Biological aspects of Harmonia axyridis in comparison with Cycloneda sanguinea and Hippodamia convergens

The objective of this work was to evaluate the development, survival, reproductive capacity, and longevity of the Asian ladybug Harmonia axyridis in comparison with Cycloneda sanguinea and Hippodamia convergens. Coccinellid larvae and adults were fed daily with Schizaphis graminum. Ten couples of each species were isolated for evaluation of the adult phase. The duration of the larval stage of H. axyridis is the longest (10.2 days) and its adults are the heaviest (29.7 mg) compared with C. sanguinea and H. convergens. The three species showed similar percentages of survival during the developmental stages. An average of 82% of C. sanguinea, H. axyridis, and H. convergens larvae reached adulthood, which indicates that temperature (25°C) and the offered prey are favorable to coccinellid development. Harmonia axyridis produces a higher total number of eggs per female (1,029.2) than the other evaluated species. However, H. axyridis, which lives for an average of 147.2 days, does not show a significantly greater longevity than C. sanguinea (87.2 days) and H. convergens (134.3 days).O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o desenvolvimento, a sobrevivência, a capacidade reprodutiva e a longevidade da joaninha-asiática Harmonia axyridis em comparação a Cycloneda sanguinea e Hippodamia convergens. Larvas e adultos dos coccinelídeos foram alimentados diariamente com Schizaphis graminum. Isolaram-se dez casais de cada espécie para as avaliações na fase adulta. A duração da fase larval de H. axyridis é maior (10,2 dias) e os adultos são mais pesados (29,7 mg) em comparação a C. sanguinea e H. convergens. As três espécies apresentaram percentagem de sobrevivência similar durante os estádios de desenvolvimento. Em média, 82% das larvas de C. sanguinea, H. axyridis e H. convergens atingiram a fase adulta, o que indica que a temperatura (25°C) e a presa oferecida foram favoráveis ao desenvolvimento dos coccinelídeos. Harmonia axyridis produz maior número total de ovos por fêmea (1.029,2) do que as demais espécies avaliadas. No entanto, H. axyridis, que vive, em média, 147,2 dias, não apresenta longevidade significativamente maior que C. sanguinea (87,2 dias) e H. convergens (134,3 dias).Universidade Estadual Paulista Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias Departmento de FitossanidadeAgência Paulista de Tecnologia dos AgronegóciosUniversidade Estadual Paulista Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias Departmento de Fitossanidad

Agonist Versus Antagonist in Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection Cycles: Which Is the Best?

Objectives: The comparison of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist against GnRH antagonists regarding the pregnancy rate and effect of various predictors on pregnancy outcomes. Materials and Methods: This prospective comparative study involved 189 women who underwent intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles and were divided into agonist (107 patients) and antagonist arm (82 patients) groups. The chemical and clinical pregnancy rate was the main outcome and the other outcomes included the number and quality of oocyte measurement and pregnancy outcomes. Results: Based on the results, the agonist protocol showed a higher rate of pregnancy (32.7%, 95% CI: 23.9-42.4%) compared to the antagonist protocol (22.0%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 13.6-32.5%) with the odds ratio (OR) of (95% CI) = 1.73 (0.89-3.35). The results further revealed that the count of retrieved oocytes, count of M2 oocytes, count of fertilized oocytes, count of embryos, and the fertilization percent out of total retrieved oocytes were higher in the agonist arm compared to the antagonist arm. In the multivariate analysis after adjusting for the confounders, the agonist protocol had higher odds of a successful pregnancy compared to the antagonist protocol by 57% (partial OR = 1.57, P value = 0.23). Conclusions: In general, the agonist protocol offers a favourable outcome in comparison to the antagonist arm, and there seems to be an intrinsic benefit for the agonist protocol, which is not explained by the higher number of transferred embryos.</jats:p

Critical care usage after major gastrointestinal and liver surgery: a prospective, multicentre observational study

Background Patient selection for critical care admission must balance patient safety with optimal resource allocation. This study aimed to determine the relationship between critical care admission, and postoperative mortality after abdominal surgery. Methods This prespecified secondary analysis of a multicentre, prospective, observational study included consecutive patients enrolled in the DISCOVER study from UK and Republic of Ireland undergoing major gastrointestinal and liver surgery between October and December 2014. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore associations between critical care admission (planned and unplanned) and mortality, and inter-centre variation in critical care admission after emergency laparotomy. Results Of 4529 patients included, 37.8% (n=1713) underwent planned critical care admissions from theatre. Some 3.1% (n=86/2816) admitted to ward-level care subsequently underwent unplanned critical care admission. Overall 30-day mortality was 2.9% (n=133/4519), and the risk-adjusted association between 30-day mortality and critical care admission was higher in unplanned [odds ratio (OR): 8.65, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.51–19.97) than planned admissions (OR: 2.32, 95% CI: 1.43–3.85). Some 26.7% of patients (n=1210/4529) underwent emergency laparotomies. After adjustment, 49.3% (95% CI: 46.8–51.9%, P<0.001) were predicted to have planned critical care admissions, with 7% (n=10/145) of centres outside the 95% CI. Conclusions After risk adjustment, no 30-day survival benefit was identified for either planned or unplanned postoperative admissions to critical care within this cohort. This likely represents appropriate admission of the highest-risk patients. Planned admissions in selected, intermediate-risk patients may present a strategy to mitigate the risk of unplanned admission. Substantial inter-centre variation exists in planned critical care admissions after emergency laparotomies