Evaluation of botanical insecticides to control whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius) and tomato flee (Halticu ssp) in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.), in Nicaragua

El complejo mosca blanca (Bemisia tabaci)-Geminivirus y Halticus sp son las principales plagas causantes de pérdidas económicas en el cultivo de tomate (Solanum lycopersicum Mill) en el municipio de Tisma-Masaya. En base a esta situación se realizó un estudio para evaluar la efectividad que tiene para controlar estas y otras plagas secundarias los tratamientos botánicos: chile + ajo + jabón, madero negro, crisantemo, extracto alcohólico + chile, extracto alcohólico + chile + ajo y testigo en el período comprendido entre diciembre 2013 a febrero 2014. De los tratamientos evaluados, el menor número de moscas blancas por planta y el menor porcentaje de severidad a los cien después de trasplante lo obtuvo el tratamiento extracto alcohólico + chile + ajo. El tratamiento madero negro presentó la mayor efectividad en el manejo de poblaciones de Halticus sp. El mayor rendimiento se obtuvo con extracto alcohólico + chile + ajo con 34 685.18 kg ha-1 seguido del tratamiento chile + ajo + jabón con 30 614.28 kg ha-1. De acuerdo al análisis de tasa de retorno marginal, el tratamiento chile+ajo+jabón es el que obtuvo la mejor tasa de retorno marginal con 1 476%, es decir, USD 14.76 por cada dólar invertido. Además el análisis de biotipo de mosca blanca realizado en la Universidad de Tucson, Arizona muestra que un 66.66% corresponde a la mosca blanca autóctona (biotipo A), y el 33.33% corresponde al biotipo B, el cual es más agresivo que el A. Según el análisis de los begomovirus se determinó: enrollamiento severo de la hoja de tomate (ToSLCV) con al menos 96% de identidad en las muestras y el virus del mosaico dorado de la chiltoma (PepGMV) con un 98% de identidad.The whitefly-virus complex (Bemisia tabaci)-Geminivirus and Halticus sp. are the main cause of economic losses in tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum Mill) in the municipality of Tisma, Masaya. Due to this situation, a study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of botanical insecticides such as: Chile + Garlic + Soap, Madero Negro, Chrysanthemum, alcoholic extract + Chili and alcoholic extract + Chili + Garlic in the period from December 2013 to February 2014. Of the treatments evaluated, the lowest number of whiteflies per plant and lower percentage of severity at one hundred days after transplanting was obtained with the treatment Alcoholic extract+Chili+Garlic. The treatment Madero Negro had the highest effectiveness in managing populations of Halticus sp. The economic analysis showed that the highest yield was obtained by the Alcoholic extract+Chili+Garlic with 34 685.18 kg/ha-1 followed by the treatment Chili+Garlic+Soap with 30 614.28 kg/ha-1. According to the marginal return analysis, this proved that the treatment Chili+Garlic+Soap is the one who obtained the best marginal rate of return with 1 476 %, which means that USD 14.76 is obtained for every dollar invested. According to samples of tomato tissue and whiteflies insect samples sent for analysis to at the University of Arizona in Tucson, this determined that the 66.66% of white flies samples from Tisma are indigenous whitefly, biotype “A”, and the 33.33% corresponds to the “B” biotype, the one that is more aggressive than “A”. The Begomoviruses analysis found that severe curl leaf tomato (ToSLCV) with at least 96% and golden mosaic virus of pepper (PepGMV) with 98% identity were identified in this stud

Comportamiento de un hibrido experimental de canola frente a tres variedades convencionales, en Santa Rosa, La Pampa, campaña 1987/88.

In the experimental field of the Facultad de Agronomía de la Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, situated at 36°46' south latitude, at 64°16' west longitud and at 210 metres above sea level; a trial was conducted with 3 conventional varieties of "canola" rapeseed: Wester, Midas and Global, and a experimental hybrid obtained by genetic cytoplasmic malesterility. A late square design was used. The sowing date was august 18, 1987. Planting and harvest were made manually. The CS-002 hybrid surpassed Midas and Global (Tuckey p=0,05) and it also registred the highest percentage of oil and the least of erucic acid and glucosinolates.En el campo experimental de la Facultad de Agronomía de la Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, ubicado a 36°46' de latitud sur, a 64°16' de longitud oeste y a 210 msnm, se realizó un ensayo con tres variedades convencionales de "canola": Westar, Midas y Global y un híbrido experimental CS-002 obtenido por androesterilidad genéticocitoplásmica. El ensayo fue realizado en cuadrado latino, y la siembra se realizó el 18/8/87-. Tanto ésta como la cosecha se efectuaron en forma manual. El híbrido CS-002 superó significativamente a Midas y Global (Tuckey p-0,05) y a su vez registró el mayor porcentaje de materia grasa y el menor contenido de ácido erúcico y glucosinolatos

Protein Array Profiling of Tic Patient Sera Reveals a Broad Range and Enhanced Immune Response against Group A Streptococcus Antigens

The human pathogen Group A Streptococcus (Streptococcus pyogenes, GAS) is widely recognized as a major cause of common pharyngitis as well as of severe invasive diseases and non-suppurative sequelae associated with the existence of GAS antigens eliciting host autoantibodies. It has been proposed that a subset of paediatric disorders characterized by tics and obsessive-compulsive symptoms would exacerbate in association with relapses of GAS-associated pharyngitis. This hypothesis is however still controversial. In the attempt to shed light on the contribution of GAS infections to the onset of neuropsychiatric or behavioral disorders affecting as many as 3% of children and adolescents, we tested the antibody response of tic patient sera to a representative panel of GAS antigens. In particular, 102 recombinant proteins were spotted on nitrocellulose-coated glass slides and probed against 61 sera collected from young patients with typical tic neuropsychiatric symptoms but with no overt GAS infection. Sera from 35 children with neither tic disorder nor overt GAS infection were also analyzed. The protein recognition patterns of these two sera groups were compared with those obtained using 239 sera from children with GAS-associated pharyngitis. This comparative analysis identified 25 antigens recognized by sera of the three patient groups and 21 antigens recognized by tic and pharyngitis sera, but poorly or not recognized by sera from children without tic. Interestingly, these antigens appeared to be, in quantitative terms, more immunogenic in tic than in pharyngitis patients. Additionally, a third group of antigens appeared to be preferentially and specifically recognized by tic sera. These findings provide the first evidence that tic patient sera exhibit immunological profiles typical of individuals who elicited a broad, specific and strong immune response against GAS. This may be relevant in the context of one of the hypothesis proposing that GAS antigen-dependent induction of autoantibodies in susceptible individuals may be involved the occurrence of tic disorders

Phase II study of capecitabine-based concomitant chemoradiation followed by durvalumab as a neoadjuvant strategy in locally advanced rectal cancer: the PANDORA trial

Background: This study investigated the efficacy of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by durvalumab as neoadjuvant therapy of locally advanced rectal cancer.Patients and methods: The PANDORA trial is a prospective, phase II, open-label, single-arm, multicenter study aimed at evaluating the efficacy and safety of preoperative treatment with durvalumab (1500 mg every 4 weeks for three administrations) following long-course radiotherapy (RT) plus concomitant capecitabine (5040 cGy RT in 25-28 fractions over 5 weeks and capecitabine administered at 825 mg/m2 twice daily). The primary endpoint was the pathological complete response (pCR) rate; secondary endpoints were the proportion of clinical complete remissions and safety. The sample size was estimated assuming a null pCR proportion of 0.15 and an alternative pCR proportion of 0.30 (a = 0.05, power = 0.80). The proposed treatment could be considered promising if >= 13 pCRs were observed in 55 patients (EudraCT: 2018-004758-39; NCT04083365).Results: Between November 2019 and August 2021, 60 patients were accrued, of which 55 were assessable for the study's objectives. Two patients experienced disease progression during treatment. Nineteen out of 55 eligible patients achieved a pCR (34.5%, 95% confidence interval 22.2% to 48.6%). Regarding toxicity related to durvalumab, grade 3 adverse events (AEs) occurred in four patients (7.3%) (diarrhea, skin toxicity, transaminase increase, lipase increase, and pancolitis). Grade 4 toxicity was not observed. In 20 patients (36.4%), grade 1-2 AEs related to durvalumab were observed. The most common were endocrine toxicity (hyper/hypothyroidism), dermatologic toxicity (skin rash), and gastrointestinal toxicity (transaminase increase, nausea, diarrhea, constipation).Conclusion: This study met its primary endpoint showing that CRT followed by durvalumab could increase pCR with a safe toxicity profile. This combination is a promising, feasible strategy worthy of further investigation

Non-Invasive Quantification of White and Brown Adipose Tissues and Liver Fat Content by Computed Tomography in Mice

OBJECTIVES: Obesity and its distribution pattern are important factors for the prediction of the onset of diabetes in humans. Since several mouse models are suitable to study the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes the aim was to validate a novel computed tomograph model (Aloka-Hitachi LCT-200) for the quantification of visceral, subcutaneous, brown and intrahepatic fat depots in mice. METHODS: Different lean and obese mouse models (C57BL/6, B6.V-Lep(ob), NZO) were used to determine the most adequate scanning parameters for the detection of the different fat depots. The data were compared with those obtained after preparation and weighing the fat depots. Liver fat content was determined by biochemical analysis. RESULTS: The correlations between weights of fat tissues on scale and weights determined by CT were significant for subcutaneous (r(2) = 0.995), visceral (r(2) = 0.990) and total white adipose tissue (r(2) = 0.992). Moreover, scans in the abdominal region, between lumbar vertebrae L4 to L5 correlated with whole-body fat distribution allowing experimenters to reduce scanning time and animal exposure to radiation and anesthesia. Test-retest reliability and measurements conducted by different experimenters showed a high reproducibility in the obtained results. Intrahepatic fat content estimated by CT was linearly related to biochemical analysis (r(2) = 0.915). Furthermore, brown fat mass correlated well with weighted brown fat depots (r(2) = 0.952). In addition, short-term cold-expose (4 °C, 4 hours) led to alterations in brown adipose tissue attributed to a reduction in triglyceride content that can be visualized as an increase in Hounsfield units by CT imaging. CONCLUSION: The 3D imaging of fat by CT provides reliable results in the quantification of total, visceral, subcutaneous, brown and intrahepatic fat in mice. This non-invasive method allows the conduction of longitudinal studies of obesity in mice and therefore enables experimenters to investigate the onset of complex diseases such as diabetes and obesity

Gene-chip studies of adipogenesis-regulated microRNAs in mouse primary adipocytes and human obesity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Adipose tissue abundance relies partly on the factors that regulate adipogenesis, i.e. proliferation and differentiation of adipocytes. While components of the transcriptional program that initiates adipogenesis is well-known, the importance of microRNAs in adipogenesis is less well studied. We thus set out to investigate whether miRNAs would be actively modulated during adipogenesis and obesity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Several models exist to study adipogenesis <it>in vitro</it>, of which the cell line 3T3-L1 is the most well known, albeit not the most physiologically appropriate. Thus, as an alternative, we produced EXIQON microarray of brown and white <it>primary </it>murine adipocytes (prior to and following differentiation) to yield global profiles of miRNAs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found 65 miRNAs regulated during <it>in vitro </it>adipogenesis in primary adipocytes. We evaluated the similarity of our responses to those found in non-primary cell models, through literature data-mining. When comparing primary adipocyte profiles, with those of cell lines reported in the literature, we found a high degree of difference in 'adipogenesis' regulated miRNAs suggesting that the model systems may not be accurately representing adipogenesis. The expression of 10 adipogenesis-regulated miRNAs were studied using real-time qPCR and then we selected 5 miRNAs, that showed robust expression, were profiled in subcutaneous adipose tissue obtained from 20 humans with a range of body mass indices (BMI, range = 21-48, and all samples have U133+2 Affymetrix profiles provided). Of the miRNAs tested, mir-21 was robustly expressed in human adipose tissue and positively correlated with BMI (R2 = 0.49, p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In conclusion, we provide a preliminary analysis of miRNAs associated with primary cell <it>in vitro </it>adipogenesis and demonstrate that the inflammation-associated miRNA, mir-21 is up-regulated in subcutaneous adipose tissue in human obesity. Further, we provide a novel transcriptomics database of EXIQON and Affymetrix adipocyte profiles to facilitate data mining.</p

The management of acute venous thromboembolism in clinical practice. Results from the European PREFER in VTE Registry

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Europe. Data from real-world registries are necessary, as clinical trials do not represent the full spectrum of VTE patients seen in clinical practice. We aimed to document the epidemiology, management and outcomes of VTE using data from a large, observational database. PREFER in VTE was an international, non-interventional disease registry conducted between January 2013 and July 2015 in primary and secondary care across seven European countries. Consecutive patients with acute VTE were documented and followed up over 12 months. PREFER in VTE included 3,455 patients with a mean age of 60.8 ± 17.0 years. Overall, 53.0 % were male. The majority of patients were assessed in the hospital setting as inpatients or outpatients (78.5 %). The diagnosis was deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) in 59.5 % and pulmonary embolism (PE) in 40.5 %. The most common comorbidities were the various types of cardiovascular disease (excluding hypertension; 45.5 %), hypertension (42.3 %) and dyslipidaemia (21.1 %). Following the index VTE, a large proportion of patients received initial therapy with heparin (73.2 %), almost half received a vitamin K antagonist (48.7 %) and nearly a quarter received a DOAC (24.5 %). Almost a quarter of all presentations were for recurrent VTE, with &gt;80 % of previous episodes having occurred more than 12 months prior to baseline. In conclusion, PREFER in VTE has provided contemporary insights into VTE patients and their real-world management, including their baseline characteristics, risk factors, disease history, symptoms and signs, initial therapy and outcomes

The complete genome sequence of Chromobacterium violaceum reveals remarkable and exploitable bacterial adaptability

Chromobacterium violaceum is one of millions of species of free-living microorganisms that populate the soil and water in the extant areas of tropical biodiversity around the world. Its complete genome sequence reveals (i) extensive alternative pathways for energy generation, (ii) ≈500 ORFs for transport-related proteins, (iii) complex and extensive systems for stress adaptation and motility, and (iv) wide-spread utilization of quorum sensing for control of inducible systems, all of which underpin the versatility and adaptability of the organism. The genome also contains extensive but incomplete arrays of ORFs coding for proteins associated with mammalian pathogenicity, possibly involved in the occasional but often fatal cases of human C. violaceum infection. There is, in addition, a series of previously unknown but important enzymes and secondary metabolites including paraquat-inducible proteins, drug and heavy-metal-resistance proteins, multiple chitinases, and proteins for the detoxification of xenobiotics that may have biotechnological applications