Search

In March 2020, symptoms of powdery mildew were observed on Bauhinia variegata, B. blakeana and Desmodium caudatum in Taiwan. The fungus was identified as Erysiphe lespedezae based on morphological characteristics of the anamorph and the molecular analysis of the rDNA ITS sequences. In the phylogenetic tree, the powdery mildews on Bauhinia spp. and D. caudatum were divided into two groups, suggesting that cryptic species may exist in E. lespedezae. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed record of E. lespedezae on the plants in Fabaceae in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinnia elegans L., known as common zinnia, is an annual flowering plant belonging to the Asteraceae family and native to North America. The plant has colorful flowers and is one of the popular ornamental bedding plants for gardening. In March 2020, powdery mildew symptoms were observed in a zinnia floral field with an incidence of >70% in Dacun Township, Changhua County, Taiwan. The symptoms were spotted on the stems, flower petals and leaves which appeared as irregular colonies and white patches on the surfaces. When disease progressed, most of the plant surfaces were covered by the white fungal colonies and became yellowish. Under microscopic examination, hyphal appressoria of the fungus were indistinct or slightly nipple-shaped. The conidiophores were unbranched, erect, straight, smooth to slightly rough, 75.0 to 200.0 × 10.0 to 15.0 µm (n=10), composed of a cylindrical, flexuous foot cell, 40.0 to 100.0 × 8.8 to 15.0 µm (n=10), and following 1 to 5 shorter cells. The conidia were ellipsoid to ovoid, 25.0 to 37.5 × 15.0 to 23.8 µm (n=60), with an average length-to-width ratio of 1.8 and contained fibrosin bodies. No chasmothecia were found. Three voucher specimens (TNM Nos. F0033680, F0033681, and F0033682) were deposited in the National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung City, Taiwan. To confirm the identification, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the three specimens were amplified using primer pairs ITS1/PM6 and PM5/ITS4 (Shen et al. 2015) and sequenced from both ends. The resulting sequences were deposited in GenBank under Accession Nos. MT568609, MT568610, and MT568611. The sequences were identical to each other and shared a 100% identity with that of Podosphaera xanthii MUMH 338 on Z. elegans from Japan (Accession No. AB040355) (Ito and Takamatsu 2010) over a 475 bp alignment. Accordingly, the fungus was identified as P. xanthii (Castagne) U. Braun & Shishkoff (Braun and Cook 2012) based on its morphological and molecular characters. Pathogenicity was demonstrated through inoculation by gently pressing naturally infected leaves onto leaves of three healthy potted common zinnia that had been sprayed with 0.02% Tween 20. Additional three non-inoculated plants treated in the same way without inoculating the powdery mildew served as the controls. Powdery mildew colonies were observed on inoculated leaves after 10 days at room temperature, later the diseased leaves became yellowish and deteriorated. The morphological traits of the fungus on the inoculated leaves were similar to those of the first observed. In addition, the ITS sequence from a colony on the inoculated leaves was 100% identical to MT568609-MT568611, fulfilling the Koch's postulates. All the controls remained symptomless. Z. elegans is known to be a host for different species of powdery mildew in the genus Erysiphe , Golovinomyces , and Podosphaera (Farr and Rossman 2020). In Taiwan, powdery mildew has been briefly reported on zinnia without detailed descriptions (Hsieh 1983). This study confirmed P. xanthii as a causal agent of powdery mildew in Taiwan and the awareness of the disease may benefit the floral industry. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed report of P. xanthii on Z. elegans in Taiwan.

Background and Purpose: Bacterial infection of the orbital structures can affect all age groups, but is more frequent in pediatric populations. Prompt recognition, correct diagnosis, and adequate management are important if serious complications are to be avoided. This study sought to delineate the clinical, bacteriological and radiological findings, management and outcome of orbital cellulitis., Methods: This retrospective study reviewed 80 children admitted to Chang Gung Children's Hospital with a diagnosis of orbital cellulitis who were staged by computed tomography (CT), between January 1999 and August 2005. The staging classification was as follows: stage I, inflammatory edema (preseptal); stage II, subperiosteal phlegmon and abscess; stage III, orbital cellulitis; stage IV, orbital abscess; and stage V, ophthalmic vein and cavernous sinus thrombosis. The patients were categorized into 2 groups: preseptal (stage I) and postseptal (stage II-V)., Results: Of the 80 children, 50 were male and the mean age was 6.8 years. Sinusitis and upper respiratory tract infection were the most common predisposing factors. Forty one percent of patients in stage I presented with symptoms that indicated postseptal involvement. The patients with postseptal involvement had a significantly higher rate of proptosis and limitation of extraocular motility. Bacterial pathogens were identified in 31 patients (39%), the 2 most common pathogens being Staphylococcus and Streptococcus. Ten patients (13%) had polymicrobial infection. Twenty three patients underwent sinus and/or orbital and/or intracranial surgery, including all 5 patients (100%) in stage IV, 3 of 6 patients (50%) in stage III, 13 of 35 patients (37%) in stage II, and 2 of 34 patients (6%) in stage I. Complete resolution without complication was achieved in 72 children. Eight patients had complications, including intracranial infection in 3, recollection of abscess in 2, ophthalmoplegia in 2, and corneal scar in 1., Conclusions: Proptosis and limitation of extraocular motility may be considered the most important signs on CT examination in children with suspicious orbital cellulitis. Given that polymicrobial infection is common, broad-spectrum antibiotics are indicated initially. Surgery should be considered not only when an abscess is demonstrated by CT scan but also if clinical deterioration occurs within 24 to 36 h of adequate intravenous antibiotic treatment.

Background: The aims of this study were to determine whether renal pelvis dilation on ultrasound was reliable in predicting vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) and to assess the relationship of other clinical information of VUR in children with urinary tract infection (UTI)., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinical data, renal echo, and voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) results in hospitalized children with their first episode of UTI, aged from 1 month to 5 years, during a 1-year period., Results: There were 114 children with 228 kidneys eligible for the study. Unilateral pelvis size greater than 8 mm had 2.4 (p = 0.049, 95% CI: 1.0-5.9) and 3.7 (p = 0.025, 95% CI: 1.2-11.3) times greater risk for VUR and severe reflux, respectively. The sensitivity in detecting severe reflux was 27.8%, and the specificity was 90.5%. The positive and negative predictive values in suggesting severe VUR were 20.0% and 93.6%, respectively. The sum of bilateral pelvis sizes greater than 16 mm had higher risk for VUR and severe reflux (4.1 and 4.6 times) and similar specificity and negative predictive value for severe reflux. Age, gender, C-reactive protein, leukocytosis, pyuria and acute pyelonephritis did not show significant relationships to the reflux., Conclusions: Unilateral pelvis size greater than 8 mm or the sum of the bilateral pelvis sizes greater than 16 mm was associated with VUR, especially severe VUR. The possibility of severe reflux was lower than 10% when the reverse criteria were applied. However, the dilation of the renal pelvis did not predict all VUR precisely. We concluded that VCUG should still be performed in hospitalized children with UTI.