What If Root Nodules Are a Guesthouse for a Microbiome? The Case Study of Acacia longifolia

Acacia longifolia is one of the most aggressive invaders worldwide whose invasion is potentiated after a fire, a common perturbation in Mediterranean climates. As a legume, this species establishes symbioses with nitrogen-fixing bacteria inside root nodules; however, the overall microbial diversity is still unclear. In this study, we addressed root nodules’ structure and biodiversity through histology and Next-Generation Sequencing, targeting 16S and 25S-28S rDNA genes for bacteria and fungi, respectively. We wanted to evaluate the effect of fire in root nodules from 1-year-old saplings, by comparing unburnt and burnt sites. We found that although having the same general structure, after a fire event, nodules had a higher number of infected cells and greater starch accumulation. Starch accumulated in uninfected cells can be a possible carbon source for the microbiota. Regarding diversity, Bradyrhizobium was dominant in both sites (ca. 77%), suggesting it is the preferential partner, followed by Tardiphaga (ca. 9%), a non-rhizobial Alphaproteobacteria, and Synechococcus, a cyanobacteria (ca. 5%). However, at the burnt site, additional N-fixing bacteria were included in the top 10 genera, highlighting the importance of this process. Major differences were found in the mycobiome, which was diverse in both sites and included genera mostly described as plant endophytes. Coniochaeta was dominant in nodules from the burnt site (69%), suggesting its role as a facilitator of symbiotic associations. We highlight the presence of a large bacterial and fungal community in nodules, suggesting nodulation is not restricted to nitrogen fixation. Thus, this microbiome can be involved in facilitating A. longifolia invasive success.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ohmic heating in a food application: quality evaluation of cloudberry jam

New techniques for food processing are areas of interest for the food industry and ohmic heating is an example of a new technique where there are many possible applications in the food area. The aim of this work was to characterize and compare quality aspects of high quality cloudberry jam with 70 weight-% berries produced on one hand by traditional batch processing technique and on the other hand by ohmic heating in a continuous process. Sensory analysis was performed on the two jams by a trained panel. In order to investigate the consumer opinions in different countries a consumer study was performed including 402 consumers from the four countries Sweden, Portugal, Ireland and Slovakia. Rheological properties of the jam were also measured. The results showed that there were no significant differences for any of the sensory attributes between the jam produced by traditional technique and the jam produced by ohmic heating. The results from the consumer study showed that in all four countries, the appearance, odour, flavour, texture, aftertaste and overall quality of both jams were liked to the same extent. However, differences in liking cloudberry jam differed between the participating countries. The Swedish and the Portuguese consumers were in general giving higher scores on the liking of the cloudberry jams than the Slovakian and Irish consumers. There were no differences found between the two jams according to the rheological properties of the samples. The results indicated that it was possible to maintain the same quality of cloudberry jam produced by ohmic heating as of cloudberry jam produced in a traditional way

Fatores de risco e recomendações atuais para prevenção de infecção associada a cateteres venosos centrais: uma revisão de literatura

Backgound and Objectives: Infections related to central venous catheter (CVC) use constitute an important a problem. It is estimated that approximately 90% of bloodstream infections (BSI) are caused by CVC use. This study aims at reviewing the risk factors and current recommendations for prevention of infections associated with central venous catheter use. Methods: A total of 12 articles published in the last 5 years and indexed in the databases of the Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS), Nursing Database (BDENF), International Literature on Health Sciences (Medline/Pubmed) were selected, as well as publications related to the recommendations for BSI prevention, such as: Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA). Results: Two categories were identified: prevention and control measures and risk factors for BSI associated with central venous catheter use. Conclusions: Some recommendations that were well-defined over the years have been questioned by some authors and continuing training and education of the multidisciplinary team are the most important factors for the prevention of bloodstream infections associated with CVC use.Justificativa e Objetivos: As infecções relacionadas ao uso cateter venoso central (CVC) constituem-se em um problema de grande magnitude. Estima-se que aproximadamente 90% das infecções de corrente sanguínea (ICS) são causadas pelo uso de cateter venoso central. Este estudo objetiva levantar os fatores de risco e recomendações atuais para prevenção de infecção associada a cateteres venosos centrais. Método: Foram selecionados 12 artigos, publicados nos últimos 5 anos e indexados nas bases de dados Lilacs (Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde), Bdenf (Base de dados de enfermagem), Pubmed (Literatura Internacional em Ciências da Saúde), Journal of Infusion Nursing, além de publicações referentes às recomendações para prevenção de infecção de corrente sanguínea (ICS), como: Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) e Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA). Resultados: Foram evidenciadas duas categorias: medidas de prevenção e controle e fatores de risco para infecção em corrente sanguínea associada ao uso de cateter venoso central. Conclusões: Algumas recomendações bem definidas ao longo dos anos vêm sendo questionadas por alguns autores e o treinamento e educação continuada da equipe multidisciplinar são os fatores mais importantes para prevenção de infecção da corrente sanguínea por cateter central

Melioidose por Burkholderia pseudomallei: relato de caso em Sergipe

A Melioidose é uma infecção bacteriana potencialmente letal, causada pelo bacilo gram negativo Burkholderia pseudomallei e endêmica em muitas regiões tropicais e subtropicais. Possui caráter emergente no Brasil, mas ainda é uma doença com pouco reconhecimento no ambiente de saúde. As apresentações clínicas da Melioidose variam desde quadros de bronquite, pneumonia bacterêmica aguda até abscessos viscerais e infecções localizadas, sendo o acometimento pulmonar mais frequentemente observado nos estudos. Em geral, possui semelhança clínica com outras infecções mais comuns na população, e achados nos exames de imagem compatíveis com pneumonia por outras etiologias. A transmissão ocorre por meio da inoculação através da pele, inalação ou ingestão da bactéria,  sendo considerados com Melioidose aqueles que manifestam os sintomas da doença. Para obter confirmação diagnóstica, é necessário isolamento da Burkholderia pseudomallei em meio de cultura microbiológica e o manejo adequado varia desde cuidados de suporte até antibioticoterapia direcionada.  Neste presente trabalho, relatamos o primeiro caso descrito de Melioidose no estado de Sergipe, no qual o paciente evoluiu rapidamente com desfecho clínico desfavorável. O diagnóstico comprovatório com presença do bacilo em meio de cultura só foi liberado após o óbito do paciente, o tratamento principal empregado foi antibioticoterapia com ceftriaxona, azitromicina e piperacilina junto ao tazobactam

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030