Leitfaden Saatgutgesundheit im Ökologischen Landbau - Gemüsekulturen

Im "Leitfaden Saatgutgesundheit im Ökologischen Landbau – Gemüsekulturen" werden ausgewählte saatgutbürtige Krankheiten von ackerbaulichen Kulturen samt vorbeugenden und direkten Regulierungsmöglichkeiten vorgestellt

Optimierung der Saatgutgesundheit im ökologischen Arznei- und Gewürzpflanzenanbau

In dem BÖL Vorhaben „Optimierung der Saatgutqualität im ökologischen Arznei- und Gewürzpflanzenanbau“ Projekt 03OE127/1 (Laufzeit: 01.04.2004 – 31.12.2006) wurden schwerpunktmäßig Versuche zur Saatgutbehandlung durchgeführt. Für die Modellkulturen Anis, Dill, Fenchel, Koriander und Kümmel aus der Familie der Umbelliferae wurden Kenngrößen zum Einsatz von Pflanzenstärkungsmitteln zur Saatgutbehandlung erarbeitet und verschiedene physikalische Behandlungsmaßnahmen geprüft. Im Ergebnis dreier Jahre konnte kein durchgehend positiver Einfluss eines Pflanzenstärkungsmittels auf die Keimfähigkeit und den Feldaufgang ermittelt werden. Die physikalischen Behandlungsmaßnahmen (Heißwasserbehandlung, Elektronenbehandlung) zeigten in einzelne Pathosystemen sehr gute Wirksamkeiten. Ein kritischer Punkt dieser Behandlungen ist allerdings das Risiko eines Keimfähigkeitsverlustes. Die Versuchsarbeiten verdeutlichten, dass die Parameter der physikalischen Saatgutbehandlungen sehr genau auf die jeweils einzelne Saatgutpartie abgestimmt werden muß, um neben hohen Wirkungsgraden die Keimfähigkeit zu erhalten. Die Vakuum-Sattdampfbehandlung wurde als neueres Verfahren im Modell geprüft und erbrachte an Petersiliensaatgut eine Reduktion von Alternaria radicina. Ein weiterer Teilbereich des Projektes beschäftigte sich mit dem Einfluss pflanzenbaulichen Maßnahmen auf die Saatgutqualität. Im Besonderen wurde durch eine Variation des Erntezeitpunktes bei einigen Arten eine erhöhte Keimfähigkeit sowie unterschiedliche Befallsgrade von samenbürtigen Pathogen ermittelt. Neben den umfangreichen Arbeiten zur Saatgutqualität wurden die Saatgutpillierung von Petersilie und Kümmel untersucht. Die Schwierigkeit des Vorhabens lag im fehlenden Grundlagenwissen zu vielen Wirt-Pathogenbeziehungen. Resultierend aus den Versuchsarbeiten können der Praxis umfangreiche Erfahrungen zur Saatgutbehandlung vorgestellt werden. Die Arbeiten verdeutlichten, dass dem Produktionsfaktor Saatgut mehr Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt werden sollte und vor dem Anbau wichtige Qualitätsparameter (Keimfähigkeit, Befall mit samenbürtigen Pathogenen) beim Saatguthandel erfragt werden sollte

Tracking health system performance in times of crisis using routine health data: lessons learned from a multicountry consortium

COVID-19 has prompted the use of readily available administrative data to track health system performance in times of crisis and to monitor disruptions in essential healthcare services. In this commentary we describe our experience working with these data and lessons learned across countries. Since April 2020, the Quality Evidence for Health System Transformation (QuEST) network has used administrative data and routine health information systems (RHIS) to assess health system performance during COVID-19 in Chile, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mexico, Nepal, South Africa, Republic of Korea and Thailand. We compiled a large set of indicators related to common health conditions for the purpose of multicountry comparisons. The study compiled 73 indicators. A total of 43% of the indicators compiled pertained to reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH). Only 12% of the indicators were related to hypertension, diabetes or cancer care. We also found few indicators related to mental health services and outcomes within these data systems. Moreover, 72% of the indicators compiled were related to volume of services delivered, 18% to health outcomes and only 10% to the quality of processes of care. While several datasets were complete or near-complete censuses of all health facilities in the country, others excluded some facility types or population groups. In some countries, RHIS did not capture services delivered through non-visit or nonconventional care during COVID-19, such as telemedicine. We propose the following recommendations to improve the analysis of administrative and RHIS data to track health system performance in times of crisis: ensure the scope of health conditions covered is aligned with the burden of disease, increase the number of indicators related to quality of care and health outcomes; incorporate data on nonconventional care such as telehealth; continue improving data quality and expand reporting from private sector facilities; move towards collecting patient-level data through electronic health records to facilitate quality-of-care assessment and equity analyses; implement more resilient and standardized health information technologies; reduce delays and loosen restrictions for researchers to access the data; complement routine data with patient-reported data; and employ mixed methods to better understand the underlying causes of service disruptions

Two-site recognition of Staphylococcus aureus peptidoglycan by lysostaphin SH3b

Lysostaphin is a bacteriolytic enzyme targeting peptidoglycan, the essential component of the bacterial cell envelope. It displays a very potent and specific activity toward staphylococci, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Lysostaphin causes rapid cell lysis and disrupts biofilms, and is therefore a therapeutic agent of choice to eradicate staphylococcal infections. The C-terminal SH3b domain of lysostaphin recognizes peptidoglycans containing a pentaglycine crossbridge and has been proposed to drive the preferential digestion of staphylococcal cell walls. Here we elucidate the molecular mechanism underpinning recognition of staphylococcal peptidoglycan by the lysostaphin SH3b domain. We show that the pentaglycine crossbridge and the peptide stem are recognized by two independent binding sites located on opposite sides of the SH3b domain, thereby inducing a clustering of SH3b domains. We propose that this unusual binding mechanism allows synergistic and structurally dynamic recognition of S. aureus peptidoglycan and underpins the potent bacteriolytic activity of this enzyme

The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide

Background: A plant-based diet protects against chronic oxidative stress-related diseases. Dietary plants contain variable chemical families and amounts of antioxidants. It has been hypothesized that plant antioxidants may contribute to the beneficial health effects of dietary plants. Our objective was to develop a comprehensive food database consisting of the total antioxidant content of typical foods as well as other dietary items such as traditional medicine plants, herbs and spices and dietary supplements. This database is intended for use in a wide range of nutritional research, from in vitro and cell and animal studies, to clinical trials and nutritional epidemiological studies. Methods: We procured samples from countries worldwide and assayed the samples for their total antioxidant content using a modified version of the FRAP assay. Results and sample information (such as country of origin, product and/or brand name) were registered for each individual food sample and constitute the Antioxidant Food Table. Results: The results demonstrate that there are several thousand-fold differences in antioxidant content of foods. Spices, herbs and supplements include the most antioxidant rich products in our study, some exceptionally high. Berries, fruits, nuts, chocolate, vegetables and products thereof constitute common foods and beverages with high antioxidant values. Conclusions: This database is to our best knowledge the most comprehensive Antioxidant Food Database published and it shows that plant-based foods introduce significantly more antioxidants into human diet than non-plant foods. Because of the large variations observed between otherwise comparable food samples the study emphasizes the importance of using a comprehensive database combined with a detailed system for food registration in clinical and epidemiological studies. The present antioxidant database is therefore an essential research tool to further elucidate the potential health effects of phytochemical antioxidants in diet

Postoperative outcomes in oesophagectomy with trainee involvement

BACKGROUND: The complexity of oesophageal surgery and the significant risk of morbidity necessitates that oesophagectomy is predominantly performed by a consultant surgeon, or a senior trainee under their supervision. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of trainee involvement in oesophagectomy on postoperative outcomes in an international multicentre setting. METHODS: Data from the multicentre Oesophago-Gastric Anastomosis Study Group (OGAA) cohort study were analysed, which comprised prospectively collected data from patients undergoing oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer between April 2018 and December 2018. Procedures were grouped by the level of trainee involvement, and univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to compare patient outcomes across groups. RESULTS: Of 2232 oesophagectomies from 137 centres in 41 countries, trainees were involved in 29.1 per cent of them (n = 650), performing only the abdominal phase in 230, only the chest and/or neck phases in 130, and all phases in 315 procedures. For procedures with a chest anastomosis, those with trainee involvement had similar 90-day mortality, complication and reoperation rates to consultant-performed oesophagectomies (P = 0.451, P = 0.318, and P = 0.382, respectively), while anastomotic leak rates were significantly lower in the trainee groups (P = 0.030). Procedures with a neck anastomosis had equivalent complication, anastomotic leak, and reoperation rates (P = 0.150, P = 0.430, and P = 0.632, respectively) in trainee-involved versus consultant-performed oesophagectomies, with significantly lower 90-day mortality in the trainee groups (P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Trainee involvement was not found to be associated with significantly inferior postoperative outcomes for selected patients undergoing oesophagectomy. The results support continued supervised trainee involvement in oesophageal cancer surgery