European Corn Borer

NYS IPM Type: Vegetables IPM Fact Sheet; NYS IPM Type: Field Crops Fact SheetThe European corn borer is a major pest of corn and feeds on over 200 plant species including many weeds. This insect generally produces generations in June and August in most areas of the United States and the northeast. However, a strain producing only one annual generation In July may also be present in some fields. In some areas of the northeast, the single and multi-generatlon strains may be present together

An umbrella review of systematic reviews on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer prevention and management, and patient needs.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to relocation and reconstruction of health care resources and systems, and to a decrease in healthcare utilization, and this may have affected the treatment, diagnosis, prognosis, and psychosocial well-being of patients with cancer. We aimed to summarize and quantify the evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the full spectrum of cancer care. An umbrella review was undertaken to summarize and quantify the findings from systematic reviews on impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer treatment modification, delays, and cancellations; delays or cancellations in screening and diagnosis; psychosocial well-being, financial distress, and use of telemedicine as well as on other aspects of cancer care. PubMed and WHO COVID-19 Database was searched for relevant systematic reviews with or without meta-analysis published before November 29th, 2022. Abstract, full text screening and data extraction were performed by two independent reviewers. AMSTAR-2 was used for critical appraisal of included systematic reviews. 51 systematic reviews evaluating different aspects of cancer care were included in our analysis. Most reviews were based on observational studies judged to be at medium and high risk of bias. Only 2 of the included reviews had high or moderate scores based on AMSTAR-2. Findings suggest treatment modifications in cancer care during the pandemic versus the pre-pandemic period were based on low level of evidence. Different degrees of delays and cancellations in cancer treatment, screening and diagnosis were observed, with low-and-middle income countries and countries that implemented lockdowns being disproportionally affected. A shift from in-person appointments to telemedicine use was observed, but utility of telemedicine, challenges in implementation and cost-effectiveness in different areas of cancer care were little explored. Evidence was consistent in suggesting psychosocial well-being (e.g., depression, anxiety, and social activities) of patients with cancer deteriorated, and cancer patients experienced financial distress, albeit results were in general not compared to pre-pandemic levels. Impact of cancer care disruption during the pandemic on cancer prognosis was little explored. In conclusion, Substantial but heterogenous impact of COVID-19 pandemic on cancer care has been observed. Evidence gaps exist on this topic, with mid- and long-term impact on cancer care being most uncertain

A comprehensive analysis of cardiovascular mortality trends in Peru from 2017 to 2022:Insights from 183,386 deaths of the national death registry

Background/objectives: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of global mortality. Systematic studies on cardiovascular-related mortality at national and subnational levels in Peru are lacking. We aimed to describe the trends in cardiovascular-related mortality between 2017 and 2022 in Peru at national and subnational levels and by socioeconomic indicators. Subjects/methods: We used data from the Peruvian death registry 2017–2022. Using ICD-10 codes, mortality was categorized into: hypertensive-, coronary-, and cerebrovascular- related deaths. We estimated age-standardized cardiovascular-related mortality rates by sex at national and regional levels, and by natural regions (Coast, Highlands, Amazon). We estimated the change in mortality rates between 2017–2019 and 2020–2022 and explored factors that contributed to such a change. We explored ecological relationships between mortality rates and socioeconomic indicators.Findings: Overall 183,386 cardiovascular-related deaths were identified. Coronary-related deaths (37.2 %) were followed by hypertensive-related (25.1 %) and cerebrovascular-related deaths (22.6 %). Peru showed a marked increasing trend in cardiovascular-related mortality in 2020–2022 (77.8 %). The increase clustered in the Coast and Highlands, with the highest change observed in Lima (132.1 %). Mortality was highest in subjects with lower education and subjects with public health insurance. Gini coefficient was associated with lower mortality rates while unemployment was associated with higher mortality rates.Interpretation: There was a notable rise in cardiovascular-related mortality in Peru, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic with a slight decrease in 2022. Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the factors that contribute to the increase in cardiovascular deaths in Peru will facilitate the development of precise interventions at both the national and regional levels.</p

The role of epigenetic modifications in cardiovascular disease

_Background:_ Epigenetic modifications of the genome, such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, have been reported to play a role in processes underlying cardiovascular disease (CVD), including atherosclerosis, inflammation, hypertension and diabetes. _Methods:_ Eleven databases were searched for studies investigating the association between epigenetic marks (either global, site-specific or genome-wide methylation of DNA and histone modifications) and CVD. _Results:_ Of the 3459 searched references, 31 studies met our inclusion criteria (26 cross-sectional studies and 5 prospective studies). Overall, 12,648 individuals were included, with total of 4037 CVD events. The global DNA methylation assessed at long-interspersed nuclear element (LINE-1) was inversely associated with CVD, independent of established cardiovascular risk factors. Conversely, a higher degree of global DNA methylation measured at Alu repeats or by the LUMA method was associated with the presence of CVD. The studies reported epigenetic regulation of 34 metabolic genes (involved in fetal growth, glucose and lipid metabolism, inflammation, atherosclerosis and oxidative stress) in blood cells to be related with CVD. Among them, 5 loci were validated and methylation at F2RL3 was reported in two large prospective studies to predict cardiovascular disease beyond the traditional risk factors. _Conclusions:_ Current evidence supports an association between genomic DNA methylation and CVD. However, this review highlights important gaps in the existing evidences including lack of large-scale epigenetic investigation

Association of plant-based diet and early onset of natural menopause.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association of plant-based diet index (PDI) with early onset of natural menopause in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and Nurses' Health Study II (NHSII). METHODS We conducted a prospective study with a mean follow-up time of 20 years among premenopausal women living across the US. Participants of the NHS (n = 121,701) and NHSII (n = 116,429) were included from 1984 (age mean [standard deviation]; 44.9 [4.3]) and 1991 (age mean [standard deviation]; 36.4 [4.6]), respectively. Early menopause was self-reported and defined as natural menopause before age 45 years. PDI was derived from semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires administered every 4 years. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association between PDI in quintiles and early menopause in NHS and NHSII separately, and fixed-effect models to pool the results from both cohorts. RESULTS During follow-up, 715 and 2,185 women experienced early natural menopause in NHS and NHSII, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, no association was observed between PDI and incidence of early natural menopause in either cohort, or when pooling the results from both cohorts, with an exception for unhealthy plant-based diet index which was associated with higher risk of early menopause with increasing levels of consumption (P trend = 0.04). CONCLUSION Adherence to PDI was not associated with timing of menopause while unhealthy plant-based diet might be associated with higher risk of experiencing early menopause

Fetal sex and maternal pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Since the placenta also has a sex, fetal sex-specific differences in the occurrence of placenta-mediated complications could exist. OBJECTIVE To determine the association of fetal sex with multiple maternal pregnancy complications. SEARCH STRATEGY Six electronic databases Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central, Web-of-Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar were systematically searched to identify eligible studies. Reference lists of the included studies and contact with experts were also used for identification of studies. SELECTION CRITERIA Observational studies that assessed fetal sex and the presence of maternal pregnancy complications within singleton pregnancies. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSES Data were extracted by 2 independent reviewers using a predesigned data collection form. MAIN RESULTS From 6522 original references, 74 studies were selected, including over 12,5 million women. Male fetal sex was associated with term pre-eclampsia (pooled OR 1.07 [95%CI 1.06 to 1.09]) and gestational diabetes (pooled OR 1.04 [1.02 to 1.07]). All other pregnancy complications (i.e., gestational hypertension, total pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, placental abruption, and post-partum hemorrhage) tended to be associated with male fetal sex, except for preterm pre-eclampsia, which was more associated with female fetal sex. Overall quality of the included studies was good. Between-study heterogeneity was high due to differences in study population and outcome definition. CONCLUSION This meta-analysis suggests that the occurrence of pregnancy complications differ according to fetal sex with a higher cardiovascular and metabolic load for the mother in the presence of a male fetus. FUNDING None

Relation of antioxidant capacity of diet and markers of oxidative status with C-reactive protein and adipocytokines: a prospective study

Background The role of dietary antioxidants and plasma oxidant-antioxidant status in low-grade chronic inflammation and adipocytokine levels is not established yet. Objectives We aimed to evaluate whether total dietary antioxidant capacity (assessed by dietary ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP)), serum uric acid (UA) and gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) were associated with low-grade chronic inflammation and circulating adipocytokines. Methods Data of 4506 participants aged ≥ 55 years from the Rotterdam Study were analyzed. Baseline (1990–1993) FRAP score was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire. Baseline UA and GGT levels were assessed in non-fasting serum samples. Serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) was measured at baseline and 10 years later. Plasma leptin, adiponectin, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and resistin levels were assessed 10 years later. Results A high FRAP score was associated with lower levels of UA and GGT. Overall, no association was found between FRAP and hs-CRP levels. FRAP score was associated with lower levels of leptin and PAI-1, higher levels of adiponectin, and no difference in resistin levels. Increased levels of UA were associated with higher levels of hs-CRP, PAI-1 and leptin; lower levels of adiponectin and no difference in resistin levels. Similarly, GGT was associated with higher levels of hs-CRP whereas no association was observed between GGT and adipocytokines. Conclusion These findings suggest that overall antioxidant capacity of diet and low levels of UA are associated with circulating adipocytokines whereas no consistent association was found with hs-CRP

Dietary mineral intake and lung cancer risk: the Rotterdam Study

Objective: Limited data are available on the role of mineral intake in the development of lung cancer (LC). We investigated whether dietary calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, selenium and zinc intake were associated with LC risk. Methods: We analyzed data from 5435 participants of the Rotterdam Study, a prospective population-based cohort study among subjects aged 55 years and older. At baseline (1990–1993), diet was measured by a validated food frequency questionnaire. LC events were diagnosed on the basis of pathology data and medical records. Hazard ratios (HRs) on LC for energy-adjusted mineral intake were calculated using Cox regression models while adjusting for potential confounders. Results: During a follow-up period of 22 years, we identified 211 incident cases of LC. A higher zinc intake was associated with 42 % reduction in risk of LC (top tertile vs. first tertile: HR 0.58, 95 % CI 0.35; 0.94, P-for trend = 0.039). Similarly, high intake of iron was associated with reduced risk of LC (top tertile vs. first tertile: HR 0.58, 95 % CI 0.37; 0.92, P-for trend = 0.02

Novel metabolic indices and incident type 2 diabetes among women and men: the Rotterdam Study

Aims/hypothesis: Both visceral and truncal fat have been associated with metabolic disturbances. We aimed to investigate the associations of several novel metabolic indices, combining anthropo

Phytoestrogen supplementation and body composition in postmenopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Phytoestrogen-based medications are commonly used by menopausal women, and especially by obese postmenopausal women, to relieve menopausal symptoms. Substitution of animal with soy protein is often used in weight loss regimens, yet the effect of phytoestrogens, the main constituent of soy foods, on body composition is not completely understood. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the associations between phytoestrogen supplementation and body weight and the main parameters of body composition in postmenopausal women. A literature search was done using 5 electronic databases from inception to April 2018. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with postmenopausal women comparing phytoestrogen supplementation followed by usual diet and placebo were included in the present meta-analysis. From 5932 references, we identified 23 RCTs that met our inclusion criteria, with a total of 1880 postmenopausal women. No association was observed between phytoestrogen supplementation and body weight, body mass index, waist and hip circumference, total fat mass or percentage of body fat. However, the use of phytoestrogens supplementation was associated with a slight decrease in waist-hip ratio; the pooled mean difference was -0.01 cm (95%CI: -0.01 to -0.006). In subgroup analysis, we found a modest decrease in body weight with phytoestrogens supplementation compared with placebo in healthy postmenopausal women [pooled mean difference of changes -0.28 kg (95%CI: -0.52 to -0.04)] and in RCTs with a median number of participants of 66 or less [pooled mean difference of changes -0.49 kg (95%CI: -0.87 to -0.11)]. In contrast, phytoestrogen supplementation was associated with increased body weight in postmenopausal women with preexisting metabolic disorders (prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, prehypertension and hyperlipidemia) [pooled mean difference of changes: 0.78 kg (95%CI: 0.53-1.03)]. In addition, there were some indications that some types of phytoestrogens, such as daidzein, but not soy products or isoflavone mix, could lead to modest adverse changes in body composition in menopausal women. Therefore, future studies should investigate the potential adverse effects of phytoestrogen supplementation on body composition among postmenopausal women