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Characterization and control of thread mould in cheese.

AIMS: The origin of a mould responsible for the contamination of an Argentinian cheese factory was identified and several antifungal treatments were assessed. METHODS AND RESULTS: Moulds were isolated and identified from vacuum-packed hard cheeses, from the environment and from the surfaces of the factory. A suspension conidia test containing different fungicides was performed; another assay involved the fumigation with p-OH fenilsalicidamide. Only Phoma glomerata was found in all of the mouldy cheeses, and was also obtained from different environments and machine surfaces. The most effective treatments against P. glomerata isolates were 0.5% (w/v) natamycin and 2% (v/v) parabens. Fumigation with p-OH fenilsalicidamide showed no satisfactory results. CONCLUSION: P. glomerata is an important thread mould-contaminating agent in vacuum-packed hard cheeses. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Taking into account the survival of the conidia of the P. glomerata isolates to different antifungal treatments, the sources of contamination need to be controlled by designing a good factory layout.

Antifungal Agents↗

Occupational exposure to 1,3-dichloropropene (Telone II) in Hawaiian pineapple culture.

1,3-dichloropropene (DCP), the primary constituent of Telone II, is a subsoil fumigant that has supplanted 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) and ethylene dibromide (EDB) as primary fumigant in Hawaiian pineapple culture. To determine the potential for adverse health effects, an environmental survey was done to assess worker exposures. Exposures were predominantly below 1 ppm, which is the no-effect level determined with experimental animals, and the Threshold Limit Value (TLV) recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).

Agriculture↗

Reduction of bacterial infections in newly hatched chicks by the use of antimicrobial dips: preliminary approaches.

Bacteriological examination of hatchery waste eggs, identification of the isolated bacteria, and susceptibility testing against seven antimicrobial agents were used in an attempt to establish a rational basis for reducing bacterial infections in newly hatched chicks. Chloramphenicol at 1000 ppm was selected as the antibiotic for preliminary dipping trials and 0.45% iodophore (Wescodyne) was added for later trials. The control treatment consisted of formaldehyde fumigation. The following conclusions can be drawn: Hatchery waste eggs are highly contaminated (69.1%) and enterobacteriaceae predominate (26.6%). Chloramphenicol is the most effective antimicrobial tested. Dip treatments with either chloramphenicol alone or chloramphenicol plus Wescodyne result in a reduced percentage of abnormal navels (8.4% and 10.4%), as compared with 21.9% for the control treatment. Hatchability of either group of dipped eggs is reduced in comparison with fumigated eggs. Dip treatment with chloramphenicol plus Wescodyne significantly reduces the anal carrier rates for Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus. This treatment reduces the incidence of bacterial infection in abnormal navels to zero.

Animals↗

Field application of evaluated methodology for determining 1,2-dibromoethane, EDB, in ambient air.

EDB (ethylene dibromide) is of regulatory interest because it has cancer inducing properties and is a causative agent of aspermia. Previously evaluated methodology was used to determine the extent of exposure of workers to EDB in citrus fumigation stations and a warehouse used as a holding site before shipment. The purpose of this effort was to carry out environmental sampling, and to determine the exposure level of workers and related administrative personnel at two citrus fumigation centers and at a warehouse.

Air↗

Paraformaldehyde sterilant use in vocational high school program.

Formaldehyde fumigants are required by many state licensing boards to be used in cosmetology and hair dressing kits to sterilize tools, utensils, combs, and brushes. In vocational training programs, a large number of kits or toolboxes are concentrated in one classroom. This article provides a mathematical exposure model based upon determining the generation rate of formaldehyde vapor, the air exchange rate of the classroom, and the number of fumigant containers. It is determined that in a well-mixed and ventilated classroom with 3.5 air changes per hour, the Threshold Limit Ceiling Value will not be exceeded. Nevertheless, because of uncertainty regarding the concentration and duration of exposure necessary to achieve immune sensitization of students, alternative sterilant methods are preferred. The mathematical model can be used to estimate the airborne concentration of formaldehyde at other vocational, cosmetology, or tonsorial establishments.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗

Responses of the xanthophyll cycle pool and ascorbate-glutathione cycle to ozone stress in two tobacco cultivars.

Plants of Nicotiana tabacum (O3-tolerant cv Bel-B and O3-sensitive cv Bel-W3) were exposed to 150 ppb of ozone for 5 h; the fumigation produced visual injury in mature leaves, particularly in Bel-W3. After O3-treatment the pigments of the xanthophyll cycle pool decreased in both cvs, with a strong reduction in violaxanthin content, while antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin increased slightly. Under these conditions the content of leaf abscisic acid (ABA) markedly increased, particularly in O3-sensitive cv, indicating that the violaxanthin may have been partially converted into ABA. The control plants of Bel-B showed an ascorbic acid content four times greater than Bel-W3 and the ozone treatment did not produce significant differences in the ascorbic acid content and in the redox state. The two tobacco cvs were found to have similar total glutathione content, however the redox state was lower in O3-sensitive cv and decreased after ozone exposure. Ozone fumigation caused an increase in oxidized glutathione, particularly in Bel-W3, associated with a reduced glutathione reductase (GR) activity and a reduced GR protein content.

Ascorbic Acid↗

A history of nebulization.

The simplest and most natural route of drug delivery to the lungs is the inhaled one. From the historical and medical point of view, it was a Greek, Pedanus Discorides, the father of the science of pharmacy, who, during the first century prescribed inhaled fumigation. Pipes were also used to inhale hallucinogenic substances. All shamans knew the psychotropic effects of poisonous plants such as Datura stramonium, especially Red Indians, in their peace calumets; but Indians of Madras used fumigations of Datura ferox to treat asthma. Since 1803, this therapeutic was imported in Great Britain and cigarettes with leaves of datura were used by asthmatics until 1992. In the middle of the nineteenth century, to treat grapevines diseases and in response to the fashion of inhaling thermal waters, spray technology was developed for the effervescent waters at the thermal spas. The onslaught of tuberculosis, similar to AIDS a century later, brought back into practice the inefficacious use of antiseptic aerosol therapy. With the discovery of adrenaline, ephedrine aerosols enjoyed a rebirth. The perfecting of jet nebulizers by R. Tiffeneau, father of FEV1 and M.B. Wright, father of peak-flow, allowed a better practice of inhalotherapy. In 1949, the United States, ultrasonic nebulizers made their first appearance in the form of humidifiers, but doctors were quick to add medications to produce therapeutic aerosols. After 150 years, with the improvement of nebulizer systems and new nebulized medications, the nebulization story is still not concluded.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Remediation of Bacillus anthracis contamination in the U.S. Department of Justice mail facility.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) mail facility in Landover, Maryland, was contaminated with Bacillus anthracis spores as a result of the 2001 anthrax bioterrorism attacks through the U.S. postal system. Surface environmental sampling within the facility indicated that the contamination was due to receipt of mail that had come in contact with Bacillus anthracis spores from the source letters at the Brentwood postal facility in Washington, DC. The DOJ adopted a two-pronged approach for remediating the facility, using aqueous chlorine dioxide to decontaminate hard, nonporous surfaces and paraformaldehyde to fumigate two pieces of mail equipment. Before the start of the remediation activities, all porous materials were removed from the mail area. Since all postremediation environmental samples were negative for growth of Bacillus anthracis spores, the remediation was judged to be effective. The facility remained closed for almost 4(1/2) months. The cleanup activities took about 2(1/2) months, with source reduction activities being the most time-consuming. Of the seven facilities that performed fumigations to remediate Bacillus anthracis contamination, the DOJ mail facility was the second building to be reopened.

Anthrax↗

Effects of elevated CO(2), nutrition and climatic warming on bud phenology in Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) and their impact on the risk of frost damage.

Effects of elevated CO(2), clone and plant nutrition on bud dormancy of Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) were examined. Sitka spruce seedlings were fumigated with ambient or elevated (ambient + 350 micro mol mol(-1)) concentrations of CO(2) in open-top chambers for three growing seasons. In 1991 and 1992, elevated CO(2) delayed bud burst in the spring and advanced bud set in the autumn. The effect of the open-top chamber on the thermal requirement for bud burst was greater than the effect of elevated CO(2) (50 and 30 day degrees (D(d)), respectively). In a second study, four clones of Sitka spruce taken from two provenances, at 43 and 54 degrees N, were fumigated with ambient or elevated CO(2). There was a large natural variation in the timing of bud burst and bud set among the clones. Elevated CO(2) had no effect on bud dormancy of the Skidegate a clone, but it reduced the growing season of the North Bend b clone by 20 days. In a third study, Sitka spruce seedlings growing in ambient or elevated CO(2), were supplied with one of three nutrient regimes, low (0.1 x potential), medium (0.5 x potential) or high (2.0 x potential), using a method and solution based on the Ingestad technique. Elevated CO(2) did not affect bud dormancy in the high-nutrient treatment, but it reduced the growing season of plants in the low-nutrient treatment by 22 days. Increasing plant nutrient supply lengthened the growing season, plants flushed earlier in the spring and set bud later in the autumn. The effects of elevated CO(2) plus a 0, 2 or 4 degrees C climatic warming on the timing of bud burst and the subsequent risk of frost damage were assessed using a simulation model and meteorological data from three sites, Edinburgh, Braemar and Masset. The model predicted that (i) doubling the CO(2) concentration in the absence of climatic warming, will delay the onset of bud burst at all three sites, (ii) climatic warming in ambient CO(2) will hasten bud burst and (iii) climatic warming in elevated CO(2) will hasten bud burst at Edinburgh and Braemar but to a lesser extent than climatic warming alone. At Masset, a 4 degrees C warming was required to advance the date of bud burst of seedlings in the elevated CO(2) treatment. At all three sites, elevated CO(2) and climatic warming increased the mean daily temperature on the date of bud burst, thus reducing the risk of subsequent frost damage.

Journal Article↗

Radiation-use efficiency of a forest exposed to elevated concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

We compared radiation-use efficiency of growth (epsilon;), defined as rate of biomass accumulation per unit of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation, of forest plots exposed to ambient (approximately 360 micro l l-1) or elevated (approximately 560 micro l l-1) atmospheric CO2 concentration ([CO2]). Large plots (30-m diameter) in a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantation, which contained several hardwood species in the understory, were fumigated with a free-air CO2 enrichment system. Biomass accumulation of the dominant loblolly pines was calculated from monthly measurements of tree growth and site-specific allometric equations. Depending on the species, leaf area index (L*) was estimated by three methods: optical, allometric and litterfall. Based on the relationship between tree height and diameter during the first 3 years of exposure, we conclude that elevated [CO2] did not alter the pattern of aboveground biomass allocation in loblolly pine. There was considerable variation in L* estimates by the different methods; total L* was 18-42% lower when estimated by the optical method compared with estimates from allometric calculations, and this discrepancy was reduced when optical measurements were corrected for the non-random distribution of loblolly pine foliage. The allometric + litterfall approach revealed a seasonal maximum total L* of 6.2-7.1 with about 1/3 of the total from hardwood foliage. Elevated [CO2] had only a slight effect on L* in the first 3 years of this study. Mean epsilon; (+/- SD), calculated for loblolly pine only, was 0.49 +/- 0.05 and 0.62 +/- 0.04 g MJ-1 for trees in the ambient and elevated [CO2] plots, respectively. The 27% increase in epsilon; in response to CO2 enrichment was caused primarily by the stimulation of biomass increment, as there was only a small effect of elevated [CO2] on L* during the initial years of fumigation. Long-term increases in atmospheric [CO2] can increase epsilon; in closed-canopy forests but the absolute magnitude and duration of this increase remain uncertain.

Biomass↗

Ozone quenching properties of isoprene and its antioxidant role in leaves.

Isoprene is formed in and emitted by plants and the reason for this apparent carbon waste is still unclear. It has been proposed that isoprene stabilizes cell and particularly chloroplast thylakoid membranes. We tested if membrane stabilization or isoprene reactivity with ozone induces protection against acute ozone exposures. The reduction of visible, physiological, anatomical, and ultrastructural (chloroplast) damage shows that clones of plants sensitive to ozone and unable to emit isoprene become resistant to acute and short exposure to ozone if they are fumigated with exogenous isoprene, and that isoprene-emitting plants that are sensitive to ozone do not suffer damage when exposed to ozone. Isoprene-induced ozone resistance is associated with the maintenance of photochemical efficiency and with a low energy dissipation, as indicated by fluorescence quenching. This suggests that isoprene effectively stabilizes thylakoid membranes. However, when isoprene reacts with ozone within the leaves or in a humid atmosphere, it quenches the ozone concentration to levels that are less or non-toxic for plants. Thus, protection from ozone in plants fumigated with isoprene may be due to a direct ozone quenching rather than to an induced resistance at membrane level. Irrespective of the mechanism, isoprene is one of the most effective antioxidants in plants.

Antioxidants↗

Effects of picloram and ethylene on leaf movement in huisache and mesquite seedlings.

Application of 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid (picloram) to roots stimulated the production of ethylene in both mesquite [Prosopis juliflora (Swartz) DC. var. glandulosa (Torr.) Cockerell] and huisache [Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd.] seedlings. Herbicide levels rose in tissues before we detected increased ethylene production. Rates of ethylene production by various parts of the plant paralleled herbicide concentrations. In both species, picloram caused loss of leaf movement and epinastic curvature of leaves and stems. Only huisache was defoliated by picloram. Rates of ethylene production increased before we observed any leaf movement or defoliation responses. Fumigation of plants with levels of ethylene, calculated to approximate those in herbicide-treated plants at the initial loss of leaf movement, caused the same symptoms as picloram treatment. The time sequence of ethylene fumigation and loss of the ability for leaf movement is compatible with the hypothesis that there is a causal relationship between picloram and ethylene production and loss of leaf movement.

Journal Article↗

Ozone injury in soybeans: isoflavonoid accumulation is related to necrosis.

Fumigation of soybean leaves (Glycine max [L.] Merr. with ozone caused stippling and silvering at the same time that large accumulations of the isoflavonoid compounds daidzein, coumestrol, and sojagol occurred. Nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide caused lesser accumulation of the isoflavonoids, and peroxyacetyl nitrate did not result in significant accumulation. Visible toxicity and chemical changes in ozone-fumigated leaves were similar to the hypersensitive disease defense reaction of soybean leaves to the pathogen Pseudomonas glycinea, except that the phytoalexin hydroxyphaseollin was not produced in the ozone-treated leaves.

Journal Article↗

Ethylene and Ethane Production from Sulfur Dioxide-injured Plants.

After alfalfa (Medicago sativa) seedlings were exposed to approximately 0.7 microliter per liter SO(2) for 8 hours, elevated ethylene and ethane production was observed. Ethylene production peaked about 6 hours and returned to control levels by about 24 hours following the fumigation, while ethane production peaked about 36 hours and was still above control levels 48 hours after the fumigation. Light had an opposite effect upon the production of the two gases: ethane production rates were higher from plants held in light, whereas ethylene production rates were higher from those held in the dark. Peak ethylene and ethane production rates from SO(2)-treated plants were about 10 and 4 to 5 times greater, respectively, than those of the control plants. Ethylene appeared to be formed primarily from stressed yet viable leaves and ethane from visibly damaged leaves. The different time courses and light requirements for ethylene and ethane production suggest that these two gases were formed via different mechanisms. Light appears to have a dual role. It enhances SO(2)-induced cellular damage and plays a role for repairs.

Journal Article↗

Ethylene, Ethane, Acetaldehyde, and Ethanol Production By Plants under Stress.

Red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) and paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) seedlings exposed to sulfur dioxide produced acetaldehyde and ethanol, and exhibited increased production of ethylene and ethane. Gas chromatographic measurement of head space gas from incubation tubes containing leaves or seedlings was a simple method of simultaneously measuring all four compounds. Increased ethylene production had two phases, a moderate increase from the beginning of the stress period and a large increase just prior to appearance of leaf lesions. Ethane production in SO(2)-stressed plants did not increase until lesions appeared. Acetaldehyde and ethanol production began within 6 hours at 0.3 microliter per liter SO(2) and 24 hours at 0.1 microliter per liter SO(2) and continued throughout a 6-day fumigation. Production of acetaldehyde and ethanol continued when plants were removed to clean air for up to 2 days. A higher concentration of SO(2) (0.5 microliter per liter) induced acetaldehyde and ethanol production within 2 hours of the start of fumigation of birch and pine seedlings. A number of other stresses, including water deficit, freezing, and ozone exposure induced production of acetaldehyde and ethanol. Production of these compounds was not due to hypoxia, as the O(2) partial pressure in the incubation vessels did not decline. Increasing the O(2) partial pressure to 300 millimeters Hg did not affect production of these compounds. Production of ethylene, acetaldehyde, and ethanol declined when more than 80% of the leaf area became necrotic, while ethane production was linearly related to the percentage of necrosis. A number of woody and herbaceous plant species produced acetaldehyde and ethanol in response to freezing stress, while others did not. Measurement of these four compounds simultaneously in the gas phase may be a valuable method for monitoring plant stress, particularly air pollution stress.

Journal Article↗

Effects of Air Pollutants on the Composition of Stable Carbon Isotopes, deltaC, of Leaves and Wood, and on Leaf Injury.

Air pollutants are known to cause visible leaf injury as well as impairment of photosynthetic CO(2) fixation. Here we evaluate whether the effects on photosynthesis are large enough to cause changes in the relative composition of stable carbon isotopes, delta(13)C, of plant tissue samples, and, if so, how the changes relate to visual leaf injury. For that purpose, several woody and herbaceous plant species were exposed to SO(2) + O(3) and SO(2) + O(3) + NO(2) for one month (8 hours per day, 5 days per week). At the end of the fumigations, the plants were evaluated for visual leaf lesions, and delta(13)C of leaf tissue was determined. Woody plants generally showed less visual leaf injury and smaller effects on delta(13)C of pollutant exposure than did herbaceous plants. If delta(13)C was affected by pollutants, it became, with few exceptions, less negative. The data from the fumigation experiments were consistent with delta(13)C analyses of whole wood of annual growth rings from two conifer tree species, Pseudotsuga menziesii and Pinus strobus. These trees had been exposed until 1977 to exhaust gases from a gas plant at Lacq, France. Wood of both conifer species formed in the polluted air of 1972 to 1976 had less negative delta(13)C values than had wood formed in the much cleaner air in 1982 to 1986. No similar, time-dependent differences in delta(13)C of wood were observed in trees which had been continuously growing in clean air. Our delta(13)C data from both relatively short-term artificial exposures and long-term natural exposure are consistent with greater stomatal limitation of photosynthesis in polluted air than in clean air.

Journal Article↗

Ethylene-induced leaf abscission in cotton seedlings : the physiological bases for age-dependent differences in sensitivity.

The speed of ethylene-induced leaf abscission in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. cv LG-102) seedlings is dependent on leaf position (i.e. physiological age). Fumigation of intact seedlings for 18 hours with 10 microliters per liter of ethylene resulted in 40% abscission of the still-expanding third true (3 degrees ) leaves but had no effect on the fully expanded first true (1 degrees ) leaves. After 42 hours of fumigation with 50 microliters per liter of ethylene, total abscission of the 3 degrees leaves occurred while <50% abscission of the 1 degrees leaves was observed. On a leaf basis, endogenous levels of free IAA in 1 degrees leaves were approximately twice those of 3 degrees leaves. Free IAA levels were reduced equally (approximately 55%) in both leaf types after 18 hours of ethylene (10 microliters per liter) treatment. Ethylene treatment of intact seedlings inhibited the basipetal movement of [(14)C]IAA in petiole segments isolated from both leaf types in a dose-dependent manner. The auxin transport inhibitor N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid increased the rate and extent of ethylene-induced leaf abscission at both leaf positions but did not alter the relative pattern of abscission. Abscission-zone explants prepared from 3 degrees leaves abscised faster than 1 degrees leaf explants when exposed to ethylene. Ethyleneinduced abscission of 3 degrees explants was not appreciably inhibited by exogenous IAA while 1 degrees explants exhibited a pronounced and protracted inhibition. The synthetic auxins 2,4-D and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid completely inhibited ethylene-induced abscission of both 1 degrees and 3 degrees explants for 40 hours. It is proposed that the differential abscission response of cotton seedling leaves is primarily a result of the limited abscission-inhibiting effects of IAA in the abscission zone of the younger leaves.

Journal Article↗

Worker exposure standard for phosphine gas.

The 1998 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) re-registration eligibility decision (RED) for phosphine fumigants has generated much interest in defining safe levels of exposure for workers and worker bystanders. This report summarizes the pertinent literature on phosphine toxicity, including animal inhalation studies and human epidemiology studies, and also describes a margin-of-exposure (MOE) analysis based on available worker exposure data. In addition, a safe occupational exposure limit is estimated using typical OPP assumptions, after determination of appropriate uncertainty factors, based on quality of data in the principal study and pharmacokinetic considerations. While a conservative 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) of 0.1 ppm was calculated, the overall weight of evidence, from a risk-management perspective, supports a conclusion that an occupational TWA of 0.3 ppm provides adequate health protection. In addition, a 15-minute short-term exposure limit (STEL) of 3 ppm was estimated. Finally, in contrast to the MOE analysis described in the OPP's phosphine RED, the MOE analysis described herein does not indicate that fumigation workers are currently being exposed to unacceptable levels of phosphine. Collectively, these findings support the occupational exposure limits of 0.3 ppm (8-hour TWA) and 1 ppm (STEL) established in the updated applicator's manuals for phosphine-generating products, which recently received approval from OPP.

Administration, Inhalation↗