Summary Rationale and objectives Response to mailed epidemiological surveys has decreased in recent decades. Since subjects with respiratory symptoms are usually early responders to surveys performed ...in Southern Europe, this trend could bias prevalence estimates. The present study aimed at evaluating the impact of non-response bias on prevalence estimates of respiratory symptoms and smoking habits. Methods In 9 centres, participating in the Italian Study on Asthma in Young Adults (ISAYA), random samples of people aged 20–45 years were administered a mailed questionnaire between 1998 and 2000. Non-responders were contacted again first by mail and then by phone. Cumulative response percentage was 30.5%, 52.4% and 72.7% (18,873/25,969), respectively, after the 1st, 2nd and 3rd contact. Results The prevalence of self-reported current asthma, asthma-like symptoms, and chronic cough/phlegm was more than halved from the first contact (5.6%, 17.8%, 14.6% respectively) to the third contact (2.7%, 6.4%, 6.9%). This pattern was less pronounced when considering allergic rhinitis and past asthma, whose prevalence decreased, respectively, from 21.5% to 15.6% and from 3.5% to 2.6%. At the same time the proportion of current smokers increased from 29.2% to 38%, while the proportion of ex-smokers decreased from 16.5% to 10.1%. In a multinomial logistic model current asthma, asthma-like symptoms, chronic cough/phlegm and smoking habits, and to a lower extent past asthma and allergic rhinitis, were significant predictors of late response. Conclusions In Italy when response percentage is low, the prevalence of current asthma, chronic cough/phlegm and ex-smokers is overestimated, while the proportion of current smokers is underestimated.
Background: Variations in the prevalence of respiratory symptoms according to geo‐climatic factors could provide important clues to the knowledge of the aetiology of asthma.
Methods: Geo‐climatic ...variations in the prevalence of current asthma, allergic rhinitis and chronic cough, and phlegm were assessed on a random sample of 18 873 subjects (response rate = 72.7%) from different climatic regions of Italy. An ecological analysis, supported by robust statistical methods, was employed to investigate potential trends.
Results: The prevalence of all symptoms was significantly heterogeneous throughout the peninsula. Only asthma‐like symptoms showed a north–south trend: the prevalence increased at a decreasing latitude odds ratio (OR) varies from 0.92 to 0.96, P < 0.05, at a decreasing distance from the sea (OR: 0.90–0.93 for 30 km distance, P < 0.05), at higher annual mean temperatures (OR: 1.11–1.14, P < 0.05) and at smaller annual temperature ranges (OR: 0.94–0.95, P < 0.05). Of the geo‐climatic variables considered, temperature range had the greatest influence on most asthma‐like symptoms. No association was found between geo‐climatic variables and allergic rhinitis or chronic cough and phlegm.
Conclusions: Asthma prevalence seems to be significantly affected by climate as asthma‐like symptoms were more common in central‐southern Italy, with a Mediterranean climate, than in areas with a continental climate (northern Italy).
Total IgE cord serum levels were measured in 200 newborns in the Hospital of Viadana-Bozzolo and familial allergic conditions were investigated in all the cases. In a 6 month follow up study ...attention was focused on the development of atopic symptoms. The sensibility, specificity and predictive value of the total IgE cord serum levels are discussed and the introducing of preventive measures in the at risk newborns is also questioned.
The results of a pharyngeal swab bacteriological examination carried on all first-year primary schoolchildren in a local health area are presented. Beta-haemolytic streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus ...coagulase + and Corynebacterium diphteriae percentages are illustrated, together with observations of a prophylactic and curative nature.
Wing morphology may affect the foraging efficiency of polyphagous insects via effects on their flight ability. Variations in wing morphology may be triggered by host plant quality, while landscape ...composition can also play a role in filtering the ability of variants to colonize new habitats. We investigated how intraspecific variations in wing morphology in a polyphagous insect are mediated by the quality of local resources and the role of the landscape in filtering these variations. We used Bemisia tabaci MEAM‐1 (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) as a model since the existence of morphotypes that engage in long‐ and short‐distance flights has been proposed previously. We collected B. tabaci adults in the vegetative, flowering, and senescence stages of tomato plants on 15 farms embedded in distinct landscape types. We also performed a greenhouse experiment to evaluate whether resource quality influences B. tabaci wing shape. The wing shape of individuals was measured using geometric morphometry analyses. We found sexual dimorphism in wing shape, with males presenting more straight wings and females with more elongated wings. The dispersal morphotypes appear with more rounded wings at the vegetative (colonizing individuals) and senescence stages (dispersing individuals). When the resource is predictable (flowering stage), the wing shape becomes more adapted for short‐distance flights, possibly dictated by an intergenerational effect that facilitates habitat exploitation. The natural vegetation acted as an environmental filter in morphotype selection by impairing individuals' movement among habitat patches. We showed for the first time that insect–plant–landscape interactions mediate intraspecific variation in the wing morphology of B. tabaci. This polyphagous multivoltine pest insect presents a specialized morphological response to food resource quality, and the amount of natural vegetation may constrain its movement across the landscape. Our results indicate that local resources and landscape features produce interacting bottom–up effects that affect polyphagous insects' morphological variation within the habitat.
In dung beetles, spatial and temporal segregation is determined by the niche and evolutionary history of the species and is mediated by competition. Different functional guilds of dung beetles use ...this segregation to reduce competitive pressure and optimize usage of ephemeral resources. We sought to understand the spatial (open and closed areas) and temporal (diurnal, nocturnal, and crepuscular periods of activity) segregation of the dung beetle community in the Brazilian Cerrado. We collected dung beetles during the day, dusk, and night in two phytophysiognomies, one representative of open areas and the other of closed areas in two protected areas of the Brazilian Cerrado, and used statistical models to understand how segregation explains richness, total abundance, and abundance of each guild. We collected a total of 2253 individuals and 58 species; 44 from open areas and 22 from closed ones, of which eight were collected in both habitats. Our hypotheses were confirmed, that is, in the Cerrado, the highest abundance of dung beetles occurred in the more closed areas during nocturnal and crepuscular periods, and the highest number of species occurred in the more open areas. The dung beetle community is distinct between different activity periods and phytophysiognomies, and its their functional guilds exhibit preferences for habitat and/or activity periods, according to their ecological characteristics. Therefore, we found that both activity period and habitat type are important for characterizing the dung beetle community, which exhibits different patterns of dominant species and functional guilds throughout the day. Thus, we propose that to determine the species composition of the dung beetle community, one should consider not only the habitat type but also the different periods of activity.
Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). For many years, corticosteroids have been the ...mainstay treatment for GVHD, but cases of steroid-refractory GVHD and the severe adverse effects of high-dose corticosteroids have increased the need for preventative and therapeutic strategies for GVHD. Due to the nature of alloreactive T cells, GVHD is inherently linked to the graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect, the therapeutic driving force behind stem cell transplantation. A considerable clinical challenge is to preserve GVL while suppressing GVHD. The field of GVHD research has greatly expanded over the past decades, including advancements in T cell modulation and depletion, antibody therapies, chemotherapeutics, cellular therapies, and Janus kinase inhibition. In this review, we discuss current approaches and advances in the prophylaxis and treatment of GVHD with a focus on new emerging advancements in Janus kinase inhibitor therapy.
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