Granulomatosis with polyangiitis: The trigger cannot be long hidden.

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis, or GPA, is a form of vasculitis that affects multiple organs especially the respiratory tract and the kidneys. The diagnosis is suspected with the clinical presentation and elevated serum titer of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies and confirmed with the biopsy of the affected organ. Viral infection has been described as one of the triggers of the immune system in developing GPA.

Development, implementation, and compliance of treatment pathways in radiation medicine.

Introduction: While much emphasis on safety in the radiation oncology clinic is placed on process, there remains considerable opportunity to increase safety, enhance outcomes, and avoid ad hoc care by instituting detailed treatment pathways. The purpose of this study was to review the process of developing evidence and consensus-based, outcomes-oriented treatment pathways that standardize treatment and patient management in a large multi-center radiation oncology practice. Further, we reviewed our compliance in incorporating these directives into our day-to-day clinical practice.

Oviposition restraint and developmental alterations in the ectoparasitic wasp, Nasonia vitripennis, when utilizing puparia resulting from different size maggot masses of Lucilia illustris, Protophormia terraenovae, and Sarcophaga bullata.

Adult females of the ectoparasitoid Nasonia vitripennis (Walker) are capable of distinguishing between hosts of different quality, and then correspondingly adjust clutch sizes and sex ratios of the offspring. In this study, we examined whether the size of the maggot mass, and presumably the developmental temperature, influenced the suitability of the resulting fly pupal and pharate adult stages as hosts for N. vitripennis.