Biological Criteria Research Articles

Investigation of flight activity and damage status of European grapevine moth Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermuller) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

The present study was conducted in Ankara province on a grape variety called Kalecik karası in vineyards between 2013-2014. It’s aimed to determine biological criteria such as Lobesia botrana (Denis & Schiffermuller, 1775) Lep .: Tortricidae]'s adult flight activity, the duration of its presence in nature and the number of generation, which is essential for the control, as well as the damage status. As a result of the study, it was determined that the first adults of L. botrana were caught in April and the first peak of the pest was seen in the last week of April in both years. It was observed that the second peak of the pest occured in the second-third week of June and it produced two generations per year. It was determined that the flight of adults ended in September. European grapevine moth adults were found to be active for about six months. In both years, during the control and counting for vegetation and harvest period, although there were European grapevine moths in the vineyard where Kalecik karası grape variety was harvested, there were not any eggs and larvae and there was not any damage on vines during harvest.

Parameter Optimization for Printing Ti6Al4V-Alloy Patient-Customized Orthopaedic Implants by Laser Powder Bed Fusion Using Physio-mechanical Properties and Biological Evaluations.

A class of additive manufacturing technologies called Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), which allows fabricating metallic components with complex geometries in near-net-shape, can be employed for fabricating patient-customized orthopaedic implants. Selection and optimization of the LPBF process parameters are critical to achieving the required biomechanical properties and fabricability of such implants. The process parameters of direct metal laser sintering, the most widely used LPBF process, were optimized for fabricating Ti6Al4V ELI orthopaedic implants, based on ASTM and ASM standards. The parameters included Laser power, Laser velocity and hatch distance, which were varied using Taguchi approach. A multi-criteria decision-making technique (TOPSIS) was employed to optimize the process parameters considering yield and ultimate tensile strength, percentage elongation, part density, volumetric energy density and printing time. In-vitro cytotoxicity and in-vivo muscle implantation were performed on the optimized samples for determining the suitability of the parameters for biomedical applications. A combination of medium laser power, higher laser velocity, and lower hatch distance with values 200W, 2200mm/s and 0.08mm, respectively, was found to be suitable for producing implants. Based on the type of LPBF technology in use, an implant manufacturer can select the initial set of parameters using a similar approach and improve them further based on experimental results. The optimized parameters were found to be suitable for developing orthopaedic implants, in terms of physical, mechanical and biological criteria. The methods and results presented in work are expected to assist the implant manufacturers in meeting the expected user requirements and quality standards.

Paradigm shift for defining the resectability of pancreatic cancer.

Supported by the expanding indications for neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) for advanced pancreatic cancer (PC), the concept of resectability has evolved from being mostly based on the anatomical tumor extent to considering the biological and conditional factors relevant to prognosis. Therefore, it is more reasonable to define the “criteria for surgical resection” instead of using the “(technical) resectability criteria.” NAT has been used in resectable PCs (RPC) with a high risk of early systemic recurrence, as predicted by various biological or anatomical markers. Moreover, the indications for NAT followed by conversion surgery or adjuvant surgery for borderline resectable or locally advanced PC (LAPC) are gradually expanding. Therefore, it is important to define the RPC group that will benefit from NAT and the LAPC group that will benefit from post-NAT surgery. At diagnosis, population-based approaches, such as prognostic stratification and staging systems and personalized outcome-based approaches using prognostic prediction models can be used to determine the criteria for treatment options. Standardized indications for conversion surgery are needed for patients who are initially treated with NAT. In addition to imaging-based morphological criteria, biological criteria, including CA19-9, and various metabolic criteria can be used to establish predicted outcome-based criteria. Multicenter collaboration is required to develop a large database with standardized data collection for various biomarkers and response data after NAT to establish more accurate outcome prediction models to define the new resectability criteria.

A Novel Type of PD-L1 Inhibitor rU1 snRNPA From Human-Derived Protein Scaffolds Library.

Three marketed anti-PD-L1 antibodies almost have severe immune-mediated side effects. The therapeutic effects of anti-PD-L1 chemical inhibitors are not satisfied in the clinical trials. Here we constructed human-derived protein scaffolds library and screened scaffolds with a shape complementary to the PD-1 binding domain of PD-L1. The RNA binding domain of U1 snRNPA was selected as one of potential binders because it had the most favorable binding energies with PD-L1 and conformed to pre-established biological criteria for the screening of candidates. The recombinant U1 snRNPA (rU1 snRNPA) in Escherichia coli exhibits anti-cancer activity in melanoma and breast cancer by reactivating tumor-suppressed T cells in vitro and anti-melanoma activity in vivo. Considering hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions, three residues were mutated on the interface of U1 snRNPA and PD-L1 complex, and the ranked variants by PatchDock and A32D showed an increased active phenotype. The screening of human-derived protein scaffolds may become the potential development of therapeutic agents.

Conic formulation of fluence map optimization problems

The convexity of objectives and constraints in fluence map optimization (FMO) for radiation therapy has been extensively studied. Next to convexity, there is another important characteristic of optimization functions and problems, which has thus far not been considered in FMO literature: conic representation. Optimization problems that are conically representable using quadratic, exponential and power cones are solvable with advanced primal-dual interior-point algorithms. These algorithms guarantee an optimal solution in polynomial time and have good performance in practice. In this paper, we construct conic representations for most FMO objectives and constraints. This paper is the first that shows that FMO problems containing multiple biological evaluation criteria can be solved in polynomial time. For fractionation-corrected functions for which no exact conic reformulation is found, we provide an accurate approximation that is conically representable. We present numerical results on the TROTS data set, which demonstrate very stable numerical performance for solving FMO problems in conic form. With ongoing research in the optimization community, improvements in speed can be expected, which makes conic optimization a promising alternative for solving FMO problems.

P088 Prolonged fever in a boy revealing Takayasu disease: a case report

Abstract Background Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is a chronic inflammatory vasculitis of unknown origin. It affects the large vessels, especially the aorta, its main branches, and the pulmonary arteries. It begins acutely in children with severe general manifestations. The diagnosis of TA remains a challenge to clinicians due to many reasons such as its rarity, its great clinical polymorphism, and the lack of specific biological criteria. Case report A 13-years old boy with no pathological history, was admitted for prolonged fever with intermittent abdominal pain. The clinical examination has found a conscious boy, febrile with a BP of 130/90mmhg, a normal heart rate, and stable respiratory function. The cardiovascular examination noted a decrease in pedal pulses, without signs of ischaemia or necrosis, and the cardiac auscultation was normal. Examination of the lymph node areas has shown upper and left later cervical adenopathy measuring 1.7 cm in long axis, mobile, and painless. All joints were free. The complementary biological workups revealed an inflammatory syndrome (ESR: 120 mm, fibrinogen: 5 g/l, microcytic hypochromic anaemia at 9 g/dl, ferritin: 1051, low serum iron: 11µg/dl and thrombocytosis: 692 000 elements/l). Chest X-ray showed a dilated aortic button. A thoracic angioscan revealed a peri-aortitis more evident at the level of the emergence of the mesenteric artery with a pseudo-aneurysmal aspect and arteritis of the right primary carotid artery. Echocardiography was performed and showed a dilated aspect of the aorta with irregular wall. Renal ultrasound was normal. The diagnosis of Takayasu disease was made on the basis of clinical biological and essentially radiological arguments according to the diagnostic criteria of the American College of Rheumatology. The patient was treated with corticosteroid (prednisone: 2 mg/kg/d) for one month then then gradually reduced doses The disease course was marked by several relapses and the patient was then treated with mycophenolate mofetil (cellcept). Conclusion Takaysu's disease is a chronic inflammatory vasculitis of unknown origin, which affects the large- vessels, mainly the aorta, its main branches, and the pulmonary arteries; but it remains rare in children and its treatment is not well codified.

Modeling of Farmers' Vegetable Safety Production Based on Identification of Key Risk Factors From Beijing, China.

Food safety emphasizes risk control in the production process, and has attracted much attention from food regulators and consumers in recent years. The objectives of this study were to conduct early key risk factors identification and risk modeling for vegetable safety production. To achieve these objectives, this article quantitatively identified the key direct and indirect risk factors in vegetable safety production through questionnaire surveys and a multivariate linear model, and modeled the effects of key risk factors affecting vegetable safety production based on the catastrophe progression method. Based on 973 valid farmers' questionnaires from Beijing, China, the results showed that key direct risk factors are production violation, farmland biological control, pesticide and fertilizer use criteria, and agricultural consumable handling; key indirect risk factors included cooperative participation, planting years, prohibited pesticide knowledge, production recording, and product type. Through the empirical analysis, it can be seen that there are regional differences in the production risk of vegetable farmers in Beijing. The production risks of Changping, Huairou, and Shunyi are the most serious; from a city-wide perspective, the risk of farmland biological control is greatest, followed by risk aversion ability. The findings of this research have important implications for safe vegetable production and farmers' production risk control.

Impact on antimicrobial consumption of procalcitonin-guided antibiotic therapy for pneumonia/pneumonitis associated with aspiration in comatose mechanically ventilated patients: a multicenter, randomized controlled study

BackgroundIn comatose patients receiving oro-tracheal intubation for mechanical ventilation (MV), the risk of aspiration is increased. Aspiration can lead to chemical pneumonitis (inflammatory reaction to the gastric contents), or aspiration pneumonia (infection caused by inhalation of microorganisms). Distinguishing between the two types is challenging. We tested the interest of using a decisional algorithm based on procalcitonin (PCT) values to guide initiation and discontinuation of antibiotic therapies in intubated patients.MethodsThe PROPASPI (PROcalcitonin Pneumonia/pneumonitis Associated with ASPIration) trial is a multicenter, prospective, randomized, controlled, single-blind, superiority study comparing two strategies: (1) an intervention group where threshold PCT values were used to guide initiation and discontinuation of antibiotics (PCT group); and (2) a control group, where antibiotic therapy was managed at the physician’s discretion. Patients aged 18 years or over, intubated for coma (Glasgow score ≤ 8), with MV initiated within 48 h after admission, were eligible. The primary endpoint was the duration of antibiotic treatment during the first 15 days after admission to the ICU.ResultsFrom 24/2/2015 to 28/8/2019, 1712 patients were intubated for coma in the 5 participating centers, of whom 166 were included in the study. Data from 159 were available for intention-to-treat analysis: 81 in the PCT group, and 78 in the control group. Overall, 67 patients (43%) received antibiotics in the intensive care unit (ICU); there was no significant difference between groups (37 (46%) vs 30 (40%) for PCT vs control, p = 0.432). The mean duration of antibiotic treatment during the first 15 days in the ICU was 2.7 ± 3.8 days; there was no significant difference between groups (3.0 ± 4.1 days vs 2.3 ± 3.4 days for PCT vs control, p = 0.311). The mean number of days under MV was significantly higher in the PCT group (3.7 ± 3.6 days) than in controls (2.7 ± 2.5 days, p = 0.033). The duration of ICU stay was also significantly longer in the PCT group: 6.4 ± 6.5 days vs 4.6 ± 3.5 days in the control group (p = 0.043). After adjustment for SAPS II score, the difference in length of stay and duration of mechanical ventilation between groups was no longer significant.ConclusionThe use of PCT values to guide therapy, in comparison to the use of clinical, biological (apart from PCT) and radiological criteria, does not modify exposure to antibiotics in patients intubated for coma.Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT02862314.

Bio-O1-01 - Diagnostic performance of high throughput sequencing of the T-cell receptor beta gene for the diagnosis of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

Bio-O1-01 - Diagnostic performance of high throughput sequencing of the T-cell receptor beta gene for the diagnosis of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

P-052: Identification of novel genetic loci for risk of multiple myeloma by functional annotation

<h3>Background</h3> Genetic factors have proven to have an impact on multiple myeloma (MM) susceptibility, with genome-wide association studies (GWAS) discovering 23 loci associated with MM risk. However, much of the heritability of MM remains unexplained. The stringent significance threshold used in GWAS (p<5×10^-8) accounts for the numerous statistical tests being performed but is prone to the risk of false negatives. One strategy for reducing the number of tests is to consider only SNPs with heightened prior probabilities of association, according to meaningful biological criteria. The best candidate SNPs identified with this approach can then be tested in additional MM cases and controls from independent populations. We aimed at surveying the effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), predicted to have a functional role, on MM risk. <h3>Methods</h3> The association study consisted of two GWAS as discovery datasets, namely the InterLymph consortium and the German GWAS and a replication dataset, namely the the International Multiple Myeloma rESEarch (IMMEnSE) consortium, for an overall total of 5442 MM cases and 6174 controls. SNPs were first ranked according to p-value and concordance of the association between the two discovery datasets, then ranked by functional annotation, using bioinformatic tools and databases. We considered the following classes of functional SNPs: missense, synonymous and non-sense SNPs, expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs), splicing quantitative trait loci (sQTLs),), SNPs in SNPs affecting function of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA), and SNPs modifying transcription factor binding sites. We prioritized the resulting SNPs for replication in IMMEnSE by p-values for association in InterLymph and German GWAS and by evidence for a functional role. <h3>Results</h3> In the two discovery datasets, 136 SNPs fit the criteria of association with MM risk with p<10^-4 and did not map close to known MM risk loci. After pruning for linkage disequilibrium, four SNPs (rs12038685, rs2664188, rs12652920, rs29794) were chosen for replication in IMMEnSE. Among these, rs2664188 showed to be significantly associated also in the replication dataset (OR=1.30, 95% CI=1.16-1.46, p=0.001). The final meta-analysis including the three datasets, using a random-effect model, confirmed the association (OR=1.18, 95% CI=1.07-1.30, p=0.0007). <h3>Conclusion</h3> The G-allele of rs2664188, that showed a consistent association with increased risk of developing MM in all phases of our analysis is an eQTL, according to GTEx., The G-allele is associated with increased expression of the N4BP2 gene in whole blood. N4BP2 encodes a protein which binds to B-cell leukemia/lymphoma 3 (BCL-3), a well-known proto-oncogene, known to play a role in cell proliferation and apoptosis inhibition in myeloma cell lines.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ ПОКАЗАТЕЛЕЙ ЭМБРИОНАЛЬНОГО РАЗВИТИЯ ПРУДОВИКА (LYMNAEA STAGNALIS L.) ПРИ АНТРОПОГЕННОМ ВОЗДЕЙСТВИИ НЕКОТОРЫХ ХЛОРИСТЫХ СОЕДИНЕНИЙ В ВОДЕ

The article highlights the research of embryonic development of hydrobionts under the influence of anthropogenic factors of water solutions – chlorobenzene and tetrachloroethylene. To detect the toxicity of chloride pollutants in a freshwater reservoir, representatives of benthic mollusks (big pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis L.) were used as a model organism. According to the results of research, it was found that at a concentration of 0.01 mg/l of chlorobenzene solution individual anomalies of embryonic development of the pond fish are observed, but at higher concentrations its development is delayed by 5-6 stages in comparison with the control. As an integral parameter of pond fish development, we can take indicators of the biological toxicity criterion: Hatchling and its survival over a 10-day period after leaving the egg shells. Changes in the physiological parameters of pond fish embryos begin with a chlorobenzene concentration of 0.01 mg/l; the maximum permissible concentration for tetrachloroethylene for the considered biological indicators should be considered 0.05 mg/l. It is noted that in big pond snail (Lymnaea stagnalis L.) the hatch of juveniles from egg shells is the most sensitive indicator when determining the toxicity of an aqueous solution; and less sensitive indicators are the number of eggs laid and the survival of juveniles in the first 10 days after hatching. The test object used is a large pond, which has shown a high sensitivity to contamination of the water environment with chlorinated ecotoxicants and can be recommended for a comprehensive quality assessment when biotesting freshwater waters

ENVENIMATIONS VIPERINES

Rational:The viper envenomations are a real public health problem in Morocco more deaths are reported each year. It is a medical-surgical emergency which can be daunting and life-threatening, as well as the patients functional prognosis. Patients and Methods or Material and Methods:We present 24 cases of serious viper envenomation, on a retrospective study extended over a period of 9 years from 2010 to 2019, and through a literature review we clarify the following aspects: epidemiological, pathophysiological, clinical and therapeutic. Inclusion criteria: The presence of traces of hooks with at least one locoregional and / or general sign of envenomation. The actual presence of the snake in question and / or its description by a witness or the victim. Results:This is a retrospective study that interested 12 men and 13 women, mean age 41 years. The bites were due to vipers, the species was known cerastescerastes type in two cases, MacroviperaMauritanica in one case. 13 patients had a consumptive coagulopathy table with two cases of ischemic stroke, one case of hypovolemic shock and 4 cases of hemorrhagic shock, ten patients had compartment syndrome treated by emergency fasciotomy discharge.11 patients received anti venom serum with clinical improvement and reduction of complications. Discussion:The poison of vipers is a chemical proteinaceous with two essential components: the toxins and enzymes. These proteins are responsible for the observed symptoms. The severity of envenomation is related to the plasma concentration of the venom. The definition of early clinical and biological criteria of gravity has envenomation better assess and clarify the therapeutic indications. Processing viper envenomation considerably simplified over the past decade. The medical care is based on a symptomatic therapy component associated with a specific serum therapy. On early treatment with these specific immunoglobulins from the onset of signs of grades II or III envenomation reduces morbidity, sequelae and the total cost of care. Conclusion:Improving the prognosis of envenomation involves information education and good care that can only be achieved through close collaboration between.

Vitiligo: What's old, what's new.

Vitiligo is an acquired pigmentary disorder afflicting 0.5-2% of the world population for both sexes and all races with a capricious and unpredictable course. It has a complex etiology and varies in its manifestation, progression and response to treatment. Even if the precise aetiology and pathobiology of the disease are complex and still debated, recent evidence supports that vitiligo is a T CD8+ cell-mediated autoimmune disease triggered by oxidative stress. To date no clinical, biological and histological criteria allow us to establish the prognosis with certainty. The choice of the best therapy for adult and childhood vitiligo is based on various factors, such as the patient’s age, psychological condition and expectations, distribution and extension of skin lesions, type of vitiligo (stable or not) and availability and cost of therapeutic options. Since vitiligo has a deep psychological impact on patients and their quality of life, treating the disease is very important. As dermatologists, we have important goals in the treatment of vitiligo patients: stabilization of the disease progression, repigmentation of the lesions and especially the persistence of the aforementioned repigmentation. Although several medical and surgical therapeutic options have been proposed, no definite cure has yet been developed and the long-term persistence of repigmentation is unpredictable. We review the different therapeutic options with particular attention on the recurrence rate.

Effectiveness Vitamin C on different Characteristics of Silkworm, Bombyx mori L.

In order to investigate effectiveness vitamin C on different characteristics of silkworm, Bombyx mori L. Silkworm larvae through 4th to 5th instar were treated with dietary supplements of ascorbic acid 7000 (VC1) and 10000 (VC2) ppm . Leaves enriched with vitamin C were fed four times per day for the larvae. Results obtained that VC1 of vitamin C is more effective than VC2 and control. It had a significant increase in biological criteria s like larval weight and larval period while economical criteria s like cocoon weight, cocoon shell weight and pupal weight. They weren’t shown any difference between VC1 and VC2 compared to control. Ascorbic acid (VC2) significantly increased the number of Prohaemocytes (Pr) 15, Granulocytes (Gr) 35.3, Plasmatocytes (Pl) 27.6 and Oenocytoides (Oe) 8 cells, respectively. This study was indicated that vitamin C has been effective on increasing the growth rate of larvae, weight of the cocoon and increasing the immunity of larvae. So, It is recommended to using it in the breeding of silkworms and production of silk commercially.

Figure-of-Merit for a Long-Term Survivorship of a Species Determined from the Short-Term Mortality Rate of Its Individual Organisms

The two analytical (“mathematical”) probabilistic predictive models considered in this analysis suggest that (1) the nonrandom time-derivative of the long-term mortality rate at a rather arbitrary initial moment of time for a particular type of species of interest can be viewed as a suitable physical or biological criterion, a sort of a figure of merit (FoM), of its long-term viability/survivorship and that (2) this derivative can be determined as the variance of the random mortality rate for the significantly shorter, of course, lifespan of the individual organisms that the type of species as a whole, addressed by the first model, is comprised of. This suggestion is obtained as a modification and extension of and as an “analogy” to a concept that the author developed earlier in application to microelectronics products. So, it is assumed in our approach that the long-term survivorship of a species comprised of numerous individual organisms is analogous to the long-term performance of an electronic product comprised of numerous mass-produced components. In the original research, it was shown that the time-derivative at the initial moment of time of the nonrandom infant mortality portion (IMP) of the bathtub curve (BTC) for an electronic product is, in effect, the variance of the random failure rate (RFR) of the mass-produced components that this product is comprised of, and it is assumed that such an analogy is applicable also to the long-term survivorship of a species comprised of numerous individual organisms. The larger this variance, the shorter is the expected long-term lifetime (survivorship) of the species as a whole. Future work should be focused, first of all, on the verification of the trustworthiness of our basic assumption for different species, including humans, and on the accumulation of statistical data for long-term survivorship of various species and their existing or future habitats, with consideration of the roles of gravity, temperature, level of radiation, attributes of the atmosphere, if any, etc., as well as on calculating lifespan variances for the organisms that the species of interest are comprised of.

Treatment of Human Babesiosis: Then and Now.

Babesiosis is an emerging tick-borne disease caused by apicomplexan parasites of the genus Babesia. With its increasing incidence worldwide and the risk of human-to-human transmission through blood transfusion, babesiosis is becoming a rising public health concern. The current arsenal for the treatment of human babesiosis is limited and consists of combinations of atovaquone and azithromycin or clindamycin and quinine. These combination therapies were not designed based on biological criteria unique to Babesia parasites, but were rather repurposed based on their well-established efficacy against other apicomplexan parasites. However, these compounds are associated with mild or severe adverse events and a rapid emergence of drug resistance, thus highlighting the need for new therapeutic strategies that are specifically tailored to Babesia parasites. Herein, we review ongoing babesiosis therapeutic and management strategies and their limitations, and further review current efforts to develop new, effective, and safer therapies for the treatment of this disease.

Importance of Molecular Data to Identify Fungal Plant Pathogens and Guidelines for Pathogenicity Testing Based on Koch's Postulates.

Fungi are an essential component of any ecosystem, but they can also cause mild and severe plant diseases. Plant diseases are caused by a wide array of fungal groups that affect a diverse range of hosts with different tissue specificities. Fungi were previously named based only on morphology and, in many cases, host association, which has led to superfluous species names and synonyms. Morphology-based identification represents an important method for genus level identification and molecular data are important to accurately identify species. Accurate identification of fungal pathogens is vital as the scientific name links the knowledge concerning a species including the biology, host range, distribution, and potential risk of the pathogen, which are vital for effective control measures. Thus, in the modern era, a polyphasic approach is recommended when identifying fungal pathogens. It is also important to determine if the organism is capable of causing host damage, which usually relies on the application of Koch’s postulates for fungal plant pathogens. The importance and the challenges of applying Koch’s postulates are discussed. Bradford Hill criteria, which are generally used in establishing the cause of human disease, are briefly introduced. We provide guidelines for pathogenicity testing based on the implementation of modified Koch’s postulates incorporating biological gradient, consistency, and plausibility criteria from Bradford Hill. We provide a set of protocols for fungal pathogenicity testing along with a severity score guide, which takes into consideration the depth of lesions. The application of a standard protocol for fungal pathogenicity testing and disease assessment in plants will enable inter-studies comparison, thus improving accuracy. When introducing novel plant pathogenic fungal species without proving the taxon is the causal agent using Koch’s postulates, we advise the use of the term associated with the “disease symptoms” of “the host plant”. Where possible, details of disease symptoms should be clearly articulated.

Inflammatory Biomarkers Aid in Diagnosis of Dementia.

Dual pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) commonly are found together at autopsy, but mixed dementia (MX) is difficult to diagnose during life. Biological criteria to diagnose AD have been defined, but are not available for vascular disease. We used the biological criteria for AD and white matter injury based on MRI to diagnose MX. Then we measured multiple biomarkers in CSF and blood with multiplex biomarker kits for proteases, angiogenic factors, and cytokines to explore pathophysiology in each group. Finally, we used machine learning with the Random forest algorithm to select the biomarkers of maximal importance; that analysis identified three proteases, matrix metalloproteinase-10 (MMP-10), MMP-3 and MMP-1; three angiogenic factors, VEGF-C, Tie-2 and PLGF, and three cytokines interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-6, IL-13. To confirm the clinical importance of the variables, we showed that they correlated with results of neuropsychological testing.

The population dynamic of honeydew moth [Cryptoblabes gnidiella Mill. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)] in vineyard in Antalya

The present study was conducted to determine some biological criteria such as the first appearance of adults, peak date, and a number of generation for controlling honeydew moth in vineyard in Antalya province, Turkey during 2014 and 2015. In this study, the adult population was determined by pheromone traps and larval population was observed by counting the larvae on the grape clusters. It was determined that the pest adults were first seen in mid-April; however, the population was at very low levels until mid-June. It was demonstrated that the adult population of the pest could generate 4 peaks in June, July, August and September-October. The study results showed that the pest could be important in coastal vineyards. Besides, it has been showed that the effective temperatures sum based on the degree day model that was proposed in the literature could be employed to determine the honeydew moth adult and larval populations in vineyards.

Physical and Biological Performance Evaluation of Disinfection Systems for Transportation Vehicles against AI Virus.

To prevent the outbreak of infectious diseases that inflict huge economic and social losses, domestic livestock farms and related facilities have introduced automatic and semiautomatic disinfectant solution-spraying systems for vehicles. However, the facility standards and specifications vary by manufacturer, and no scientific performance evaluation has been conducted. The puropose of this study is to develop physical and biological evaluation methods. Physical and biological appraisals were conducted using two types of disinfection facilities (tunnel- and U-type) and two types of vehicles (passenger car, truck). Water-sensitive paper was used to evaluate the physical performance values for the disinfection facilities. In addition, to assess their biological performance, carriers containing low-pathogenic avian influenza virus were attached to vehicles, and the viral reduction was measured after the vehicles moved through the facility. The tunnel-type had rates of coverage in the range of 70-90% for the passenger car and 60-90% for the truck. At least 4-log virus reduction after spraying for 1-5 min was shown for both vehicles. For the U-type facility evaluation, the coverage rates were in the range of 60-90% for the passenger car and at least 90% for the truck. More than 4-log viral reduction was estimated within a spraying time of 5 min. To reduce viruses on the surface of vehicles by at least 4 log within a short period, the disinfectant solution should cover at least 71% of the pathogens. In conclusion, we were able to assess the physical and biological performance criteria for disinfection facilities aboard transportation vehicles.