When Less Is More: Sex Ratios for the Mass-Rearing of Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae).

Anastrepha ludens (Loew) is one of the most important pests of citrus and mango crops in Mexico. A method used to control this pest is the sterile insect technique, which consists in the mass production, irradiation, and release of insects in affected areas. The production of insects begins with the establishment of colonies to produce eggs, which must be highly fertile to ensure an adequate production of larvae. However, female fecundity and fertility can be affected by adult density and sex ratio, thus an optimal sex ratio in mass-rearing cages must be used. The genetic sexing strain of A. ludens (Tapachula-7) allows the identification of the sex at the pupal stage, making it possible to establish rearing cages with different sex ratios. We determined if different sex ratios have an effect on egg production. Two sex ratios (4♀: 1♂ and 1♀: 1♂) were compared. Fecundity, fertility and survival at different ages were also determined. Higher fertility and fecundity per female were observed at a ratio of 4:1. However, females with higher fecundity had reduced survival probabilities. In conclusion, maintaining colonies with a lower proportion of males in cages ensures a greater fecundity and fertility. Further research is necessary to understand whether results can be attributed to lower male harassment in cages.

Referral of Patients to Dermatology and Teledermatology Consultations in Spain. DIADERM Study. / Derivación de pacientes en consulta de dermatología y de teledermatología en España. Estudio DIADERM.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Understanding the origin and referral routes of patients seen in teledermatology and in-person dermatology consultations in Spain is of interest from the perspective of health care management. The objective of this study was to describe the referral routes and the frequency and characteristics of teledermatology consultations in Spain. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a descriptive cross-sectional study of data collected over 6 days from the DIADERM study sample, which included the outpatients diagnosed by 80 Spanish dermatologists, selected by means of stratified random sampling. We studied the source and destination of patients based on funding, type of consultation, and age of the patients. We reported the frequency of teledermatology consultations, their origin and destination, type of funding, age of the patients, and most common diagnoses, and compared them with the same characteristics for in-person consultations. RESULTS: In private consultations, most patients were direct clients, whereas the most frequent source in public consultations was primary care and the dermatologist. Sixty-six percent of patients were referred to dermatology and 27% were discharged. No differences in these percentages were found between public and private consultations. The ratio of follow-up to initial visits was 0.8 for public consultations and 0.2 for private consultations. Teledermatology accounts for 1% of consultations. Eighty percent of these come from primary care and 17% are direct visits. Thirty-three percent of these visits are referred to primary care - a greater proportion than in in-person consultations. Galicia, Andalusia, and Catalonia are the regions with the highest percentage of consultations. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that dermatologists in Spain have a considerable ability to resolve cases. Teledermatology accounts for a small percentage of consultations and access to these consultations is direct in a large percentage of cases.

Difficulties Coding Dermatological Disorders Using the ICD-10: The DIADERM Study. / Problemas de la CIE-10 para la codificación de diagnósticos dermatológicos. Estudio DIADERM.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) has some shortcomings when it comes to coding certain dermatological disorders. To overcome these shortcomings, a compatible version of the ICD-10 specifically adapted to dermatology was produced in Spain in 1999. The recent DIADERM study recorded 10 999 dermatological diagnoses using a representative sample of dermatologists working at outpatient clinics in Spain. The aims of the current study were to identify diagnoses from the DIADERM study that could not be coded using the adapted ICD-10, determine why, and check if they could be coded using the draft ICD-11. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We included all dermatological diagnoses from the DIADERM study that could not be assigned a code from the adapted ICD-10. We then quantified and recorded all the diagnoses that could not be coded using either the adapted ICD-10 or the draft ICD-11. RESULTS: Of the 10 999 diagnoses analyzed, 41 had not been assigned a code. Of these, 19 were assigned an adapted ICD-10 code on reassessment. However, the adapted ICD-10 and the draft ICD-11 lacked specific codes for 22 and 17 diagnoses, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The adapted ICD-10 can be used to correctly code the vast majority of dermatological diagnoses seen in routine clinical practice. Nevertheless, the system does have some minor shortcomings when it comes to coding certain diseases, particularly newly discovered and emerging diseases. Some of these problems, however, were resolved with the new ICD-11. Based on our findings, we propose some modifications to the ICD-11.

Efficacy and safety of wet wrap therapy for patients with atopic dermatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Wet wrap therapy (WWT) consists of topical steroids administered under a layer of wet cotton bandages or garments. Several trials with WWT have reported promising results in atopic dermatitis (AD). However, no systematic review and meta-analysis on its efficacy and safety has been published. Our objective was to conduct a systematic review of the literature on WWT in AD to assess its efficacy and safety. We included randomized controlled trials among patients of all ages with a diagnosis of AD based on predefined criteria or made by a dermatologist. Electronic searches were performed from 1970 to 30 March 2016 in the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, Embase and the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry. Selection of studies and data extraction were performed independently by two researchers, and discrepancies were resolved by consensus. Six trials comparing WWT with topical steroids in children or adults with AD were included. Sample sizes ranged from 19 to 51 patients. Results on clinical severity and quality of life were reported incompletely and proved heterogeneous across studies. A nonsignificant tendency to increased risk of mild skin infections was observed in those treated with WWT (pooled relative risk 6·35, 95% confidence interval 0·83-48·55). The overall grade of quality of evidence for the efficacy and safety outcomes was low. In conclusion, the evidence that WWT is more effective than conventional treatment with topical steroids in AD is of low quality. Further clinical trials should establish the efficacy of WWT in AD.

Antipredator behavior of the new mass-reared unisexual strain of the Mexican Fruit Fly.

Tephritid pests controlled through the sterile insect technique (SIT) are mass-reared and subsequently released in affected areas. Several quality parameters are currently used to test adults, but none take into account interactions with a predator. When sterile males are released in the field, they will need to avoid predators until they reach sexual maturity and survive long enough to mate with wild females. Spiders are one of the most common predators that flies may encounter in release sites. In this study, we evaluated the antipredator behavior of a mass-reared sterile unisexual strain ('Tapachula-7') of the Mexican fruit fly Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae) against their spider predators. We sampled spiders in citrus trees to determine which families could be more common. We established the baseline activity rates of sterile Tapachula-7 (Tap-7) flies in comparison with wild flies. We also tested the behavior of the fertile and sterile bisexual strain and wild flies against hunting spiders (Family Salticidae) and orb building spiders (Family Tetragnathidae). We recorded 18 spider families, with Salticidae being the most dominant. Tap-7 flies diminished their activity in comparison with wild males at 1800 h but showed similar activity levels earlier in the day. When exposed to orb-web spiders (Leucauge venusta), Tap-7, fertile and sterile males from the bisexual strain had similar rates of survival, but Tap-7 males showed lower survival than wild males. Against hunting spiders (Phidippus audax), wild males had higher probability of defensive wing displays, but there was no difference in spider attack rates. In general, sterile Tap -7 males performed as well as males from the bisexual strain, although they had lower survival than wild males. This could be due to either mass-rearing and/or irradiation effects. We recommend the use of the defensive wing display behavior as a quality parameter and propose a rapid and effective method to evaluate fly activity. The efficiency of SIT will be improved if released sterile males have the same antipredator repertoire as their wild counterparts.

Hydraulic retention time impact of treated recirculated leachate on the hydrolytic kinetic rate of coffee pulp in an acidogenic reactor.

This study attempted to investigate the impact of HRT of treated leachate recirculation on hydrolysis solubilization rate of coffee pulp in an acidogenic reactor. Coffee pulp presents more than 70% of organic matter and around of 30% of lignin and cellulose. Five lab scale reactors of 20 litres were used. Each reactor was fed with 5 kg of fresh coffee pulp and anaerobic sludge was used as inoculate. HRT of 0.5, 1, 3 and 10 days were applied. Each experiment shows that Total, Soluble and VFA COD appear rapidly in the removed leachate. HRT have a great impact on hydrolytic rate with an optimal value of 32,000 mg x L(-1) x d(-1).Low HRT increases hydrolysis rate and in consequence reduces duration of the hydrolytic phase. Also composition and concentration of VFA are influenced by HRT. Low ones favour acetic acid production and high ones permit the production of butyric. Low HRT generates leachate more easily fermentable. Efficiency of solubilization and acidification are independent of the HRT and present average values of 78% and 65% respectively. By batch feeding solid and continuous recirculation of treated leachate, HRT and SRT could be dissociated, where solid had a very high retention without problems of load, mixing and inhibition, and liquid could be recirculated with a very high rate. Under these low HRT condition, the first reactor of a two stage anaerobic system could reduces the hydrolysis duration of organic solid waste like coffee pulp and generate an optimal leachate for the methanization process.