Oviposition pattern and life table of South American tomato pinworm Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae)

Padrão de oviposição e tabela de vida da traça-do-tomateiro Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae). A traça-do-tomateiro apresentou maior oviposição ao colonizar tomateiros cultivados em sistema convencional em relação ao orgânico em estudos prévios realizados no campo. Visando confirmar e entender o padrão observado no campo, aspectos bioecológicos como oviposição e mortalidade de imaturos foram comparados em condições semi-controladas de casa de vegetação com plantas cultivadas em vasos com solo proveniente do sistema orgânico e convencional. Adultos da traça-do-tomateiro foram liberados na casa de vegetação e após 24h, as plantas infestadas foram transferidas para outra casa de vegetação, para acompanhamento de coortes horizontais. Os ovos naturalmente depositados pela traça-do-tomateiro foram localizados na planta e demarcados. Em seguida, a folha foi ensacada. Diariamente as plantas foram observadas, registrando a fase de desenvolvimento do inseto e a ocorrência de morte, até que todos os insetos completassem seu ciclo de vida. A oviposição pela traça-do-tomateiro em plantas com solos oriundos do sistema convencional foi duas vezes maior do que em plantas com solos do sistema orgânico. A curva de sobrevivência da fase imatura e a tabela de vida da traça-do-tomateiro em casa de vegetação mostraram que a sobrevivência em plantas com solo orgânico e convencional não apresentaram diferenças. Assim as diferenças no comportamento de padrão de oviposição observadas a campo provavelmente não estão relacionadas com o desempenho da progênie e podem ser influenciado pelo ambiente proporcionado pelo sistema orgânico de produção.Oviposition pattern and life table of South American tomato pinworm Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae). The tomato pinworm presented higher oviposition when colonizing tomato plants cropped in conventional system than in organic system, in previous field studies. Aiming to confirm and to understand the observed pattern in the field, bioecological processes, such as oviposition and mortality of immatures, were compared on ploted plants in soil from organic and conventional systems in semi-controlled conditions of greenhouse. Tomato pinworm adults were released in the greenhouse, the infested plants were transfered to another greenhouse after 24h, to track horizontal cohort. Naturally deposited eggs were located, marked and the leaf was caged. Each plant was observed daily and development stage or death was registered until all individuals completed the life cycle or died. Oviposition by tomato pinworm was 2-fold higher in plants growing in soil from conventional system than from organic system. The survivorship curve of immatures and life table in the greenhouse showed that there was no difference in organic and conventional plants. Thus, the difference in the oviposition pattern observed in the field is not related to the progeny performance and can be influenced by the environment of organic tomato crop system

Impact of early percutaneous dilatative tracheostomy in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage on main cerebral, hemodynamic, and respiratory variables: A prospective observational study

IntroductionPatients with poor-grade subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) often require prolonged invasive mechanical ventilation due to prolonged time to obtain neurological recovery. Impairment of consciousness and airway protective mechanisms usually require tracheostomy during the ICU stay to facilitate weaning from sedation, promote neurological assessment, and reduce mechanical ventilation (MV) duration and associated complications. Percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy (PDT) is the technique of choice for performing a tracheostomy. However, it could be associated with particular risks in neurocritical care patients, potentially increasing the risk of secondary brain damage.MethodsWe conducted a single-center, prospective, observational study aimed to assess PDT-associated variations in main cerebral, hemodynamic, and respiratory variables, the occurrence of tracheostomy-related complications, and their relationship with outcomes in adult patients with SAH admitted to the ICU of a neurosurgery/neurocritical care hub center after aneurysm control through clipping or coiling and undergoing early PDT.ResultsWe observed a temporary increase in ICP during early PDT; this increase was statistically significant in patients presenting with higher therapy intensity level (TIL) at the time of the procedural. The episodes of intracranial hypertension were brief, and appeared mainly due to the activation of cerebral autoregulatory mechanisms in patients with impaired compensatory mechanisms and compliance.DiscussionThe low number of observed complications might be related to our organizational strategy, all based on a dedicated “tracheo-team” implementing both PDT following a strictly defined protocol and accurate follow-up

Montelukast, a leukotriene receptor antagonist, in vernal keratoconjunctivitis associated with asthma

To evaluate the effects on signs and symptoms of a coexisting vernal keratoconjunctivitis in patients treated with oral montelukast sodium for asthma

A cross selectional survey in a critical care: the job satisfaction and functioning team of the health professionals

Health care workers, especially those who are part of the OS core, are essential in the delivery of services, as they represent the institution at the time of the contact with the user and they represent also the image of the organization. Health administrations, therefore, are called to improve the performance through a better motivation and satisfaction of the staff, in view of two strategic aspects: job satisfaction of professionals and team collaboration

A GENETIC VARIANT OF MLH1, A GENE INVOLVED IN DNA MISMATCH REPAIR, IS AN INDEPENDENT PREDICTOR OF OVERALL SURVIVAL IN DIFFUSE LARGE B-CELL LYMPHOMA TREATED WITH R-CHOP

Background. Several drugs utilized in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treatment rely on DNA damage for tumor killing. Host genetic variability in genes repairing DNA damage may affect response to drugs and prognosis. Aims. We verified the impact of DNA repair genes SNPs on prognosis of R-CHOP treated DLBCL. Methods. The study was based on 163 consecutive DLBCL treated with R-CHOP and provided with a prospectively collected dataset. At diagnosis, age >60 years was observed in 104/163 (63.8%) cases, ECOG PS >1 in 21/163 (12.9%), extranodal sites >1 in 41/163 (25.2%), Ann Arbor stage III-IV in 85/163 (52.1%), bulky in 46/163 (28.2%), LDH elevation in 75/163 (46.0%), IPI >2 in 55/163 (33.7%). Median follow-up was 48 months. Thirty-five SNPs from 18 genes were analyzed on patients’ germline DNA. These included SNPs affecting: i) mismatch repair (MLH1rs1799977/rs1800734); ii) base excision repair (XRCC1rs1799782/rs25487, OGG1rs1052133); iii) nucleotide excision repair (ERCC1rs3212986, ERCC2rs1052555/ rs13181/rs1799793/ rs238406, ERCC4rs1800067/rs3136038, ERCC5rs17655, ERCC6rs2228528/rs2228529/rs3793784, XPArs1800975, XPCrs222799/ rs2228000/rs2607775/rs2228001); iv) double strand break repair (BRCA1rs49868507rs17999507rs799917, BRCA2rs144848, LIG4rs1805388, XRCC2rs3218536, XRCC3rs17997947rs861539, XRCC4rs1805377, XRCC6rs5751129/rs132788); and v) direct reversal (MGMTrs16906252/rs2308321/rs12917). Clinical endpoints were overall survival (OS) and event free survival (EFS). Informed consent was obtained. Results. Univariate analysis controlled for multiple comparisons identified MLH1rs1799977 as the sole DNA repair SNP predicting OS in R-CHOP treated DLBCL. Patients carrying the MLH1rs1799977 AG/GG genotype displayed an increased risk of death (HR:3.23; 4-years OS: 55.5%) compared to AA carriers (4-years OS: 80.9%) (P=.0002; q=.009; Fig.1A). Multivariate analysis selected MLH1rs1799977 (HR:3.14; P=.0004) as an independent predictor of OS, along with IPI (HR:1.38; P=.0377) and bulky disease (HR:2.56; P=.0044). Accordingly, when combined to IPI, MLH1rs1799977 refined the clinical prognostication of DLBCL. The poor prognosis heralded by MLH1rs1799977 AG/GG genotype in DLBCL is due to first and second line treatment failure. Patients carrying the MLH1rs1799977 AG/GG genotype displayed an increased risk of failing R-CHOP (HR:1.66; 4-years EFS: 48.3%) compared to AA carriers (4-years EFS: 62.2%) (P=.0399; Fig.1B). Multivariate analysis identified MLH1rs1799977 (HR:1.66; P=.0498) as an independent predictor of EFS, along with IPI (HR:1.61; P<.0001) and bulky disease (HR:1.84; P=.0215). Also, patients carrying the MLH1rs1799977 AG/GG genotype displayed an increased risk of failing second line platinum-based regimens (HR: 3.04; 4-year OS from salvage: 16.0%) compared to AA carriers (4-year OS from salvage: 57.3%) (P=.0050; Figure 1C). By bivariate analysis, MLH1rs1799977 predicted OS from salvage independent of having (P=.0020) or having not (P=.0480) consolidated with SCT. Conclusions. MLH1rs1799977 is an independent predictor of survival in DLBCL treated with R-CHOP. The biologic plausibility of this association is supported by four lines evidence: i) MLH1rs1799977 is a nonsynonymous SNP causing the I219V amino acidic substitution on MLH1, a gene of the mismatch repair pathway; ii) in silico, MLH1rs1799977 is predicted to have deleterious consequences; iii) in vitro, the G variant allele of MLH1rs1799977 associates with reduced MLH1 protein expression; iv) loss of MLH1 in tumor cells is known to induce refractoriness to doxorubicin and platinum compounds. Consistently, DLBCL carriers of the MLH1rs1799977 AG/GG genotypes displayed poor OS possibly due to altered MLH1 expression

The Genotype of MLH1 Is An Independent Predictor of Outcome In Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Treated with R-CHOP: a Training-Validation Study

Several drugs utilized in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) rely on DNA damage for tumor killing. This study aimed at verifying whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of genes involved in DNA repair may contribute to prognostication of DLBCL treated with R-CHOP. The study utilized a training-validation design. The training cohort (n=163) was a mono-institutional, prospectively collected, consecutive series of DLBCL homogeneously treated with the same chemotherapeutic regimen both at diagnosis (R-CHOP21) and at relapse/progression (R-DHAP ± BEAM conditioned autologous stem cell transplant, ASCT). The validation cohort (n=156) was a multi-institutional retrospective series of DLBCL treated with R-CHOP at diagnosis. Candidate SNPs (n=35) were selected by an educated guess approach, and included SNPs belonging to genes involved in: i) mismatch repair (MLH1); ii) base excision repair (XRCC1, OGG1); iii) nucleotide excision repair (ERCC1, ERCC2, ERCC4, ERCC5, ERCC6, XPA, XPC); iv) double strand break repair (BRCA1, BRCA2, LIG4, XRCC2, XRCC3, XRCC4, XRCC6); and v) direct reversal (MGMT). Clinical endpoints were progression free survival (PFS) after R-CHOP, overall survival (OS) from diagnosis, and OS from salvage treatment. Univariate analysis controlled for multiple comparisons identified MLH1 rs1799977 as the sole SNP predicting DLBCL OS in the training series (AG/GG genotype: HR: 3.23; 4-year OS: 55.5% vs AA genotype: 4-year OS: 80.9%; p<.001; q=.009) (Fig. 1A). Multivariate analysis identified the MLH1 rs1799977 AG/GG genotype (HR: 3.14; p<.001) as an independent predictor of OS, along with IPI score (HR: 1.38; p=.037) and bulky disease (HR: 2.56; p=.004). The prognostic relevance of MLH1 rs1799977 in the DLBCL training series was due to the impact on risk of failing both R-CHOP21 (AG/GG genotype; HR: 2.02; 4-year PFS: 47.5%; AA genotype: 4-year PFS: 65.6%; p=.007) (Fig. 1B) and second line treatment (AG/GG genotype: HR: 3.04; 2-year OS from salvage: 16.0%; AA genotype: 2-year OS from salvage: 57.3%; p=.007) (Fig. 1C). Multivariate analysis identified the MLH1 rs1799977 AG/GG genotype (HR: 1.96; p=.010) as an independent predictor of PFS after R-CHOP21, along with IPI score (HR: 1.41; p=.002) and bulky disease (HR: 1.96; p=.012). By bivariate analysis, MLH1 predicted OS from salvage treatment independent of having (p=.002) or having not (p=.049) consolidated with ASCT. The DLBCL validation series did not differ from the training series in terms of clinical features at presentation, median follow-up (p=.429), OS (p=.331), PFS (p=.416), OS from salvage (p=.987), and prevalence of MLH1 rs1799977 genotypes (p=.378). The MLH1 rs1799977 AG/GG genotype was confirmed as a predictor of poor outcome in the DLBCL validation series when considering all clinical endpoints, including: i) OS (unadjusted HR: 3.22, p=.001; adjusted HR: 3.15; p=.001); ii) PFS (unadjusted HR: 1.98, p=.017; adjusted HR: 1.86, p=.018); and iii) OS from salvage treatment (unadjusted HR: 2.95, p=.027). Pooling of the training and validation series (n=319) revealed that MLH1 AG/GG predicts DLBCL OS within subgroups defined by IPI. The biologic plausibility of the association between MLH1rs1799977 genotype and DLBCL outcome is supported by four lines evidence: i) MLH1rs1799977 is a nonsynonymous SNP causing the I219V amino acidic substitution in MLH1, a gene of the mismatch repair pathway; ii) in silico, MLH1rs1799977 is predicted to have deleterious consequences; iii) in vitro, the G variant allele of MLH1rs1799977 associates with reduced MLH1 protein expression; iv) loss of MLH1 expression in tumor cells is known to induce refractoriness to doxorubicin and platinum compounds

The host genetic background of DNA repair mechanisms is an independent predictor of survival in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Several drugs utilized for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treatment rely on DNA damage for tumor cell killing. We verified the prognostic impact of the host DNA repair genotype in two independent cohorts of DLBCL treated with R-CHOP21 (training cohort: 163 cases; validation cohort: 145 cases). Among 35 SNPs analyzed in the training series, MLH1 rs1799977 was the sole predicting overall survival (OS). DLBCL carrying the MLH1 AG/GG genotype displayed an increased death risk (HR:3.23; p<.001; q=.009) compared to patients carrying the AA genotype. Multivariate analysis adjusted for IPI identified MLH1 AG/GG as an independent OS predictor (p<.001). The poor prognosis of MLH1 AG/GG was due to an increased risk of failing both R-CHOP21 (HR: 2.02; p=.007) and platinum-based second line (HR: 2.26; p=.044) treatment. Survival analysis in the validation series confirmed all outcomes predicted by MLH1 rs1799977. The effect on OS of MLH1, a component of the DNA mismatch repair system, is consistent with its role in regulating the genotoxic effects of doxorubicin and platinum compounds, that are a mainstay of DLBCL first and second line treatment