Impacts of land management and climate change in a developing and socioenvironmental challenging transboundary region

Land-use/cover change is the major cause of terrestrial ecosystem degradation. However, its impacts will be exacerbated due to climate change and population growth, driving agricultural expansion because of higher demand of food and lower agricultural yields in some tropical areas. International strategies aimed to mitigate impacts of climate change and land use-cover change are challenging in developing regions. This study aims to evaluate alternatives to minimize the impacts of these threats under socioeconomic trajectories, in one of the biologically richest regions in Guatemala and Mexico. This study is located at the Usumacinta watershed, a transboundary region that shares a common history, with similar biophysical properties and economic constraints which have led to large land use/cover changes. To understand the impacts on deforestation and carbon emissions of different land-management practices, we developed three scenarios (1): business as usual (BAU), (2) a reducing emissions scenario aimed to reduce deforestation and degradation (REDD+), and (3) zero-deforestation from 2030 onwards based on the international commitments. Our results suggest that by 2050, natural land cover might reduce 22.3 and 12.2% of its extent under the BAU and REDD + scenarios, respectively in comparison with 2012. However, the zero-deforestation scenario shows that by 2050, it would be possible to avoid losing 22.4% of the forested watershed (1.7 million ha) and recover 5.9% (0.4 million hectares) of it. In terms of carbon sequestration, REDD + projects can reduce the carbon losses in natural vegetation, but a zero-deforestation policy can double the carbon sequestration produced by REDD + projects only. This study shows that to reduce the pressures on ecosystems, particularly in regions highly marginalized with significant migration, it is necessary to implement transboundary land-management policies that also integrate poverty alleviation strategies

Preparation and characterization of stable aqueous suspensions of up-converting Er3+/Yb3+-doped LiNbO3 nanocrystals

The preparation of LiNbO3:Er3+/Yb3+ nanocrystals and their up-conversion properties have been studied. It is demonstrated that polyethyleneimine- (PEI) assisted dispersion procedures allow obtaining stable aqueous LiNbO3:Er3+/Yb3+ powder suspensions, with average size particles well below the micron range (100–200 nm) and the isoelectric point of the suspension reaching values well above pH 7. After excitation of Yb3+ ions at a wavelength of 980 nm, the suspensions exhibit efficient, and stable, IR-to-visible (green and red) up-conversion properties, easily observed by the naked eye, very similar to those of the starting crystalline bulk material

Burden and risk factors for Pseudomonas aeruginosa community-acquired pneumonia:a Multinational Point Prevalence Study of Hospitalised Patients

Pseudornonas aeruginosa is a challenging bacterium to treat due to its intrinsic resistance to the antibiotics used most frequently in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Data about the global burden and risk factors associated with P. aeruginosa-CAP are limited. We assessed the multinational burden and specific risk factors associated with P. aeruginosa-CAP. We enrolled 3193 patients in 54 countries with confirmed diagnosis of CAP who underwent microbiological testing at admission. Prevalence was calculated according to the identification of P. aeruginosa. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for antibiotic-susceptible and antibiotic-resistant P. aeruginosa-CAP. The prevalence of P. aeruginosa and antibiotic-resistant P. aeruginosa-CAP was 4.2% and 2.0%, respectively. The rate of P. aeruginosa CAP in patients with prior infection/colonisation due to P. aeruginosa and at least one of the three independently associated chronic lung diseases (i.e. tracheostomy, bronchiectasis and/or very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) was 67%. In contrast, the rate of P. aeruginosa-CAP was 2% in patients without prior P. aeruginosa infection/colonisation and none of the selected chronic lung diseases. The multinational prevalence of P. aeruginosa-CAP is low. The risk factors identified in this study may guide healthcare professionals in deciding empirical antibiotic coverage for CAP patients

Constraints on anomalous QGC's in e+e−e^{+}e^{-} interactions from 183 to 209 GeV

The acoplanar photon pairs produced in the reaction e(+) e(-) - → vvyy are analysed in the 700 pb(-1) of data collected by the ALEPH detector at centre-of-mass energies between 183 and 209 GeV. No deviation from the Standard Model predictions is seen in any of the distributions examined. The resulting 95% C.L. limits set on anomalous QGCs, a(0)(Z), a(c)(Z), a(0)(W) and a(c)(W), are -0.012 lt a(0)(Z)/Lambda(2) lt +0.019 GeV-2, -0.041 lt a(c)(Z)/Lambda(2) lt +0.044 GeV-2, -0.060 lt a(0)(W)/Lambda(2) lt +0.055 GeV-2, -0.099 lt a(c)(W)/Lambda(2) lt +0.093 GeV-2, where Lambda is the energy scale of the new physics responsible for the anomalous couplings

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase

Instrumentatio

Enhanced molecular visualization of root colonization and growth promotion by Bacillus subtilis EA-CB0575 in different growth systems

Bacillus subtilis EA-CB0575 is a plant growth-promoting bacterium (PGPB) associated with banana and tomato crops. Root colonization is an important trait for PGPB microorganisms and potentiates the bacterial effect related to the mechanisms of plant growth promotion. Therefore, detection of bacterial colonization of roots in different culture systems is important in the study of plant–microorganism interactions. In this study, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and catalyzed reporter deposition–FISH (CARD–FISH) were evaluated to determine the colonization ability of B. subtilis EA-CB0575 on banana and tomato roots planted on solid and liquid Murashige and Skoog medium (MS(S) and MS(L), respectively) and in soil for tomato plants. Results showed B. subtilis colonization 0–30 days post inoculation for banana and tomato plants in different culture systems with differential distribution of bacterial cells along tomato and banana roots. FISH and CARD–FISH methodologies were both successful in detecting B. subtilis colonies, but CARD–FISH proved to be superior due to its enhanced fluorescence signal. The presence of bacteria correlated with the promotion of plant growth in both plant species, providing clues to relate rhizospheric colonization with improvement in plant growth. FISH and CARD–FISH analysis results suggested the presence of native microbiota on the roots of in vitro banana plants, but not on those of tomato plants. © 2018 Elsevier Gmb

Bacillus subtilis EA-CB0575 genome reveals clues for plant growth promotion and potential for sustainable agriculture

Bacillus subtilis is a remarkably diverse bacterial species that displays many ecological functions. Given its genomic diversity, the strain Bacillus subtilis EA-CB0575, isolated from the rhizosphere of a banana plant, was sequenced and assembled to determine the genomic potential associated with its plant growth promotion potential. The genome was sequenced by Illumina technology and assembled using Velvet 1.2.10, resulting in a whole genome of 4.09 Mb with 4332 genes. Genes involved in the production of indoles, siderophores, lipopeptides, volatile compounds, phytase, bacilibactin, and nitrogenase were predicted by gene annotation or by metabolic pathway prediction by RAST. These potential traits were determined using in vitro biochemical tests, finding that B. subtilis EA-CB0575 produces two families of lipopeptides (surfactin and fengycin), solubilizes phosphate, fixes nitrogen, and produces indole and siderophores compounds. Finally, strain EA-CB0575 increased 34.60% the total dry weight (TDW) of tomato plants with respect to non-inoculated plants at greenhouse level. These results suggest that the identification of strain-specific genes and predicted metabolic pathways might explain the strain potential to promote plant growth by several mechanisms of action, accelerating the development of plant biostimulants for sustainable agricultural. © 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

Low-grade parasitaemias and cold agglutinins in patients with hyper-reactive malarious splenomegaly and acute haemolysis

A cluster of 16 cases of hyper-reactive malarious splenomegaly (HMS) with severe, acute haemolysis, from an isolated, Venezuelan, Yanomami population, was prospectively investigated. Nine (69%) of the 13 HMS sera investigated but only one (7%) of 14 control sera (P < 0.005) contained elevated titres (of at least 1:32) of complement-fixing IgM cold agglutinins (CA). The CA detected had specificity for both the I and i blood-group antigens (with a relative predominance of anti-I) and wide thermal stability. The mean reciprocal CA titre was much higher for the HMS sera than for the control samples (59.16 v. 2.28; P < 0.001). Indirect tests for antiglobulin were positive for two of the 13 HMS cases (but none of 14 controls) investigated; all of the direct tests for antiglobulin gave negative results. The seven HMS cases checked, using an assay based on a nested PCR which amplified species-specific ribosomal sequences from Plasmodium vivax or P. falciparum, each yielded the PCR product that indicated P. vivax infection. However, only six (25%) of the 24 control samples (collected, at the same time as the HMS samples, from asymptomatic adults from the same Yanomami population) were PCR-positive (P < 0.001). In some cases at least, the acute severe episodes of haemolysis occasionally seen in HMS appear to be associated with an auto-immune, cold-agglutinin-mediated response triggered by non-patent parasitaemias

Bioprospecting of aerobic endospore-forming bacteria with biotechnological potential for growth promotion of banana plants

High amounts of agrochemicals are regularly used for increasing yields in cultivation of banana. The use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) could represent an environmentally friendly alternative that can improve productivity. In this study, we tested a funnel-like strategy to bioprospect aerobic endospore-forming bacteria (AEFB) that could be useful to develop a biotechnological product to promote the growth of banana plants. First, 837 aerobic endospore-forming bacteria were obtained from the rhizosphere of banana and plantain. Then, the isolates were assessed for both: their capacity to promote growth of maize seedlings (used as a model plant) and to display specific biochemical PGPR-associated traits. Twenty-two of these strains significantly increased the dry weight of maize seedlings, some of them showing in vitro PGPR traits. Based on this screening, four isolates were selected to conduct evaluations on banana plants, from which, the bacterial strain Bacillus subtilis EA-CB0575 was chosen as a promising plant growth -promoting isolate. Further studies with this strain showed that the application of either spores, vegetative cells (both at concentrations 1 x 10(7) and 1 x 10(8) CFU/mL), or the cell-free supernatant (CFS) of its fermentation significantly increased the dry weight of banana plants, compared with the non-treated control. Our results suggest that both cellular structures of B. subtilis EA-CB0575 and the metabolites and/or elements contained in its CFS enhance the growth and development of banana plants. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved