Integrative Techniques Confirms the Presence of Bemisia tabaci Parasitoids: Encarsia formosa, Encarsia porteri and Eretmocerus mundus (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) on Soybean and Tomatoes in South Brazil.

Parasitoid wasps from the Aphelinidae family (Hymenoptera) are important control agents of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius, 1889) cryptic species, both through reproduction and feeding processes. Identifying native parasitoid species within agricultural systems affected by Bemisia whitefly species is the first step to developing guidelines for the creation and release of biological control agents aiming at this highly damaging pest species complex. Taxonomic and phylogenetic analyses based on morphological and molecular characters, respectively, confirmed the occurrence of Encarsia formosa (Gahan, 1924) in greenhouse tomatoes from Santa Maria, Encarsia porteri (Mercet, 1928) in open-field soybean from Santa Maria, and Eretmocerus mundus Mercet, 1931 in greenhouse tomatoes from São José do Hortêncio, all within Rio Grande do Sul state (South Brazil). This is the first report of En. formosa, En. porteri and Er. mundus parasitising B. tabaci in South Brazil, and the first En. porteri partial mtCOI gene sequence being reported and characterised. The high temperature inside the tomato greenhouses can be a possible cause for the predominance of Er. mundus in São José do Hortêncio, and sex ratios in the surveyed populations point to female and male prevalence within Encarsia and Eretmocerus genera, respectively. The combined use of taxonomic and molecular characterisation highlights the importance of combining both morphological and molecular approaches in the assessment of previously unidentified whitefly parasitoids.

Mapping astrocyte activity domains by light sheet imaging and spatio-temporal correlation screening.

Astrocytes are a major type of glial cell in the mammalian brain, essentially regulating neuronal development and function. Quantitative imaging represents an important approach to study astrocytic signaling in neural circuits. Focusing on astrocytic Ca2+ activity, a key pathway implicated in astrocye-neuron interaction, we here report a strategy combining fast light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) and correlative screening-based time series analysis, to map activity domains in astrocytes in living mammalian nerve tissue. Light sheet of micron-scale thickness enables wide-field optical sectioning to image astrocytes in acute mouse brain slices. Using both chemical and genetically encoded Ca2+ indicators, we demonstrate the complementary advantages of LSFM in mapping Ca2+ domains in astrocyte populations as compared to epifluorescence and two-photon microscopy. Our approach then revealed distinct kinetics of Ca2+ signals between cortical and hypothalamic astrocytes in resting conditions and following the activation of adrenergic G protein coupled receptor (GPCR). This observation highlights the activity heterogeneity across regionally distinct astrocyte populations, and indicates the potential of our method for investigating dynamic signals in astrocytes.

Are the "Best Buys" for Alcohol Control Still Valid? An Update on the Comparative Cost-Effectiveness of Alcohol Control Strategies at the Global Level.

OBJECTIVE: Evidence on the comparative cost-effectiveness of alcohol control strategies is a relevant input into public policy and resource allocation. At the global level, this evidence has been used to identify so-called best buys for noncommunicable disease prevention and control. This article uses global evidence on alcohol use exposures and risk relations, as well as on intervention costs and impacts, to re-examine the comparative cost-effectiveness of a range of alcohol control strategies. METHOD: A "generalized" approach to cost-effectiveness analysis was adopted. A new modeling tool (OneHealth) was used to estimate the population-level effects of interventions. Interventions that reduce the harmful use of alcohol included brief psychosocial interventions, excise taxes, and the enactment as well as enforcement of restrictions on alcohol marketing, availability, and drink-driving laws. Costs were estimated in international dollars for the year 2010 and effects expressed in healthy life years gained. Analysis was carried out for 16 countries spanning low-, middle-, and high-income settings. RESULTS: Increasing excise taxes has a low cost (

A Follow-Up on Psychiatric Symptoms and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders in Tuareg Refugees in Burkina Faso.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to carry out a 2-year follow-up of refugees in a camp in Burkina Faso who had been interviewed previously. We also aimed to verify whether the general conditions in which they lived (e.g., protection by international organizations and the conclusion of negotiations and new hope of returning to Mali and reunification with surviving family members) would affect their mental health state. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study repeated over time on a cohort of refugees. People living in the Subgandé camp who had participated in the first survey in 2012 were identified using informational chains and approached for follow-up. Those who agreed were interviewed using the Short Screening Scale for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the K6 scale, French versions, to measure general psychopathology and the level of impairment. RESULTS: The second survey shows a dramatic decrease in psychopathological symptoms (positivity at K6 scale). Improvement was also conspicuous in the frequency of people with stress symptoms (positivity at Short Screening Scale for PTSD and simultaneous positivity to K6 scale). The frequency of people screened positive at the Short Screening Scale for PTSD had also decreased, but the level of improvement was not pronounced. CONCLUSION: Our findings confirm that when physical conditions improve, psychological symptoms can also improve. Although in the studied sample psychological factors, such as the hope of returning to their own land and thus the possibility of maintaining ethnic cohesion, may have played a role, future research carried out with a proper methodology and sufficient resources to identify protective factors is needed.

An evolutionary approach to mania studying Sardinian immigrants to Argentina

Objective: To ascertain lifetime prevalence of positivity to a screening questionnaire for bipolar disorders (BD) in Sardinian immigrants to Argentina and residents of Sardinia and assess whether such positivity affects quality of life (QoL) in either group. Our hypothesis is that screen positivity for BD may be more frequent in immigrants. Methods: Observational study. Subjects were randomly selected from the membership lists of associations of Sardinian immigrants in Argentina. A study carried out in Sardinia using the same methodology was used for comparison. The Mood Disorder Questionnaire was used to screen for mania/hypomania and the Short-Form Health Survey-12 to measure QoL. Results: A higher prevalence of manic/hypomanic episodes was found in Sardinian immigrants to Argentina (p < 0.0001; odds ratio = 3.0, 95% confidence interval 1.87-4.77). Positivity at screening was associated with a lower QoL both in Sardinian immigrants to Argentina and in residents of Sardinia. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show a higher lifetime prevalence of manic/hypomanic episodes in a general-population sample of individuals who migrated to a foreign country. Our results are in agreement with the hypothesis that hyperactive/novelty-seeking features may represent an adaptive substrate in certain conditions of social change.

An evolutionary approach to mania studying Sardinian immigrants to Argentina.

OBJECTIVE:: To ascertain lifetime prevalence of positivity to a screening questionnaire for bipolar disorders (BD) in Sardinian immigrants to Argentina and residents of Sardinia and assess whether such positivity affects quality of life (QoL) in either group. Our hypothesis is that screen positivity for BD may be more frequent in immigrants. METHODS:: Observational study. Subjects were randomly selected from the membership lists of associations of Sardinian immigrants in Argentina. A study carried out in Sardinia using the same methodology was used for comparison. The Mood Disorder Questionnaire was used to screen for mania/hypomania and the Short-Form Health Survey-12 to measure QoL. RESULTS:: A higher prevalence of manic/hypomanic episodes was found in Sardinian immigrants to Argentina (p < 0.0001; odds ratio = 3.0, 95% confidence interval 1.87-4.77). Positivity at screening was associated with a lower QoL both in Sardinian immigrants to Argentina and in residents of Sardinia. CONCLUSIONS:: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show a higher lifetime prevalence of manic/hypomanic episodes in a general-population sample of individuals who migrated to a foreign country. Our results are in agreement with the hypothesis that hyperactive/novelty-seeking features may represent an adaptive substrate in certain conditions of social change.

Depression in Sardinian immigrants in Argentina and residents in Sardinia at the time of the Argentinian default (2001) and the Great Recession in Italy (2015).

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to measure in two samples of Sardinian immigrants in Buenos Aires and representatives of the population in Sardinia the prevalence of depressive symptoms at the time of an economic crisis in Sardinia and to compare these results with those collected at the time of a similar crisis in Argentina more than 10 years before. METHODS: Observational study. The associations of Sardinian immigrants in Buenos Aires provided the lists of families of Sardinian origin. A random sample of one fifth of registered families was selected. The sample of a study carried out in Sardinia was used as the control. The results were compared with those of the previous study performed in 2001-2002. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9) was used for the screening of depression. RESULTS: The Sardinian immigrants show a lower rate of scoring positively on PHQ9 (i.e. less risk of being depressed) and reach statistical significance after standardization (8.7% vs. 13.1%, P = 0.046). Young women (≤40) are at higher risk. On the contrary, the risk of depression was higher in Sardinian immigrants in Argentina during the 2001-2002 crises. CONCLUSION: The study indicates a risk for depressive episodes linked to the fallout of the economic crisis (in Argentina in 2001-2002, in Sardinia in 2015) and specifically more in females than in males. Due to the associated socio-demographic risk factors, these results could be interpreted as due to an increase in non-bipolar depression.

A Specific Activity-Based Probe to Monitor Family GH59 Galactosylceramidase, the Enzyme Deficient in Krabbe Disease.

Galactosylceramidase (GALC) is the lysosomal ß-galactosidase responsible for the hydrolysis of galactosylceramide. Inherited deficiency in GALC causes Krabbe disease, a devastating neurological disorder characterized by accumulation of galactosylceramide and its deacylated counterpart, the toxic sphingoid base galactosylsphingosine (psychosine). We report the design and application of a fluorescently tagged activity-based probe (ABP) for the sensitive and specific labeling of active GALC molecules from various species. The probe consists of a ß-galactopyranose-configured cyclophellitol-epoxide core, conferring specificity for GALC, equipped with a BODIPY fluorophore at C6 that allows visualization of active enzyme in cells and tissues. Detection of residual GALC in patient fibroblasts holds great promise for laboratory diagnosis of Krabbe disease. We further describe a procedure for in situ imaging of active GALC in murine brain by intra-cerebroventricular infusion of the ABP. In conclusion, this GALC-specific ABP should find broad applications in diagnosis, drug development, and evaluation of therapy for Krabbe disease.

Type of Referral, Dialysis Start and Choice of Renal Replacement Therapy Modality in an International Integrated Care Setting.

INTRODUCTION: Integrated Care Settings (ICS) provide a holistic approach to the transition from chronic kidney disease into renal replacement therapy (RRT), offering at least both types of dialysis. OBJECTIVES: To analyze which factors determine type of referral, modality provision and dialysis start on final RRT in ICS clinics. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 626 patients starting dialysis in 25 ICS clinics in Poland, Hungary and Romania during 2012. Scheduled initiation of dialysis with a permanent access was considered as planned RRT start. RESULTS: Modality information (80% of patients) and renal education (87%) were more frequent (p<0.001) in Planned (P) than in Non-Planned (NP) start. Median time from information to dialysis start was 2 months. 89% of patients started on hemodialysis, 49% were referred late to ICS (<3 months from referral to RRT) and 58% were NP start. Late referral, non-vascular renal etiology, worse clinical status, shorter time from information to RRT and less peritoneal dialysis (PD) were associated with NP start (p<0.05). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, P start (p≤0.05) was associated with early referral, eGFR >8.2 ml/min, >2 months between information and RRT initiation and with vascular etiology after adjustment for age and gender. "Optimal care," defined as ICS follow-up >12 months plus modality information and P start, occurred in 23%. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the high rate of late referrals, information and education were widely provided. However, NP start was high and related to late referral and may explain the low frequency of PD.

Reducing GBA2 Activity Ameliorates Neuropathology in Niemann-Pick Type C Mice.

The enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GBA) hydrolyses glucosylceramide (GlcCer) in lysosomes. Markedly reduced GBA activity is associated with severe manifestations of Gaucher disease including neurological involvement. Mutations in the GBA gene have recently also been identified as major genetic risk factor for Parkinsonism. Disturbed metabolism of GlcCer may therefore play a role in neuropathology. Besides lysosomal GBA, cells also contain a non-lysosomal glucosylceramidase (GBA2). Given that the two ß-glucosidases share substrates, we speculated that over-activity of GBA2 during severe GBA impairment might influence neuropathology. This hypothesis was studied in Niemann-Pick type C (Npc1-/-) mice showing secondary deficiency in GBA in various tissues. Here we report that GBA2 activity is indeed increased in the brain of Npc1-/- mice. We found that GBA2 is particularly abundant in Purkinje cells (PCs), one of the most affected neuronal populations in NPC disease. Inhibiting GBA2 in Npc1-/- mice with a brain-permeable low nanomolar inhibitor significantly improved motor coordination and extended lifespan in the absence of correction in cholesterol and ganglioside abnormalities. This trend was recapitulated, although not to full extent, by introducing a genetic loss of GBA2 in Npc1-/- mice. Our findings point to GBA2 activity as therapeutic target in NPC.

Gaucher disease and Fabry disease: new markers and insights in pathophysiology for two distinct glycosphingolipidoses.

Gaucher disease (GD) and Fabry disease (FD) are two relatively common inherited glycosphingolipidoses caused by deficiencies in the lysosomal glycosidases glucocerebrosidase and alpha-galactosidase A, respectively. For both diseases enzyme supplementation is presently used as therapy. Cells and tissues of GD and FD patients are uniformly deficient in enzyme activity, but the two diseases markedly differ in cell types showing lysosomal accumulation of the glycosphingolipid substrates glucosylceramide and globotriaosylceramide, respectively. The clinical manifestation of Gaucher disease and Fabry disease is consequently entirely different and the response to enzyme therapy is only impressive in the case of GD patients. This review compares both glycosphingolipid storage disorders with respect to similarities and differences. Presented is an update on insights regarding pathophysiological mechanisms as well as recently available biochemical markers and diagnostic tools for both disorders. Special attention is paid to sphingoid bases of the primary storage lipids in both diseases. The value of elevated glucosylsphingosine in Gaucher disease and globotriaosylsphingosine in Fabry disease for diagnosis and monitoring of disease is discussed as well as the possible contribution of the sphingoid bases to (patho)physiology. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled New Frontiers in Sphingolipid Biology.