TLI in pediatric patients.

PURPOSE: Hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation (HSCT) is a procedure used in different hematological diseases as part of the curative treatment, so the investigators propose a system of conditioning of reduced intensity based on total lymphoid irradiation (TLI) as an alternative to the classic total body irradiation (TBI) followed by haploidentical transplantation in patients compatible with a single HLA haplotype, as an alternative to patients who do not have an HLA compatible donor. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cohort of 25 patients with hematological disease underwent haploidentical HSCT from February 2015 to May 2018, conditioned with TLI from day - 10 (2-4 days of treatment) followed by thiotepa (5 mg/kg/12 h) and melphalan (70 mg/m2/day) prior to HSCT and prophylaxis with ciclosporin (1.5 mg/kg/12 h). 2 Gy/fraction was administered to complete 8 Gy with IMRT and VMAT technique. RESULTS: 12% rejection of the transplant was obtained with acute GVHD < II (48%) and chronic GVHD 12%. No acute toxicity was recorded in irradiated patients and 56% survival of patients at the end of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Conditioning the haploidentical transplant with TLI, IMRT, and VMAT techniques compared with TBI and RT3D-C techniques is a feasible technique that helps inducing the necessary immunosuppression in patients with a high risk of graft rejection, minimal adverse effects, low incidence of GVHD, and high survival rate.

Selection of a nucleopolyhedrovirus for control of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): structural, genetic, and biological comparison of four isolates from the Americas.

Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is the principal pest of maize in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. Larvae of this species are susceptible to a nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) which has attracted interest as a potential biocontrol agent. Four strains of NPV isolated from infected S. frugiperda larvae in the United States, Nicaragua, and Argentina were subjected to a structural, genetic, and biological comparison to select a candidate isolate for use in biocontrol experiments in Mexico and Honduras. All isolates had an occlusion body polyhedrin protein of 32 kDa, but the virions of each isolate differed subtly in the pattern and abundance of certain structural polypeptides revealed by SDS-PAGE analysis. Restriction endonuclease analysis of viral DNA confirmed that these isolates were strains of a single virus species but showed that they were not genetically homogeneous; each isolate could be differentiated from the others using common restriction enzymes. Droplet feeding bioassays indicated that an isolate from Nicaragua (Sf-NIC) and an isolate from the United States (Sf-US) had the highest infectivity when tested against 2nd instars originating from a Honduran S. frugiperda colony. No significant differences were detected in the speed of kill of Sf-NIC (102.7 h), Sf-US (102.3 h) and Sf-AR (103.4 h), whereas that of Sf-2 (97.3 h) was significantly shorter. Additional bioassays of the Sf-NIC isolate against 2nd to 6th instars demonstrated that LC50 values increased with larval stage from 2.03 x 10(5) OBs/ml for 2nd instars to 1.84 x 10(8) OBs/ml for 5th instars. The concentration required to elicit a lethal infection of 6th instars was so high that a reliable estimate of LC50 could not be obtained. The mean time to death for each stage challenged with the Sf-NIC isolate increased with instar from an average of 102.7 h in 2nd instars to 136.9 h in 5th instars.

[Prolonged use of intrauterine devices]. / Uso prolongado de dispositivos intrauterinos.

PIP: Analysis was done on 70 cases of regularly controlled use of an IUD for 4 years or more. No distinction was made among devices used. 64.2% of the sample had used an IUD from 4 to 5 years, 20% from 5 to 6 years and 15.8% for more than 6. 37% of the sample was between 20-29 years of age, 58.5% between 30-39, and 4.2% over 40. All had more than 2 children and 74.1% had had at least 1 abortion; 12.8% had had between 4-6 abortions. 85.7% were considered to have normal menstrual periods; 8.5% experienced menorrhagia, 2.8% hypermenorrhagia, and 2.8% metrorrhagia. 92.8% had no inflammatory complications. There was 1 case of endometriosis, 3 of adnexitis, and 1 of parametriosis, all of which responded favorably to antibiotics without necessitating removal of the device. Laboratory studies revealed that 50% of the sample had cervicitis. It is concuded that menstrual disorders and genital inflammations need not, if properly treated, be reasons for removal of the device, and further, that with adequate controls IUDs are suitable for long-term use.^ieng