Evaluación del daño causado por Coccotrypes rhizophorae en propágulos de Rhizophora mangle y su relación con la actividad antropogénica en la isla Santa Cruz

Los bosques de manglar presentan uno de los ecosistemas más biodiversos y productivos del mundo, en Galápagos específicamente en la isla Santa Cruz existen 338,9 hectáreas de manglar. Los propágulos de Rhizophora mangle son infestados por Coccotrypes rhizophorae, un insecto barrenador considerado un parásito obligado que construye galerías dentro del propágulo donde cumple su desarrollo biológico. La infestación de C.rhizophorae se asocia al estrés que sufre la planta debido a tensores ambientales de origen natural o antrópico. En el presente trabajo se recolectó 100 propágulos al azar, 50 antes de la dispersión y 50 luego de la dispersión de seis sitios con presencia de Rhizophora mangle; el monitoreo se realizó de abril a julio del 2022. Para la evaluación del daño causado por C. rhizophorae, se consideró la prevalencia de infestación e indicadores de incidencia como lo son: área del propágulo afectada, porcentaje de daño causado, volumen de galería dentro del propágulo y estadio biológico de C. rhizophorae. Por otro lado, para asociar la salud del ecosistema se usó el índice de salud del manglar. Se determinó que Laguna las Ninfas con 87% y Playa los Alemanes con 60% son los sitios con mayor prevalencia de infestación de C. rhizophorae y los que presentan un estado de salud bajo en el ecosistema. El porcentaje de daño al propágulo que prevaleció en el estudio fue el 25% y el estado de desarrollo de C. rhizophorae más representativo fue el de larva. Así mismo, el área afectada dentro del propágulo fue el área radical y media y los sitios con mayor infestación de C. rhizophorae presentaron los mayores volúmenes de galería

Prospective individual patient data meta-analysis of two randomized trials on convalescent plasma for COVID-19 outpatients

Data on convalescent plasma (CP) treatment in COVID-19 outpatients are scarce. We aimed to assess whether CP administered during the first week of symptoms reduced the disease progression or risk of hospitalization of outpatients. Two multicenter, double-blind randomized trials (NCT04621123, NCT04589949) were merged with data pooling starting when = 50 years and symptomatic for <= 7days were included. The intervention consisted of 200-300mL of CP with a predefined minimum level of antibodies. Primary endpoints were a 5-point disease severity scale and a composite of hospitalization or death by 28 days. Amongst the 797 patients included, 390 received CP and 392 placebo; they had a median age of 58 years, 1 comorbidity, 5 days symptoms and 93% had negative IgG antibody-test. Seventy-four patients were hospitalized, 6 required mechanical ventilation and 3 died. The odds ratio (OR) of CP for improved disease severity scale was 0.936 (credible interval (CI) 0.667-1.311); OR for hospitalization or death was 0.919 (CI 0.592-1.416). CP effect on hospital admission or death was largest in patients with <= 5 days of symptoms (OR 0.658, 95%CI 0.394-1.085). CP did not decrease the time to full symptom resolution

Common, low-frequency, rare, and ultra-rare coding variants contribute to COVID-19 severity

The combined impact of common and rare exonic variants in COVID-19 host genetics is currently insufficiently understood. Here, common and rare variants from whole-exome sequencing data of about 4000 SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals were used to define an interpretable machine-learning model for predicting COVID-19 severity. First, variants were converted into separate sets of Boolean features, depending on the absence or the presence of variants in each gene. An ensemble of LASSO logistic regression models was used to identify the most informative Boolean features with respect to the genetic bases of severity. The Boolean features selected by these logistic models were combined into an Integrated PolyGenic Score that offers a synthetic and interpretable index for describing the contribution of host genetics in COVID-19 severity, as demonstrated through testing in several independent cohorts. Selected features belong to ultra-rare, rare, low-frequency, and common variants, including those in linkage disequilibrium with known GWAS loci. Noteworthily, around one quarter of the selected genes are sex-specific. Pathway analysis of the selected genes associated with COVID-19 severity reflected the multi-organ nature of the disease. The proposed model might provide useful information for developing diagnostics and therapeutics, while also being able to guide bedside disease management. © 2021, The Author(s)

Global survival trends for brain tumors, by histology: analysis of individual records for 556,237 adults diagnosed in 59 countries during 2000–2014 (CONCORD-3)

Background: Survival is a key metric of the effectiveness of a health system in managing cancer. We set out to provide a comprehensive examination of worldwide variation and trends in survival from brain tumors in adults, by histology. Methods: We analyzed individual data for adults (15–99 years) diagnosed with a brain tumor (ICD-O-3 topography code C71) during 2000–2014, regardless of tumor behavior. Data underwent a 3-phase quality control as part of CONCORD-3. We estimated net survival for 11 histology groups, using the unbiased nonparametric Pohar Perme estimator. Results: The study included 556,237 adults. In 2010–2014, the global range in age-standardized 5-year net survival for the most common sub-types was broad: in the range 20%–38% for diffuse and anaplastic astrocytoma, from 4% to 17% for glioblastoma, and between 32% and 69% for oligodendroglioma. For patients with glioblastoma, the largest gains in survival occurred between 2000–2004 and 2005–2009. These improvements were more noticeable among adults diagnosed aged 40–70 years than among younger adults. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the largest account to date of global trends in population-based survival for brain tumors by histology in adults. We have highlighted remarkable gains in 5-year survival from glioblastoma since 2005, providing large-scale empirical evidence on the uptake of chemoradiation at population level. Worldwide, survival improvements have been extensive, but some countries still lag behind. Our findings may help clinicians involved in national and international tumor pathway boards to promote initiatives aimed at more extensive implementation of clinical guidelines

Association of maternal weight with <i>FADS</i> and <i>ELOVL</i> genetic variants and fatty acid levels- The PREOBE follow-up

<div><p>Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes encoding the fatty acid desaturase (<i>FADS</i>) and elongase (<i>ELOVL</i>) enzymes affect long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) production. We aimed to determine if these SNPs are associated with body mass index (BMI) or affect fatty acids (FAs) in pregnant women. Participants (n = 180) from the PREOBE cohort were grouped according to pre-pregnancy BMI: normal-weight (BMI = 18.5–24.9, n = 88) and overweight/obese (BMI≥25, n = 92). Plasma samples were analyzed at 24 weeks of gestation to measure FA levels in the phospholipid fraction. Selected SNPs were genotyped (7 in <i>FADS1</i>, 5 in <i>FADS2</i>, 3 in <i>ELOVL2</i> and 2 in <i>ELOVL5</i>). Minor allele carriers of rs174545, rs174546, rs174548 and rs174553 (<i>FADS1</i>), and rs1535 and rs174583 (<i>FADS2</i>) were nominally associated with an increased risk of having a BMI≥25. Only for the normal-weight group, minor allele carriers of rs174537, rs174545, rs174546, and rs174553 (<i>FADS1</i>) were negatively associated with AA:DGLA index. Normal-weight women who were minor allele carriers of <i>FADS</i> SNPs had lower levels of AA, AA:DGLA and AA:LA indexes, and higher levels of DGLA, compared to major homozygotes. Among minor allele carriers of <i>FADS2</i> and <i>ELOVL2</i> SNPs, overweight/obese women showed higher DHA:EPA index than the normal-weight group; however, they did not present higher DHA concentrations than the normal-weight women. In conclusion, minor allele carriers of <i>FADS</i> SNPs have an increased risk of obesity. Maternal weight changes the effect of genotype on FA levels. Only in the normal-weight group, minor allele carriers of <i>FADS</i> SNPs displayed reduced enzymatic activity and FA levels. This suggests that women with a BMI≥25 are less affected by <i>FADS</i> genetic variants in this regard. In the presence of <i>FADS2</i> and <i>ELOVL2</i> SNPs, overweight/obese women showed higher n-3 LC-PUFA production indexes than women with normal weight, but this was not enough to obtain a higher n-3 LC-PUFA concentration.</p></div

Associations between plasma proportions of PUFAs and <i>FADS</i> and <i>ELOVL</i> polymorphisms.

<p>Associations between plasma proportions of PUFAs and <i>FADS</i> and <i>ELOVL</i> polymorphisms.</p

Characteristics of the population.

<p>Characteristics of the population.</p

Substrates and products of enzymatic indexes according to maternal SNPs and LC-PUFA levels in plasma.

<p>Substrates and products of enzymatic indexes according to maternal SNPs and LC-PUFA levels in plasma.</p

<i>FADS1</i>, <i>FADS2 and ELOVL2</i> enzymatic indexes according to maternal SNPs and LC-PUFA levels in plasma.

<p><i>FADS1</i>, <i>FADS2 and ELOVL2</i> enzymatic indexes according to maternal SNPs and LC-PUFA levels in plasma.</p