Evaluation of Pachycrepoideus vindemiae and Muscidifurax raptor (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) as biological control agents of Piophila casei (Diptera: Piophilidae) in ham production facilities.

Ham products play a fundamental role in the Italian economy, and attention to the problems of this sector is essential. The products of this sector can be attacked by parasites, which can cause direct and indirect damage. Piophila casei (L.) (Diptera: Piophilidae) a cheese and meat parasite, is currently responsible for hygiene problems in ham factories. The trophic activity of this pest on the products causes serious direct damage and it is a vector of various bacteria, including Clostridium botulinum. Another risk is human ingestion of the larvae, which are resistant to gastric juices action, potentially causing intestinal myiasis. Insecticide use of any type is not allowed in aging rooms, so biological control can represent a potential alternative. In this study, we investigate quality parameters such as successful rate of parasitism (SP), degree of parasitism (DP), sex-ratio (SR), life-span (LS), and emergence rates (ER) of 2 pupal parasitoids of Diptera: Pachycrepoideus vindemiae (Rondani) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), currently the only known pupal parasitoid of P. casei, and Muscidifurax raptor (Girault and Sanders) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). Our research confirmed P. vindemiae efficacy to parasitize P. casei and reported, for the first time, M. raptor as a pupal parasitoid of this Piophilidae. ER for both parasitoids were low, thus affecting the DP and SP estimations. This could be explained by the feeding behavior of the parasitoid host. The strongly female-biased SR for P. vindemiae supported previous studies. LS results in our experiment are crucial for determining the timing of release.

Host stage and temperature for the rearing of Aridelus rufotestaceus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), with notes on acceptance and suitability of 2 stink bug species.

Nezara viridula (L.) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a harmful pest of many agricultural crops in different parts of the world. This stink bug is the preferred host species of Aridelus rufotestaceus Tobias (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), an endoparasitoid of nymphs and adults of pentatomids. With the aim to improve the rearing procedure of this beneficial insect, the acceptance and suitability of all mobile stages of N. viridula (from first instar nymph to adult) were evaluated. At 25 °C, all host stages were accepted and suitable for A. rufotestaceus development, but the highest parasitoid cocoon and adult yields were obtained from second instar nymphs. The possibility to reduce the development time of A. rufotestasceus by increasing the rearing temperature was also evaluated, but 28 °C proved to be detrimental for parasitoid development, as shown by the very low cocoon and adult numbers obtained. The acceptance and suitability of the invasive pentatomid species Halyomorpha halys (Stål) for A. rufotestaceus was also tested. Female wasps were observed piercing H. halys nymphs with the ovipositor, but no cocoons were obtained, nor were larvae or head capsules detected in the exposed stink bugs.

The ground beetle Pseudoophonus rufipes gut microbiome is influenced by the farm management system.

Intensive conventional farm management, characterized by high agrochemicals input, could alter the composition of microbial communities with potential negative effects on both functional traits and the ecosystem services provided. In this study, we investigated the gut microbial composition of a high ecological relevance carabid Pseudoophonus rufipes, sampled in two fields subjected to conventional and organic management practices. Carabids' gut microbiota was analyzed via qPCR and NGS. Profound differences between the microbial composition of organic and conventional samples were detected: the abundance of Tenericutes and Proteobacteria was significant higher in organic and conventional samples, respectively. Spiroplasmataceae and Bifidobacteriaceae families were significantly more abundant in samples from organic management, while Enterococcaceae, Morganellaceae and Yersiniaceae were more abundant in samples from conventional management. The diverse gut microbial composition of insects between the two management systems is related to the pressure of environmental stressors and it may representing an important bioindication of ecological functions and services provided by a carabid species.

The immuneML ecosystem for machine learning analysis of adaptive immune receptor repertoires.

Adaptive immune receptor repertoires (AIRR) are key targets for biomedical research as they record past and ongoing adaptive immune responses. The capacity of machine learning (ML) to identify complex discriminative sequence patterns renders it an ideal approach for AIRR-based diagnostic and therapeutic discovery. To date, widespread adoption of AIRR ML has been inhibited by a lack of reproducibility, transparency, and interoperability. immuneML (immuneml.uio.no) addresses these concerns by implementing each step of the AIRR ML process in an extensible, open-source software ecosystem that is based on fully specified and shareable workflows. To facilitate widespread user adoption, immuneML is available as a command-line tool and through an intuitive Galaxy web interface, and extensive documentation of workflows is provided. We demonstrate the broad applicability of immuneML by (i) reproducing a large-scale study on immune state prediction, (ii) developing, integrating, and applying a novel deep learning method for antigen specificity prediction, and (iii) showcasing streamlined interpretability-focused benchmarking of AIRR ML.

Control of larval-pupal-adult molt in the moth Sesamia nonagrioides by juvenile hormone and ecdysteroids.

Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae reared under long day (LD; 16L:8D) conditions pupate after 5 or 6 larval instars, whereas under short day (SD; 12L:12D) conditions they undergo up to 12 additional molts before pupating. This extended period of repeated molting is maintained by high levels of juvenile hormone (JH). Previous work demonstrated that both LD and SD larvae decapitated in the 6th instar pupate but further development is halted. By contrast, about one-third of SD larvae from which only the brain has been removed, undergo first a larval molt, then pupate and subsequently developed to the adult stage. Debrained LD larvae molt to larvae exceptionally but regularly pupate and produce adults. Implanted brains may induce several larval molts in debrained recipient larvae irrespectively of the photoperiodic conditions. The results of present work demonstrate that the prothoracic glands (PGs) and the corpora allata (CA) of debrained larvae continue to produce ecdysteroids and JHs, respectively. PGs are active also in the decapitated larvae that lack JH, consistent with the paradigm that CA, which are absent in the decapitated larvae, are the only source of this hormone. Completion of the pupal-adult transformation in both LD and SD debrained insects demonstrates that brain is not crucial for the development of S. nonagrioides but is required for diapause maintenance. Application of JH to headless pupae induces molting, presumably by activating their PGs. It is likely that JH plays this role also in the induction of pupal-adult transformation in debrained insects. Application of the ecdysteroid agonist RH 2485 (methoxyfenozide) to headless pupae also elicits molting: newly secreted cuticle is in some cases thin and indifferent, in other cases it bears distinct pupal or adult features.

The influence of pine volatile compounds on the olfactory response by Neodiprion sertifer (Geoffroy) females.

Females of the pine sawfly Neodiprion sertifer (Hymenoptera Diprionidae) usually avoid Pinus pinea trees as host plants. In contrast, this sawfly species is highly attracted by P. sylvestris and P. nigra trees. Here, we investigated which pine volatiles might mediate this behavior by in situ sampling experiments and olfactometer laboratory tests. Volatiles emitted from P. pinea, P. sylvestris, and P. nigra foliage were sampled by solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Analysis of these volatiles by coupled gaschromatography/mass spectrometry revealed that the relative amounts of the compounds emitted by the three species were significantly different. A discriminant analysis showed that the amounts of limonene and myrcene significantly contributed to the species-specific volatile patterns. Pinus pinea emitted higher relative amounts of limonene than the other pine species. Pinus sylvestris emitted the highest relative amounts of myrcene. When testing the response of N. sertifer females to these pine terpenoids in an olfactometer bioassay, a low amount of limonene was attractive, while a repellent effect was evident when higher amounts were used. The sawfly females showed no significant olfactory response to myrcene. These data suggest that low relative amounts of limonene have a significant function in attracting N. sertifer females, while high amounts might contribute to avoidance of a tree.

Evolucao fatal de hemorragia digestiva baixa: relato de caso e revisao da literatura / Fatal evolution of lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage: case report and review of the literature

A hemorragia digestiva baixa (HDB) e definida como qualquer sangramento com origem abaixo do ligamento de Treitz, embora sangramento alto macico possa apresentar-se clinicamente como enterorragia. Muitas lesoes, distribuidas no intestino grosso e delgado, podem ser responsaveis pelo quadro de HDB. Na maioria dos pacientes com HDB, o sangramento cessa espontaneamente durante as manobras iniciais de suporte...

Ruptura diafragmatica traumatica: estudo de 35 casos / Traumatic rupture of the diaphragm: a study of 35 cases

Realizou-se estudo retrospectivo de 35 casos de ruptura diafragmatica traumatica atendidos no Servico de Cirurgia de Emergencia do Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Sao Paulo no periodo de janeiro de 1987 a dezembro de 1991. O diagnostico foi feito pelo Rx de torax (48,5 por cento), lavagem peritonial (37 por cento) e estudos contrastados (14,5 por cento). As lesoes extra-abdominais mais comuns foram trauma de cranio, toracicas e fraturas pelvicas. Trinta e um pacientes apresentavam lesao no hemidiafragma esquerdo e quatro no hemidiafragma direito. As lesoes intra-abdominais associadas ocorreram em 89 por cento dos casos, sendo mais frequentes as lesoes hepaticas, esplenicas e hematoma de retroperitonio. Em todos os casos foi realizada laparotomia exploradora, lavagem transdiafragmatica do espaco pleural, drenagem de torax e sutura da lesao difragmatica. A morbidade foi de 40 por cento e a mortalidade foi de 22,8 por cento. Baseado nestes dados, concluimos que: o mecanismo de trauma, o Rx de torax e a presenca de fratura pelvica associada podem fornecer subsidios importantes para a suspeita diagnostica; a lavagem do espaco pleural constitui medida terapeutica importante na prevencao do empiema pleural...

Lesäo traumática de veia porta / Traumatic injury of the portal hepatic vein

Realizou-se estudo retrospectivo de 32 pacientes com lesäo de veia porta traumática, atendidos no Pronto Socorro de Cirurgia do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Säo Paulo, de abril de 1978 a 1988. As lesöes de veia porta foram divididas em três grupos segundo sua localizaçäo, a saber: grupo I - justa hiliar (11 pacientes), grupo II - pedículo hepático (14 pacientes), grupo III - retropancreático (7 pacientes). O grupo I e III englobam os pacientes com lesöes de difícil tratamento, determinando altas taxas de mortalidade, 54,5% e 71,4% respectivamente. As manobras cirúrgicas adotadas para a abordagem destas lesöes incluem a manobra de Pringle, de Kocher, hepatotomia e pancratotomia. O grupo II, compreendeu lesöes de naus fácil controle cirúrgico porque possibilitou o clampeamento vascular proximal e distal. Todos os pacientes apresentaram pelo menos uma lesäo abdominal associada, e em 30 pacientes esteve presente outra lesäo vascular concomitante. A mortalidade global de 13 pacientes (40,6%), sendo que 12 deles (37,5%) em conseqüência de sangramento. Tendo em vista os resultados, sugere-se que na presença de múltiplas lesöes associadas ou se a sutura for de difícil execuçäo, a ligadura de veia pode ser a melhor opçäo para o tratamento, principalmente nas lesöes justa hilares ou retropancreáticas