Morphological and molecular characterization of puparia of Piophilidae species of forensic relevance

Piophilidae are a small family of Diptera with a worldwide distribution and which are historically associated with human activities. In addition to their economic importance, piophilid larvae can also be of medical and legal relevance. Within a medicolegal context, piophilids are frequently associated with cadavers in advanced stages of decomposition, thus being potentially useful forensic indicators and they have been reported also from archaeo-funerary contexts. An accurate species identification is therefore an essential prerequisite to ensure the reliable analysis of insect material in medical, forensic and archaeological investigations. Identification of the adult piophilid flies is possible because of the availability of identification keys, in contrast immature insects, especially puparia, have been poorly investigated and described. In this paper, puparia of 11 species of forensic interest (Piophila casei, Piophila megastigmata, Parapiophila atrifrons, Parapiophila flavipes, Parapiophila vulgaris, Protopiophila litigata, Liopiophila varipes, Prochyliza nigrimana, Prochyliza xanthosoma and Stearibia nigriceps in subtribe Piophilina and Centrophlebomyia furcata in subtribe Thyreophorina) are described and a molecular analysis, based on the COI sequencing, is presented to show the potential of the molecular approach in their identification.

Experimental evaluation on the applicability of necrobiome analysis in forensic veterinary science

Despite the wide usage of animals as models in forensic studies, the investigations of fundamental legal questions involving domesticated and nondomesticated animals were always given marginal attention compared to “human forensic,” and only recently the interest in the discipline is increasing. Our research focuses on the effect of the fur coat on the activity and development of microbial decomposers. In order to test this variable never assessed before, rabbit carcasses were used and results show that: (i) distinct and significant temporal changes in terms of metabolic activity and taxa distribution can be tracked over the decomposition process; (ii) the richness and the diversity of the bacterial communities does not significantly vary over time, but it does not mean that the species Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) do not change; (iii) the presence/absence of the fur on the carcasses does not significantly affect either the bacterial communities’ functional activity or the diversity intra‐ and intercommunity, neither at phylum nor at family resolution; (iv) the functional activity and the ecological diversity of the bacterial communities are significantly affected by the body region, while the relative abundance is not. Obtained data confirm previous observations and provide new insight in the Forensic Veterinary field in terms of equally using them in order to derive a statistical model for the PMI estimation. As a future perspective, a contribution to the Forensic Entomology approach will be given in legal investigations when domestic or wild animals are involved, regardless of the presence of a hair layer.

Do longer sequences improve the accuracy of identification of forensically important Calliphoridae species?

Species identification is a crucial step in forensic entomology. In several cases the calculation of the larval age allows the estimation of the minimum Post-Mortem Interval (mPMI). A correct identification of the species is the first step for a correct mPMI estimation. To overcome the difficulties due to the morphological identification especially of the immature stages, a molecular approach can be applied. However, difficulties in separation of closely related species are still an unsolved problem. Sequences of 4 different genes (COI, ND5, EF-1α, PER) of 13 different fly species collected during forensic experiments (Calliphora vicina, Calliphora vomitoria, Lucilia sericata, Lucilia illustris, Lucilia caesar, Chrysomya albiceps, Phormia regina, Cynomya mortuorum, Sarcophaga sp., Hydrotaea sp., Fannia scalaris, Piophila sp., Megaselia scalaris) were evaluated for their capability to identify correctly the species. Three concatenated sequences were obtained combining the four genes in order to verify if longer sequences increase the probability of a correct identification. The obtained results showed that this rule does not work for the species L. caesar and L. illustris. Future works on other DNA regions are suggested to solve this taxonomic issue.

Record of Leptometopa latipes (Diptera: Milichiidae) from a human cadaver in the Mediterranean area

In forensic entomology, insects are used mainly to obtain information about the time since death. This information is obtained studying the developmental rate of the first colonizers, principally species in the families Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae, Stratiomyidae and Phoridae. However, species belonging to other families can provide information about body transfer or the season of the death. Among them Milichiidae are flies rarely reported from human cases despite the larvae of some species are known as saprophagous feeding on plant and animal decomposing matter. A potential cause of the lack of records of these species from forensic cases can be related with the paucity of descriptions and illustrations of the immature stages. In this article, the entomological samples collected from a human body found inside an apartment in a Maghreb country, in Northern Africa, is reported and Leptometopa latipes (Diptera: Milichiidae) is described in detail. Molecular analysis is also reported to confirm the morphological analysis.

First record of Phormia regina (Meigen, 1826) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) from mummies at the Sant'Antonio Abate Cathedral of Castelsardo, Sardinia, Italy

The studies of insects from archaeological contexts can provide an important supplement of information to reconstruct past events, climate and environments. Furthermore, the list of the species present in an area in the past allows the reconstruction of the entomofauna on that area at that time, that can be different from the nowadays condition, providing information about biodiversity changes. In this work, the results of a funerary archaeoentomological study on samples collected from mummified corpses discovered during the restoration of the crypt of the Sant’Antonio Abate Cathedral of Castelsardo (Sardinia, Italy) are reported. The majority of the sampled specimens were Diptera puparia, whereas only few Lepidoptera cocoons and some Coleoptera fragments were isolated. Among Diptera, Calliphoridae puparia were identified as Phormia regina (Meigen, 1826) and Calliphora vicina, (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) both species typical of the first colonization waves of exposed bodies. Three puparia fragments were also identified as belonging to a Sarcophaga Meigen, 1826, species (Sarcophagidae). Several Muscidae puparia of the species Hydrotaea capensis (Weidmermann, 1818), a late colonizer of bodies, and typical of buried bodies were also collected. The few moth (Lepidoptera) cocoons were identified as belonging to the family Tineidae. This family comprises species feeding on dry tissues and hair typical of the later phases of the human decomposition. Among Coleoptera a single specimen in the family Histeridae, Saprinus semistriatus (Scriba, 1790) and a single elytra, potentially of a species in the family Tenebrionidae, were also collected. Overall, the samples collected indicated an initial colonization of the bodies in an exposed context, mainly in a warm season. This research allows the finding of elements indicating the presence, at least in the past, of P. regina in Sardinia. This species at the moment seems extinct from Sardinia while it is quite common in the continent.

Adjuvant trastuzumab cardiotoxicity in patients over 60 years of age with early breast cancer: a multicenter cohort analysis

BACKGROUND

Adjuvant Trastuzumab with chemotherapy is the gold standard for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive early breast cancer (HER2+ EBC). Older patients have been largely under-represented in clinical trials, and few data on Trastuzumab cardiotoxicity have been reported in this subgroup.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Four hundred and ninety-nine consecutive HER2+ EBC patients were treated with adjuvant trastuzumab and chemotherapy (aTrastC) at 10 Italian institutions. We evaluated disease prevalence and patient characteristics in the patients older than 60 years of age (over-60), prevalence of aTrastC cardiotoxicity and risk factors.

RESULTS

There were 160 'over-60' patients (32%), in whom a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, renal dysfunction, dyslipidemia and treatment with ACEi (40 versus 8%) and beta blockers (20 versus 8%) was found than in the younger patients (339 = 68%). Clinical heart failure occurred in 6% of the 'over-60' and in 2% of the younger patients. A reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction of >10 points was detected in 33% of the 'over-60' and in 23% of the younger patients (all P < 0.05). aTrastC was discontinued in 10% of the 'over-60' and in 4% of the younger patients (P = 0.003), restarted in 44% of the 'over-60' and in 58% of the younger women (P = ns).

CONCLUSION

In clinical practice, 32% of HER2+ EBC patients treated with aTrastC are 'over-60'. These patients have an increased cardiovascular risk profile and develop aTrastC cardiotoxicity commonly.

Medical Treatment of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma

Therapy for disseminated renal cell carcinoma is a major problem, as it's almost completely resistant to standard therapeutic approaches such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The search for innovative strategies has led to new concepts based on the assumption that cellular or soluble mediators of the immune system can be rendered cytotoxic or cytostatic for renal cell cancer. With partial response rates of ca. 100% and very promising global response rates, biotherapies are in progress. A number of clinical trials have been perfomed employing systemic administration of interferon (rIFN-) alone or in combination with cytostatic agents, human recombinant interleukin-2 (rlL-2), and, more recently, immunomodulatory agents such as lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells: these substances have been demonstrated to be a treatment of choice for advanced renal cell carcinoma, even if they seem unable to modify the natural history of the disease.