Exceeding the threshold value for Trioza apicalis Förster 1848 in carrot fields did not cause damage as revealed during monitoring in Germany from 2017–2020

The carrot psyllid Trioza apicalis Förster 1848 is a carrot pest in Europe that can cause serious damages in case of massive occurrence. Damages up to a total loss of yield have been reported from Scandinavian countries but also from Switzerland. The action threshold to control the pest with chemical pesticides is 0.2 T. apicalis per day and trap caught by sticky traps. We investigated the number of T. apicalis with sticky traps on carrot fields of the study regions Lüneburg/Uelzen and Hameln/Bad Pyrmont in Germany, during the period 2017–2020. The number of T. apicalis caught was generally very low in both study regions. On several fields in successive weeks almost no individuals were found in the study region Hameln/Bad Pyrmont. In Lüneburg/Uelzen was at least one field each year where the number of carrot psyllid was clearly higher than in all other fields and exceeded the threshold level. Surprisingly on carrot fields in close proximity to carrot fields from the previous year, the T. apicalis numbers were only slightly increased. Nonetheless, no loss of yield was reported for any of the fields in the four years of the study, although the generally defined threshold has been exceeded on many of the investigated carrot fields

Exceeding the threshold value for Trioza apicalis Förster 1848 in carrot fields did not cause damage as revealed during monitoring in Germany from 2017–2020

The carrot psyllid Trioza apicalis Förster 1848 is a carrot pest in Europe that can cause serious damages in case of massive occurrence. Damages up to a total loss of yield have been reported from Scandinavian countries but also from Switzerland. The action threshold to control the pest with chemical pesticides is 0.2 T. apicalis per day and trap caught by sticky traps. We investigated the number of T. apicalis with sticky traps on carrot fields of the study regions Lüneburg/Uelzen and Hameln/Bad Pyrmont in Germany, during the period 2017–2020. The number of T. apicalis caught was generally very low in both study regions. On several fields in successive weeks almost no individuals were found in the study region Hameln/Bad Pyrmont. In Lüneburg/Uelzen was at least one field each year where the number of carrot psyllid was clearly higher than in all other fields and exceeded the threshold level. Surprisingly on carrot fields in close proximity to carrot fields from the previous year, the T. apicalis numbers were only slightly increased. Nonetheless, no loss of yield was reported for any of the fields in the four years of the study, although the generally defined threshold has been exceeded on many of the investigated carrot fields.Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100010771Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (DE)Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI), Bundesforschungsinstitut für Kulturpflanzen (4250)Peer Reviewe

Determination of Cytomegalovirus Prevalence and Glycoprotein B Genotypes Among Ulcerative Colitis Patients in Ahvaz, Iran

Background: The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a common pathogen which usually remains asymptomatic in the healthy adults; however, it can cause a symptomatic disease in the immunocompromised patients. The risk of infection with HCMV increases in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients as a result of receiving immunosuppressive agents. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and the glycoprotein B genotypes of HCMV among the patients with HCMV disease superimposed on an UC flare that required hospitalization in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ahvaz, Iran, during 2010- 2012. Patients and Methods: In this case-control study, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded intestinal tissue samples were taken from 98 patients with UC disease including 53 males and 45 females (mean age ± standard deviation, 38.95 ± 17.93) and 67 control patients with noninflammatory disease who were referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital during 2010-2012. Detection of HCMV genome in intestinal samples was carried out by seminested polymerase chain reaction. Glycoprotein B genotypes were determined by sequencing. Results: Among 98 patients with UC, only 12 (12.2%) patients were positive for HCMV genome, while the HCMV genome was not detected in any of the controls. (P = 0.002). The distribution of HCMV gB genotypes in 12 CMV-positive UC patients was as follow: gB1, 11 (91.7%) and gB3, 1 (8.3%). The most prevalent genotype in CMV-positive UC patients was gB1. Conclusions: In this study, high prevalence of 91.7% HCMV gB1 genotype was predominant among HCMV-positive UC patients, which suggests that there might be an association between HCMV gB genotype 1 and UC disease

Pyoderma gangrenosum – a review

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare noninfectious neutrophilic dermatosis. Clinically it starts with sterile pustules that rapidly progress and turn into painful ulcers of variable depth and size with undermined violaceous borders. The legs are most commonly affected but other parts of the skin and mucous membranes may also be involved. Course can be mild or malignant, chronic or relapsing with remarkable morbidity. In many cases PG is associated with an underlying disease, most commonly inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatic or haematological disease and malignancy. Diagnosis of PG is based on history of an underlying disease, typical clinical presentation, histopathology, and exclusion of other diseases that would lead to a similar appearance. The peak of incidence occurs between the ages of 20 to 50 years with women being more often affected than men. Aetiology has not been clearly determined yet. The treatment of PG is a challenge. Randomized, double-blinded prospective multicenter trials for PG are not available. The best documented treatments are systemic corticosteroids and ciclosporin A. Combinations of steroids with cytotoxic drugs are used in resistant cases. The combination of steroids with sulfa drugs or immunosuppressants has been used as steroid-sparing modalities. Anti-tumor necrosis alpha therapy in Crohn's disease showed a rapid response of PG. Skin transplants and the application of bioengineered skin is useful in selected cases as a complement to the immunosuppressive treatment. Topical therapy with modern wound dressings is useful to minimize pain and the risk of secondary infections. Despite recent advances in therapy, the prognosis of PG remains unpredictable

Comparison of Peptide Array Substrate Phosphorylation of c-Raf and Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase Kinase Kinase 8

Kinases are pivotal regulators of cellular physiology. The human genome contains more than 500 putative kinases, which exert their action via the phosphorylation of specific substrates. The determinants of this specificity are still only partly understood and as a consequence it is difficult to predict kinase substrate preferences from the primary structure, hampering the understanding of kinase function in physiology and prompting the development of technologies that allow easy assessment of kinase substrate consensus sequences. Hence, we decided to explore the usefulness of phosphorylation of peptide arrays comprising of 1176 different peptide substrates with recombinant kinases for determining kinase substrate preferences, based on the contribution of individual amino acids to total array phosphorylation. Employing this technology, we were able to determine the consensus peptide sequences for substrates of both c-Raf and Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase Kinase Kinase 8, two highly homologous kinases with distinct signalling roles in cellular physiology. The results show that although consensus sequences for these two kinases identified through our analysis share important chemical similarities, there is still some sequence specificity that could explain the different biological action of the two enzymes. Thus peptide arrays are a useful instrument for deducing substrate consensus sequences and highly homologous kinases can differ in their requirement for phosphorylation events

Tissue level, activation and cellular localisation of TGF-β1 and association with survival in gastric cancer patients

Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), a tumour suppressing as well as tumour-promoting cytokine, is stored as an extracellular matrix-bound latent complex. We examined TGF-β1 activation and localisation of TGF-β1 activity in gastric cancer. Gastric tumours showed increased stromal and epithelial total TGF-β1 staining by immunohistochemistry. Active TGF-β1 was present in malignant epithelial cells, but most strongly in smooth muscle actin expressing fibroblasts. Normal gastric mucosa from the same patient showed some staining for total, and little for active TGF-β1. Active TGF-β1 levels were determined by ELISA on tissue homogenates, confirming a strong increase in active TGF-β1 in tumours compared to corresponding normal mucosa. Moreover, high tumour TGF-β1 activity levels were significantly associated with clinical parameters, including worse survival of the patients. Total and active TGF-β1 levels were not correlated, suggesting a specific activation process. Of the different proteases tested, active TGF-β1 levels were only correlated with urokinase activity levels. The correlation with urokinase activity suggests a role for plasmin in TGF-β1 activation in the tumour microenvironment, resulting in transformation of resident fibroblasts to tumour promoting myofibroblasts. In conclusion we have shown localisation and clinical relevance of TGF-β1 activity levels in gastric cancer

Regulating STING in health and disease.

The presence of cytosolic double-stranded DNA molecules can trigger multiple innate immune signalling pathways which converge on the activation of an ER-resident innate immune adaptor named "STimulator of INterferon Genes (STING)". STING has been found to mediate type I interferon response downstream of cyclic dinucleotides and a number of DNA and RNA inducing signalling pathway. In addition to its physiological function, a rapidly increasing body of literature highlights the role for STING in human disease where variants of the STING proteins, as well as dysregulated STING signalling, have been implicated in a number of inflammatory diseases. This review will summarise the recent structural and functional findings of STING, and discuss how STING research has promoted the development of novel therapeutic approaches and experimental tools to improve treatment of tumour and autoimmune diseases