Aphids associated with shrubs, herbaceous plants and crops in the Maltese Archipelago (Hemiptera, Aphidoidea)

A survey of the aphids associated with Maltese shrubs, herbaceous plants and crops was carried out. Sixty six aphid species were recorded from more than 90 species of host plants. Forty eight aphids were recorded from the Maltese islands for the fi rst time bringing the total number of aphid species known from these islands to 99. New records include: Acyrthosiphon lactucae, A. pisum, Anoecia vagans, Aphis alienus, A. euphorbiae, A. hederae, A. lambersi, A. multifl orae, A. nasturtii, A. parietariae, A. picridicola, A. ruborum, A. sedi, Aulacorthum solani, Brachycaudus helichrysi, Capitophorus sp. nr. similis, Clypeoaphis suaedae, Cryptomyzus korschelti, Dysaphis apiifolia, D. foeniculus, D. pyri, D. tulipae, Hyadaphis coriandri, H. foeniculi, H. passerinii, Hyperomyzus lactucae, Idiopterus nephrelepidis, Macrosiphoniella absinthii, M. artemisiae, M. sanborni, Macrosiphum euphorbiae, Ma. rosae, Melanaphis donacis, Metopolophium dirhodum, Pterochloroides persicae, Rectinasus buxtoni, Rhopalosiphum maidis, R. padi, R. rufi abdominale, Schizaphis graminum, Semiaphis dauci, Sipha maydis, Sitobion avenae, S. fragariae, Therioaphis alatina, Uroleucon inulae, U. hypochoeridis and U. sonchi. Of these 99 aphid species, 58 are of economic importance and 16 are alien introductions. For 15 of the aphid species, a total of 22 new host-plant records are made. Ten species of ants were found attending 18 aphid species.peer-reviewe

Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publicly available, and contributed data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality for a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of diseases and injuries. Methods: GBD estimates incidence, prevalence, mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to 369 diseases and injuries, for two sexes, and for 204 countries and territories. Input data were extracted from censuses, household surveys, civil registration and vital statistics, disease registries, health service use, air pollution monitors, satellite imaging, disease notifications, and other sources. Cause-specific death rates and cause fractions were calculated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model and spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression. Cause-specific deaths were adjusted to match the total all-cause deaths calculated as part of the GBD population, fertility, and mortality estimates. Deaths were multiplied by standard life expectancy at each age to calculate YLLs. A Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, DisMod-MR 2.1, was used to ensure consistency between incidence, prevalence, remission, excess mortality, and cause-specific mortality for most causes. Prevalence estimates were multiplied by disability weights for mutually exclusive sequelae of diseases and injuries to calculate YLDs. We considered results in the context of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and fertility rate in females younger than 25 years. Uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated for every metric using the 25th and 975th ordered 1000 draw values of the posterior distribution. Findings: Global health has steadily improved over the past 30 years as measured by age-standardised DALY rates. After taking into account population growth and ageing, the absolute number of DALYs has remained stable. Since 2010, the pace of decline in global age-standardised DALY rates has accelerated in age groups younger than 50 years compared with the 1990–2010 time period, with the greatest annualised rate of decline occurring in the 0–9-year age group. Six infectious diseases were among the top ten causes of DALYs in children younger than 10 years in 2019: lower respiratory infections (ranked second), diarrhoeal diseases (third), malaria (fifth), meningitis (sixth), whooping cough (ninth), and sexually transmitted infections (which, in this age group, is fully accounted for by congenital syphilis; ranked tenth). In adolescents aged 10–24 years, three injury causes were among the top causes of DALYs: road injuries (ranked first), self-harm (third), and interpersonal violence (fifth). Five of the causes that were in the top ten for ages 10–24 years were also in the top ten in the 25–49-year age group: road injuries (ranked first), HIV/AIDS (second), low back pain (fourth), headache disorders (fifth), and depressive disorders (sixth). In 2019, ischaemic heart disease and stroke were the top-ranked causes of DALYs in both the 50–74-year and 75-years-and-older age groups. Since 1990, there has been a marked shift towards a greater proportion of burden due to YLDs from non-communicable diseases and injuries. In 2019, there were 11 countries where non-communicable disease and injury YLDs constituted more than half of all disease burden. Decreases in age-standardised DALY rates have accelerated over the past decade in countries at the lower end of the SDI range, while improvements have started to stagnate or even reverse in countries with higher SDI. Interpretation: As disability becomes an increasingly large component of disease burden and a larger component of health expenditure, greater research and developm nt investment is needed to identify new, more effective intervention strategies. With a rapidly ageing global population, the demands on health services to deal with disabling outcomes, which increase with age, will require policy makers to anticipate these changes. The mix of universal and more geographically specific influences on health reinforces the need for regular reporting on population health in detail and by underlying cause to help decision makers to identify success stories of disease control to emulate, as well as opportunities to improve. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens

Global age-sex-specific fertility, mortality, healthy life expectancy (HALE), and population estimates in 204 countries and territories, 1950-2019 : a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Accurate and up-to-date assessment of demographic metrics is crucial for understanding a wide range of social, economic, and public health issues that affect populations worldwide. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 produced updated and comprehensive demographic assessments of the key indicators of fertility, mortality, migration, and population for 204 countries and territories and selected subnational locations from 1950 to 2019. Methods: 8078 country-years of vital registration and sample registration data, 938 surveys, 349 censuses, and 238 other sources were identified and used to estimate age-specific fertility. Spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression (ST-GPR) was used to generate age-specific fertility rates for 5-year age groups between ages 15 and 49 years. With extensions to age groups 10–14 and 50–54 years, the total fertility rate (TFR) was then aggregated using the estimated age-specific fertility between ages 10 and 54 years. 7417 sources were used for under-5 mortality estimation and 7355 for adult mortality. ST-GPR was used to synthesise data sources after correction for known biases. Adult mortality was measured as the probability of death between ages 15 and 60 years based on vital registration, sample registration, and sibling histories, and was also estimated using ST-GPR. HIV-free life tables were then estimated using estimates of under-5 and adult mortality rates using a relational model life table system created for GBD, which closely tracks observed age-specific mortality rates from complete vital registration when available. Independent estimates of HIV-specific mortality generated by an epidemiological analysis of HIV prevalence surveys and antenatal clinic serosurveillance and other sources were incorporated into the estimates in countries with large epidemics. Annual and single-year age estimates of net migration and population for each country and territory were generated using a Bayesian hierarchical cohort component model that analysed estimated age-specific fertility and mortality rates along with 1250 censuses and 747 population registry years. We classified location-years into seven categories on the basis of the natural rate of increase in population (calculated by subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate) and the net migration rate. We computed healthy life expectancy (HALE) using years lived with disability (YLDs) per capita, life tables, and standard demographic methods. Uncertainty was propagated throughout the demographic estimation process, including fertility, mortality, and population, with 1000 draw-level estimates produced for each metric. Findings: The global TFR decreased from 2·72 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 2·66–2·79) in 2000 to 2·31 (2·17–2·46) in 2019. Global annual livebirths increased from 134·5 million (131·5–137·8) in 2000 to a peak of 139·6 million (133·0–146·9) in 2016. Global livebirths then declined to 135·3 million (127·2–144·1) in 2019. Of the 204 countries and territories included in this study, in 2019, 102 had a TFR lower than 2·1, which is considered a good approximation of replacement-level fertility. All countries in sub-Saharan Africa had TFRs above replacement level in 2019 and accounted for 27·1% (95% UI 26·4–27·8) of global livebirths. Global life expectancy at birth increased from 67·2 years (95% UI 66·8–67·6) in 2000 to 73·5 years (72·8–74·3) in 2019. The total number of deaths increased from 50·7 million (49·5–51·9) in 2000 to 56·5 million (53·7–59·2) in 2019. Under-5 deaths declined from 9·6 million (9·1–10·3) in 2000 to 5·0 million (4·3–6·0) in 2019. Global population increased by 25·7%, from 6·2 billion (6·0–6·3) in 2000 to 7·7 billion (7·5–8·0) in 2019. In 2019, 34 countries had negative natural rates of increase; in 17 of these, the population declined because immigration was not sufficient to counteract the negative rate of decline. Globally, HALE increased from 58·6 years (56·1–60·8) in 2000 to 63·5 years (60·8–66·1) in 2019. HALE increased in 202 of 204 countries and territories between 2000 and 2019

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

Apport de la modélisation pharmacocinétique à l'étude de la variabilité de réponse aux anticorps monoclonaux antitumoraux : application au cetuximab

Les anticorps monoclonaux ont révolutionné le traitement de nombreuses pathologies. Cependant, leur pharmacocinétique (PK) et l’influence de leur concentration sur la réponse clinique restent mal connues. Nous avons étudié les sources de variabilité interindividuelle de la PK du cetuximab, un anticorps anti- EGFR, ainsi que l’influence de l’exposition à cet anticorps sur la réponse. Nous avons validé une méthode ELISA de dosage du cetuximab. Dans un modèle murin, nous avons étudié l’absorption pulmonaire du cetuximab. Nous avons étudié la PK du cetuximab chez un patient hémodialysé. Nous avons décrit la PK du cetuximab chez des patients traités pour cancer colorectal métastatique, à l’aide d’un modèle combinant des éliminations d’ordre 0 et 1. Enfin, nous avons identifié la clairance globale du cetuximab, paramètre pouvant être estimé précocement par la concentration résiduelle à J14, comme un facteur influençant la survie sans progression des patients. Nos travaux montrent qu’une description de la PK d’un anticorps par approche compartimentale permet d’identifier les sources de variabilité et d’étudier l’impact de la PK sur la réponse clinique.Monoclonal antibodies have profoundly modified the treatment of many diseases. However, their pharmacokinetics (PK) and the influence of their concentrations on the clinical response are poorly known. We studied the sources of the interindividual variability of PK of cetuximab, an anti-EGFR, and the influence of the exposure to this antibody on the response. We validated an ELISA technique to measure cetuximab concentrations. We studied the pulmonary absorption of cetuximab in a murine model. We studied cetuximab PK in a hemodialysed patient. In metastatic colorectal cancer patients, we described cetuximab PK with the help of a model combining zero- and first-order eliminations. Finally, we identified the global clearance of cetuximab, a parameter which can be estimated by residual concentration on day 14, as a factor influencing progression-free survival of the patients. Our work shows that the description of the PK of an antibody by compartmental approach allows to identify sources of variability and to study the impact of PK on the clinical response

Utilisation d'impulsions courtes pour driver de grille communicant sous un fort dv/dt

International audienceCet article présente une nouvelle méthode de transmission de données unidirectionnelle pour les drivers de grille intégrant des transformateurs d'impulsions. L'intégration de moyens de communication peut permettre l'ajout de fonctions de surveillance ou de paramétrage dynamique dans les circuits de commande rapprochée des composants de puissance permettant une meilleure fiabilité et efficacité des convertisseurs d'énergie ainsi qu'un gain en termes de flexibilité. L'application visée est le suivi du vieillissement des modules MOSFET SiC 1200V pour des applications aéronautiques. La solution proposée permet l'envoi des ordres de commande, la gestion du signal d'erreur et la transmission de données sur un unique transformateur d'impulsions afin de garantir une densité d'intégration maximale du circuit de commande rapprochée

Monitoring of gate leakage current on SiC power MOSFETs: an estimation method for smart gate drivers

International audienceSilicon Carbide (SiC) power transistors are more and more used in electric energy conversion systems. SiC power semiconductors devices, such as SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) can operate at higher frequency and higher temperature compared to Silicon power MOSFET or insulated-gate bipolar transistor. However, the maturity of the SiC technology is moderate compared to the well-known Silicon-based power semiconductor devices. Recent research works on reliability of SiC power MOSFET identified gate leakage currents as an age­ing indicator. The monitoring of ageing indicators during normal operation may definitely help to predict damages and simplify the maintenance on the energy conversion systems. Due to the low amplitude of gate leakage currents, its direct measurement is difficult even under laboratory conditions and requires an offfine characterization. This article presents a new method for estimating the gate leakage current using the gate drive circuit. The proposed method takes advantage of the internai structure of the typical gate drivers used to command SiC power MOSFETs

Short pulse transmission for SiC communicating Gate Driver under high dv/dt

International audienceThis paper presents a new unidirectional data transmission method for gate drivers based ona pulse transformer system. In this work, we focus on pulse transformers integrated on gatedrivers used for aeronautical applications. The integration of communication functions canachieve real time setting of the device for a better flexibility and efficiency. First, an accuratemodel has been developed to simulate the pulse transformer regarding the pulse shape.Then, an experimental circuit was designed to test short pulses transmission through thegalvanic isolation of gate drivers

Cetuximab pharmacokinetics influences overall survival in head and neck cancer patients

International audienceA retrospective study was conducted to analyze interindividual variability of cetuximab pharmacokinetics and its influence on survival (progression-free survival and overall survival [OS]) in a cohort of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)