Southern Blight of Perennial Swallowwort (Vincetoxicum spp.) in New York

Pale swallowwort [Vincetoxicum rossicum (Kleopow) Barbar.] and black swallowwort [Vincetoxicum nigrum (L.) Moench] are invasive perennial viny milkweeds that have become prevalent across natural and managed habitats in northeastern North America. Southern blight of V. rossicum caused by the fungus, Athelia rolfsii (Curzi) C. C. Tu & Kimbr., was reported at a New York county park in 2008, resulting in a decline in V. rossicum stands. The disease outbreak and persistence of the pathogen highlighted the potential of A. rolfsii for Vincetoxicum spp. control. To better characterize A. rolfsii’s pathogenicity and biology, we studied virulence to adult Vincetoxicum spp., spatiotemporal attributes of the Southern blight epidemic at the discovery site over four years, and sclerotial survival over two years. Disease incidence and severity were high for both Vincetoxicum spp. in misting chamber experiments. The spatiotemporal spread patterns of Southern blight in V. rossicum suggest the epidemic in the first year of monitoring (2016) was already highly aggregated and that subsequent spread was limited and resulted in significant local aggregation. Sclerotial survival studies at two locations (Pittsford and Ithaca, New York) demonstrated the A. rolfsii isolates can overwinter in upstate New York and are pathogenic to Vincetoxicum spp. the subsequent season. However, shallow burial of sclerotia more rapidly reduced survival compared with placement on the soil surface. Overwinter survival of A. rolfsii sclerotia in New York is notable as this pathogen is typically associated with sub-tropical and tropical regions. Broadcast applications of the pathogen would be needed for widespread Vincetoxicum control at a site, but even restricting releases to select locations would not prevent pathogen movement off-site via water or machinery. The known risks of the A. rolfsii isolate to other broadleaf plants in natural and agricultural settings suggest a low feasibility of use for the biological control of Vincetoxicum spp.

An Integrative Pan-Cancer Analysis Revealing ETS1 as an Oncogenic Immune Protein in Tumor Microenvironment

BackgroundPrevious research revealed that ETS Proto-Oncogene 1, Transcription Factor (ETS1) might be useful in cancer immunotherapy. However, the processes underlying its therapeutic potential have yet to be thoroughly investigated. The goal of this work was to look into the association between ETS1 expression and immunity and depict its prognostic landscape in pan-cancer. MethodsThe TCGA provides raw data on 33 different types of cancer. GEO gave GSE67501, GSE78220, and IMvigor210. In addition, we looked at ETS1's genetic changes, expression patterns, and survival studies. The researchers investigated the links between ETS1 and the TME and its linkage to immunological processes/elements and the major histocompatibility complex better to understand the importance of ETS1 in cancer immunotherapy. Meanwhile, three distinct immunotherapeutic cohorts were employed to study the relationship between ETS1 and immunotherapeutic response. Finally, PPI analysis and functional gene enrichment were performed using GSEA. ResultsETS1 expression was shown to be higher in tumor tissue on average. Elevated ETS1 expression has been connected to a worse clinical outcome in patients with OS. ETS1 has been linked to immune cell infiltration, immunological modulators, and immunotherapeutic markers. Furthermore, increased ETS1 expression has been connected to immune-related pathways. However, there was no statistically significant link found between ETS1 and immunotherapeutic response. ConclusionsETS1 might be a biomarker for immune infiltration and poor cancer prognosis. It is possible that treatment targets should be researched further.

Viability, Storage Stabilityand In Vitro Gastrointestinal Tolerance of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Grown in Model Sugar Systems with Inulin and Fructooligosaccharide Supplementation

This study aims to investigate the effects of inulin and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) supplementation on the viability, storage stability, and in vitro gastrointestinal tolerance of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum in different sugar systems using 24 h growth and 10 days survival studies at 37 °C, inulin, and FOS (0%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3% and 4%) supplementation in 2%, 3%, and 4% glucose, fructose, lactose, and sucrose systems. Based on the highest percentage increase in growth index, sucrose and lactose were more suitable sugar substrates for inulin and FOS supplementation. In survival studies, based on cell viability, inulin supplementation showed a better protective effect than FOS in 3% and 4% sucrose and lactose systems. Four selected sucrose and lactose systems supplemented with inulin and FOS were used in a 12-week storage stability study at 4 °C. Inulin (3%, 4%) and FOS (2%, 4%) supplementation in sucrose and lactose systems greatly enhanced the refrigerated storage stability of L. plantarum. In the gastrointestinal tolerance study, an increase in the bacterial survival rate (%) showed that the supplementation of FOS in lactose and sucrose systems improved the storage viability of L. plantarum. Both inulin and FOS supplementation in sucrose and lactose systems improved the hydrophobicity, auto-aggregation, co-aggregation ability of L. plantarum with Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis.

The microenvironment of DLBCL is characterized by non-canonical macrophages recruited by tumor-derived CCL5

Tissue invasion by tumor cells induces a host inflammatory response variably impacting tumorigenesis. This has been well documented for tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) that could either play a pro/M2 or an anti/M1-tumoral function. TAM frequently infiltrate diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), an aggressive neoplasm arising from germinal center-experienced B cells. However, the pathway leading to TAM presence in DLBCL remains unknown and their impact unclear. Here, we show that some DLBCL tumor cells expressed the chemokine CCL5, enabling the differential recruitment of blood monocytes through their expression of CCR1 and CCR5. CCL5 expression by DLBCL was not related to molecular subtypes and healthy tonsillar B cells did not produce this chemokine, implying a post-transformation event. A single-cell analysis revealed that most DLBCL TAM had a non-canonical gene signature with the concomitant expression of M1 and M2 genes. The presence of non-canonical TAM may explain the absence of impact reported for macrophages on DLBCL development in some survival studies.

BREAST CANCER IN RURAL BASED TERTIARY CENTER- AN AUDIT AND OUTCOME ANALYSIS

BACKGROUND: Survival studies may serve as benchmarks to develop cancer-related policies and estimate baseline survival rates in a given patient population AIM: To study the trends of breast cancer and its management in rural areas. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a prospective study conducted between period of September 2018 to august 2019 for the period of 1 year RESULTS: Most common age group involved was 41-50 years with mean age of 49.7 years which shows the importance of regular screening for the patient in premenopausal state. Most common surgery performed was modied radical mastectomy with breast conservative surgery performed only for 4 cases. CONCLUSIONS: The importance of auditing institutional data cannot be stressed more strongly to help understand better, the benets of current practices based on evidence. It also serves as a benchmark for comparing outcomes following further improvements in practices that can be brought into patient care with advancing technology and medical treatment

Survival in colon and rectal cancers in Finland and Sweden through 50 years

ObjectivesGlobal survival studies have shown favourable development in colon and rectal cancers but few studies have considered extended periods or covered populations for which medical care is essentially free of charge.DesignWe analysed colon and rectal cancer survival in Finland and Sweden over a 50-year period (1967–2016) using data from the Nordcan database. In addition to the standard 1-year and 5-year survival rates, we calculated the difference between these as a novel measure of how well survival was maintained between years 1 and 5.ResultsRelative 1-year and 5-year survival rates have developed favourably without major shifts for men and women in both countries. For Finnish men, 1-year survival in colon cancer increased from 50% to 82%, and for rectal cancer from 62% to 85%. The Swedish survival was a few per cent unit better for 1-year survival but for 5-year survival the results were equal. Survival of female patients for both cancers was somewhat better than survival in men through 50 years. Overall the survival gains were higher in the early compared with the late follow-up periods, and were the smallest in the last 10 years. The difference between 1-year and 5-year survival in colon cancer was essentially unchanged over the 50-year period while in rectal cancer there was a large improvement.ConclusionsThe gradual positive development in survival suggests a contribution by many small improvements rather than single breakthroughs. The improvement in 5-year survival in colon cancer was almost entirely driven by improvement in 1-year survival while in rectal cancer the positive development extended to survival past year 1, probably due to successful curative treatments. The current challenges are to reinvigorate the apparently stalled positive development and to extend them to old patients. For colon cancer, survival gains need to be extended past year 1 of diagnosis.

Correction to: Vitality models found useful in modeling tag-failure times in acoustic-tag survival studies

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Oil palm cultivation critically affects sociality in a threatened Malaysian primate

Human-induced habitat alterations globally threaten animal populations, often evoking complex behavioural responses in wildlife. This may be particularly dramatic when negatively affecting social behaviour, which fundamentally determines individual fitness and offspring survival in group-living animals. Here, we provide first evidence for significant behavioural modifications in sociality of southern pig-tailed macaques visiting Malaysian oil palm plantations in search of food despite elevated predation risk. Specifically, we found critical reductions of key positive social interactions but higher rates of aggression in the plantation interior compared to the plantation edge (i.e. plantation areas bordering the forest) and the forest. At the plantation edge, affiliation even increased compared to the forest, while central positions in the macaques' social network structure shifted from high-ranking adult females and immatures to low-ranking individuals. Further, plantations also affected mother–infant relationships, with macaque mothers being more protective in the open plantation environment. We suggest that although primates can temporarily persist in human-altered habitats, their ability to permanently adapt requires the presence of close-by forest and comes with a trade-off in sociality, potentially hampering individual fitness and infant survival. Studies like ours remain critical for understanding species’ adaptability to anthropogenic landscapes, which may ultimately contribute to facilitating their coexistence with humans and preserving biodiversity.