Cross-resistance to azole fungicides in Zymoseptoria tritici disease of wheat

Fungicide resistance has become an increasing problem in North American populations of Zymoseptoria tritici, the causal agent of septoria leaf blotch of wheat. The goal of this experiment was to determine whether Z. tritici’s resistance to one azole fungicide would predict resistance in other fungicides within the same family. Cross-resistance could have implications on the fungicides available to treat the disease locally, as seen in Europe over the past decade. 178 isolates were harvested from leaves collected from two locations in the Willamette Valley. Isolates were grown in the presence of 12 serial dilutions of four different azole fungicides (cyproconazole, propiconazole, tebuconazole, and prothioconazole), their growth measured, and their respective EC50s calculated. In these assays strong cross-resistance was found between cyproconazole and propiconazole; weak cross resistance between cyproconazole and tebuconazole, propiconazole and tebuconazole, and prothioconazole and tebuconazole; and no cross-resistance between cyproconazole and prothioconazole or prothioconazole and propiconazole. These findings have significant implications for the Willamette Valley wheat industry; namely, growers can continue to use a diversity of azole fungicides to successfully control Z. tritici

Invisible Spread and Perceived Stress Amidst COVID-19

Introduction. There are limited reports on the mental health toll associated with the fear of spreading coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the associated stay-at-home orders. The goal of the present study was to characterize the self-reported stress of participants from the Kansas City Metropolitan Area (KCMA) and to examine the relation between potential for asymptomatic spread and perceived stress.  Methods. Enrollment of 461 participants occurred from May 4-May 22, 2020. The sample participants were predominantly women (69.6%). On average, participants were 44.9 years of age (SD = 14.6). Measures employed included the perceived stress scale-10 and a comprehensive COVID-19 questionnaire. Results. Worry about asymptomatic spread was significantly associated with greater perceived stress (p<0.001). Higher stress was reported among individuals who were women (p<0.001), Hispanic/Latinx (p=0.001), and non-Black/African American individuals (p<0.001), and those reporting the presence of COVID-19 symptoms (p=0.001).  Conclusions. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant economic, social, health, and other disruptions around the world. Distress is significantly related to concern over unintentionally contributing to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 through asymptomatic transmission. Future research should characterize the modifiable psychotherapeutic processes that might be targeted through intervention

Effective and meaningful engagement of older people in health care interventions using co-methodologies: an integrative literature review

Review questionHow can older people most effectively and most meaningfully be engaged in health care intervention design, development or delivery using co-methodologies

Controlling a spillover pathway with the molecular cork effect

Spillover of reactants from one active site to another is important in heterogeneous catalysis and has recently been shown to enhance hydrogen storage in a variety of materials. The spillover of hydrogen is notoriously hard to detect or control. We report herein that the hydrogen spillover pathway on a Pd/Cu alloy can be controlled by reversible adsorption of a spectator molecule. Pd atoms in the Cu surface serve as hydrogen dissociation sites from which H atoms can spillover onto surrounding Cu regions. Selective adsorption of CO at these atomic Pd sites is shown to either prevent the uptake of hydrogen on, or inhibit its desorption from, the surface. In this way, the hydrogen coverage on the whole surface can be controlled by molecular adsorption at a minority site, which we term a ‘molecular cork’ effect. We show that the molecular cork effect is present during a surface catalysed hydrogenation reaction and illustrate how it can be used as a method for controlling uptake and release of hydrogen in a model storage syste

A Two-Way Interactive Text Messaging Application for Low-Income Patients with Chronic Medical Conditions: Design-Thinking Development Approach

Background: Two-way interactive text messaging between patient and community health workers (CHWs) through mobile phone SMS (short message service) text messaging is a form of digital health that can potentially enhance patient engagement in young adults and families that have a child with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes mellitus, sickle cell disease, and asthma. These patients have complex needs, and a user-centered way can be useful for designing a tool to address their needs. Objective: The aim of this study was to utilize the user-centered approach of design thinking to develop a two-way interactive communication SMS text messaging tool for communication between patients or caregivers and CHWs. Methods: We applied a design thinking methodology for development of the SMS text messaging tool. We collected qualitative data from 127 patients/caregivers and 13 CHWs, health care professionals, and experts. In total, 4 iterative phases were used to design the final prototype. Results: The design thinking process led to the final SMS text messaging tool that was transformed from a one-dimensional, template-driven prototype (phases 1 and 2) into a dynamic, interactive, and individually tailored tool (phases 3 and 4). The individualized components consider social factors that influence patients’ ability to engage such as transportation issues and appointment reminders. SMS text messaging components also include operational factors to support staff such as patient contact lists, SMS text messaging templates, and technology chat support. Conclusions: Design thinking can develop a tool to meet the engagement needs of patients with complex health care needs and be user-friendly for health care staff

Invasive Plants in U. S. National Wildlife Refuges: A Coordinated Research Project Using Undergraduate Ecology Students

Answering large-scale questions in ecology can involve time-consuming data compilation. We show how networks of undergraduate classes can make these projects more manageable and provide an authentic research experience for students. With this approach, we examined the factors associated with plant species richness in US national wildlife refuges. We found that the richness of harmful invasive plants and the richness of native plants were positively correlated in mainland refuges but negatively correlated in island refuges. Nonnative richness and invasive richness were also positively correlated with colonization pressure as indicated by nonnative richness around each refuge. Associations between refuge characteristics and invasive plants varied substantially among regions, with refuge area and habitat diversity important predictors of invasion in some regions but not in others. Our results serve to identify the refuges that are most susceptible to plant invasion and demonstrate the potential value of a new model for education and research integration

Genome Diversity, Recombination, and Virulence across the Major Lineages of Paracoccidioides

We thank Angela Restrepo, Rosana Puccia, Zoilo Pires de Camargo, and Maria Sueli Felipe for kindly providing the isolates for this study. This project has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under contract no. HHSN272200900018C. This work was partly supported by Colciencias via the grants “A Gene Atlas for Human Pathogenic Fungi” (122256934875) and “A Comprehensive Genomic and Transcriptomic Analysis of Dimorphic Human Pathogen Fungi and Its Relation with Virulence” (221365842971) and by the Universidad de Antioquia via a “Sostenibilidad 2015/2016” grant. Colciencias National Doctorate Program funding supported J.F.M.; Enlaza Mundos partly supported his fellowship. The Wellcome Trust supported R.A.F.Peer reviewedPublisher PD