Weather during bloom affects pollination and yield of highbush blueberry.

Weather plays an important role in spring-blooming fruit crops due to the combined effects on bee activity, flower opening, pollen germination, and fertilization. To determine the effects of weather on highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L., productivity, we monitored bee activity and compared fruit set, weight, and seed number in a field stocked with honey bees, Apis mellifera L.

Long-term efficacy and safety of the HIV integrase inhibitor raltegravir in patients with limited treatment options in a Phase II study.

Background: Raltegravir in combination therapy has demonstrated potent suppression of HIV-1 with a favorable safety profile. This report provides 96-week efficacy and safety data from Protocol 005, a Phase II study.

Methods: HIV-infected patients with very limited treatment options and failing antiretroviral therapy were randomized to raltegravir 200, 400, or 600 mg or placebo b.

Proinflammatory cytokine expression profile in degenerated and herniated human intervertebral disc tissues.

Objective: Prior reports document macrophage and lymphocyte infiltration with proinflammatory cytokine expression in pathologic intervertebral disc (IVD) tissues. Nevertheless, the role of the Th17 lymphocyte lineage in mediating disc disease remains uninvestigated. We undertook this study to evaluate the immunophenotype of pathologic IVD specimens, including interleukin-17 (IL-17) expression, from surgically obtained IVD tissue and from nondegenerated autopsy control tissue.

Minimally invasive atlantoaxial fusion.

Background: C1-C2 fusion has significantly advanced from predominantly wiring/cable modalities to more biomechanically stable screw-rod techniques. Minimally invasive surgical techniques represents the most recent modification of atlantoaxial fixation. The indications, rationale, and surgical technique of this novel procedure are described.

The development of a clinical decision making algorithm for detection of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture or wedge deformity.

The clinical diagnosis of an osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) is challenging and requires detailed assessment using comprehensive imaging methods. Further complicating matter is that the clinical sequelae associated with OVCF typically involves asymptomatic findings and variable pain patterns. The purpose of this study was to identify clinical characteristics and assessment findings that were associated with a diagnosis of OVCF.

Long-term efficacy and safety of Raltegravir combined with optimized background therapy in treatment-experienced patients with drug-resistant HIV infection: week 96 results of the BENCHMRK 1 and 2 Phase III trials.

BENCHMRK-1 and -2 are ongoing double-blind phase III studies of raltegravir in patients experiencing failure of antiretroviral therapy with triple-class drug-resistant human immunodeficiency virus infection. At week 96 (combined data), raltegravir (400 mg twice daily) plus optimized background therapy was generally well tolerated, with superior and durable antiretroviral and immunological efficacy, compared with optimized background therapy alone.

Correlation of magnetic resonance imaging findings and reported symptoms in patients with chronic cervical dysfunction.

Information gathered from the patient history, physical examination, and advanced testing augments the decision-making process and is proposed to improve the probability of diagnostic and prognostic accuracy. However, these findings may provide inconsistent results and can lead to errors in decision-making. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between common clinical complaints and specific findings on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with chronic neck dysfunction.

Simple method for determining the need for sternotomy/manubriotomy with the anterior approach to the cervicothoracic junction.

Objective: Frequently, the cervicothoracic junction can be reached through a simple anterior approach. In some cases, access to this region requires a much more aggressive surgical intervention, such as manubriotomy or sternotomy. Information regarding the need for such interventions is particularly useful to have preoperatively to guide surgical planning as well as discussions regarding surgical risks and expected morbidities.

Management of a spontaneous spinal epidural abscess: a single-center 10-year experience.

Objective: There is significant debate in the literature regarding the optimal management of patients with the diagnosis of a spinal epidural abscess (SEA). Although some have advocated conservative treatment with intravenous antibiotics alone in select patients, recent studies have shown that patients treated without early surgery are more likely to have poor outcomes.

Methods: In this study, we review patients treated at a tertiary medical center with a spontaneous SEA.

Reproductive maturity of cherry fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) in managed and natural habitats.

We studied the timing of reproductive maturity of cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis cingulata (Loew), a key pest of sweet and tart cherries in the eastern United States. To determine when cherry fruit fly females become reproductively mature in managed and natural habitats, we deployed traps in sweet and tart cherry orchards and nearby stands of the ancestral host tree, black cherry. Flies were removed from the traps and females were dissected to determine the presence of fully developed eggs.

Impact of body habitus on perioperative morbidity associated with fusion of the thoracolumbar and lumbar spine.

Objective: Spinal fusion is performed in patients ranging from young and healthy to aged and frail. Although recent population trends in the United States are toward obesity, no large-scale study has evaluated how body habitus affects mortality, complications, and resource utilization for lumbar spine fusion. Such information is important for patient selection and to confirm the safety of such procedures in this population.

Sustained antiretroviral effect of raltegravir after 96 weeks of combination therapy in treatment-naive patients with HIV-1 infection.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of raltegravir vs efavirenz-based antiretroviral therapy after 96 weeks in treatment-naive patients with HIV-1 infection.

Methods: Multicenter, double-blind, randomized study of raltegravir (100, 200, 400, or 600 mg twice a day) vs efavirenz (600 mg every day), both with tenofovir/lamivudine (TDF/3TC), for 48 weeks, after which raltegravir arms were combined and all dosed at 400 mg twice a day. Eligible patients had HIV-1 RNA > or =5000 copies per milliliter and CD4 T cells > or =100 cells per microliter.

Paraffin wax emulsion for increased rainfastness of insecticidal bait to control Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae).

In regions with a humid summer climate, the use of water-soluble bait to control apple maggot is often limited by rainfall. We studied increasing the rainfastness of GF-120 fruit fly bait by adding paraffin wax emulsion. First, we verified that adding 10% wax to a mixture containing 16.

Control of grape berry moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in relation to oviposition phenology.

We monitored the phenology of oviposition by grape berry moth, Paralobesia viteana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), in grape (Vitis spp.) vineyards, to determine the optimal timing for control of this pest. Egg deposition was monitored throughout the growing season by visually inspecting grape clusters twice weekly and counting the number of eggs.

Monitoring and temperature-based prediction of the whitemarked tussock moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) in blueberry.

Larvae of the whitemarked tussock moth, Orgyia leucostigma (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), defoliate and contaminate blueberries, Vaccinium corymbosum L.

Minimally invasive interbody fusion for revision lumbar surgery: technical feasibility and safety.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review of one surgeon's practice.

Objective: We evaluate the perioperative morbidity of 43 patients undergoing minimally invasive lumbar interbody fusion to differentiate risks between primary and revision surgery candidates.

Summary Of Background Data: Minimally invasive approaches to the lumbar spine have rapidly evolved and the technical feasibility and safety of minimally invasive interbody fusion is well established.

Reliability and diagnostic accuracy of clinical special tests for myelopathy in patients seen for cervical dysfunction.

Study Design: Case control study.

Background: Myelopathy is a clinical diagnosis based largely on initial examination findings during a clinical screen, followed by imaging verification of cord injury or compression. At present, few studies have examined the reliability and diagnostic accuracy of clinical examination measures.

Effects of omeprazole on plasma levels of raltegravir.

Raltegravir, a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) integrase inhibitor, has pH-dependent solubility. Raltegravir plasma concentration increases with omeprazole coadministration in healthy subjects; this is likely secondary to an increase in bioavailability attributable to increased gastric pH. Increased gastric pH has been reported in HIV-1-infected individuals, and the effects of omeprazole in this intended population may be diminished.

Stereotactic body radiotherapy for lesions of the spine and paraspinal regions.

Purpose: To describe our experience and clinical strategy for stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) of spinal lesions.

Methods And Materials: Thirty-two patients with 33 spinal lesions underwent computed tomography-based simulation while free breathing. Gross/clinical target volumes included involved portions of the vertebral body and paravertebral/epidural tumor.

Lethal and sublethal effects of chlorantraniliprole on three species of Rhagoletis fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae).

Background: Chlorantraniliprole formulated as a 350 g kg(-1) WG (Altacor 35WG) for management of apple maggot Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh), blueberry maggot R. mendax Curran and cherry fruit fly R. cingulata (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae) was evaluated in laboratory assays and field trials.

Anterior-only approaches to scoliosis.

Scoliosis is a three-dimensional spinal deformity for which surgery may be indicated when patients experience severe pain, curve progression, or progressive disability. Operative treatment has conventionally involved extensive posterior stabilization, either alone or in combination with anterior release procedures. Anterior-only approaches have a more limited role, but they should be considered in the appropriate setting when addressing this disease.

Impact of surgical approach on complications and resource utilization of cervical spine fusion: a nationwide perspective to the surgical treatment of diffuse cervical spondylosis.

Background Context: Cervical spine fusion is performed for various indications in patient populations ranging from young and healthy to aged and frail. The choice of surgical approach is affected not only by disease pathoanatomy, but also by age, medical comorbidities, and the number of involved levels. Anterior fusion is more common for single-level pathology in relatively young, healthy patients; and posterior fusion is typically performed on older, more comorbid patients with multilevel disease.

Subgroup and resistance analyses of raltegravir for resistant HIV-1 infection.

Background: We evaluated the efficacy of raltegravir and the development of viral resistance in two identical trials involving patients who were infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) with triple-class drug resistance and in whom antiretroviral therapy had failed.

Methods: We conducted subgroup analyses of the data from week 48 in both studies according to baseline prognostic factors. Genotyping of the integrase gene was performed in raltegravir recipients who had virologic failure.

Raltegravir with optimized background therapy for resistant HIV-1 infection.

Background: Raltegravir (MK-0518) is an inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) integrase active against HIV-1 susceptible or resistant to older antiretroviral drugs.

Methods: We conducted two identical trials in different geographic regions to evaluate the safety and efficacy of raltegravir, as compared with placebo, in combination with optimized background therapy, in patients infected with HIV-1 that has triple-class drug resistance in whom antiretroviral therapy had failed. Patients were randomly assigned to raltegravir or placebo in a 2:1 ratio.

Impact of preoperative neurological status on perioperative morbidity associated with anterior and posterior cervical fusion.

Object: Cervical spine fusion is performed for various indications in patient populations ranging from young and healthy to aged and frail. Whereas disease pathoanatomy dictates the surgical approach, preoperative neurological status does not necessarily implicate a specific technique. Although one expects anterior decompression to be performed over fewer segments in healthier patients who experience fewer complications and faster recovery, the impact of pre-operative myelopathy on perioperative complications remains unclear.