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This article presents a case study of a 34-year-old woman, who had suffered from intense and persistent itching on the labia for a year. The entire vulva, the perineum and the perianal region showed extensive abnormalities. There were areas of erythema, papillomatosis and hyperkeratosis on the labia majora and minora, A raised, sharply-defined, erythematous area was present in the right groin. There was a marginated area of red/brown skin in the perianal area, and a small tumour at the anal margin.

This article presents a case study of a 38-year-old woman, who complained of dyspareunia and intermittent contact bleeding for about 1 year. There was no vulvar irritation. Pain, with a burning sensation, was localized to the entrance of the vagina, and the area was tender. Insertion of tampons was no longer possible, and she could not wear tight clothes. The frequency of sexual contact had gradually decreased, and eventually there was complete abstinence. The vaginal vestibule showed poorly demarcated, erythematous macules at the edge of the hymen, at 4 and 8 o'clock.

The article discusses a case study of a patient suffering from pseudoepitheliomatous, keratotic and micaceous balanitis of Lortat-Jacob and Civatte. Thick white-yellow adherent crusts and scales were seen on the glans penis. The skin had a dry, cracked appearance and some cry thematous erosions were present. The general impression was that of an armour surrounding the glans penis. The epidermis showed extensive areas of local hyperkeratosis and parakeratosis. The keratinocytes showed large hyperchromatic and polymorphic nuclei with mitoses. The patient is currently being treated with 5-fluorouracil cream.

The article discusses a case study of a patient suffering from papilloma virus, infection of the penis. A 27 year old patient had for a year been the steady partner of a woman who for 2 years had condylomata acuminata of the vulva. Colposcopy revealed lesions at the level of the cervix which were histopathologically consistent with grade 1 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. The epidermis showed highly irregular and slight parakeratosis. All epidermal layers contained cells showing slight to macanthosisoderate atypia, and at these sites the normal epidermal structure was disrupted. Dyskeratotic cells were also found. The papillary dermis showed a mononuclear cellular infiltrate.

Azole resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus (ARAf) is becoming a worldwide health threat due to increasing occurrence in the environment. However, environmental surveillance programs are not commonly in place and are lacking in Belgium. Since no data on the occurrence of ARAf and the presence of hotspots for the selection of azole resistance is available in Belgium, a first study on the prevalence of ARAf in the environment was conducted. A total of 232 air and compost or soil samples were taken from two composting facilities, and from horticultural and agricultural crops. The azole susceptibility pattern was determined using the EUCAST method (E. Def. 9.4), and the cyp51A gene and its promotor region were sequenced in A. fumigatus isolates with phenotypic azole resistance. Six pan-azole-resistant A. fumigatus isolates were identified, originating from compost and horticultural crops. Four isolates carried the TR34/L98H mutation, and one isolate carried the TR46/Y121F/T289A mutation. However, we did not observe any ARAf isolates from agricultural crops. In conclusion, this study reported the first TR34/L98H and TR46/Y121F/T289A mutation isolated from a composting facility and horticulture in Belgium. The implementation of standardization in environmental surveillance of A. fumigatus on a European level would be beneficial in order to identify hotspots., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology.)

Phytophthora cactorum caused significant losses to pansies during the heat wave at the end of the summer of 2006. Infected plants showed foliage that appeared stunted and chlorotic, with wilting occurring even when soil moisture was adequate. When uprooted, symptomatic plants typically possess a surprisingly healthy looking and well-developed root system, but stem and root tissue at the soil interface is discoloured (purple to dark brown) and soft. Older Leaves turn yellow and when the stem base is attacked, the plant dies. Phytophthora cactorum was identified from stem and root tissue with both morphological and molecular techniques. To evaluate the efficacy of different fungicides against this pathogen, healthy plants were infected with zoospores of a Phytophthora cactorum isolate collected from commercial plants. Eleven fungicides were evaluated and compared to an untreated control. Two fungicides were applied via root drenching, 7 days before inoculation with zoospores of P. cactorum. The other fungicides were applied by spraying 24 hours after inoculation with P. cactorum. Preventive drenching with the combined formulation of fenamidone + fosethyl offered the best protection against P. cactorum, while drenching with dimethomorf also resulted in an obvious reduction in the number of infected plants. Foliar application was less successful, as only a combined formulation of mancozeb + metalaxyl-M gave sufficient protection. In conclusion, preventive drenching appears to be the best solution to prevent infection with P. cactorum, especially during warm weather periods, which are conducive to pathogen and disease development.

Summer-to-autumn flowering chrysanthemums (Dendranthema grandiflora Tzvelev. cv.) are grown outdoors in containers and are characterised by a uniform ball-shaped growth habit. Development of new cultivars expanded the production of marketable plants from end of July until end of October. During the first weeks of the production cycle plants were pinched regular to increase branching but also to prevent development of precocious initiated flowers. This pinching treatment however increases Labour costs and is therefore more and more abandoned. The effectiveness of ethephon for terminal bud destruction was evaluated for three cultivars 'Draga', 'Tardero' and 'Veria Dark'. PLants were sprayed with 0-240-480-1200-2400 mg a.i./l. Ethephon spraying resulted in growth arrest and apical bud necrosis and higher doses resulted in more pronounced reactions. The highest dose (2400 mg a.i./l) resulted in phytotoxicity one week after application; phytotoxicity was more severe in 'Veria Dark' than 'Draga' and 'Tardero'. Ethephon treatments significantly delayed flowering and have potential to be used in commercial production schemes of summer-to-autumn flowering chrysanthemum in outdoor conditions.

Populations of the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, can increase rapidly in glasshouse production, especially during summer. Both chemical and biological control must start at low densities for effective control. The combined efficacy of Phytoseiulus persimilis and the predatory midge, Feltiella acarisuga to control T. urticae on roses was evaluated in 2002. A second year rose crop (Rosa hybrida cv. First Red) was used for this experiment. Two glasshouse compartments of 200 m2 each were used, one was assigned for integrated control and the other for chemical control. The mite populations were monitored by bi-weekly analysis of 12 randomly selected harvestable flower stems, extracted on the Berlese funnel. Sticky plates (3 yellow and 3 blue/200 m2) were used for monitoring the Feltiella adults. End of January a population of +/- 2 spider mites/flower was present in both compartments. In the integrated control, the first Phytoseiulus were released on February the 7th, while the first release of Feltiella was on February the 20th. From week 7 till 13 the population of T. urticae increased exponentially to 90 spider mites/flower stem, while Phytoseiulus population was below one/flower stem. A treatment of fenbutatinoxide + hexythiazox (Torque + Nissuron) was necessary to reduce the spider mite population. A maximum number of predatory mite (4/flower stem) and predatory midge (106 adults/sticky plate) was found only 4 weeks later. A second increase of spider mite population occurred in week 27. Although 2 weeks later 3 predatory mites/flower stem were present, additional chemical treatment was necessary to control. A third and last increase of spider mite occurred in week 39. This last raise could be controlled effectively by Phytoseiulus and Feltiella. Chemical control in the second compartment was effective all-year-round with the exception of week 23 when a major increase up to 60 spider mites/flower stem was found. The applied biocontrol agents could not efficiently control spider mite in glasshouse rose. However, combined with selective insecticides they offer possibilities for IPM in glasshouse roses.

Vulvar vestibulitis, a subset of vulvodynia, is present in 15% of patients in a general gynecologic practice. Only a few studies have focused on pathologic features of vulvar vestibulitis and none have included a control group. Punch biopsies from the vulvar vestibule of 12 patients with an age range of 22 to 51 years (mean 28 years) and 12 age-matched controls were analyzed for histopathologic features and investigated for the role of probable etiologic factors including human papillomavirus (HPV). A chronic inflammatory infiltrate was present in all specimens from patients with vestibulitis, and was composed predominantly of T-lymphocytes with a small number of B cells and an admixture of plasma cells, mast cells, and occasional monocytes. T-helper suppressor ratio was normal. The infiltrate was mild in 5 patients, moderate in 1, and severe in 6. Minor vestibular glands were observed in 8 (66%) patients and were associated with a periglandular inflammatory infiltrate. Squamous metaplasia was observed in 4 (44%) patients. Epithelial hyperplasia was present in 10 (83%) patients with mild dysplasia in 2 (16%). Immunohistochemistry for immunoglobulins IgG, IgA, and IgM showed the presence of IgG-positive plasma cells in 75% of patients, suggesting chronic irritation, but an autoimmune etiology cannot be excluded or confirmed. Biopsies of control cases did not show any inflammatory infiltrate. In situ hybridization for HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18 was negative in the patient group as well as in the control group. We conclude that histopathologic abnormalities in patients with vulvar vestibulitis are the result of a chronic inflammatory reaction of the mucosa of the vulvar vestibule, for which the cause remains unclear.