Natural Parasitism Influences Biological Control Strategies Against Both Global Invasive Pests Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) and Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae), and the Neotropical-Native Pest Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae).

Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) and Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) are two severe invasive pests widespread in all Argentinean fruit-producing regions. Both coexist with the Neotropical pest Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) in northern Argentina. The northwestern region shelters major soft fruit and Citrus producing and exporting industries, which are heavily affected by these dipterans.

First Record and Distribution of Ganaspis brasiliensis (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Eucoilinae), a Parasitoid of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in Argentina.

The eucoiline species Ganaspis brasiliensis (von Ihering) (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) is recorded for the first time in Argentina, with confirmation of parasitism of Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) infesting healthy raspberry fruit (Rubus idaeus L. cv. "Heritage") still on the plant.

Current Recommendations for Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Assessing Domains of Quality of Life in Neurofibromatosis Clinical Trials.

Objective: To review and recommend patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures assessing multidimensional domains of quality of life (QoL) to use as clinical endpoints in medical and psychosocial trials for children and adults with neurofibromatosis (NF) type 1, NF2, and schwannomatosis.

Methods: The PRO working group of the Response Evaluation in Neurofibromatosis and Schwannomatosis (REiNS) International Collaboration used systematic methods to review, rate, and recommend existing self-report and parent-report PRO measures of generic and disease-specific QoL for NF clinical trials. Recommendations were based on 4 main criteria: patient characteristics, item content, psychometric properties, and feasibility.

Effects of a mind-body program on symptoms of depression and perceived stress among adults with neurofibromatosis type 2 who are deaf: A live-video randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) is a rare, progressive and incurable genetic disorder associated with progressive hearing loss and eventual deafness. As a group, patients with NF report high levels of stress and depressive symptoms. However, no studies have explored improvement in these symptoms after psychosocial interventions.

"Cooling of the mind": Assessing the relevance of mindfulness training among people living with HIV using alcohol and other substances in South Africa.

Rationale: "Thinking too much" is a cultural idiom of distress identified across sub-Saharan Africa, including among people living with HIV (PLWH), which is associated with depression, substance use, and HIV medication nonadherence. Despite the relevance of mindfulness training to address thinking too much, improve HIV-related outcomes, and reduce substance use, efforts to adapt mindfulness training for this context and underserved populations more broadly have been limited.

Objective: We explored in this context: (a) the experience of thinking too much among PLWH struggling with adherence and substance use; (b) the appropriateness of mindfulness training to address thinking too much; and (c) potential barriers and facilitators to implementing mindfulness training.

Predictors of Cognitive Improvement Following Treatment for Late-Life Depression.

Objective: Cognitive impairment is frequently comorbid with late-life depression (LLD) and often persists despite remission of mood symptoms with antidepressant treatment. Increasing understanding of factors that predict improvement of cognitive symptoms in LLD is useful to inform treatment recommendations.

Methods: We used data from 2 randomized clinical trials of geriatric depression to examine the relationships between sociodemographic factors (resilience, quality of life) and clinical factors (age of depression onset, severity of depression, apathy) with subsequent cognitive outcomes.

Cultivating resiliency in patients with neurofibromatosis 2 who are deafened or have severe hearing loss: a live‑video randomized control trial.

Introduction: Patients with NF2 who are deaf or have significant hearing loss face numerous and unique challenges which lead to poor quality of life, and thus may benefit from resiliency programs.

Methods: We performed secondary data analyses on a single blind, randomized controlled trial of an 8 week mind-body resiliency program (the Relaxation Response and Resiliency program for Deaf NF2; d3RP-NF2) versus a health education control (Health Enhancement Program for Deaf NF2;dHEP-NF2) which showed improvement in quality of life (Funes in JAMA 2019, https://doi.org/10.

Pain Catastrophizing and Limiting Behavior Mediate the Association Between Anxiety and Postconcussion Symptoms.

Background: Despite growing evidence that anxiety is critical in the development and maintenance of postconcussion symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), little is known about potential mechanisms through which anxiety may affect these symptoms.

Objective: To test the strength and reliability of cognitive (pain catastrophizing) and behavioral (limiting behaviors) pathways mediating the relationship between anxiety and postconcussion symptoms among patients with mTBI.

Method: Patients with mTBI (N = 57) completed self-report measures of anxiety, postconcussion symptoms, pain catastrophizing, and limiting behavior.

First report of quality of life in adults with neurofibromatosis 2 who are deafened or have significant hearing loss: results of a live-video randomized control trial.

Purpose: To test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a mind-body program for patients with neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2) who are deaf or have significant hearing loss (d3RP-NF2) against an attention placebo control (dHEP-NF2) in a single-blind randomized control trial. Both were delivered using Communication Access Real-Time Translation and live group videoconferencing.

Methods: Forty-five adults with NF2 were randomized.

Results of a feasibility randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Toolkit for Optimal Recovery (TOR): a live video program to prevent chronic pain in at-risk adults with orthopedic injuries.

Background: Orthopedic injuries are the leading cause of hospital admissions in the USA, and many of these patients transition into chronic pain. Currently, there are no evidence-based interventions targeting prevention of chronic pain in patients with orthopedic injuries. We iteratively developed a four-session intervention "The Toolkit for Optimal Recovery" (TOR) which we plan to subsequently test for efficacy in a phase III hybrid efficacy-effectiveness multi-site clinical trial.

Psychobiological factors of resilience and depression in late life.

In contrast to traditional perspectives of resilience as a stable, trait-like characteristic, resilience is now recognized as a multidimentional, dynamic capacity influenced by life-long interactions between internal and environmental resources. We review psychosocial and neurobiological factors associated with resilience to late-life depression (LLD). Recent research has identified both psychosocial characteristics associated with elevated LLD risk (e.

Home practice and quality of life among patients with neurofibromatosis randomized to a mind-body intervention.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to summarize home practice in patients with neurofibromatosis (NF) randomized to an 8-week group mind-body intervention, the Relaxation Response Resiliency Program for NF (3RP-NF). We further examined the association between home practice and changes in four domains of quality of life (QoL).

Methods: Data are derived from a single-blind RCT of the 3RP-NF (N = 31) delivered via videoconferencing versus an attention placebo control.

Preventing Chronic Emotional Distress in Stroke Survivors and Their Informal Caregivers.

Background/objective: Chronic emotional distress (e.g., depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress) is common after stroke and interdependent between patients and their informal caregivers.

Mind-Body Treatment for International English-Speaking Adults With Neurofibromatosis via Live Videoconferencing: Protocol for a Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Neurofibromatoses (NF) are rare genetic conditions associated with substantial psychosocial burden and impaired quality of life (QoL). We developed the first NF-tailored mind-body program (the Relaxation Response Resiliency Program for NF) and adapted it for delivery via live videoconferencing to decrease participation barriers and increase its reach. In a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT), we found that the Relaxation Response Resiliency Program for NF had excellent feasibility and acceptability when delivered via live videoconferencing; furthermore, the Relaxation Response Resiliency Program for NF showed proof of concept in improving QoL compared with an NF-tailored health education control program (the Health Enhancement Program for NF).

What Factors Are Associated With Disability After Upper Extremity Injuries? A Systematic Review.

Background: Psychosocial factors are key determinants of health after upper extremity injuries. However, a systematic review is needed to understand which psychosocial factors are most consistently associated with disability and how the language, conceptualization, and types of measures used to assess disability impact these associations in upper extremity injuries.

Questions/purposes: (1) What factors are most consistently associated with disability after upper extremity injuries in adults? (2) What are the trends in types of outcome measures and conceptualization of disability in patients' upper extremity injuries?

Methods: We searched multiple electronic databases (PubMED, OVIDSP, PsycInfo, Google Scholar, ISI Web of Science) between January 1, 1996, and December 31, 2016, using terms related to the "upper extremity", "outcome measurement", and "impairment, psychological, social or symptomatic" variables.

Early Risk and Resiliency Factors Predict Chronic Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Caregivers of Patients Admitted to a Neuroscience ICU.

Objectives: Informal caregivers-that is, close family and friends providing unpaid emotional or instrumental care-of patients admitted to ICUs are at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder. As a first step toward developing interventions to prevent posttraumatic stress disorder in ICU caregivers, we examined the predictive validity of psychosocial risk screening during admission for caregiver posttraumatic stress disorder at 3 and 6 months post hospitalization.

Design: An observational, prospective study.

Apathy Mediates Cognitive Difficulties in Geriatric Depression.

Objective: Cognitive impairment associated with late-life depression can persist after remission of mood symptoms. Apathy, a common symptom of late-life depression, often leads to worse clinical outcomes. We examined if severity of apathy mediates cognitive difficulties in a cohort of older adults with major depression.

Norm comparisons of the Spanish-language and English-language WAIS-III: Implications for clinical assessment and test adaptation.

This study provides a systematic comparison of the norms of 3 Spanish-language Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales (WAIS-III) batteries from Mexico, Spain, and Puerto Rico, and the U.S. English-language WAIS-III battery.

The gene expression response of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells to IL-4 is specific, depends on ZAP-70 status and is differentially affected by an NFκB inhibitor.

Interleukin 4 (IL-4), an essential mediator of B cell development, plays a role in survival of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. To obtain new insights into the function of the IL-4 pathway in CLL, we analyzed the gene expression response to IL-4 in CLL and in normal B cells (NBC) by oligonucleotide microarrays, resulting in the identification of 232 non-redundant entities in CLL and 146 in NBC (95 common, 283 altogether), of which 189 were well-defined genes in CLL and 123 in NBC (83 common, 229 altogether) (p<0.05, 2-fold cut-off).

A Study of the Sugarcane Yellow Leaf Disease in Argentina.

Yellow leaf disease, caused by Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV), is widespread around the world but very little information is available on this viral disease in Argentina. Therefore, the aims of the study were to assess the presence of SCYLV, analyze its distribution in the main sugarcane production areas of Argentina, characterize the virus, and determine histological alterations caused by its presence. For this purpose, 148 sugarcane samples with and without symptoms were collected in 2011 and 2012 from the province of Tucumán.

Relationship between genotoxic effects of breast cancer treatments and patient basal DNA integrity.

Radiotherapy and chemotherapy cause genotoxic side effects that are highly variable among patients. In this study, we evaluated DNA integrity using the comet assay in peripheral blood lymphocytes from breast cancer patients before ("pre-treatment patients"; n=47) and after ("post-treatment patients"; n=24) radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy treatment and from healthy donors (n=15). Comet evaluation was made by visual (types 0-4) and digital (percentage of DNA remaining in the comet head=% head DNA) analysis.