lindemuthianum race β. Initial disease incidence was highest in the chiseled plots, where more bean debris was left on the surface than in the other treatments.

The experiences of families with a relative in the intensive care unit.

Objective: To describe the experiences of families with a relative in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Design: Retrospective, descriptive, and qualitative.

Setting: The surgical-trauma ICU in a midwestern university-affiliated tertiary medical center.

Cooperative stroke management project by a peer-review organization.

To improve the care of patients in Mississippi through increased adherence to nationally accepted ischemic stroke management guidelines, patterns for ischemic stroke services were determined from hospital chart review. Hospital-specific education and data feedback were performed to encourage international systems improvements. The Mississippi Foundation for Medical Care, Inc, reviewed records of Medicare beneficiaries discharged with the principal diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke from four hospitals over a 1-year period.

A controlled trial of cognitive-behavioural treatment of hypochondriasis.

Background: Hypochondriasis is a distressing disorder for which there is no adequate established treatment. This study evaluates the effect of cognitive-behavioural treatment of hypochondriasis, compared with a waiting list control.

Method: Thirty-two patients were randomly assigned to either cognitive-behavioural therapy or a no treatment waiting list control.

Hypersensitivity in aseptic loosening of total hip replacements. The role of constituents of bone cement.

Aseptic loosening is seen in a significant proportion of cemented total hip replacements (THR). In a small subgroup of patients who suffer early loosening polyethylene debris is unlikely to be responsible. We recently reported one case of allergic contact dermatitis to N,N-dimethylparatoluidine (DMT), an accelerator used in bone cement.

Steam press hand burns: a serious burn injury.

Steam presses cause full-thickness burns when the operator's extremity is caught between the buck and the head of the steam press. Patients with serious steam press burns should be referred to a regional burn center for excision of the full-thickness burn and coverage by either a split-thickness skin graft or a flap. The safety features in steam presses that could prevent this serious injury include: (1) emergency safety releases, (2) peripheral safety bars, and (3) two-hand operator control.

Making sense of the process and effects of ECT.

An estimated 20,000 people are treated with electroconvulsive therapy every year. This paper provides an overview of what is involved and some of the issues arising from this controversial treatment.

Stanmore compared with Charnley total hip replacement. A prospective study of 413 arthroplasties.

From 1982 to 1987, we randomised prospectively 413 patients requiring primary total hip replacements to receive either a Stanmore or Charnley prosthesis. They were reviewed by an independent observer in an attempt to correlate a number of factors including femoral head size with longevity. There were 213 Stanmore hips and 200 Charnley prostheses.