No Adverse Effect of Genetically Modified Antifungal Wheat on Decomposition Dynamics and the Soil Fauna Community – A Field Study

The cultivation of genetically modified (GM) plants has raised several environmental concerns. One of these concerns regards non-target soil fauna organisms, which play an important role in the decomposition of organic matter and hence are largely exposed to GM plant residues. Soil fauna may be directly affected by transgene products or indirectly by pleiotropic effects such as a modified plant metabolism. Thus, ecosystem services and functioning might be affected negatively. In a litterbag experiment in the field we analysed the decomposition process and the soil fauna community involved. Therefore, we used four experimental GM wheat varieties, two with a race-specific antifungal resistance against powdery mildew (Pm3b) and two with an unspecific antifungal resistance based on the expression of chitinase and glucanase. We compared them with two non-GM isolines and six conventional cereal varieties. To elucidate the mechanisms that cause differences in plant decomposition, structural plant components (i.e. C∶N ratio, lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose) were examined and soil properties, temperature and precipitation were monitored. The most frequent taxa extracted from decaying plant material were mites (Cryptostigmata, Gamasina and Uropodina), springtails (Isotomidae), annelids (Enchytraeidae) and Diptera (Cecidomyiidae larvae). Despite a single significant transgenic/month interaction for Cecidomyiidae larvae, which is probably random, we detected no impact of the GM wheat on the soil fauna community. However, soil fauna differences among conventional cereal varieties were more pronounced than between GM and non-GM wheat. While leaf residue decomposition in GM and non-GM wheat was similar, differences among conventional cereals were evident. Furthermore, sampling date and location were found to greatly influence soil fauna community and decomposition processes. The results give no indication of ecologically relevant adverse effects of antifungal GM wheat on the composition and the activity of the soil fauna community

Recommendations for the introduction of metagenomic high-throughput sequencing in clinical virology, part I: Wet lab procedure

Metagenomic high-throughput sequencing (mHTS) is a hypothesis-free, universal pathogen detection technique for determination of the DNA/RNA sequences in a variety of sample types and infectious syndromes. mHTS is still in its early stages of translating into clinical application. To support the development, implementation and standardization of mHTS procedures for virus diagnostics, the European Society for Clinical Virology (ESCV) Network on Next-Generation Sequencing (ENNGS) has been established. The aim of ENNGS is to bring together professionals involved in mHTS for viral diagnostics to share methodologies and experiences, and to develop application recommendations. This manuscript aims to provide practical recommendations for the wet lab procedures necessary for i

Theory for the FCC-ee : Report on the 11th FCC-ee Workshop

The Future Circular Collider (FCC) at CERN, a proposed 100-km circular facility with several colliders in succession, culminates with a 100 TeV proton-proton collider. It offers a vast new domain of exploration in particle physics, with orders of magnitude advances in terms of Precision, Sensitivity and Energy. The implementation plan foresees, as a first step, an Electroweak Factory electron-positron collider. This high luminosity facility, operating between 90 and 365 GeV centre-of-mass energy, will study the heavy particles of the Standard Model, Z, W, Higgs, and top with unprecedented accuracy. The Electroweak Factory $e^+e^-$ collider constitutes a real challenge to the theory and to precision calculations, triggering the need for the development of new mathematical methods and software tools. A first workshop in 2018 had focused on the first FCC-ee stage, the Tera-Z, and confronted the theoretical status of precision Standard Model calculations on the Z-boson resonance to the experimental demands. The second workshop in January 2019, which is reported here, extended the scope to the next stages, with the production of W-bosons (FCC-ee-W), the Higgs boson (FCC-ee-H) and top quarks (FCC-ee-tt). In particular, the theoretical precision in the determination of the crucial input parameters, alpha_QED, alpha_QCD, M_W, m_t at the level of FCC-ee requirements is thoroughly discussed. The requirements on Standard Model theory calculations were spelled out, so as to meet the demanding accuracy of the FCC-ee experimental potential. The discussion of innovative methods and tools for multi-loop calculations was deepened. Furthermore, phenomenological analyses beyond the Standard Model were discussed, in particular the effective theory approaches. The reports of 2018 and 2019 serve as white papers of the workshop results and subsequent developments

Quantitative Sensory Testing to Predict Postoperative Pain.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW We review the relevance of quantitative sensory testing (QST) in light of acute and chronic postoperative pain and associated challenges. RECENT FINDINGS Predicting the occurrence of acute and chronic postoperative pain with QST can help identify patients at risk and allows proactive preventive management. Generally, central QST testing, such as temporal summation of pain (TSP) and conditioned pain modulation (CPM), appear to be the most promising modalities for reliable prediction of postoperative pain by QST. Overall, QST testing has the best predictive value in patients undergoing orthopedic procedures. Current evidence underlines the potential of preoperative QST to predict postoperative pain in patients undergoing elective surgery. Implementing QST in routine preoperative screening can help advancing traditional pain therapy toward personalized perioperative pain medicine

Schlafeffizienz unter langfristiger normobarer Hypoxie bei Personen mit koronarer Herzkrankheit

• Hintergrund. Langfristige hypobare Hypoxie wird von sinkender Schlafqualität und Gesamtschlafzeit, sowie einer veränderten Schlafarchitektur (verringerter REM- und Slow-Wave-Schlaf) begleitet (Anholm et al., 1992; Lemos et al., 2012; Mizuno et al., 1993). Die Effekte von langfristiger normobarer Hypoxie auf den Schlaf sind weniger gut erforscht. • Ziel. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist es, den Einfluss langfristiger normobarer Hypoxie (30 Tage) auf die Schlafeffizienz und die Gesamtschlafdauer bei Personen mit koronarer Herzkrankheit zu untersuchen. Außerdem soll der Einfluss physiologischer Parameter (nächtliche Sauerstoffsättigung, Herzschlagrate und Atemfrequenz) auf die Schlafeffizienz untersucht werden. • Methoden. Drei männliche Teilnehmer (Alter von 56 bis 64 Jahre) mit koronarer Herzkrankheit und eine 61-jährige Kontrollperson, wurden untersucht. Nach einer 3-tägigen Baseline-Erhebung und einer 10-tägigen Akklimatisierung in den Alpen, verbrachten sie 30 Tage und Nächte bei bis zu 9.5% Sauerstoff im :envihab (DLR, Köln). Schlafparameter der Baseline- und Laborphase wurden mittels Aktimetrie (Phillips Actiwatch Spectrum Plus, Actiware 6) und Fragebögen erfasst. • Ergebnisse. Lineare gemischte Modelle mit Random Intercepts für die Teilnehmer wurden zur Datenanalyse verwendet. Die Schlafeffizienz nahm unter Hypoxie signifikant ab (p < .001) (M = 76,76, SD = 16,86) im Vergleich zur Baseline (M = 88,76, SD = 10,77). Die Gesamtschlafdauer änderte sich unter Hypoxie nicht signifikant (M = 6,80, SD = 1,55) im Vergleich zur Baseline (M = 6,92, SD = 0,97). Die verbrachte Gesamtzeit im Bett stieg signifikant (p < .001) unter Hypoxie (M = 8,95, SD = 0,95) im Vergleich zur Baseline (M = 7,88, SD = 1,25). Herzinfarkthistorie (M = 81,77, SD = 13,81) hatte keinen Einfluss auf die Schlafeffizienz im Vergleich zur Kontrollgruppe (M = 69,61, SD = 20,54). Weder Herzfrequenz, SpO2T noch Atemfrequenz sind gültige Prädiktoren für Schlafeffizienz. Die objektive Schlafeffizienz ist ein gültiger Prädiktor für die subjektive Schlafqualität (p < .05). • Schlussfolgerung. Diese Studie hat gezeigt, dass normobare Hypoxie die Schlafeffizienz bei Männern im mittleren Alter signifikant senkt. Grund für die verminderte Schlafeffizienz scheint eine höhere Zeit im Bett bei gleichbleibender Gesamtschlafzeit zu sein. Des Weiteren schein eine koronare Herzkrankheit keinen Einfluss auf die Schlafeffizienz zu haben. Obwohl mehrere physiologische Parameter, wie Herzfrequenz, nächtliche Sauerstoffsättigung und Atemfrequenz untersucht wurden, zeigte keine der Variablen einen signifikanten Einfluss auf die Schlafeffizienz. Weitere Studien müssen durchgeführt werden, um das Verständnis der Auswirkungen von Hypoxie auf Schlafparameter zu vertiefen