Rapid diagnosis of herpes simplex virus infections with fluorescent antibody

A fluorescent microscopy technique is described which may prove useful in differentiating clinically similar lesions into lesions of herpes simplex virus etiology and nonherpetic lesions. Herpes simplex virus was isolated from the specimens which yielded positive fluorescence, and no virus was isolated from the specimens which yielded no fluorescence.     

Field performance of Rendezvous, a wheat cultivar with resistance to eyespot (Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides) derived from Aegilops ventricosa

Rendezvous is a new cultivar of winter wheat with potent eyespot resistance derived from Aegilops ventricosa. In 11 field experiments conducted over 6 years with both natural and artificial inoculum, Rendezvous was significantly more resistant than other commercial wheat cultivars, many of which have resistance derived from Cappelle-Desprez. It was also more resistant than its parent VPM 1, the donor of the potent eyespot resistance, suggesting that it possesses resistance genes from both Ae. ventricosa and Cappelle-Desprez.
In severe eyespot epidemics, Rendezvous lodged less and had a greater mean yield than the moderately resistant cultivar Norman. Treatment with fungicide reduced disease and increased yield in both cultivars, so that they were equal in yield. Rendezvous should not need routine fungicidal treatment for eyespot control, but under exceptional disease pressure may benefit from treatment.     

Adaptation of Septoria nodorum to wheat or barley on detached leaves

Single-spore cultures of wheat- and barley-adapted isolates of Septoria nodorum were serially passaged through detached leaves of wheat or barley. Rare instances of change in host adaptation were observed after passaging but associated changes in other characters, including heterokaryon compatibility, identified the changed isolates as contaminants. Inoculation of progressively more dilute spore suspensions to detached leaves revealed that some isolates were highly infective to the host to which they were adapted, with a high probability of a single spore initiating infection. Inocula deliberately contaminated with a small proportion of spores of opposite host adaptation revealed changes when passaged on wheat that mimicked the rare changes observed on passaging pure wheat- or barley-adapted isolates. These results suggest that adaptation to wheat or barley is a stable property of pure cultures of S. nodorum and that the occasional changes in host adaptation observed on passaging result from selection of contaminants.     

PCR amplification of the fas-1 gene for the detection of virulent strains of Rhodococcus fascians

Thirty-six isolates of the fasciation-inducing bacterium Rhodococcus fascians were evaluated for the presence and location of the fas-1 gene, which codes for an isopentenyl transferase, the committed step in cytokinin biosynthesis. The presence of fas-1 was determined by PCR using a set of primers to the most conserved regions of the gene and by Southern hybridization to genomic digests using the PCR fragment as a probe. Both methods revealed the presence of the gene in 18 virulent isolates and the absence of the gene in 18 avirulent isolates. Thus, there is a strong relationship between the presence of the gene and virulence of the organism. The location of fas-1 was determined by probing blots of linear and circular DNA. For most of the virulent isolates, the gene was localized to a 200 ± 10 kb linear plasmid. Three virulent isolates lacked a plasmid of this size, but contained fas-1 either on a linear plasmid of 130 kb or on a large circular plasmid.     

Measurement of a visual motion aftereffect in the rhesus monkey

A monkey was trained to discriminate between a shrinking and expanding test figure presented after steady fixation of the center of a rotating spiral. Differential shifts in the animal's perception of size constancy were found for clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation of the spiral. The magnitude of the aftereffect was within the range found in human subjects.     

New Insights into Senior Travel Behavior: The Canadian Experience

Societies in many developed nations around the world are aging. Over the past decade, a growing body of research has emerged internationally in an effort to anticipate and prepare for the transport challenges posed by this unprecedented demographic change. This paper contributes to this line of research by offering new insights into senior travel behavior focusing on the recent Canadian experience. Using weekday data from the 1992 and 2005 General Social Surveys on time use, changes in the number of trips, the duration of trips, trip mode, and trip timing are evaluated for urban seniors. In contrast to the experiences of many other developed nations, analysis of the first three indicators of behavioral change refutes the notion that “automobility” has increased in Canada over the 13‐year period. While this finding is encouraging, it is tempered by the fact that Canadian seniors who choose to travel by car are doing so increasingly during the morning and evening peak periods. The results from a peak versus non‐peak departure‐time model that pools data from both years offer important insights into factors driving this change. For instance, the results suggest that the propensity to start a trip during rush hour has increased over time for non‐work trip purposes.