Biological studies on Tomicus destruens (Wollaston) (Coleoptera Curculionidae Scolytinae): phenology, voltinism and sister broods.

Biology and behaviour of Tomicus destruens were investigated in Sardinian pine forest in order to define the seasonal pattern of trunk attacks by breeding adults, the number of annual generations, and the number of sister broods produced per female. The counting of maternal galleries made each month in trap trees shows that T. destruens colonizes the pine trunk in all the months between October and May with the highest infestation intensity in autumn followed by decreasing values. Female laid ca. 80 to 95 eggs per gallery in October-November and ca. 70 in the following months. Although the bark beetle’s reproductive activity extended for a period of 7-8 months, the flight of new adults was concentrated in a much shorter time period between May and June, when ca. 95% of the emergences occurred. The experiments have ruled out the possibility of a second annual generation. Even the earliest emerging adults, originating from eggs laid in October, were unable to mature their gonads and oviposit before the summer stasis. Tomicus destruens females can make up to four sister broods and lay a total of ca. 170 eggs throughout their life, without regeneration feeding in the shoots. The new knowledge provides information useful to calibrate well-timed interventions to control this dangerous pest by means of the trap tree technique

Prove di lotta con la tecnica della confusione sessuale contro Planococcus ficus in vigneti del Nord Sardegna

No abstract availableLa disponibilit? del feromone sessuale di sintesi e lo sviluppo di opportuni diffusori hanno permesso di sperimentare la lotta a Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) con la tecnica della confusione sessuale. La prova ? stata condotta durante il 2008 in tre vigneti commerciali ricadenti nel comune di Alghero (Sassari). In ciascun vigneto sono state individuate due parcelle sperimentali adiacenti di uguali dimensioni (0,2, 0,5 e 2 ha nelle diverse aziende). Una parcella ? stata difesa con la tecnica della confusione sessuale, mentre l?altra ? stata tenuta come controllo. Sono stati impiegati diffusori a membrana della Suterra LLC (213 SW Columbia St Bend, OR 97702 ), con un contenuto iniziale di 40 mg di (S)-lavandulyl senecioate. Gli erogatori sono stati posizionati in campo a met? maggio, prima dell?inizio del volo dei maschi della prima generazione, in numero di 625 per ettaro (25g/ha di feromone). L?efficacia di questa tecnica di lotta ? stata valutata attraverso: il monitoraggio del volo dei maschi a 3 trappole a feromone per parcella; la stima della percentuale di femmine ovigere e della loro fecondit? su un campione di individui raccolti periodicamente e allevati singolarmente in laboratorio; la stima dell?infestazione su 30 piante per parcella col conteggio periodico delle cocciniglie presenti su 2 foglie basali per pianta; la stima del danno alla raccolta sui grappoli di 30 piante per parcella. Il numero di maschi catturati ? stato mediamente inferiore di circa 11 volte nelle parcelle trattate rispetto a quelle testimoni, mentre non ? stata rilevata una differenza significativa nella percentuale di femmine ovigere e nella loro fecondit?. L?infestazione sulle foglie nelle parcelle difese con la tecnica della confusione ? stata inferiore di quasi la met? a quella osservata nel testimone, durante tutto il periodo estivo. La percentuale di grappoli infestati alla raccolta ? stata piuttosto bassa con valori pari al 12% e al 15%, rispettivamente nel trattato e nel testimone. La sperimentazione condotta in Sardegna sembra indicare una scarsa affidabilit? di questo metodo nella lotta alla cocciniglia. Questo risultato potrebbe essere imputato alla ridotta estensione delle parcelle sperimentali o alla possibilit? di riproduzione per partenogenesi delle popolazioni di P. ficus della Sardegn

Osservazioni preliminari sul comportamento riproduttivo di Planococcus ficus e Planococcus citri (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

No abstract availablePlanococcus citri (Risso) ha una modalit? di riproduzione tipicamente anfigonica e un sistema di determinazione del sesso basato sulla condensazione dell?assetto cromosomico di origine paterna nella linea maschile (Brown, 1966). Le osservazioni condotte su P. citri per verificare la possibilit? di riproduzione per partenogenesi sono contrastanti (Myers, 1932; Bodenheimer, 1951; Gray, 1954; Panis, 1969), mentre non risultano in letteratura indagini specifiche sulle modalit? di riproduzione di Planococcus ficus (Signoret). Queste informazioni assumono un?importanza fondamentale quando si intendono sperimentare tecniche di lotta, come la confusione sessuale o le catture massali di maschi, che possono risultare efficaci solo se la specie bersaglio si riproduce per via anfigonica. Viste anche le recenti sperimentazioni sulla lotta a P. ficus con la tecnica della confusione sessuale (Walton et al., 2006), si ? ritenuto utile condurre osservazioni sulla possibilit? di riproduzione partenogenetica delle due cocciniglie. A tal fine, per ciascuna specie, 300 neanidi di I-II et? sono state allevate singolarmente all?interno di contenitori in Plexiglas trasparente contenenti tre acini d?uva. I contenitori sono stati chiusi superiormente con tulle a maglie sufficientemente fitte da impedire l?ingresso dei maschi. Dalle neanidi di P. citri sono stati ottenuti 37 maschi e 40 femmine. Queste ultime, in assenza di accoppiamento, nel corso della loro vita adulta non hanno ovideposto; solo un individuo ha prodotto un abbozzo di ovisacco senza uova. Dalle neanidi di P. ficus sono stati ottenuti 86 maschi e 39 femmine. Questa specie ha mostrato la capacit? di riprodursi per partenogenesi. Infatti, pur non accoppiandosi, 9 femmine hanno deposto uova da cui sono sgusciate neanidi; altri 6 individui hanno formato solo ovisacchi privi di uova. Ulteriori studi sono in corso per verificare l?assenza di partenogenesi in P. citri e valutare il potenziale biotico di femmine partenogenetiche e fecondate in P. ficus

Variabilit? genetica in popolazioni di Tortrix viridana L. (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae) associate alle diverse querce della Sardegna

A preliminary analysis of COI and COII gene variability was carried out in Sardinian populations of Tortrix viridana. The aim of the study was to investigate the genetic structure and mitochondrial haplotype variation in populations associated with deciduous (Quercus pubescens) and evergreen (Q. suber and Q ilex) oaks. Forty-four haplotypes out of 87 individuals were found: three haplotypes showed a high frequency (23%, 16% and 10%) and were largely shared among populations. Hierarchical AMOVA showed no significant differentiation grouping populations for geographic areas or oak species, in spite of significant divergences structuring populations for different duration in egg development (early- vs late-hatching). However a high haplotype diversity and a low nucleotide diversity have been observed

Early tumour shrinkage as a prognostic factor and surrogate end-point in colorectal cancer: A systematic review and pooled-analysis

Purpose Early tumour shrinkage (ETS), defined as a reduction of at least 20% in tumour size at first reassessment, has been recently investigated retrospectively in first-line trials of metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), and appears to be associated with better outcomes. We have performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of published trials to evaluate the prognostic value of ETS in CRC in terms of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Material and methods An electronic search of the PubMed, SCOPUS, EMBASE, the Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trial databases identified trials that compared outcomes of patients with or without ETS during first-line chemotherapy for metastatic CRC. The OS, reported as a hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI), was the primary outcome measure; the correlation coefficient (R) between ETS with median OS was also estimated. Results Twenty-one trials from 10 publications were analysed. Overall, patients with ETS were associated with a better OS (HR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.64; P < 0.00001) and PFS (HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.47-0.69; P < 0.00001) compared with patients who were early non-responders. However, ETS was poorly correlated with OS in terms of surrogacy (R = 0.37; 95% CI - 0.31-0.78; P = 0.28). Conclusions ETS is a good prognostic factor but an inappropriate surrogate for predicting outcome in CRC patients. These findings support ETS as prognostic tool in ascertaining earlier non-responders; however, its role as a surrogate end-point deserves further evaluation

Cisplatin or Not in Advanced Gastric Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

<div><p>Background</p><p>Cisplatin-based chemotherapy is frequently used to treat advanced gastric cancer (GC). Although it leads to increased overall survival (OS) when added to single agents or chemotherapy doublets, toxicity is also generally increased. The purpose of this meta-analysis study was to compare the efficacy of fchemotherapy with and without cisplatin in patients with advanced GC.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Randomised trials that compared first-line cisplatin-based chemotherapy with regimens in which cisplatin was replaced by other agents were identified by electronic searches of PubMed, EMBASE, the Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Meta-analysis was performed using a fixed or random effects model. OS, reported as a hazard ratio (HR) and a 95% confidence interval (CI), was the primary outcome measure.</p><p>Results</p><p>Fourteen trials (5 phase III and 9 phase II), including 2,981 patients, were identified. Overall, chemotherapy regimens without cisplatin significantly improved OS (HR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.68–0.92; <i>p</i> = 0.003), progression-free survival (PFS) (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.66–0.90; <i>p</i> = 0.001), and response rate (RR) (OR, 1.25; <i>p</i> = 0.004) when compared to cisplatin-containing regimens. A subgroup analysis according to histology, site of the primary tumour and extent of disease was not possible due to lack of data.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Compared with cisplatin-based doublets and triplets, combinations in which cisplatin was replaced by new drugs improved outcome and RRs in randomised trials for advanced GC and therefore should be strongly considered in the metastatic setting. A limitation of this meta-analysis is that we cannot identify a subgroup of patients (according to histology, site of primary tumour or burden of metastatic disease) which could derive greater benefit from cisplatin-free chemotherapy.</p></div

Produzione di "Casu Marzu" in condizioni controllate: valutazione dell'effetto della colonizzazione da <i>Piophila casei</i> sulle caratteristiche microbiologiche e chimiche dei formaggi = Production under controlled conditions of “casu marzu” cheese: effect of the <i>Piophila casei</i> colonization on microbial and chemical composition of the cheeses

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the Piophila casei colonization under controlled conditions on “casu marzu”, a typical Sardinian sheep milk cheese. Three batches of two different kind of cheese (PO, holed paste and PC, firm paste) were produced in duplicate (test and control). Test cheeses were exposed to the Piophila casei colonization in a conditioned store room, while control cheeses were suitably protected. All the samples were analyzed at 0, 10, 30, 60 and 90 days from the production. The pH and aw, the chemical composition and the microbiological parameters (food safety and process hygiene criteria) were determined. The colonization was unhomogeneous between the batches: PO cheeses were more easily colonized and showed more intense proteolysis and lipolysis respect to PC cheeses. The microbiological parameters were strongly affected by the experimental process conditions. The authors discuss about the opportunity of a controlled production of “casu marzu” and the implications to the health of consumers