Piloting of a suicide first aid gatekeeper training (online) for children and young people in conflict affected areas in Syria

Suicide among internally displaced people remains an under-researched public health issue especially in conflict affected countries. Given the limited and sometimes inaccessible mental health services, there is a need for scalable evidence-based suicide prevention programmes that could be delivered by trained and supervised non-specialists. The Suicide First Aid Guidelines approach aims to support humanitarian workers who deal directly with children and families with the appropriate knowledge and skills to identify and support those at risk of suicide until they can access further specialized support services or until the crisis passes. This paper presents the findings of an online pilot training of 56 humanitarian workers from different sectors (e.g. Child Protection, Nutrition and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support) in conflict affected areas in Syria. The quantitative and qualitative evaluations were based on pre- and post-training questionnaires and revision journals completed between training sessions. Suggestions and examples provided in the journals and during the trainings were incorporated into the succeeding trainings. This was to contextualize and modify the gatekeeper training to fit the Syrian context and provide adaptations for future research and suicide prevention guidelines. Overall, the evaluation indicated that the pilot training raised awareness and improved participants’ knowledge on how to assist a suicidal person, including warning signs. It also contributed to a positive change in attitude or beliefs towards suicide. Although the pilot training was considered adequate for the Syrian context some improvements were suggested

Photographic investigation of propellant stream behavior in a firing rocket engine, volume I Technical summary report, 1 Aug. 1964 - 28 Feb. 1966

Photographic study to obtain injection and combustion patterns of F-1 rocket engine injector element

Quantification of the mycorrhizal fungal community associated with a modern wheat cultivar (Triticum aestivum) and with a wheat ancestor.

Abstract: Plant breeding is an important instrument to improve crop productivity. However, studies have shown that plant breeding, as well as the use of management practices such as tillage and fertilization, influence the plant root microbiome and also may have caused reduction in the genetic diversity of modern cultivars when compared to their ancestors. As the rhizosphere microbiome can profoundly impact plant growth, nutrition and health, we hypothesized that plant breeding can negatively affect the recruitment of beneficial microbes in the rhizosphere and interactions with their favorable microbial partners. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to assess the composition of the rhizosphere mycorrhizal fungi community in wheat (Triticum aestivum) varieties, modern cultivars and wheat ancestors. Plants were grown in forest and agricultural soils, collected in wheat cultivation area in São Paulo, Brazil. The DNA was extracted from rhizospheric soil collected in the flowering stage, and the r RNA 18S gene copy number of mycorrhizal fungi was determined using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). The bulk soil presented less mycorrhizal fungi than rhizospheric soil of modern cultivars and more than rhizospheric soil of wheat ancestors indicating that these materials can be more selective in recruiting and structuring the rhizosphere microbiome. Modern cultivars were more intensely colonized by mycorrhizal fungi compared to ancestral genotypes and therefore possibly more dependent on these microorganisms. The results do not evidence that new crop plant genotypes lost their ability to respond to mycorrhizal due to agricultural and breeding practices, and further analyses needs to be performed

Effect of phosphorus limitation on the microbial community assembly in the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) rhizosphere.

Abstract: The indiscriminate use of inputs in agricultural systems, particularly phosphate, combined with the need of growing food production, is causing the depletion of phosphorus mines around the world. In order to mitigate the environmental impact caused by phosphorus exploration microorganisms can be used to increase the efficiency of phosphorus utilization in crop systems by promoting nutrient solubilization and absorption. It is believed that low phosphorus concentration in soil, enriches specific members of the rhizosphere microbiome related to the availability of this element to the plant. In this study, a factorial experiment was performed considering contrasting cultivars in the uptake efficiency of phosphorus (being IAC-Imperador and DOR-364, the cultivar with high and low efficiency in P uptake); using soil with low P content and enriched concentrations of rock phosphate and single superphosphate. The rhizosphere microbiome was accessed using TSA and NBRIP media, to estimate total bacterial colony-forming units and identify isolates with potential of P solubilization, respectively. Total DNA was extracted and mycorrhizal fungi community was quantified using qPCR. The number of total bacteria colony-forming unit increased in the single superphosphate treatments of the IAC-Imperador (p<0.01), but not in DOR-364. Phosphorus solubilizing bacteria abundance also showed increase in single superphosphate treatments in both cultivars (p<0.01). Rock phosphate treatments did not showed any significant differences in colony-forming unit abundances. When considering the cultivar with higher efficiency in phosphorus uptake, the abundance of mycorrhizal fungi did not differed significantly. On the other hand, the lower efficient cultivar showed 5-fold increase with the addition of single superphosphate, and a 10-fold increase with rock phosphate (p<0.01). The results suggest that different type of P and the plant variety assembles the microbial community that helps plants in P uptake. The recruitment of mycorrhizal fungi is higher in the cultivar less efficient in phosphorus uptake, mainly when in the presence of phosphate rock

In situ structure of the Caulobacter crescentus flagellar motor and visualization of binding of a CheY-homolog

Bacterial flagellar motility is controlled by the binding of CheY proteins to the cytoplasmic switch complex of the flagellar motor, resulting in changes in swimming speed or direction. Despite its importance for motor function, structural information about the interaction between effector proteins and the motor are scarce. To address this gap in knowledge, we used electron cryotomography and subtomogram averaging to visualize such interactions inside Caulobacter crescentus cells. In C. crescentus, several CheY homologs regulate motor function for different aspects of the bacterial lifestyle. We used subtomogram averaging to image binding of the CheY family protein CleD to the cytoplasmic Cring switch complex, the control center of the flagellar motor. This unambiguously confirmed the orientation of the motor switch protein FliM and the binding of a member of the CheY protein family to the outside rim of the C ring. We also uncovered previously unknown structural elaborations of the alphaproteobacterial flagellar motor, including two novel periplasmic ring structures, and the stator ring harboring eleven stator units, adding to our growing catalog of bacterial flagellar diversity

Composition and functionality of the wild and cultivated common bean rhizosphere microbiome.

Abstract: Plants rely on their rhizosphere microbiome for specific functions, such as, nutrient acquisition and protection against diseases. The domestication and subsequent plant breeding neglected the important role of the rhizosphere microbiome on plant performance. Here, we tested the hypothesis that ancestor materials have higher ability to host beneficial microorganisms in the rhizosphere when compared to modern cultivars. For this, we assessed the composition and functionality of the rhizosphere microbiome associated with a wild (Wild Mex) and with a cultivated (IAC Alvorada) common bean grown in highly biodiverse soil (Amazonian Dark Earth). Antagonistic bacteria were isolated from common bean rhizosphere and total rhizosphere DNA was extracted for shotgun sequencing using Illumina MiSeq. Eleven out of 104 isolated bacteria showed antagonistic in vitro activity against soil borne pathogens Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli. The bacterial isolates were identified belonging to Streptomyces, Kitasatospora, Alcaligenes, Achromobacter, Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Brevibacillus and Paenibacillus genus. The cultivation-independent approach revealed that microbial community composition in the Wild Mex bean rhizosphere was characterized by higher relative abundance of bacterial phyla Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Gemmatimonadetes and fungal phylum Glomeromycota when compared with IAC Alvorada cultivated bean, which showed a higher relative abundance of bacterial phyla Firmicutes, Planctomycetes, Deinococcus-Thermus and fungal phylum Ascomycota. Wild Mex rhizosphere microbiome showed higher relative frequency of nitrogen-fixing, nitrifying, antagonists and plant growth promoting microorganisms. The wild bean also showed higher relative abundance of functions related to nitrogen fixation, siderophore and indole acetic acid (IAA) production, when compared with IAC Alvorada bean. Ordination analysis revealed that the wild genotype is more selective in recruiting microorganisms and functions in the rhizosphere when compared with modern cultivar. In conclusion, the results revealed that domestication and plant breeding potentially undermined rhizosphere microbiome composition and functions debilitating the host?s ability to select and support beneficial microbes

A unified evaluation of iterative projection algorithms for phase retrieval

Iterative projection algorithms are successfully being used as a substitute of lenses to recombine, numerically rather than optically, light scattered by illuminated objects. Images obtained computationally allow aberration-free diffraction-limited imaging and the possibility of using radiation for which no lenses exist. The challenge of this imaging technique is transfered from the lenses to the algorithms. We evaluate these new computational ``instruments'' developed for the phase retrieval problem, and discuss acceleration strategies.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, revte