Optimised procedures for the cryopreservation of different species of Heterorhabditis

It is demonstrated that the protocols developed for the cryopreservation of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora could be successfully applied to strains of the H. bacteriophora species complex and to members of the North West European species of Heterorhabditis. However the currently available protocols were not suitable for cryopreserving the Irish or the tropical Heterorhabditis species. Therefore, the postcryopreservation viabilities of Heterorhabditis species in response to preincubation in a range of cryoprotectants at varying concentrations and incubation times were determined. Species and strain specific differences in cryopreservation response were observed among Heterorhabditis isolates and optimal conditions were developed for the cryopreservation of Irish, NW European and tropical isolates of Heterorhabditis. These optimum conditions are described in this paper

The effect of day of emergence from the insect cadaver on the behaviour and environmental tolerances of infective juveniles of the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis Megidis (Strain UK211)

Infective juveniles (Us) of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are obligate parasites of insect larvae. Inside the host they develop into sexually mature adult stages and complete their life cycle. Two or 3 adult nematode generations can occur in the insect host. The increase in nematode population density in the insect cadaver, together with limiting nutrient conditions, result in the formation of IJs. These IJs emerge into the soil to search for a new host. It typically takes 7-8 days for all Us to emerge from a parasitized insect. We have investigated the effect of the day of emergence of Us from insect cadavers on the environmental tolerance and behavior of the EPN Heterorhabditis megidis strain UK211. The Us that emerge early display good initial host-finding ability and increased temperature tolerance but disperse poorly and have poor tolerance to desiccation. Conversely, the IJs that emerge later display poor initial host-finding ability and poor temperature tolerance but they disperse well and possess increased desiccation tolerance. These phenotypic differences are likely to facilitate early-emerging Us in locating and infecting hosts in the vicinity of the cadaver, whereas IJs that emerge late are adapted to disperse away from their natal cadaver. We hypothesize that adaptive phenotypic plasticity rather than allelic variability may provide the genetic basis for the different physiological and behavioral phenotypes of the early- and late-emerging IJs

Stratus Ocean Reference Station (20˚S, 85˚W) mooring recovery and deployment cruise STRATUS 8 R/V Ronald H. Brown cruise 07-09 October 9, 2007–November 6, 2007

The Ocean Reference Station at 20°S, 85°W under the stratus clouds west of northern Chile is being maintained to provide ongoing climate-quality records of surface meteorology (air-sea fluxes of heat, freshwater, and momentum), and of upper ocean temperature, salinity, and velocity variability. The Stratus Ocean Reference Station (ORS Stratus) is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Observation Program. It is recovered and redeployed annually, with cruises between October and December. During the October 2007 cruise on the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown to the ORS Stratus site, the primary activities were recovery of the Stratus 7 WHOI surface mooring that had been deployed in October 2006, deployment of a new (Stratus 8) WHOI surface mooring at that site; in-situ calibration of the buoy meteorological sensors by comparison with instrumentation put on board the ship by staff of the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL); and observations of the stratus clouds and lower atmosphere by NOAA ESRL. Meteorological sensors on a buoy for the Pacific tsunami warning system were also serviced, in collaboration with the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy (SHOA). The DART (Deep-Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) carries IMET sensors and subsurface oceanographic instruments. A new DART II buoy was deployed north of the STRATUS buoy, by personnel from the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) Argo floats and drifters were launched, and CTD casts carried out during the cruise. The ORS Stratus buoys are equipped with two Improved Meteorological (IMET) systems, which provide surface wind speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, incoming shortwave radiation, incoming longwave radiation, precipitation rate, and sea surface temperature. Additionally, the Stratus 8 buoy received a partial pressure of CO2 detector from the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL). IMET data are made available in near real time using satellite telemetry. The mooring line carries instruments to measure ocean salinity, temperature, and currents. The ESRL instrumentation used during the 2007 cruise included cloud radar, radiosonde balloons, and sensors for mean and turbulent surface meteorology. Finally, the cruise hosted a teacher participating in NOAA’s Teacher at Sea Program.Funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under Grant No. NA17RJ1223 for the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Ocean Research (CICOR)

Air quality and mental health: evidence, challenges and future directions

Background: Poor air quality is associated with poor health. Little attention is given to the complex array of environmental exposures and air pollutants that affect mental health during the life course. // Aims: We gather interdisciplinary expertise and knowledge across the air pollution and mental health fields. We seek to propose future research priorities and how to address them. // Method: Through a rapid narrative review, we summarise the key scientific findings, knowledge gaps and methodological challenges. // Results: There is emerging evidence of associations between poor air quality, both indoors and outdoors, and poor mental health more generally, as well as specific mental disorders. Furthermore, pre-existing long-term conditions appear to deteriorate, requiring more healthcare. Evidence of critical periods for exposure among children and adolescents highlights the need for more longitudinal data as the basis of early preventive actions and policies. Particulate matter, including bioaerosols, are implicated, but form part of a complex exposome influenced by geography, deprivation, socioeconomic conditions and biological and individual vulnerabilities. Critical knowledge gaps need to be addressed to design interventions for mitigation and prevention, reflecting ever-changing sources of air pollution. The evidence base can inform and motivate multi-sector and interdisciplinary efforts of researchers, practitioners, policy makers, industry, community groups and campaigners to take informed action. // Conclusions: There are knowledge gaps and a need for more research, for example, around bioaerosols exposure, indoor and outdoor pollution, urban design and impact on mental health over the life course

Air quality and mental health: evidence, challenges and future directions

Background: Poor air quality is associated with poor health. Little attention is given to the complex array of environmental exposures and air pollutants that affect mental health during the life course. Aims: We gather interdisciplinary expertise and knowledge across the air pollution and mental health fields. We seek to propose future research priorities and how to address them. Method: Through a rapid narrative review, we summarise the key scientific findings, knowledge gaps and methodological challenges. Results: There is emerging evidence of associations between poor air quality, both indoors and outdoors, and poor mental health more generally, as well as specific mental disorders. Furthermore, pre-existing long-term conditions appear to deteriorate, requiring more healthcare. Evidence of critical periods for exposure among children and adolescents highlights the need for more longitudinal data as the basis of early preventive actions and policies. Particulate matter, including bioaerosols, are implicated, but form part of a complex exposome influenced by geography, deprivation, socioeconomic conditions and biological and individual vulnerabilities. Critical knowledge gaps need to be addressed to design interventions for mitigation and prevention, reflecting ever-changing sources of air pollution. The evidence base can inform and motivate multi-sector and interdisciplinary efforts of researchers, practitioners, policy makers, industry, community groups and campaigners to take informed action. Conclusions: There are knowledge gaps and a need for more research, for example, around bioaerosols exposure, indoor and outdoor pollution, urban design and impact on mental health over the life course.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC): NE/V002171/1; Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC): EP/V052462/1; EP/W001411/1; EP/T003189/

Are we ready to track climate-driven shifts in marine species across international boundaries? - A global survey of scientific bottom trawl data

Marine biota are redistributing at a rapid pace in response to climate change and shifting seascapes. While changes in fish populations and community structure threaten the sustainability of fisheries, our capacity to adapt by tracking and projecting marine species remains a challenge due to data discontinuities in biological observations, lack of data availability, and mismatch between data and real species distributions. To assess the extent of this challenge, we review the global status and accessibility of ongoing scientific bottom trawl surveys. In total, we gathered metadata for 283,925 samples from 95 surveys conducted regularly from 2001 to 2019. We identified that 59% of the metadata collected are not publicly available, highlighting that the availability of data is the most important challenge to assess species redistributions under global climate change. Given that the primary purpose of surveys is to provide independent data to inform stock assessment of commercially important populations, we further highlight that single surveys do not cover the full range of the main commercial demersal fish species. An average of 18 surveys is needed to cover at least 50% of species ranges, demonstrating the importance of combining multiple surveys to evaluate species range shifts. We assess the potential for combining surveys to track transboundary species redistributions and show that differences in sampling schemes and inconsistency in sampling can be overcome with spatio-temporal modeling to follow species density redistributions. In light of our global assessment, we establish a framework for improving the management and conservation of transboundary and migrating marine demersal species. We provide directions to improve data availability and encourage countries to share survey data, to assess species vulnerabilities, and to support management adaptation in a time of climate-driven ocean changes.En prensa6,86

Genetic mechanisms of critical illness in COVID-19.

Host-mediated lung inflammation is present1, and drives mortality2, in the critical illness caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Host genetic variants associated with critical illness may identify mechanistic targets for therapeutic development3. Here we report the results of the GenOMICC (Genetics Of Mortality In Critical Care) genome-wide association study in 2,244 critically ill patients with COVID-19 from 208 UK intensive care units. We have identified and replicated the following new genome-wide significant associations: on chromosome 12q24.13 (rs10735079, P = 1.65 × 10-8) in a gene cluster that encodes antiviral restriction enzyme activators (OAS1, OAS2 and OAS3); on chromosome 19p13.2 (rs74956615, P = 2.3 × 10-8) near the gene that encodes tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2); on chromosome 19p13.3 (rs2109069, P = 3.98 ×  10-12) within the gene that encodes dipeptidyl peptidase 9 (DPP9); and on chromosome 21q22.1 (rs2236757, P = 4.99 × 10-8) in the interferon receptor gene IFNAR2. We identified potential targets for repurposing of licensed medications: using Mendelian randomization, we found evidence that low expression of IFNAR2, or high expression of TYK2, are associated with life-threatening disease; and transcriptome-wide association in lung tissue revealed that high expression of the monocyte-macrophage chemotactic receptor CCR2 is associated with severe COVID-19. Our results identify robust genetic signals relating to key host antiviral defence mechanisms and mediators of inflammatory organ damage in COVID-19. Both mechanisms may be amenable to targeted treatment with existing drugs. However, large-scale randomized clinical trials will be essential before any change to clinical practice

Rehabilitation versus surgical reconstruction for non-acute anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL SNNAP): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial

BackgroundAnterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a common debilitating injury that can cause instability of the knee. We aimed to investigate the best management strategy between reconstructive surgery and non-surgical treatment for patients with a non-acute ACL injury and persistent symptoms of instability.MethodsWe did a pragmatic, multicentre, superiority, randomised controlled trial in 29 secondary care National Health Service orthopaedic units in the UK. Patients with symptomatic knee problems (instability) consistent with an ACL injury were eligible. We excluded patients with meniscal pathology with characteristics that indicate immediate surgery. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) by computer to either surgery (reconstruction) or rehabilitation (physiotherapy but with subsequent reconstruction permitted if instability persisted after treatment), stratified by site and baseline Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score—4 domain version (KOOS4). This management design represented normal practice. The primary outcome was KOOS4 at 18 months after randomisation. The principal analyses were intention-to-treat based, with KOOS4 results analysed using linear regression. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, ISRCTN10110685, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02980367.FindingsBetween Feb 1, 2017, and April 12, 2020, we recruited 316 patients. 156 (49%) participants were randomly assigned to the surgical reconstruction group and 160 (51%) to the rehabilitation group. Mean KOOS4 at 18 months was 73·0 (SD 18·3) in the surgical group and 64·6 (21·6) in the rehabilitation group. The adjusted mean difference was 7·9 (95% CI 2·5–13·2; p=0·0053) in favour of surgical management. 65 (41%) of 160 patients allocated to rehabilitation underwent subsequent surgery according to protocol within 18 months. 43 (28%) of 156 patients allocated to surgery did not receive their allocated treatment. We found no differences between groups in the proportion of intervention-related complications.InterpretationSurgical reconstruction as a management strategy for patients with non-acute ACL injury with persistent symptoms of instability was clinically superior and more cost-effective in comparison with rehabilitation management

Optimised procedures for the cryopreservation of different species of Heterorhabditis

It is demonstrated that the protocols developed for the cryopreservation of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora could be successfully applied to strains of the H. bacteriophora species complex and to members of the North West European species of Heterorhabditis. However the currently available protocols were not suitable for cryopreserving the Irish or the tropical Heterorhabditis species. Therefore, the postcryopreservation viabilities of Heterorhabditis species in response to preincubation in a range of cryoprotectants at varying concentrations and incubation times were determined. Species and strain specific differences in cryopreservation response were observed among Heterorhabditis isolates and optimal conditions were developed for the cryopreservation of Irish, NW European and tropical isolates of Heterorhabditis. These optimum conditions are described in this paper

Optimised procedures for the cryopreservation of different species of Heterorhabditis

It is demonstrated that the protocols developed for the cryopreservation of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora could be successfully applied to strains of the H. bacteriophora species complex and to members of the North West European species of Heterorhabditis. However the currently available protocols were not suitable for cryopreserving the Irish or the tropical Heterorhabditis species. Therefore, the postcryopreservation viabilities of Heterorhabditis species in response to preincubation in a range of cryoprotectants at varying concentrations and incubation times were determined. Species and strain specific differences in cryopreservation response were observed among Heterorhabditis isolates and optimal conditions were developed for the cryopreservation of Irish, NW European and tropical isolates of Heterorhabditis. These optimum conditions are described in this paper