The MARAS dataset, vegetation and soil characteristics of dryland rangelands across Patagonia

We present the MARAS (Environmental Monitoring of Arid and Semiarid Regions) dataset, which stores vegetation and soil data of 426 rangeland monitoring plots installed throughout Patagonia, a 624.500 km2 area of southern Argentina and Chile. Data for each monitoring plot includes basic climatic and landscape features, photographs, 500 point intercepts for vegetation cover, plant species list and biodiversity indexes, 50-m line-intercept transect for vegetation spatial pattern analysis, land function indexes drawn from 11 measures of soil surface characteristics and laboratory soil analysis (pH, conductivity, organic matter, N and texture). Monitoring plots were installed between 2007 and 2019, and are being reassessed at 5-year intervals (247 have been surveyed twice). The MARAS dataset provides a baseline from which to evaluate the impacts of climate change and changes in land use intensity in Patagonian ecosystems, which collectively constitute one of the world´s largest rangeland areas. This dataset will be of interest to scientists exploring key ecological questions such as biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships, plant-soil interactions and climatic controls on ecosystem structure and functioning.Setup of the network was funded by by the Project GEF Patagonia PNUD ARG 07/G35 (2008–2014) “Sustainable Management of Arid and Semiarid systems for desertification control in Patagonia” Argentina. Further funding was assigned by INTA Project Observatorios de Sustentabilidad Rural PNNAT-1128035, Fundación Argeninta Proyecto Observatorio de (2015–2016) and Ley 25.422 para la Recuperación de la Ganadería Ovina (2017–2019) of Argentina. Erwin Domínguez was funded by Ministerio de Agricultura through the “Sistemas de Praderas Estepáricas de Zonas Frías de Chile” Project 502093-70. Fernando T. Maestre acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC Grant agreements 242658 [BIOCOM] and 647038 [BIODESERT]) and by Generalitat Valenciana (BIOMORES project, CIDEGENT/2018/041)

New uses of the Migraine Screen Questionnaire (MS-Q): validation in the Primary Care setting and ability to detect hidden migraine. MS-Q in Primary Care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>PC plays an important role in early diagnosis of health disorders, particularly migraine, due to the financial impact of this disease for the society and its impact on patients' quality of life. The aim of the study was to validate the self-administered MS-Q questionnaire for detection of hidden migraine in the field of primary care (PC), and to explore its use in this setting.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional, observational, and multicentre study in subjects above 18 years of age patients attending PC centers (regardless of the reason for consultation). A MS-Q score ≥ 4 was considered possible migraine. Level of agreement with IHS criteria clinical diagnosis (kappa coefficient), and instrument's validity properties: sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values were determined. The ability of the instrument to identify possible new cases of migraine was calculated, as well as the ratio of hidden disease compared to the ratio obtained by IHS criteria.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 9,670 patients were included [48.9 ± 17.2 years (mean ± SD); 61.9% women], from 410 PC centers representative of the whole national territory. The clinical prevalence of migraine according to the IHS criteria was 24.7%, and 20.4% according to MS-Q: Kappa index of agreement 0.82 (p < 0.05). MS-Q sensitivity was 0.82 (95% CI, 0.81 - 0.84), specificity 0.97 (95% CI, 0.98 - 0.99), PPV 0.95 (95% CI, 0.94 - 0.96), and NPV 0.94 (95% CI, 0.93 - 0.95). No statistically significant differences were found in the percentages of patients with <it>de novo </it>and hidden migraine identified by MS-Q and by IHS criteria: 5.7% vs. 6.1% and 26.6% vs. 24.1%, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of the present study confirm the usefulness of the MS-Q questionnaire for the early detection and assessment of migraine in PC settings, and its ability to detect hidden migraine.</p

Oral vaccination with heat inactivated Mycobacterium bovis activates the complement system to protect against tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a pandemic affecting billions of people worldwide, thus stressing the need for new vaccines. Defining the correlates of vaccine protection is essential to achieve this goal. In this study, we used the wild boar model for mycobacterial infection and TB to characterize the protective mechanisms elicited by a new heat inactivated Mycobacterium bovis vaccine (IV). Oral vaccination with the IV resulted in significantly lower culture and lesion scores, particularly in the thorax, suggesting that the IV might provide a novel vaccine for TB control with special impact on the prevention of pulmonary disease, which is one of the limitations of current vaccines. Oral vaccination with the IV induced an adaptive antibody response and activation of the innate immune response including the complement component C3 and inflammasome. Mycobacterial DNA/RNA was not involved in inflammasome activation but increased C3 production by a still unknown mechanism. The results also suggested a protective mechanism mediated by the activation of IFN-γ producing CD8+ T cells by MHC I antigen presenting dendritic cells (DCs) in response to vaccination with the IV, without a clear role for Th1 CD4+ T cells. These results support a role for DCs in triggering the immune response to the IV through a mechanism similar to the phagocyte response to PAMPs with a central role for C3 in protection against mycobacterial infection. Higher C3 levels may allow increased opsonophagocytosis and effective bacterial clearance, while interfering with CR3-mediated opsonic and nonopsonic phagocytosis of mycobacteria, a process that could be enhanced by specific antibodies against mycobacterial proteins induced by vaccination with the IV. These results suggest that the IV acts through novel mechanisms to protect against TB in wild boar

Clinical Experience With an L-Proline–Stabilized 10 % Intravenous Immunoglobulin (Privigen®): Real-Life Effectiveness and Tolerability

PURPOSE: This retrospective study evaluated the effectiveness and tolerability in clinical practice of an L-proline–stabilized 10 % intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG; Privigen®) in patients with primary (PID) or secondary immunodeficiency (SID). METHODS: Patients from 6 centers in Europe and the US were treated with individually determined regimens of Privigen® for ≥3 months. Serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) trough levels, annualized rates of infection, hospitalization and antibiotics use, and the incidence of adverse events (AEs) were analyzed. RESULTS: Of 72 patients, three infants with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) were analyzed separately. The remaining 69 patients (52.2 % male; median age 38 years [range: 0.1–90.0]) with PID (82.6 %) or SID (17.4 %) received a mean (±standard deviation) Privigen® dose of 532 ± 250 mg/kg/month resulting in trough serum IgG levels of 407–1,581 mg/dL (median: 954 mg/dL). Ten patients (14.5 %) experienced 11 serious bacterial infections over 22.0 ± 15.0 months of treatment (0.087 events/patient/year, upper one-sided 99 % confidence interval: 0.170), the most common being pneumonia (11.6 %). The rates for any infection and hospitalization were 1.082 events/patient/year and 3.63 days/patient/year, respectively. Two patients with severe disease accounted for 303 of 460 hospital days. Across all 72 patients, 13 (18.1 %) patients experienced AEs, including 10 (13.9 %) patients with AEs at least possibly related to Privigen®, including headache (8.3 %), fever, and chills (2.8 % each). No related serious AEs were reported. One infant with SCID died due to severe viral infection. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the heterogeneous population, effectiveness and tolerability of Privigen® in clinical practice closely matched those reported in clinical studies

Genome-wide association reveals host-specific genomic traits in Escherichia coli

Background: Escherichia coli is an opportunistic pathogen which colonizes various host species. However, to what extent genetic lineages of E. coli are adapted or restricted to specific hosts and the genomic determinants of such adaptation or restriction is poorly understood. Results: We randomly sampled E. coli isolates from four countries (Germany, UK, Spain, and Vietnam), obtained from five host species (human, pig, cattle, chicken, and wild boar) over 16 years, from both healthy and diseased hosts, to construct a collection of 1198 whole-genome sequenced E. coli isolates. We identified associations between specific E. coli lineages and the host from which they were isolated. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified several E. coli genes that were associated with human, cattle, or chicken hosts, whereas no genes associated with the pig host could be found. In silico characterization of nine contiguous genes (collectively designated as nan-9) associated with the human host indicated that these genes are involved in the metabolism of sialic acids (Sia). In contrast, the previously described sialic acid regulon known as sialoregulon (i.e. nanRATEK-yhcH, nanXY, and nanCMS) was not associated with any host species. In vitro growth experiments with a Δnan-9 E. coli mutant strain, using the sialic acids 5-N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) and N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) as sole carbon source, showed impaired growth behaviour compared to the wild-type. Conclusions: This study provides an extensive analysis of genetic determinants which may contribute to host specificity in E. coli. Our findings should inform risk analysis and epidemiological monitoring of (antimicrobial resistant) E. coli

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Search for disappearing tracks in proton-proton collisions at √s=8 TeV

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Observation of the diphoton decay of the Higgs boson and measurement of its properties

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Search for massive resonances in dijet systems containing jets tagged as W or Z boson decays in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV

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Measurement of the t-channel single-top-quark production cross section and of the |V tb| CKM matrix element in pp collisions at √s = 8 TeV

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