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Most of the diseases affecting plant nurseries are soil borne and to eradicate the pathogens from growing media different sterilization (chemical, solar and steam) techniques are used. Steam sterilization is more efficient and environmentally friendly technology. To test the effectiveness of steam sterilization in controlling growth of fungal pathogens, different fungal species were isolated from various potting media (soil, sand, silt, FYM and coconut coir) pre and post steam sterilization and the isolates were characterized. Pre-sterilization fungal isolation was performed using serial dilution method which revealed different fungal species i.e., Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, Fussarium solani, Penicillium spp, Rhizoctonia spp, Curvularia spp, and Pythium spp. After sterilization, one group of potting media was kept open and the other one was tightly packed and placed at ambient temperature. These open and covered media types were evaluated for fungal regrowth by isolation after 7 days, 15 days and 30 days intervals. Different fungal contaminants were found in the potting media that was kept opened after sterilization. However, interestingly no soil related fungal pathogens were observed in the packed potting media 30 days post sterilization. These findings extended the current knowledge of steam sterilization of potting media and suggest that steam sterilization can effectively eliminate the fungal pathogens from the media. Further, it could be effectively used to produce sanitated plant nurseries and minimize the spread of soil borne diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salicylic acid (SA) is a well-studied phenolic plant hormone that plays an important role in plant defense against the hemi-biothrophic and biothrophic pathogens and depends on the living cells of host for the successful infection. In this study, a pathogenesis test was performed between Vitis davidii and V. vinifera cultivars against grape white rot disease (Coniella diplodiella). V. davidii was found to be resistant against this disease. SA contents were found to be higher in the resistant grape cultivar after different time points. RNA-seq analysis was conducted on susceptible grapevine cultivars after 12, 24, and 48 h of SA application with the hypothesis that SA may induce defense genes in susceptible cultivars. A total of 511 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified from the RNA-seq data, including some important genes, VvWRKY1/2, VvNPR1, VvTGA2, and VvPR1, for the SA defense pathway. DEGs related to phytohormone signal transduction and flavonoid biosynthetic pathways were also upregulated. The quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) results of the significantly expressed transcripts were found to be consistent with the transcriptome data, with a high correlation between the two analyses. The pathogenesis-related gene 1 (VvPR1), which is an important marker gene for plant defense, was selected for further promoter analysis. The promoter sequence showed that it contains some important cis-elements (W-box, LS7, as-1, and TCA-element) to recruit the transcription factors VvWRKY, VvNPR1, and VvTGA2 to express the VvPR1 gene in response to SA treatment. Furthermore, the VvPR1 promoter was serially deleted into different fragments (-1,837, -1,443, -1,119, -864, -558, -436, and -192) bp and constructed vectors with the GUS reporter gene. Deletion analysis revealed that the VvPR1 promoter between -1837 bp to -558 bp induced significant GUS expression with respect to the control. On the basis of these results, the -558 bp region was assumed to be an important part of the VvPR1 promoter, and this region contained the important cis-elements related to SA, such as TCAOPEN element (-1,472 bp), LS7 (-1,428 bp), and as-1 (-520 bp), that recruit the TFs and induce the expression of the VvPR1 gene. This study expanded the available information regarding SA-induced defense in susceptible grapes and recognized the molecular mechanisms through which this defense might be mediated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the outcome of Mini Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy through upper calyceal puncture in pediatric age patients. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Urology, Institute of Kidney Diseases, Peshawar from February 2018 to July 2019. A total of 30 children were enrolled using consecutive sampling. They underwent mini-PCNL through upper calyceal puncture for renal stone extraction. The patients were evaluated for different outcome variables. Data was entered in SPSS version 20 and descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables. Results: Out of 30 patients, mean age of the patients was 11.72 ± 2 years with range of 8-16 years. The stones had a mean size of 13.8 ± 3 mm. Maximum Ppatients had single puncture (70%), while remaining (30%) had double puncture entrance. A high stone free rate was achieved (86.6% cases). The mean time for operation was 53 ± 15 minutes. In total, 2 children developed fever and 3 dropped hemoglobin of about 0.8 g/dl. Conclusion: mini-PCNL through upper calyceal puncture is an effective procedure for the management renal calculi in pediatric population. It has high stone free rate, less serious complications and short post-operative hospital stay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the frequency of persistant backache in patients of spinal anaesthesia in the absence of prior history of bachache. Study Design: Quasi experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: CMH Kharian from May 2008 to Sep 2009. Methods: Total 150 patients who were admitted at CMH Kharian during the study period were included in the study. The selection criteria included male and female patients above twenty years of age due for elective gynaecological, orthopaedics, urology and general surgical procedures. Only 112 patients reported for complete follow up for one year. Out of 112 patients, 61.6% were males while 38.4% were females. All patients with prior history of back pain were excluded from the study. Results: At the end of one year the frequency of persistent back pain after one year of spinal anaesthesia is (1/112) 0.89% in the absence of previous history of back pain. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that frequency of persistant back pain after spinal anaesthesia in the absence of previous history of back pain is very low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]