The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

AIM: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery. METHODS: This was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin. RESULTS: Overall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P < 0.001). After adjustment, delay was not associated with a lower rate of complete resection (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.90-1.55, P = 0.224), which was consistent in elective patients only (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.69-1.27, P = 0.672). Longer delays were not associated with poorer outcomes. CONCLUSION: One in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease

Interleukin-1 beta has atheroprotective effects in advanced atherosclerotic lesions of mice

Despite decades of research, our understanding of the processes controlling late-stage atherosclerotic plaque stability remains poor. A prevailing hypothesis is that reducing inflammation may improve advanced plaque stability, as recently tested in the Canakinumab Anti-inflammatory Thrombosis Outcome Study (CANTOS) trial, in which post-myocardial infarction subjects were treated with an IL-1β antibody. Here, we performed intervention studies in which smooth muscle cell (SMC) lineage-tracing Apoe-/- mice with advanced atherosclerosis were treated with anti-IL-1β or IgG control antibodies. Surprisingly, we found that IL-1β antibody treatment between 18 and 26 weeks of Western diet feeding induced a marked reduction in SMC and collagen content, but increased macrophage numbers in the fibrous cap. Moreover, although IL-1β antibody treatment had no effect on lesion size, it completely inhibited beneficial outward remodeling. We also found that SMC-specific knockout of Il1r1 (encoding IL-1 receptor type 1) resulted in smaller lesions nearly devoid of SMCs and lacking a fibrous cap, whereas macrophage-selective loss of IL-1R1 had no effect on lesion size or composition. Taken together, these results show that IL-1β has multiple beneficial effects in late-stage murine atherosclerosis, including promotion of outward remodeling and formation and maintenance of an SMC- and collagen-rich fibrous cap

---Revision---of---the---New---Zealand---species---of---the---Genus---Pselaphogenius Reitter--- (Staphylinidae:---Pselaphinae:---Pselaphitae:---Pselaphini)---

Owens, Brittany E., Carlton, Christopher E. (2022): ---Revision---of---the---New---Zealand---species---of---the---Genus---Pselaphogenius Reitter--- (Staphylinidae:---Pselaphinae:---Pselaphitae:---Pselaphini)---. Zootaxa 5155 (2): 187-220, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5155.2.

Pselaphotumulus, a new genus of pselaphine endemic to New Zealand (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae: Pselaphitae)

© 2020, © 2020 The Royal Society of New Zealand. Pselaphotumulus Owens and Carlton, gen. nov., is described as the sixth genus in the tribe Pselaphini known from New Zealand. Three new species are described: Pselaphotumulus aorerei, sp. nov., Pselaphotumulus dubius, sp. nov. and Pselaphotumulus unus, sp. nov. Three species, Pselaphus cavelli (Broun 1893), Pselaphus oviceps (Broun 1917) and Pselaphus urquharti (Broun 1917) are transferred to Pselaphotumulus, nov. combs. Lectotypes from type series in the New Zealand Broun Collection (Natural History Museum, London) are designated for these three species. Habitus photographs, distributional maps and line drawings of diagnostic characters are provided for each species. A key to species is provided. Searches of museum collections have not yielded representatives outside of New Zealand, suggesting that this is the first endemic genus in the tribe Pselaphini described from the New Zealand’s main islands, specifically, the South Island. Pselaphotumulus species exhibit restricted distribution patterns that approximately coincide with the Pacific/Indo Australian Plate boundary

Clarification of the Status of the Subgenus Planityphlus Park (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae)

Owens, Brittany E., Carlton, Christopher E. (2017): Clarification of the Status of the Subgenus Planityphlus Park (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae). The Coleopterists Bulletin 71 (2): 374, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065X-71.2.374, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1649/0010-065x-71.2.37

Figs. 12–13 in "Berlese vs. Winkler": Comparison of Two Forest Litter Coleoptera Extraction Methods and the Ecoli (Extraction of Coleoptera in Litter) Protocol

Figs. 12–13. Accumulation of specimens of Curculionidae obtained from six litter samples across extraction intervals. 12) Berlese funnels; 13) Winkler funnels.Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Owens, Brittany E. &amp; Carlton, Christopher E., 2015, "Berlese vs. Winkler": Comparison of Two Forest Litter Coleoptera Extraction Methods and the Ecoli (Extraction of Coleoptera in Litter) Protocol, pp. 645-661 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 69 (4)&lt;/i&gt; on page 657, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065x-69.4.645, &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10106270"&gt;http://zenodo.org/record/10106270&lt;/a&gt

A New Species of Pseudactium Casey (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) from Tennessee, USA

Pseudactium credoi Owens and Carlton, new species, is described from three male specimens collected at a blacklight in Wilson County, Tennessee. Pseudactium credoi is similar to Pseudactium parabolicum (Brendel) and Pseudactium ursum Carlton in the form of the ventral projections of ventrite III, but secondary sexual modifications on the legs and the form of the aedeagus differ in ways that are consistent with species boundaries among other pselaphine taxa. A modified key to the species of Pseudactium Casey is provided to allow for the separation of P. credoi from the other twelve described species in the genus. This is the third species of Pseudactium described since the last revision of the genus

A New Species of Pseudactium Casey (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) From Tennessee, USA

Pseudactium credoi Owens and Carlton, new species, is described from three male specimens collected at a blacklight in Wilson County, Tennessee. Pseudactium credoi is similar to Pseudactium parabolicum (Brendel) and Pseudactium ursum Carlton in the form of the ventral projections of ventrite III, but secondary sexual modifications on the legs and the form of the aedeagus differ in ways that are consistent with species boundaries among other pselaphine taxa. A modified key to the species of Pseudactium Casey is provided to allow for the separation of P. credoi from the other twelve described species in the genus. This is the third species of Pseudactium described since the last revision of the genus