Anthropogenic impacts on mosquito populations in North America over the past century.

The recent emergence and spread of vector-borne viruses including Zika, chikungunya and dengue has raised concerns that climate change may cause mosquito vectors of these diseases to expand into more temperate regions. However, the long-term impact of other anthropogenic factors on mosquito abundance and distributions is less studied. Here, we show that anthropogenic chemical use (DDT; dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and increasing urbanization were the strongest drivers of changes in mosquito populations over the last eight decades in areas on both coasts of North America. Mosquito populations have increased as much as tenfold, and mosquito communities have become two- to fourfold richer over the last five decades. These increases are correlated with the decay in residual environmental DDT concentrations and growing human populations, but not with temperature. These results illustrate the far-reaching impacts of multiple anthropogenic disturbances on animal communities and suggest that interactions between land use and chemical use may have unforeseen consequences on ecosystems

Benign and Suspicious Ovarian Masses—MR Imaging Criteria for Characterization: Pictorial Review

Ovarian masses present a special diagnostic challenge when imaging findings cannot be categorized into benign or malignant pathology. Ultrasonography (US), Computed Tomography (CT), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are currently used to evaluate ovarian tumors. US is the first-line imaging investigation for suspected adnexal masses. Color Doppler US helps the diagnosis identifying vascularized components within the mass. CT is commonly performed in preoperative evaluation of a suspected ovarian malignancy, but it exposes patients to radiation. When US findings are nondiagnostic or equivocal, MRI can be a valuable problem solving tool, useful to give also surgical planning information. MRI is well known to provide accurate information about hemorrhage, fat, and collagen. It is able to identify different types of tissue contained in pelvic masses, distinguishing benign from malignant ovarian tumors. The knowledge of clinical syndromes and MRI features of these conditions is crucial in establishing an accurate diagnosis and determining appropriate treatment. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate MRI findings in neoplastic and non-neoplastic ovarian masses, which were assessed into three groups: cystic, solid, and solid/cystic lesions. MRI criteria for the correct diagnosis and characteristics for differentiating benign from malignant conditions are shown in this paper

Prostate cancer biomarkers: a practical review based on different clinical scenarios

Traditionally, diagnosis and staging of prostate cancer (PCa) have been based on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, digital rectal examination (DRE), and transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guided prostate biopsy. Biomarkers have been introduced into clinical practice to reduce the overdiagnosis and overtreatment of low-grade PCa and increase the success of personalized therapies for high-grade and high-stage PCa. The purpose of this review was to describe available PCa biomarkers and examine their use in clinical practice. A nonsystematic literature review was performed using PubMed and Scopus to retrieve papers related to PCa biomarkers. In addition, we manually searched websites of major urological associations for PCa guidelines to evaluate available evidence and recommendations on the role of biomarkers and their potential contribution to PCa decision-making. In addition to PSA and its derivates, thirteen blood, urine, and tissue biomarkers are mentioned in various PCa guidelines. Retrospective studies have shown their utility in three main clinical scenarios: (1) deciding whether to perform a biopsy, (2) distinguishing patients who require active treatment from those who can benefit from active surveillance, and (3) defining a subset of high-risk PCa patients who can benefit from additional therapies after RP. Several validated PCa biomarkers have become commercially available in recent years. Guidelines now recommend offering these tests in situations in which the assay result, when considered in combination with routine clinical factors, is likely to affect management. However, the lack of direct comparisons and the unproven benefits, in terms of long-term survival and cost-effectiveness, prevent these biomarkers from being integrated into routine clinical use

Low antithrombin levels are associated with low risk of cardiovascular death but are a risk factor for cancer mortality

Background: Thrombosis is common in subjects suffering from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cancer. Hypercoagulation plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of thrombosis. Therefore, the inactivation of thrombin, the key enzyme in coagulation, is tightly regulated via antithrombin (AT). AT deficiency is related to thrombosis and cardiovascular death. In this study we investigated the association between AT levels and mortality, in particularly cardiovascular- related and cancer-related death in the general population. Methods: We studied the association of AT levels and mortality in a prospective cohort sampled from the general Italian population (n = 19,676). AT levels were measured in the baseline samples, and mortality was recorded during a median follow-up period of 8.2 years. Cox regression was performed to investigate the association of all-cause, CVD-related and cancerrelated mortality with variations in AT levels. Results: In total, 989 subjects died during follow-up, of which 373 subjects of CVD and 353 of cancerrelated causes. Cox analysis revealed that, after adjustment for age, sex, current smoking, BMI, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, history of cardiovascular disease, history of cancer, vitamin K antagonists, antiplatelet medication, heparin and oral contraceptives AT levels were not associated with all-cause mortality (HRQ1vsQ5: 0.92, 95% CI:0.74- 1.15). Interestingly, the risk of CVD-related mortality was reduced in subjects with low AT levels compared to subjects with higher AT levels, after adjustment for age and sex and other confounders did not change the association (HRQ1vsQ5: 0.64, 95% CI:0.44-0.91). Moreover, low AT levels were associated with increased cancer mortality in a fully adjusted model (HRQ1vsQ2-5: 1.26, 95% CI:0.88-1.81). Conclusions: Low AT levels are associated to a lower risk of fatal cardiovascular events in the general population, regardless of age, sex and medication use. In contrast, low AT levels are associated with lower cancer survival. For the first time we show that AT levels lower than the normal range in the general population, even before the development or diagnosis of cancer, are associated with an elevated risk of cancer death

Observing and modeling multifrequency scattering of maize during the whole growth cycle

The objective of this paper is to carry out a systematic investigation about the sensitivity of radar to maize crop growth and soil moisture by considering a wide range of frequencies and angles and all linear polarizations. We show the results of a correlation study carried out on the data collected on a maize field at Suberg, in the Swiss region named Central Plain, by the multifrequency RAdio ScAtteroMeter (RASAM). This agricultural field was monitored over a long period of time at a wide range of frequencies and observation angles so that the correlation between the backscattering and crop height and the biomass and soil moisture was studied under several plant and observation conditions. Moreover, we describe some recent refinements applied to the vegetation scattering model developed at Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy, and we evaluate the accuracy of extended comparisons between model outputs and RASAM signatures. The Tor Vergata model is finally applied to give a theoretical basis to the experimental correlation findings

Detection of HPV in oral leukoplakia by brushing and biopsy: prospective study in an Italian cohort

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of HPV infection in oral leukoplakia, specifying the HPV genotypes eventually involved. We also compared the micro-biopsy and brushing HPV detecting efficacy