The European Food Safety Authority has suggested that EU countries implement the 2 × 24 h diet recall (2 × 24 h DR) method and physical activity (PA) measurements for national dietary surveys. Since 2000, Denmark has used 7 d food diaries (7 d FD) with PA questionnaires and measurements. The accuracy of the reported energy intakes (EI) from the two diet methods, pedometer-determined step counts and self-reported time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) were compared with total energy expenditure measured by the doubly labelled water (TEEDLW) technique and with PA energy expenditure (PAEE), respectively. The study involved fifty-two male and sixty-eight female volunteers aged 18–60 years who were randomly assigned to start with either the 24 h DR or the web-based 7 d FD, and wore a pedometer for the first 7 d and filled in a step diary. The mean TEEDLW (11·5 MJ/d) was greater than the mean reported EI for the 7 d FD (9·5 MJ/d (P < 0·01)) but the same as the 2 × 24 h DR (11·5 MJ/d). The proportion of under-reporters was 34 % (7 d FD) and 4 % (2 × 24 h DR). Most participants preferred the 7 d DR as it was more flexible, despite altering their eating habits. Pearson’s correlation between steps corrected for cycling and PAEE was r = 0·44, P < 0·01. Spearman’s correlation for self-reported hours spent in MVPA and PAEE was r = 0·58, P < 0·01. The 2 × 24 h DR performs better than the existing 7 d FD method. Pedometer-determined steps and self-reported MVPA are good predictors of PAEE in adult Danes.

Background: Glioblastoma is the most common adult malignant glioma, with poor prognosis and adverse neurological sequelae. Physical activity improves outcomes in patients with other cancers, but has not been evaluated in GBM. This prospective, single-arm intervention trial examines feasibility and preliminary efficacy of exercise on PFS, cognition and QOL in newly diagnosed GBM patients. Method: Participants are English-speaking GBM patients scheduled for concurrent chemoradiation at PMH, 18-65 years old, ECOG ≤ 2. The 3-month home-based exercise program includes aerobic and resistance training, tailored to prior fitness level, current physical status, and individual interests. Assessments of physical and neurocognitive functions, mood, fatigue, sleep, and QOL, occur within 2 weeks of starting chemoradiation, and approximately 3, 6, 12, and 18 months later, or until tumor progression. Feasibility will be assessed by accrual, retention, and adherence rates. Outcomes include PFS (RANO criteria), change in cognition (reliable change index method), physical activity and sleep (actigraphy, self-report questionnaires). Time-to-event outcomes will be estimated (Kaplan-Meier), and mixed modelling will explore individual and disease variables that contribute to outcomes. Results: During the first five months of recruitment, 13 of 19 eligible patients consented. Nine completed the exercise program. One patient died after the intervention and none of the others progressed. No exercise-related serious adverse events occurred. Preliminary results will be presented at the meeting. Discussion: Exercise appears feasible for GBM patients. Effects on survival, performance status, cognition, sleep, mood, and QOL are ongoing. Results may guide physical activity recommendations in GBM and generate avenues for translational research.

Objectives: Glioblastoma is a lethal disease in the elderly population. We aimed to evaluate disease and treatment outcomes in the oldest-old patients. Methods: Patients >80 years old with histologically confirmed glioblastoma treated between 2004 and 2009 were identified. We included patients managed with best supportive care (BSC), temozolomide (TMZ) alone, radiotherapy (RT) alone, or concomitantly with TMZ (CRT). Survival outcomes were analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method. Results: Ultimately, 48 patients were analyzed. Median age and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status were 82 years and 2, respectively. The median Age-Adjusted Charlson Index (AAC) was 6. Gross total and subtotal resections were performed in 16.7% and 18.8% of patients, respectively. Biopsy followed by RT alone was the treatment modality for 23/48 (47.9%), while 17/48 (35.4%) received surgery followed by RT alone or CRT. A total of 8 (16.7%) were managed with BSC after biopsy. Median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 4.1 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 3.3-4.9) and 2.7 (95% CI 1.5-3.9) months, respectively. Improved median OS was observed in those treated with surgical resection followed by RT alone or CRT (7.1 months), compared to biopsy followed by RT alone (4.2 months) or BSC (2.0 months; p=0.002). Surgical resection, age≤85, and AAC<6 were associated with better OS (p=0.032, p=0.031, and p=0.02, respectively). Cause of death was neurological progression in 56% of cases. RT was well-tolerated. Conclusions: PFS and OS outcomes remain poor in the oldest-old patients (>80 years old). Younger age, lower AAC, surgical resection, and adjuvant treatment were associated with improved OS.

Background: Bevacizumab has been used in recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM) since 2010 in Canada. Given its cost, potential toxicities, and unclear efficacy, further studies are required to better define suitable candidates for therapy. Methods: A single-center retrospective review of patients started on bevacizumab for rGBM from 2012 to 2015 was performed. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, treatment regimen, and dates of clinical progression and death were collected. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were used as clinical outcomes and estimates. Radiological response was assessed using modified Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology criteria. Results: A total of 80 patients were included. There were 67 reported deaths, and the median OS was 9.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI95%]=7.0-10.1 months), with a 12-month OS of 31% (CI95%=21.9-43.5%). Some 79 patients were included for analysis of clinical progression, among whom 61 had documented clinical progression. The median clinical PFS was 4.6 months (CI95%=3.8-6.4 months), and the 6-month clinical PFS was 39% (CI95%=29.0-52.9%). Addition of chemotherapy did not improve clinical outcomes. A total of 68 patients were included for radiological progression analysis, with 58 radiological progressions. The median radiological PFS was 5.8 months (CI95%=4.2-6.7 months), and the 6-month radiological PFS was 46% (CI95%=35.6-60.0%). Conclusions: This is the first reported Canadian experience with bevacizumab for rGBM. Our clinical outcomes are consistent with published data from multicenter phase II and III trials on bevacizumab in rGBM. More research is required to determine which subtype(s) of patients with rGBM could benefit from bevacizumab upon recurrence.

Upon transfer to a photoperiod of LD 12:12 all young, reproductively active Chrysopa carnea Stephens, reared and maintained under LD 16:8, showed a rapid decline in fecundity. One group entered diapause, as shown by the cessation of oviposition within 22 to 34 days, fat body accumulation, and an associated colour change. The females in this group resumed oviposition within 3 to 7 days after being returned to LD 16:8. Females in the other group under short-day conditions continued to oviposit, but at a lower rate than those kept under constant LD 16:8. Our data indicate that the imago is sensitive to both long-day and short-day photoperiods and that some males and females enter a facultative reproductive diapause which is induced and terminated in this stage solely by manipulating the adult lighting regimen.

The first signs of Phytomyza lanati Spencer activity are the feeding marks of the adult on the lower leaf surface of Heracleum lanatum Michx. In Alameda County, Calif., the adults were first seen in January and the larvae were present from mid-February to mid-June. Eggs are laid in the spongy mesophyll and the serpentine mine, made by the solitary larva, is mainly confined to the palisade layer. The larva remains within a single mine until just before puparium formation. At this time the mature larva exits from the leaf through a cut in the lower surface and drops to the soil. At 75 ± 1°F the average duration of the three immature stages are 47, 36, and 60 hours. Because the depth of the mine is constant, the surface area of the mine indicates the relative volume of food consumed. A comparison of the instars shows that the amount and rate of tunnelling increases greatly with each succeeding moult. Under constant temperature there is no significant difference between the amount mined during equivalent light and dark periods.

Adult activity, such as feeding, mating, and oviposition, occurs on the underside of the leaf. Feeding on the plant exudate appears necessary for sustaining adult life.

Three hymenopteran parasites were reared from P. lanati.Biological characteristics served to differentiate P. lanati from other Phytomyza species.

Blue, a non-sex-linked mutant of the green lacewing, Chrysopa carnea Stephens, is recessive and shows complete penetrance. Unlike the coloration of the larva or imago, egg colour, which is due to the yolk, is the same as that of the maternal phenotype.

Based on our studies with 10 geographic populations of Chrysopa carnea, we recommend that biological control programs involving this predator use "pure" carnea stock originating from eastern and midwestern North America. Of the two strains (races or biotypes) of C. carnea—carnea and mohave—carnea is the superior choice for biological control on commercial crops in both eastern and western North America because (1) its preoviposition period is approximately one-half as long as mohave’s, (2) unlike mohave adults, neither sex of the carnea strain requires prey for successful mating and initiating oviposition, (3) carnea’s oviposition can be enhanced in the field by applying currently available food sprays, and (4) carnea is efficient to mass-rear on a commercial basis.

The “pure” mohave race is restricted to limited areas on the west coast. This race, which can enter a food-mediated summer diapause, is more suitable for biological control on the west coast in non-agricultural situations dominated by native vegetation, where prey occurrence is highly variable during summer.

Most west coast populations in agricultural areas are composed of intermediates between the carnea and mohave races. F1 hybrids produced by crossing individuals from mohave, carnea, and intermediate populations, show predominantly carnea characteristics, and inheritance of the distinguishing biological traits appears to be controlled by polygenes.

The reproductive behaviour of Chrysopa oculata Say females shows a high degree of dependence on diet. Females remain unmated when maintained on a regimen of sugar and water, whereas they mate and produce fertile eggs when given pea aphids prior to pairing. In contrast, the males do not require a diet other than sugar and water in order to produce fertile matings. Pea aphids constitute suitable prey for continuous rearing.

The adults of Chrysopa harrisii Fitch, which are not predaceous, overwinter in a state of reproductive diapause. During both the dormant and the reproductive periods they remain dark green, a colour apparently adapted to the species’ occurrence on conifers. Two to three generations per season are possible in the Ithaca, N.Y., area.

At 75°F, which is the optimum constant temperature for development and survival, the time from oviposition to adult eclosion is 29 days. Theoretical thresholds for development of all stages are relatively high, between 50° and 57°F, and development from egg to adult requires 566 heat degree days.

In the laboratory, the critical photoperiod for diapause induction is between LD 13:11 and LD 14:10; short days maintain diapause for approximately 45 days (at 75°F); long days terminate diapause. Both newly-emerged and reproductively-active adults are extremely sensitive to diapause-inducing photoperiods. In the field, all adults emerging on 5 September or later enter diapause and it appears that diapause induction in the Ithaca population begins in the latter part of August. Short days maintain diapause until the end of December, and neither long days, increasing day lengths, nor low temperatures play a role in hastening diapause termination in nature.

In timing its vernal reproduction, C. harrisii has evolved a strategy that combines an early-ending diapause with an apparently relatively high temperature threshold for post-diapause development. Therefore, although diapause ends around the winter solstice, heat accumulation is prevented until much later, when temperatures are relatively high.

Analysis of larval and adult characters, as well as biological data from various geographic populations, indicates that Chrysopa mohave Banks and Chrysopa carnea Stephens represent two strains of a single species and C. mohave is therefore designated a new synonym of C. carnea. The carnea strain occurs allopatrically throughout eastern and midwestern North America and the mohave strain is probably indigenous to California.

The pattern of variation found in larvae and adults from different populations suggests that the carnea strain was secondarily introduced into California where it interbred with the mohave strain. This hybridization resulted in genetically varied populations with predominantly carnea characteristics in California’s Central Valley. Populations of the mohave strain occur in the California foothill and coastal areas because adults of the mohave strain, unlike the carnea strain, can aestivate during the hot, dry summers when food is sparse. Summer irrigation increases the abundance of larval and adult food which the non-aestivating carnea strain needs. It appears that the native mohave strain will compete successfully only in those areas of California which are unmodified by agricultural practices.

Although the species that were closely related had similar adult feeding habits, they varied in their specific dietary requirements for mating and for the initiation of oviposition. In Chrysopa lanata, which is not predacious in the adult stage, the females required a protein-carbohydrate diet in order to mate; on the other hand, Chrysopa downesi males and females, which also are not predacious, mated when fed a diet consisting only of sugar and water. Chrysopa nigricornis males and females both required prey (Myzus persicae) before they would mate; whereas Chrysopa quadripunctata and Sympherobius amiculus, both of which are predacious as adults, did not need a diet other than sugar and water for mating.

All five species depended on prey or a synthetic protein-carbohydrate diet for sustained oviposition; however, S. amiculus initiated oviposition when fed only sugar. When the synthetic protein-carbohydrate diet was substituted for prey, 40% of the C. quadripunctata females began to oviposit. The same diet did not promote oviposition in the predacious C. nigricornis adults.

After diapause was initiated in reproductively active adults, short-day (LD 12:12) maintained diapause and prevented oviposition for 66 ± 22 days. Subsequently all females remaining in the conditions that produced diapause (LD 12:12), began to lose the red-brown diapause coloration and began to oviposit. When animals were transferred to long-day at various intervals during diapause, oviposition resumed within similar time periods, thereby indicating that the intensity of diapause did not differ at the times tested.We suggest that in nature the short days of early autumn induce diapause, that the short days of late autumn maintain this diapause, that subsequently diapause ends under short-day conditions and that factors other than photoperiod, such as temperature accumulations, play a primary role in timing the initiation of reproduction in late spring.

This study includes the first published record of a berothid life history and the first description of a second instar larva. The incubation period was 7 days (N = 21), and the median durations of the first and third stages were 12.5 days (N = 8) and 20.8 days (N = 5). The length of the second stadium was 3 days (N = 5). One adult emerged, after being within the cocoon for 20 days (all temperatures, 75±3°F).

Eggs were laid in a stalked cluster in which there were fewer stalks than eggs. The first and third instars, which have piercing–sucking type mouthparts, were carnivorous and fed on the termite Zootermopsis angusticollis. Both of these stages were very mobile. On the other hand, the second instar, apparently a non-feeding stage, hung downward by the abdominal tip. It was not active except when disturbed, whereupon the body snapped into a straight position and then back again into the original C-shaped attitude. The cocoon was oval and transparent.

Viability decreased with successive instars and it is possible that the prey offered to the immatures was an inappropriate termite species and therefore a suboptimum food source. It is also likely that unfavorable physical conditions contributed to the high mortality of the immatures.

Both the second and third instar larvae are described, and the third instar is compared with a previously described third instar larva of an undetermined species within the same genus.