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Estuaries can behave as plastic pollution hotspots, although the dynamics of accumulation in these unique habitats are not understood. We quantified the current levels of meso-, micro-, and nanoplastic pollution in four Los Angeles County estuaries for the first time, as a function of distance from the water outlet and local population density. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and microscope imaging revealed the presence of six types of plastic; polyethylene or polypropylene dominated the meso- and microplastic, and nanoplastics were identified as mainly polyolefin fibers. The distribution was heterogeneous throughout, although the sand between the river mouth and ocean generally contained more plastic than inland control samples. Population density did not appear to affect the abundance of plastic estuarine pollution. Other factors, such as waste treatment effluent, recreation, and river geography, may contribute to plastic deposition. A positive correlation between meso- and microplastic abundance provides insight into such mechanisms for accumulation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Penguins produce contact calls to maintain social relationships and group cohesion. Such vocalisations have recently been demonstrated to encode individual identity information in the African penguin. Using a source-filter theory approach, we investigated whether acoustic cues of individuality can also be found in other Spheniscus penguins and the acoustic features of contact calls have diverged within this genus. We recorded vocalisations from two ex-situ colonies of Humboldt penguin and Magellanic penguin (sympatric and potentially interbreeding in the wild) and one ex-situ group of African penguins (allopatric although capable of interbreeding with the other two species in captivity). We measured 14 acoustic parameters from each vocalisation. These included temporal (duration), source-related (fundamental frequency, f0), and filter-related (formants) parameters. They were then used to carry out a series of stepwise discriminant function analyses (with cross-validation) and General Linear Model comparisons. We showed that contact calls allow individual discrimination in two additional species of the genus Spheniscus. We also found that calls can be classified according to species in a manner far greater than that attributable by chance, even though there is limited genetic distance among African, Humboldt, and Magellanic penguins. Our results provide further evidence that the source-filter theory is a valuable framework for investigating the biologically meaningful information contained in bird vocalisations. Our findings also provide novel insights into penguin vocal communication and suggest that contact calls of the penguin family are affected by selection for individuality., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To evaluate response rate, toxicity and epidermal growth factor (EGFR) mutations and gene copy number as outcome predictive factors in Italian patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with gefitinib (Iressa) in an expanded access program (EAP)., Patients and Methods: A total of 137 patients with advanced NSCLC received gefitinib as first line treatment or after failure of chemotherapy. In 43 cases, tissue specimens were available for EGFR status evaluation: immunohistochemical (IHC) for EGFR, fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) or Chromogenic in situ hybridisation (CISH)-(ISH) analysis for EGFR and HER2 gene copy number, and PCR-DNA sequencing for mutational analysis of EGFR were performed., Results: In the study population, response rate (PR) was 13%; disease stabilization (DS) 26%; overall disease control rate 39%; median survival 6.3 months and time to progression 2.7 months. Toxicity was mild (G3 skin toxicity in 3% and G3 liver toxicity in 4% of patients). An EGFR-mutation was detected in 9/43 patients: Eight deletions in exon 19 and 1 missense mutation in exon 21. Increased gene copy number for EGFR and/or HER2 was detected in 17/43 patients. Response rate was significantly higher in women, non-smokers, in mutation carriers than in wild type carriers, in EGFR-trisomy/polysomy carriers and HER2-trisomy/polysomy carriers., Conclusions: In this study, response rate and toxicity to gefitinib treatment were consistent with previously reported data for whites. Female gender, absence of smoking history, EGFR-mutations, EGFR and HER2-polysomy were significantly associated with response to gefitinib therapy in NSCLC patients.

The purpose of this article is to update information about Mediterranean leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum in man and about the canine reservoir. Special emphasis is placed on laboratory diagnosis tests for Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis (MVL) in humans. In addition two rapid diagnostic tests for human leishmaniasis are compared based on indirect immunofluorescence and Western blot. Findings show that the overall sensitivity of the two tests in immunocompetent and immunodepressed patients ranged from 54% to 97%, a specificity of 97%, with positive predictive value ranging from 75% to 97% and a negative predictive value of around 95%. For diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis, positivity of these tests in one case out of 2 underscores the predictive value of a positive test.

Background: The incidence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is increasing among the elderly representing about 30% of NSCLC patients over 70 years old. The aim of this study was to evaluate the response, survival and tolerability of a modified schedule with cisplatin-vinorelbine in elderly patients with advanced NSCLC., Methods: Between November 2001 and March 2003, 30 patients were included into the study. Median age was 73 (range 70-77). Male/female 27/3 (90%/10%); 60% of patients were stage IV at diagnosis and only one patient presented with brain metastasis. Treatment consisted of cisplatin 30 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8, and vinorelbine 25 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8 every 21 days., Results: A total of 120 cycles were administered with a median of four cycles per patient. The most relevant WHO toxicities were: neutropenia grade 3 in 6 (20%) patients and grade 4 in 13 (43%) patients. There were three (10%) treatment-related deaths: two caused by neutropenic fever and one due to acute pulmonary oedema. No other relevant hematological and non-hematological toxicities occurred. By intention-to-treat analysis, 10 patients (33%) showed stable disease and 10 patients (33%) showed a partial response while 10 patients (33%) showed treatment failure. Median survival time was 7.4 months; 1-year survival was 36.6% and median time to progression was 5.14 months., Conclusion: At this dose and schedule, the combination of vinorelbine and cisplatin obtained a response rate and survival comparable to the most active regimens. Non-hematologic toxicity was mild while neutropenia was the most relevant toxicity.

Purpose: The safety and efficacy of a combined regimen of weekly paclitaxel and gemcitabine was tested in patients with refractory and sensitive small-cell lung cancer (SCLC)., Methods: Treatment consisted of paclitaxel 80 mg/m(2) on days 1, 8, 15 and gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks. Of the 31 patients enrolled, 10 had refractory and 21 had sensitive disease. Objective responses occurred in 8 patients (26%), including 2 out of 10 patients with refractory- and 6 out of 21 patients with sensitive SCLC. Median time to progression and median survival were 9.4 and 32 weeks, respectively., Results: The schedule was very well tolerated, with grade 3-4 thrombocytopenia in 26% of the patients, grade 3 neutropenia in 26%, grade 3-4 asthenia in 13% and grade 1-2 sensory neuropathy in 32%., Conclusion: To conclude, this weekly schedule of paclitaxel and gemcitabine was found to have moderate activity in platinum-etoposide pretreated SCLC patients and a favorable toxicity profile.

Background: To determine the activity and safety of a sequential regimen of cisplatin and vinorelbine followed by paclitaxel and gemcitabine in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC)., Patients and Methods: Treatment was two cycles of cisplatin 80 mg/m(2) on day 1 and vinorelbine 30 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks followed by two cycles of paclitaxel 175 mg/m(2) on day 1 and gemcitabine 1250 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks., Results: Fifty-five patients with inoperable NSCLC, performance status 2 or less were enrolled, including 19 patients with brain lesions. There were 23 partial responses (42%; 95% confidence interval 29-55). The median time to progression and overall survival were 5.8 and 10.3 months, respectively (6.5 and 12.8 in the patient subset without brain metastases). One-year survival rate was 47.5%. Grade III/IV neutropenia was the major side effect; it occurred in 56% of patients and was mainly limited to the first two chemotherapy cycles with cisplatin and vinorelbine., Conclusions: Sequential combination of cisplatin and vinorelbine followed by paclitaxel and gemcitabine is a manageable and active regimen for patients with NSCLC. It deserves to be tested against a standard two-drug scheme in a phase III trial.

In this retrospective study, the usefulness of a PCR performed on serum for primary diagnosis and monitoring of Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis (MVL) was assessed. In the case of primary diagnosis of MVL, the serum PCR showed a sensitivity of 97% and a specificity of 95%, with positive and negative predictive values of 94 and 97%, respectively.

This study evaluated the activity and toxicity of a weekly paclitaxel plus gemcitabine combination as second-line treatment in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Paclitaxel 80 mg/m2 on days 1, 8 and 15 and gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks were administered to 34 consecutive, advanced NSCLC patients uniformly pretreated with cisplatin or carboplatin and vinorelbine. The median time interval from first- to second-line treatment was 8 weeks (range 1-72). A total of 124 cycles with a median of 3 cycles per patient were administered (range 1-6). Four patients (12%) achieved a partial response (95% confidence interval: 1-23%), 17 had stable disease (50%) and 12 progressed (37%). Three responses were observed in 14 patients showing disease response or stabilization to previous platinum therapy. The median survival was 28 weeks (range 3-91), the median progression-free survival was 12 weeks (range 3-50) and the 1-year survival rate was 23%. The toxicity profile was favorable. In conclusion, a weekly schedule of paclitaxel plus gemcitabine as a second-line regimen has moderate activity and good tolerability in NSCLC patients not refractory to previous platinum-vinorelbine treatment.