Insect pest damage increases faba bean (Vicia faba) yield components but only in the absence of insect pollination.

Identifying and quantifying crop stressors interactions in agroecosystems is necessary to guide sustainable crop management strategies. Over the last 50 years, faba bean cropping area has been declining, partly due to yield instabilities associated with uneven insect pollination and herbivory. Yet, the effect of interactions between pollinators and a key pest, the broad bean beetle Bruchus rufimanus (florivorous and seed predating herbivore) on faba bean yield has not been investigated. Using a factorial cage experiment in the field, we investigated how interactions between two hypothesized stressors, lack of insect pollination by bumblebees and herbivory by the broad bean beetle, affect faba bean yield. Lack of bumblebee pollination reduced bean weight per plant by 15%. Effects of the broad bean beetle differed between the individual plant and the plant-stand level (i.e., when averaging individual plant level responses at the cage level), likely due to high variation in the level of herbivory among individual plants. At the individual plant level, herbivory increased several yield components but only in the absence of pollinators, possibly due to plant overcompensation and/or pollination by the broad bean beetle. At the plant-stand level, we found no effect of the broad bean beetle on yield. However, there was a tendency for heavier individual bean weight with bumblebee pollination, but only in the absence of broad bean beetle herbivory, possibly due to a negative effect of the broad bean beetle on the proportion of legitimate flower visits by bumblebees. This is the first experimental evidence of interactive effects between bumblebees and the broad bean beetle on faba bean yield. Our preliminary findings of negative and indirect associations between the broad bean beetle and individual bean weight call for a better acknowledgment of these interactions in the field in order to understand drivers of crop yield variability in faba bean.

Type of organic fertilizer rather than organic amendment per se increases abundance of soil biota.

Addition of organic amendments is a commonly used practice to offset potential loss of soil organic matter from agricultural soils. The aim of the present study was to examine how long-term addition of organic matter affects the abundance of different soil biota across trophic levels and the role that the quality of the organic amendments plays. Here we used a 17-year-old fertilization experiment to investigate soil biota responses to four different organic fertilizers, compared with two mineral nitrogen fertilizers and no fertilization, where the organic fertilizers had similar carbon content but varied in their carbon to nitrogen ratios. We collected soil samples and measured a wide range of organisms belonging to different functional groups and trophic levels of the soil food web. Long-term addition of organic and mineral fertilizers had beneficial effects on the abundances of most soil organisms compared with unfertilized soil, but the responses differed between soil biota. The organic fertilizers generally enhanced bacteria and earthworms. Fungi and nematodes responded positively to certain mineral and organic fertilizers, indicating that multiple factors influenced by the fertilization may affect these heterogeneous groups. Springtails and mites were less affected by fertilization than the other groups, as they were present at relatively high abundances even in the unfertilized treatment. However, soil pH had a great influence on springtail abundance. In summary, the specific fertilizer was more important in determining the numerical and compositional responses of soil biota than whether it was mineral or organic. Overall, biennial organic amendments emerge as insufficient, by themselves, to promote soil organisms in the long run, and would need to be added annually or combined with other practices affecting soil quality, such as no or reduced tillage and other crop rotations, to have a beneficial effect.

Retrospective survival analysis in patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes mellitus.

INTRODUCTION: The association between pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) has long been evaluated and the role of antidiabetic medications such as metformin has also been investigated. The objective of this study was to examine the association between insulin use and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced PDAC and DM2. METHODS: We retrospectively collected data from 164 patients, including an exploratory cohort of 96 patients from Medical Oncology Unit, University Hospital and University of Cagliari, Italy, and a validation cohort of 68 patients from Medical Oncology of Modena University Hospital. Patients had metastatic disease and received a first-line gemcitabine-based chemotherapy and, subsequently, a second-line fluoropyrimidines-based chemotherapy. We performed univariate analysis to evaluate correlation between long-term diabetes and overall survival. Then we performed multivariate analysis, adjusting for sex, metastatic sites, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status, Ca19.9 levels, N/L ratio, and lactate dehydrogenase levels at diagnosis, to confirm the independence of the variable. RESULTS: In the exploratory cohort, DM2 was significantly associated with higher median OS at univariate analysis (16 vs 10 months; p = 0.004). This result was confirmed by validation cohort (11 months vs 6 months; p = 0.01). In multivariate analysis, insulin-treated patients compared with non diabetic patients showed a significantly increased survival of 4.6 months (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with insulin-treated metastatic PDAC showed better OS than non diabetic patients, as demonstrated by both cohorts. The correlation between OS and insulin-treated DM2 should be investigated further through a prospective clinical trial.

First-line gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel for elderly patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer: Crossing the frontier of age?

BACKGROUND: Gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (Gem-Nab) represents a standard first-line treatment for metastatic pancreatic cancer (mPC), but few data are available for elderly patients. We aimed to add evidence about safety and efficacy of Gem-Nab in this population. METHODS: We collected data of 156 patients with mPC aged ≥65 years receiving Gem-Nab. Patients were stratified according to age: <70 (group 1: 65 patients) and ≥70 years (group 2: 91 patients). RESULTS: The median age was 71 years (range: 65-87 years). The toxicity profile was similar between group 1 and 2, except for all-grade anaemia (92.1% vs. 78.7%, respectively; p = 0.04) and neurotoxicity (61.9% vs. 40.4%, respectively; p = 0.02), also as a result of a lower dose intensity of nab-paclitaxel (83.3% vs. 90.5%, respectively; p = 0.04) administered to oldest patients. The response rate was 25.6% (group 1 vs. 2: 20.0% vs. 29.7%; p = 0.12). After a median follow-up of 26.5 months, median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were similar between the groups (p > 0.05). The starting dose of Gem-Nab did not affect PFS and OS (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Gem-Nab is active and effective in older patients with mPC, with the results in line with the general mPC population enrolled in clinical trials. Mild dose modifications for elderly patients might be considered to improve safety without impairing efficacy.

Prognostic Role of a New Index (RAPID Index) in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Receiving Sorafenib: Training and Validation Cohort.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The aim of the present study is to evaluate a new index influenced by the balance between the immune system, α-fetoprotein (AFP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (RAPID index) as a prognostic factor in patients treated with sorafenib. METHODS: This study was conducted on a training cohort of 159 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and a validation cohort of 68 HCC patients treated with sorafenib. The RAPID index was calculated as neutrophil/lymphocyte count × LDH × AFP. RESULTS: In the training cohort, the median overall survival (OS) was 23.2 months (95% CI 11-25) and 12.1 months (95% CI 9-15) for patients with a low (≤3,226) and high (>3,226) RAPID index, respectively (ref. <3,226, HR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.35-0.88, p = 0.017). Following adjustment for clinical covariates, multivariate analysis confirmed the RAPID index ≤3,226 versus >3,226 (HR = 0.37, 95% CI 0.18-0.74, p = 0.0054) as an independent prognostic factor for OS. In the validation cohort, the median OS was 26.9 months (95% CI 17.6-26.9) and 7.0 months (95% CI 6.2-9.2) for patients with a low (≤ 3,226) and high (>3,226) RAPID index, respectively (ref. <3,226, HR = 0.19, 95% CI 0.10-0.36, p < 0.0001). Performing the same multivariate analysis of the training cohort (AFP, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, aspartate aminotransferase, neutrophil, platelet, systemic inflammatory index and RAPID index), the RAPID index <3,226 versus >3,226 (HR = 3.86, 95% CI 1.45-10.29, p = 0.007) was found to be an independent prognostic factor for predicting OS. CONCLUSION: The low cost, easy assessment, and reproducibility of a full blood count make the RAPID index a promising tool for assessing HCC prognosis in future clinical practice.

Impact of Baseline Characteristics on the Overall Survival of HCC Patients Treated with Sorafenib: Ten Years of Experience.

BACKGROUND: Sorafenib has been established as the standard of care for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) since 2007 on the basis of two landmark trials (SHARP and Asia-Pacific). Ten years have passed since then and, despite much research in the field, still no validated real-life prognostic markers are available for HCC patients treated with this drug. Therefore, going through 10 years of research into sorafenib of several Italian Cancer Centers, we conducted a field-practice study aimed at identifying baseline clinical factors that could be significantly associated with overall survival (OS). METHOD: Univariate/multivariate analyses were conducted to retrospectively identify the impact of baseline characteristics on the OS of 398 advanced HCC patients treated with sorafenib. RESULTS: Based on univariate analysis, α-fetoprotein (AFP), albumin, AST, bilirubin, Child-Pugh, ECOG, systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, and portal vein thrombosis were significantly associated with shorter OS. Following adjustment for clinical covariates positive in univariate analysis, the multivariate analysis including AFP, age, etiology, albumin, aspartate transaminase (AST), bilirubin, Child-Pugh, LDH, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, ECOG, ALBI grade, portal vein thrombosis, SII, and BCLC stage identified increase in LDH, age >70 years, no viral etiologies, ECOG >0, albumin <35, ALBI grade 2, and AST >40 as prognostic factors for poorer OS based on the 5% significance level. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights that baseline hepatic function, patient-centered variables, and etiology have prognostic value. These findings might have implications in terms of therapeutic decision-making and patient counseling.

Lenvatinib as a therapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: Since 2007 Sorafenib has represented the only approved drug for first-line treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Lenvatinib, an orally active inhibitor of multiple receptor tyrosine kinases (VEGFR 1-3, FGFR 1-4, PDGFRa, RET and KIT), showed preclinical and clinical activity in the treatment of solid tumors, including HCC. Areas covered: In this review, we summarize the current therapeutic paradigm for the systemic treatment of advanced HCC, focusing on Lenvatinib pre-clinical and clinical development. Keywords 'Lenvatinib', ' Target therapy', 'REFLECT trial', 'Hepatocellular carcinoma', 'HCC', 'Sorafenib' were used for literature search on PubMed. Expert commentary: In Phase-III multicentric REFLECT trial Lenvatinib demonstrated a non-inferior overall survival (OS) compared to Sorafenib in the first-line treatment of advanced HCC, with a manageable toxicity profile, becoming a valid alternative option in the therapeutic repertoire of this disease. Nevertheless, the potential role of Lenvatinib in real-life clinical practice has still to be defined, especially in the light of the positive results that have been achieved with other new therapeutic agents (e.g. immunotherapy).

Interactive effects of pests increase seed yield.

Loss in seed yield and therefore decrease in plant fitness due to simultaneous attacks by multiple herbivores is not necessarily additive, as demonstrated in evolutionary studies on wild plants. However, it is not clear how this transfers to crop plants that grow in very different conditions compared to wild plants. Nevertheless, loss in crop seed yield caused by any single pest is most often studied in isolation although crop plants are attacked by many pests that can cause substantial yield losses. This is especially important for crops able to compensate and even overcompensate for the damage. We investigated the interactive impacts on crop yield of four insect pests attacking different plant parts at different times during the cropping season. In 15 oilseed rape fields in Sweden, we estimated the damage caused by seed and stem weevils, pollen beetles, and pod midges. Pest pressure varied drastically among fields with very low correlation among pests, allowing us to explore interactive impacts on yield from attacks by multiple species. The plant damage caused by each pest species individually had, as expected, either no, or a negative impact on seed yield and the strongest negative effect was caused by pollen beetles. However, seed yield increased when plant damage caused by both seed and stem weevils was high, presumably due to the joint plant compensatory reaction to insect attack leading to overcompensation. Hence, attacks by several pests can change the impact on yield of individual pest species. Economic thresholds based on single species, on which pest management decisions currently rely, may therefore result in economically suboptimal choices being made and unnecessary excessive use of insecticides.

Insecticide resistance in pollen beetles over 7 years - a landscape approach.

BACKGROUND: In spite of considerable interest in the impact of pesticides on pest populations, few attempts have been made to link resistance patterns of insect pests to land-use features across spatial and temporal scales. We hypothesise that pollen beetle pesticide resistance increases in areas with a high proportion of oilseed rape and with an even mixture of winter and spring oilseed rape owing to high pesticide selection pressure in such areas. RESULTS: Here, we investigated 7 years of lambda-cyhalothrin (Karate(®) ) resistance in field-collected pollen beetle adults from a total of 180 sampling points across ten regions in Sweden. We found a positive effect on pollen beetle pesticide resistance of proportion of oilseed rape and even spring-winter oilseed rape mixture. However, this was true only for the regional spatial scale. Significant land-use effects in the long-term models, with oilseed rape data averaged over a longer (4 years) period of time, suggested an effect of regional landscape history on current pest resistance. CONCLUSION: For successful control of pollen beetle pesticide resistance, we suggest a long-term regional strategy for oilseed rape management. This land-use approach provides a framework for further investigations that integrate resistance management into landscape research.