Effectiveness of cidofovir intralesional treatment in recurrent respiratory papillomatosis

To present the results of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) treatment with surgical excision and adjuvant anti-viral cidofovir intralesional use and to examine the correlation between the cidofovir effectiveness and the patient previous history of multiple larynx procedures, age, extension of lesion and dose. 32 patients with laryngeal papillomas were treated with cidofovir in our Department between I.2009 and I.2011. The number of previous RRP debulking procedures ranged from 1 to 100. The intensity of papillomatosis differed from one anatomic site and moderate growth to four or five localizations with heavy extension. The number of injections per patient varied from 1 to 7, and the total volume of 5 mg/ml solution varied from 2 to 33 ml. The injections were combined with laser debulking of the lesions. In disperse papillomata, the injections were administered in particular anatomical sites in 4–6 weeks intervals, in massive lesions injections were repeated in the same anatomical site in 2–4 weeks. Complete remission was observed in 18 out of 32 patients. 13 patients showed remission in a place of cidofovir injection. One patient did not react to the drug. In four patients, new changes in injection places appeared. In two patients, hepatic toxic side effects were observed. Intralesional cidofovir injection has been shown to be an effective and safe therapy for laryngeal papillomatosis and should be considered in those patients who experienced disease relapse

A model species for agricultural pest genomics: the genome of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

The Colorado potato beetle is one of the most challenging agricultural pests to manage. It has shown a spectacular ability to adapt to a variety of solanaceaeous plants and variable climates during its global invasion, and, notably, to rapidly evolve insecticide resistance. To examine evidence of rapid evolutionary change, and to understand the genetic basis of herbivory and insecticide resistance, we tested for structural and functional genomic changes relative to other arthropod species using genome sequencing, transcriptomics, and community annotation. Two factors that might facilitate rapid evolutionary change include transposable elements, which comprise at least 17% of the genome and are rapidly evolving compared to other Coleoptera, and high levels of nucleotide diversity in rapidly growing pest populations. Adaptations to plant feeding are evident in gene expansions and differential expression of digestive enzymes in gut tissues, as well as expansions of gustatory receptors for bitter tasting. Surprisingly, the suite of genes involved in insecticide resistance is similar to other beetles. Finally, duplications in the RNAi pathway might explain why Leptinotarsa decemlineata has high sensitivity to dsRNA. The L. decemlineata genome provides opportunities to investigate a broad range of phenotypes and to develop sustainable methods to control this widely successful pest

Production of raw materials for biofuel : rape

Rzepak jest rośliną o dużych wymaganiach glebowych i klimatycznych, a plon w dużej mierze zależy od odmiany, uszkodzeń powodowanych przez szkodniki i choroby, agrotechniki, przygotowania maszyn do zbioru oraz warunków pogodowych. W zależności od niekorzystnych sytuacji straty rzepaku mogą sięgać 20, a nawet 30 procent. Wieloletnia praktyka rolnicza udowadnia, że od jesiennej kondycji rzepaku zależeć będzie jego przyszłoroczny plon, a słabe zbiory rzepaku spowodują spadek produkcji oleju i biopaliw oraz podwyżki cen dla konsumentów.Rape is a plant with high soil and climate requirements. The crop size is influenced by the plant variety, damages caused by pests and diseases, agricultural production technology, harvesting machinery preparation along with weather conditions. Depending on the circumstances, the rape crop loss can amount to 20 or even 30 per cent. Long-term agricultural experience demonstrates that it is the condition of rape in Autumn which determines the following year crops. A poor crop of rape will result in lower production of oil and biofuel and also trigger price increase for consumers

Desorption of copper ions under differentiated soil conditions

Celem podjętych badań było określenie desorpcji jonów miedzi w glebie lessowej, piaszczystej i gliniastej podczas zmiany odczynu w różnym czasie. Badania przeprowadzono w skali laboratoryjnej. Obejmowały one oznaczenie całkowitej zawartości miedzi w glebach oraz ilości uruchomionych jonów miedzi. Desorpcję przeprowadzono przy użyciu wody redestylowanej oraz wodnych roztworów HC1 o stężeniu 0,1, 0,5 i 1 mol·dm⁻³. Okres inkubacji próbek glebowych wynosił 1, 30 i 60 dni. Z przeprowadzonych badań wynika, że desorpcja jonów miedzi w glebach jest procesem powolnym. W ekstremalnych warunkach - podczas traktowania gleb 1 mol HCl·dm⁻³ - desorbuje się ponad 54% całkowitej zawartości miedzi.The aim of studies was to define the desorption of copper ions in loessial, sandy and loamy soil during the changes of reaction within different time. The studies were conducted on laboratory scale. They comprised the determination of total copper content in soils and the amount of mobilized copper ions. The desorption was done using redistilled water and HCl water solutions of 0.1; 0.5; 1 mol·dm⁻³ concentration. The incubation time of soil samples was 1, 30, 60 days. Conducted research indicated that desorption of copper ions in soil is a slow process. Under extreme conditions - at the treatment of soils with 1 mol HCl·dm⁻³ - 54% of total copper ion content are desorbed