Personality as a Predictor of Weight Loss Maintenance after Surgery for Morbid Obesity

Objective: Personality characteristics are assumed to underlie health behaviors and, thus, a variety of health outcomes. Our aim was to examine prospectively whether personality traits predict short‐ and long‐term weight loss after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Research Methods and Procedures: Of patients undergoing laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, 168 (143 women, 25 men, 18 to 58 years old, mean 37 years, preoperative BMI 45.9 ± 5.6 kg/m²) completed the Dutch Personality Questionnaire on average 1.5 years before the operation. The relationship between preoperative personality and short‐ and long‐term postoperative weight loss was determined using multilevel regression analysis. Results: The average weight loss of patients progressively increased to 10 BMI points until 18 months after surgery and stabilized thereafter. A lower baseline BMI, being a man, and a higher educational level were associated with a lower weight loss. None of the personality variables was associated with weight outcome at short‐term follow‐up. Six of seven personality variables did not predict long‐term weight outcome. Egoism was associated with less weight loss in the long‐term postoperative period. The effect sizes of the significant predictions were small. Discussion: None of the personality variables predicted short‐term weight outcome, and only one variable showed a small and unexpected association with long‐term weight outcome that needs confirmation. This suggests that personality assessment as intake psychological screening is of little use for the prediction of a poor or successful weight outcome after bariatric surgery.     

Presence of latent Botrytis convoluta infections in rhizomatous irises

Rhizomes of bearded iris plants of three varieties were found to harbor latentBotrytis convoluta infections which were not affected by surface sterilization. Apparently healthy rhizomes of the cultivars Apricot Glory, Sunset Blaze, and Cotlet were found to be 67, 84, and 90 % infected, respectively. Ten to 20 % of the offsets from Cotlet plants had latent infections. Latent infections are an important means of survival during the summer months when the fungus is inactive. They are also potentially important as a means of transporting inoculum from infested to disease-free areas.Portion of a Ph. D. Thesis by the senior author, Oregon State University.Technical Paper No. 2681, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.     

Distribution of basic replicons having homology with RepFIA, RepFIB, and RepFIC among IncF group plasmids

Plasmids encoding F-like pili have been divided into groups on the basis of their incompatibility behavior. Three basic replicons have been recognized previously in the IncFI plasmid group and we have now examined their distribution in representative plasmids from 22 of the currently recognized incompatibility groups. The occurrence of these basic replicons was found to be rare outside of the IncF group, and significant hybridization was shown only for RepFIA to IncH1 and I group plasmids. Homology to the RepFIC basic replicon was found in all but one of the IncF group plasmids examined but RepFIA and RepFIB have a more restricted distribution. It appears likely that some plasmids carry vestiges of replicons which still express incompatibility but are incapable of replication. We suggest that evolutionary divergence among the plasmids of the IncF group has resulted from various genetic rearrangements among these basic replicons.     

Developmentally dependent expression of tissue specific amylases in maize

Summary The mapping of three genes (speA, speB and metK) involved in the biosynthesis of spermidine is described. They are located between minutes 56 and 57 on the linkage map of Escherichia coli. The clustering of these genes suggests the possibility of an operon for spermidine synthesis. Two other genes, argP, controlling the production of an arginine permease, and can, conferring resistance to canavanine, were found to be located in the same region.     

An improved colony hybridization method with significantly increased sensitivity for detection of single genes

By introducing a simple modification of existing methods, colony hybridization has been used to detect single copy genes coding for a heat-stable enterotoxin in wild-type strains isolated from patients with diarrhea. The modification described in this communication results in an approximately 100-fold increase in sensitivity, probably by increasing the total denatured plasmid DNA fixed to the paper.     

In vitro response of strawberry cultivars and regenerants to Colletotrichum acutatum

Diseases affecting strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) have been of major concern in recent years because of their widespread occurrence and potential for yield loss. Anthracnose, caused by the fungus Colletotrichum acutatum, is one of the most serious diseases of strawberry worldwide. Tissue-culture induced (somaclonal) variation provides one strategy for generating disease-resistant genotypes. As part of a program to generate strawberry germplasm resistant to anthracnose, an in vitro screening system was used to evaluate several commercial cultivars, Chandler, Delmarvel, Honeoye, Latestar, Pelican and Sweet Charlie propagated in vitro, and shoots regenerated from leaf explants of these cultivars for resistance to C.␣acutatum isolate Goff (highly virulent). Regenerants with increased levels of resistance were identified from all of the cultivars. The greatest increases in disease resistance were observed for regenerants from leaf explants of cultivars Pelican and Chandler that exhibited 17.5- and 6.2-fold increases in resistance, respectively. The highest levels of anthracnose resistance (2 to 6% leaf necrosis) were exhibited by regenerants from explants of cultivars Pelican and Sweet Charlie. These studies suggest that generating somaclonal variation may be a viable approach to obtaining strawberry plants with increased levels of anthracnose resistance.     

Processed Manure as Carrier to Introduce Trichoderma harzianum: Population Dynamics and Biocontrol Effect on Rhizoctonia solani

Manure pellets produced from processed swine faeces can be used as carrier material for the biocontrol fungus Trichoderma harzianum. The antagonist can grow and sporulate on the processed manure powder as the sole source of carbon and nutrients. The incorporation of conidia in pellets of the processed manure was shown to be feasible on a laboratory scale. Survival of the fungus in the pellets during storage was satisfactory. The population dynamics of T. harzianum were studied using a benomyl-resistance marker after introduction of conidia into soil. The antagonist could colonize and spread through a number of non-sterile soils and was able to establish a stable population over a period exceeding 125 days. Under sterile conditions, the propagation of T. harzianum in soil was much greater than under non-sterile conditions. The incorporation of antagonist conidia in pellets was found to be essential for the successful colonization of non-sterile soil. In growth chamber experiments, application of T. harzianum via processed manure pellets reduced damping-off of sugar beet seedlings caused by Rhizoctonia solani in artificially and naturally infested soil. In artificially infested soil, T. harzianum reduced the population of R. solani and protected beet seedlings from damping-off 3 weeks after introduction. The application of T. harzianum to naturally infested soil increased the number of healthy beet seedlings more than two-fold.