Synonymization of key pest species within the Bactrocera dorsalis species complex (Diptera: Tephritidae): Taxonomic changes based on a review of 20 years of integrative morphological, molecular, cytogenetic, behavioural and chemoecological data

Bactrocera papayae Drew & Hancock, Bactrocera philippinensis Drew & Hancock, Bactrocera carambolae Drew & Hancock, and Bactrocera invadens Drew, Tsuruta & White are four horticultural pest tephritid fruit fly species that are highly similar, morphologically and genetically, to the destructive pest, the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae). This similarity has rendered the discovery of reliable diagnostic characters problematic, which, in view of the economic importance of these taxa and the international trade implications, has resulted in ongoing difficulties for many areas of plant protection and food security. Consequently, a major international collaborative and integrated multidisciplinary research effort was initiated in 2009 to build upon existing literature with the specific aim of resolving biological species limits among B. papayae, B. philippinensis, B. carambolae, B. invadens and B. dorsalis to overcome constraints to pest management and international trade. Bactrocera philippinensis has recently been synonymized with B. papayae as a result of this initiative and this review corroborates that finding; however, the other names remain in use. While consistent characters have been found to reliably distinguish B. carambolae from B. dorsalis, B. invadens and B. papayae, no such characters have been found to differentiate the latter three putative species. We conclude that B. carambolae is a valid species and that the remaining taxa, B. dorsalis, B. invadens and B. papayae, represent the same species. Thus, we consider B. dorsalis (Hendel) as the senior synonym of B. papayae Drew and Hancock syn.n. and B. invadens Drew, Tsuruta & White syn.n. A redescription of B. dorsalis is provided. Given the agricultural importance of B. dorsalis, this taxonomic decision will have significant global plant biosecurity implications, affecting pest management, quarantine, international trade, postharvest treatment and basic research. Throughout the paper, we emphasize the value of independent and multidisciplinary tools in delimiting species, particularly in complicated cases involving morphologically cryptic taxa.

Significance of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors in the cardiovascular system in health and disease.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand-activated nuclear transcription factors that belong to the nuclear receptor superfamily. Three isoforms of PPAR have been identified, alpha, delta and gamma, which play distinct roles in the regulation of key metabolic processes, such as glucose and lipid redistribution. PPARalpha is expressed predominantly in the liver, kidney and heart, and is primarily involved in fatty acid oxidation. PPARgamma is mainly associated with adipose tissue, where it controls adipocyte differentiation and insulin sensitivity. PPARdelta is abundantly and ubiquitously expressed, but as yet its function has not been clearly defined. Activators of PPARalpha (fibrates) and gamma (thiazolidinediones) have been used clinically for a number of years in the treatment of hyperlipidaemia and to improve insulin sensitivity in diabetes. More recently, PPAR activation has been found to confer additional benefits on endothelial function, inflammation and thrombosis, suggesting that PPAR agonists may be good candidates for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. In this regard, it has been demonstrated that PPAR activators are capable of reducing blood pressure and attenuating the development of atherosclerosis and cardiac hypertrophy. This review will provide a detailed discussion of the current understanding of basic PPAR physiology, with particular reference to the cardiovascular system. It will also examine the evidence supporting the involvement of the different PPAR isoforms in cardiovascular disease and discuss the current and potential future clinical applications of PPAR activators.

Marine omega-3 fatty acids and coronary heart disease

Purpose of review: To provide an overview of the key earlier intervention studies with marine omega-3 fatty acids and to review and comment on recent studies reporting on mortality outcomes and on selected underlying mechanisms of action. Recent findings: Studies relating marine omega-3 fatty acid status to current or future outcomes continue to indicate benefits, for example, on incident heart failure, congestive heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, and all-cause mortality. New mechanistic insights into the actions of marine omega-3 fatty acids have been gained. Three fairly large secondary prevention trials have not confirmed the previously reported benefit of marine omega-3 fatty acids towards mortality in survivors of myocardial infarction. Studies of marine omega-3 fatty acids in atrial fibrillation and in cardiac surgery-induced atrial fibrillation have produced inconsistent findings and meta-analyses demonstrate no benefit. A study confirmed that marine omega-3 fatty acids reduce the inflammatory burden with advanced atherosclerotic plaques, so inducing greater stability. Summary: Recent studies of marine omega-3 fatty acids on morbidity of, and mortality from, coronary and cardiovascular disease have produced mixed findings. These studies raise new issues to be addressed in future research.

Acute and long-term effects of dietary fatty acids on vascular function in health and disease

Purpose of review: Vascular function is recognized as an early and integrative marker of cardiovascular disease. While there is consistent evidence that the quantity of dietary fat has significant effects on vascular function, the differential effects of individual fatty acids is less clear. This review summarizes recent evidence from randomly controlled dietary studies on the impact of dietary fatty acids on vascular function, as determined by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD). Recent findings: Critical appraisal is given to five intervention studies (one acute, four chronic) which examined the impact of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid [eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)] on FMD. In the acute setting, a high dose of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (4.9 g per 70 kg man) improved postprandial FMD significantly, compared with a saturated fatty acid-rich meal in healthy individuals. In longer-term studies, there was limited evidence for a significant effect of EPA/DHA on FMD in diseased groups. Summary: The strongest evidence for the benefits of EPA/DHA on vascular function is in the postprandial state. More evidence from randomly controlled intervention trials with foods will be required to substantiate the long-term effects of EPA/DHA, to inform public health and clinical recommendations.

Challenges and perspectives of Chagas disease: a review

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Secondary prevention through cardiac rehabilitation: from knowledge to implementation. A position paper from the Cardiac Rehabilitation Section of the European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation

Increasing awareness of the importance of cardiovascular prevention is not yet matched by the resources and actions within health care systems. Recent publication of the European Commission's European Heart Health Charter in 2008 prompts a review of the role of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) to cardiovascular health outcomes. Secondary prevention through exercise-based CR is the intervention with the best scientific evidence to contribute to decrease morbidity and mortality in coronary artery disease, in particular after myocardial infarction but also incorporating cardiac interventions and chronic stable heart failure. The present position paper aims to provide the practical recommendations on the core components and goals of CR intervention in different cardiovascular conditions, to assist in the design and development of the programmes, and to support healthcare providers, insurers, policy makers and consumers in the recognition of the comprehensive nature of CR. Those charged with responsibility for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, whether at European, national or individual centre level, need to consider where and how structured programmes of CR can be delivered to all patients eligible. Thus a novel, disease-oriented document has been generated, where all components of CR for cardiovascular conditions have been revised, presenting both well-established and controversial aspects. A general table applicable to all cardiovascular conditions and specific tables for each clinical disease have been created and commented.

The ocular motor features of adult-onset alexander disease: a case and review of the literature

A 51-year-old Chinese man presented with gaze-evoked nystagmus, impaired smooth pursuit and vestibular ocular reflex cancellation, and saccadic dysmetria, along with a family history suggestive of late-onset autosomal dominant parkinsonism. MRI revealed abnormalities of the medulla and cervical spinal cord typical of adult-onset Alexander disease, and genetic testing showed homozygosity for the p.D295N polymorphic allele in the gene encoding the glial fibrillary acidic protein. A review of the literature shows that ocular signs are frequent in adult-onset Alexander disease, most commonly gaze-evoked nystagmus, pendular nystagmus, and/or oculopalatal myoclonus, and less commonly ptosis, miosis, and saccadic dysmetria. These signs are consistent with the propensity of adult-onset Alexander disease to cause medullary abnormalities on neuroimaging.

Lifespan and disease predispositions in the Irish Wolfhound: a review

Several disease predispositions of Irish Wolfhounds are mentioned in the veterinary literature, but these lists vary greatly between different publications. This article reviews findings on lifespan as well as disease predispositions that have been reported in the literature. Hereditary mechanisms found so far are discussed, including their implications for breeding healthier dogs, the ethical necessity of which is stressed under the aspect of animal welfare. An open health registry, combined with the estimation of breeding values, seems to be the most promising approach. Furthermore, routine male castration is discouraged as being associated with an increased osteosarcoma risk. Mean lifespan estimates in Irish Wolfhounds vary between 4.95 and 8.75 years, but bias due to right censored data is common. The diseases reported to occur most frequently are dilated cardiomyopathy, osteogenic sarcoma, gastric dilation and volvulus and diseases of the osteochondrosis spectrum. Furthermore, intrahepatic portosystemic shunt plays an important role. Several other diseases have been reported in the literature, including rhinitis, epilepsy, progressive retinal atrophy, von Willebrand's Disease, and juvenile fibrocartilaginous embolism.

Molecular control of cardiac sodium homeostasis in health and disease.

INTRODUCTION Cardiac myocytes utilize three high-capacity Na transport processes whose precise function can determine myocyte fate and the triggering of arrhythmias in pathological settings. We present recent results on the regulation of all three transporters that may be important for an understanding of cardiac function during ischemia/reperfusion episodes. METHODS AND RESULTS Refined ion selective electrode (ISE) techniques and giant patch methods were used to analyze the function of cardiac Na/K pumps, Na/Ca exchange (NCX1), and Na/H exchange (NHE1) in excised cardiac patches and intact myocytes. To consider results cohesively, simulations were developed that account for electroneutrality of the cytoplasm, ion homeostasis, water homeostasis (i.e., cell volume), and cytoplasmic pH. The Na/K pump determines the average life-time of Na ions (3-10 minutes) as well as K ions (>30 minutes) in the cytoplasm. The long time course of K homeostasis can determine the time course of myocyte volume changes after ion homeostasis is perturbed. In excised patches, cardiac Na/K pumps turn on slowly (-30 seconds) with millimolar ATP dependence, when activated for the first time. In steady state, however, pumps are fully active with <0.2 mM ATP and are nearly unaffected by high ADP (2 mM) and Pi (10 mM) concentrations as may occur in ischemia. NCX1s appear to operate with slippage that contributes to background Na influx and inward current in heart. Thus, myocyte Na levels may be regulated by the inactivation reactions of the exchanger which are both Na- and proton-dependent. NHE1 also undergo strong Na-dependent inactivation, whereby a brief rise of cytoplasmic Na can cause inactivation that persists for many minutes after cytoplasmic Na is removed. This mechanism is blocked by pertussis toxin, suggesting involvement of a Na-dependent G-protein. Given that maximal NCX1- and NHE1-mediated ion fluxes are much greater than maximal Na/K pump-mediated Na extrusion in myocytes, the Na-dependent inactivation mechanisms of NCX1 and NHE1 may be important determinants of cardiac Na homeostasis. CONCLUSIONS Na/K pumps appear to be optimized to continue operation when energy reserves are compromised. Both NCX1 and NHE1 activities are regulated by accumulation of cytoplasmic Na. These principles may importantly control cardiac cytoplasmic Na and promote myocyte survival during ischemia/reperfusion episodes by preventing Ca overload.

Cytomegalovirus infection and disease reduce 10-year cardiac allograft vasculopathy-free survival in heart transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is associated with an increased risk of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV), the major limiting factor for long-term survival after heart transplantation (HTx). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of CMV infection during long-term follow-up after HTx. METHODS A retrospective, single-centre study analyzed 226 HTx recipients (mean age 45 ± 13 years, 78 % men) who underwent transplantation between January 1988 and December 2000. The incidence and risk factors for CMV infection during the first year after transplantation were studied. Risk factors for CAV were included in an analyses of CAV-free survival within 10 years post-transplant. The effect of CMV infection on the grade of CAV was analyzed. RESULTS Survival to 10 years post-transplant was higher in patients with no CMV infection (69 %) compared with patients with CMV disease (55 %; p = 0.018) or asymptomatic CMV infection (54 %; p = 0.053). CAV-free survival time was higher in patients with no CMV infection (6.7 years; 95 % CI, 6.0-7.4) compared with CMV disease (4.2 years; CI, 3.2-5.2; p < 0.001) or asymptomatic CMV infection (5.4 years; CI, 4.3-6.4; p = 0.013). In univariate analysis, recipient age, donor age, coronary artery disease (CAD), asymptomatic CMV infection and CMV disease were significantly associated with CAV-free survival. In multivariate regression analysis, CMV disease, asymptomatic CMV infection, CAD and donor age remained independent predictors of CAV-free survival at 10 years post-transplant. CONCLUSIONS CAV-free survival was significantly reduced in patients with CMV disease and asymptomatic CMV infection compared to patients without CMV infection. These findings highlight the importance of close monitoring of CMV viral load and appropriate therapeutic strategies for preventing asymptomatic CMV infection.

Distinct gene-specific mechanisms of arrhythmia revealed by cardiac gene transfer of two long QT disease genes, HERG and KCNE1

The long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a heritable disorder that predisposes to sudden cardiac death. LQTS is caused by mutations in ion channel genes including HERG and KCNE1, but the precise mechanisms remain unclear. To clarify this situation we injected adenoviral vectors expressing wild-type or LQT mutants of HERG and KCNE1 into guinea pig myocardium. End points at 48–72 h included electrophysiology in isolated myocytes and electrocardiography in vivo. HERG increased the rapid component, IKr, of the delayed rectifier current, thereby accelerating repolarization, increasing refractoriness, and diminishing beat-to-beat action potential variability. Conversely, HERG-G628S suppressed IKr without significantly delaying repolarization. Nevertheless, HERG-G628S abbreviated refractoriness and increased beat-to-beat variability, leading to early afterdepolarizations (EADs). KCNE1 increased the slow component of the delayed rectifier, IKs, without clear phenotypic sequelae. In contrast, KCNE1-D76N suppressed IKs and markedly slowed repolarization, leading to frequent EADs and electrocardiographic QT prolongation. Thus, the two genes predispose to sudden death by distinct mechanisms: the KCNE1 mutant flagrantly undermines cardiac repolarization, and HERG-G628S subtly facilitates the genesis and propagation of premature beats. Our ability to produce electrocardiographic long QT in vivo with a clinical KCNE1 mutation demonstrates the utility of somatic gene transfer in creating genotype-specific disease models.

A systematic review of successes and failures in home telehealth: preliminary results

We conducted a systematic review of the literature to identify studies in home telehealth that compared a home telehealth intervention with a non-telehealth standard/usual care alternative in terms of administrative changes, patient management decisions, patient outcomes, caregiver outcomes, economic impact or social impact on patients. A search of various databases produced 6643 references. Of these 769 papers were selected for more detailed investigation. These papers, combined with hand searching of relevant telehealth journals and cross-referencing of citations in identified publications, resulted in 138 papers referring to 130 projects for review. In this preliminary analysis we used a quality appraisal approach that took into account the study design. An additional analysis of patient numbers was then used to calculate a net evidence score. A large proportion of studies (80%) were randomised controlled trials. Only 22 projects (17%) reported economic data deemed to be sufficient for appraisal. Evidence exists for the clinical effectiveness of home telehealth in diabetes, the general area of mental health, high risk pregnancy monitoring, heart failure and cardiac disease.

Systematic review investigating the reporting of comorbidities and medication in randomized controlled trials of people with dementia

Objectives: dementia is a debilitating condition characterised by global loss of cognitive and intellectual functioning, which reduces social and occupational performance. This population frequently presents with medical co-morbidities such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The CONSORT statement outlines recommended guidance on reporting of participant characteristics in clinical trials. It is, however, unclear how much these are adhered to in trials assessing people with dementia. This paper assesses the reporting of medical co-morbidities and prescribed medications for people with dementia within randomised controlled trial (RCT) reports. Design: a systematic review of the published literature from the databases AMED, CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Clinical Trial Registry from 1 January 1997 to 9 January 2014 was undertaken in order to identify RCTs detailing baseline medical co-morbidities and prescribed medications . Eligible studies were appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) RCT appraisal tool, and descriptive statistical analyses were calculated to determine point prevalence. Results: nine trials, including 1474 people with dementia, were identified presenting medical co-morbidity data. These indicated neurological disorders ( prevalence 91%), vascular disorders (prevalence 91%), cardiac disorders ( prevalence 74%) and ischaemic cerebrovascular disease ( prevalence 53%) were most frequently seen. Conclusions: published RCTs poorly report medical co-morbidities and medications for people with dementia. Future trials should include the report of these items to allow interpretation of whether the results are generalisable to frailer older populations.

Analysis of cardiac and epileptic signals using higher order spectra

The theory of nonlinear dyamic systems provides some new methods to handle complex systems. Chaos theory offers new concepts, algorithms and methods for processing, enhancing and analyzing the measured signals. In recent years, researchers are applying the concepts from this theory to bio-signal analysis. In this work, the complex dynamics of the bio-signals such as electrocardiogram (ECG) and electroencephalogram (EEG) are analyzed using the tools of nonlinear systems theory. In the modern industrialized countries every year several hundred thousands of people die due to sudden cardiac death. The Electrocardiogram (ECG) is an important biosignal representing the sum total of millions of cardiac cell depolarization potentials. It contains important insight into the state of health and nature of the disease afflicting the heart. Heart rate variability (HRV) refers to the regulation of the sinoatrial node, the natural pacemaker of the heart by the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system. Heart rate variability analysis is an important tool to observe the heart's ability to respond to normal regulatory impulses that affect its rhythm. A computerbased intelligent system for analysis of cardiac states is very useful in diagnostics and disease management. Like many bio-signals, HRV signals are non-linear in nature. Higher order spectral analysis (HOS) is known to be a good tool for the analysis of non-linear systems and provides good noise immunity. In this work, we studied the HOS of the HRV signals of normal heartbeat and four classes of arrhythmia. This thesis presents some general characteristics for each of these classes of HRV signals in the bispectrum and bicoherence plots. Several features were extracted from the HOS and subjected an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test. The results are very promising for cardiac arrhythmia classification with a number of features yielding a p-value < 0.02 in the ANOVA test. An automated intelligent system for the identification of cardiac health is very useful in healthcare technology. In this work, seven features were extracted from the heart rate signals using HOS and fed to a support vector machine (SVM) for classification. The performance evaluation protocol in this thesis uses 330 subjects consisting of five different kinds of cardiac disease conditions. The classifier achieved a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 89%. This system is ready to run on larger data sets. In EEG analysis, the search for hidden information for identification of seizures has a long history. Epilepsy is a pathological condition characterized by spontaneous and unforeseeable occurrence of seizures, during which the perception or behavior of patients is disturbed. An automatic early detection of the seizure onsets would help the patients and observers to take appropriate precautions. Various methods have been proposed to predict the onset of seizures based on EEG recordings. The use of nonlinear features motivated by the higher order spectra (HOS) has been reported to be a promising approach to differentiate between normal, background (pre-ictal) and epileptic EEG signals. In this work, these features are used to train both a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) classifier and a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier. Results show that the classifiers were able to achieve 93.11% and 92.67% classification accuracy, respectively, with selected HOS based features. About 2 hours of EEG recordings from 10 patients were used in this study. This thesis introduces unique bispectrum and bicoherence plots for various cardiac conditions and for normal, background and epileptic EEG signals. These plots reveal distinct patterns. The patterns are useful for visual interpretation by those without a deep understanding of spectral analysis such as medical practitioners. It includes original contributions in extracting features from HRV and EEG signals using HOS and entropy, in analyzing the statistical properties of such features on real data and in automated classification using these features with GMM and SVM classifiers.

Chlamydial infection of immune cells : altered function and implications for disease

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen that infects the genital and ocular mucosa of humans, causing infections that can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, and blinding trachoma. C. pneumoniae is a respiratory pathogen that is the cause of 12–15% of community-acquired pneumonia. Both chlamydial species were believed to be restricted to the epithelia of the genital, ocular, and respiratory mucosa; however, increasing evidence suggests that both these pathogens can be isolated from peripheral blood of both healthy individuals and patients with inflammatory conditions such as coronary artery disease and asthma. Chlamydia can also be isolated from brain tissues of patients with degenerative neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis, and also from certain lymphomas. An increasing number of in vitro studies suggest that some chlamydial species can infect immune cells, at least at low levels. These infections may alter immune cell function in a way that promotes chlamydial persistence in the host and contributes to the progression of several chronic inflammatory diseases. In this paper, we review the evidence for the growth of Chlamydia in immune cells, particularly monocytes/macrophages and dendritic cells, and describe how infection may affect the function of these cells.