Efficacy of a cry1Ab Gene for Control of Maruca vitrata (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in Cowpea (Fabales: Fabaceae).

Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L) Walp.] is an important staple legume in the diet of many households in sub-Saharan Africa. Its production, however, is negatively impacted by many insect pests including bean pod borer, Maruca vitrata F.

Bt Eggplant Project in Bangladesh: History, Present Status, and Future Direction.

The purpose of this article is to provide information on the history, accomplishments, and future direction of the Bt brinjal (eggplant) program in Bangladesh, formerly under the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II, now the South Asia Eggplant Improvement Partnership (SAEIP). The India-based Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (Mahyco) developed an eggplant expressing Cry1Ac (EE-1) for control of the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB). In a partnership among Mahyco, USAID, Sathguru Management Consultants and Cornell University EE-1 was provided to the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) who bred it into local varieties.

Effective downsizing but enhanced intratumoral heterogeneity following neoadjuvant sorafenib in patients with non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and feasibility of sorafenib prior to surgery for downsizing tumors in patients with non-metastatic cT1-3 renal tumors together with a characterization of functional intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH).

Materials And Methods: The effects of 4-week sorafenib prior to curative surgery were assessed in a prospective, single-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, pilot trial in patients with T1-3N0M0 renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Patients received sorafenib or placebo for 28 days prior to surgery.

Global Adoption of Genetically Modified (GM) Crops: Challenges for the Public Sector.

Advances in biotechnology continue to drive the development of a wide range of insect-protected, herbicide-tolerant, stress-tolerant, and nutritionally enhanced genetically modified (GM) crops, yet societal and public policy considerations may slow their commercialization. Such restrictions may disproportionately affect developing countries, as well as smaller entrepreneurial and public sector initiatives. The 2014 IUPAC International Congress of Pesticide Chemistry (San Francisco, CA, USA; August 2014) included a symposium on "Challenges Associated with Global Adoption of Agricultural Biotechnology" to review current obstacles in promoting GM crops.

Long-term outcome of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy in social anxiety disorder.

Objective: Relatively few studies have examined the long-term outcome of psychotherapy in social anxiety disorder. The authors previously reported findings of a clinical trial comparing cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, and a wait-list control. The purpose of the present study was to follow the participants' status over the ensuing 24 months.

Psychodynamic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy in social anxiety disorder: a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE Various approaches to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) have been shown to be effective for social anxiety disorder. For psychodynamic therapy, evidence for efficacy in this disorder is scant. The authors tested the efficacy of psychodynamic therapy and CBT in social anxiety disorder in a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Deriving criteria to select arthropod species for laboratory tests to assess the ecological risks from cultivating arthropod-resistant genetically engineered crops.

Unlabelled: Arthropods form a major part of the biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Many species are valued because they provide ecosystem services, including biological control, pollination and decomposition, or because they are of conservation interest. Some arthropods reduce crop yield and quality, and conventional chemical pesticides, biological control agents and genetically engineered (GE) crops are used to control them.

Phase I/IIa study of intratumoral/intracerebral or intravenous/intracerebral administration of Parvovirus H-1 (ParvOryx) in patients with progressive primary or recurrent glioblastoma multiforme: ParvOryx01 protocol.

Background: The treatment of patients with malignant brain tumors remains a major oncological problem. The median survival of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most malignant type, is only 15 months after initial diagnosis and even less after tumor recurrence. Improvements of standard treatment including surgery and radio-chemotherapy have not lead to major improvements.

Regulatory considerations surrounding the deployment of Bt-expressing cowpea in Africa: report of the deliberations of an expert panel.

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata spp unguiculata) is adapted to the drier agro-ecological zones of West Africa where it is a major source of dietary protein and widely used as a fodder crop. Improving the productivity of cowpea can enhance food availability and security in West Africa. Insect predation--predominately from the legume pod borer (Maruca vitrata), flower thrips (Megalurothrips sjostedti) and a complex of pod-sucking bugs (e.

Recommendations for the design of laboratory studies on non-target arthropods for risk assessment of genetically engineered plants.

This paper provides recommendations on experimental design for early-tier laboratory studies used in risk assessments to evaluate potential adverse impacts of arthropod-resistant genetically engineered (GE) plants on non-target arthropods (NTAs). While we rely heavily on the currently used proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in this discussion, the concepts apply to other arthropod-active proteins. A risk may exist if the newly acquired trait of the GE plant has adverse effects on NTAs when they are exposed to the arthropod-active protein.

Randomized clinical trial of a modified Seldinger technique for open central venous cannulation for implantable access devices.

Introduction: Totally implantable access ports (TIAPs) are often used for patients who need permanent venous access. The primary success rate using direct open insertion is about 80 per cent, so rescue strategies are needed. This study compared the primary success rates of standard open insertion and a modified Seldinger technique.

Assessing the risk to nontarget organisms from Bt corn resistant to corn rootworms (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae): Tier-I testing with Orius insidiosus (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae).

A 14-d continuous dietary exposure bioassay using nymphs of the insidious flower bug, Orius insidiosus (Say) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae), was conducted to assess nontarget impacts of genetically modified corn event MON 863 expressing the Cry3Bb1 protein for management of corn rootworms, Diabrotica spp. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Nymphs of O.

Assessment of risk of insect-resistant transgenic crops to nontarget arthropods.

An international initiative is developing a scientifically rigorous approach to evaluate the potential risks to nontarget arthropods (NTAs) posed by insect-resistant, genetically modified (IRGM) crops. It adapts the tiered approach to risk assessment that is used internationally within regulatory toxicology and environmental sciences. The approach focuses on the formulation and testing of clearly stated risk hypotheses, making maximum use of available data and using formal decision guidelines to progress between testing stages (or tiers).

New resampling method for evaluating stability of clusters.

Background: Hierarchical clustering is a widely applied tool in the analysis of microarray gene expression data. The assessment of cluster stability is a major challenge in clustering procedures. Statistical methods are required to distinguish between real and random clusters.

A meta-analysis of effects of Bt crops on honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Background: Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are the most important pollinators of many agricultural crops worldwide and are a key test species used in the tiered safety assessment of genetically engineered insect-resistant crops. There is concern that widespread planting of these transgenic crops could harm honey bee populations.

Development of tier-I toxicity assays for Orius insidiosus (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) for assessing the risk of plant-incorporated protectants to nontarget heteropterans.

A 13-d continuous dietary exposure bioassay using nymphs of the insidious flower bug, Orius insidiosus (Say) (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae), was developed to assess the potential dietary effects of insecticidal substances that have little or no contact toxicity. The nymphs were fed a bee pollen diet treated with different concentrations of an inorganic stomach poison, potassium arsenate, and a cysteine protease inhibitor, E-64. The results showed that the test system was capable of detecting the dietary effects of both substances on the survival and development of O.

Efficient mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells following CAD chemotherapy and a single dose of pegylated G-CSF in patients with multiple myeloma.

High-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous blood stem cell transplantation is the standard treatment for myeloma patients. In this study, CAD (cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, dexamethasone) chemotherapy and a single dose of pegfilgrastim (12 mg) was highly effective in mobilizing peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) for subsequent transplantation, with 88% of patients (n = 26) achieving the CD34+ cell harvest target of > or = 7.50 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg body weight, following a median of two apheresis procedures (range 1-4) and with first apheresis performed at a median day 13 after CAD application (range 10-20).

Effect of CD34 cell dose on hematopoietic reconstitution and outcome in 508 patients with multiple myeloma undergoing autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation.

Background: We analyzed the hematopoietic reconstitution and outcome of 508 patients with multiple myeloma (MM) with respect to the number of CD34+ cells reinfused at our center.

Patients And Methods: Each cohort of 390 patients (unselected CD34+ cell transplant) and 118 patients (CD34+ selected transplant) was divided into four subgroups. Among the 390 transplantations, 86 patients received a high dose (HD-) of > or =6.

Characterization of digestive proteolytic activity in Lygus hesperus Knight (Hemiptera: Miridae).

The tarnished plant bug, Lygus hesperus Knight, is a pest that causes considerable economic losses to vegetables, cotton, canola, and alfalfa. Detailed knowledge of its digestive physiology will provide new opportunities for a sustainable pest management approach to control this insect. Little is known about the different protease class contributions to the overall digestion of a specific protein.

"Active" refuges can inhibit the evolution of resistance in insects towards transgenic insect-resistant plants.

Negative cross-resistance (NCR) toxins that hitherto have not been thought to have practical uses may indeed be useful in the management of resistance alleles. Practical applications of NCR for pest management have been limited (i) by the scarcity of high toxicity NCR toxins among pesticides, (ii) by the lack of systematic methodologies to discover and develop such toxins, as well as (iii) by the lack of deployment tactics that would make NCR attractive. Here we present the concept that NCR toxins can improve the effectiveness of refuges in delaying the evolution of resistance by herbivorous insect pests to transgenic host plants containing insecticidal toxins.

Binary toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis active against the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte.

The western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, is a significant pest of corn in the United States. The development of transgenic corn hybrids resistant to rootworm feeding damage depends on the identification of genes encoding insecticidal proteins toxic to rootworm larvae. In this study, a bioassay screen was used to identify several isolates of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis active against rootworm.

Interaction of two Bacillus thuringiensis delta-endotoxins with the digestive system of Lygus hesperus.

The active-toxin form of CrylAc (65 kDa) or Cry2Ab was fed to a non-susceptible insect, Lygus hesperus, in an artificial diet. Biochemical and immunocytochemical methods were used to determine the distribution of ingested toxin. The toxins did not elicit a feeding deterrent response.

Information management for entomology screening.

The successful introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops has created a revolutionary transformation of the agricultural industry with GM crops currently planted on some 130 million acres. Historically, agricultural companies were involved in the discovery of conventional insecticide chemistries in processes that were very similar to those in the pharmaceutical industry. With the introduction of GM technologies, the process has radically changed.

Role of the eNOS Glu298Asp variant on the GNB3825T allele dependent determination of alpha-adrenergic coronary constriction.

The 825T allele of a polymorphism at GNB3, encoding the G protein beta(3) subunit, is associated with an enhanced coronary blood flow (CBF) reduction in response to alpha(2)-, but not to alpha(1)-adrenoceptor activation. Because the regulation of vascular tone by alpha(2)-adrenoceptors includes direct vasoconstriction as well as vasodilatation by endothelial release of nitric oxide, the eNOS Glu298Asp variant might further contribute to explain the variability of CBF reduction in response to alpha-adrenoceptor activation. Genotyping at the GNB3 and the eNOS gene was performed on 48 individuals receiving either the alpha(1)-adrenoceptor agonist methoxamine (5 mg i.

Marine natural products as prototype agrochemical agents.

In the interest of identifying new leads that could serve as prototype agrochemical agents, 18 structurally diverse marine-derived compounds were examined for insecticidal, herbicidal, and fungicidal activities. Several new classes of compounds have been shown to be insecticidal, herbicidal, and fungicidal, which suggests that marine natural products represent an intriguing source for the discovery of new agrochemical agents.