Using Species Distribution Models (SDMs) to Estimate the Suitability of European Mediterranean Non-Native Area for the Establishment of Toumeyella Parvicornis (Hemiptera: Coccidae)

The pine tortoise scale, Toumeyella parvicornis, is an insect native to the Nearctic region that is able to infest several Pinus species. It can cause weakening, defoliation and, at high infestation levels, tree death. After its first report in Italy in 2015, the pest spread rapidly over the surrounding areas and was reported in France in 2021. Due to the threat that this pest poses to pine trees, the suitability of European Mediterranean basin areas for T. parvicornis at different spatial scales was estimated by constructing species distribution models (SDMs) using bioclimatic variables. Our results showed that several coastal areas of the Mediterranean basin area could be suitable for T. parvicornis. Based on performance assessment, all the SDMs tested provided a good representation of the suitability of European Mediterranean non-native area for T. parvicornis at different spatial scales. In particular, most of the areas with a medium or high level of suitability corresponded to the geographical range of distribution of different Pinus spp. in Europe. Predicting the suitability of European Mediterranean areas for T. parvicornis provides a fundamental tool for early detection and management of the spread of this pest in Europe.N.D.S. is funded by the Lazio Region (Agriculture Department) and the Università degli Studi della Tuscia (Italy). The research was carried out in the frame of the Italian MIUR (Ministry for Education, University and Research) initiative ‘Department of Excellence’ (Law 232/2016). L.R. and R.M. are funded by MUR (Italian Ministry of University and Research) in the framework of the European Social Funding REACT-EU—National Program for Research and Innovation 2014–2020

Prognostic Factors for Overall Survival In Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patients: A Multicentric Cohort Study by the Italian CML GIMEMA Network

An observational prospective study was conducted by the CML Italian network to analyze the role of baseline patient characteristics and first line treatments on overall survival and CML-related mortality in 1206 newly diagnosed CML patients, 608 treated with imatinib (IMA) and 598 with 2nd generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (2GTKI). IMA-treated patients were much older (median age 69 years, IQR 58-77) than the 2GTKI group (52, IQR 41-63) and had more comorbidities. Estimated 4-year overall survival of the entire cohort was 89% (95%CI 85.9-91.4). Overall, 73 patients (6.1%) died: 17 (2.8%) in the 2GTKI vs 56 (9.2%) in the IMA cohort (adjusted HR=0.50; 95% CI=0.26-0.94), but no differences were detected for CML-related mortality (10 (1.7%) vs 11 (1.8%) in the 2GTKIs vs IMA cohort (sHR=1.61; 0.52-4.96). The ELTS score was associated to CML mortality (high risk vs low, HR=9.67; 95%CI 2.94-31.74; p<0.001), while age (per year, HR=1.03; 95%CI 1.00-1.06; p=0.064), CCI (4-5 vs 2, HR=5.22; 95%CI 2.56-10.65; p<0.001), ELTS score (high risk vs low, HR=3.11; 95%CI 1.52-6.35, p=0.002) and 2GTKI vs IMA (HR=0.26; 95%CI 0.10-0.65, p=0.004) were associated to an increased risk of non-related CML mortality. The ELTS score showed a better discriminant ability than the Sokal score in all comparisons

Clinical autonomic nervous system laboratories in Europe: a joint survey of the European Academy of Neurology and the European Federation of Autonomic Societies

© 2022 The Authors. European Journal of Neurology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Academy of Neurology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.Background and purpose: Disorders of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) are common conditions, but it is unclear whether access to ANS healthcare provision is homogeneous across European countries. The aim of this study was to identify neurology-driven or interdisciplinary clinical ANS laboratories in Europe, describe their characteristics and explore regional differences. Methods: We contacted the European national ANS and neurological societies, as well as members of our professional network, to identify clinical ANS laboratories in each country and invite them to answer a web-based survey. Results: We identified 84 laboratories in 22 countries and 46 (55%) answered the survey. All laboratories perform cardiovascular autonomic function tests, and 83% also perform sweat tests. Testing for catecholamines and autoantibodies are performed in 63% and 56% of laboratories, and epidermal nerve fiber density analysis in 63%. Each laboratory is staffed by a median of two consultants, one resident, one technician and one nurse. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) number of head-up tilt tests/laboratory/year is 105 (49-251). Reflex syncope and neurogenic orthostatic hypotension are the most frequently diagnosed cardiovascular ANS disorders. Thirty-five centers (76%) have an ANS outpatient clinic, with a median (IQR) of 200 (100-360) outpatient visits/year; 42 centers (91%) also offer inpatient care (median 20 [IQR 4-110] inpatient stays/year). Forty-one laboratories (89%) are involved in research activities. We observed a significant difference in the geographical distribution of ANS services among European regions: 11 out of 12 countries from North/West Europe have at least one ANS laboratory versus 11 out of 21 from South/East/Greater Europe (p = 0.021). Conclusions: This survey highlights disparities in the availability of healthcare services for people with ANS disorders across European countries, stressing the need for improved access to specialized care in South, East and Greater Europe.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

EFAS/EAN survey on the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on European clinical autonomic education and research

© The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Purpose: To understand the influence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on clinical autonomic education and research in Europe. Methods: We invited 84 European autonomic centers to complete an online survey, recorded the pre-pandemic-to-pandemic percentage of junior participants in the annual congresses of the European Federation of Autonomic Societies (EFAS) and European Academy of Neurology (EAN) and the pre-pandemic-to-pandemic number of PubMed publications on neurological disorders. Results: Forty-six centers answered the survey (55%). Twenty-nine centers were involved in clinical autonomic education and experienced pandemic-related didactic interruptions for 9 (5; 9) months. Ninety percent (n = 26/29) of autonomic educational centers reported a negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education quality, and 93% (n = 27/29) established e-learning models. Both the 2020 joint EAN-EFAS virtual congress and the 2021 (virtual) and 2022 (hybrid) EFAS and EAN congresses marked higher percentages of junior participants than in 2019. Forty-one respondents (89%) were autonomic researchers, and 29 of them reported pandemic-related trial interruptions for 5 (2; 9) months. Since the pandemic begin, almost half of the respondents had less time for scientific writing. Likewise, the number of PubMed publications on autonomic topics showed the smallest increase compared with other neurological fields in 2020-2021 and the highest drop in 2022. Autonomic research centers that amended their trial protocols for telemedicine (38%, n = 16/41) maintained higher clinical caseloads during the first pandemic year. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial negative impact on European clinical autonomic education and research. At the same time, it promoted digitalization, favoring more equitable access to autonomic education and improved trial design.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Two Warm Super-Earths Transiting the Nearby M Dwarf TOI-2095

We report the detection and validation of two planets orbiting TOI-2095 (TIC 235678745). The host star is a 3700K M1V dwarf with a high proper motion. The star lies at a distance of 42 pc in a sparsely populated portion of the sky and is bright in the infrared (K=9). With data from 24 Sectors of observation during TESS's Cycles 2 and 4, TOI-2095 exhibits two sets of transits associated with super-Earth-sized planets. The planets have orbital periods of 17.7 days and 28.2 days and radii of 1.30 and 1.39 Earth radii, respectively. Archival data, preliminary follow-up observations, and vetting analyses support the planetary interpretation of the detected transit signals. The pair of planets have estimated equilibrium temperatures of approximately 400 K, with stellar insolations of 3.23 and 1.73 times that of Earth, placing them in the Venus zone. The planets also lie in a radius regime signaling the transition between rock-dominated and volatile-rich compositions. They are thus prime targets for follow-up mass measurements to better understand the properties of warm, transition radius planets. The relatively long orbital periods of these two planets provide crucial data that can help shed light on the processes that shape the composition of small planets orbiting M dwarfs.Comment: Submitted to AAS Journal

Endotherapic treatment to control Toumeyella parvicornis Cockerell infestations on Pinus pinea L.

The pine tortoise scale, Toumeyella parvicornis (Cockerell, 1897), is a damaging insect pest native to North America. Its accidental introduction into Europe, where it was first reported in Central-Southern Italy, is leading to severe infestations among stone pine trees, Pinus pinea L. causing severe infestations and generating a major risk to the health and safety of the citizens as well. This preliminary study aimed at finding an effective low-impact control strategy against T. parvicornis. We evaluated the effect of endotherapic abamectin injected into infested stone pines in the Parco Archeologico di Ostia Antica (Rome).5n

Are the ladybugs Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and Exochomus quadripustulatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) candidate predators of Toumeyella parvicornis (Hemiptera: Coccidae)?

Background: Toumeyella parvicornis is an alien pest of recent introduction in Italy that infests stone pines (Pinus pinea L.), itsmain host plant in Europe. Infestations are currently controlled through endotherapic treatments, but the high costs and thelong-term inefficacy highlight the need for alternative control strategies applicable in natural systems as well. An analysis ofthe effectiveness of autochthonous and naturalized predators is the first step to achieve this goal. This work focused on twocandidate predators, Exochomus quadripustulatus and Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), that may potentiallycontrol T. parvicornis. The analysis was carried out under laboratory-controlled and semi-field conditions.Results: Laboratory tests were carried out to assess: (i) the predation rate of the ladybugs over different densities of pest preimaginalstages, and (ii) the effect of the presence of heterospecific and conspecific predators on the attractiveness of prey colonies.Semi-field experimentations were carried out by wrapping infested stone pine twigs with net sleeves and applying one ofthree treatments: (i) Exochomus quadripustulatus, (ii) Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, and (iii) control containing only the pest population.Both the ladybugs were attracted by T. parvicornis, offered as prey. Exochomus quadripustulatus was more attracted toconspecific and heterospecific ladybugs than Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and responded to prey more quickly.Conclusions: The results obtained could be useful for planning further experimentations to explore the potential use of thesepredators in biological control programs that may be applied in infested areas. Besides the use in an urban context, where pesticideuse is strongly limited, the release of natural enemies may help safeguard stone pine forests.Fil: Di Sora, Nicolò. Università degli Studi della Tuscia; ItaliaFil: Rossini, Luca. Università degli Studi della Tuscia; ItaliaFil: Contarini, Mario. Università degli Studi della Tuscia; ItaliaFil: Virla, Eduardo Gabriel. Fundación Miguel Lillo. Dirección de Zoología. Instituto de Entomología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Speranza, Stefano. Università degli Studi della Tuscia; Itali

Blastoid mantle cell lymphoma occurring in a patient in complete remission of chronic myelogenous leukemia

The development of a de novo lymphoma in patients affected by chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a rare event. The introduction of new molecular cytogenetic techniques, such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), allows a correct differential diagnosis between lymphoid blastic crisis and a blastoid variant of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), which shows an aggressive behavior and some molecular characteristics detectable by cytogenetics and immunohistochemistry. We report a case of a blastoid variant of MCL that developed in a patient with CML who achieved complete cytogenetic and molecular response to imatinib mesylate treatment