Comparison of disease severity caused by four soil-borne pathogens in winter cereal seedlings

In Australia, crown rot of cereals is predominantly caused by Fusarium pseudograminearum and Fusarium culmorum, and common root rot by Bipolaris sorokiniana. Fusarium graminearum is an important pathogen causing Fusarium head blight worldwide and has also been reported to cause crown rot of wheat. The comparative ability of F. pseudograminearum, F. culmorum, F. graminearum and B. sorokiniana to cause crown rot and common root rot across a range of winter cereal species requires investigation. In glasshouse trials, we inoculated one cultivar each of barley, bread wheat, durum wheat, oat and triticale with two strains of each of the four pathogens. At 21 days after inoculation, the sub-crown internode and leaf sheaths of each plant were visually rated for brown discoloration. Shoot length and dry weight of inoculated plants were compared with those of non-inoculated controls. Barley and bread wheat had the highest disease severity ratings on leaf sheaths and sub-crown internode (64.7–99.6%), whereas oat had the lowest disease severity ratings across all pathogens (<5%). The shoot length of all cultivars was significantly reduced (by 12.2–55%, P < 0.05) when exposed to F. pseudograminearum. This study provides a comparison of pathogenicity of crown rot and common root rot pathogens and demonstrates significant variation in visual discoloration and host response across a range of winter cereals

Future demand: How could or should our transport system evolve in order to support mobility in the future?

New Zealand’s land transport programme has a current expenditure target for the next ten years of $38.7bn including$10bn to change the shape of the road network and improve its quality and capacity. Yet such investment plans are in the face of a country, like several others, that has experienced a decade-long interruption to a long-run trend of growth in car travel.The NZ Ministry of Transport in 2014 undertook a major piece of strategic work to address the following focal question. How could or should our transport system evolve in order to support mobility in the future? The work involved a number of elements but centred upon a scenario planning exercise. This involved a wide cross-section of expertise and stakeholders in the identification of key drivers of change and critical uncertainties for the future for a time horizon of 2042. Two key unknowns were explored: (i) what will society want to do in future? (uncertainty about whether people will be more inclined to connect physically or virtually); and what will society be able to afford to do? (uncertainty about the affordability of energy relative to other costs of living). Four plausible and divergent scenarios were developed for future transport and society in New Zealand. Alongside the narratives for these different worlds, a simple structural model was developed to estimate quantification of levels of car travel in 2042 for the different scenarios. This revealed that from 2014 to 2042, total car travel could range from a growth of 35% to a decline of 53%.The subsequent examination of the focal question above led to a series of insights and recommended responses for policymakers and other decision makers to consider. Three important principles emerged from the work:(1)It is access not mobility per se that is key to a thriving New Zealand. There are uncertainties over what make-up of access will be desirable and affordable in future.(2)There is a need to ensure a resilient provision of access options that provides for adaptability of behaviour over time. This means a combined and coordinated effort to evolve and improve roading and proximity and digital communications.(3)The transport system’s nature and scale partly determine the demand placed upon it. Therefore when evolving the transport system one should have in mind providing for demand believed to be appropriate (and feasible) rather than providing for the demand that it may be tempting to predict

Winter Cereal Reactions to Common Root Rot and Crown Rot Pathogens in the Field

In Australia, Fusarium pseudograminearum and F. culmorum are the two main fungi causing crown rot, while Bipolaris sorokiniana is the causal agent of common root rot. Fusarium graminearum is typically linked with Fusarium head blight; however, it has been associated with crown rot in Australia and other parts of the world. This study investigated the reactions of single cultivars of barley, bread wheat, durum wheat, oat, and triticale to inoculation with strains of F. pseudograminearum, F. culmorum, F. graminearum and B. sorokiniana in field trials across two seasons. Fusarium pseudograminearum and F. culmorum caused greater visual discolouration than F. graminearum and B. sorokiniana on both stems and sub crown internodes of all hosts. Fusarum pseudograminearum caused the greatest reduction in plant dry weight across hosts in both years. Durum wheat (cv. Hyperno) barley (cv. Grimmett), bread wheat (cv. Livingston) and triticale (cv. Endeavour) observed significantly high levels of visual discolouration on stems when inoculated with F. pseudograminearum, while oat (cv. Genie) exhibited the least visual discolouration. Despite variation in the visual discolouration, the DNA of all pathogens were detected in all cultivars. This research further highlights the complicated nature of the pathogen × strain × cultivar × environment interaction, which remains a challenge in breeding for genetic resistance. The specific infection of each fungus and the host responses in these field trials improves our understanding of disease development and its importance in cropping systems

Val103Ile polymorphism of the melanocortin-4 receptor gene (MC4R) in cancer cachexia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>At present pathogenic mechanisms of cancer cachexia are poorly understood. Previous evidence in animal models implicates the melanocortin-4 receptor gene (<it>MC4R</it>) in the development of cancer cachexia. In humans, <it>MC4R </it>mutations that lead to an impaired receptor function are associated with obesity; in contrast, the most frequent polymorphism (Val103Ile, rs2229616; heterozygote frequency approximately 2%) was shown to be negatively associated with obesity. We tested if cancer patients that are homo-/heterozygous for the Val103Ile polymorphism are more likely to develop cachexia and/or a loss of appetite than non-carriers of the 103Ile-allele.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>BMI (body mass index in kg/m²) of 509 patients (295 males) with malignant neoplasms was determined; additionally patients were asked about premorbid/pretherapeutical changes of appetite and weight loss. Cachexia was defined as a weight loss of at least 5% prior to initiation of therapy; to fulfil this criterion this weight loss had to occur independently of other plausible reasons; in single cases weight loss was the initial reason for seeing a physician. The average age in years (± SD) was 59.0 ± 14.5 (males: 58.8 ± 14.0, females 59.2 ± 14.0). Blood samples were taken for genotyping of the Val103Ile by PCR- RFLP.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Most of the patients suffered from lymphoma, leukaemia and gastrointestinal tumours. 107 of the patients (21%) fulfilled our criteria for cancer cachexia. We did not detect association between the Val103Ile polymorphism and cancer cachexia. However, if we exploratively excluded the patients with early leucaemic stages, we detected a trend towards the opposite effect (p < 0.05); heterozygotes for the 103Ile-allele developed cancer cachexia less frequently in comparison to the rest of the study group. Changes of appetite were not associated with the 103Ile-allele carrier status (p > 0.39).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Heterozygotes for the 103Ile-allele are not more prone to develop cancer cachexia than patients without this allele; possibly, Ile103 carriers might be more resistant to cancer cachexia in patients with solid tumors. Further studies of the melanocortinergic system in cachexia of patients with solid tumors are warranted.</p

From Inception to ConcePTION: Genesis of a Network to Support Better Monitoring and Communication of Medication Safety During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

In 2019, the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) funded the ConcePTION project—Building an ecosystem for better monitoring and communicating safety of medicines use in pregnancy and breastfeeding: validated and regulatory endorsed workflows for fast, optimised evidence generation—with the vision that there is a societal obligation to rapidly reduce uncertainty about the safety of medication use in pregnancy and breastfeeding. The present paper introduces the set of concepts used to describe the European data sources involved in the ConcePTION project and illustrates the ConcePTION Common Data Model (CDM), which serves as the keystone of the federated ConcePTION network. Based on data availability and content analysis of 21 European data sources, the ConcePTION CDM has been structured with six tables designed to capture data from routine healthcare, three tables for data from public health surveillance activities, three curated tables for derived data on population (e.g., observation time and mother-child linkage), plus four metadata tables. By its first anniversary, the ConcePTION CDM has enabled 13 data sources to run common scripts to contribute to major European projects, demonstrating its capacity to facilitate effective and transparent deployment of distributed analytics, and its potential to address questions about utilization, effectiveness, and safety of medicines in special populations, including during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and, more broadly, in the general population

Genetic determinants of heel bone properties: genome-wide association meta-analysis and replication in the GEFOS/GENOMOS consortium

Quantitative ultrasound of the heel captures heel bone properties that independently predict fracture risk and, with bone mineral density (BMD) assessed by X-ray (DXA), may be convenient alternatives for evaluating osteoporosis and fracture risk. We performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association (GWA) studies to assess the genetic determinants of heel broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA; n = 14 260), velocity of sound (VOS; n = 15 514) and BMD (n = 4566) in 13 discovery cohorts. Independent replication involved seven cohorts with GWA data (in silico n = 11 452) and new genotyping in 15 cohorts (de novo n = 24 902). In combined random effects, meta-analysis of the discovery and replication cohorts, nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) had genome-wide significant (P < 5 × 10(-8)) associations with heel bone properties. Alongside SNPs within or near previously identified osteoporosis susceptibility genes including ESR1 (6q25.1: rs4869739, rs3020331, rs2982552), SPTBN1 (2p16.2: rs11898505), RSPO3 (6q22.33: rs7741021), WNT16 (7q31.31: rs2908007), DKK1 (10q21.1: rs7902708) and GPATCH1 (19q13.11: rs10416265), we identified a new locus on chromosome 11q14.2 (rs597319 close to TMEM135, a gene recently linked to osteoblastogenesis and longevity) significantly associated with both BUA and VOS (P < 8.23 × 10(-14)). In meta-analyses involving 25 cohorts with up to 14 985 fracture cases, six of 10 SNPs associated with heel bone properties at P < 5 × 10(-6) also had the expected direction of association with any fracture (P < 0.05), including three SNPs with P < 0.005: 6q22.33 (rs7741021), 7q31.31 (rs2908007) and 10q21.1 (rs7902708). In conclusion, this GWA study reveals the effect of several genes common to central DXA-derived BMD and heel ultrasound/DXA measures and points to a new genetic locus with potential implications for better understanding of osteoporosis pathophysiology

Framework and baseline examination of the German National Cohort (NAKO)

The German National Cohort (NAKO) is a multidisciplinary, population-based prospective cohort study that aims to investigate the causes of widespread diseases, identify risk factors and improve early detection and prevention of disease. Specifically, NAKO is designed to identify novel and better characterize established risk and protection factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases, musculoskeletal diseases, respiratory and infectious diseases in a random sample of the general population. Between 2014 and 2019, a total of 205,415 men and women aged 19–74 years were recruited and examined in 18 study centres in Germany. The baseline assessment included a face-to-face interview, self-administered questionnaires and a wide range of biomedical examinations. Biomaterials were collected from all participants including serum, EDTA plasma, buffy coats, RNA and erythrocytes, urine, saliva, nasal swabs and stool. In 56,971 participants, an intensified examination programme was implemented. Whole-body 3T magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 30,861 participants on dedicated scanners. NAKO collects follow-up information on incident diseases through a combination of active follow-up using self-report via written questionnaires at 2–3 year intervals and passive follow-up via record linkages. All study participants are invited for re-examinations at the study centres in 4–5 year intervals. Thereby, longitudinal information on changes in risk factor profiles and in vascular, cardiac, metabolic, neurocognitive, pulmonary and sensory function is collected. NAKO is a major resource for population-based epidemiology to identify new and tailored strategies for early detection, prediction, prevention and treatment of major diseases for the next 30 years. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10654-022-00890-5

Physiological Correlates of Volunteering

We review research on physiological correlates of volunteering, a neglected but promising research field. Some of these correlates seem to be causal factors influencing volunteering. Volunteers tend to have better physical health, both self-reported and expert-assessed, better mental health, and perform better on cognitive tasks. Research thus far has rarely examined neurological, neurochemical, hormonal, and genetic correlates of volunteering to any significant extent, especially controlling for other factors as potential confounds. Evolutionary theory and behavioral genetic research suggest the importance of such physiological factors in humans. Basically, many aspects of social relationships and social activities have effects on health (e.g., Newman and Roberts 2013; Uchino 2004), as the widely used biopsychosocial (BPS) model suggests (Institute of Medicine 2001). Studies of formal volunteering (FV), charitable giving, and altruistic behavior suggest that physiological characteristics are related to volunteering, including specific genes (such as oxytocin receptor [OXTR] genes, Arginine vasopressin receptor [AVPR] genes, dopamine D4 receptor [DRD4] genes, and 5-HTTLPR). We recommend that future research on physiological factors be extended to non-Western populations, focusing specifically on volunteering, and differentiating between different forms and types of volunteering and civic participation

Brain death and postmortem organ donation: Report of a questionnaire from the CENTER-TBI study

Background: We aimed to investigate the extent of the agreement on practices around brain death and postmortem organ donation. Methods: Investigators from 67 Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury (CENTER-TBI) study centers completed several questionnaires (response rate: 99%). Results: Regarding practices around brain death, we found agreement on the clinical evaluation (prerequisites and neurological assessment) for brain death determination (BDD) in 100% of the centers. However, ancillary tests were required for BDD in 64% of the centers. BDD for nondonor patients was deemed mandatory in 18% of the centers before withdrawing life-sustaining measures (LSM). Also, practices around postmortem organ donation varied. Organ donation after circulatory arrest was forbidden in 45% of the centers. When withdrawal of LSM was contemplated, in 67% of centers the patients with a ventricular drain in situ had this removed, either sometimes or all of the time. Conclusions: This study showed both agreement and some regional differences regarding practices around brain death and postmortem organ donation. We hope our results help quantify and understand potential differences, and provide impetus for current dialogs toward further harmonization of practices around brain death and postmortem organ donation

Variation in Structure and Process of Care in Traumatic Brain Injury: Provider Profiles of European Neurotrauma Centers Participating in the CENTER-TBI Study.

INTRODUCTION: The strength of evidence underpinning care and treatment recommendations in traumatic brain injury (TBI) is low. Comparative effectiveness research (CER) has been proposed as a framework to provide evidence for optimal care for TBI patients. The first step in CER is to map the existing variation. The aim of current study is to quantify variation in general structural and process characteristics among centers participating in the Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury (CENTER-TBI) study. METHODS: We designed a set of 11 provider profiling questionnaires with 321 questions about various aspects of TBI care, chosen based on literature and expert opinion. After pilot testing, questionnaires were disseminated to 71 centers from 20 countries participating in the CENTER-TBI study. Reliability of questionnaires was estimated by calculating a concordance rate among 5% duplicate questions. RESULTS: All 71 centers completed the questionnaires. Median concordance rate among duplicate questions was 0.85. The majority of centers were academic hospitals (n = 65, 92%), designated as a level I trauma center (n = 48, 68%) and situated in an urban location (n = 70, 99%). The availability of facilities for neuro-trauma care varied across centers; e.g. 40 (57%) had a dedicated neuro-intensive care unit (ICU), 36 (51%) had an in-hospital rehabilitation unit and the organization of the ICU was closed in 64% (n = 45) of the centers. In addition, we found wide variation in processes of care, such as the ICU admission policy and intracranial pressure monitoring policy among centers. CONCLUSION: Even among high-volume, specialized neurotrauma centers there is substantial variation in structures and processes of TBI care. This variation provides an opportunity to study effectiveness of specific aspects of TBI care and to identify best practices with CER approaches