Susceptibilidad de híbridos de Populus spp. al ataque de áfidos y roya en tres localidades de Chile

Ramirez, CC (reprint author), Univ Talca, Inst Biol Vegetal & Biotecnol, Talca, Chile.In the last few years an increasing interest on species and hybrids of the genus Populus has occurred in Chile. However, such plantations are strongly affected by pest and diseases. With the aim to identify potentially resistant (or less susceptible) hybrids of the genus Populus, the susceptibility of some poplar hybrids growing in experimental nurseries in Southern-Center Chile to the aphid Chaitophorus leucomelas Koch and to the rust Melampsora spp. was assessed. Results showed that aphid abundance was higher in the month of March, particularly in Coinco (O'Higgins Region) and lower in Pillanlelbun (Los Rios Regions) and Yumbel (Biobio Region). In Pillanlelbun the most susceptible hybrid to aphids was TDxTD [(P. trichocarpa x P. deltoides) x (P. trichocarpa x P. deltoides)], and the less susceptible ones were TDxD [(P. trichocarpa x P. deltoides) x P. deltoides], TxN (P. trichocarpa x P. nigra), TMxTM [(P. trichocarpa x P. maximowitzii) x (P. trichocarpa x P. maximowitzii)] and TDxT [(P. trichocarpa x P. deltoides) x P. trichocarpa]. Hybrid TxN (P. trichocarpa x P. nigra) was the most susceptible to rust in all testing sites, while the less susceptible hybrids were TDxT [(P. trichocarpa x P. deltoides) x P. trichocarpa], TDxD [(P. trichocarpa x P. deltoides) x P. trichocarpa] and TDxT [(P. trichocarpa x P. deltoides) x P. trichocarpa]. These susceptibilities varied among localities, particularly on aphids. Genetic and environmental factors accounting for by these results are discussed

Should the food industry resign from the health department too?

Furore over links between Assistant Minister for Health Fiona Nash’s office and industry continues today with revelations that her former chief of staff is connected to the alcohol, as well as the food industry. Alastair Furnival resigned last Friday over his role in shutting down a website about the health star rating food labelling system and it’s now been revealed that he played a key role in cancelling the funding of the Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia. Furnival is co-owner of a lobbying firm that has represented major food companies opposed to the new front-of-pack labelling system. According to Fairfax, he and his wife also co-own a company, which, in turn, owns another that lobbied for the alcohol industry in 2012. Such conflicts of interest place question marks over an individual’s capacity to judge a situation, perform a duty or make a decision in a fair and impartial manner. But what if a public institution, such as the Department of Health itself, has conflicted interests? Furnival’s conflict of interest is worrying and should be thoroughly scrutinised. But the influence of the food and alcohol industries at the institutional-level precedes Furnival and will continue despite his resignation.Rock Ethics Institute at the Pennsylvania State University and the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University

Efficacy and safety of trabectedin in metastatic uterine leiomyosarcoma: A retrospective multicenter study of the Spanish ovarian cancer research group (GEICO)

Objective: We assessed trabectedin in patients with advanced uterine leiomyosarcoma (uLMS) in real-life clinical practice given according to the marketing authorization. Methods: Thirty-six women from 11 tertiary hospitals across Spain who received trabectedin after anthracycline-containing regimen/s were retrospectively analyzed. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Results: Median PFS and overall survival (OS) since starting trabectedin treatment were 5.4 (95%CI: 3.5–7.3) and 18.5 months (95%CI: 11.5–25.6), respectively. Median OS was significantly higher (P = 0.028) in patients receiving trabectedin in = 2nd line (25.3 months) than in = 3rd (15.1 months) and with ECOG performance status = 1 at trabectedin start (19.8 months) than ECOG 2–3 (6.0 months, P = 0.013). When calculating OS since diagnosis, patients had longer OS with localized disease at diagnosis (87.4 months) vs. locally advanced (30.0 months) or metastatic (44.0 months, P = 0.041); and patients who received adjuvant therapy (87.4 months) compared with those who did not (30.0 months, P = 0.003), especially when receiving radiochemotherapy (106.7 months, P = 0.027). One patient (2.8%) had a complete response (CR) and nine patients (25.0%) achieved a partial response (PR) for an objective response rate of 27.8% with median response duration of 11 months (range: 4–93). Eighteen patients (50.0%) had disease stabilization for a disease control rate (DCR) of 77.8%. More patients receiving trabectedin in 1st-line of advanced disease achieved CR (16.7%) and PR (50.0%) than those in = 2nd line/s (0.0% and 20.0%), whereas the DCR was similar across treatment lines. Reversible neutropenia was the most common grade 3/4 laboratory abnormality (19.4%). Conclusions: Trabectedin confers clinical benefit in patients with recurrent/metastatic uLMS, given after failure to an anthracycline-based regimen being comparable to those reported in clinical trials and with a manageable safety profile

Shapes of the 192,190^{192,190}Pb ground states from beta decay studies using the total absorption technique

The beta decay of $^{192,190}$Pb has been studied using the total absorption technique at the ISOLDE(CERN) facility. The beta-decay strength deduced from the measurements, combined with QRPA theoretical calculations, allow us to infer that the ground states of the $^{192,190}$Pb isotopes are spherical. These results represent the first application of the shape determination method using the total absorption technique for heavy nuclei and in a region where there is considerable interest in nuclear shapes and shape effects