The endemic Chamaecytisus albidus is nodulated by symbiovar genistearum of Bradyrhizobium in the Moroccan Maamora Forest

Out of 54 isolates from root nodules of the Moroccan-endemic Chamaecytisus albidus plants growing in soils from the Maamora cork oak forest, 44 isolates formed nodules when used to infect their original host plant. A phenotypic analysis showed the metabolic diversity of the strains that used different carbohydrates and amino acids as sole carbon and nitrogen sources. The isolates grew on media with pH values ranging from 6 to 8. However, they did not tolerate high temperatures or drought and they did not grow on media with salt concentrations higher than 85 mM. REP-PCR fingerprinting grouped the strains into 12 clusters, of which representative strains were selected for ARDRA and rrs analyses. The rrs gene sequence analysis indicated that all 12 strains were members of the genus Bradyrhizobium and their phylogeny showed that they were grouped into two different clusters. Two strains from each group were selected for multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) using atpD, recA, gyrB and glnII housekeeping genes. The inferred phylogenetic trees confirmed that the strains clustered into two divergent clusters. Strains CM55 and CM57 were affiliated to the B. canariense/B. lupini group, whereas strains CM61 and CM64 were regrouped within the B. cytisi/B. rifense lineage. The analysis of the nodC symbiotic gene affiliated the strains to the symbiovar genistearum. The strains were also able to nodulate Retama monosperma, Lupinus luteus and Cytisus monspessulanus, but not Phaseolus vulgaris or Glycine max. Inoculation tests with C. albidus showed that some strains could be exploited as efficient inocula that could be used to improve plant growth in the Maamora forest.The authors want to thank all the people who contributed to theachievement of this study. Financial support was obtained from‘‘Académie Hassan II des Sciences et Techniques” (Morocco). MrOmar Bouhnik received a grant from the Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology. The authors also thank the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (Spain) for the granting ofthe ERDF-cofinanced project AGL2017–85676R

The fodder legume Chamaecytisus albidus establishes functional symbiosis with different Bradyrhizobial symbiovars in Morocco

In this work, we analyzed the symbiotic performance and diversity of rhizobial strains isolated from the endemic shrubby legume Chamaecytisus albidus grown in soils of three different agroforestry ecosystems representing arid and semi-arid forest areas in Morocco. The analysis of the rrs gene sequences from twenty-four representative strains selected after REP-PCR fingerprinting showed that all the strains belong to the genus Bradyrhizobium. Following multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA) using the rrs, gyrB, recA, glnII, and rpoB housekeeping genes, five representative strains, CA20, CA61, CJ2, CB10, and CB61 were selected for further molecular studies. Phylogenetic analysis of the concatenated glnII, gyrB, recA, and rpoB genes showed that the strain CJ2 isolated from Sahel Doukkala soil is close to Bradyrhizobium canariense BTA-1 (96.95%); that strains CA20 and CA61 isolated from the Amhach site are more related to Bradyrhizobium valentinum LmjM3, with 96.40 and 94.57% similarity values; and that the strains CB10 and CB60 isolated from soil in the Bounaga site are more related to Bradyrhizobium murdochi CNPSo 4020 and Bradyrhizobium. retamae Ro19, with which they showed 95.45 and 97.34% similarity values, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis of the symbiotic genes showed that the strains belong to symbiovars lupini, genistearum, and retamae. All the five strains are able to nodulate Lupinus luteus, Retama monosperma, and Cytisus monspessilanus, but they do not nodulate Glycine max and Phaseolus vulgaris. The inoculation tests showed that the strains isolated from the 3 regions improve significantly the plant yield as compared to uninoculated plants. However, the strains of Bradyrhizobium sp. sv. retamae isolated from the site of Amhach were the most performing. The phenotypic analysis showed that the strains are able to use a wide range of carbohydrates and amino acids as sole carbon and nitrogen source. The strains isolated from the arid areas of Bounaga and Amhach were more tolerant to salinity and drought stress than strains isolated in the semi-arid area of Sahel Doukkala.Financial support was obtained from Académie Hassan II des Sciences et Techniques (in Morocco). Mr Omar Bouhnik received a grant from the Hassan II Academy of Science and Technolog

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Background: Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. // Methods: We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung's disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. // Findings: We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung's disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middle-income countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in low-income countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. // Interpretation: Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Germination, growth and nodulation of Trigonella foenum graecum (Fenu Greek) under salt stress

In this work, we analyzed the effects of salinity on seed germination, growth and nodulation of fenugreek plants. The germination of fenugreek seeds was not affected by salt concentrations lower than 140 mM. Two saline tolerant indigenous rhizobia strains were isolated from the root nodules of fenugreek grown in two different soils. The two rhizobial strains were tested for their ability to grow under high salt stress and then assessed for their ability to nodulate fenugreek grown under different salt stress levels. We have found that the two strains have differential sensitivity to high salt levels. The inoculation of fenugreek with these strains results in better plant growth under salt stress thanuninoculated plants. Twenty percent of plants inoculated with strains S9D or S3G survived in 175 mM NaCl, whereas all controls supplemented or not with nitrogen did not grow. Although plants survived in these salt concentrations, many phenotypic alterations were observed, such as stems short length, small number of leaves and reduced fresh weight. No fenugreek plant grew at salt concentrationshigher than 175 mM NaCl. Stem and root proteins content was also affected by salinity. However, plants inoculated with the two rhizobial strains were more tolerant to salt than controls. The strains infectivityas estimated by the plants nodules number was also reduced by salinity

Algorithms and Position Optimization for a Decentralized Localization Platform Based on Resource-Constrained Devices

As a step towards ubiquitous and mobile computing, a decentralized localization platform allows positioning for objects and persons. The decentralized computation of the position enables to shift the application-level knowledge into a Mobile Station (MS) and avoids the communication with a remote device such as a server. In addition, computing a position on resource-constrained devices is challenging due to the restricted storage, computing capacity and power supply. Therefore, we propose suitable algorithms to compute unoptimized as well as optimized positions on resource-limited MSs. Algorithms for unoptimized positions will be analyzed with respect to the stability, complexity, and memory requirements. The calculated positions are optimized by using the Gauss--Newton (GNM) or Levenberg--Marquardt methods (LVMs). We analyze and compare the GNM with two variants of the LVM algorithm. Furthermore, we develop an adaptive algorithm for the position optimization, which is based on the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD), LVM algorithm, and the Dilution of Precision. This method allows an adaptive selection mechanism for the LVM algorithm. The influence and choice of the right parameter combination of the LVM algorithm will be analyzed and discussed. Finally, we design and evaluate a method to reduce multipath errors on the MS

Characterization of Bradyrhizobium spp. nodulating Lupinus cosentinii and L. luteus microsymbionts in Morocco

In this work, we analyzed the diversity of the nodule-forming bacteria associated with Lupinus luteus and Lupinus cosentinii grown in the Maamora Cork oak forest acidic soils in Morocco. The phenotypic analysis showed the high diversity of the strains nodulating the two lupine's species. The strains were not tolerant to acidity or high alkalinity. They do not tolerate salinity or high temperatures either. The strains isolated from L. luteus were more tolerant to antibiotics and salinity than those isolated from L. cosentinii. The plant growth promoting (PGP) activities of our strains are modest, as among the 28 tested isolates, only six produced auxins, six produced siderophores, whereas three solubilized phosphates. Only two strains possess the three activities. The rrs gene sequences from eight representative strains selected following ARDRA and REP-PCR results revealed that they were members of the genus Bradyrhizobium. Six strains were then retained for further molecular analysis. The glnII, recA, gyrB, dnaK, and rpoB housekeeping gene sequence phylogeny showed that some strains were close to B. lupini LMG28514 whereas others may constitute new genospecies in the genus Bradyrhizobium. The strains were unable to nodulate Glycine max and Phaseolus vulgaris and effectively nodulated L. luteus, L. cosentinii, L. angustifolius, Chamaecytisus albidus, and Retama monosperma. The nodC and nodA symbiotic gene phylogenies showed that the strains are members of the genistearum symbiovar

Nodulation of Retama monosperma by Ensifer aridi in an Abandonned Lead Mine Soils in Eastern Morocco

Millions tons of lead and zinc wastes from the abandoned Touissit mine are stored in the open air as dikes in the vicinity of the villages in Eastern Morocco and pose a real danger to both the environment and local populations. To prevent the movement of minerals to the nearby villages and limit the damages to the environment and health, we proposed the nitrogen-fixing leguminous shrub Retama monosperma, as a model plant to use for phytostabilization experimentations. This plant species is known by its ability to grow in hard climatic conditions and in heavy metals contaminated soils. The isolation of bacterial strains nodulating R. monosperma in the abandoned mine soils will permit the selection of rhizobia to inoculate young plant seedlings before their use for the phytostabilization of the mine tailings. In this work, 44 bacteria were isolated from the root nodules of R. Monosperma grown in the Touissit abandoned mine. Twenty-four isolates were considered as true rhizobia as they possess a copy of the nodC symbiotic gene and were able to renodulate their original host. The phenotypic characterization showed that all the strains are tolerant in vitro to different concentrations of heavy metals. The analysis of the 16S rRNA sequences of two selected representative strains showed they were related to different strains of Ensifer aridi isolated from different legumes in three continents deserts. The glnII, recA, and gyrB housekeeping genes analysis confirmed the affiliation of the strains to E. aridi. Moreover, the phylogenic analysis of nodA, nodC, and nifH symbiotic genes showed that the strains are more related to E. aridi JNVUTP6 species isolated from Tephrosia purpurea root nodules in the Thar Desert in India. To our knowledge, this is the first report about the isolation of E. aridi from R. monosperma root nodules.HL was granted a fellowship from the Moroccan Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education, and Scientific Research within the frame of the “Priority projects for scientific research and technological development, PPR2”. The Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology participated also to the funding of this work.Peer Reviewe