PALS and Open Source

PALS has been working with open source technologies including an electronic resource management (ERM) system, an openURL link resolver, a discovery tool, and an integrated library system (ILS). While these tools provide benefits to your staff and patrons, there are challenges in the configuration and setup. In this session we will share our experiences with working in the open source community - both the obstacles and opportunities

Knowledge and Perceptions regarding Sexual and Reproductive Health among high school students in Kathmandu, Nepal

Background: Nepal recently began teaching sexual education in the school system and has established youth friendly services in order to meet the need of increased sexual and reproductive knowledge among the youth. Objective: To examine the sexual and reproductive knowledge and perceptions among young people attending schools in Kathmandu. Method: A written questionnaire was distributed to 160 students, in a classroom environment, in four schools in Kathmandu. Results: Two thirds of the females and nearly 60% of the males knew that it was possible to get sexually transmitted infection (STI) during one sexual encounter and more than half of the students knew when in the menstrual cycle conception was more likely to occur . One third of the participants did not know that it was possible to become pregnant after having intercourse once. The males demonstrated less knowledge than the females regarding every aspect of sex and reproduction, with the exception of pregnancy prevention. Conclusion and clinical implications: For the youths in this study, it was more important to prevent unwanted pregnancies than to protect oneself from STIs. Establishment of a hotline on the internet, where personalized and confidential counselling can be offered may complement the comprehensive sexual education in schools

Deciphering common and specific transcriptional immune responses in pea towards the oomycete pathogens Aphanomyces euteiches and Phytophthora pisi

Primers used in this study for RT-qPCR analysis. (DOCX 20 kb

Propagation through seed or somatic embryogenesis: comparing the effects of two methods and methyl jasmonate treatment on Norway spruce resistance to Heterobasidion infection

The clonal propagation method somatic embryogenesis (SE) has been shown to affect plant resistance to an insect pest. In a field trial, Norway spruce SE-plants (emblings) experienced less damage by the bark-chewing pine weevil compared to seedlings propagated through seeds from the same mother tree. Moreover, if emblings were treated with the defense-inducing hormone methyl jasmonate (MeJA), their resistance became much greater compared to the effects of SE and MeJA alone. Thus, we evaluated in a full factorial design if propagation method (seed or SE) and MeJA treatment (treated or not) can affect Norway spruce resistance to infection by the fungal pathogen Heterobasidion parviporum. Emblings and seedlings were half-sibs originating from four different Norway spruce families. We found that emblings and seedlings exhibited similar fungal lesion lengths (LL) and sapwood growth (SWG) in a constitutive state (no MeJA). Once treated, seedlings exhibited a 26% and 28% reduction in LL and SWG growth respectively, in line with previous studies. For emblings, it was the opposite. MeJA increased LL and SWG by 41% and 16% respectively. This is unexpected given the genetic relatedness of the material, and the previously documented effects of SE. It is possible that SE is causing changes in Norway spruce resistance that are effective against insects, but not pathogens. Also, MeJA treatment may be affecting embling terpene composition in ways that benefit fungal growth, as suggested from separate experiments. Further studies are needed to uncover the mechanisms behind the increased susceptibility of Norway spruce emblings to fungal infection

Management of chronic diarrhea in HIV-infected patients: current treatment options, challenges and future directions

Diarrhea is a common clinical manifestation of HIV infection regardless of whether the patients have AIDS. HIV and malnutrition tend to occur in the same populations, the underprivileged and resource-poor. Malnutrition increases severity and mortality of infection. Occurrence of chronic diarrhea in HIV-infected patients, gut status and pathogenic agents, nutritional status and the crucial role of nutrition are reviewed. Bovine colostrum-based food can be useful for managing chronic diarrhea in HIV-infected patients, enhancing both nutritional and immunological status

Fungal Pathogens Associated with Tomicus Species in European Forests: Regional Variations and Impacts on Forest Health

Pinus species are extensively abundant in Europe and, as pioneer trees, prominently influence local ecology. However, pine forests in Lithuania, Montenegro, and Ukraine have been significantly damaged by pine bark beetles (Tomicus sp.), which are closely associated with ophiostomatoid and other pathogenic fungi. This study aimed to identify the diversity of ophiostomatoid and other fungi associated with Tomicus sp. in these three countries. Fungi were isolated from beetles and identified. High-throughput sequencing of ITS2 rDNA yielded 285,828 reads, of which 91,141 high-quality reads were retained, representing 561 fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The most important groups of fungi included ophiostomatoids, yeasts, and plant pathogens. While the fungal communities associated with Tomicus spp. were influenced more by environmental factors than by beetle species, the presence of known pathogens such as Ophiostoma spp. indicates that Tomicus spp. could play a significant role in dispersing harmful fungi. Although the virulence of these fungi may vary, their association with potentially pathogenic species suggests that Tomicus spp. may contribute to forest health decline, especially if environmental conditions or host susceptibility change

Development of a molecular genetics and cell biology toolbox for the filamentous fungus Diplodia sapinea

Diplodia sapinea (Fr.) Fuckel is a widespread fungal pathogen affecting conifers worldwide. Infections can lead to severe symptoms, such as shoot blight, canker, tree death, or blue stain in harvested wood, especially in Pinus species. Its impact on forest health is currently intensified, likely due to climate change, posing an increasing threat to global ecosystems and forestry. Despite extensive and successful research on this pathogen system, fundamental questions about its biology and plant-associated lifestyle remain unanswered. Addressing these questions will necessitate the development of additional experimental tools, including protocols for molecular genetics and cell biology approaches. In this study, we continue to address this need by establishing an Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation protocol for D. sapinea, enabling targeted mutagenesis and heterologous gene expression. We utilized this methodology to localize the histone H2B by tagging it with the fluorescent protein mCherry. Additionally, we established a time- and space-efficient laboratory-scale infection assay using two-week-old Pinus sylvestris seedlings. Integrating these tools in a proof-of-concept study enabled the visualization of D. sapinea in planta growth through the fluorescently labeled reporter strain

Diplodia sapinea as a contributing factor in the crown dieback of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) after a severe drought

The frequency and impact of drought on global ecosystems have increased within the last century, while drought has affected tree health in many regions. Diplodia sapinea is a widespread, opportunistic pathogen infecting most conifers, causing Diplodia tip blight, thriving on hosts impacted by stress such as drought, heat, or mechanical wounding. In summer of 2018, a large-scale drought was recorded all over Europe. In late summer, pine trees all over Gotland showed crown dieback, where necrotic twigs and needles were found, especially in the upper part of the crowns. Symptoms were consistent with a potential outbreak of D. sapinea. Effects of the combination of drought and Diplodia tip blight on mortality or recovery of Scots pine in Nordic conditions are unknown. This study confirmed the presence and potential contribution of D. sapinea in the observed damages of Scots pine. Shoot blight and drought led to crown defoliation which was observed one year post-drought, while trees showed a clear recovery of newly grown shoots within the second year. Severely affected pines (>70% of the upper third of the crown with shoot blight) showed increased mortality. Recovery of the surviving trees was independent of previous dieback levels. Diplodia sapinea was most abundant in twigs with shoot blight of the symptomatic trees compared to healthy-looking twigs from the same trees and asymptomatic trees in affected and healthy pine stands. Sampling on affected and healthy sites showed possible endophytic infections with low abundance within healthy-looking twigs. Spore deposition of D. sapinea was monitored on healthy and affected sites for two consecutive years after crown damages occurred to confirm the presence of the opportunistic pathogen in the affected region. Spore deposition was observed during all seasons and correlated with high precipitation during sampling. Our observations provide insights into the emergence of Diplodia tip blight in the Northern countries and underline the potential impact of D. sapinea on tree health in the course of a changing climate

Forest Damage

Heterobasidion root and butt rot pose a greater risk in continuous cover forestry (CCF) than in rotation forestry (RF) in conifer-dominated forests, regardless of whether selective, gap or shelterwood cutting is used.Damage from wind, snow, spruce bark beetle, and large pine weevil are likely to be less severe in CCF than in RF. However, the conversion of RF to CCF may briefly expose stands to windthrow.Browsing by large herbivores on saplings may limit regeneration of tree species other than spruce in continuous cover forestry and reduce tree species diversity, but alternative silvicultural practices may also increase forage availability in the field and shrub layer. Browsing damage outcomes for saplings in CCF are difficult to predict.For many types of damage in CCF, substantial knowledge gaps complicate the assessment of damage risk

Transcriptomic analysis identifies candidate genes for Aphanomyces root rot disease resistance in pea

BackgroundAphanomyces euteiches is a soil-borne oomycete that causes root rot in pea and other legume species. Symptoms of Aphanomyces root rot (ARR) include root discoloration and wilting, leading to significant yield losses in pea production. Resistance to ARR is known to be polygenic but the roles of single genes in the pea immune response are still poorly understood. This study uses transcriptomics to elucidate the immune response of two pea genotypes varying in their levels of resistance to A. euteiches.ResultsIn this study, we inoculated roots of the pea (P. sativum L.) genotypes 'Linnea' (susceptible) and 'PI180693' (resistant) with two different A. euteiches strains varying in levels of virulence. The roots were harvested at 6 h post-inoculation (hpi), 20 hpi and 48 hpi, followed by differential gene expression analysis. Our results showed a time- and genotype-dependent immune response towards A. euteiches infection, involving several WRKY and MYB-like transcription factors, along with genes associated with jasmonic acid (JA) and abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. By cross-referencing with genes segregating with partial resistance to ARR, we identified 39 candidate disease resistance genes at the later stage of infection. Among the genes solely upregulated in the resistant genotype 'PI180693', Psat7g091800.1 was polymorphic between the pea genotypes and encoded a Leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase reminiscent of the Arabidopsis thaliana FLAGELLIN-SENSITIVE 2 receptor.ConclusionsThis study provides new insights into the gene expression dynamics controlling the immune response of resistant and susceptible pea genotypes to A. euteiches infection. We present a set of 39 candidate disease resistance genes for ARR in pea, including the putative immune receptor Psat7g091800.1, for future functional validation