Contact-Induced Emigration of Potato Leafhopper (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) from Alfalfa-Forage Grass Mixtures

Studies were conducted to evaluate the mechanisms leading to increased potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae (Harris), emigration from alfalfa-forage grass mixtures. A laboratory behavioral bioassay was used to measure daily emigration rates of adult leafhoppers from alfalfa, Medicago sativa L.; smooth bromegrass, Bromus inermis Leyss.; orchardgrass, Dactylis glomerata L.; and timothy, Phleum pratense L., alone and in 1:1 mixtures of each grass with alfalfa. Emigration was ≍9-fold greater from pure bromegrass and orchardgrass treatments versus alfalfa alone, and ≍5-fold greater than from mixtures of alfalfa and each grass species. In a 2nd experiment, alfalfa and forage grasses were separated by a barrier permeable to plant volatiles. Only 31% of the potato leafhoppers placed on alfalfa adjacent to either alfalfa or grass emigrated. However, when introduced to the side containing a forage grass, <85% of the leafhoppers emigrated, regardless of adjacent plant. Thus, stimuli obtained from physical contact with the grass versus grass volatiles alone were required to elicit emigration. Observations of potato leafhoppers on single plants of smooth bromegrass, orchardgrass, and alfalfa revealed that individuals fed on all 3 species; however, the frequency and duration of probing differed as did mean residency time (10.7 h alfalfa, 7.5 h bromegrass, 5.9 h orchardgrass). These experiments suggested that physical contact is necessary to elicit emigration from grasses. By increasing emigration, alfalfa-forage grass mixtures may reduce potato leafhopper damage to alfalfa. Additionally, intercropping with forage grasses may lower the number of feeding bouts on alfalfa and reduce subsequent hopperbur

Multitarget microangiopathy in a young healthy man with COVID-19 disease: A case report.

A 41‑year‑old man presented to the emergency department complaining of decrease of vision in his left eye. Initial examination was consistent with retrobulbar optic neuritis, and an intravenous drip of methylprednisolone was started. On the third day, the fundus examination revealed the appearance of multiple Purtscher‑like cotton‑wool spots in the posterior pole and nasally to the optic disc, slight retinal whitening around the fovea, and cherry‑red spot. The patient reported flu‑like symptoms, and he tested positive at PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test for 2019‑nCoV (2019 novel coronavirus) infection. Assuming possible 2019‑nCoV‑related vascular damage, we prescribed low‑molecular‑weight heparin. The lesions were regressing at follow‑up, and we registered a complete visual recovery

Pulmonary embolism in COVID-19: Ventilation and perfusion computed tomography

This is an illustrated case about CT ventilation and perfusion in Covid patient

FFF-based high-throughput sequence shortlisting to support the development of aptamer-based analytical strategies

Aptamers are biomimetic receptors that are increasingly exploited for the development of optical and electrochemical aptasensors. They are selected in vitro by the SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment) procedure, but although they are promising recognition elements, for their reliable applicability for analytical purposes, one cannot ignore sample components that cause matrix effects. This particularly applies when different SELEX-selected aptamers and related truncated sequences are available for a certain target, and the choice of the aptamer should be driven by the specific downstream application. In this context, the present work aimed at investigating the potentialities of asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) with UV detection for the development of a screening method of a large number of anti-lysozyme aptamers towards lysozyme, including randomized sequences and an interfering agent (serum albumin). The possibility to work in native conditions and selectively monitor the evolution of untagged aptamer signal as a result of aptamer-protein binding makes the devised method effective as a strategy for shortlisting the most promising aptamers both in terms of affinity and in terms of selectivity, to support subsequent development of aptamer-based analytical devices. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.

The upcoming role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for retinal and glaucomatous diseases

: In recent years, the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning (DL) models is attracting increasing global interest in the field of ophthalmology. DL models are considered the current state-of-art among the AI technologies. In fact, DL systems have the capability to recognize, quantify and describe pathological clinical features. Their role is currently being investigated for the early diagnosis and management of several retinal diseases and glaucoma. The application of DL models to fundus photographs, visual fields and optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging has provided promising results in the early detection of diabetic retinopathy (DR), wet age-related macular degeneration (w-AMD), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and glaucoma. In this review we analyze the current evidence of AI applied to these ocular diseases, as well as discuss the possible future developments and potential clinical implications, without neglecting the present limitations and challenges in order to adopt AI and DL models as powerful tools in the everyday routine clinical practice

Microfluidic tools for enhanced characterization of therapeutic stem cells and prediction of their potential antimicrobial secretome

Antibiotic resistance is creating enormous attention on the development of new antibiotic-free therapy strategies for bacterial diseases. Mesenchymal stromal stem cells (MSCs) are the most promising candidates in current clinical trials and included in several cell-therapy protocols. Together with the well-known immunomodulatory and regenerative potential of the MSC secretome, these cells have shown direct and indirect anti-bacterial effects. However, the low reproducibility and standardization of MSCs from different sources are the current limitations prior to the purification of cell-free secreted antimicrobial peptides and exosomes. In order to improve MSC characterization, novel label-free functional tests, evaluating the biophysical properties of the cells, will be advan-tageous for their cell profiling, population sorting, and quality control. We discuss the potential of emerging microfluidic technologies providing new insights into density, shape, and size of live cells, starting from heterogeneous or 3D cultured samples. The prospective application of these technologies to studying MSC populations may contribute to developing new biopharmaceutical strategies with a view to naturally overcoming bacterial defense mechanisms