[113, 114] In terms of duration of treatment, there have been contradictory reports whether the eradication rate was significantly different between

the 7-day and 14-day regimens of bismuth-containing quadruple therapy. Statement 19. A secondary regimen including two or more antibiotics that were not used in the primary regimen is recommended for H. pylori eradication in cases of eradication failure with initial bismuth-containing quadruple therapy (Fig. 3). Level of evidence C, Grade of recommendation 1 Experts’ opinions: completely agree (37.0%), mostly agree (55.6%), partially agree (7.4%), mostly disagree (0%), completely disagree (0%), not sure (0%) H. pylori eradication failure is associated with antibiotics resistance, patient compliance, H. pylori density, CagA status, and smoking. A secondary regimen must contain new antibiotics that have not been used in the primary regimen because of the possibility of resistance. http://www.selleckchem.com/products/Vincristine-Sulfate.html One study showed that the expression of multidrug-resistant H. pylori increased after Seliciclib primary eradication.[115] Various combinations of antibiotics have been proposed

as secondary regimens.[15, 26, 39, 97] Potential combinations included sequential therapy, concomitant therapy, and triple therapy with a PPI and amoxicillin. However, sequential or concomitant therapy has limitations as a secondary regimen because studies have mostly focused on using these therapies as primary treatment. Even with such limitations, 上海皓元医药股份有限公司 sequential or concomitant therapy is recommended as a secondary regimen because it is very difficult to create a secondary regimen in cases of H. pylori eradication failure when the primary treatment included both clarithromycin and nitroimidazole. Sequential therapy is composed of 5 days of treatment with PPI and amoxicillin, followed by another 5days of treatment with PPI, clarithromycin, and nitroimidazole (metronidazole or tinidazole). In one retrospective and six prospective randomized studies

conducted in Korea, sequential therapy had an eradication rate of 77.8–85.9% in intention-to-treat analysis, and was more effective than clarithromycin-containing triple therapy, which reported an eradication rate of 62.2–75.0%.[116-120] There are several reasons why sequential therapy has a higher eradication rate than triple therapy. First, clarithromycin-containing triple therapy has a higher eradication rate when H. pylori density is low (inoculum effect). Therefore, initial dual therapy with PPI and amoxicillin lowers H. pylori density, and likely increases the effect of subsequent triple therapy, which is composed of PPI, clarithromycin and nitroimidazole.[121] Second, H. pylori moves antibiotics outside of itself to create an efflux channel of clarithromycin and prevents antibiotics from binding to ribosomes.

6 BMS-790052 was previously found to be safe and well tolerated when administered in healthy non-HCV-infected subjects at doses up Enzalutamide order to 200 mg as a single dose, and up to 60 mg once daily for 14 days. In a previous trial of patients chronically infected with HCV, administration of a single 100-mg dose of BMS-790052 was associated with a 3.3 log10 reduction in mean viral load measured 24 hours postdose. This response was sustained for an additional 120 hours in two patients infected with genotype 1b virus.6 Here we report the results of the first placebo-controlled, multiple ascending dose clinical study

to evaluate the antiviral activity, resistance profile, pharmacokinetics (PK), safety, and tolerability BMN 673 mw of an HCV NS5A replication complex inhibitor, BMS-790052, in patients chronically infected with HCV genotype 1. AE, adverse event; AUC, area under the plasma concentration time curve; AUC(TAU), AUC over 12-hour dosing interval for 30 mg twice daily; Cmin, minimum observed plasma concentration; Cmax, maximum observed plasma concentration; Ctrough, trough concentrations; CLT/F, apparent total body clearance;

CV, coefficient of variation; DAA, direct-acting antiviral; ECG, electrocardiogram; HCV, hepatitis C virus; ISG, interferon-stimulated gene; NS5A, nonstructural protein 5A; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; PEG-IFN, pegylated interferon; PK, pharmacokinetics; daily; RBV, ribavirin; Tmax, time of maximum observed plasma concentration; T1/2, half life. This study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, sequential panel, multiple ascending dose study. Six dose regimens of BMS-790052 in HCV genotype 1-infected patients were evaluated (1 mg once daily, 10 mg once daily, 30 mg once or twice daily, 60 mg once daily, and 100 mg once daily) (ClinicalTrials.gov number,

NCT00663208). Five patients in each panel were randomized to receive a 14-day course of orally administered BMS-790052 or placebo in a ratio of 4:1. Patients were admitted to one of eight clinical facilities in the United States between May 2008 and June 2009, and required to remain in-house from day −1 (screening day) to day 2, and from day 13 to day 15. Patients were permitted 上海皓元 to be furloughed from the clinical facility from day 3 to day 12 and from day 16 to study discharge, which occurred at approximately day 182 for patients receiving active drug, following completion of additional blood sampling for analysis of HCV RNA and genomic substitutions. Patients treated with placebo were not required to return for follow-up visits beyond day 28. The majority of patients were treated as inpatients from day −1 to day 15. BMS-790052 or placebo was administered under fasting conditions. No intrapatient dose escalation was allowed.

4, 7 Histone modifications including acetylation play an important role in these processes, and histone acetyltransferases (HATs) are known to be important in the control of gene transcription and cell cycle progression.8, 9 The HAT cofactor transformation/transcription domain-associated selleck products protein (TRRAP) has been identified as an essential gene in development10 and a component of several HAT complexes (including GCN5/PCAF and Tip60/NuA4).9 Transcription factors

important for cell cycle entry and progression, including c-Myc and E2F, utilize the TRRAP/HAT complexes to activate transcription of their downstream target genes.11-13 This transcription activation is the result of these complexes catalyzing acetylation of the histone proteins in the nucleosomes spanning the target genes. Studies have indicated that TRRAP may function by recruiting HATs to c-Myc and E2F and possibly to other transcription factors, resulting in an open chromatin configuration and increased transcription.9, 14, 15 However, the mechanism and functional significance of the TRRAP/HAT recruitment during organ

regeneration remain largely unknown. The purpose of our study was to define the biological RXDX-106 ic50 function of TRRAP and histone acetylation in activating transcription and cell cycle reentry in liver cells undergoing regeneration in vivo. To accomplish our purpose, we used an inducible TRRAP conditional knockout mouse (TRRAP-CKO) model combined with toxin-induced hepatic injury. Our results revealed that TRRAP plays an essential role in cell cycle reentry and regeneration of the adult liver following acute liver damage and that the mechanism by which TRRAP participates in liver regeneration involves histone modifications and the recruitment of transcription factors to chromatin. BrdU, 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine; CCl4, carbon tetrachloride; CDK, cyclin dependent kinase; ChIP, chromatin

immunoprecipitation; Cre, Type I topoisomerase from P1 bacteriophage; ES cells, embryonic stem cells; HAT, histone acetyltransferase; PCNA, proliferating cell nuclear antigen; pIpC, polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid; TRRAP, transformation/transcription 上海皓元医药股份有限公司 domain-associated protein; TRRAP-CO, TRRAP-containing (control) mice; TRRAP-CKO, TRRAP conditional knockout mice. TRRAP-CKO mice were generated by crossing TRRAP+/f mice harboring a TRRAP conditional (floxed; f) allele with both TRRAPf/Δ mice (containing one TRRAP floxed [f] and one deleted [Δ] allele)10 and Cre transgenic mice that express Cre recombinase under the control of Mx promoter16 to obtain TRRAPf/ΔCre+ mice. Genotypes of all mice were assessed by southern blotting and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of tail DNA, as described.10 TRRAPf/ΔCre+ mice were injected intraperitoneally with 250 μg polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (pIpC; Sigma) in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), 3 times at 2-day intervals.

The measurement of SF in LY2606368 order normal patients and patients with hereditary hemochromatosis is a reliable reflection of body iron stores and hepatic iron concentration.5 However, SF is often increased in liver disease per se, probably because of release of ferritin molecules and reduced clearance of ferritin from the circulation. Thus, in many patients with liver disease, SF simply reflects hepatic necroinflammatory activity rather than increased body iron stores. Serum ferritin concentration is also frequently increased in infection, systemic inflammatory conditions, and malignancy.5-7 The exact pathophysiological

mechanism in end-stage liver disease that explains the relationship between SF and OLT waiting list mortality is uncertain. It is important to consider whether this relationship is attributable to increased liver iron stores promoting further hepatocyte injury. Approximately 30% of patients with advanced cirrhosis attributable to hepatocellular forms of liver disease have increased hepatic iron concentration independent of the HFE mutations. Serum ferritin concentration is usually increased in these subjects.16, learn more 17 Although controversial, some studies suggest that these patients have increased pretransplantation and posttransplantation mortality as well as an increased risk of HCC.18,

19 Difficulty in obtaining liver tissue for the measurement of hepatic iron concentration has precluded large prospective studies addressing the effect of increased liver iron on the natural history of end-stage liver disease. However, magnetic resonance imaging technology to accurately measure hepatic iron concentration

(FerriScan) using noninvasive techniques provides a method for studying patients with cirrhosis.20 Increased hepatic necroinflammatory activity accompanied by worsening liver function is a possible explanation of the relationship MCE公司 between SF and waiting list mortality. This possibility is supported by the positive correlation between serum alanine transaminase levels and SF in this cohort. However, the correlation coefficient describing this relationship suggests that important factors in addition to serum alanine transferase concentration (and necroinflammation) also contribute to the elevated SF in advanced liver disease. Recently, Ruddell et al.21 proposed that ferritin functions as a proinflammatory cytokine, and this may have relevance to the findings of this study. Subjects with active or recent infection (within the previous month) were excluded from the Australian study cohort. Therefore, the relationship between mortality and SF is unlikely to be explained by an intercurrent infection. Similarly, the effect of SF on mortality was independent of the presence of HCC and other malignancies.

RESULTS: HCV infected patients exhibited significantly higher antiCD81/CLDN1 antibody titers compared to healthy individuals (p < 0.0001). Among HCV infected patients, individuals who CHIR-99021 purchase cleared the virus had higher antibody titers during the acute phase of infection compared to individuals progressing to chronic infection (p = 0.0197). Furthermore, in the majority of patients that resolved hepatitis C, virus-neutralizing antibody titers were associated with anti-CD81/CLDN1 titers. CoNCLUSION: Our data suggest that anti-receptor

autoantibodies are produced in the early phase of viral infection and that these antibodies could contribute to spontaneous viral clearance in conjunction with anti-viral responses. Characterization of these anti-receptor autoantibodies may open new avenues to prevent and treat HCV infection. Disclosures: Michael Roggendorf – Speaking and Teaching: Abbott, novartis Thomas Berg – Advisory Committees or Review

Panels: Gilead, BMS, Roche, Tibotec, Vertex, Jannsen, Novartis, Abbott, Merck; Consulting: Gilead, BMS, Roche, Tibotec; Vertex, Janssen; Grant/Research Support: Gilead, BMS, Roche, īibotec; Vertex, Jannssen, Schering Plough, Boehringer ingelheim, Novartis; Speaking and Teaching: Gilead, BMS, Roche, īibotec; Vertex, Janssen, Schering Plough, Novartis, Merck, Bayer The following people have nothing to disclose: Rajeevkumar G. Tawar, Helga Meisel, Mirjam B. Zeisel, Thomas F. Baumert BACKGROUND & AIMS: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an important class of small non-coding RNA molecules that bind to selleck kinase inhibitor their complementary sequence on their target mRNAs, resulting in translational repression. MiRNAs play important roles in development, metabolism, infection, and cancer. In this study, we analyzed the changes of miRNA expression associated with the progression of chronic hepatitis C (CHC). METHODS: Liver biopsy samples were obtained from 54 patients with CHC

and patients with a normal liver. All CHC patients were infected with genotype 1b HCV. MiRNAs were obtained from the biopsy specimens, and the expression of 328 miRNAs was determined with the ĪaqMan Real-time PCR detection system using the ĪaqMan MicroRNA Assays Human Panel. The functional relevance of fibrosis-related miRNAs 上海皓元 was evaluated in Lx- cells, a human stellate cell line, by the overexpression or knocking down of specific miRNAs using mimic-miRNA or antimiRNA. HCV replication was evaluated in Huh-7.5 cells using the infectious genotype 1a clone pH77S.3/Gluc2A with a Gaussia reporter gene. HCV translation (HCV-IRES) activity was monitored in the stably transformed IRES reporter cell line RCF26.. RESULTS: The expression of 55 miRNAs was significantly different between patients with early stage fibrosis (F1-2) and advanced stage fibrosis (F3-4), and the prediction performance was 83% accurate according to the support vector machine algorithm.

The novel design showed the lowest MPS in veneer ceramics under most loading conditions. The only exception to this was the novel design with a 0.5-mm zirconia beam width under mesial horizontal load. Compared to constant thickness coping with or without extended collars, the novel coping design reduced MPS in veneer ceramics; however, narrow zirconia beams should be avoided to prevent elevations in MPS in veneer ceramic layers. “
“Purpose: To evaluate the effect of the opaque layer firing

temperature and mechanical and thermal cycling on the flexural strength of a ceramic fused to commercial cobalt-chromium alloy (Co-Cr). The hypotheses were that higher opaque layer temperatures increase the metal/ceramic bond strength and that aging INK 128 concentration reduces the bond strength. selleck chemicals Materials and Methods: Metallic frameworks (25 × 3 × 0.5 mm3; ISO 9693) (N = 60) were cast in Co-Cr and airborne-particle abraded (Al2O3: 150 μm) at the central area of the frameworks (8 × 3 mm2) and divided into

three groups (N = 20), according to the opaque layer firing temperature: Gr1 (control)—900°C; Gr2—950°C; Gr3—1000°C. The opaque ceramic (Opaque, Vita Zahnfabrick, Bad Säckingen, Germany) was applied, and the glass ceramic (Vita Omega 900, Vita Zahnfabrick) was fired onto it (thickness: 1 mm). While half the specimens from each group were randomly tested without aging (water storage: 37°C/24 hours), the other half were mechanically loaded (20,000 cycles; 50 N load; distilled water at 37°C) and thermocycled (3000 cycles; 5°C to 55°C, dwell time: 30 seconds). After the flexural strength test, failure types were noted. The data were analyzed using 2-way ANOVA and Tukey’s test (α= 0.05). Results: Gr2 (19.41 ± 5.5 N) and Gr3 (20.6 ± 5 N) presented higher values than Gr1 (13.3 ± 1.6 N) (p= 0.001). Mechanical and thermal cycling did not significantly influence the mean flexural strength values (p > 0.05). Increasing the

opaque layer firing temperature improved 上海皓元医药股份有限公司 the flexural bond strength values (p < 0.05). The hypotheses were partially accepted. Conclusion: Increasing of the opaque layer firing temperature improved the flexural bond strength between ceramic fused to Co-Cr alloy. "
“This study investigated the number and Kennedy Classification of the edentulous arches in patients treated at the Removable Partial Denture (RPD) Clinics of the Fluminense Federal University School of Dentistry (FO-UFF) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 2005 to 2010. A cross-sectional retrospective survey was conducted on patient record charts to identify gender, age, number, and location of the edentulous arches, and Kennedy Class type. One hundred and forty-six patients were analyzed for this study (96 [65.8%] women and 50 [34.2%] men). Two hundred and ninety-two arches were analyzed: 74 arches (25%) were found with intact dentitions, 18 (6.1%) were edentulous arches, and 200 (68.8%) were partially edentulous arches.

Much less differentiation was found between southern Zanzibar and South Africa, suggesting a more recent common evolutionary

history for these populations than for the northern and southern Zanzibar populations. “
“As part of population dynamics studies of the South American fur seal (Arctophoca australis gracilis) rookery at Punta Weather in Guafo Island (43°36′S, 74°43’W), the causes and extent of pup mortality were monitored. During four breeding seasons, daily counts of live and dead pups were carried out to determine pup production and pup mortality. Dead pups were retrieved from the rookery to perform necropsies. The mean pup production was 1,735.5 ± 336 pups and the mean pup mortality up to 12 wk old was 6.0%± 2.6%. The major causes of death were enteritis with microscopic lesions of bacteremia (28.4%), starvation (23.5%), drowning (21%), trauma (19.8%), and stillbirths (2.5%). Enteritis selleck inhibitor with microscopic lesions of bacteremia, and starvation had higher incidence during January (beginning and middle of the breeding season) while

most trauma and drowning occurred during February (end of the breeding season). In the 2006–2007 breeding season there was an increase in mortality due to starvation and trauma. Most pup deaths at Guafo Island are generated by extrinsic factors; therefore, additional studies that assess the impact of environmental changes and fishing activities, are needed in order to determine Smoothened Agonist in vitro the exact causes of the decline of this species along Chilean coasts. “
“Coastal and offshore bottlenose dolphins in California waters are currently assessed and managed as separate stocks. Recent molecular studies (of mtDNA haplotypes and microsatellites) have shown the two populations to be genetically differentiated. This study investigated cranial osteological differentiation of the forms. The sample analyzed included 139 skulls from live captures,

direct 上海皓元 takes, fishery bycatch, and strandings; the skulls were assigned to form based on collection locality or mtDNA haplotype. The coastal form differs from the offshore form mainly in features associated with feeding: larger and fewer teeth, more robust rostrum, larger mandibular condyle, and larger temporal fossa. This suggests that it may feed on larger and tougher prey than the offshore form. Differences between the forms in other features of the skull may reflect differences in diving behavior and sound production. Approximately 86% of the stranded specimens were estimated to be of coastal origin; based on relative estimated sizes of the two populations and assuming similar mortality rates, this suggests that a coastal carcass is about 50 times more likely to beach than an offshore one. The morphological differences between the two ecotypes indicate evolutionary adaptation to different environments and emphasize the importance of conserving the relatively small coastal population and its habitat.

Immunohistochemically, tumor cells are positive for CD34 (clusters of differentiation 34) antigen (Panel D). The obtained soft tissue mass specimen was consistent with metastatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) on microscopic investigation and immunohistochemical testing. Hepatic EHE is a rare, low-grade malignant vascular tumor Dinaciclib solubility dmso that occurs exclusively in adults. Clinical manifestation is variable, from asymptomatic patients to patients with hepatic failure, with the most common symptom being pain at the right upper quadrant. Although hepatic EHE is a rapidly progressive disease, prognosis and

extrahepatic involvement are more favorable compared with other hepatic malignancies. The most common sites of extrahepatic metastasis are the lungs, peritoneum, lymph nodes, and bones. A general treatment strategy for hepatic EHE has not yet been established. However, LY294002 in vivo the most common treatment is liver transplantation due to the multicentricity of hepatic EHE.1 To the best of our knowledge, the extrahepatic metastasis of hepatic EHE to the soft tissue of the cervical neck area has not been reported previously. Because the imaging characteristics of hepatic EHE might mimic metastatic adenocarcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, and/or hepatocellular carcinoma, the clinician’s awareness of this

tendency and a histopathological examination are essential for the accurate diagnosis and proper treatment of hepatic malignancies.2 “
“We read

with great interest the study by Romero-Gómez et al.1 demonstrating that the combination of metformin, peginterferon alfa-2, and ribavirin improved insulin resistance in >50% of patients and increased sustained virological response (SVR) 上海皓元医药股份有限公司 rate in 10% of patients with hepatitis C genotype 1 and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) >2. Intriguingly, in female participants, the addition of metformin to the standard of care for chronic HCV infection doubled the SVR rate.1 Since 1994, the U.S. National Institutes of Health requires that at least half of all clinical trial participants enrolled are females,2 and increasing interest in women’s health and sex-specific outcomes have led to the increase in subgroup analyses stratified by sex. However, improperly conducted sex-based subgroup analysis in clinical trials can yield incorrect conclusions that may result in adverse effects on women’s health. It has been therefore suggested that: (1) sex-based subgroup analysis should be planned a priori to the study commencement; (2) hypothesis or rationale for the analysis should be provided; (3) a statistical tests for interaction with sex should be performed when analyzing the outcomes; and (4) the overall treatment results should be emphasized more than the findings of the sex-based subgroup analysis.3 The study by Romero-Gómez et al.

5). In contrast to db/db mice, in db/m mice only TNF-α increased significantly with MCD feeding. However, TNF-α mRNA levels increased 14-fold in db/db mice fed the MCD diet compared to only a 2-fold increase in db/m mice. Furthermore, ICAM-1 and MCP-1 also increased to a greater extent in db/db mice; 5- and 8.5-fold in db/db mice compared to 2- and 3-fold in db/m mice, respectively (P < 0.05). Although

ICAM protein expression did increase more dramatically after MCD feeding in db/db compared to db/m mice, protein expression in db/db mice did not exceed that of db/m mice on the MCD diet. On densitometric analysis the effect of the MCD diet was only significant in db/db mice (Table 1). Db/m mice fed the MCD diet had a >50% reduction in SAM levels compared to control MAPK inhibitor diet fed animals (P < 0.01). In contrast, the MCD diet had learn more no significant effect on SAM levels, suggesting that SAM depletion may not play as prominent a role in the development of steatohepatitis or UPR activation of the UPR in db/db mice. There were no significant differences in hepatic SAH levels or SAM/SAH ratio between the groups

(Table S2). Others have demonstrated that JNK1 knockout mice are resistant to MCD-induced steatohepatitis.26 Although complete JNK inhibition in humans may not be advisable, partial inhibition with a pharmacologic inhibitor may be of benefit for the treatment NASH. We performed an experiment to assess the effect of partial JNK inhibition on MCD-induced steatohepatitis. The wildtype strain C57BLKS/J was used instead of the db/db or db/m strain in an attempt to more directly ascertain the effect of JNK inhibition 上海皓元 independent of diabetes or defective leptin signaling. Preliminary experiments in wildtype mice documented the presence of steatohepatitis after 2 weeks of MCD feeding. Therefore, MCD and control diet-fed C57BLKS/J mice were treated with SP 600125, a specific pharmacologic JNK inhibitor, for 2 weeks to assess the drug’s ability to attenuate the development of MCD induced liver injury. SP600125 decreased both JNK2/3 and JNK1

protein levels (Fig. 6). As expected, mice fed the MCD diet developed steatohepatitis; however, the severity was not affected by SP600125 did not improve histology in mice fed MCD diet. Serum ALT and hepatic triglyceride content were unchanged in MCD-fed mice treated with SP 600125, compared to MCD-fed mice given vehicle (Table 2A). Although SP 600125 failed to have a biochemical or histological effect, it did significantly reduce downstream inflammatory mediators (MCP-1, TNFα, ICAM, and iNOS). Its effects on UPR activation were less clear, and appeared to be more selective. A significant reduction in mRNA levels was appreciated for CHOP; however, there was no effect on EDEM mRNA levels (Table 2B).

S. lycopersicum showed increased POD

activity in the presence of TYLCV. The activity of the enzyme was higher in mature than in juvenile leaves. In general, both infected and healthy leaves exhibited greater POD activity during whitefly infestation. In selleck compound the infested juvenile leaves, POD activity was much lower in the healthy leaves and increased gradually with period of exposure to B. tabaci B infestation. In contrast, the activity of the enzyme remained low in infested mature leaves in both the presence and absence of the virus even with increased exposure time. Determination of the distribution of an insect pest is critical for sampling and management. Leaf age is presumed to be associated with the within-host distribution of the geminivirus vector CHIR-99021 cost B. tabaci. Juvenile leaves will usually attract more insects due to increased nutritional value and weaker defences. Our results highlight the importance of leaf age/position on the whitefly – host plant – geminivirus interactions and have important implications for sampling and control strategies. “
“The movement protein (NSm) gene of Groundnut bud necrosis virus (GBNV) isolates from pea, mungbean, cowpea, French bean, tomato and potato collected from different locations of India were

compared to study their diversity. The NSm gene sequences of all the GBNV isolates were highly conserved and had only 0–3% diversity in amino acids and 0–10% in nucleotides. Comparison of amino acid sequence of NSm gene of 25 GBNV isolates revealed the presence of many conserved regions. Both ‘D-motif’ and ‘G-residue’, the conserved regions of ‘30K superfamily’ of virus movement protein, were present in all the isolates. Clustering of the GBNV isolates does not appear to be based on their place of origin and host plant species. “
“Plants MCE公司 of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) exhibiting general stunting, proliferation

and phyllody associated with leaf yellowing and reddening were observed in three localities of Central Serbia. Phytoplasma strains belonging to 16SrIII-B and 16SrXII-A groups were detected and identified by RFLP and sequence analysis of 16S rDNA. Stolbur phytoplasma tuf gene RFLP analysis showed the presence of the TufAY-b-type phytoplasma subgroup in 80% of symptomatic samples. This is the first report of 16SrIII-B and 16SrXII-A phytoplasma groups affecting alfalfa in Serbia. “
“Phytoplasmas were detected in Sophora japonica cv. golden and Robinia pseudoacacia with diseased branches of witches’-broom collected in Haidian district, Beijing, China. Phytoplasma cells were observed in phloem sieve elements of symptomatic S. japonica cv. golden by transmission electron microscopy. The presence of phytoplasmas was further confirmed by sequence determination of partial gene sequences of 16S rDNA, rp (ribosomal protein) and secY.