Monitoring Aedes populations for arboviruses, Wolbachia, insecticide resistance and its mechanisms in various agroecosystems in Benin.

Aedes mosquitoes are the main vectors of arboviruses in Benin. Cases of dengue have been reported in Benin with all four serotypes of the virus actively circulating in this region. Some agricultural settings are known to harbor Aedes vectors responsible for the transmission of arboviruses. The massive use of certain insecticides in agricultural settings has probably contributed to insecticide resistance in these vectors. In Benin, the susceptibility of arbovirus vectors to insecticides is poorly studied. In addition, the distribution of Wolbachia spp., which is used against some arboviruses is unknown. Moreover, there is limited information regarding the vectors responsible for the transmission of arboviruses in Benin. This present study monitored the species composition, arboviruses, and Wolbachia symbiont status, as well as the phenotypic and molecular insecticide resistance profile of Aedes populations from three agroecosystems in Benin. Aedes species identification was performed morphologically and confirmed using qPCR. (RT)-qPCR assay was applied for monitoring the presence of DENV, CHIKV, ZIKV, and WNV pathogens as well as for naturally occurring Wolbachia symbionts. Insecticide resistance was assessed phenotypically, by permethrin (0.75%) exposure of Adults (F0) using World Health Organization (WHO) bioassay protocols, and at the molecular level, using TaqMan (RT)-qPCR assays for assessing knock-down resistance (kdr) mutations (F1534C, V1016G/I, and S989P) and the expression levels of eight detoxification genes (P450s from the CYP9 and CYP6 families, carboxylesterases and glutathione-S-transferases). Aedes aegypti (Ae. aegypti) mosquitoes were the most abundant (93.9%) in the three agroecosystems studied, followed by Aedes albopictus (Ae. albopictus) mosquitoes (6.1%). No arboviruses were detected in the study's mosquito populations. Naturally occurring Wolbachia symbionts were present in 7 pools out of 15 pools tested. This could influence the effectiveness of vector control strategies based on exogenously introduced Wolbachia, all present in the three agroecosystems. Full susceptibility to permethrin was observed in all tested populations of Ae. albopictus. On the contrary, Ae. aegypti were found to be resistant in all three agroecosystem sites except for banana plantation sites, where full susceptibility was observed. Molecular analysis revealed that individual target site resistance kdr mutations F1534C and V1016G/I were detected in most Ae. aegypti populations. Additionally, double mutant (F1534C + V1016G/I) mosquitoes were found in some populations, and in one case, triple mutant (F1534C + V1016G/I + S989P) mosquitoes were detected. Metabolic resistance, as reflected by overexpression of three P450 genes (CYP6BB2, CYP9J26, and CYP9J32), was also detected in Ae. aegypti mosquitoes. Our study provides information that could be used to strategize future vector control strategies and highlights the importance of continuing vector surveillance. Future studies should assess the effect of piperonyl butoxide (PBO) on metabolic resistance and identify the different strains of Wolbachia spp., to choose the best vector control strategies in Benin.

The oncomiR miR-197 is a novel prognostic indicator for non-small cell lung cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNA expression signatures can promote personalised care for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Our aim was to evaluate the previously unexplored prognostic potential of miR-197, a key oncogenic molecule for NSCLC. METHODS: Total RNA isolation (n=124 NSCLC and n=21 tumour-adjacent normal tissues), was performed using the QIAsymphony SP workstation. The quantity and quality of RNA were assessed by spectrophotometric analysis and an Agilent 2100 bioanalyzer. Polyadenylation and reverse transcription were subsequently carried out. MiR-197 expression levels were measured by qPCR, after quality control (inter-assay CV=7.8%). Internal validation procedures were followed by assigning training and test sets and robust biostatistical analyses were performed, including bootstrap resampling. RESULTS: MiR-197 is associated with larger tumours (P=0.042) and the squamous cell carcinoma histotype (P=0.032). Interestingly, after adjusting for important prognostic indicators, miR-197 expression was identified as a novel independent predictor of unfavourable prognosis for NSCLC patients (HR=1.97, 95% CI=1.10-3.38, P=0.013). We also demonstrate that miR-197 retains its prognostic performance in both early-stage I (P=0.045) and more advanced-stage individuals (P=0.036). CONCLUSIONS: The cost-effective expression analysis of miR-197 could constitute a novel molecular tool for NSCLC management.

Kallikrein-related peptidases (KLKs) in gastrointestinal cancer: mechanistic and clinical aspects.

The human tissue kallikrein (KLK1) and kallikrein-related peptidases (KLKs) are secreted serine proteases with diverse expression patterns and physiological roles in different systems, including the digestive system. The aberrant expression of KLKs in gastrointestinal malignancies as well as their implication in carcinogenesis including cell growth regulation, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis, has prompted scientists to investigate their potential as cancer biomarkers. Expression of distinct KLKs is associated with various clinic-pathological parameters of patients with gastric, colorectal, pancreatic, hepatic, and esophageal cancer. Moreover, several KLKs possess significant favourable or unfavourable prognostic value in these human malignancies. Identification of novel diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers will contribute utmost to clinical decision-making, since early diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancer and early detection of recurrence following surgery are critical for the effective treatment of patients and for a positive clinical outcome. The current review provides a brief overview of the functional role of KLKs in gastric, colorectal, pancreatic, hepatic, and esophageal cancer, and describes the current status of KLKs as potential tumour biomarkers in these human malignancies.

Access control administration in healthcare applications.

The interconnection of information systems of different parties involved in healthcare applications leads to the need for information sharing across large-scale and highly distributed database systems. Applying appropriate access control policies in an effective and flexible way is a specific task for a number of local security officers that must operate according to a high-level access control administration system. The particular security requirements of healthcare information systems are reflected to the access control system, which must be flexible and dynamically adaptable to the daily activities. Decentralizing access control administration can be achieved in a uniform and consistent way when applying appropriate administrative rules and constraints. In this paper are presented the basic features of an access control administration model for interconnected information systems, as in the healthcare environment.