Bacterial spot disease on peppers is caused by four species of the genus Xanthomonas. This disease causes black spot lesions not only on the leaves but also on the fruit, leading to yield and quality ...loss. Xanthomonas species cause major disease outbreaks in tropical, subtropical and humid continental regions worldwide. Bacterial blight caused by xanthomonads occurs on both greenhouse- and field-grown peppers and is particularly important in areas characterized by hot and humid environmental conditions. As pesticides are currently not sufficiently effective in the control of bacterial spot, the development of pepper varieties resistant to Xanthomonas species, including X. hortorum pv. gardneri, is of primary importance for sustainable production. In our research, 119 lines of Capsicum baccatum from the USDA ARS gene bank (Griffin, GA) and MATE (Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences) were tested against strains of X. hortorum pv. gardneri under greenhouse conditions. Four accessions of the wild pepper species C. baccatum appeared to be resistant to seven strains of X. hortorum pv. gardneri in greenhouse trials. The resistant genotypes of X. hortorum pv. gardneri identified in this study can be used for the resistance gene pyramidation against different bacterial spotted Xanthomonas species in pepper.
Background and Aim:
Adalimumab ADA was approved for the treatment of ulcerative colitis UC refractory to conventional therapy in 2012 in Europe. Due to the observed discrepancies between clinical ...trials and practice, data on the outcome of ADA therapy are really needed from the real life. The aim of this study was to estimate the short- and long-term efficacy and safety of ADA in UC patients from each Hungarian biological centre.
Patients and Methods:
This prospective study consisted of UC patients treated with ADA in 10 Hungarian inflammatory bowel disease centres. The primary endpoints of the study were rates of continuous clinical response, remission, non-response and loss of response at Weeks 12, 30, and 52.The secondary endpoints included mucosal healing at Week 52 and the comparison of the efficacy of ADA between biological naive and infliximab IFX-treated groups. Colonoscopy was performed before starting the therapy and at Week 52.
Results:
In all, 73 active UC patients were enrolled in the study: 67.1% of the patients received previous IFX therapy; 75.3% of the patients showed short-term clinical response at Week 12. The probability of maintaining ADA was 48.6% at Week 52 with a continuous clinical response in 92% of these remaining patients. Mucosal healing was achieved in 48.1% of the patients at Week 52. Escalation of ADA was performed in 17.6%, and minor side effects developed in 4% of the patients; 5.4% of the patients underwent colectomy during the 1-year treatment period.
Conclusion:
UC is a progressive disease that may need early aggressive therapy to prevent structural and functional complications. The results of our study demonstrated the favourable efficacy of short- and long-term ADA treatment for patients with UC.
Adalimumab was approved for the treatment of ulcerative colitis refractory to conventional therapy several years later than infliximab in Europe. Due to the relatively low remission rate observed in ...Ultra trials, data on the efficacy of adalimumab in ulcerative colitis are really helpful in the daily practice.
The aim of this study was to prospectively collect data on induction and maintenance adalimumab therapy in patients with ulcerative colitis treated in Hungarian centres.
This prospective study collected data of all patients with ulcerative colitis treated with adalimumab in 10 Hungarian centres. The primary endpoints of the study were rates of remission, response and primary failure at week 12, and the rate of continuous clinical response, remission and loss of response at weeks 30, and 52. Secondary endpoints were endoscopic outcome at week 52 and comparison of the efficacy of adalimumab between treatment naive and infliximab-experienced patients.
73 patients with active ulcerative colitis were enrolled in the study. 75.3% of the patients exhibited clinical response after the induction at week 12. The probability of maintaining adalimumab treatment was 48.6% at week 52 with a continuous clinical response in 92% of these patients. Mucosal healing was achieved in 48.1% of the patients at week 52. Dose intensification was performed in 17.6% of the patients. Minor side effects developed in 4% of the patients and 5.4% of the patients underwent colectomy during the 1-year treatment period.
These results coming from the real clinical setting demonstrate a favourable efficacy of adalimumab induction and maintenance therapy in patients with ulcerative colitis.
Purpose
Pneumothorax (PTX) following cardiac implantable electronic device procedures is traditionally treated with chest tube drainage (CTD). We hypothesized that, in a subset of patients, the less ...invasive needle aspiration (NA) may also be effective. We compared the strategy of primary NA with that of primary CTD in a single-center observational study.
Methods
Of the 970 procedures with subclavian venous access between January 2016 and June 2018, 23 patients had PTX requiring intervention. Beginning with March 2017, the traditional primary CTD (9 cases) has been replaced by the “NA first” strategy (14 patients). Outcome measures were procedural success rate and duration of hospitalization evaluated both as time to event (log-rank test) and as a discrete variable (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test).
Results
Needle aspiration was successful in 8/14 (57.1%) of the cases (95% CI 28.9–82.3%), whereas PTX resolved in all patients after CTD was 9/9 (100%, 95% CI 66.4–100.0%,
p
= 0.0481). Regarding length of hospital stay, intention to treat time to event analysis showed no difference between the two approaches (
p
= 0.73). Also, the median difference was not statistically significant (− 2.0 days,
p
= 0.17). In contrast, per protocol evaluation revealed reduced risk of prolonged hospitalization for NA patients (
p
= 0.0025) with a median difference of − 4.0 days (
p
= 0.0012). Failure of NA did not result in a meaningful delay in discharge timing as median difference was 1.5 days (
p
= 0.28).
Conclusions
Our data suggest that in a number of patients iatrogenic PTX may be successfully treated with NA resulting in shorter hospitalization without the risk of meaningful discharge delay in unsuccessful cases.
Background
Recently published studies suggested that digoxin may increase mortality in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). However, in the vast majority of former trials serum ...digoxin concentration (SDC) was not measured and therapy was not SDC‐guided.
Aim
To assess the impact of SDC‐guided digoxin therapy on mortality in HFrEF patients.
Methods
Data of 580 HFrEF patients were retrospectively analyzed. In patients on digoxin, SDC was measured every 3 months and digoxin dosage was SDC‐guided (target SDC: 0.5‐0.9 ng/mL). All‐cause mortality of digoxin users and nonusers was compared after propensity score matching (PSM).
Results
After 7.1 ± 4.7 years follow‐up period (FUP) all‐cause mortality of digoxin users (n = 180) was significantly higher than nonusers (n = 297) (propensity‐adjusted HR = 1.430; 95% CI = 1.134‐1.804; P = .003). Patients having SDC of 0.9 to 1.1 ng/mL (n = 60) or > 1.1 ng/mL (n = 44) at any time during the FUP had an increased risk of all‐cause mortality (HR = 1.750; 95% CI = 1.257‐2.436, P = .001 and HR = 1.687; 95% CI = 1.153‐2.466, P = .007), while patients having a maximal SDC < 0.9 ng/mL (n = 76) had similar mortality risk (HR = 1.139; 95% CI = 0.827‐1.570, P = .426), compared to digoxin nonusers.
Conclusions
According to our propensity‐matched analysis, SDC‐guided digoxin therapy was associated with increased all‐cause mortality in optimally treated HFrEF patients, especially with SDC ≥0.9 ng/mL. These results reinforce the expert opinion that digoxin in HFrEF can only be used among carefully selected patients with close SDC monitoring.
Gene function analysis, molecular breeding, and the introduction of new traits in crop plants all require the development of a high-performance genetic transformation system. In numerous crops, ...including tomatoes, Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation is the preferred method. As one of our ongoing research efforts, we are in the process of mapping a broad-spectrum nematode resistance gene (Me1) in pepper. We work to transform tomato plants with candidate genes to confer resistance to nematodes in Solanaceae members. The transformation technology development is designed to produce a reproducible, rapid, and highly effective Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation system of Micro-Tom. In our system, a transformation efficiency of over 90% was achieved. The entire procedure, starting from the germination of seeds to the establishment of transformed plants in soil, was completed in 53 days. We confirmed the presence of the NeoR/KanR and DsRed genes in the transformed roots by polymerase chain reaction. The hairy root plants were infected with nematodes, and after 3 months, the presence of DsRed and NeoR/KanR genes was detected in the transformant roots to confirm the long-term effectiveness of the method. The presented study may facilitate root-related research and exploration of root–pathogen interactions.
Gene function analysis, molecular breeding, and the introduction of new traits in crop plants all require the development of a high-performance genetic transformation system. In numerous crops, ...including tomatoes, Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation is the preferred method. As one of our ongoing research efforts, we are in the process of mapping a broad-spectrum nematode resistance gene (Me1) in pepper. We work to transform tomato plants with candidate genes to confer resistance to nematodes in Solanaceae members. The transformation technology development is designed to produce a reproducible, rapid, and highly effective Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation system of Micro-Tom. In our system, a transformation efficiency of over 90% was achieved. The entire procedure, starting from the germination of seeds to the establishment of transformed plants in soil, was completed in 53 days. We confirmed the presence of the NeoR/KanR and DsRed genes in the transformed roots by polymerase chain reaction. The hairy root plants were infected with nematodes, and after 3 months, the presence of DsRed and NeoR/KanR genes was detected in the transformant roots to confirm the long-term effectiveness of the method. The presented study may facilitate root-related research and exploration of root–pathogen interactions.
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