First report of Berkeleyomyces basicola (synonymous: Thielaviopsis basicola) on roots of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) in Argentina

Symptomatic sweet potato cv Arapey INIA samples were collected from a commercial production field in Colonia Molina, Guaymallén department, Mendoza province, Argentina. They showed dark rounded lesions, sometimes coalescing with white granular mycelium. Fungus was obtained from symptomatic sweet potatoes, which represented the generalized infection that affected the crop. They were seeded in PDA with streptomycin sulfate and incubated for seven days at 21°C, alternating white/black (UV400nm) light. Observations with an optical microscope revealed the presence of hyaline, not septated, cylindrical endoconidia with rounded ends. They were 8-16 μm length and 4–6 μm width. Phialides were 43-46 μm length, rounded bases (7-9 μm width) and tapering to the neck´s tip (4-6 μm width). Brown chlamydospores (aleuriospores), 9-13 μm length and 8-12 μm width, in chains of 2-8 spores were observed. For molecular identification, total genomic DNA was extracted. ITS fragment of 565 pb was amplified using ITS5/ITS4 primers and sequenced. The sequence indicated 99% identity with Berkeleyomyces basicola (synonymous: Thielaviopsis basicola). This was deposited in GenBank as (KX580957) (CBS: C430.74, Gen Bank accession number AF275482.1). This is the first report of B. basicola in sweet potato in Argentina, a potential threat to storage root yields. Highlights: Sweet potato black root rot, new disease in Argentina. First report of Berkeleyomyces basicola  causing black root rot on sweet potato in Mendoza, Argentina.Symptomatic sweet potato cv Arapey INIA samples were collected from a commercial production field in Colonia Molina, Guaymallén department, Mendoza province, Argentina. They showed dark rounded lesions, sometimes coalescing with white granular mycelium. Fungus was obtained from symptomatic sweet potatoes, which represented the generalized infection that affected the crop. They were seeded in PDA with streptomycin sulfate and incubated for seven days at 21°C, alternating white/black (UV400nm) light. Observations with an optical microscope revealed the presence of hyaline, not septated, cylindrical endoconidia with rounded ends. They were 8-16 μm length and 4–6 μm width. Phialides were 43-46 μm length, rounded bases (7-9 μm width) and tapering to the neck´s tip (4-6 μm width). Brown chlamydospores (aleuriospores), 9-13 μm length and 8-12 μm width, in chains of 2-8 spores were observed. For molecular identification, total genomic DNA was extracted. ITS fragment of 565 pb was amplified using ITS5/ITS4 primers and sequenced. The sequence indicated 99% identity with Berkeleyomyces basicola (synonymous: Thielaviopsis basicola). This was deposited in GenBank as (KX580957) (CBS: C430.74, Gen Bank accession number AF275482.1). This is the first report of B. basicola in sweet potato in Argentina, a potential threat to storage root yields. Highlights: Sweet potato black root rot, new disease in Argentina. First report of Berkeleyomyces basicola  causing black root rot on sweet potato in Mendoza, Argentina

NK cells and cancer: you can teach innate cells new tricks

Natural killer (NK) cells are the prototype innate lymphoid cells endowed with potent cytolytic function that provide host defence against microbial infection and tumours. Here, we review evidence for the role of NK cells in immune surveillance against cancer and highlight new therapeutic approaches for targeting NK cells in the treatment of cancer

Effects of dietary changes on milk yield and quality and metabolic profile in dairy cattle

– Dietary changes can negatively affect digestive processes, particularly at ruminal level and mainly when rapid and associated with an increase of fermentable carbohydrates (Owens et al., 1998). Milk quality can also be affected by digestive functionality (Bertoni et al., 1992). Excesses of degradable N boost blood and milk urea levels but these latter parameters are also influenced by the amount of escape protein fed, the aminoacid profile of absorbed protein and the energy availability (Westwood et al., 1998). Some field experiences indicated increases of milk urea after reformulation of diets to change some ingredients,......

Copyright flexibilities: mapping and comparative assessment of EU and national sources

This report illustrates and analyses the results of the research activities conducted in the framework of reCreating Europe’s Task 2.1. From January 2020 to June 2022, the task performed an unprecedented, two-layer, comparative, EU and cross-national mapping and assessment of sources impacting on copyright flexibilities and access to culture, focusing on (a) statutes, court decisions, governmental policies, practices and schemes in the field of copyright law, DSM, and broader cultural policies, and (b) private ordering sources, such as standardized license agreements (EULAs) and terms of use from online platforms, selected to represent a wide array of cultural and creative goods and services. The study built on a rich state of the art, and particularly on previous partial attempts to systematize the matter. The research relied both on in-house desk mapping of available sources, and on a wide network of national experts from academia and private practice, who contributed to the study by answering to two rounds of questionnaires and participating at a mid-term workshop which discussed interim results. The mapping produced a wealth of data and findings, which have been systematized and structured in an internal dataset and will be made available to the public on the user-friendly website www.copyrightflexibilities.eu by the end of the project. This report provides an overview and commentary on the datasets, drawing descriptive conclusions that constitutes the backbone of the policy recommendations issued in September 2022. The report is structured in 6 parts. The introductory sections (1 and 2) sketch the state of the art underlying this study, summarize its research questions, objectives and expected outcomes, and outline the general structure and workflow of the research, illustrating its general and sector-specific methodology and selection of sources. Section 3 offers a detailed overview of the mapping of public regulatory sources, focusing first on the EU and then on each of the 27 Member States. Section 4 provides a comparative analysis and assessment of the results, articulated around twelve categories of uses/flexibilities. Section 5 reports on the study of the state of copyright flexibilities in online platforms’ EULAs, assessing their compliance with the CDSM Directive. Section 6 concludes, commenting on the descriptive findings of the research and sketching the road ahead

Polyvinylpyrrolidone/hyaluronic acid-based bilayer constructs for sequential delivery of cutaneous antiseptic and antibiotic

After a skin injury, many complex metabolic events are triggered to ensure proper wound healing. Particularly for chronic, non-healing wounds or burns several risk factors such as persistent bacterial infections and fast dehydration can counteract the healing process. Intelligent wound dressings should help accelerate the healing process, while maintaining the wound bed clean and disinfected for several days at a time. Ideally, they should be self-adherent to both moist and dry skin surfaces and be transparent enough to allow prolonged wound inspection. These requirements pose challenges both in terms of materials science and pharmaceutics. Herein, we describe fabrication of a transparent bilayer construct for the sequential release and delivery of a cutaneous antiseptic and a widely used antibiotic, potentially suitable for wound dressing applications. The fabrication is a scalable waterborne and ecofriendly solution casting process. The first layer (for direct wound contact) is polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) containing a commercial antiseptic, Neomercurocromo\uae (Neo), while the second layer is a blend of hyaluronic acid (HA) and PVP containing ciprofloxacin. We show that the bilayer films have satisfactory self-adhering strength to human skin and that PVP and HA can interact via hydrogen bonds causing sustained release of the antibiotic over a period of 5 days. Biocompatibility was demonstrated on human foreskin fibroblast HFF-1 cells. Antibacterial activity was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa while the wound resorption behavior was assessed through an in vivo full-thickness excisional wound healing mice model. These observations indicate that such bilayer constructs can be potentially implemented as wound care products for diverse range of skin wounds, including large area skin infections