Managing the risk of low falling numbers in wheat

Grain is purchased at a discount when falling numbers are below 300 seconds (sec). This can result in serious financial losses for farmers. This article addresses many commonly asked questions about the Hagberg-Perten Falling Number test, and provides some suggestions for reducing losses due to low falling numbers

Renal Transplant Recipients Treated with Calcineurin-Inhibitors Lack Circulating Immature Transitional CD19⁺CD24^hiCD38^hi Regulatory B-Lymphocytes - Fig 4

<p>The amount of peripheral circulating CD19⁺CD24^hiCD38^hi cells correlated with the clinical outcome after kidney transplantation A low amount of peripheral circulating CD19⁺CD24^hiCD38^hi cells was associated with a lower eGFR <b>(A).</b> The orange-framed box in <b>B</b> indicates a subgroup of 29 patients that exhibited <1% of CD24^hi38^hi expressing CD19⁺ peripherally circulating B-cells. 31% (n = 9) of these patients experienced a biopsy proven rejection event 24 months before or after the analyses (5 patients before and 4 patients within 24 months after sample assessment).</p

The calcineurin inhibitors tacrolimus and CsA inhibit IL-10 expression of B-cells <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>.

<p>Freshly isolated PBMCs from healthy subjects (n = 9) and renal transplant recipients (n = 9) were mitogen/toll-like-receptor 9 stimulated for 72 hours and subsequently stained for surface CD19 and intracellular IL-10 or with the respective isotype control antibodies <b>(A).</b> The representative dot plots on the upper left in <b>A</b> show the intracellular IL-10 expression of stimulated CD19⁺ B-cells from a healthy subject and representative renal transplant recipients receiving either tacrolimus or CsA (after gating on CD19⁺ B-cells). The scatter plot in <b>B</b> summarizes the results of multiple unrelated experiments. PBMCs of healthy subjects were stimulated like described before in presence or absence of different concentrations of tacrolimus (n = 4) <b>(C)</b> or CsA (n = 4) <b>(D)</b>, as indicated. The bar graphs in <b>E</b> depict the decline of IL-10 production (in %) of PBMCs vs. positively isolated CD19⁺ B-cells after stimulation co-cultured with CsA (n = 9 healthy subjects). 7-AAD staining was performed to ensure viability of cell culture.</p

Additional file 2: Figure S2. of Citrate shows protective effects on cardiovascular and renal function in ischemia-induced acute kidney injury

Urine output. Urine output calculated from samples collected during A 45 min before ischemia B 120–180 min of reperfusion. (PDF 22 kb

Calcineurin inhibitors reduce the expression of CD24 and CD38 on CD19⁺ B lymphocytes.

<p>The expression of CD24, CD38 and IL-10 after gating on CD19⁺ B-cells is shown in a representative healthy subject, indicating that only a minority of IL-10 producing B-cells highly express CD38 <b>(A)</b>. The dot blots in <b>B</b> depict CD24^hiCD38^hi B-cells (red-framed boxes) in a representative healthy subject, a renal transplant recipient receiving a CsA or tacrolimus based immunosuppression. The respective isotype control staining is depicted in between. The scatter plot graphs in <b>C</b> and <b>D</b> summarize the results and show that treatment with tacrolimus (n = 35) or CsA (n = 11) not only reduce the percentage of peripherally circulating B-lymphocytes <b>(C)</b> but also affect the CD24^hiCD38^hi B-cell subset <b>(D)</b>. In contrast to healthy subjects (n = 16), the CD24^hi38^hi expressing B-cell subset of renal transplant patients receiving a calcineurin inhibitor were significantly reduced or even blunted <b>(B, D)</b>. No correlation was found between the amount of CD24^hiCD38^hi B-cells and time of sample assessment after transplantation <b>(E</b>, Spearman test, <i>r</i> = -0,01, <i>p</i> = 0,9450).</p

Data_Sheet_1_Residues from black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae rearing influence the plant-associated soil microbiome in the short term.pdf

The larvae of the black soldier fly (BSFL, Hermetia illucens) efficiently close resource cycles. Next to the nutrient-rich insect biomass used as animal feed, the residues from the process are promising plant fertilizers. Besides a high nutrient content, the residues contain a diverse microbial community and application to soil can potentially promote soil fertility and agricultural production through the introduction of beneficial microbes. This research assessed the application of the residues on plant-associated bacterial and fungal communities in the rhizosphere of a grass-clover mix in a 42-day greenhouse pot study. Potted soil was amended with BSFL residues (BR+) or conventional compost (CC+) produced by Rwandan waste management companies in parallel to residues and compost sterilized (BR-, CC-) by high-energy electron beam (HEEB) as abiotic controls. The fertilizers were applied at a rate of 150  kg N  ha−1. Soil bacterial and fungal communities in both fertilizer and soil were assessed by high-throughput sequencing of ribosomal markers at different times after fertilizer application. Additionally, indicators for soil fertility such as basal respiration, plant yield and soil physicochemical properties were analyzed. Results showed that the application of BSFL residues influenced the soil microbial communities, and especially fungi, stronger than CC fertilizers. These effects on the microbial community structure could partly be attributed to a potential introduction of microbes to the soil by BSFL residues (e.g., members of genus Bacillus) since untreated and sterilized BSFL residues promoted different microbial communities. With respect to the abiotic effects, we emphasize a potential driving role of particular classes of organic matter like fiber and chitin. Indeed, especially taxa associated with decomposition of organic matter (e.g., members of the fungal genus Mortierella) were promoted by the application of BSFL residues. Soil fertility with respect to plant yield (+17% increase compared to unamended control) and basal respiration (+16% increase compared to unamended control) tended to be improved with the addition of BSFL residues. Findings underline the versatile opportunities for soil fertility arising from the application of BSFL residues in plant production and point to further research on quantification of the described effects.</p

image_2_The Donor Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I Chain-Related Molecule A Allele rs2596538 G Predicts Cytomegalovirus Viremia in Kidney Transplant Recipients.jpeg

<p>The interaction of major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related protein A (MICA) and its cognate activating receptor natural killer (NK) group 2 member D (NKG2D) receptor plays a significant role in viral immune control. In the context of kidney transplantation (KTx), cytomegalovirus (CMV) frequently causes severe complications. Hypothesizing that functional polymorphisms of the MICA/NKG2D axis might affect antiviral NK and T cell responses to CMV, we explored the association of the MICA-129 Met/Val single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (affecting the binding affinity of MICA with the NKG2D receptor), the MICA rs2596538 G/A SNP (influencing MICA transcription), and the NKG2D rs1049174 G/C SNP (determining the cytotoxic potential of effector cells) with the clinical outcome of CMV during the first year after KTx in a cohort of 181 kidney donor-recipients pairs. Univariate analyses identified the donor MICA rs2596538 G allele status as a protective prognostic determinant for CMV disease. In addition to the well-known prognostic factors CMV high-risk sero-status of patients and the application of lymphocyte-depleting drugs, the donor MICA rs2596538 G allele carrier status was confirmed by multivariate analyses as novel-independent factor predicting the development of CMV infection/disease during the first year after KTx. The results of our study emphasize the clinical importance of the MICA/NKG2D axis in CMV control in KTx and point out that the potential MICA transcription in the donor allograft is of clinically relevant importance for CMV immune control in this allogeneic situation. Furthermore, they provide substantial evidence that the donor MICA rs2596538 G allele carrier status is a promising genetic marker predicting CMV viremia after KTx. Thus, in the kidney transplant setting, donor MICA rs2596538 G may help to allow the future development of personal CMV approaches within a genetically predisposed patient cohort.</p