Infecciones virales encubiertas en Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann (Diptera: Tephritidae) detección, distribución y coste biológico

La mosca mediterránea de la fruta, Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann (Diptera: Tephritidae), es una plaga agrícola capaz de atacar una gran variedad de frutas. Una de las principales estrategias para su gestión es la técnica del insecto estéril (TIE) que consiste en la cría masiva y posterior liberación en campo de machos estériles. La presencia de virus en C. capitata amenaza la cría masiva y la posterior aplicación de la TIE. Recientemente, ciertos virus se han relacionado con infecciones encubiertas en C. capitata

Covert infection with an RNA virus affects medfly fitness and the interaction with its natural parasitoid Aganaspis daci

With the advent of high-throughput sequencing, large sets of insect-infecting RNA viruses producing apparent asymptomatic infections are being discovered. In the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) Ceratitis capitata, an agricultural key pest of a wide range of fruits, 13 different RNA viruses have been described so far. Recent analysis demonstrated a wide distribution of these viruses in different medfly strains collected worldwide, but little is known about the interactions between those viruses and the medfly host. Previous studies suggested that a higher abundance of Ceratitis capitata nora virus (CcaNV) correlated with a shorter lifespan in adults. Here, we investigated the effect of CcaNV on a broad range of parameters related to host fitness and its interaction with other trophic levels. CcaNV purified from a naturally infected medfly strain was added to the larval diet. Pupal weight, adult emergence, flying ability, and longevity were monitored after oral infections. Our results revealed detrimental effects associated with a CcaNV infection in the medfly, in terms of reduced pupal weight and reduced adult longevity. Moreover, we tested the influence of a CcaNV infection in medflies on the parasitism performance of Aganaspis daci, an endoparasitoid used in biological control programs against medflies. Our results showed that A. daci progeny increased when parasitizing on CcaNV-infected larvae. Overall, we proved that covert RNA viruses can impact the insect ecology, directly affecting its insect host biology and indirectly influencing multitrophic interactions

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Expanding the Medfly Virome: Viral Diversity, Prevalence, and sRNA Profiling in Mass-Reared and Field-Derived Medflies

The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata, is an agricultural pest of a wide range of fruits. The advent of high-throughput sequencing has boosted the discovery of RNA viruses infecting insects. In this article, we aim to characterize the RNA virome and viral sRNA profile of medfly. By means of transcriptome mining, we expanded the medfly RNA virome to 13 viruses, including two novel positive ssRNA viruses and the first two novel dsRNA viruses reported for medfly. Our analysis across multiple laboratory-reared and field-collected medfly samples showed the presence of a core RNA virome comprised of Ceratitis capitata iflavirus 2 and Ceratitis capitata negev-like virus 1. Furthermore, field-collected flies showed a higher viral diversity in comparison to the laboratory-reared flies. Based on the small RNA sequencing, we detected small interfering RNAs mapping to all the viruses present in each sample, except for Ceratitis capitata nora virus. Although the identified RNA viruses do not cause obvious symptoms in medflies, the outcome of their interaction may still influence the medfly’s fitness and ecology, becoming either a risk or an opportunity for mass-rearing and SIT applications

The RNA virome of the medfly: a necessary step to optimize medfly control

1 p.Insect specific viruses (ISVs) are known to specifically infect insect hosts causing no apparent effects on their fitness. The discovery of ISVs has largely increased during recent decades thanks to Next Generation Sequencing techniques, especially in insects with industrial interest. For instance, some RNA viruses were recently discovered in the agricultural pest Ceratitis capitata, also known as the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly). Medfly infestations are mainly counteracted by the sterile insect technique (SIT), which requires the production of tons of sterile medfly males. Mass-rearing facilities offer a controlled way to rear large quantities of insects for different purposes. However, such mass-reared insects are threatened by viral diseases, coming from viruses introduced via horizontal transmission or from already present covert infections that are triggered into overt infections.Understanding the interaction between covert RNA viruses and the medfly host requires the description and characterization of the RNA virome of the fly host. To do so, we have applied bioinformatics approaches to discover RNA viruses in the transcriptomes of four different medfly populations originating from multiple captures in the citriculture area in Spain. The obtained medfly virome is composed of twelve RNA viruses, five of which are new to medflies. Nine of the detected viruses belong to six known virus families while three are unclassified RNA viruses. Finally, we have defined the genomic structure, the phylogenetic classification, and the relative abundance of the discovered covert RNA viruses in four different laboratory and wild populations of C. capitata, including the V8A population used for SIT applications.Peer reviewe

System of actions for the training to producers (head) in the property “La María” in Consolación del Sur municipality

The Project of Local Agricultural Innovation (PIAL lII) has been generating evidences of alternative valid of agricultural innovation for their implementation in the current and future Cuban agricultural context. It could be proven that PIAL has contributed to an improvement of the security and alimentary sovereignty of those involved and its families by increasing the efficiency of the integrated productive systems, an improved quality of life with justness and leadership of the farmer and more justness between women and men, creating new interaction spaces among different actors. This proposal is the result of good practices and lessons learned in the "La Maria", belonging to the CCS "Carlos Manuel de Céspedes", Consolacion del Sur municipality, which is in full, correspondence with the current priorities of the country, in a moment that the production of foods has been declared by the state a key element of national security and in which there is a strong debate on the current challenges of Cuban agriculture in relation to decentralized and participatory ways to innovate, produce and market rent actors. In this sense, PIAL is in line with earlier stages and that is, from the training and learning, that it contributes to good practices provided by the local innovation system are implemented by the municipal strategies and groups of local agricultural innovation and to consolidate it as participation spaces in promoting local agricultural innovation based on participatory processes and dynamics

Actualización del Programa de Atención Materno Infantil en la disciplina Enfermería

Introducción: el Programa de Atención Materno Infantil tiene como centro la salud de la mujer, los niños y adolescentes y la planificación familiar entre otros aspectos. Su propósito esencial es contribuir a elevar el nivel de salud y el grado de satisfacción de la población mediante acciones de prevención, promoción, protección y recuperación en la mujer embarazada o no, el niño y adolescente. Objetivo: actualizar el Programa Atención Materno Infantil en la disciplina enfermería. Material y métodos: se realizó una investigación de corte pedagógico, que asume el método dialéctico materialista como rector del proceso de investigación; los métodos del nivel teórico como el histórico-lógico, el sistémico-estructural, el de inducción-deducción y el método de la modelación y los métodos del nivel empírico como el análisis documental, las encuestas y entrevistas, observación al proceso docente de enfermería, además de métodos estadísticos. Resultados: existen dificultades en cuanto a la actualización de los contenidos del Programa de Atención Materno Infantil en la disciplina Enfermería, en función del modelo del profesional; todo lo cual afecta el desarrollo del proceso docente educativo, la adquisición de conocimientos y habilidades en la propia disciplina. Se diseñaron acciones validadas por los expertos para la actualización de estos contenidos. Conclusiones: se diseñaron acciones dirigidas a perfeccionar el proceso docente educativo en la disciplina enfermería, a partir de los contenidos relacionados con el Programa de Atención Materno Infantil desde el punto de vista didáctico y metodológico y de superación profesional