A Plant Stress-Responsive Bioreporter Coupled With Transcriptomic Analysis Allows Rapid Screening for Biocontrols of Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogens.

are soil-borne Actinobacteria known to produce a wide range of enzymes, phytohormones, and metabolites including antifungal compounds, making these microbes fitting for use as biocontrol agents in agriculture. In this study, a plant reporter gene construct comprising the biotic stress-responsive glutathione S-transferase promoter GSTF7 linked to a luciferase output (GSTF7:luc) was used to screen a collection of Actinobacteria candidates for manipulation of plant biotic stress responses and their potential as biocontrol agents. We identified a isolate (KB001) as a strong candidate and demonstrated successful protection against two necrotrophic fungal pathogens, and , but not against a bacterial pathogen ().

Developing Actinobacterial Endophytes as Biocontrol Products for in Wheat.

Crown rot of wheat, caused by , results in millions of dollars of yield losses globally each year. Management strategies to control crown rot are limited and there are concerns about development of fungicide resistance so novel treatment strategies are desirable. A collection of endophytic Actinobacteria was screened for their ability to suppress the growth of and the development of crown rot symptoms in wheat with the aim of identifying candidates that can be developed into biocontrol products.

Draft Genome Sequences of Streptomyces sp. Strains MH60 and 111WW2.

We report here the draft genome sequences, annotations, and predictions of secondary metabolite gene clusters of two endophytic species isolated from wheat plants growing in the Western Australian wheat belt. These strains, sp. strains MH60 and 111WW2, possess antifungal and/or plant growth-promoting activities.

Draft Genome Sequence of sp. Strain 66b.

We report here the draft genome sequence and annotation of sp. strain 66b isolated from the soil of southwest Western Australia. This strain exhibits a range of bioactivities, including plant growth promotion, biosurfactant production, and wax degradation.

Dimethylarsenate (DMA) exposure influences germination rates, arsenic uptake and arsenic species formation in wheat.

The contamination of cereals with arsenic (As) is a global health and agronomic concern. This study compared the physiological response, As uptake and As speciation in the grains and above ground tissues of 20 wheat cultivars exposed to 5 mg As kg soil as either arsenate (As) or dimethylarsenate (DMA) under glasshouse conditions. Germination rates for the majority of cultivars exceeded 80% for the majority of cultivars when exposed to As, but fell significantly to 20-40% when exposed to DMA.

A composite guanyl thiourea (GTU), dicyandiamide (DCD) inhibitor improves the efficacy of nitrification inhibition in soil.

This study investigated whether applying dicyandiamide (DCD) and guanyl thiourea (GTU) in conjunction with urea improves the efficacy of nitrification inhibition relative to traditional fertiliser application of urea or urea + DCD. Urea at a rate of 100 mg N kg(-1) soil was applied to soil microcosms (high nutrient tenosol and low nutrient hydrosol) which were treated with either no inhibitor (urea-only); 15 mg DCD kg(-1) soil or 15 mg DCD kg(-1) soil plus 21 mg GTU kg soil(-1). Mineral N (NH4(+) & NO3(-)) concentrations, potential nitrification rates (PNR) and abundances of ammonia oxidising bacteria (AOB) were measured over time.

Selenium speciation in wheat grain varies in the presence of nitrogen and sulphur fertilisers.

This study investigated whether selenium species in wheat grains could be altered by exposure to different combinations of nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S) fertilisers in an agronomic biofortification experiment. Four Australian wheat cultivars (Mace, Janz, Emu Rock and Magenta) were grown in a glasshouse experiment and exposed to 3 mg Se kg soil as selenate (Se). Plants were also exposed to 60 mg N kg soil as urea and 20 mg S kg soil as gypsum in a factorial design (N + S + Se; N + Se; S + Se; Se only).

Reliability of the services for children and adolescents-parent interview.

Objective: To describe the psychometric properties and test the reliability of a new instrument designed to measure mental health services use within pediatric clinical samples, the Services for Children and Adolescents-Parent Interview (SCAPI), which was developed by the National Institute of Mental Health Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA).

Method: Similarities and differences with other measures of services use are described. Ten types of services are measured by the SCAPI.

The services for children and adolescents-parent interview: development and performance characteristics.

Objective: To date, no instrument has been developed that captures children's services use across primary care, specialty mental health, and other settings, including setting, treatment type, provider discipline, and length and intensity of specific interventions over varying follow-up periods. The authors developed a highly structured services assessment measure [Services for Children and Adolescents-Parent Interview (SCAPI)] for use in the National Institute of Mental Health Multimodal Treatment Study of Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA).

Method: After successfully piloting and refining the SCAPI during initial phases of the MTA, the authors used this measure at 24 months post-randomization to ascertain the previous 6 months of services use for all participating (516 of 579) MTA children and families and 285 age- and gender-matched classroom control children.

Prevalence of mood disorders in a national sample of young American adults.

Background: Availability of nationally representative mood disorder prevalence estimates in the United States, based on structured psychiatric interviews is limited. This report estimates overall lifetime prevalence of major depressive episode, dysthymia, and bipolar disorder using the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) and compares these estimates to the Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study (ECA) conducted 10 years earlier. Additionally, prevalence estimate breakdowns by selected sociodemographic and health characteristics are investigated.

Searching for moderators and mediators of pharmacological treatment effects in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders.

Objective: To examine whether age, gender, ethnicity, type of anxiety disorder, severity of illness, comorbidity, intellectual level, family income, or parental education may function as moderators and whether treatment adherence, medication dose, adverse events, or blinded rater's guess of treatment assignment may function as mediators of pharmacological treatment effect in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders.

Method: The database of a recently reported double-blind placebo-controlled trial of fluvoxamine in 128 youths was analyzed. With a mixed-model random-effects regression analysis of the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale total score, moderators and mediators were searched by testing for a three-way interaction (strata by treatment by time).

Treatment of pediatric anxiety disorders: an open-label extension of the research units on pediatric psychopharmacology anxiety study.

Background: An 8-week placebo-controlled study, the Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology Anxiety Study, documented beneficial effects of fluvoxamine in the treatment of pediatric social anxiety, separation anxiety, or generalized anxiety disorders. Following completion of this study, participants were invited to enter a 6-month open-label treatment phase designed to examine three issues: (a) long-term maintenance of response in fluvoxamine responders, (b) acute response to fluoxetine in fluvoxamine nonresponders, and (c) acute response to fluvoxamine in placebo nonresponders.

Methods: Participants aged 6-17 years meeting criteria for social anxiety, separation anxiety, or generalized anxiety disorders previously treated in an 8-week placebo-controlled trial (n = 128) were offered open treatment.