The Optimal Choice of Trap Type for the Recently Spreading Jewel Beetle Pests Lamprodila festiva and Agrilus sinuatus (Coleoptera, Buprestidae).

BACKGROUND: Two jewel beetle species native to Europe, the cypress jewel beetle, Lamprodila (Palmar, Ovalisia) festiva L. (Buprestidae, Coleoptera), and the sinuate pear tree borer, Agrilus sinuatus Olivier (Buprestidae, Coleoptera), are key pests of ornamental thuja and junipers and of orchard and ornamental rosaceous trees, respectively. Although chemical control measures are available, due to the beetles' small size, agility, and cryptic lifestyle at the larval stage, efficient tools for their detection and monitoring are missing. Consequently, by the time emerging jewel beetle adults are noticed, the trees are typically significantly damaged. METHODS: Thus, the aim of this study was to initiate the development of monitoring traps. Transparent, light green, and purple sticky sheets and multifunnel traps were compared in field experiments in Hungary. RESULTS: Light green and transparent sticky traps caught more L. festiva and A. sinuatus jewel beetles than non-sticky multifunnel traps, regardless of the larger size of the colored surface of the funnel traps. CONCLUSIONS: Although light green sticky sheets turned out to be optimal for both species, using transparent sheets can reduce catches of non-target insects. The key to the effectiveness of sticky traps, despite their reduced suitability for quantitative comparisons, may lie in the behavioral responses of the beetles to the optical features of the traps.

Time to Loss of Response following Withdrawal of Ixekizumab in Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis.

In clinical practice, interruption of treatment may not result in immediate cessation of disease control, and some patients even experience sustained treatment response following treatment interruption. This post hoc analysis of UNCOVER-1 and -2 Phase 3 clinical trials characterized the time to loss of treatment response in patients with psoriasis who responded to ixekizumab through a 12-week treatment period, and who were then re-randomized to placebo for the following 48 weeks. For those with static Physician Global Assessment [sPGA]0/1 and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index [PASI]90 at Week 12, the median time to loss of PASI90 was 16.1 weeks (95% confidence interval 12.7-16.4). For those with PASI100 at Week 12, the median time to loss of PASI100 was 12.1 weeks (95% confidence interval 9.0-13.0). A small subset of patients maintained high levels of disease control through Week 60. This study adds to the growing body of evidence on sustained treatment response following treatment interruption.

Clinical outcomes with olanzapine long-acting injection: impact of the 3-hour observation period on patient satisfaction and well-being.

BACKGROUND: The objective of the present analysis is to determine the impact of the 3-hour observation period for olanzapine long-acting injection (LAI) on patient satisfaction and well-being by comparing data collected before and after its implementation. METHODS: This is a post hoc analysis of patients treated with olanzapine LAI in 1) a 6-month fixed-dose randomized controlled trial and/or 2) a 6-year open-label safety study. This analysis was limited to patients with schizophrenia who were treated with olanzapine LAI consistent with the approved indication and dosing recommendations of the European Union Summary of Product Characteristics (N=966). Of the 966 patients, the analysis further focused only on those patients who received both 1) at least one injection before the implementation of the 3-hour observation period and 2) at least one injection after implementation of the 3-hour observation period (N=487). Patient satisfaction was assessed with the three-item Patient Satisfaction with Medication Questionnaire-Modified. Responses were averaged across all postbaseline visits occurring before (ie, without) the implementation of the 3-hour observation period and across all postbaseline visits occurring after (ie, with) the implementation of the 3-hour observation period. In addition, the rate of postinjection delirium/sedation syndrome events was calculated. RESULTS: There was no meaningful change after implementation of the 3-hour observation period in satisfaction (before: mean [SD] =4.0 [1.02] and after: mean [SD] =4.1 [0.82]), preference for olanzapine LAI over oral medication (before: mean [SD] =4.0 [0.90] and after: mean [SD] =4.1 [0.77]), or ratings of satisfaction regarding side effects (before: mean [SD] =1.9 [0.79] and after: mean [SD] =1.8 [0.60]). For the total population (N=966), postinjection delirium/sedation syndrome occurred in 26 (0.07%) of 38,010 injections. CONCLUSION: For patients with schizophrenia receiving treatment with olanzapine LAI, the 3-hour observation period had no impact on their satisfaction with the medication or on their subjective well-being.

A 6-year open-label study of the efficacy and safety of olanzapine long-acting injection in patients with schizophrenia: a post hoc analysis based on the European label recommendation.

PURPOSE: To assess the long-term efficacy and safety of olanzapine long-acting injection (LAI) in the treatment of schizophrenia, focusing on clinical trial data consistent with the approved indication and dosing recommendations in the European label and which forms the basis for treatment decisions made by clinicians in daily clinical practice. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a post hoc analysis of a 6-year open-label study of olanzapine LAI in patients (male or female, 18-75 years old) with schizophrenia entering this study following feeder studies of olanzapine LAI. Patients were flexibly dosed (45-405 mg, 2- to 4-week intervals), but those receiving oral olanzapine supplementation whose total olanzapine dose was >20 mg/day equivalent were excluded from this post hoc analysis. RESULTS: Data from 669 patients were analyzed (44.5% completed). Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total scores did not change significantly from baseline to endpoint; Clinical Global Impression-Severity scores improved significantly. Mean weight change was +2.19 kg (P<0.001), with 40.8% of patients experiencing ≥7% weight gain. There were 24 occurrences of post-injection delirium/sedation syndrome (PDSS). CONCLUSION: Olanzapine LAI appeared to be effective in the long-term maintenance of schizophrenia, and the safety profile was consistent with that of oral olanzapine, except for injection-related events and PDSS events.

Validity of reliability: comparison of interrater reliabilities of psychopathological symptoms.

We have tested the stability of interrater reliability of psychiatric symptoms over a quarter of century using 2 rating scales. Interrater reliabilities of items of 2 psychiatric rating scales employed by 2 consecutive follow-ups were compared. Interrater reliabilites proved to be by and large stable. Interrater reliability depends on the standard deviation of the items scores. In addition to the traditional approach, a new statistical method for unifying the assessments from multiple raters is also presented. Using this method, we demonstrated that probabilities of correct ratings are higher in the absence of manifest symptoms, or in the presence of symptoms, as compared with cases characterized by middle scores. To interpret the relationships revealed in the setting of the experiment, we introduce for its theoretical designation the term "validity of reliability." It is recommended for evaluation of results of rating scales in the context of psychiatric nosology.