An Outbreak of Dengue Fever in St. Croix (US Virgin Islands), 2005

BACKGROUND: Periodic outbreaks of dengue fever occur in the United States Virgin Islands. In June 2005, an outbreak of dengue virus (DENV) serotype-2 with cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) was detected in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. The objective of this report is to describe this outbreak of DENV-2 and the findings of a case-control study examining risk factors for DHF. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This is the largest dengue outbreak ever recorded in St. Croix, with 331 suspected dengue cases reported island-wide during 2005 (62.2 cases/10,000 population); 54% were hospitalized, 21% had at least one hemorrhagic manifestation, 28% had thrombocytopenia, 5% had DHF and 1 patient died. Eighty-nine laboratory-positive hospitalized patients were identified. Of these, there were 15 (17%) who met the WHO criteria for DHF (cases) and 74 (83%) who did not (controls). The only variable significantly associated with DHF on bivariate or multivariable analysis was age, with an adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of 1.033 (1.003,1.064). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: During this outbreak of DENV-2, a high proportion of cases developed DHF and increasing age was significantly associated with DHF

Evolution after Anti-TNF Discontinuation in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Multicenter Long-Term Follow-Up Study

OBJECTIVES:The aims of this study were to assess the risk of relapse after discontinuation of anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), to identify the factors associated with relapse, and to evaluate the overcome after retreatment with the same anti-TNF in those who relapsed.METHODS:This was a retrospective, observational, multicenter study. IBD patients who had been treated with anti-TNFs and in whom these drugs were discontinued after clinical remission was achieved were included.RESULTS:A total of 1, 055 patients were included. The incidence rate of relapse was 19% and 17% per patient-year in Crohn''s disease and ulcerative colitis patients, respectively. In both Crohn''s disease and ulcerative colitis patients in deep remission, the incidence rate of relapse was 19% per patient-year. The treatment with adalimumab vs. infliximab (hazard ratio (HR)=1.29; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.01-1.66), elective discontinuation of anti-TNFs (HR=1.90; 95% CI=1.07-3.37) or discontinuation because of adverse events (HR=2.33; 95% CI=1.27-2.02) vs. a top-down strategy, colonic localization (HR=1.51; 95% CI=1.13-2.02) vs. ileal, and stricturing behavior (HR=1.5; 95% CI=1.09-2.05) vs. inflammatory were associated with a higher risk of relapse in Crohn''s disease patients, whereas treatment with immunomodulators after discontinuation (HR=0.67; 95% CI=0.51-0.87) and age (HR=0.98; 95% CI=0.97-0.99) were protective factors. None of the factors were predictive in ulcerative colitis patients. Retreatment of relapse with the same anti-TNF was effective (80% responded) and safe.CONCLUSIONS:The incidence rate of inflammatory bowel disease relapse after anti-TNF discontinuation is relevant. Some predictive factors of relapse after anti-TNF withdrawal have been identified. Retreatment with the same anti-TNF drug was effective and safe

Analysis of ancestral and functionally relevant CD5 variants in systemic lupus erythematosus patients

OBJECTIVE: CD5 plays a crucial role in autoimmunity and is a well-established genetic risk factor of developing RA. Recently, evidence of positive selection has been provided for the CD5 Pro224-Val471 haplotype in East Asian populations. The aim of the present work was to further analyze the functional relevance of non-synonymous CD5 polymorphisms conforming the ancestral and the newly derived haplotypes (Pro224-Ala471 and Pro224-Val471, respectively) as well as to investigate the potential role of CD5 on the development of SLE and/or SLE nephritis. METHODS: The CD5 SNPs rs2241002 (C/T; Pro224Leu) and rs2229177 (C/T; Ala471Val) were genotyped using TaqMan allelic discrimination assays in a total of 1,324 controls and 681 SLE patients of Spanish origin. In vitro analysis of CD3-mediated T cell proliferative and cytokine response profiles of healthy volunteers homozygous for the above mentioned CD5 haplotypes were also analyzed. RESULTS: T-cell proliferation and cytokine release were significantly increased showing a bias towards to a Th2 profile after CD3 cross-linking of peripheral mononuclear cells from healthy individuals homozygous for the ancestral Pro224-Ala471 (CC) haplotype, compared to the more recently derived Pro224-Val471 (CT). The same allelic combination was statistically associated with Lupus nephritis. CONCLUSION: The ancestral Ala471 CD5 allele confers lymphocyte hyper-responsiveness to TCR/CD3 cross-linking and is associated with nephritis in SLE patients

Perspectives on utilization of edible coatings and nano-laminate coatings for extension of postharvest storage of fruits and vegetables

It is known that in developing countries, a large quantity of fruit and vegetable losses results at postharvest and processing stages due to poor or scarce storage technology and mishandling during harvest. The use of new and innovative technologies for reducing postharvest losses is a requirement that has not been fully covered. The use of edible coatings (mainly based on biopolymers) as a postharvest technique for agricultural commodities has offered biodegradable alternatives in order to solve problems (e.g., microbiological growth) during produce storage. However, biopolymer-based coatings can present some disadvantages such as: poor mechanical properties (e.g., lipids) or poor water vapor barrier properties (e.g., polysaccharides), thus requiring the development of new alternatives to solve these drawbacks. Recently, nanotechnology has emerged as a promising tool in the food processing industry, providing new insights about postharvest technologies on produce storage. Nanotechnological approaches can contribute through the design of functional packing materials with lower amounts of bioactive ingredients, better gas and mechanical properties and with reduced impact on the sensorial qualities of the fruits and vegetables. This work reviews some of the main factors involved in postharvest losses and new technologies for extension of postharvest storage of fruits and vegetables, focused on perspective uses of edible coatings and nano-laminate coatings.María L. Flores-López thanks Mexican Science and Technology Council (CONACYT, Mexico) for PhD fellowship support (CONACYT Grant Number: 215499/310847). Miguel A. Cerqueira (SFRH/BPD/72753/2010) is recipient of a fellowship from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE Portugal). The authors also thank the FCT Strategic Project of UID/ BIO/04469/2013 unit, the project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and the project ‘‘BioInd Biotechnology and Bioengineering for improved Industrial and AgroFood processes,’’ REF. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000028 Co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER. Fundação Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – FUNCAP, CE Brazil (CI10080-00055.01.00/13)

Enhanced production of Λb0\Lambda_{b}^{0} baryons in high-multiplicity pppp collisions at s=13\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

The production rate of $\Lambda_{b}^{0}$ baryons relative to $B^{0}$ mesons in $pp$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV is measured by the LHCb experiment. The ratio of $\Lambda_{b}^{0}$ to $B^{0}$ production cross-sections shows a significant dependence on both the transverse momentum and the measured charged-particle multiplicity. At low multiplicity, the ratio measured at LHCb is consistent with the value measured in $e^{+}e^{-}$ collisions, and increases by a factor of $\sim2$ with increasing multiplicity. At relatively low transverse momentum, the ratio of $\Lambda_{b}^{0}$ to $B^{0}$ cross-sections is higher than what is measured in $e^{+}e^{-}$ collisions, but converges with the $e^{+}e^{-}$ ratio as the momentum increases. These results imply that the evolution of heavy $b$ quarks into final-state hadrons is influenced by the density of the hadronic environment produced in the collision. Comparisons with a statistical hadronization model and implications for the mechanisms enforcing quark confinement are discussed.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2023-027.html (LHCb public pages

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Global Diversity of Ascidiacea

The class Ascidiacea presents fundamental opportunities for research in the fields of development, evolution, ecology, natural products and more. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge regarding the global biodiversity of the class Ascidiacea, focusing in their taxonomy, main regions of biodiversity, and distribution patterns. Based on analysis of the literature and the species registered in the online World Register of Marine Species, we assembled a list of 2815 described species. The highest number of species and families is found in the order Aplousobranchia. Didemnidae and Styelidae families have the highest number of species with more than 500 within each group. Sixty percent of described species are colonial. Species richness is highest in tropical regions, where colonial species predominate. In higher latitudes solitary species gradually contribute more to the total species richness. We emphasize the strong association between species richness and sampling efforts, and discuss the risks of invasive species. Our inventory is certainly incomplete as the ascidian fauna in many areas around the world is relatively poorly known, and many new species continue to be discovered and described each year

Azotobacter genomes: the genome of Azotobacter chroococcum NCIMB 8003 (ATCC 4412)

The genome of the soil-dwelling heterotrophic N2-fixing Gram-negative bacterium Azotobacter chroococcum NCIMB 8003 (ATCC 4412) (Ac-8003) has been determined. It consists of 7 circular replicons totalling 5,192,291 bp comprising a circular chromosome of 4,591,803 bp and six plasmids pAcX50a, b, c, d, e, f of 10,435 bp, 13,852, 62,783, 69,713, 132,724, and 311,724 bp respectively. The chromosome has a G+C content of 66.27% and the six plasmids have G+C contents of 58.1, 55.3, 56.7, 59.2, 61.9, and 62.6% respectively. The methylome has also been determined and 5 methylation motifs have been identified. The genome also contains a very high number of transposase/inactivated transposase genes from at least 12 of the 17 recognised insertion sequence families. The Ac-8003 genome has been compared with that of Azotobacter vinelandii ATCC BAA-1303 (Av-DJ), a derivative of strain O, the only other member of the Azotobacteraceae determined so far which has a single chromosome of 5,365,318 bp and no plasmids. The chromosomes show significant stretches of synteny throughout but also reveal a history of many deletion/insertion events. The Ac-8003 genome encodes 4628 predicted protein-encoding genes of which 568 (12.2%) are plasmid borne. 3048 (65%) of these show > 85% identity to the 5050 protein-encoding genes identified in Av-DJ, and of these 99 are plasmid-borne. The core biosynthetic and metabolic pathways and macromolecular architectures and machineries of these organisms appear largely conserved including genes for CO-dehydrogenase, formate dehydrogenase and a soluble NiFe-hydrogenase. The genetic bases for many of the detailed phenotypic differences reported for these organisms have also been identified. Also many other potential phenotypic differences have been uncovered. Properties endowed by the plasmids are described including the presence of an entire aerobic corrin synthesis pathway in pAcX50f and the presence of genes for retro-conjugation in pAcX50c. All these findings are related to the potentially different environmental niches from which these organisms were isolated and to emerging theories about how microbes contribute to their communities

The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2

The Eurasian (née European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60 % from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019)Swiss National Science Foundation | Ref. 200021_16959