Author Correction: Essential oils sensory quality and their bioactivity against the mosquito Aedes albopictus.

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Essential oils sensory quality and their bioactivity against the mosquito Aedes albopictus.

Repellents are a main tool to prevent the outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases that represents a threat for millions of people worldwide. Plant-based products are very promising, low-toxic and eco-friendly alternative to synthetic repellents. Here, we performed an olfactory screening of the essential oils (EOs) of Artemisia verlotiorum Lamotte (Asteraceae), Lavandula dentata L. (Lamiaceae), and Ruta chalepensis L. (Rutaceae) for their possible use as ingredients in topical repellents. The EOs smell profiles were then matched with their repellence against the mosquito Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera Culicidae). To obtain a more complete bioactivity description, we also tested the EOs oviposition deterrence and the larvicidal activity. The best smell profile was associated with A. verlotiorum EO, while R. chalepensis EO showed the lowest overall pleasantness. All the EOs had a significant activity as skin repellent against Ae. albopictus, deterred the oviposition in the field, and exerted a clear larvicidal activity. Beside the best smell profile, A. verlotiorum EO showed also the longest lasting repellent effect, assuring the complete protection of the treated skin against Ae. albopictus for a time 60% longer than the synthetic repellent DEET.

Evaluation of consultation-based rehabilitation for hospitalized cancer patients with functional impairment.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate prospectively the effect of consultation-based interdisciplinary rehabilitation in hospitalized cancer patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three hundred forty-one hospitalized patients with cancer were referred to the Cancer Adaptation Team (interdisciplinary rehabilitation services) over an 8-month period. Functional status at enrollment and dismissal was evaluated with a Barthel Mobility Index and Karnofsky Performance Status scale. Quality-of-life parameters were evaluated with specifically designed questionnaires. RESULTS: Two hundred ninety patients met the inclusion criteria. One hundred eighty-nine survived and completed the study. Significant functional improvement was observed between enrollment and dismissal on both functional indexes (P< or =.001). Quality-of-life questionnaires, while limited by low completion rate, showed significant improvement on multiple parameters. CONCLUSION: Significant functional gains were observed in hospitalized cancer patients who received interdisciplinary rehabilitation services on a consultation basis.

[Influence of atrial fibrillation in the natural history of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy]. / Influência da fibrilação atrial na história natural da cardiomiopatia hipertrófica.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the influence of atrial fibrillation in the natural history of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. METHODS: Eighty-eight patients under ambulatory treatment were studied. Most of them presented the asymmetric type of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (87.5%). Group I (77 cases) was formed by patients who had never had atrial fibrillation and group II (11 cases) by those who had this arrhythmia paroxysmal or established. RESULTS: In group I, with ages 48.02 +/- 14.82 years, left atrial dimensions 4.21 +/- 0.66 cm, there was one sudden death; 69 were treated by clinical means and 7 by surgery; no patient developed thromboembolism neither cardiac failure. In group II, with ages 58.02 +/- 11.04 years and left atrial dimension 5.32 +/- 0.45 cm, there were 4 deaths, 4 thromboembolisms and 3 with cardiac failure; all received only clinical treatment, having improved in clinical status in 71.42% after amiodarone therapy. CONCLUSION: Atrial fibrillation was present in 12.5%, mostly in the asymmetric type, and in patients after 5th decade, all of them with enlarged left atrium (> 4.7 cm), with highest morbidity (thromboembolism and cardiac failure) and mortality. Among the survivors, amiodarone therapy improved functional class in 71.42%.

De novo synthesis of phospholipids is coupled with autophagosome formation.

Autophagy, the process involved in the breakdown of intracellular proteins and organelles, has become an area of great importance in both cell survival and cell death. Despite the abundance of information on this topic, persisting issues remain about the origin and mechanism of formation of the autophagosomal membrane. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays a critical role in the initiation of autophagy, especially in the formation of early lipid particles, termed the phagophores or the isolation membranes. The bulk, if not all of the lipid biosynthetic pathways cease at the level of the ER where the main synthesizing enzymes are resident proteins. We postulate that if the initial isolation membrane is formed from the locally synthesized lipids at the level of the ER, than an increase in the biosynthesis of the bilayer-forming phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine-PC, phosphatidylethanolamine-PE, and phosphatidylserine-PS) would occur simultaneously with induction of autophagy. As part of the isolation membranes, PE conjugates the cytosolic microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3-I), to form LC3-II, the selective autophagosomal protein. Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) action on the ER phosphatidylinositol occurs with phospholipid biogenesis, and together they act to contribute to the elongation and assembly of the autophagosomal particle.