Possible fungus-eating cucujiformian beetle larvae with setiferous processes from Cretaceous and Miocene ambers

Beetle larvae represent important components of the modern-day fauna. This should have been the case in the past as well. Yet, fossil beetle larvae are rare, or at least are rare in the literature, as identifying a beetle larva to a narrower taxonomic group is very challenging. This is even more complicated if prominent features have evolved convergently in several lineages. Yet, even in such cases, an ecological interpretation of the fossils is possible if the convergent character is coupled to a specific life habit. For example, different, not closely related, beetle larvae that possess setiferous processes. We here report on three beetle larvae, one from Miocene Mexican and two from Cretaceous Kachin amber, Myanmar. These larvae possess setiferous processes, most similar to the processes of modern representatives of Cucujiformia, especially of the groups Endomychidae, Erotylidae, Cerylonidae and Coccinellidae. Considering the shape of the entire habitus, we see the most similarities between the new larvae and the modern larvae of Endomychidae. However, the new larvae and the larvae of modern representatives differ in certain aspects, most prominently in the body size. The fossils are smaller than their extant counterparts with setiferous processes. Hence the fossils could represent larvae of Endomychidae, but the case remains unclear. Despite this uncertainty, we suggest a lifestyle of the fossil larvae as fungus-eaters on rotting wood. This lifestyle is not only known from extant larvae of Endomychidae, but also from other larvae with similar processes

Brentuximab vedotin for relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma: experience in Turkey

PubMedID: 25231929Current treatment modalities can cure up to 70–80 % of patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Approximately, 20–30 % of patients require further treatment options. Brentuximab vedotin has been approved for the treatment of relapsed and refractory Hodgkin lymphoma. In the present study, we report the experience with brentuximab vedotin as single agent in 58 patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma. The objective response rate was 63.5 % with 13 complete responders (26.5 %) among 49 patients evaluated at the early phase of treatment (2–5 cycles). Upon treatment prolongation (?6 cycles), 37 patients achieved a final objective response rate of 32.4 % with 21.6 % of complete and 10.8 % of partial response. Overall survival at 12 months was 70.6 %, and progression-free survival at 12 months was 32.8 %. Median overall survival could not be reached and median progression-free survival was 7 months. While the median duration of response was 9 months in the whole cohort, it was 11.5 months in the complete responders. Complete response rates in patients treated with >3 chemotherapy regimens before brentuximab vedotin were significantly lower (p = 0.016). Fourteen patients were subsequently transplanted. In conclusion, brentuximab vedotin provided a bridge to transplantation in approximately one quarter of the patients. The declining response rates during the course of treatment suggest that transplantation should be implemented early during brentuximab vedotin treatment. © 2014, The Author(s)