Heterópteros de un cultivo ecológico de cítricos de Tarragona (Cataluña, NE España) (Hemiptera : Heteroptera)

Se documentan los heterópteros capturados a lo largo de dos años en un campo de mandarinos (Citrus sinensis var. clemenules) de la Selva del Camp (Tarragona, NE de España), tanto en árboles con libre acceso de hormigas como en árboles con aquel acceso limitado. Se capturaron un total de 732 individuos de heterópteros correspondientes a 30 especies, agrupadas en 8 familias. Lygaeidae (Oxycarenus lavaterae (Fabricius), Heterogaster urticae (Fabricius), Nysius thymi (Wolff) entre otras) y Anthocoridae (Orius laevigatus (Fieber), O. laticollis (Reuter), O. horvathi (Reuter) entre otras) son las familias más importantes por número de individuos (60.1% y 26.5%, respectivamente). Se encontraron 13 especies de heterópteros depredadores las cuales representan alrededor del 5% de la fauna de artrópodos beneficiosos. Este valor, aunque bajo, es del mismo orden de magnitud o mayor que el de otros grupos más conocidos de la fauna auxiliar de frutales, como los Neuroptera o los Syrphidae (Diptera). Los heterópteros depredadores presentan unos picos de abundancia a principios de verano de los dos años, poco después de los máximos de áfidos, que son su principal presa.We report the Heteroptera captured in a Citrus grove (Citrus sinensis var. clemenules) of La Selva del Camp (Tarragona, NE de España) during two consecutive years, both in trees with and without ants. We captured a total of 732 individuals of Heteroptera of 30 species and 8 families. Lygaeidae (Oxycarenus lavaterae (Fabricius), Heterogaster urticae (Fabricius), Nysius thymi (Wolff) among other species) and Anthocoridae (Orius laevigatus (Fieber), O. laticollis (Reuter), O. horvathi (Reuter) among other species) were the most important families according their abundance (60.1% and 26.5% of the total Heteroptera, respectively). Predator Heteroptera (13 species) were around a 5% of the beneficial arthropods. This figure, despite being low, is of the same order of magnitude or higher than that of some other much better known beneficial groups of arthropods, as Neuroptera or Syrphidae (Diptera). Predator Heteroptera were more abundant at early summer of both years, just after the maxima of aphids, their main prey

La Psoralea bituminosa evoluciona per defensar-se

Quan la formiga Messor barbarus remou selectivament les llavors de la Psoralea bituminosa podria estar canviant l'estructura de la població d'aquestes plantes. Per això, l'objectiu de l'estudi següent ha estat determinar empíricament la preferència d'aquestes formigues granívores per les llavors que potser eren més pesants, però sobretot menys dures. Els resultats són contundents: prop d'un 70% amb més duresa no són consumides. A més, com són dispersades lluny de la planta originària, les generacions següents evolucionarien amb aquesta característica física per tal de reforçar la seva defensa enfront d'aquestes formigues

Effectiveness of a pharmacogenetic tool at Improving treatment efficacy in major depressive disorder: A meta-analysis of three clinical studies

Several pharmacogenetic tests to support drug selection in psychiatric patients have recently become available. The current meta-analysis aimed to assess the clinical utility of a commercial pharmacogenetic-based tool for psychiatry (Neuropharmagen®) in the treatment management of depressive patients. Random-effects meta-analysis of clinical studies that had examined the effect of this tool on the improvement of depressive patients was performed. Effects were summarized as standardized differences between treatment groups. A total of 450 eligible subjects from three clinical studies were examined. The random effects model estimated a statistically significant effect size for the pharmacogenetic-guided prescription (d = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.11-0.56, p-value = 0.004), which corresponded to approximately a 1.8-fold increase in the odds of clinical response for pharmacogenetic-guided vs. unguided drug selection. After exclusion of patients with mild depression, the pooled estimated effect size increased to 0.42 (95% CI = 0.19-0.65, p-value = 0.004, n = 287), corresponding to an OR = 2.14 (95% CI = 1.40-3.27). These results support the clinical utility of this pharmacogenetic-based tool in the improvement of health outcomes in patients with depression, especially those with moderate-severe depression. Additional pragmatic RCTs are warranted to consolidate these findings in other patient populations

Effectiveness of a pharmacogenetic tool at improving treatment efficacy in major depressive disorder : A meta-analysis of three clinical studies

Several pharmacogenetic tests to support drug selection in psychiatric patients have recently become available. The current meta-analysis aimed to assess the clinical utility of a commercial pharmacogenetic based tool for psychiatry (Neuropharmagen®) in the treatment management of depressive patients. Random-effects meta-analysis of clinical studies that had examined the effect of this tool on the improvement of depressive patients was performed. Effects were summarized as standardized differences between treatment groups. A total of 450 eligible subjects from three clinical studies were examined. The random effects model estimated a statistically significant effect size for the pharmacogenetic guided prescription (d = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.11-0.56, p-value = 0.004), which corresponded to approximately a 1.8 fold increase in the odds of clinical response for pharmacogenetic guided vs. unguided drug selection. After exclusion of patients with mild depression, the pooled estimated effect size increased to 0.42 (95% CI = 0.19-0.65, p value = 0.004, n = 287), corresponding to an OR = 2.14 (95% CI = 1.40-3.27). These results support the clinical utility of this pharmacogenetic based tool in the improvement of health outcomes in patients with depression, especially those with moderate-severe depression. Additional pragmatic RCTs are warranted to consolidate these findings in other patient populations

Prediction of enzyme function by combining sequence similarity and protein interactions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A number of studies have used protein interaction data alone for protein function prediction. Here, we introduce a computational approach for annotation of enzymes, based on the observation that similar protein sequences are more likely to perform the same function if they share similar interacting partners.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The method has been tested against the PSI-BLAST program using a set of 3,890 protein sequences from which interaction data was available. For protein sequences that align with at least 40% sequence identity to a known enzyme, the specificity of our method in predicting the first three EC digits increased from 80% to 90% at 80% coverage when compared to PSI-BLAST.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our method can also be used in proteins for which homologous sequences with known interacting partners can be detected. Thus, our method could increase 10% the specificity of genome-wide enzyme predictions based on sequence matching by PSI-BLAST alone.</p

Oral colonization by Levilactobacillus brevis KABPTM-052 and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum KABPTM-051 : a Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial (Pilot Study)

To determine the oral colonization capacity of the strains Levilactobacillus brevis KABPTM-052 (CECT 7480) and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum KABPTM-051 (CECT 7481) in healthy subjects. This randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study included 4

Including Functional Annotations and Extending the Collection of Structural Classifications of Protein Loops (ArchDB)

Loops represent an important part of protein structures. The study of loop is critical for two main reasons: First, loops are often involved in protein function, stability and folding. Second, despite improvements in experimental and computational structure prediction methods, modeling the conformation of loops remains problematic. Here, we present a structural classification of loops, ArchDB, a mine of information with application in both mentioned fields: loop structure prediction and function prediction. ArchDB (http://sbi.imim.es/archdb) is a database of classified protein loop motifs. The current database provides four different classification sets tailored for different purposes. ArchDB-40, a loop classification derived from SCOP40, well suited for modeling common loop motifs. Since features relevant to loop structure or function can be more easily determined on well-populated clusters, we have developed ArchDB-95, a loop classification derived from SCOP95. This new classification set shows a ~40% increase in the number of subclasses, and a large 7-fold increase in the number of putative structure/function-related subclasses. We also present ArchDB-EC, a classification of loop motifs from enzymes, and ArchDB-KI, a manually annotated classification of loop motifs from kinases. Information about ligand contacts and PDB sites has been included in all classification sets. Improvements in our classification scheme are described, as well as several new database features, such as the ability to query by conserved annotations, sequence similarity, or uploading 3D coordinates of a protein. The lengths of classified loops range between 0 and 36 residues long. ArchDB offers an exhaustive sampling of loop structures. Functional information about loops and links with related biological databases are also provided. All this information and the possibility to browse/query the database through a web-server outline an useful tool with application in the comparative study of loops, the analysis of loops involved in protein function and to obtain templates for loop modeling

ViTS: Video tagging system from massive web multimedia collections

The popularization of multimedia content on the Web has arised the need to automatically understand, index and retrieve it. In this paper we present ViTS, an automatic Video Tagging System which learns from videos, their web context and comments shared on social networks. ViTS analyses massive multimedia collections by Internet crawling, and maintains a knowledge base that updates in real time with no need of human supervision. As a result, each video is indexed with a rich set of labels and linked with other related contents. ViTS is an industrial product under exploitation with a vocabulary of over 2.5M concepts, capable of indexing more than 150k videos per month. We compare the quality and completeness of our tags with respect to the ones in the YouTube-8M dataset, and we show how ViTS enhances the semantic annotation of the videos with a larger number of labels (10.04 tags/video), with an accuracy of 80,87%.Postprint (published version

Artrópodos de un campo ecológico de mandarinos

S'ha estudiat durant 5 anys (2002-2006) la comunitat d'artròpodes de les capçades d'una plantació de mandariners ecològics de la província de Tarragona. El mètode de mostreig ha consistit en batudes de copa mensuals sobre 8 arbres, captura amb aspirador entomològic i preservació immediata en alcohol de 70º. En conjunt, el mostreig ha proporcionat prop de 20.000 individus. Els organismes més abundants han estat, por aquest ordre, Psocoptera, Hemiptera, Araneae, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Neuroptera i Dermaptera, a més d'alguns menys representats (Collembola, Lepidoptera, Thysanoptera i Orthoptera). Alguns grups s'han estudiat més a fons; així, s'han determinat fins a gènere o espècie els espècimens dels següents grups: Heteroptera (Hemiptera), Formicidae (Hymenoptera), Aphididae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha), Coleoptera i Araneae. Aquí es presenta el llistat de les espècies trobades d'aquests grups així com la seva abundància. Es proporcionen dades sobre la biologia de les espècies més abundants i es discuteix breument la importància taxonòmica i faunística d'algunes espècies. Es finalitza amb una primera aproximació de la variació de la biodiversitat en la comunitat entre 2002 i 2006.Se ha estudiado durante 5 años (2002-2006) la comunidad de artrópodos de las copas de una plantación de mandarinos ecológicos de la provincia de Tarragona. El método de muestreo ha consistido en batidas de copa mensuales sobre 8 árboles, captura con aspirador entomológico y preservación inmediata en alcohol de 70º. En conjunto, el muestreo ha proporcionado cerca de 20.000 individuos. Los organismos más abundantes han sido, por este orden, Psocoptera, Hemiptera, Araneae, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Neuroptera y Dermaptera, además de algunos menos representados (Collembola, Lepidoptera, Thysanoptera y Orthoptera). Algunos grupos se han estudiado más a fondo; así, se han determinado hasta género o especie los especimenes de los siguientes grupos: Heteroptera (Hemiptera), Formicidae (Hymenoptera), Aphididae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha), Coleoptera y Araneae. Aquí se presenta el listado de las especies encontradas de estos grupos así como su abundancia. Se proporcionan datos sobre la biología de las especies más abundantes y se discute brevemente la importancia taxonómica y faunística de algunas especies. Se finaliza con una primera aproximación de la variación de la biodiversidad en la comunidad entre 2002 y 2006.We studied the arthropod community of the canopies of an organic citrus grove of Tarragona (NE Spain) during 5 years (2002-2006). Sampling was conducted by beating trays in 8 trees, captured with entomological pooters and preserved in alcohol 70º. Overall, the sampling produced ca. 20 000 individuals. The most abundant groups were, by this order, Psocoptera, Hemiptera, Araneae, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Neuroptera, Dermaptera, and some minor groups as Collembola, Lepidoptera, Thysanoptera and Orthoptera. Some groups were studied in more detail: individuals of Heteroptera (Hemiptera), Formicidae (Hymenoptera), Aphididae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha), Coleoptera and Araneae were determined to genus or species. Here we list the species found and give their abundance. We also provide some data on the biology of the most abundant species and briefly discuss the taxonomical and faunistic importance of some of them. We conclude with a first approximation of the change in the biodiversity of the community between 2002 y 2006

Probiotic effects on immunity and microbiome in HIV-1 discordant patients

Some HIV-1 infected patients are unable to completely recover normal CD4+ T-cell (CD4+) counts after achieving HIV-1 suppression with combined Antiretroviral Therapy (cART), hence being classified as immuno-discordant. The human microbiome plays a crucial role in maintaining immune homeostasis and is a potential target towards immune reconstitution. RECOVER (NCT03542786) was a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to evaluate if the novel probiotic i3.1 (AB-Biotics, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Spain) was able to improve immune reconstitution in HIV-1 infected immuno-discordant patients with stable cART and CD4+ counts <500 cells/mm3. The mixture consisted of two strains of L. plantarum and one of P. acidilactici, given with or without a fiber-based prebiotic. 71 patients were randomized 1:2:2 to Placebo, Probiotic or probiotic + prebiotic (Synbiotic), and were followed over 6 months + 3-month washout period, in which changes on systemic immune status and gut microbiome were evaluated. Primary endpoints were safety and tolerability of the investigational product. Secondary endpoints were changes on CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell (CD8+) counts, inflammation markers and faecal microbiome structure, defined by alpha diversity (Gene Richness), beta diversity (Bray-Curtis) and functional profile. Comparisons across/within groups were performed using standard/paired Wilcoxon test, respectively. Adverse event (AE) incidence was similar among groups (53%, 33%, and 55% in the Placebo, Probiotic and Synbiotic groups, respectively, the most common being grade 1 digestive AEs: flatulence, bloating and diarrhoea. Two grade 3 AEs were reported, all in the Synbiotic group: abdominal distension (possibly related) and malignant lung neoplasm (unrelated), and 1 grade 4 AE in the Placebo: hepatocarcinoma (unrelated). Synbiotic exposure was associated with a higher increase in CD4+/CD8+ T-cell (CD4/CD8) ratio at 6 months vs baseline (median=0.76(IQR=0.51) vs 0.72(0. 45), median change= 0.04(IQR=0.19), p = 0.03). At month 9, the Synbiotic group had a significant increase in CD4/CD8 ratio (0.827(0.55) vs 0.825(0.53), median change = 0.04(IQR=0.15), p= 0.02) relative to baseline, and higher CD4+ counts (447 (157) vs. 342(73) counts/ml, p = 0.03), and lower sCD14 values (2.16(0.67) vs 3.18(0.8), p = 0.008) than Placebo. No effect in immune parameters was observed in the Probiotic arm. None of the two interventions modified microbial gene richness (alpha diversity). However, intervention as categorical variable was associated with slight but significant effect on Bray-Curtis distance variance (Adonis R2 = 0.02, p = 0.005). Additionally, at month 6, Synbiotic intervention was associated with lower pathway abundances vs Placebo of Assimilatory Sulphate Reduction (8.79·10 -6 (1.25·10 -5) vs. 1.61·10 -5 (2.77·10 -5), p = 0.03) and biosynthesis of methionine (2.3·10 -5 (3.17·10 -5) vs. 4·10 -5 (5.66·10 -5), p = 0.03) and cysteine (1.83·10 -5 (2.56·10 -5) vs. 3.3·10 -5 (4.62·10 -5), p = 0.03). At month 6, probiotic detection in faeces was associated with significant decreases in C Reactive Protein (CRP) vs baseline (11.1(22) vs. 19.2(66), median change= -2.7 (13.2) ug/ml, p = 0.04) and lower IL-6 values (0.58(1.13) vs. 1.17(1.59) ug/ml, p = 0.02) when compared with samples with no detectable probiotic. No detection of the probiotic was associated with higher CD4/CD8 ratio at month 6 vs baseline (0.718(0.57) vs. 0.58(0.4), median change = 0.4(0.2), p = 0.02). After washout, probiotic non-detection was also associated with a significant increase in CD4+ counts (457(153) vs. 416(142), median change = 45(75), counts/ml, p = 0.005) and CD4/CD8 ratio (0.67(0.5) vs 0.59(0.49), median change = 0.04 (0.18), p = 0.02). A synbiotic intervention with L. plantarum and P. acidilactici was safe and led to small increases in CD4/CD8 ratio and minor reductions in sCD14 of uncertain clinical significance. A probiotic with the same composition was also safe but did not achieve any impact on immune parameters or faecal microbiome composition