Comorbidity, not patient age, is associated with impaired safety outcomes in vedolizumab- and ustekinumab-treated patients with inflammatory bowel disease-a prospective multicentre cohort study

Background: Few data are available on the effects of age and comorbidity on treatment outcomes of vedolizumab and ustekinumab in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Aims: To evaluate the association between age and comorbidity with safety and effectiveness outcomes of vedolizumab and ustekinumab in IBD. Methods: IBD patients initiating vedolizumab or ustekinumab in regular care were enrolled prospectively. Comorbidity prevalence was assessed using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Association between age and CCI, both continuously assessed, with safety outcomes (any infection, hospitalisation, adverse events) during treatment, and effectiveness outcomes (clinical response and remission, corticosteroid-free remission, clinical remission combined with biochemical remission) after 52 weeks of treatment were evaluated. Multivariable logistic regression was used to adjust for confounders. Results: We included 203 vedolizumab- and 207 ustekinumab-treated IBD patients, mean age 42.2 (SD 16.0) and 41.6 (SD 14.4). Median treatment duration 54.0 (IQR 19.9-104.0) and 48.4 (IQR 24.4-55.1) weeks, median follow-up time 104.0 (IQR 103.1-104.0) and 52.0 weeks (IQR 49.3-100.4). On vedolizumab, CCI associated independently with any infection (OR 1.387, 95% CI 1.022-1.883, P = 0.036) and hospitalisation (OR 1.586, 95% CI 1.127-2.231, P = 0.008). On ustekinumab, CCI associated independently with hospitalisation (OR 1.621, 95% CI 1.034-2.541, P = 0.035). CCI was not associated with effectiveness, and age was not associated with any outcomes. Conclusions: Comorbidity - but not age - is associated with an increased risk of hospitalisations on either treatment, and with any infection on vedolizumab. This underlines the importance of comorbidity assessment and safety monitoring of IBD patients

Predominance of methanogens over methanotrophs in rewetted fens characterized by high methane emissions

The rewetting of drained peatlands alters peat geochemistry and often leads to sustained elevated methane emission. Although this methane is produced entirely by microbial activity, the distribution and abundance of methane-cycling microbes in rewetted peatlands, especially in fens, is rarely described. In this study, we compare the community composition and abundance of methane-cycling microbes in relation to peat porewater geochemistry in two rewetted fens in northeastern Germany, a coastal brackish fen and a freshwater riparian fen, with known high methane fluxes. We utilized 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) on 16S rRNA, mcrA, and pmoA genes to determine microbial community composition and the abundance of total bacteria, methanogens, and methanotrophs. Electrical conductivity (EC) was more than 3 times higher in the coastal fen than in the riparian fen, averaging 5.3 and 1.5&thinsp;mS cm−1, respectively. Porewater concentrations of terminal electron acceptors (TEAs) varied within and among the fens. This was also reflected in similarly high intra- and inter-site variations of microbial community composition. Despite these differences in environmental conditions and electron acceptor availability, we found a low abundance of methanotrophs and a high abundance of methanogens, represented in particular by Methanosaetaceae, in both fens. This suggests that rapid (re)establishment of methanogens and slow (re)establishment of methanotrophs contributes to prolonged increased methane emissions following rewetting.</p

Climate-smart agriculture practices for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions

Agricultural lands make up approximately 37% of the global land surface, and agriculture is a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Those GHGs are responsible for the majority of the anthropogenic globalwarming effect.Agricultural GHG emissions are associated with agricultural soil management (e.g. tillage), use of both synthetic and organic fertilisers, livestock management, burning of fossil fuel for agricultural operations, and burning of agricultural residues and land use change. When natural ecosystems such as grasslands are converted to agricultural production, 20-40% of the soil organic carbon (SOC) is lost over time, following cultivation.We thus need to develop management practices that can maintain or even increase SOC storage in and reduce GHG emissions from agricultural ecosystems. We need to design systematic approaches and agricultural strategies that can ensure sustainable food production under predicted climate change scenarios, approaches that are being called climate-smart agriculture (CSA). Climate-smart agricultural management practices, including conservation tillage, use of cover crops and biochar application to agricultural fields, and strategic application of synthetic and organic fertilisers have been considered a way to reduce GHG emission from agriculture. Agricultural management practices can be improved to decreasing disturbance to the soil by decreasing the frequency and extent of cultivation as a way to minimise soil C loss and/or to increase soil C storage. Fertiliser nitrogen (N) use efficiency can be improved to reduce fertilizer N application and N loss. Management measures can also be taken to minimise agricultural biomass burning. This chapter reviews the current literature on CSA practices that are available to reduce GHG emissions and increase soil C sequestration and develops a guideline on best management practices to reduce GHG emissions, increase C sequestration, and enhance crop productivity in agricultural production systems

Where less may be more: how the rare biosphere pulls ecosystems strings

Rare species are increasingly recognized as crucial, yet vulnerable components of Earth’s ecosystems. This is also true for microbial communities, which are typically composed of a high number of relatively rare species. Recent studies have demonstrated that rare species can have an over-proportional role in biogeochemical cycles and may be a hidden driver of microbiome function. In this review, we provide an ecological overview of the rare microbial biosphere, including causes of rarity and the impacts of rare species on ecosystem functioning. We discuss how rare species can have a preponderant role for local biodiversity and species turnover with rarity potentially bound to phylogenetically conserved features. Rare microbes may therefore be overlooked keystone species regulating the functioning of host-associated, terrestrial and aquatic environments. We conclude this review with recommendations to guide scientists interested in investigating this rapidly emerging research area