Bacterial disease induced changes in fungal communities of olive tree twigs depend on host genotype

In nature, pathogens live and interact with other microorganisms on plant tissues. Yet, the research area exploring interactions between bacteria-fungi and microbiota-plants, within the context of a pathobiome, is still scarce. In this study, the impact of olive knot (OK) disease caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi (Psv) on the epiphytic and endophytic fungal communities of olive tree twigs from three different cultivars, was investigated in field conditions. The ITS-DNA sequencing of cultivable fungi, showed that OK disease disturbs the resident fungal communities, which may reflect changes in the habitat caused by Psv. In particular, a reduction on epiphyte abundance and diversity, and changes on their composition were observed. Compared to epiphytes, endophytes were less sensitive to OK, but their abundance, in particular of potential pathogens, was increased in plants with OK disease. Host genotype, at cultivar level, contributed to plant fungal assembly particularly upon disease establishment. Therefore, besides fungi - Psv interactions, the combination of cultivar - Psv also appeared to be critical for the composition of fungal communities in olive knots. Specific fungal OTUs were associated to the presence and absence of disease, and their role in the promotion or suppression of OK disease should be studied in the future.This research was partially supported by FEDER funds through COMPETE (Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade) and by national funds through FCT (Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia) in the framework of the project EXCL/AGR-PRO/0591/2012. This work was supported by FCT under the project UID/MULTI/04046/2013. T. Gomes thanks FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE for PhD SFRH/BD/98127/2013 grant; and also the COST Action FA1405 for a short-term scientific mission (STSM) grant

Evaluation of prevalence's of pfdhfr and pfdhps mutations in Angola

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Malaria is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in Angola. The most vulnerable groups to <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>infection are pregnant women and children under five years of age. The use of an intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) with sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine (SP) in pregnant women was introduced in Angola in 2006 by the National Malaria Control Programme, and currently this strategy has been considered to be used for children malaria control. Considering the previous wide use of SP combination in Angola, together to the reported cases of SP treatment failure it is crucial the evaluation of the prevalence of five mutations in <it>pfdhfr </it>and <it>pfdhps </it>genes associated to <it>P</it>. <it>falciparum </it>resistance to SP before the introduction of S/P IPT in children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was conducted in five provinces, with different transmission intensities: Huambo, Cabinda, Uíge, Kwanza Norte, and Malanje. The detection of the mutations in <it>pfdhfr </it>and <it>pfdhps </it>genes was carried out in 452 <it>P</it>. <it>falciparum </it>blood samples by PCR RFLP.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For <it>pfdhfr </it>gene, 90,3% of the samples carried the mutation 51<b>I</b>, with 7.5% of mixed infections; 51% carried wild type allele 59<b>C</b>, with 29.2% mixed infections and; 99.1% of isolates harboured the mutant allele 108<b>N</b>. Concerning, <it>pfdhps </it>gene, 83,1% were mutant type 437<b>G </b>with 11% mixed infections , while 87% of the studied isolates were wild type for codon 540.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This is the first representative epidemiological study of the whole Angola country on the prevalence of the genotypes associated with SP chemoresistance. A high frequency of individual mutations in both genes (51<b>I </b>and 108<b>N </b>in <it>pfdhfr</it>, and 437<b>G </b>in <it>pfdhps</it>) was found, besides a low prevalence of the quintuple mutation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The data showed that the implementation IPT using SP in children needs to be reviewed.</p

On Applying the Lackadaisical Quantum Walk Algorithm to Search for Multiple Solutions on Grids

Quantum computing holds the promise of improving the information processing power to levels unreachable by classical computation. Quantum walks are heading the development of quantum algorithms for searching information on graphs more efficiently than their classical counterparts. A quantum-walk-based algorithm that is standing out in the literature is the lackadaisical quantum walk. The lackadaisical quantum walk is an algorithm developed to search two-dimensional grids whose vertices have a self-loop of weight $l$. In this paper, we address several issues related to the application of the lackadaisical quantum walk to successfully search for multiple solutions on grids. Firstly, we show that only one of the two stopping conditions found in the literature is suitable for simulations. We also demonstrate that the final success probability depends on the space density of solutions and the relative distance between solutions. Furthermore, this work generalizes the lackadaisical quantum walk to search for multiple solutions on grids of arbitrary dimensions. In addition, we propose an optimal adjustment of the self-loop weight $l$ for such scenarios of arbitrary dimensions. It turns out the other fits of $l$ found in the literature are particular cases. Finally, we observe a two-to-one relation between the steps of the lackadaisical quantum walk and the ones of Grover's algorithm, which requires modifications in the stopping condition. In conclusion, this work deals with practical issues one should consider when applying the lackadaisical quantum walk, besides expanding the technique to a wider range of search problems.Comment: Extended version of the conference paper available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61377-8_9 . 21 pages, 6 figure

P16-39. T cell recognition of autologous and non-autologous HIV-1 protease peptides by HIV-1 infected patients undergoing PI therapy

NIH, ICGEB, FAPESP, CNPqNIH, ICGEB, FAPESP, CNP

Modelo de retroalimentação do processo de projeto a partir de informações sobre satisfação de clientes

Alguns incorporadores imobiliários, para ter uma retroalimentação acerca de seus empreendimentos, têm coletados dados em avaliações de satisfação de clientes. Porém, com freqüência estes dados não são utilizados sistematicamente na retroalimentação durante a gestão de novos projetos. A literatura aponta a importância uma efetiva retro-alimentação a partir destas avaliações, pois, dessa forma, os projetistas poderão gerar mais valor para o usuário final. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo propor um modelo teórico de análise dos dados oriundos de avaliações de satisfação, para aumentar a eficácia da retroalimentação do processo de projeto. A pesquisa teve um caráter qualitativo e dividiu-se em quatro etapas: análise das ferramentas; adaptação dessas ferramentas; teste do modelo; e aplicação prática do modelo

RETIRADA DO ENXERTO OSSO-TENDÃO PATELAR-OSSO COM A TÉCNICA DO CORTE BASAL COM USO DE SERRA OSCILATÓRIA: PROCEDIMENTO SEGURO?

O ligamento cruzado anterior é um dos importantes ligamentos estabilizadores da articulação do joelho e sua lesão é comum no meio esportivo. Sua reconstrução cirúrgica no Brasil é realizada com o uso de autoenxertos como o do ligamento patelar; a técnica de retirada dele é descrita com o uso de martelo e osteótomos, isso pode gerar lesão cartilaginosa; desta forma este trabalho busca padronizar uma técnica de retirada que utilize apenas serra oscilatória, avaliando ainda complicações a curto-médio prazo.Materiais e Métodos: Estudo retrospectivo de análise de prontuários de pacientes submetidos a reconstrução de ligamento cruzado anterior, utilizando autoenxerto de ligamento patelar utilizando serra oscilatória em sua retirada.Resultados: Dos 80 pacientes inclusos no estudo, a média etária foi de 34,5 anos, a maior parte homens, 22 desenvolveram complicações e 19 necessitaram de reinternação hospitalar, principalmente para operação de ciclope devido a artrofibrose.Discussão: A frequência de complicações pós-operatórias deste estudo foi maior que o esperado por ter muitos casos de artrofibrose, podendo ser por alteração da técnica de fixação ligamentar ou tendência maior entre a população estudada; não houveram fraturas peri-operatórias durante a retirada do enxerto.Conclusão: A técnica de retirada do enxerto com corte basal utilizando serra oscilatória é um procedimento com menor risco de fraturas intra-operatória

Nitrogen metabolism in coffee plants in response to nitrogen supply by fertigation.

Coffee plants require high application rates of nitrogen (N) to produce coffee beans. However, information regarding plant N uptake and assimilation under intensive high-technology cultivation systems is scarce, a situation which restrains the maximizing productivity with minimal N rates. The aim of this study was to evaluate N assimilation enzymes such as nitrate reductase (EC 1.6.6.1), glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2), urease (EC 3.5.1.5), and N compounds of coffee plants during a phenological cycle in response to N applied by fertigation. Our study was carried out with 7-year-old trees of Coffea arabica L., under a center pivot sprinkler irrigation and fertigation system, with five N rates (0, 200, 400, 600, and 800 kg ha&#8722;1) applied to the coffee field. The results of the present study suggest that both N metabolism enzymes, and the content of nitrate and ammonium in coffee were directly related to the phenological cycle. The N fertigation rates are correlated with the N and amino acid contente. Nitrate reductase and urease showed higher activities before anthesis and during grain filling. Glutamine synthetase showed highest activities during rapid grain expansion. The data also indicate that there is merit in gaining greater understanding of N metabolism in coffee plants grown under high-intensive systems. There is therefore merit in conducting further research on how monitoring the N assimilation enzymes might be used to improve fertilizer management of coffee in commercial orchards

Effect of host plant and olive Ieaf spot disease on fungal community assembly in olive tree phyllosphere

Olive leaf spot (OLS), a disease that usually occurs on the upper surface of the olive leaf, is caused by the fungus Fusicladium oleagineum with an ability to grow epiphytically and to enter inner leaf tissues. ln this work was studied the effect that host plant, at different levels (i.e. at cultivar level, in resistance to the fungal pathogen, and F. oleogineum infection), have on the phyllosphere fungal community composition of olive tree. For this, both epiphytic and endophytic fungal community inhabiting OLS-symptomatic and asymptomatic leaves of three co-occurring cultivars with different susceptibilities to OLS were compared, after isolation and identification of species by ITS rDNA sequencing. The results indicate that the presence of OLS on leaves had a major effect on the fungal community composition than the host plant, either at cultivar level or of their resistance to the fungal pathogen. Both diversity and abundance of epiphytes in asymptomatic leaves were significantly higher (up to 2.O-fold) than in symptomatic leaves, Although less pronounced, this trend was also evident in endophytes of two of the cultivars surveyed. Among the species identified in asymptomatic leaf, Cladosporium clodosporÍoides and Chromelosporium carneum were the most frequently isolated within epiphytic and endophytic fungal communities, respectively; whereas in symptomatic leaf, Cladosporium sp, and Pseudocercosporo cladosporioides, were the most frequently isolated within epiphytic and endophytic fungal communities, respectively. Determination of indicator value indices has shown significant preference/specificity of four species with asymptomatic leaves, and of two species with symptomatic leaves. Based on this analysis both Atternorio sp. and Tricharina striisporo seems to be the species with the most potential for OLS disease suppression. Future research needs to decipher these complex and dynamic interaction networks and assess their role in plant health.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

In-situ laboratory X-ray diffraction applied to assess cement hydration

In-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a powerful tool to assess the hydration of cementitious materials, providing time-resolved quantitative analysis with reasonable accuracy without disturbing sample. However, the lack of guidelines and well-established procedures for data collection and analysis is the limiting factor for spreading this technique. This paper discussed using in-situ laboratory XRD to assess cement hydration. The first part was dedicated to a literature review on the topic. Then, experimental strategies were discussed, and recommendations related to the data analysis routine were drawn; the advantages and limitations of this technique were also discussed. We can conclude that the critical factors for a successful analysis are the choice of an adequate experimental setup with good statistics and low measurement time, the proper consideration of different amorphous contributions in the XRD pattern, and a good data analysis routine. Independent techniques are highly recommended to support the in-situ XRD data.PID2020-114650RB-I0