Lygus rugulipennis on chrysanthemum: Supplemental prey effects and an evaluation of trap plants

The European tarnished plant bug, Lygus rugulipennis Poppius, is considered a major pest in chrysanthemum nurseries in The Netherlands. Adults puncture plant's apical meristem, after which the growing point splits and growth is inhibited. Flower buds and flowers can also be severely damaged. Both types of damage result in economic losses for growers. Despite the importance of this pest for chrysanthemum nurseries, there is only very limited information about L. rugulipennis development on chrysanthemum plants, Chrysanthemum × morifolium Ramat., and whether L. rugulipennis can be controlled using trap plants is not known. We investigated whether: (1) L. rugulipennis could develop from egg to adult on the vegetative and flowering stages of chrysanthemum; (2) their performance was enhanced when a supplemental prey source (Ephestia kuehniella Zeller eggs) or another common pest (the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae Sulzer) was present; and (3) there were alternative plant species more attractive than chrysanthemum for use as trap plants for local pest control or monitoring of L. rugulipennis. L. rugulipennis developed on both vegetative and flowering chrysanthemum stages without any additional food source. Nonetheless, when chrysanthemum was supplemented with E. kuehniella eggs, L. rugulipennis achieved the best performance in terms of the number of adults developed and faster developmental time. Interestingly, L. rugulipennis developed faster on chrysanthemum infested with the aphid M. persicae compared to non-infested plants, however, there was no difference in the number of adults developed. In a trap plant experiment with 16 plant species in the vegetative stage, we found that white mustard, Sinapis alba L., was significantly more attractive than chrysanthemum to both adult and nymph L. rugulipennis. Further research is needed to evaluate the potential of S. alba as a trap plant for monitoring L. rugulipennis and how the presence of prey in the crop influences L. rugulipennis

Early onset lung cancer, cigarette smoking and the SNP309 of the murine double minute-2 (MDM2) gene

The polymorphism SNP309 (rs2279744) in the promoter region of the MDM2 gene has been shown to alter protein expression and may play a role in the susceptibility to lung cancer. The MDM2 protein is a key inhibitor of p53 and several mechanisms of MDM2/p53 interactions are presently known: modulating DNA-repair, cell-cycle control, cell growth and apoptosis

The German National Registry of Primary Immunodeficiencies (2012-2017)

Introduction: The German PID-NET registry was founded in 2009, serving as the first national registry of patients with primary immunodeficiencies (PID) in Germany. It is part of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) registry. The primary purpose of the registry is to gather data on the epidemiology, diagnostic delay, diagnosis, and treatment of PIDs. Methods: Clinical and laboratory data was collected from 2,453 patients from 36 German PID centres in an online registry. Data was analysed with the software Stata® and Excel. Results: The minimum prevalence of PID in Germany is 2.72 per 100,000 inhabitants. Among patients aged 1–25, there was a clear predominance of males. The median age of living patients ranged between 7 and 40 years, depending on the respective PID. Predominantly antibody disorders were the most prevalent group with 57% of all 2,453 PID patients (including 728 CVID patients). A gene defect was identified in 36% of patients. Familial cases were observed in 21% of patients. The age of onset for presenting symptoms ranged from birth to late adulthood (range 0–88 years). Presenting symptoms comprised infections (74%) and immune dysregulation (22%). Ninety-three patients were diagnosed without prior clinical symptoms. Regarding the general and clinical diagnostic delay, no PID had undergone a slight decrease within the last decade. However, both, SCID and hyper IgE- syndrome showed a substantial improvement in shortening the time between onset of symptoms and genetic diagnosis. Regarding treatment, 49% of all patients received immunoglobulin G (IgG) substitution (70%—subcutaneous; 29%—intravenous; 1%—unknown). Three-hundred patients underwent at least one hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Five patients had gene therapy. Conclusion: The German PID-NET registry is a precious tool for physicians, researchers, the pharmaceutical industry, politicians, and ultimately the patients, for whom the outcomes will eventually lead to a more timely diagnosis and better treatment

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Monounsaturated fatty acid aerobic synthesis in Bradyrhizobium TAL1000 peanut-nodulating is affected by temperature

Aims: The aim of this work was to clarify the mechanism of monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) synthesis in Bradyrhizobium TAL1000 and the effect of high temperature on this process. Methods and Results: Bradyrhizobium TAL1000 was exposed to a high growth temperature and heat shock, and fatty acid composition and synthesis were tested. To determine the presence of a possible desaturase, a gene was identify and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The desaturase expression was detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting. In B. TAL1000, an aerobic mechanism for MUFA synthesis was detected. Desaturation was decreased by high growth temperature and by heat shock. Two hours of exposure to 37°C were required for the change in MUFA levels. A potential ∆9 desaturase gene was identified and successfully expressed in E. coli. A high growth temperature and not heat shock reduced transcript and protein desaturase levels in rhizobial strain. Conclusions: In B. TAL1000, the anaerobic MUFA biosynthetic pathway is supplemented by an aerobic mechanism mediated by desaturase and is down-regulated by temperature to maintain membrane fluidity under stressful conditions. Significance and Impact of the Study: This knowledge will be useful for developing strategies to improve a sustainable practice of this bacterium under stress and to enhance the bioprocess for the inoculants' manufacture.Fil: Paulucci, Natalia Soledad. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología Molecular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Medeot, Daniela Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología Molecular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Woelke, Mariela Rosana. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Dardanelli, Marta Susana. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología Molecular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: de Lema, M. G.. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología Molecular; Argentin

Neurofilament Light Chain Is a Biomarker of Neurodegeneration in Ataxia Telangiectasia

Ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) is a progressive and life-limiting disease associated with cerebellar ataxia due to progressive cerebellar degeneration. In addition to ataxia, which is described in detail, the presence of chorea, dystonia, oculomotor apraxia, athetosis, parkinsonism, and myoclonia are typical manifestations of the disease. The study aimed to evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of neurofilament light chain (NfL) as a biomarker of neurodegeneration in relation to SARA score. In this prospective trial, one visit of 42 A-T patients aged 1.3-25.6 years (mean 11.6 ± 7.3 years) was performed, in which NfL was determined from serum by ELISA. Additionally, a neurological examination of the patients was performed. Blood was collected from 19 healthy volunteers ≥ 12 years of age. We found significantly increased levels of NfL in patients with A-T compared to healthy controls (21.5 ± 3.6 pg/mL vs. 9.3 ± 0.49 pg/mL, p ≤ 0.01). There was a significant correlation of NfL with age, AFP, and SARA. NfL is a new potential progression biomarker in blood for neurodegeneration in A-T which increases with age